Testament Chronicles 1

My original plan for today's post was to review Sentinels of Echo City as I mentioned previously.  That however, came before a shift in my already short attention span...

Over the last few months (over a year maybe?), I have been tinkering with a dark sci-fi/fantasy mash-up that I call Testament Chronicles. When asked about my influences for it I respond that it is a combination of things. I am tinkering with ideas from: Warhammer 40k, Mutant Chronicles, Shadowrun and of course Star Wars.

I have waffled between a variety of mechanics systems for it... White Star, Open D6, Stars Without Number and so on. As it stands now I will be using a chopped up and recombined version of White Star, the D6 Star Wars and my own ideas.

But more than that it is the setting that I can't shake. What I mean by that is the ever present itch to work on it. Annoying and fun at the same time.

Testament Chronicles begins centered on a massive space station.  Testament is far out on the edge of the Grand Dominion (kind of like the Empire in Star Wars). The Dominion has declared a great pilgrimage into the Frontier. The idea is for the characters to either be part of those moving into the great unknown or those that stay on the fringe of the Dominion.

There are all types of special 'features' at play in the setting. Gifted individuals have potent psychic abilities, some choose to upgrade their bodies with cybernetics. Some choose to go to the extreme with their upgrades, becoming beings called War-Cores.

In the background of all of this is the Fold. The Fold is the great shadow, the evil and corruption that is generated by sentient species existence. It's power can totally twist people into monstrous beings or subtly alter their personalities, making them in turn spread more of the Fold's power.

I have a multitude of ideas for this setting and although it isn't one my my 'normal' genre interests it must be done! I will continue to make posts about this, detailing information about the setting and the system I am working on,

I hope you all enjoy my ideas!

Super Confusion

Hello all,

First off I hope you are having a great New Years so far. I know it's only two days old but sometimes even that short amount of time can be quite telling.

This post is about the comic book style of Role Playing. There are a multitude of supers games out there. Everything ranging from the super-detailed Champions to the incredibly rules-lite game; The Four Color Hack.  http://www.rpgnow.com/product/201087/The-Four-Color-Hack?term=four+color&test_epoch=0

Over the years I have waffled between the two styles. I even change my mind in mere minutes when considering this question. I don't think that either style is 'wrong'. Just the opposite really. I think the main factor in deciding on a Supers game is tone. To me the lighter the overall tone the lighter the mechanics should be. In my experience it's much easier to add a dark feel to a lite game than to make a more 4-Color campaign in a rules  heavy game.

I have tried approximately ten trillion times to write my own supers game. I always start off well but then I start second guessing myself. I think it's much harder to write a Supers style game than say a Fantasy one. I know there are really a lot of similarities but something just makes my mind freeze when writing Supers.

Of all the games I've read of late I keep leaning back toward a tiny, pretty much forgotten game called Sentinels of Echo City.http://www.rpgnow.com/product/150863/Sentinels-of-Echo-City

It fits a 'middle of the road' feel for me. It's more crunchy than many rules-lite games but is still really flexible. I have been considering doing a large, full fledged project for it. I still want to, but my own fears make me hesitate.

So, I ask you... What is your go-to Supers game?  What makes it so endearing that you keep coming back to it?

My next post will be a detailed review of the aforementioned Sentinels game. I may also begin sharing details of my massive 'Rally Cry' setting. Its a setting I have been tinkering with since the early 90's so there is a lot to share!

End of the Year - New Writer

The last time I posted on this blog was way back in January I believe.  I won't bore you with everything that has been going on since then. I will simply say it was...

As the New Year swings into view its time for me to start thinking out my writing for the next year. I hope to make '17 a bigger year than '16 was. I was fortunate enough to work with a few talented people to get some projects out. (Yes I mean you... but not YOU).

This year I plan to work with these, and other folks again to put out an ever increasing line of products.  Some things changed hands, I am no longer a half owner in the Crazy8's product. But I have brought my 'Hard Luck Ink' brand back online at RPGNow and have started putting my works there.

My current 'to-do' list is three fold.

1: To continue to release small supplements for +Diogo Nogueira's great RPP Sharp Swords and Sinister Spells. +Anthony Lewis and I just released one this week and have another already in the works.

2: Finish my personal sci-fi game by June 1. This is a more ambitious project but thankfully there some great things out there to reference for ideas and inspiration. (Yes, I realize I could just take one of those inspirations and work with it, and I may, we just have to see).

3. Fiction! I started this whole game writing thing as a way to flesh out my ideas. Ideas that I had planned to put into short-stories or novels. I have drifted a LONG way from that so I am changing that in '16. I'm not sure what scope I will be working on (short stories, novellas, novels etc). Regardless of the scope I miss that kind of work and want to do much more of it this coming year.

So, be prepared to see more of my posts here. I gave you all a year off and now it's time to release the writing hounds once more!

Supers Question

As is obvious from some of my previous posts I enjoy comic-books and supers in general.  What I have trouble with is Super-Hero gaming.  Not withstanding my own efforts to create a supers game I really enjoy I am determined to find an existing game that I can release things for.  I want to do this for a couple of reasons, the main one being to get more exposure for both me, and the company I am part of.

I have a few favorites that have been out and about for a while including...

G-Core
Supers!
BASH
Invulnerable
Sentinels of Echo City

What I can't help but wonder is the direction I should go.  Part of me says to just use the system I like the most but the other side says to go with something with a more apparent fan-base.  Now, I know that a couple of those I just mentioned could be considered 'fringe-games' since they have yet to get the recognition they deserve but I still enjoy them...

There are others I could write for of course... I could do things for Mutants and Masterminds or even Icons, but I don't know...

There are just so many out there that it's hard to decide.  I'm not especially worried about how complex the game is... I like them all, but I wonder what route I should go.

So what say you all?  Well known or fringe?  And what other games would you all suggest?

Holy crap in a Basket

Sooooo, it's been well over a year since I took the time to post on this blog.  In truth it's been quite a while since I did any sort of long-term blogging of note.  I tried to do a collaborative gaming-based blog with someone but for some reason it fell apart.  Now I am back.  This blog has been my longest running train of thought and I feel it's time to bring it back.

So, be warned.  In the coming days I will be adding much more to this blog to help illustrate what I have been doing and what I am working on currently.  Despite my radio silence I have still stayed somewhat busy and hope to share the results of my labors with you all soon

In the meantime I thought I would share a couple of my more recent drawings that will be utilized in an upcoming project...

RPG Review: Glimpse the Beyond

Hey everyone!

First off I apologize for my long absence from this blog.  I have been having a series of setbacks health wise that keep me from really doing as much creatively as I would like.  That being said, I am back and hope to return to posting here frequently.

Today I bring you a review of a game called Glimpse the Beyond by Travis Legge.  GtB uses the tag-line of being a roleplaying game of Cosmic Horror.  In a field full of monster-hunting, massive unthinkable horrors, and magic this game does a good job of keeping things simple while still providing enough ideas and options to keep a campaign going.

Glimpse the Beyond is powered by the Myriad RPG System originally created by Ashok Desai.  The basic theme of the game is that there are unspeakable horrors that exist just beyond our normal perceptions and only a certain type of enlightened individuals, the Mages, understand what is really going on.  Now, I understand that this isn't an entirely new idea for a game, Travis does a good job of keeping it interesting through a combination of short fiction and examples here and there.

The overall system is a skill based on with a point-buy system used for character creation.  All rolls made in this game are done by rolling d6's.  One does not add the results of the individual dice, rather they use the single highest result and compare that to the Target Number in order to determine success.  There are of course modifiers and good rolls allow the character to have a better margin of success.  In addition to the standard character creation and mechanics section there are decent combat rules including vehicle combat guidelines.

The sections I like the most are the Magic and Creature Creation mechanics.  This is where the game gains most of its own flavor and becomes most interesting.  The spells use the same basic mechanic as the rest of the game but there are enough spells available to keep Players interested and give them variety between one another.  There are the obligatory combat spells but there are also many others that allow the Mage to influence what is going on around them and definitely give them an edge over normal people.

The creature section not only gives you a decent amount of pre-generated monsters, but there are several pages of guidelines for creating your own creatures.  Personally this is what I like best as I like to make up my own critters but most games don't give you a lot of information on how best to do it to fit in the system.

All in all I really like this game.  The only drawback I have is some of the artwork.  I am not against the CGI created work rather I think that most of the art could have a darker, more sinister feel rather than the somewhat glamorous style some has.

So, in closing, I give Glimpse the Beyond a 4.5 rating.  It is one that I hope to try out soon with my group and look forward to seeing what else Travis comes up with for it!

Some Random Thoughts about Gaming

So, gaming, both Tabletop and Video style, has been a big part of my life for many, many years.  It has been the release that I have needed over those same years, an escape from myself and my thoughts.  Don't get me wrong, it has caused me some problems...simply put there are many people, even today, who are put off by the idea of gamer's and the idea of RPG's in general.

As an escape it has allowed me to find a way to put my thoughts into something more concrete and to challenge myself.  The challenge isn't a hard one really, it is merely to push myself to write and/or draw more often.  While this is a somewhat simple goal, it isn't always one I am able to meet.  I sometimes go to great lengths to stop myself from being creative.  I have been known to talk myself out of it quite often really.

Thoughts of inadequacies, however silly, creep to the front time and time again and diminish what I have gone to great lengths to create.  Take my art for instance.  It is honestly a talent I have never truly pursued but I have been extremely fortunate to use of late.  Opportunities, both free and paid, have come up that have helped me to feel better about that part of my life, but there are always doubts.

Add to all of that a combination of over-active imagination, and sheer laziness and you get where I am most of the time.  Despite all of this there are many of you that inspire me without knowing it.  Even those of you that I have 'called-out' as being such usually don't know exactly how much they have done for me...

People like Nathan Richmond, Jay Libby, Joshua Kubli, and now the relative newcomers to my life such as Peter Bryant have helped me in many ways that I will always be grateful for.  As this year progresses, the year where I vowed to do more with my talents, I hope to show them... and all of you, how much I appreciate your support.

Thanks as always!!