Journey of A Fallen Star

With Exploration Driven campaigns on my mind and inspired by a comment I received from Timothy Brannan, I thought I'd share my memories of a favorite game I ran that very much fit this theme.

Starting out as a One-on-One campaign with my childhood best friend Joe and expanding to include a small group of additional players, this game is one of my first full-on open world Exploration outings. 

Journey of a Fallen Star

The campaign began with a falling star blazing through the sky and crash landing in a mountainous region in the North East hemisphere called. It exploded upon impact and the flash and billowing smoke could be viewed for several miles, if indeed there had been anyone to see it. 

As it turned out, there was. A Dwarf Rogue, cast out by his kin and searching for Starmetal to get back into their good graces, just happened to see the meteor strike. 'STARMETAL!', he thought aloud and rushed to see what he could find. 

When the Dwarf arrived the impact crater was fairly large, likely deep, and a bright light glowed from within it. He found himself walking closer and closer, even though his inner voice told him to run. As the smoke cleared and the glow dimmed, he saw a...a figure...a person? Yes, someone was standing amidst the flecks of burning metal and rock! 

Eserwun Starfall / SR-1

It was an Elf (he assumed), clad in some kind of fancy magical armor. He stood completely motionless, as if frozen in time. Then...suddenly...the helmeted head turned towards the Dwarf.

The Elven Knight in enchanted armor spoke a language the Dwarf did not understand, his voice powerful and hollow...eerie. "See here Sir Knight! I do not understand you. Do you not speak the Common tongue?", the Dwarf shouted.

Strange quiet noises, like cricket chirps and flute playing, came from within the Knight's visor. "I do. Where am I? Who are you?", the Elf asked in that same disconcerting voice.

"You are in the Crystalrock Mountains. South of the Dwarven Halls of Crystalright. I am Enut Deepshadow, a...prospector of these parts. Who are you?", Enut said, feigning as much confidence as he could muster.

"I am...S...I am...", the Elf began, seemingly having trouble recalling his own name. "I am SR-1 of the Third Interstellar Legion. I...may be damaged."

Enut Deepshadow

The Dwarf moved closer, his demeanor friendly. He reached his hand out, though he still stood some distance away from the Elf. "Eserwun you say? Well, I'm not surprised you're injured. Falling from the sky will do that", Deepshadow said with a chuckle. The Elf did not laugh. He did walk to meet the Dwarf however and reached out to shake his hand. 

So began the travels of 'Eserwun Starfal'l and Enut the Dwarf. The former searching for his missing memories, some lost weapons and gear, and out to slay the Six Demons of The Void. The latter serving as Eserwun's guide, his squire, and before long, his friend. 

Joe, playing Eserwun Starfall, would look at the map I drew and if anything interested him he would point it out and ask , "What do you know of this place?" I would give him the knowledge the Dwarf had on the location and he would decide to go there or not.

Yellow Dots indicate places visited by Eserwun Starfall during the campaign. 

 

Sometimes he would stop random merchants or pilgrims on the roads and simply ask them, "Greetings and well met! Have you heard any strange tales recently? Any mention of swords with blades of blue light or monsters you've not heard of before?" All in hopes of getting a lead on any of his goals. 

My favorite instance of this was when the two adventurers came upon highwaymen waylaying a trader and his family. They beat the brigands senseless! Afterwards, Eserwun held one over a cliff ledge and said, "Speak the truth and I will not drop you. Have you heard anything about 'Demons of The Void'?" The thug said there was someone calling themselves that in such-and-such city and gathering a small army of sellswords. Eserwun picked him up off the ground, thanked him, and let him run away. 

Eventually word of the campaign spread and friends of ours wanted in. I used this as an opportunity to expand the map. Eserwun and would travel to a new place that wasn't familiar with and the pair would ally with or hire a local (i.e. a new PC) to guide them through the area.

 The 'Known World' of Ranul.

One time the heroes had heard a rumor of a terrible monster living in a nearby swamp [between Zollner and Vogel] whose description sparked Eserwun's memory - one of the Six Demons of the Void! They get there and meet a Human Warrior (a newly joining PC) who, it turned out, was also after the monster. The character had a Magic Sword that Eserwun claimed was his! It had fallen away from him as he descended to Ranul (the name of the campaign world). 

The two characters almost came to blows but they put aside their differences to track down and defeat the 'Void Demon'. As it turned out, the villain had a nearly identical sword which shimmered red instead of blue. The Warrior gave Eserwun back his sword and took the red one as a trophy. 

In addition to exploring to locate narrative related elements, sometimes the players just looked at the map and said 'what's over here'? Often it was, 'Let's pass through this area on our way to thing we need or want to do.'

They would also explore to find resources like food, water, or shelter. A player would look at the map and point to a body of water ahead and say, 'there's good fishing here' or to a nearby town and say 'if I recall correctly, this place has an excellent market for us to get provisions.' I would nod in agreement and say something like, "Well you're from here so you know best."

By the end the campaign ran for about a year or so (1980-81), playing roughly every other weekend. Sometimes we'd get an extra session in here and there or miss one because of holidays and family stuff. I remember we got to play a few times during the week because of school assembly or the like. Sessions were usually 6-8 hours. Joe was joined by two or three other regulars and two or three players that would pop in and out. 

The idea for the campaign came from Joe, who wondered what would happen if a Futuristic, Sci-Fi Robot landed in Medieval Europe and started hunting Demons and Monster (in truth Alien Criminals). A major source of inspiration was the Marvel Comic Book 'ROM, The Spaceknight'. Looking back on it from 2026 and its a little like the upcoming RPG 'MedivAliens'. 

Oh, in case you haven't caught on by now...

SR-1 was a Robot Soldier from some never specified starfaring society. He was rolled up and created as if he were an Elf Fighter/Magic-User (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 1st Edition). His spells were made of 'Sci-Fi Energy' and the visual effects were always bright blue light (like his sword). When he would 'learn' new spells we framed it as if he was gaining access to more of his memories, programs, and capabilities.

While he didn't need to eat, SR-1 did sleep in order to recharge and self-repair. He could do both more rapidly by receiving an electrical discharge. This meant being struck by Lightning or hit by a Lightning Bolt Spell worked like a Cure Wounds Spell. :D

Several female NPCs made advances towards him but he would always raise his hand and calmly say, "I am sorry but I can not", which many took to be some sort of oath of celibacy but it was because he was a robot and not one designed for romance or intimacy. 

Like the Mandalorian Din Djarin, Eserwun would never remove his helmet, even in front of his closest friend. This was on account of having no head or face beyond the visage of the helmet. 

The other Player Characters were all native to Ranul but had often had a weapon, armor, or a piece of gear that had come to the planet from Outer Space. The Human Warrior had the Red Bladed Starsword and our Gnome Illusionist had an Energy Crystal on top of his staff, for example.

Enut our Dwarf NPC was a Thief. Bruce played the Human Fighter. Chris played a Gnome Illusionist and Wanda was a Female Half-Elf Druid. These were the regulars.

Not all of these items fell off of SR-1 during his drop. Some were from the Void Demons as mentioned above, while others had been on Ranul for hundreds of years. 

Ranul itself is our own moon, terraformed and rotating. The Great Moon of Ranul was a dead Earth. In my mind this was set in the far distant future of Gamma World. Elves, Dwarfs, and other such species were the descendants of Humans genetically engineered to survive this world. Goblins, Trolls, and other Humanoids were likely descended from Human hybrid experiments, their DNA spliced with animals or even non-sentient alien creatures. Monsters were Gamma World Mutants, Mutant Animals, Aliens, and even Mutated Aliens. 

Some of the weaponry, gear, and creatures were made by adapting Gamma World material to Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 1st Edition. Some were homebrew whole cloth.

The ' Six Demons of The Void' were Alien Villains ranging from a Cyborg 'Ogre', to an Organic Armored Lizard Man, to an intelligent Manticore-like creature. Their weaponry and powers were a mix of Monster Manual abilities and Gamma World Mutations.It was never clear (I never decided) if they had anything to do with SR-1's crash on to Ranul, though he did determine hunting them down was his original mission. 

During the course of the campaign we only encountered three of the Six Demons. All were slain but we faced one twice; the Cyborg Ogre was the one with the red sword. The Red Manticore escaped the first time and the PCs eventually tracked it down again and took care of business.. 

So there you have it, a heavily Exploration Driven campaign with a good deal of Narrative incorporated, and Missions created by the PCs themselves. 

That's it for now. Tomorrow we begin the RPGaDay Challenge. 

See you there,

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Barking Alien

HEROES IN SPAAACE!

What's up next on the Barking Alien agenda Adam?

I'll take 'Obscure 'Old School' Japanese Science Fiction Tabletop RPGs' for the win, Jack!

You got it...

Space Opera Heroes

Written by Atsushi Yamakita

Produced by Far East Amusement Research - F.E.A.R.

Published by Hobby Japan, 1992

I can't even tell you how many times I've come across physical copies of this game and not purchased it over the years. So. Many. Times.

It was, quite literally, the Japanese TRPG I would see most often, on a regular basis really, in Books Kinokuniya, Asahiya Books (no longer around), and my very first love, Zen Oriental Books (also long gone). I never picked it up because...well there was always a reason. 

• I don't have the money right now.
• I can't read Japanese (like that stopped me before or since - lame excuse!).
• I'll get it next time. They always have a copy.
• This other one is rarer/cooler/less expensive.
• It doesn't look all that great. 

I even remember a Japanese friend telling me it was nothing special and that no one into gaming in Japan talks about it. It only had one supplement put out for it. Maybe my friend was right. Maybe it wasn't so great. And so little support? How popular could it have been? All that said...it always nagged at me. I had to get it and sure enough once I decided to...it was no where to be found. 

Space Opera Heroes 2

A Supplement of Additional Rules, Options, and Ideas. 

Fast forward to last week when I was doing some JTRPG research and I just happen to come across a reference to Space Opera Heroes purely by chance. I copied and pasted the Kanji and did a search to see if I could find any more about this 34 year old year that hardly gets a mention these days. What did I find? Apparently, the original author of the game wrote a sequel of sorts in 1998 titled 'Star Road' and when he did, he put the entire first edition rulebook online...for FREE! 

Star Road

A 1998 Sequel to Space Opera Heroes

Written by Atsushi Yamakita

Produced by Far East Amusement Research - F.E.A.R.

Published by Gamer Field

Needless to say, I've been downloading and translating the book and WOW, was everyone wrong about this thing. It's low key awesome! It features a number of interesting ideas that are kind of unusual for games of that period in both the Japanese and the US market.

Space Opera Heroes Features Include:

• Characters can be built quickly using one of 40+ Archetypes!
• It's rules-lite, with a simple Stat+Skill+1D6 vs. a Target Number base mechanic.
• PCs can use Hero Points to achieve various special actions or effects.
• There are NHP - Negative Hero Points for the Space Opera Master!
• The Heroes (PCs) can't die unless the player wants to allow for that. Wha?!?
• Missions are always successful but there can be serious consequences. 
• Classic Space Opera tropes are not just encouraged but enforced.
• There is a recommended adventure structure to keep things feeling Space Opera. 

These are just some of the cool concepts in the game. I am still going through the rules of course but I keep finding more and more intriguing bits. 

A few things I would change: Starships are mentioned throughout but the rules for them are almost non-existant. That is to say, they don't have a system for making spacecraft, what to do with them beyond fighting, etc. The game essentially treats starships as items your character owns, no different from a Laser Pistol or Ray Sword (an alternative name for Lightsaber that I must say I really like). I would probably incorporate the rules from Space Ship Story into the game to expand the starship into a character and a useful base (and you know how much I love bases). 

Another thing is Aliens; the attitude the game takes towards aliens is novel but not one that particularly appeals to me. It implies that while there are primitive forms of alien life and ancient civilizations with relics to be found, there are no active Alien Intelligences in the setting until a PC makes first contact with one. 

I get this and it is reminiscent of a certain type of Science Fiction from the same era as Space Opera's Golden Age. At the same time, E. E. Smith's Lensman series, identified as a major inspiration for this game, was chock ful of sapient aliens! Looking at the game's 'Appendix N' you've got Captain Future, Captain Harlock, Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy, Larry Niven's Known Space books, Star Trek, Star Wars, and many others that feature aliens as regularly interacting with the Humans of Space. 

Granted, I think what the game was going for is something more in the vein of Crusher Joe, The Dirty Pair, Season 1 Space: 1999, and other more Humancentric settings. Thing is, I love Space Opera and only tolerate Humans so I'd likely make alien Archetypes or a single, flexible Archetype called Alien. After all, there are Optional Rules for Robot Archetypes that range from a Humanoid Robot to a powerful Combat Robot to a Replicant/Bioroid type. Why not an Alien?

I did not expect to write about this game tonight, let alone write this much on the subject.

Smurfs, Open World Exploration, and more Space Opera Heroes to come real soon,

Good night Space Cowboy!

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Barking Alien

31 Days / 31 Characters - CAPTAIN CONDOR

I thought I'd round out the opening trinity of characters with a Superhero. After Medieval Fantasy and Science Fiction, that would seem the logical follow-up genre to cover the major TRPG 'Food Groups', right?

I don't have time to do a Champions character right now (thinking about what kind of Super to make takes more time than the actual act of Character Creation for me at this point), so I thought I'd go old school with a random generation system. Inspired by a fellow fan of the game by the name of Tim Hartin, I chose my favorite game from way back when, Villains & Vigilantes!

Let's find out who's going to be out there fighting for truth and justice shall we? *Rolls*

Oh boy. This guy is...definitely a V&V Character. LOL

Character: Captain Condor

AKA: Alan Dale, The Winged Wonder

Player: Possibly me, possibly an NPC.

System: Villains and Vigilantes, 2nd Edition

 

Nature: Created for this Challenge. 

Gamemaster: None yet. Possibly me.

Circa: January 3rd, 2026

Origins: Random rolls inspired me to think of this guy as a cross between Captain America and a Superhero in the Public Domain named Airman, but then I realized I'd rolled on the 'Powers' list. This fellow doesn't use devices or special gear to fight crime. He has Bird Powers! Not only that but I actually rolled 'Animal/Plant Powers' twice. When you get this result you get to roll for an additional 1D6 powers based on your rolled or chosen animal type. I rolled Avian and decided to go with two times the Bird Powers! As you can see, this fellow's got a lot of powers related to his Condor-ness. 

Backstory: (I imagine this character as Silver Age, early 1960s or so) Inspired by the heroes of the Second World War and the recent return of both new and old ones to the world stage, down-on-his luck pilot Alan Dale volunteered for what he believed to be a secret government project to create Super Soldiers for the USA by combining ones DNA with that of a particular animal. Alan requested 'Avian' DNA as he thought 'Flight' and 'Eagle Eye Vision' would work well with his past experience and skill as a pilot.

He was right, though the process was extremely painful and resulted in physical mutations he was too naive and desperate to anticipate. Dale grew functional wings, retractable talons on his fingers and toes, as well as a developing a number of other changes. Just as he was preparing to test out his abilities, the facility he was in was raided by a number of established Superheroes and CHESS Agents. As it turned out, the Scientist that performed the operation was lying and had no connections to the government whatsoever. He intended to perfect his techniques and sell his proccess to Intercrime to create new Super-criminals. 

Alan aided the heroes in capturing the Mad Doctor and his minions and was not charged with any crimes himself. Instead, they offered him a job! Work as a Superpowered operative for the Central Headquarters of Extranormal Activities for the Secret Service (CHESS, get it?)*. Originally the CHESS head honchos wanted to refer to his new identity as 'The Winged Bishop' but Alan requested something more inspiring, like the Golden Age Superheroes of yore. He wanted to be called, 'CAPTAIN CONDOR'. They laughed...but they liked it. 

Overview: I remember back in the day playing V&V and rolling the same power twice. We initially re-rolled, an unspoken houserule. Then one day, for reasons I don't recall, we allowed someone to just have a double strong Superpower. Not long after I rolled up a fellow who had Animal/Plant Powers, Animal/Plant Powers again, Wings, and then Waterbreathing. Everyone thought I'd start over but instead I had an idea; I chose Avian and Fish as my Animal Power Sets and created a Native American character called, 'The Seahawk', a cross between DC's Aquaman and Marvel's Falcon.

He was perfect for the campaign we'd planned, a superteam made of heroes from states other than New York and California; 'The Heartland League'. Representing Seattle, the Washington local had magical powers letting him talk to birds and fish, fly, breathe underwater, and possessed incredible Strength, Endurance, and Agility. Sure, Captain Condor is similar but luckily I also rolled a Body Power and a Special Power, allowing him to possess two unique abilities. Capt. Condor has his paralyzing Condor Cry and the ability to lift things into the air with his feet.

Fun!

The Highlights: Definitely like his Flight speed, the Condor Cry, and the Taloned Feet. His Natural Weaponry makes up a bit for his having lower Strength than I'd have hoped for. 

Game Info:

A couple odd things:

I couldn't figure out how to determine his starting Inventing percentage and beginning Cash. It's been a long time since I've played and forgot how it works and where to find it in the rules.

I totally remembered that we changed the Security Clearance system 'cause it kind of ridiculous. The lower the number the better it is, so the President of the US would have a SC of 1 and a Rookie Beat Cop would probably have a 30 [maybe]. You start with the number 40, subtract your less, then you subtract your PC's Intelligence and Charisma. This means someone with Heightened abilities would have an incredibly good Security Clearance. Capt. Condor here ended up in the negatives! Much better than a US President. That just doesn't make sense, especially for a starting character. 

I'd probably just fudge it.

Notes: None as of now. Again, I like him but I haven't thought about it too deeply as of yet.

Legacy: I can see translating this fella into Champions with a few upgrades or modifications. Maybe I'd use him as a PC or NPC in another Supers game as well but with nothing in particular on my plate, Captain Condor gets filed away for now. 

UPDATE: Last night my buddy Mark used Captain Condor as an NPC in our City of Heroes setting Cypher Superheroes game! The good Captain helped the PCs escape an alien ship that had abducted a Superheroine NPC and my PC.

Coming up...Someone Else!

Stay tuned.

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Barking Alien

*In Villains and Vigilantes canon CHESS stands for The Central Headquarters of Espionage for the Secret Service. I changed it back in the day as I wanted it to be thought of as a Superhero Support organization and not just a Spy agency.

The Bright Side of Light Games

JB, Wizard King of Curmudgeons, made a post on his blog B//X BLACKRAZOR wherein he speaks extensively (and then some!) about the 'wrong-bad'TM evils of 'Light Games'.

I recommend going over there and reading it, though be aware it might take some time to do so, perhaps even multiple sittings.  

The post gave me the idea to write one of my own about how awesome Light Games can be, as many of my current favorites fall into that category.

To be clear, this isn't a 'Point-Counterpoint' response and I don't intend to get into a debate with JB. His reasoning and opinions are his own and needn't be argued with by the likes of me. He is a very particular fellow with a very particular view of a very particular game.

I don't like that game. I don't enjoy playing or running it. I would much rather spend my limited free time with the great many games I do enjoy and, as stated, a lot of these would be considered 'Light Games'. 

Now, Light Games is not a term I think I've heard or seen very often, so you'll see me interchange it here with the term I'm more accustomed to, 'Rules Lite'. Also, I will be addressing the subject in very general terms, mentioning specific TRPGs as examples or points of reference when and where it's useful. 

Take it Light

Let's get the obvious and expected reasons for liking Rules Lite games out of the way first; Simpler rules and fewer of them means the game is easier to learn, explain, prep for, run, and play. In addition, play is usually faster as everything from Character Creation, to Combat, Task Resolution, and Experience/Character Improvement has less complexity to it. 

As we get older we have more responsibilities and less free time. Assuming the average adult TRPG enthusiast has maybe 24 free hours of leisure time and only 4 or 5 of those alloted to actually playing their game of choice, do you want to spend that time agonizing over mechanics and looking up rules in your preferred corebook during a session or would you rather use that time to do research, find cool images, and then hit the ground running and proceed at a smooth, exciting pace?  

I'm sure for some the answer is, "I like worrying about all 6 PC's Encumbrance Initiative Modifier! Give me so much crunch my breakfast cereal is gravel!" Well OK then, go for it! Knock yourself out. For the rest of us, we want to get to the part where we explore the game world and defeat monsters. We'll be doing just that while you're still looking up the Movement Rules by Terrain and Weather in Chapter 25.B. 

A Little Light Reading

In the time it takes to learn, let alone master, some of the more crunchy, complex TRPGs, one could get a working knowledge of a half dozen Rules Lite games. This allows you and your group to sample a variety of different approaches to mechanics, genres, and settings. One of the big hurdles I heard about when trying to get gamers to try a new games is they don't want to take the time to learn a whole new set of rules. That makes sense if you are only familiar with rules that take a long time to learn. 

Learning 6 Rules Lite games in the time it takes to learn one Rules Heavy one may sound like an exaggeration but consider my own experience and obession passionate interest in Japanese Tabletop Roleplaying Games.

It took me less time to fully translate and understand Meteor City-Star Rainy Days, Tokyo Ghost Research, and the recently obtained Zookyo Island (basically a Crime Drama/Thriller take on Disney's Zootopia) then it did to get a handle on the Cypher System. Cypher isn't super Rules Heavy per say but compared to the the games I mentioned above, it feels almost cumbersome.

I've said many times in the past that my feeling is most RPGs are 20-30 page workable games buried under 300+ pages of overthinking and unnecessary junk. Sometimes you'll find a game where those 30 pages are more than workable; they're downright good! Maybe really good! It's also possible some of those 300+ extra pages contain some interesting and useful stuff. It just like game designers over design and over write the majority of games on the market.

Cypher comes in at 450 pages [for the PDF]. Meteor City is 58 pages, Tokyo Ghost Research is just 28 pages, and Zookyo Island is 40 pages respectively. That makes those three games together 324 pages less than Cypher. See what I mean? Much easier to read through all of those in less than half the time it would take to read the core Cypher rulebook. 

My point isn't 'Smaller is Better'. My point is simpler and less complex is easier to comprehend and explain to others. It's each to remember as well. If done well, it means a more direct design that gets to the crucial features quickly.

Light on My Feet

Another benefit related to the above is the ability to ad lib and improvise feels much easier in Rules Light games. There is less of a concern/fear that making a decision on the fly is going to have rippling ramifications that 'ruin the game' for everyone involved. 

Especially with games where the base Task Resolution mechanic is the same for virtually any and all actions, if you are unsure how to ajudicate something, default to that base mechanic. Easy peasy. And once again, since a mistake or bad call is unlikely to impact a dozen other sub-systems, if your judgement wasn't perfect you come up with something better for next time without much muss or fuss. 

In full transparency I just couldn't get into the Cypher System and complete acknowledge my difficulty in wrapping my head around it isn't due to its complexity but rather how the rules are explained and all the subsystem elements that I find don't gel with my gaming style. 

Light on Calories, Heavy on Flavor

I'm a tinkerer. It's who I am. I like to customize, modify, kitbash, and adjust things just so. 

It is much easier to change or even add rules to a Light Game. Too many houserules and adjustments to a Rules Heavy RPG can result in the whole thing collapsing around your ears. Rules Light games are far more forgiving in this regard. 

I remember my first [and arguably] most successful long term 'Well Known Fantasy RPG' campaign. Over the course of the 4 years or so that I ran it (which included playing it several hours each day, Monday through Friday, in the Summers) I made a lot of modifications and houserules. Each one was specificallydesigned to give the game, the world, and the characters a certain feel. Eventually, I looked at my book of notes on the game and wondered, 'Am I really even playing Well Known Fantasy RPG anymore? If not, why am I still using it at all? Why not find or make a game that does all these things I want to do?' 

I admit it was fun to customize Well Known Fantasy Game but in the end I switched to a simpler, less rigid, more flexible set of rules that suited the game I was running much better. 

***

I could go on and on with this subject (not unlike JB did with his post) but I have other projects going on I'd like to get to - many related to what would definitely be considered Light Games. I hope I gave you some idea of why I personally love Rules Lite games so much. Honestly some of my favorite RPGs right now are Rules Lite and I would rather run and/or play any of them a thousand times over than have to sit through one of the clunky, slow dinosaurs of gamings heyday. 

Yes, I do love Champions [4E], Yes, I love Traveller. Those are the exceptions though, not the rule. 

Sign me up for ALIEN, Footprints in the Night, Ghostbusters (Original, InSpectres, Mine), Meteor City - Star Rainy Days, Smurfs, Star Trek Adventures*, Super Happy Sentai Hour, Teenagers from Outer Space, Tokyo Ghost Research, Zookyo Island, and more...

Stay tuned and see what pops up next,

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Barking Alien

*Star Trek Adventures is arguably not Rules Lite but it is essentially a much less complex game than any of the previous versions of Star Trek. In addition, I find it really easy to run and to me it has the same feel as many of the Light Games I enjoy. 

I also ignore 30% of the mechanics. 

Bye now!

Pair of Fives

As should be pretty clear by now, my blogging is really slow this Summer.

It's already mid-August and I've made only 3 posts before this one. My schedule this month has gotten in the way of a lot of things but especially my 'Cities' blog project. I still intend to continue it but it may bleed over into September. *Sigh*

To shake off the disappointment I'm feeling over my own progress [or lack thereof], I thought I'd throw my two credits in on a thing two of my favorite bloggers have done, list of our First Five Tabletop Roleplaying Games.

It began with Lord Blacksteel of The Tower of Zenopus and infected Kelvin of Aiee! Run From Kelvin's Brainsplurge! and now I've caught it. No amount of Vitamin C or Chicken Soup is going to get rid of it until I join in as well...

I'm going to list My First Five RPGs based on my imperfect memory, obsessive notes, and questions to my long time gaming buddies. The years noted aren't when the games were published but rather when [I believe] I played/run them.

While D&D was definitely first, what was second is a little unclear to me. The rest should be roughly in order. Again, check out the years.

Dungeons and Dragons (August 25th, 1977)

Gamma World / Metamorphosis Alpha (1979-1980) I think.

Boot Hill (1980-81) I think.

Traveller (1980-81) Definitely after Boot Hill. 

Gangbusters (1981)

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 1st Ed. (1981) I think.

Sometimes I think I ran Boot Hill before I played Gamma World, other times I remember it the other way around. I do recall that the first time I played Gamma World, the GM (my friend Richard T.) also owned Metamorphosis Alpha and incorporated some elements of the latter game into his Gamma World adventure.

I also included Advanced D&D 1st Edition which, though it could arguably be lumped into the D&D I had already played, is important to mention because it was here that I started being turned off to Dungeons and Dragons as a whole. I absolutely loved AD&D at the time but the more I played other games after it, the more I noticed its flaws until I realized it just wasn't what I wanted to spend my time and money on. . 

Now, since I'm me and I gotta be different, I'm adding a bonus feature:

The Five RPGs That Currently Interest Me The Most!

Thing is, I posted a collection of games presently on my mind here, just 20 days ago (roughly). This isn't going to be the same list. What's the different? Well...

The previous list was focused on games I'm in the mood to run for which I already have ideas. These five RPGs here are ones that have me thinking about games and gaming in general. They have me considering how and why I play and run games the way I do. They interest me for their potential but not necessarily for ideas I currently have. 

Hmm. On closer inspection, many of these titles are the same as those. Heh. *Sweat Drop*

ALIEN

A game I love but rarely get to play, except when I modify it to run something like Ghostbusters or Red Dwarf. It is a game in which a goal was targeted and clearly achieved; they needed a game with a mechanic that would simulate the Human tendencey to screw up when they panic. They nailed it and did so in a fun, exciting, and unpredictable way (thanks to the randomization of dice results). This game has given me a new perspective on something I've always felt but never saw as clearly as I do here - rules don't have to be complex to be effective. They just need to do what they were intended to do. 

Meteor City SFRPG Star Rainy Days

I really like this game for its ability to capture a particular feel and maintain that atmosphere throughout the book. It's humorous, a little melancholy, kind, and potentially heartbreaking. It's got that cozy, slice-of-life element that I long to include in my games again. I'm searching this game for the secrets of its ability to create that vibe. Plus, what's not to love about a game that promotes world-buidling on both a small and galactic scale?

Smurfs

What can I say, I just SMURFING LOVE this game! It's a rare gem in that it's not overwritten, it has a sense of humor and self-awareness, yet it doesn't try to deconstruct or modernize the subject. This is the Smurfs. It is what it says it is. Aside from how much fun I'm having with it, it inspires me to stay true to concept and being authentic about what I want and intend to do.

Star Trek Adventures 

Though it has more rules than it needs (I feel this way about 90% of the TRPGs in existance), it just works and it works so well. This game is great at allowing me to do what I want to do: Create exciting and intriguing Star Trek scenarios. It allows for world-building, character exploration, and space battles (with a few homemade tweaks) and all the while feels like a Star Trek TV series. It reminds me to seek a balance between the narrative and the rules. 

Tokyo Ghost Research

What can a system be? What do you want it to do? TGR made me question those things and I like the answers I came up with. This game really put control of the outcome of rolls into the hands of the player. No action they take is boring. You don't have to sit through miss after miss before you hit ineffectively. You do what you wanted to, or you do it with consequence, or you the player can decide you failed and then you're compensated by the rules. Brilliant and sublime.

Anyway, that's all I got for you. My brain is a little fried from...just life in general.

Worry not though, more to come.

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RPGaDay 2024 - Barking Alien Edition - Day 4

What makes a character in an RPG a hero? Have you ever seen a PC or NPC worthy of the title?

I've seen lots and I'm sure most of you have too. Hard to pick just one. In fact, most of the PCs run by my good friends David Concepcion, Keith Conroy, and certainly Selina Wong would more than qualify.

Today though, I'd like to tell the tale of a hero I've not mentioned before. To make things even more difficult for myself I want to avoid games where being a champion of true and justice is par for the course such as Superhero games, Star Trek, or Star Wars.

Hmm. OK, I got it! Let me set the scene...

Summer Camp, 1980. Six Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1st Edition) adventurers levels 5 to 7 have been exploring The Ruins of Castle Fengest* in search of the fabled Ghost Sword of Apotrop**. Each intends on finding the sword and turning it over to the rightful heir in hopes of gaining a great reward. 

I am the Dungeonmaster. The party consists of:

Dwarf Fighter - Rightful heir promised to ally with Dwarves against Goblin Invaders.

Elf Fighter/Magic-User - Fulfill an oath to the original sword wielder to avenge their death. 

Halfling Thief - Earn enough riches to pay off family debt.

Human Druid - Secure a region of the heir's woods as a Druid Sanctuary.

Human Fighter - Earn his place as a Knight in service of the rightful heir.

Human Ranger - Rid the roads around the ruins of bandit attacks to ensure safe travel.***

The group is most of the way through the haunted ruins of the castle and things are tense. The Dwarf is dead, the Human Fighter (toughest PC they have) is really low on HP, and everyone has taken some damage. The Human Druid has revealed himself to be a coward and mostly self-interested. 

The party is at odds on what to do. Three want to turn back or at least find a 'safe' place to heal up and two want to keep going as they're sure the sword is close. The Dwarf's voice can sometimes be heard echoing the halls, spuring them on. Is it encouragement from their departed ally or a trick of the Ghost Lord of Fengest****? 

A rousing speech by the Human Ranger [and the rest of the group threatening the Druid with bodily harm] gets the team to continue forward. Their next encounter is a boon, defeating several very tough skeletons and gaining a couple of healing potions.  They don't help much but its better than nothing. 

Finally, after besting a riddle trap with the help of the Dwarf's spirit, the party comes face-to-phantom with the Ghost Lord of Fengest, wielding the Sword of Apotrop! Now, the team was up against some major obstacles:

The Ghost Lord could hit the PCs with his Ghost Touch (see below under Ghost Lord of Fengest****) or very solid sword but he was intangible and the PCs couldn't do the same. Only certain spells and magic weapons could hit him and most did little damage (see below as noted).

Anyone killed in the Ruins of Castle Fengest would become a disembodied spirit, trapped within its halls forever, such as the Dwarf, the magic sword's original owner (friend of our Elf), and all the adventurers who'd come before.

The Druid went full @$$&*%#, refusing to heal anyone but himself, barely helping, and mostly hiding. 

The entire team was still low on HP, Spells, and pretty desperate. 

The Human Fighter made a decision and asked the Elf to cover him. The Fighter then downed a Strength Potion and on his next action ran straight towards the Ghost Lord and tried to physically rend the Sword of Apotrop from its ghastly grip. Doing so allowed the Ghost Lord to touch him, draining away his lifeforce as he struggled to remove the sword from the spectre's hand. Finally he managed to pull it free and tossed it back to the Ranger as the Fighter collapsed to the ground. 

The Ranger lept forth and struck the Ghost Lord with the enchanted blade, doing massive damage! The Ghost Lord relatiated but the Sword of Apotrop gave the Ranger protection against the phantom warrior's attack (in the form of a saving throw bonus to take no effects). Everyone in the party (expect the Druid) forfeited their next moves so the Ranger could strike again. And strike he did, mightly and true, destroying the Ghost Lord once and for all! 

With the Ghost Lord gone, all the trapped souls were free. The party could see many of them passing upwards through the floors, walls, and ceilings toward the great beyond. The Ranger and the others gathered around the Human Fighter but it was too late. The brave hero managed to say, "Someone was going to die today. It was either me or all of you. Fair trade I'd say", and his spirit departed skyward as well. 

The team returned to the rightful heir with the sword and their was a great celebration. The Human Fighter was posthumously awarded Knighthood. A plaque with his name adorned the barracks of the City Guard. The heir become Duke and fulfilled all his promises...save one. The Druid was given no land in his woods and was banished from the province, never to set foot on the Duke's soil or stone lest he suffer the blade. 

David P's Human Fighter. A true hero in the truest sense. 

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Barking Alien

BONUS FEATURE: Day 3 of the official RPGaDay 2024 Prompts:

From medieval heroes to modern criminals...

I get bored with the art in most RPGs these days. There's a sameyness to a lot of it. Some games do have their own more individual look and I do like those particular RPGs as a result. ALIEN, Star Trek Adventures, and Tales of the Loop (a game specifically based on the artwork of Swedish painter Simon Stålenhag) are good examples though I do wish ALIEN and STA would change up their styles a little once in a while. 

One of my favorite RPGs with great art is the Japanese TRPG 'SATASUPE', Saturday Night Special, the Asian Punk Roleplaying Game which I've discussed on the blog in the past. Not only is the art cool but its unusual. It has that Japanese Anime/Manga look and yet it doesn't. It's got a street art, funky vibe that is perfect for the game.

While a handful of artists worked on the product, the lead illustrator most commonly associated with SATASUPE is Hayami Rasenjin. Rasenjin (a pen name) is a really interesting fellow (look into him some time) but what I want to focus on is that he's drawn for dozens and dozens of Japanese TRPGs. He wrote what would have been the first Dice Fiction game (but that's a story for another time) and was a playtester on many as well. He has been a major figure in the JTRPG scene.

Anyway, I love his art in SATASUPE. Here are some examples:

SATASUPE Cover Art

Current Edition

More talk about SATASUPE in the near future.

31 Days / 31 Characters - BOON BRUSHBORN

Sword World is indeed a fantastical beast. It is surrounded by myths and stories. It is a game both beautiful and terrible. It is legend.

The story goes that a group of Sci-Fi/Fantasy writers, artists, gamers, and game designers had a Dungeons & Dragons campaign going that they were able to serialize in a magazine called Comptiq thanks to their collective talents. In September of 1986 the periodical began publishing monthly installments of 'Record of the Lodoss War' with a combination of short stories and comics.

These 'Replays' of the campaign's events gave birth to the massively popular 'Replay Manga' phenomenon, which serves as most Japanese gamers introduction to Tabletop RPGs. It is currently estimated that the widespread and lucrative Replays are more popular than Tabletop RPGs themselves. 

A rumor persisted for years that this campaign wasn't actually D&D but Runequest. It has also been said that while the game started out in D&D, the group switched to Runequest before eventually creating their own game. There is likely some truth to this as the influence of Runequest on the system and setting can be seen quite clearly.

The game they created themselves became Sword World and the creators became Group SNE. Initially, Sword World was published in order for Japanese TRPG fans to run adventures in the setting of the increasingly popular Record of the Lodoss War Replays but the game itself soon took off and for many years Sword World was considered Japan's top selling dice and paper game. 

I watched the first episodes of the Record of the Lodoss War Original Video Animation soon after they came out in Japan in 1990. Not long after that, a customer at my job whom I considered a friend was discussing the Anime with me when he mentioned having a copy of the game. I'm sure my eyes bugged out and my jaw dropped. He mentioned picking it up the last time he visited relatives in Japan. I'm sure I replied with something akin to, "So when are we giving it go?". The answer was a week or two later...

Character: Boon Brushborn

If I recall correctly, the character was simply named Boon during the game. I didn't give him a last name. That's rare for me but I just couldn't think of one.

In a one-shot I ran a couple years later Boon (as an NPC) introduces himself to the PCs of that game as 'Boon of Brushborn'.

AKA: Green Top, Little Man.

Player: Adam Dickstein

System: Sword World, 1st Edition by Group SNE, Published by Fujimi Shobo. 

 

Nature: Short Campaign/Adventure Arc: Ruins of The Fool Lord's Folly

Gamemaster: Ben K.

Circa: 1990-1991

Origins: As noted in the introductory section above, a fellow I knew told me he had picked up the Sword World RPG during his last trip to Japan to visit family there. He not only had the main rulebook but a couple other supplements and gaming magazines with additional material. Excited to try a Japanese made TRPG for the very first time, the two of us each asked some friends to join in and we assembled a party of 5 or 6 players pretty quickly. 

Curiously, this was during the period of my 'gaming career' where I had pretty much sworn off D&D and games like it (both mechanically and in terms of genre). I also rarely played around this time. This was a special occasion in my mind. An exception to my self imposed rules. 

Sword World, 1st Edition

Full Disclosure: What follows is my best recollection of this character and the game but generously embelished to cover the gaps in my notes and memory. The map, place names, and other specifics about the setting come from the sourcebook 'Ten Children: World Guide to the Western Countries'.

Backstory: Like most Grassrunners, Boon was a wanderer who called no set location 'home', though he was birthed in Brushborn, a trading outpost not far from Lake Nomad (referred to as Lake Nomiol by the Human Kingdoms). Boon is a Ranger by skill and trade and was hired by the rest of the party to guide them through the region between the Kingdom of Remrier and the Cross No Mountains (also known as 'The Ladder to the Sky') in hopes of finding the cursed Ruins of The Fool Lord's Folly...

Overview: A party of adventurers consisting of a Half-Elven Fighter, a Female Elven Sorcerer, a Human Bard, and a Human Priest set off from the Kingdom of Remrier to locate the ruins of an old Fortress said to have been build on the Eastern edge of the Cross No Mountains long, long ago.

According to legend the Lord of this Keep, otherwise a man of wisdom and cunning, had a weakness; he loved to laugh. He would often invite Jesters to perform and entertain himself and his troops. One day he let in a man who claimed to be so humorous that indeed one might die laughing. True to his word all who listened that night perished, unable to breathe through their guffaws.

Recently, hideous laughter had been heard on the street of Remrier in the evenings as the sun was setting. Several people reported nightmares, all featuring a man in garb of a Jester. The Sages advised the Lord of Remrier to hire adventurers to investigate the old Fortress and discover why the ghost of the Fool Lord's Folly was haunting the people of this fine City-State. 

Enter Boon of Brushborn, Grassrunner Ranger, hired by the group to lead them through the areas between along the quickest and safest path. Not an easy task as Youma, a darkness that causes strange creatures to appear and act wickedly, had been particularly strong lately the nearly one was to the Cross No Mountains. Luckily, Boon knew a short cut (no pun intended - not on THIS quest for sure!). He got the party there with little difficulty...alright so they did have a run in with some Goblins but they made swift work of that lot.

As he was getting paid and preparing to part ways with the others, Boon saw a shadow in the dying light and shouted for the Priest to move. With the through of a long dagger he pierced a horrible flying creature, giving the rest of the party time to ready themselves. Once the beast was vanquished, the Half-Elf invited Boon to join the group for a cut of the findings and reward. The Grassrunner agreed. 

The Highlights:

Boon was fun to play largely because of his attitude. He had a bit of a chip on his shoulder, with most of the party thinking he was younger than he was and treating him a bit like a kid (which funny enough happens to Chilchuck in Delicious in Dungeon, who is also of a Halfling/Hobbit like species). He proved himself a few times and they had a talk about. Boon said, "If I'm going to be a fellow member of the party in this quest, you have to treat me like one. Not like a sidekick." The others agreed. It was a nice role-play sequence. 

Where was a battle against some bizarre monster I think the GM made up, a kind of 'Joker Manticore' (though come to think of it, a creature that could be described that way exists in the Five Star Stories Manga series. Hmmm). My character had light weapons and armor and I recall using a short sword or dagger in each hand. I jumped around a lot in that fight, reminiscent of the fighting style you often see short characters use in Anime. I didn't do a lot of damage but hit with almost every attack. One of the other players dubbed it 'death by a thousand paper cuts'. 

Game Info:

Sword World is a game that spawned out of one groups' interest in the RPGs of the hobby's Golden Age - specifically Dungeons & Dragons, Runequest, and very likely Rolemaster. It shows. It's a little more complicated than it needs to be and consists of way too many charts.

Back then I was already losing patience for such things but as a fan of RPGs and Anime/Manga, how could I say no to playing one of Japan's earliest and most popular stabs at tabletop gaming? I remember having a great time but certainly wasn't about to drop my favorite games of the era (FASA Star Trek, Star Wars D6, Mekton, and Teenagers from Outer Space) for this cumbersome Fantasy game. 

Still and all, there are definitely things I think Sword World does better than D&D and its ilk. I like the way you can mix and match Classes to create interesting combinations resulting in characters feeling more distinct and different from each other mechanically. I like the different types and styles of magic, another feature that makes character stand out from one another. It also adds flavor and texture to the Classes so that a Priest doesn't just feel like a Mage who can heal and wear armor. There are just a large number of little ideas and systems that make for a cool game even if it isn't my style of game. 

Notes: 

I wish I could recall more details. I remember playing this character in the game clearly but as I get down to finer and finer details my memory gets fuzzier and fuzzier. I don't seem to have many notes written down about either and my gaming buddies from that period [who I am still in touch with] only vaguely recall it as well. Frustrating.

Legacy:

Boon appeared as an NPC in a Sword World one-shot I ran two years or so after Ben's game ended. It basically used the previous adventure as canon history but I added elements based on additional information I had since learned about the Alecrast setting. 

Sadly, one of my groups tried to create characters and run a game of Sword World 2.5, the latest version of the game and damn if it wasn't the complicated thing I've read in a while. It's not unplayable by any means, quite the opposite. It seems very well thought out mechanically. It's just very crunchy and rule heavy and that isn't my jam. Furthermore, while that is a factor of many Japanese Tabletop RPGs (system complexity is often high), it's not something favorable to me personally. It's also why many of my favorite Japanese games are that ones that aren't so mechanically dense.

The winds of justice are blowing and when they strike, it's like a tornado has landed! Villains beware! CRIMSON CYCLONE CYBERO is up next!

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Barking Alien