The Dustbowl of My Mind

I haven't done much gaming in the past... oh, maybe 20 years or so. I've tried to either run a game or play in one without much luck in either. In particular, my meager, rusty GMing skills have been put to the test with less than stellar results. Case in point, my most recent venture into the world of Buck Rogers.

Long story short, one of my two players was of the type that likes to question the actions of his GM, going so far as to make a rather rude implication that I was out to fuck them over because I chose to keep my die rolls hidden. This happened to be an online game, but whether or not the game is in person, I choose to hide the die rolls. Standard operating procedure in my book.

Anyway, it just took the wind out of my sails and I just didn't want to GM after that. And this just after two sessions. And so, the river went dry, the crops withered away and the homesteaders left for... who knows what? My creative side just basically shut down after that and I haven't even wanted to run a game since then, much less continue writing adventures. Thanks, Kalvin, you asshole.

The other of my two players, the jocular Ettin of Hexen (aka Brandocles, he of Duster Bones fame) has begun an AD&D game starring me (and only me) which has helped get me back into the swing. That and the new Syfy series Defiance (it's a floor wax and a desert topping!) have started a trickle of creative sludge moving. In the case of Defiance, it has given me a much better visual conception of the Earth of XXVc, in addition to giving me some idea of how the different gennie types might co-exist.

So, if I can get through the minor physical issues I've been having of late and actually take a look at my game notes again, I might be able to get back to assailing the 4 or 5 suckers that wind up on my web log with more Buckness. If nothing else, I've been able to actually write something again (the above,) even though it doesn't amount to a hill o' shit.

I'm off, perchance to dream of bio-men and terrines and rocket everythings.


KAREEEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMM!

Show & Tell

Anyone out there in the OSR Grogosphere™ probably has at least some passing familiarity with the entity known as Thorkhammer, otherwise known as Robert "R.C." Pinnell. Who and what he is and what I think of him are demonstrated in the mock advertisement (based on a real ad for the drug thorazine) presented here. 

Here's to you, Thork. I hope you get everything you deserve. 

XXVc Notebook- Firefly, part 2

Here's the second half or the crew. I basically gave up on River when it occurred to me that she was not much more than a plot device. I'm sure that would have changed had there ever been a second season, but as she is in the show and movie... plot device. 
As with the part one, some skill are followed by a question mark. Those are ones that I debated were necessary to play the character. I don't think there's a need for a huge list of skill for characters. This is XXVc not GURPS.
 

Inara Serra
6th-level Rogue

STR: 8

INT: 14

DEX: 10

WIS: 15

CON: 12

CHA: 18

TECH: 9

AC           hp

Career Skills
Fast Talk/Convince
Notice
Hide in Shadows
Move Silently

General Skills
General Knowledge
Law?
Literature
Memorize
Act
Distract?
Etiquette
Speak/Read Chinese

Kaywinnet Lee "Kaylee" Frye
12th-level Engineer

STR: 9

INT: 15

DEX: 13

WIS: 12

CON: 14

CHA: 15

TECH: 18

AC           hp

Career Skills
Jury Rig
Notice
Repair Electrical
Repair Life Support
Repair Mechanical
Repair Nuclear Engine

General Skills
Bypass Security
Physics?
Programming?
Ship Lore


Dr. Simon Tam

8th-level Medic

STR: 11

INT: 18?

DEX: 12

WIS: 14

CON: 11

CHA: 12

TECH: 17

AC           hp

Career Skills
Diagnose
Treat Critical Wounds
Treat Light Wounds

Treat Serious Wounds

General Skills

Biology?

Chemisty?

LST

Treat Disease

Treat Poisoning

Treat Stun/Paralysis

Etiquette

River Tam

12th-level Warrior+Rogue+Rocketjock+Engineer+Medic+Scout/Assassin+Technician+Commando+Astronavigator

STR: 10

INT: 22

DEX: 18

WIS: 8

CON: 9

CHA: 8

TECH: 9

AC           hp

Career Skills
All of them

General Skills
All of them

Derrial Book
15th-level Rogue

STR: 15

INT: 16

DEX: 14

WIS: 18

CON: 15

CHA: 12

TECH: 10

AC           hp

Career Skills
Bypass Security
Fast Talk/Convince
Move Silently
Notice

General Skills
Unarmed Combat
Cryptography?
General Knowledge
Literature?
Library Search?
Act
Etiquette?
Intimidate

XXVc Notebook- Firefly, part 1

Okay, here are the crew of Serenity. It was taking me too long to finish these, so I'm just putting them up as is. Everyone's Armor Class would probably all be in the 9-7 range, I figure, since they always just wore regular clothes. Hit points... who cares?

The next thing I'd add would probably be weapons, but there aren't any gunpowder weapons in XXVc. Anyway, here's the first half, the second to follow shortly. Feel free to critique them, I'm sure there are problem areas.

Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds
9th-level Warrior/Rogue

STR: 14
INT: 12
DEX: 16
WIS: 12
CON: 15
CHA: 17
TECH: 10

AC           hp

Career Skills
Battle Tactics
Leadership
Zero G
Notice

General Skills
Brawling
Animal Riding
Drive Jetcar
Intimidate
Astrogation
Animal Training?

Zoe Washburne
9th-level Warrior 

STR: 14

INT: 14

DEX: 15

WIS: 12

CON: 16

CHA: 12

TECH: 10

AC           hp

Career Skills
Battle Tactics
Demolitions
Zero G
Notice
Repair Weapon

General Skills
Brawling
Drive Jetcar
Treat Light Wounds
Intimidate

Hodan "Wash" Washburne
10th-level Rocketjock 

STR: 10

INT: 15

DEX: 16

WIS: 16

CON: 11

CHA: 14

TECH: 16

AC 10         hp

Career Skills
Drive Jetcar
Zero G
Notice
Pilot Rocket

General Skills
Commo Ops
Jury Rig
Repair Computer
Repair Electrical
Sensor Ops
Astrogation

Jayne Cobb
10th-level Warrior 

STR: 18

INT: 9

DEX: 14

WIS: 8

CON: 18

CHA: 10

TECH: 10

AC           hp

Career Skills
Demolitions
Zero G
Move Silently
Repair Weapon

General Skills
Brawling
Drive Heavy Groundcar
Treat Light Wounds
Intimidate
Economics
Tracking

XXVc Notebook- Animal Apercu: Osquip

I'm favoring the old Fiend Folio write-up for the Osquip with this entry and so am only dealing with the six-legged relative of the rat, not the 2e decapod beaver.

OSQUIP

http://www.lomion.de/cmm/ratosqui.php

CONCEIVED PURPOSE: Experiment (failed)

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Warrens, Ruins, Sewers

FREQUENCY: Uncommon

ORGANIZATION: Pack

ACTIVITY CYCLE: Night

DIET: Omnivore

INTELLIGENCE: Animal

Genotype: Mole rat, shrew and bulldog

Habitat/Terrain: Originally, the osquip was an early experiment in genetic hybridization, with an eye towards creating arable land- the osquips were hoped to build warrens in relatively lifeless soil, breed in large numbers and quickly die, leaving their remains to fertilize the area. However, the best laid plans of osquips and men often go awry, as they say and elements of the bulldog strain became dominant. They eventually escaped into the wild and the rest is history.

Ecology: Osquips were originally conceived as strict carnivores, in the hopes that they wouldn't harm surrounding plantlife, but nature had other plans and they quickly adapted to whatever food was available. They are a common sight in the larger sprawls as well as the occasional orgzone sewer system. In most regards they are like the giant rats they appear to be, avoiding lit, open areas, nesting dark, enclosed spaces and living off whatever source of nourishment they can find. Luckily, osquips were never able to breed any more frequently than the common canine from which they derive many of their characteristics.

Osquip meat tastes like shit, but their hide makes for good leather.

XXVc Notebook: Animal Apercu

I'm going through the AD&D 2e Monstrous Manual/Compendium to find appropriate monsters and animals for populate the planets with. I'll add them as I use them, so this list will expand over time. To avoid information overkill, I'm just listing the bits that pertain to XXVc, since all that other info is available elsewhere.

SALUQI

http://www.lomion.de/cmm/dogsaluq.php

CONCEIVED PURPOSE: Hunting dog

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Mars, desert and plains

Genotype: Greyhound

Habitat/Terrain: Bred by RAM scientists as hunting dogs, the saluqi quickly fell into favor with Martian prisons where they are used by guards to track escapees. They are also used by high ranking RAM employees in hunting human prey (typically Terran) for sport. Saluquis are best suited to the desert-like environment of Mars and are thus suited to any arid, sandy environment.

Ecology: Saluqis' superior eyesight is ideally suited to the thin Martian atmosphere, where sound carries less well than it does on Earth. Their eyes were crafted using DNA from Boa Constrictors, allowing them a high degree of night vision as well as the ability to see heat signatures.

More to come!

XXVc Notebook

William Tracy... J'ACCUSE!

I noticed that, somehow, the supplement The Inner Worlds, by one William Tracy, managed to break not one, but three cardinal rules of XXVc. Let's have a look at them, won't we?

First we have the appearance of telepathy. Now I have nothing against psionics, but part of the draw of XXVc is that it's hard sci-fi. Yes, it is. That means everything should have a basis is scientific fact. Telepathy is not one of those things and I'm not really sure why they decided to allow it in the game at such late date. Maybe they had a change of heart due to low sales. Who knows? In any case, the telepathy-that-should-not-be is strangely implemented in the game, which I'll get to next.

The second offense is Stupid Mutation and is directly related to the appearance of telepathy. You see, it turns out that the "background radiation" on Mercury has caused a mutation in, get this, the cat and rat population. Yes, that's right- Itchy & Scratchy have psychic powers. This is just plain silly for a number of reasons. Maybe the author foresaw an adventure wherein the heroes have to stop the overthrow of Mercury by the Rat Empire. Also surprising is that some very nice groundwork was already laid for mutations in the earlier Earth in the 25th Century supplement, where they explain that, in effect, this ain't Gamma World*.

The third problem with The Inner Worlds is the startling introduction of artificial gravity. The original authors go to great lengths to accommodate for the fact that arti-grav (wink) is, so far as is known by modern science by me, an impossibility and no amount of clever technobabble is going to change that. The basis of the rocketship rules lay in that fact. The effects of zero gravity on the human (and not-so-human) body is even taken into account in the main rules. In other words, artificial gravity could literally break the game.

Luckily, all of these offenses are easy enough to remove. And so, I shall.

*I'll be looking at XXVc's relationship to Gamma World in a later post.