The Trouble with Aliens

Yet another Japanese TRPG I've been obsessed with for some time now (18 years to be exact) is the UFO Conspiracy RPG Trouble Aliens. 

Created by Akira Waguri and published by Hobby Japan TRPG in 2007, the game has had but a single expansion/supplement entitled Aliens Paradise, which was released in 2008.

In Trouble Aliens you play as an Extraterrestrial in Human guise, called a Mask, who is trying to either Conquer Humanity, Eradicate Humanity, or Protect Humanity. You can also play a Human but you must also choose one of these motivations. I seem to recall additional drives from either the game's expansion or Japanese TRPG magazine articles. One I remember ckearly was Study Humanity, which had a particularly humorous twist.

There are twelve major Alien Species described in the game, designated 'The Majestic Twelve', though only 11 are defined. The mysterious '12th Species' is unknown at present and there are numerous theories and conspiracies as to who they are and why this is. In addition to these twelve there are many other Aliens with lesser domains of power and influence and they too have visited Earth (GMs and players should work together to create new Extraterrestrials if a player has a particular type of being in mind).

Thanks to their Masks most Aliens look indistinguishable from normal Humans. Players do not reveal  the Alien Species or goal of their Player Characters to the other players or their PCs, creating a atmosphere where no one know who is really who and what they're up to. 

Trouble Aliens is therefore not a traditional cooperative RPG, though it can certainly be played that way (See below) . It's default style of play is more akin to Paranoia, with each PC having their own agenda that often runs counter to those of the other PCs. The Player Characters can form alliances, break them, and team up to thwart another PC's plans as needed.

One can also play Agents of The Organization, a secret group dedicated to defending the Earth from any and all invaders from beyond this world. Agents my be of several types as well, from Super Geniuses to Cyborgs to Psychics! If playing an Agents style game, all the Player Character would be on the same side with the same objective (or would they?). 

As a Science Fiction fan fascinated by the 'Aliens are among us' premise, this one goes hard and I absolutely love it. At the same time, what makes it even cooler is that is isn't tied to only that idea. Sure, you could run it as 'Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up?', the classic Twilight Zone episode, but you could play with themes from Alf, Mork and Mindy, People from Earth, Resident Alien, They Live, and so much more. 

The game contains obvious homages to Blade Runner, Men in Black, Superman, The Terminator, War of the Worlds, and so much more. This is ripe for adapting ideas from Anime and Manga like DanDaDan and even FLCL as easily as Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Alien Earth! 

The blend of comedy and drama, action and romance, mystery and suspense makes this right up my alley. 

The Invasion Has Begun!

Wait...no...sorry...false alarm. They're just making a coffee run.

Anyone want anything?

The game has a somewhat unusual publication history. It came out in 2007 as noted and did fairly well in the Japanese TRPG market. As with many games that aren't Call of Cthulhu or Sword World, it was very popular with a small niche within the hobby. It did well enough to warrant a supplement/expansion a year later, Aliens Paradise, which is actually half rulebook and half Replay Manga* collection.

Sometime between 2013 and 2015 the game went out of print for a while but came back to renewed interest. This happened a couple of times. I am told it is because the publisher, Hobby Japan TRPG, produces so many titles that some of them get rotated. This unusal publishing schedule made it so it has been very difficult for me to get a hold of a copy. In addition, the 169 page book costs quite a bit in shipping, making getting a book I'd have to tear apart to scan for my translation software not at all cost effective.

Recently I noticed the book pop-up again on Conos, a Japanese webstore similar to our DriveThruRPG. There was a big announcement related its return; it was finally available on PDF for only $20 US. SOLD! I pick it up this weekend and I'm going through the process of translating it now. Aliens Paradise is also available for $11 I think. Will likely get that too very soon. 

I played a session of it at an Anime Convention back in 2007 or 2008 and absolutely loved it. In that game, the GM referred to it as 'The Trouble with Aliens' and to this day, even though I now know the correction translation, I still call it that from time to time.

Wow, I finally have it after all these years and I'm really excited to dive into it. Expect to see more posts about this game as I figure out how to play.

Until next time...Watch the Skies...

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* 'Replays' or 'Replay Manga' are Japanese Comics depicting someone's game in Manga form, often with sidebars or notes explaining how what you're reading happened according to the game mechanics. It is a huge market in Japan and games that don't have Replays attached to them - such as many American imports - don't do very well. Replays are an easy way, at least for the Japanese, to learn a game's rules, what kind of characters are appropriate, what the setting and genre is, etc.

My Bluebird of Happiness

Saturday I got the chance to smurf the Smurfs Roleplaying Game again and I couldn't be smurfier. 

The Bluebird of Happiness

I have greatly missed running and playing this game something serious. I'm not kidding! I absolutely love this game.

Once again my friend Stephen (The Smurfs and The Palace of the Silver Princess) ran the adventure, an original one-shot of his own design, and I got to play my Smurf girl alchemist, Smurfcornflower once again. 

Left to Right: Frontier Smurf, Smurfcornflower, Helpful Smurf.

The other two Player Characters for this outing were Frontier Smurf (played by a clever fellow named Emilio) and Helpful Smurf (played by a really funny guy named Bob).

Frontier Smurf reduces the Difficulty of his Action Roll by 1D6 when foraging for supplies or making something out of foraged supplies. He does not get a Difficulty reduction when using the things he finds or makes. Luckily, Helpful Smurf gets a +2 Bonus to the appropriate Attribute when helping another Smurf with a task. This bonus only applies when helping another with what they want to do and does not benefit Helpful with anything he decides to do on his own.

Frontier Smurf's Item is what he called his Foraging Axe (more a tool then a weapon) and Helpful's is a Bindle full of small, useful items (like a length of string or an empty jar).

For this adventure, Cornflower got to make three Potions: A Potion of Healing (Restores Brawn Effort), a Potion of Invisibility, and a Potion of Reflecto Reverso (.Based on the Spell Smurfo Reverso in the Core Rules but a slightly tweaked - Magic Spells and Item effects are reflected back at the sender. Doesn't reflect Potions or their effects). 

The scenario was called 'The Smurfs and The Bluebird of Happiness' and revolved around the Smurfs encountering an injured bird while picking the last Smurfberries before Winter set in. The little avian in question identified itself as the Bluebird of Happiness, on its way to visit a man desperately in need of joy. Unfortunately it was unable to continue on its mission as a Cat scratched its wing badly while it was sipping water from a stream. 

To summarize, we all aidied in healing the little bird and proceeded to accompany it in the direction it was going until its wing fully healed. Gargamel and Azrael showed up to catch us but then turned his attention to the Bluebird, assuming it was magical and important since we were escorting it (not incorrect).

As it turned out, it was Azrael that injured the bird. A few scenes of dodging the pair, followed by a brief battle of wits and wizardry, and we managed to escape and leave the two of them rethinking their life choices for that day. The Bluebird noted what sad individual Gargamel was and how she should probably add him to her list of people to help. 

Eventually, the healed Bluebird bids us farewell and flies on to her destination as we wave it goodbye and head back to Smurf Village. The Bluebird travels to Gargamel's Hovel/Tower, as he was the sad man it had come to cheer up, but seeing no one home it flew on to bring joy to the next person on its list.

THE END

Incredibly fun, lots of funny dialogue, and some narrowly avoided danger made for a great time. Thanks to Stephen, Emilio, and Bob for a wonderful game and I can not wait to run Smurfs again myself sometime soon.

Hoping you are all visited by the Bluebird of Happiness yourselves,

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Cutthroat Planet

The Tabletop Roleplaying Game hobby has had more than a few tales of 'Games-That-Never-Were'. Games that were designed, developed, and sometimes even announced but for one reason or another didn't come to pass. Essentially, we're talking RPG vaporware. 

Japan's TRPG market isn't immune to this phenomena. Of particular note in this category is a game I've been obsessed with for many years; Cutthroat Planet. 

Cutthroat Planet is, or would have been, a Retro-Futurisc Space Opera TRPG focused on the PCs as heroic Space Pirates in a galaxy ruled by an evil empire . The idea is reminiscent of Space Pirate Captain Harlock, with the pirates as rebels against a tyrannical imperium.

The game, and its failure to materialize, has quite an interesting history.  

The game was the brainchild of Hayami Rasenjin, a prolific artist and writer who has worked in the fields of Manga, Anime, and Japanese TTRPGs for over three decades. Rasejin is a fan and advocate of Roleplaying Playing Games himself and has done a great many illustrations for the Japanese TRPG industry over the years. His works include being the main artist on SATASUPE, the 'Asian Punk' RPG that remains a favorite in Japan and of yours truly.

Honestly, I'm a big fan of Rasenjin and have been since before I really knew his name. I would see his artwork in various Japanese Roleplaying Games and Roleplaying Game related magazines and eventually started following him on Social Media. During my search to more project he'd worked on, I came across the the subject of this post, Cutthroat Planet.

Sometime around 2001, Hayami Rasejin came up with an idea for a Tabletop Roleplaying Game in which the players are freedom fighting Space Pirates flying between Earth and 'The Second Solar System' preying upon the unjust and overly bureacratic Terran Empire. Set in a Retro-Future Space Opera universe inspired by Flash Gordon and early Science Fiction Anime and Manga, the game had a wonderful setting but no rules.

He eventually tried using a few different systems, even testing them out at Sci-Fi and Gaming conventions but wasn't satisfied with any of them. One magazine article suggested the game was going to be released as using the rules of SATASUPE, which I personally think would have been awesome. In the end, Rasenjin just couldn't find or create a set of mechanics that he felt were right for the idea and so it went on the backburner.

An RPG Convention program from November of 2001

featuring a listing for a Cutthroat Planet playtest.

Special Guest Greg Stafford of Glorantha and Pendragon fame!

Fast forward to sometime in late 2025 or early 2026 and the game design studio known as Adventure Planning Bureau had come up with a new system they planned on using for an upcoming project but no setting had yet been developed. Designer Toichiro Kawashima had created Saikoro (Dice) Fiction and Rasejin, who was familiar with APB, met with him to discuss applying Dice Fiction to his Cutthroat Planet idea.

After writing began on the Cutthroat Planet game, a second Dice Fiction game went into development, Neighborhood Fairy Tale RPG Peek-a-Boo, sometimes referred to by the nickname Peek-a-Boo Horror (another game I really love). Peek-a-Boo was written and created by Toichiro Kawashima himself, with the help of illustrator (and later Kawashima's wife) Nagomi Ochiai, and the staff of APB  For unclear reasons, Cutthroat Planet was delayed, while Peek-a-Boo continued on at a solid pace.

When Peek-a-Boo was complete, Advanced Planning Bureau decided to release it first and it did very well. Eventually, the popularity of it lead other creators and designers to contact Kawashima and APD about using Dice Fiction for their ideas, creating a sort of 'universal system' and making APD the biggest of the smaller design studios.The company and its system now supports over a two dozen titles, including InSane, Kill Death Business, and Uncle Gap.

By late 2006, after announcements and magazine articles indicating Cutthroat Planet was scheduled for a June 30th release, the following statement was sent out by Adventure Planning Bureau to retailers:

(Translated from Japanese)

Thank you very much for your support.

We have announced that the release of 'Cutthroat Planet' which was scheduled for June 30th,
has been postponed.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

The official release date has not yet been decided, but we are aiming for an early next year release.

The game itself is currently being produced under the direction of designer Hayami Rasenjin
but we are currently in the final stages of adjustment to further enhance the game's quality and are therefore unable to release it.

Repeated announcements of release delays have led to rumors from various quarters that the
game may not be released after all but we are making every effort to ensure that as many users as possible can enjoy this wonderful title.

We apologize for any concern and inconvenience this may cause and we ask that you please wait a little longer.

We will contact you as soon as the release date is finalized.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

We would like to once again apologize for any inconvenience caused.

We look forward to your continued support.

June 26, 2006
Kokusai Tsushinsha Co., Ltd.

An issue of the Japanese TRPG magazine R.P.G. Gamer had an article on the game in the Vol. 4, October 25th 2007 issue accompanied by Rasenjin's art. I am unable to find any further references to the game. Well...sort of...

A Japanese gamer blog that has what has to be the best name for a blog ever, 'Only The Dice Are Honest: Possibly the most pointless TRPG blog in Japan', posted a congratulations on the release of Cutthroat Planet finally coming out in 2010, only to reveal that it was an April Fools joke on the blogger's part. 

So what went wrong?

Sadly, I can find no official confirmation of what happened to this project, though some clues to its failure to launch can be found in the blog entries of various APB personnel and Rasejin himself over the years. 

It would seem that other projects drew Hayami Rasejin's attention away from his writing and overseeing Cutthroat Planet, including his work as a Design Assistant and Consultant in the Anime industry. Higher paying and more immediate turnaround meant these sorts of professional gigs took precedent over his personal passion project. 

In addition, his popularity as a Manga writer and artist blossomed and would later do quite well in the medium with a series called 'A Galactic Journey Worthy of a Baron', many elements of which seem to have been influenced by ideas he had originally created for Cutthroat Planet. 

A Galactic Journey Worthy of a Baron, By Hayami Rasenjin. Volume 1

Finally, while not said out right, I get the impression that Rasenjin wasn't entirely happy with the Dice Fiction system version of the game. Blog posts by those who followed the project through the early days and convention playtests mention his use of D20s in some versions, D10s in others, and I get the impression he never found the mechanics that quite matched his vision. I've been there so I get that. 

I lament that this TRPG never truly happened in a way that fans of Rasenjin, Science Fiction Space Opera, and Roleplaying Games had hoped it would. It is a path not taken and a missed opportunity that could have been an excellent addition to any collection of Japanese TRPGs.

 

Later Days,

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Blurry VISIONS

Star Wars: Visions is perhaps my all time favorite production to have come out of the 'Disney Era' of the franchise, even when not every entry is an absolute banger. This is because they experiment, take chances, do things differently, and don't worry about the $@^%ing canon. 

The newest iteration, Volume 3, is no different and yet it kind of is.

Having watched each of the episodes at least twice now, here are my thoughts...

WARNING: SPOILERS INCOMING

Switch all power to front deflector shields!

Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 returns to Japan for nine short form film/episodes that are not directly linked to each other, though all are set in the Star Wars universe of course. In fact, although adherence to canon isn't a major factor, this series seems to feel the most traditionally 'Star Wars-y' so far. You've got familiar aliens, droids, X-Wings, and other bits and bobs that just say 'this is Star Wars' loud and clear.

One unique feature this time out is that we have several sequels to installments first seen in Volume 1. The Duel, The Ninth Jedi, and The Village Bridge all get continuations. This is great to see but it highlights one of the weaknesses of this Volume.

Volume 3 feels less fresh and new. With perhaps two exceptions, most of the entries this time around are not experimental, they're not taking chances, and they're really not doing things all that special or unique. This doesn't mean there isn't some really great stuff here but it feels safer, more packaged, and more what you might expect from 'Star Wars by Anime Artists'. 

I also feel that overall the music wasn't particularly great. Maybe it's my computer but on more than half of the episodes the music is too quiet, too low in volume (even after adjusting it), and generally comes off as something I either didn't notice at all or found just audible enough to be distracting at times. Your light years may very. I am not much of a music guy these days.

My final criticism is that while most of the entries are very good and I liked them, with none that I would consider truly bad in any way, it's equally true that none are so grand, so ground-breakingly amazing that I can say I've found my new favorite. They're all just really good, though some still better than others.

What follows are my opinions on each and what elements stand out to me for whatever reason. I am always looking at media through a Gamemaster's eye, so there may be some gamer talk but for the most part I'll save the RPG discussions for a separate post.

Title: The Duel: Payback (8.5/10)

Studio: Kamikaze Douga/ANIMA

Director: Takanobu Mizuno

Writer: Jumpei Mizusaki[

The first short film in the first volume of Visions was The Duel and I scored the original a 10 out of 10. It was incredible. It still is. It looked unlike anything we'd seen before, especially in the context of Star Wars - black and white with pops of strategically placed color, a rough, sketchy, almost unfinished illustration style, a familiar universe reinterperted as Feudal Era Japan, and a main character who was both the hero and a villain. 

Here we revisit that same world and as such, while possibly the best of the bunch this time out as well, it isn't something completely unexpected. It's more of the same, though the 'same' is really excellent. The new characters, the set pieces, and the fleshing out of the Ronin were welcome additions. Great imagery continues in the tradition of the first.

The music in this one was probably some of the best too, though at lot of it was derived from the films (particularly the Prequels I think). 

Title: The Song of Four Wings (8/10)

Studio: Project Studio Q

Director: Hiroyasu Kobayashi

Writer: Yoji Enokido

I'm just going to put this out there right up front; I really liked this one! I say it that way because I've looked about the internet and a lot of reviewers see this one as 'nothing special'. It seems a good number of Star Wars Youtubers didn't find The Song of Four Wings to be anything to write home to Coruscant about. 

I get that. At least I can see why some might feel that way but for me it was really fun. First, it was very Star Wars. It had a heroic Princess with a cool Astromech Droid riding a classic looking Speeder Bike across an Ice Planet to save a cute little alien from Snowtroopers and AT-ATs. C'mon! If you're a Star Wars fan, what is there not to love about that?

Simultaneously, it's VERY Japanese. Very Anime and Manga. It combines Star Wars with three major tropes of Japanese media culture; Mecha, Magical Girls, and Origami. No story with transforming Walkers, a plucky girl's droid becoming an X-Wing battle suit, a Force Sensitive, big-eyed furbunny, and traditinal Japanese paper cutting art could be anything less than awesome. 

The music here should have been better. It's OK but missing something. Crane's personal tune is kinda neat but since music is actually an element of the character, I would think Project Studio Q would've made it stand out a little more. The background music is likewise a bit lackluster. None of it sucks but none of it soars either.

It's probably a 7.5 episode but its an 8 to me. Perhaps not the best of the entries but definitely a personal favorite of mine.

Title: The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope (7.5/10)

Studio: Production IG

Director/Writer: Naoyoshi Shiotani

This was a good episode of a typical Anime Action Show but a slightly weak entry in not only the Star Wars: Visions series but as an installment of The Ninth Jedi as well.

One of my favorites from the original Visions Volume 1, the first incarnation of 'The Ninth Jedi' had an interesting take on the Star Wars setting, charming characters, and a very cool story twist. This one...doesn't have those things. The droid Teto that they introduce is very cute and cool but there is no twist and very little that advances the world-building of this far future(?) version of the familiar galaxy far, far away. It was both well done and somewhat disappointing.

Also the starship designs were...strange. I think they were going for a more futuristic Star Wars aesthetic but instead it looked more like knock-off Star Trek. As an Anime fan I expected a little more from Production IG.

Title: The Bounty Hunters (7/10)

Studio: WIT Studio

Director: Junichi Yamamoto

Writer: Hiroshi Seko

This is a tough one. I liked The Bounty Hunters but it wasn't all that much to speak of. A predictable story. Pretty standard villain. Good art if a little simple and solid enough animation. Like The Song of Four Wings, this one isn't shaking anyone to their core but damn if it wasn't fun. I liked the main character but thought the split personality droid was a really cool and clever idea and his look was neat. Additionally, I thought this was one of the few episodes this volume to feature cool ship designs. 

Title: Yuko's Treasure (7.5/10)

Studio: Kinema Citrus Co. 

Director: Junichi Yamamoto

Writer: Hiroshi Seko

Another very fun entry with a strong 1970s to early 1980s Anime feel. There was an era in Japanese Manga and Anime that saw stories of this type all the time. Classics like Doraemon, Dr. Slump, Magical Princess Minky Momo, and others feature many of the tropes you see in this episode: really young protagonists, a cute looking but surprisingly tough 'Pet' Robot, over-the-top masked villains and their goofy minions, and running gags like the one where the monster and villains repeatedly fall down a hole. Like Pokemon's Team Rocket blasting off to become a twinkle in the sky at the end of each episode of that show. 

This one was not only fun but I could definitely see this being an easy entry point into the Star Wars universe for many elementry school age children. While a tad silly and having a very child friendly art style, even adults can get a chuckle from this one and feel the timeless charm fused into it.

The ship shown at the end is pretty adorable and quite Star Wars appropriate so it gets a thumbs up. 

Title: The Lost Ones (8/10)

Studio: Kinema Citrus Co.

Director: Hitoshi Haga

Writer: Hitoshi Haga and Takahito Oonish

In Star Wars: Visions Volume 1 we got The Village Bridge, a very pretty episode with an intriguing setting and a character I really wanted to see more of, the female Jedi known only as 'F'. The Lost Ones sees her return, facing off against a cataclysm that drove people off their world and the return of her former master now turned to the Dark Side of The Force.

I liked this one, quite a bit, but I felt it had some of the same flaws as its predecessor. There is a story about a planet and its people as their was in The Village Bride but just like in that previous episode, it doesn't connect directly to F or her facing off against her ex-mentor. I mean, the two stories cross over each other and there are characters that connect the two during the episode but it just feels like she could have been anywhere else and the story might have progressed the same way. 

The Jedi Master turned Sith (maybe an Inquisitor?) and their ship comes looking for F, not the planet, the people, or anything else. So why tell us all about the plight of these folks? Again, its not that the two plots are completely disconnected but they're not intrinsically related either. 

I really like F. I'm not even sure why. There is just something about her. Cool design, a real survivor, and a good person at heart. I hope we see another outing of hers that deals more directly with what she does to survive in the Rebellion Era and how true she stays to herself.

Music good. Nothing especially stand out-ish but good. 

Title: The Smuggler (8/10)

Studio: Studio Trigger

Director/Writer: Masahiko Otsuka

A big fan of Studio Trigger I was hoping I'd like this one and I very much did. This one felt like a group of Player Characters doing the initial mission that forms their party. A smooth mix of classic Star Wars and modern Anime/Manga ideas the results in just the kind of short I imagine would result from a Star Wars Visions project.

The Smuggler appeals to me for the same reason The Bounty Hunters and The Song of Four Wings does. Nothing groundbreaking but a fine example of what you can do when you cross pollenate Japanese Anime tropes with those of Star Wars. 

The ships here are very Anime but they do reveal some Star Wars DNA in them, especially the bounty hunter fighters that show shades of TIE fighter on what is otherwise a 1990s Japanese Animation design. On the flipside, the Landspeeder in the episode is spot on Star Wars. 

Title: The Bird of Paradise (7.5/10)

Studio: Polygon Pictures

Director: Tadahiro Yoshihira

Writer: Tadahiro Yoshihira and Makoto Uezu

This one. Hmm. This one is tough to review.

Absolutely beautiful looking art, excellent animation, and a story that is quite intriguing thanks to the blending of Japanese spiritual beliefs with the Force. It makes for an atypical approach to the traditional Jedi vs Sith stories we're accustomed to. 

I can't emphasize enough that the visuals are just stunning. I was particularly fond of the Sith characters' design and the look of the Dark Side version of the main character. Unfortunately...

The drawbacks to this entry that prevent me from fully enjoying it are two fold: First, the female protagonist is quite pathetic and whiny for a good portion of the episode. The change toward a stronger and more positive attitude is very subtle at first, which could be a testament to good storytelling, but because I'd already grown to dislike her it was hard to me to notice or appreciate it. Second, we don't get to spend much time on each of the days of her journey of self-reflection and discovery. As a result and as noted before, the change from her being weak and bratty to being more centered seems abrupt, though it wasn't meant to. 

The episode also has a less than satisfying ending in my opinion. We never return to the battle that starts the story rolling and have not idea what became of the main character's Master, the Sith adversary, or her really cool droid, Daruma. We never get to see our heroine face the enemy after her 'rebirth' so we are told what she learned but don't see it in action. 

The music here, it works. It fits and does what it needs to do.

Title: BLACK (6.5/10)

Studio: David Production

Director/Writer: Shinya Ohira

If any of the shorts could be legitimately called disappointing it would be BLACK. 

Hailed as a masterpiece when it was shown at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France back in June, the buzz around this one was intense. A very different take on not only Star Wars but what could be done in animation, supposedly paired with a righteous jazz score reminiscent of Cowboy Beboy made it one of the most anticipated pieces in Vision Volume 3.

Problem is...it just doesn't work. At least not for me.

The imagery is chaotic, designed to show the madness of an Imperial Stormtrooper going through some sort of psychotic PSD episode. A very intriguing idea but one that becomes tiresome to watch as it runs on too long without any sort of narrative. I watched it twice but the second time I was more often listening to it than watching it. My eyes got tired of the random visual noise. 

The music, which I expected to really like as a fan of this kind of Jazz and of Cowboy Beboy, was sorely lacking. The vast majority of the episode's run you can barely hear it. The rest of the time it doesn't quite match with what is going on in the animation. The visuals and the score seem almost at adds instead of complimenting each other. 

It was cool that they went for it with this one, that they tried to do something really different but in the end it is definitely the short I enjoyed the least.

As you can see, not a single one of these was rated a 9 out of 10, let alone a 10/10. The guy who is a huge Star Wars and Anime fan didn't gush about how awesome any one of the entries were. Cool? Sure. Well done? Mostly yes. Amazing! Well, that's going a little far. 

If you haven't watched Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 yet and for some odd reason read this first, I would go with the advice of Major Partagaz from Andor and 'Calibrate your enthusiasm' before checking it out. 

That doesn't mean it was great to have another volume of VISIONS or that it didn't inspire some Star Wars TRPG ideas. I am still extremely excited for the upcoming The Ninth Jedi ongoing series and hopeful for a potential Volume 4. 

フォースとともにあらんことを

Fōsu to tomo ni aran koto wo

May The Force Be With You

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Let Myself Get Spooked

Rose Witch by Atomic Marshmallow

Well here it is the end of October, Halloween itself in fact, and I didn't get to a faction of the stuff I planned on posting. Between work, actual gaming, and some other Real LifeTM stuff, I simply didn't have the time or energy to fully embrace Halloween the way I wanted to.

Honestly I should've seen it coming. Over the past few years, October sees some of my lowest post counts. It's just too busy a month. *Sigh* There's always next year.

 
Then there's the follow-up post to my last entry on reworking Traveller Double Adventure 5: The Chamax Plague/Horde, which has taken 12 days to write and still isn't finished. This is extremely disappointing to me. Most people fail to complete things in far less time.

I just found it too difficult to describe how I recommend running these two scenarios. My approach to adventures is such that there are too many potential variables, adjustments, and changes that can happen or be made that its virtually impossible [for me] to explain how to run my personal take(s) on Double Adventure 5.

It's a problem I've encountered many times over the years. More than once I've been commissioned to write adventures (both personally and professionally) and simply couldn't do it.

How do I explain what happens when the PCs confront a key NPC (for example) not knowing what they're going to say, when in the session they're going to speak to him, and whether they've investigated anything about the person before talking to them? Most pre-made scenarios produced by professional game designers don't bother thinking about these things, preferring to railroad gamers down a limited path of specific choices to get them to where they 'need to be'. Aaand that's why I don't use them. 

One of these days I'll have to explore this further but the bottom line is I freaked myself out trying to get this 'right' and as a result I didn't get it done in time. I will try to get back to it sooner rather than later but right now I have other stuff on my mind. 

Hope you had a Happy Halloween everybody! 

Here's to November...

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The Chamax Plague: Evolved Edition

As it turns out, October is a terrible month to plan a series of themed blog posts. 

I should've known this of course; based solely on the last few years, the number of entries each October is usually quite dismal. I keep hoping I'll have the free time to write and post but it just doesn't happen nearly as much as I'd like. 

*Sigh*

Have you seen Alien Earth? I have and I really enjoyed it. It got me thinking about the Chamax from Traveller. Well...my version of the Chamax that is.

SPOILERS FOR DOUBLE ADVENTURE 5

If you plan to play either of these as a player, you may want to skip this post.

The Chamax are an alien species from the Traveller Double Adventure #5: The Chamax Plague/Horde, a supplement for the Traveller RPG that was published by Game Designers' Worship in 1981 containing two pre-made scenarios, both of which are centered around the Chamax, vaguely spider-like creatures the size of very large dogs. The Chamax have an empathic sense that draws them towards other living things. Although they can be killed by gunfire and other mundane means of causing damage, when they die they release acid from sacs within their bodies that damage or destroy anything it hits including themselves.

Hmm. That sounds familiar. Too familiar...

Being me, the general idea of these adventures inspired me to redesign the scenarios and, more importantly, the aliens depicted within them. I rebuilt the Chamax and ran The Chamax Plague and Horde using my variants to great success. I have subsequently run my versions of these two adventures a dozen times over the years and had my Chamax appear in other sessions here and there another half dozen times. 

Each and every time my players have told me that these Chamax scare the living crap out of them. One of my fondest Traveller memories is having the Chamax appear in a holographic game that essentially amounted to 'holodeck paintball'. When one of the PCs 'killed' a hologram Chamax and its new 'special feature' went off, the player jumped out of his chair. At the end of that session my players applauded these horrible beasties and how frightening they were, even though they weren't 'real' Chamax. 

As this October rolled around I started to think...

With Alien Earth expanding the list of known extraterrestrial species that exist within that universe, wouldn't it be cool to convert the Chamax to the ALIEN RPG and finally get the chance to share this creature design with all of you? 

This will be the a two-parter, the first focusing on The Chamax themselves and the second going over changes I made to the original adventures. 

Without further ado, here's my take on these classic critters...

Part I: The Chamax Plague

Let's start with The Chamax:

These creatures evolved on the planet Chamax (which I usually give a more classic stellar designation as well, such as HD-169916 D or Kau Borealis Delta or something), a world that is especially cold, wet, and windy by Earth standards. As such, the apex predator that arose blurs the line between various familiar Terran creatures including amphibious turtles, crustacreans, and a kind of pseudo-arachnid (a number of properties and behaviours resembling those of spiders but they are not actually spiders).

Averaging roughly 5 and a half feet/1.71 meters in length and approximately 4 and a half feet/1.4 meters wide. From bottom of the central and rear legs to the top of their highest dorsal fin/spike, they stand 4.6 to 5 feet/1.4 to 1.52 meters high. An adult Chamax of this size weighs 600 pounds or 272 kilograms. 

Chamax live over 100 years and continue to grow throughout their lives. In addition to increasing in size and weight, the number of fin/spikes on their dorsal shells increases as well. Their shells get harder and thicker along with the way and a great many adult Chamax are highly resistant to small arms fire.(Pistols, Shotguns, Hunting Rifles). Don't worry, an M41A Pulse Rifle will do just fine (Usually. Definitely after two or three shots). 

Chamax have several other interesting adaptions and features they make them extremely dangerous to pretty much anything that lives. It's internal musculature and claw structure is sufficient for a Chamax to crush metal and cut through the door of most civilian vehicles. Bein struck by its front claw/arm will send the average person flying, probably with a cracked rib at the very least. This level of body strength and the species' compact form enables the creatures to move extremely fast over flat terrain and surprisingly well over rough and rocky ground. 

The Chamax are omnivorous, though they focus on eating meat, consuming vegetation only when it gets in the way. They have three mouths located on the 'front' of their lower body; one positioned vertically between the other two which are placed at slight angles. Their teeth and jaws are 'rotary', turning as they bite and chew in a fashion not unlike a cross between a blender and a crushing machine. Chamax chop and grind their food into a virtual smoothie.

Capable of going into a form of suspended animation by slowing some body functions and altogether ceasing others, which allows the creatures to survive long periods of draught, lack of food, harsh weather conditions, and other adversities. With this ability and the capacity to instinctively adjust their internal body pressure, Chamax can actually lie in the sand just the surface of the water half a dozen to a dozen meter from shore to suddenly awaken and attack when prey comes close enough. 

That brings us to the Chamax's senses; the creatures primary means of detection is to feel vibrations, be it through the ground below them, through the air around them, or even movements through water. While sensitive to movement, these creatures are not able to discern any details in this way and as such rely on their 6, small, red eyes to define what is it that is making the perceived motion. These eyes are well adapted to seeing in extremely low light conditions and underwater. It is unclear at present whether or not Chamax can 'hear'. They pick up the vibrations certainly but do they perceive sound in the same way that we do? Unknown at this time. 

Finally, their aforementioned 'Special Feature'...

I got rid of the 'acid sacs' because it made them too much like the traditional Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise. Instead, they have 'Reproductive Sacs' located on the undersides of their bodies. As a Chamax ages, miniscule amounts of DNA and nutrients are injected into these sacs, with the process getting stronger and faster as the years wear on. This means that even as an old Chamax weakens and deteriorates, all the purest, most robusted genetic material is going into the Reproductive Sacs and sadly, few nutrients are going to or being absorbed by the rest of the Chamax's organs and systems. 

The Reproductive Sacs contain dozens upon dozens of small eggs, roughly the size of a grape, swiming in an extremely protein rich, phenomenally sticky, thick, and viscous goo. When a Chamax dies or is killed, the sacs burst, shooting the highly adhesive goop in all directions. The 'goal' of the creature (which is instinct driven) is to spray the egg filled slime at other creatures, particularly prey animals or particularly stupid predators. Moments after contact with a warm body, or any warm surface really, the eggs with begin to hatch and eat their way through the slime and whatever its attached to. 

There are four sacs, two smaller ones towards the front and two longer/larger ones starting behind their front claws/arms (as detailed in the image below). The sacs pop at soon as the Chamax dies and with considerable pressure, shooting its ultra-sticky, blood plasma looking molasses outward up to 6-8 feet from the body. The material stays 'wet' and sticky as long as it hits a warm surface. If it strikes a cool surface like the planet's cold, damp ground, it will harden within a few minutes and all the eggs will go inert. The eggs don't 'die' immediately but will eventually become nonviable (usually within 45 minutes to an hour) turning from a pale pinkish-white to an off-white, pink-tan color. 

Ventral/Underside View of a Chamax

Although officially identified as 'Front' and 'Rear',

the 'Rear' sacs as more accurately on the sides.

So...

You fire your Pulse Rifle into the attacking Chamax and you manage to kill it. Suddnely, SPLORCH! The Egg Sacs bust and coat your boots and lower legs in reddish-pink vomit glue. You turn to help your fellow soldiers and see Smitty is in trouble. You run over, raising your weapon and taking aim when you suddenly feel a sharp pain in your ankle. Then on your big toe. Then your heel. You fall over as you look down and see a bunch of tiny, chestnut-sized Chamax eating through your footwear, pants, and yeah, your legs and feet. Removing them, heck, removing your boots or pants is extremely difficult as the gunk is essentially a mix of tomato sauce, syrup, and crazy glue. 

My working stats and mechanics:

Nice huh? OK, those are The Chamax. Coming soon...what to do with them.

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