Otherverse Games

Mysterious and Weird

2012-02-01T12:30:00.000-08:00

Okay... update time!

I've got only one or two more images still out, and should have 'em by next week. At that time I'll have Ghosts & Promises: The Secrets of Kodiak Island out!

I've also comissioned Amanda to do art for a quick sci-fi project. It's designed primarily for Galaxy Command, but is usable with Otherverse America and Psi-Watch as well. I've got 2 of the 6-7 pieces of art in. Amanda is one of my fastest artists, so I have a feeling this one will hit only shortly after Ghosts & Promises.

I'm working on what may be my most unusual project for Otherverse America to date. I'm not going to tell you what it is, but I'm going to hint a little about the inspiration for the rules.

Imagine a combination of the settlement creation rules from the Paizo Game Mastery Guide, the caravan rules from the Jade Regent Adventure Path with a bit of the life-path system used in the old Cyberpunk RPGs. If you can figure out what it is, send me your guess in the comic. Get it right, or come closest, and you'll get a free copy of whatever I'm working on when it's ready. Louis- sorry, since I discussed this with you a while back, you don't get to play.

All the rest of you, happy guessing.
CHRIS

True Halflings Is Out

2012-01-26T20:07:00.001-08:00

A couple of months ago I re-read the Hobbit, and it inspired me to re-do the Halflings' racial traits to closer mimic the Hobbits of literature. Anyway, it was a fun project, one I illustrated exclusively with stock art, which means it took only a long weekend from conception to publication. It's a fun little race book- you've got alternate racial traits, starting talents and even three sample True Halfling villages, built using the Cityscape rules. I fuckin' love those rules, and they've really got me excited about fantasy for the first time in a while.

I'm playing with the idea of putting together a "lifepath" or random event generator for Otherverse America. I've realized that OA has some metaplot, but it's mostly a sandbox environment.... here are the factions, here's some threats, some opportunities, some rumors of things going on in other parts of the world...it's very much up to the players to decide where to go, which faction to ally with, and to define their own goals.

Hey, if you're playing OA, leave me some comments here. I'm very curious what you're playing.
1. Are you using D20 Modern or Pathfinder or are you just taking the ideas and concepts you like and porting them to another system? If so, which system and why? I myself have run Otherverse America using (in order) the Rifts engine, BESM 2nd, Aberrant and Mutants & Masterminds 2nd, in addition to D20 Modern.

2. Are your characters Choicer, Lifer or APEX aligned, or are they somebody neutral: mercs, criminals, cyberpunks, kids?

3. What classes comprise the adventuring party? Are you using the advanced and prestige classes from the corebook, or stuff from other 3rd party D20 publishers, and if so who? I know from my RPGnow account at least one guy bought my OA core book and Powered Hero class, some D20 firearms stuff from another publisher and the D20 Star Trek stuff from Amarillo Design Bureau. That's a campaign I definitely want to play in, by the way.

4. Any cool tales from the table?
CHRIS

Screen Shot of Art in Progress

2012-01-25T15:20:00.000-08:00

Just got a screen capture from Vic Shane showing his progress on the "ghost of babies past" image. In addition to Ghost 16 (who appeared in the setting fiction of the revised Otherverse America Core Rulebook, and menaced young abortion provider Julie Riddle), he'll be doing an image of Ghost 8 (who laid waste to the hospital Julie was born in, years prior).

Right now, I'm waiting on the last art for Ghosts and Promises, as well as the art for Races of the Tatakama. In the meantime, I'm working on a short race book for Galaxy Command.... inspired by the Legion of Superheroes, this sourcebook will take the Powered Hero Basic Class sourcebook and use it as the foundation of a race book. Like the old Legion comics, you'll get races of aliens, all of whom have the same superpower. Amanda will be illustrating this book, which will be in the 15-20 page range.

I'm still writing some Endara stuff, plotting out how to do the Witch Hero Basic Class, and I've go ideas for some other short releases, while I wait for the big ones to be ready. My goal is get 50-52 release s this year- a goal that would mean averaging a book a week. Not sure if I'll make it, but it'll be a good thing to shoot for in 2o12.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Art Preview: Genesis

2012-01-20T15:04:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I received this piece from Alex Garcia- the space god Genesis, divine patron of cyborgs and inventors, who will become a major part of the revised Guide to the Known Galaxy coming out later this year.

He's so amazing, I thought I'd share with you all. Alex is currently working on Genesis' cosmic rival: Nemesis, a Lovecraftian god of unchecked evolution.

Right now, I'm waiting on a few final pieces from Vic Shane and maybe one or two other images from John Picot and Ghosts & Promises will be out. Anthony Cournoyer is still working hard on the Races of the Tatakama, and I'm splitting my time between Endara and Otherverse America, writing wise. It'll be a kickass year.
CHRIS

GM's Questionaire from Playing D&D With Pornstars

2012-01-18T17:28:00.000-08:00

Zak S. posted this on his site, so I thought I'd answer some of the questions here.

GM Questionnaire

Repost and answer. Or, if you don't have a blog, answer in the comments. Or be a big rebel and do neither.

1. If you had to pick a single invention in a game you were most proud of what would it be?
.....I've invented tons of monsters, gadgets, spells, ect both for professional publication and just for fun in a home game, but one of my favorite critters is from my high school Rifts game. "The Mage-moo"... I was running an all magic user party, and they stopped in a small Federation of Magic village to rest and resupply. I decided to fuck with the party a bit, and so in wanders this 3 story tall dinosaur/cow thing with a bellowing 'moo' that could be heard for miles. The thing is pretty docile, and mostly harmless, but it absorbs PPE like a sponge. One of the best moments is when my friend Erik, playing a conjurer, walks to the window of the hotel, looks eye to eye with this fucked up thing, and gets a big friendly slurp from its 10 ft long tongue... that sucks up all his magic.

2. When was the last time you GMed?

3. When was the last time you played?

These two go hand in hand. Last time I played was a couple of weeks before I left Corpus Christi last year, and I last GMed about a month before that.

4. Give us a one-sentence pitch for an adventure you haven't run but would like to.

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars using Mutants & Master Minds 2nd edition.

6. What, if anything, do you eat while you play?
Whatever's filling and cheap. McDonalds dollar cheeseburgers and McChicken gets eaten quite alot at the game table.

7. Do you find GMing physically exhausting?

Yep. You're combining a military war game, public speaking and theater into one confusing, and sometimes stressful whole. I always need a nice long shower after a game.

8. What was the last interesting (to you, anyway) thing you remember a PC you were running doing?
The last thing I ran was the Shackled City adventure path, and one of my players was a monk with the habit of leaping onto the shoulders of any Large sized creature he encountered and pounding away. The player was a HUGE cheater, with a habit of always 'conveniently' rolling nat 20s anytime he needed. No big deal- I had plans for him to encounter a Large flying critter of some type that as soon as he did the 'leap on the neck and punch the face' tactic, would fly straight up until it died, with him trapped on its back. Slow fall ain't doing shit from 900 ft, fucko.

9. Do your players take your serious setting and make it unserious? Vice versa? Neither?

Both. Back in the Navy, I was running Otherverse America using Aberrant (White Wolf) and one of the players basically built Doc Otaku from Freedom City- a genius computer geek with a harem of android sex-bots as combat backup/harem.

10. What do you do with goblins?

I always run goblins as huge pools of HP- like each Hit Point can represent 2-5 individual critters, so you're describing your attacks against these guys as cleaving off the heads of a bunch of gobbos. Goblins are best killed by the HUNDREDS.

11. What was the last non-RPG thing you saw that you converted into game material (background, setting, trap, etc.)?
Anything in National Geographic. Some of the weirder animal abilities in Fursona come straight from there.

12. What's the funniest table moment you can remember right now?
My kid brother, who ALWAYS plays LE Necromancers, even in non-D&D settings, once pissed off his mentor, who was also a LE Necromancer. The argument turned violent, and my brother Joey's character grabbed the mentor's possum familiar by the tail and beat the senior necromancer to death with her own pet.

13. What was the last game book you looked at--aside from things you referenced in a game--why were you looking at it?

Rifts Core Rules. I keep it in my bathroom in a place of honor. I flip through that book constantly.

14. Who's your idea of the perfect RPG illustrator?

Wayne Reynolds, Kevin Parkinson, and of the artists I've worked with Alex Garcia and Amanda Webb.

15. Does your game ever make your players genuinely afraid?

I've never really had an interest in horror- I usually run high action D&D or Otherverse America, though some of my Lifer NPCs have creeped the fuck outta people.

16. What was the best time you ever had running an adventure you didn't write? (If ever)

The Shackled City adventure path from Paizo rocks hard. My favorite part was the Flood Festival- I turned a single scene in the adventure into a day long, half session Marti Gras. I bought beads and candy from the dollar store, put it out in the center of the table, included lots of pickpocketing, street fair games, a martial arts competition for the party's two monks (including the cheater, mentioned above) and added an 'anything that floats but a boat' race to the volcanic lake at the setting's center.

17. What would be the ideal physical set up to run a game in?

My rich friend Brian has a gaming cave I would kill a puppy to own.

18. If you had to think of the two most disparate games or game products that you like what would they be?

WITCH Girl Adventures and War Hammer 40,000.

19. If you had to think of the most disparate influences overall on your game, what would they be?
Jim Lee's art, Warren Ellis' and Andrew Vacchs' writing, anti-abortion terrorism, and the tech reports coming out of Io9.com.

20. As a GM, what kind of player do you want at your table?

I love running games for first timers- kids, girlfriends, ect. They're always welcome at my table, and I promise to run something simple, kick ass and age appropriate- even if I'm most known for running abortion and hentai crunch-fests.

21. What's a real life experience you've translated into game terms?

I did four in the Navy, and my experiences come out when talking about military matters, Japan, and though I never directly reference the classified stuff I did while I was in, I keep what I learned about military capabilities and geo-politics in mind when writing stuff, especially OA.

22. Is there an RPG product that you wish existed but doesn't?

I'd love a superhero system with the depth of M&M, an Image Comics/Iron Age feel and lethality, with character gen that only takes 10-15 minutes and point-buy numbers in the 20-40 range for X-Men level characters (by contrast M&M 2nd edition would have 200+ point value characters).

23. Is there anyone you know who you talk about RPGs with who doesn't play? How do those conversations go?

I'll tell you instead about what life is like here in Kerrville TX.

The other day at work, I was talking with this 17 y/o teenie-bopper who was working weekends and evenings at my restaurant. It turns out she's a gamer, and she's familiar with both Pathfinder & D20 Modern. Kick ass- now I'm thinking I might be able to get a game group going. She asks me what I write and I tell her. She's interested, so I toss her my thumb drive (which I back up all my stuff to every few weeks), so she can download it all.

At this point, I'm feeling good about life. I forget about it, until we're cleaning up after the lunch rush. I'm in the back washing my line's dishes, and she's getting ice or something.
"You know what game you should make?" She inquires, and I ask her to tell me. Free market research, right.
"You should write something about Nazis and Jews".

O-okay, kinda a simplistic take on WWII, but it's the Kerrville public school system. Maybe that's the limit of her understanding of the conflict. Still, I've never had much interest in making a WWII game, and tell her so. And now, get ready for the point in the conversation when my anurism begins to throb....

"If you made a game about killing Jews, I'd play that all day long."

......

......
FUCK! I had no idea what to say to that. Seriously, a part of me wanted to respond like Cap or Indiana Jones would and just deliver a sock to this girl's Aryan jaw, but I just stared at her for like 45 seconds, my tongue lolling out in shock. Finally I managed to stammer "It's fuckin' Kerrville- have you even met a fuckin' Jew in your life?"

Anyway, that's the reason I'm not gaming right now.

Sick as a Dog

2012-01-16T19:17:00.000-08:00

I've been down with the flu this last week. I'll post some more preview art for Kodiak Island, as well as some info on upcoming projects later.
Also, if you haven't heard yet, and the media is being very quiet about this as usual, the American Family Planning clinic in Pensacola, FL was burnt to the ground by an anti-abortion nutjob earlier this month. This is the same clinic where Paul Hill killed two people during the 1990s. If you can, donate to any pro-choice group you trust, since unfortunately, I can't find a donation site for AFP itself. I just did the same earlier today.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Art Preview: Ghost of Babies Past XVI

2012-01-02T17:53:00.001-08:00

Over on the right we've got a sketch of the 16th superhuman to call herself a "Ghost of Babies Past".... a freaky, cybernetic anti-choice terrorist, and one of the iconic villain types of the Otherverse America setting.

This approval sketch is by Vic Shane. He'll be layering some clothing and equipment over this, but basically wanted to make sure the mechanical design was good to go.

Anyway, the finished version of this very cool cyborg will appear in Ghosts & Promises: The Secrets of Kodiak Island, which is coming soon.

Also, I'm doing tons of work on the Endara setting. And my birthday is this Thursday, and shockingly, for once I don't have to work it! Rock on.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

First Release of 2012: DONE!

2011-12-29T12:46:00.000-08:00

Hey, I just sent over what will be the first release of 2012 to Mark Cathro. Cityscapes will expand on the settlement construction rules in the Pathfinder Game Mastery Guide. Originally, I had started writing out settlement qualities for the towns and cities of my Endara campaign setting; the Game Mastery Guide settlement qualities just didn't cut it!

I knew I would need more options, more depth to make Endara work like Eternia worked in the classic Filmation cartoons. The GMG rules worked well, but they were too basic. So I set about trying to expand 'em, and about 500 words into the thing, realized this would make a better stand alone release than a part of Endara. Expect Cityscapes to be referenced LOTS in my 2012 Pathfinder Products- elements of this will show up in Black Tokyo Legends as well as World of Endara and whatever other fantasy stuff I put out this year.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

2012 Will be a Fantasy Year

2011-12-22T15:01:00.000-08:00

I have a feeling I’ll be doing more Pathfinder-compatible fantasy in early 2012 than I did in all of 2011. First, expect the release of Black Tokyo Legends: Races of the Tatakama, which Anthony Cournoyer has returned to do art for, sometime in January or February. That will probably be my first big release of the year. This massive sourcebook will include 13 new player races drawn from Japanese hentai and myth, with tons of alternate racial traits for each. It will also include alternate racial traits for core demi-human races, to better fit them to Tatakama campaigns, and conversions of most of the feats from the D20 Modern-powered Black Tokyo.

Around the same time Races of the Tatakama hits, I’ll be releasing Ghosts & Promises: Kodiak Island Citybook, for Otherverse America and D20 Modern. That will include a new basic and prestige class for use by Lifer characters, tons of world info, and a fairly complete ‘strike file’ detailing several new Lifer threats, from first level grunts to high level superheroes and villains.

Sometime in late Summer 2012, I’ll release the World of Endara Campaign Setting. This is going to be my big He-Man inspired fantasy. I’m usually fairly bored with fantasy, but He-Man has always been a favorite- it was my introduction to fantasy back in the day, and while other gamers think of Tolkien’s writings as their mental go-to for standard fantasy, Masters of the Universe is mine. Races of the Tatakama is perverse and satirical enough to hold my interest- basically this year I’ve created two fantasy settings that hold my interest as a writer. These two, which I’m hoping will both be good revenue streams, will get lots of support in the succeeding months.

My D20 Modern stuff will be cleaving closer and closer to Pathfinder, too. I’ll be putting out the revised Guide to the Known Galaxy sometime in 2012, as well as the Witch Hero basic class. In addition, I want to do some supplemental material for Otherverse America: I want to write up kick-ass city books for San Francisco and Boston and do a character creation guide exclusively for Choicer characters, in the way Ghosts & Promises is a char-builder for Lifer protagonists.

The Gods and Monsters of Endara

When I start building a fantasy world, I usually start with a map. After that, I just work in the way that seems most logical at the time. For Endara that means I started writing out the religions, and then started in on the setting’s monsters. It sorta gives me a grand sweep of the setting, of the gods and monsters that drive the action. I’m going to be starting in on detailing the factions and regions, alternate racial traits for the core races and new player races after Christmas.

With the gods, I wanted simple, easy to understand polytheism, a sort of G-rated take on classical Greek mythology. I wanted to retain the fairly black and white morality of the Filmation cartoon, but at the same make the world a bit more complex, give it more a sense of culture. I also wanted to include some homages to the major concepts and tropes of the old cartoon. Take a look at three of the major gods of the setting: the Royal Tiger, the biggest ‘good guy’ god, the Lich, a hybrid of Skeletor and the classic D&D villain Vecna, and the Jewel, which I created as a homage to some concepts from the classic She-Ra cartoon.

The Royal Tiger

LG Greater God

True Name: Skaron

The Royal Tiger, fabulous in his grand coat of azure fur and golden stripes, is wise and benevolent king of all gods, and forms the model of Endaran society. The Royal Tiger teaches mortal leaders that their true duty is to protect their servants, and to raise the best among their followers to leadership in their own turn. The Royal Tiger is said to have nourished and protected Andar I as a child, and taught the young king-to-be how to rule well and wisely. The Tiger’s grand ideal of leadership forms the model for Endaran feudalism.

As omnipresent as tame and semi-tame blackbirds are in Ravenna, Royal Tigers are equally common across the Endaran Empire. Heroic knights ride specially bred, champion Royal Tigers into battle, and Endaran heraldry celebrates these smart, noble felines. Children play with ‘Royal Prince Tigers’, a specially-bred miniature breed of cat, pretending to joust from the back of their cowardly little tigers.

Clerics of the Royal Tiger are active in Endaran politics, and most officiate the Endaran Senate, or advise the Royal Family. Most wear robes bearing the great, cosmic cat’s colors, and many wear golden feline masks during high ceremonies. Others tattoo or magically brand their bodies with colorful stripes to proudly proclaim both their faith and their heroism.

The Lich

LE Greater God

True Name: Demoskal

The Lich is a terrible god risen from the ranks of mortal man. Some say he was the first necromancer-king to become undead. Each and every undead, from the lowliest ghoul prowling a forgotten battlefield and gnawing on bones, to the greatest and most terrible vampire queen, is a servant of the Lich. More so, all undead are the Lich’ children; the ritual this immortal tyrant enacted had two effects. First, it expunged virtually all life from Terra Mortis, turning a once fertile continent into the blasted wasteland it has been for the past ten millennia or more. Second, the Lich’s black magical rite created a rift in the cosmos, though which the anti-life energies of undeath first entered our Multiverse.

The Lich now schemes to conquer the cosmos, to sacrifice all living souls on Endara in an even more terrible ritual that would elevate the Lich even beyond the power level of the Ducharri’s One God, and make the Lich the true master of the cosmos.

The Lich’ clergy dress in purple and ebon robes, and hide their faces behind skeletal masks of hammered gold. They scheme tirelessly to create more and greater undead, to command the legions of monstrous horrors attracted to Terra Mortis, and to further the Lich’ schemes in the mortal realm. When the Lich expunges all life in the cosmos, these necromancer-priests will rule at his side, transformed into immortal, all powerful wraiths.

The Jewel

NG Greater Goddess

True Name: Cata

The Jewel is sister to the Stone, and like the Stone, she fell from the sky. All jewels and gems are a reflection of the Jewel. The Jewel is worshipped by Dwarves who practice crafts of beauty rather than practicality- gemcutters, gold and silversmiths, seamstresses and finish carpenters- as well as by the fanciful, endlessly colorful Gnomes. The Jewel is a popular goddess among the wealthy and often ostentatious nobility in Ghiles. Quite a few Halflings worship the Jewel, as well.

The Jewel’s clergy believe it is their duty to bring beauty to the world, and they often learn the bardic arts or become masters of glamorous illusion magic. Jewel worshippers are especially welcome in the city-state of Ducharr, where they meticulously grind and polish the lenses that power the city’s great observatories, and debate matters of faith with local science-priests.

Some Sample Gods of Endara
Deity	Alignment	Domains (associated sub-domains)	Favored Weapon	Portfolio
The Royal Tiger	Lawful Good	Animal (fur), Glory (heroism), Law (archon), Nobility (leadership), War (blood)	Battle Axe	Royalty, duty, nobility, protection of the weak. Patron of the Endaran Empire.
The Lich	Lawful Evil	Death (undead), Destruction (rage), Evil (devil), Magic (either), Rune (wards)	Scythe	Necromancy, evil, undeath, genocide, universal conquest.
The Jewel	Neutral Good	Artifice (construct), Charm (love), Earth (caves), Glory (honor)	Mace	Jewels and gems, fine craftsmanship, romance, beauty.

Over the last two weeks or so, I’ve also put together a fairly comprehensive list of monsters, most of which are either directly inspired by a Filmation creature or something in one of Earl Norem’s amazing paintings. Here’s a list of monsters, as they stand a few days before Christmas 2012…. I’ll probably be adding to this list of threats as the project progresses.

Brog (CR ½)

Razor Tongue Brog (CR 1)
Slime Spitter Brog (CR 3)

Cloud Wing (CR 4)

Skyscreamer (CR 5)

Duplikatt (CR 7)

Blue Duplikatt (CR 7)

Endaran Pegasus (CR 5)
Enforcer Droid (CR 1)
Enforcer Elite (CR 3)
Meteorite Creature: Ape (CR 5)
Meteorite Creature: Elephant (CR 10)
Meteorite Creature: Lion (CR 6)
Meteorite Creature: Stegosaurus (CR 10)
Monster-Mek: Ettin (CR 8)
Monster-Mek: Horse (CR 3)
Monster-Mek: Giant Spider (CR 3)
Mosnter-Mek: Tyrannosaurus Rex (CR 11)
Mosquitron (CR 2)
Night Ape (CR 11)
Royal Prince Tiger (CR 4)

V’Lak Ice Tiger (CR 8) and others

Sea Crusher (CR 9)
Seeker-Peeker (CR ½)
Skull Soldier (CR 3)
Steelvore Relic (CR 23)
Swamp Drainer (CR 5)
Techno-Phantom (CR 15)

Now, I want to preview a couple of monsters. Take a look at the Cloudwing, a Horse with the Monster-Mek template attached, and the Royal Prince Tiger’s flavor text. I’m not including the stat block on the last one, because that creature is simply a more intelligent version of a standard CR 4 tiger from the Pathfinder Bestiary. The real interesting stuff is all in the flavor text anyway.

Cloud Wing (CR 4)

XP 1,200

N Large Magical Beast

Cloud Wings are creature’s of Endara’s ancient, primordial past. They are all but extinct in the modern day, but still may be summoned into battle by priests of the Lich, or encountered in distant jungles. A few flights are said to still linger in the deep forests of the Serpite Kingdom.

These muscular fliers resemble an exceptionally large and ungainly pteranodon. Their powerful wing muscles are anchored to a barrel chest and their forearms are mighty and powerful. Cloud Wings have spade-shaped heads decorated with a wide, V-shaped crest. Their leathery hides are a dark violet, splotched with blue or aquamarine.

Cloud Wings prefer to swoop in for the kill only after softening up their prey with a blast from their foul smelling, acidic breath weapon. Cloud Wings favor cattle, bison and herbivorous dinosaurs. They don’t want a meal able to fight back effectively, but aren’t above swooping down to feast on a weak or unwary human.

Init +7; Senses Darkvision 60 ft

Languages none

AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 12(+3 DEX, +3 natural, -1 size)
hp 5d8+30(42 HP)

Resist Acid 10
Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +4

Speed 20 ft Fly 50 ft (clumsy)
Melee +8 melee (bite 2d4+5 slashing)

Melee Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +3; CMB +12 CMD 25
Atk Options

Breath Weapon (30 ft line, 2d8 acid, REF DC 18 Half plus acid vapors linger for 1d4 rounds after firing. FORT DC 18 or be sickened for one round).

Abilities STR 20 DEX 17 CON 19 INT 1 WIS 16 CHA 4

Feats Ability Focus (breath weapon), Improved Initiative, Dodge.

Skills Fly +14, Perception +5

Racial Modifiers Fly +8

Environment warm forests

Organization pair or wing (1d4+2)

Treasure none

Breath Weapon (EX): Once per day, the Cloud Wing can breathe out caustic vapors that both burn and choke its prey. This breath weapon takes the form of a 30 ft line of acid (2d8 acid, REF DC 18 half). Vapors from the linger for 1d4 rounds, anyone entering the area during this time must succeed at a DC 18 FORT Save or be sickened for one round.

Skyscreamers (CR 5)

Skyscreamers are a distant cousin of the extinct Cloud Wings. A more slender flier with a pale blue hide and navy crest, Skyscreamers are known for their fierce hunting cry, which can be heard for miles and is capable of shattering stone.

A Skyscreamer’s breath weapon may be used up to 3 times per day, and is a 40 ft line of sonic energy. (2d8 sonic, REF DC 18 half). Targets within the line must succeed at a DC 18 FORT Save or be deafened for one round.
Skyscreamers lose acid resistance, but gain Sonic Resistance 5.
Skyscreamers receive a +8 racial bonus on Stealth checks when flying in blue skies.

Monster-Mek: Horse (CR 3)

XP 800 XP

N Animal (augmented)

A Monster-Mek Horse is a massive destrider with bronze cybernetics sheathing its powerful legs. The horse’s mane has been replaced with a heavy bronze helmet protecting its steel-laced skull. A single laser blaster rifle grows from the beast’s left shoulder like a strange lance.

Init +1; Senses Darkvision 60 ft, scent, Perception +6

Languages none

AC 14, touch 10, flat-footed 13 (+1 DEX, -1 size, +4 natural)
hp 2d8+6+20 (35 HP)

Immune Bleed, Disease, Stunning

Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +1

Speed 50 ft
Melee 2 hooves +1 melee (1d4+3 bludgeoning)

Melee Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +1; CMB +7 CMD 18 (22 vs. trip)
Atk Options

2 hooves +melee (1d4+3 bludgeoning)

+2 ranged (laser blaster rifle 2d6 force, 19-20/x2, 180 ft range, maximum 25 shots per day)
Abilities STR 20 DEX 12 CON 17 INT 2 WIS 13 CHA 7

SQ docile, Mecha-Mount

Feats Endurance, Run (B)

Skills Perception +6

Possessions none

Environment temperate plains

Organization solitary, pair or herd (3-30)

Treasure none

Docile (EX): Unless specifically trained for combat (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, pg 97), a horse’s hooves are treated as secondary natural attacks.

Mecha-Mount (EX): Monster-Meks grow a natural item that functions identically to an exotic military saddle for a creature of its size and type. The Monster-Mek creature can carry a rider one size smaller than itself in this natural saddle. Monster-Meks make excellent mounts: riders receive a +2 template bonus on Ride checks made to control a Monster-Mek creature in combat.

Royal Prince Tiger (CR 4)

XP 1,200

NG Large Animal

Royal Prince Tigers are a beloved breed of feline. They are the patron animal of the Endaran Empire, lesser versions of the great Royal Tiger who taught the first Endaran king to rule justly and well. Endaran knights ride to war on the back of Royal Prince Tiger steeds, merchants have a pair of grumpy, runty Royal Prince Tigers pulling their wagons in exchange for a cut of the profits (paid in rare steaks, of course), and children love their Royal Tiger pets with all their hearts.

Endaran Royal Prince Tigers stand about four foot tall at the shoulder, and weigh upwards of 400 lbs. Their velvety fur is a vibrant blue, like the sky as darkness falls, broken with golden stripes. The creatures are obviously intelligent, with a good grasp of the Endaran dialect, though most cannot speak. Intellectually, a Royal Prince Tiger is on par with a 5-6 year old human child; they can puzzle out complex concepts, follow detailed instructions, and even manipulate simple tools with their paws and muzzle.

Royal Prince Tigers are most common to the Wheatlands of Amn. They prowl the whispering wheat fields, disappearing between the wavering stalks. They typically feed on deer, wild hogs and other game, but they’re not above snatching an unguarded goat or pig, or even muscling their way into a human’s home to steal food hot from the stove. Royal Prince Tigers are gentle beasts, and will rarely attack a humanoid, even in self defense. Unless specifically trained for war, a Royal Prince Tiger will turn tail and run from two-legged opponents.

Aside from their enhanced intelligence and swapping Skill Focus (perception) for Diplomacy, Royal Prince Tigers use the same stats as a tiger animal companion.

Other Royal Tiger Breeds

Endaran blue tigers aren’t the only breed of Royal Tigers roaming Endara.

New Sulanni Dukes

Dukes prowl the deserts outside the Elven city of New Sulan. These creatures have mottled brown and amber coats, streaked with grey and gold. They have a great affinity for those of Elven blood and hybrid-folk, forming lasting partnership with New Sulanni Half-Elves and feline Anthros.

New Sulanni Dukes modify the Royal Tiger statblock in the following ways.

Their racial bonus on Stealth checks applies in desert terrain.
They are well adapted to hot climates, gaining Fire Resistance 1.
New Sulanni Dukes are especially keen eyed, and receive a +8 racial modifier on Perception checks, giving them a total Perception modifier of +13.
Characters with Elven blood (including Half Elves and Drow) and any creature with the Anthro subtype receives a +2 bonus on Handle Animal checks made against New Sulanni Dukes.

Royal Queen Tigers

Queens have lurid maroon coats striped with black and green. These great cats are even more intelligent than the norm. Both males and females of this breed are referred to as ‘queens’. Royal Queens are a favorite of the royal court, and are equally popular among the young nobility of Schendenwatt.

Royal Queen Tigers have human-like vocal cords and can speak.

Scaled King Tiger

Deep in the Serpite jungles, even the great tigers have some serpent blood. Scaled King Tigers are majestic beasts whose lean bodies are decorated with dull bronze scales. A Scaled King’s abdomen, forelimbs and spine are sheathed in scales, while their pelt is dark green striped with gold.

A Scaled King’s natural armor bonus increases to +5.
Scaled Kings are immune to poison.
Challenge Rating 5 (XP 1,600)

V’lak Ice Tiger

V’Lak Ice Tigers are massive beasts with long shaggy white coats and saber-like fangs more than two feet long. Use the statistics for a Dire Tiger (smilodon) with the following changes; the creature’s Challenge Rating is unchanged. .

The V’lak Ice Tiger has Cold Resistance 5.
The V’lak Ice Tiger has a Swim speed of 20 ft, and a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks.
The V’lack Ice Tiger has an Intelligence score of 3, and understands V’laki but can’t speak.

That's enough preview for one day, I figure. I also found this great article today.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/atheist.holidays.irpt/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2

The political and theological differences I have with atheists are minor compared to the fact that as non-Christians, we both have a boot on our necks. That said, it's good to hear from my brothers and sisters their opinions of this holiday. Their tweets are sad, proud, purposeful, intelligent, and kind in equal measure. Give them a read.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

The World of Endara and Other Awesome News

2011-12-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

So this last week or so, I've been working fairly hard on the basics of my new "Endara" campaign world... while also collecting art from Anthony Cournoyer, who has shown back up to do some amazing art for Races of the Tatakama.

I've got the religions, a good (if somewhat vague) understanding of the regions of the Endaran world, and I've started writing up weapons and gadgets. This campaign setting will draw a bit on two older PFRPG releases I've put out: Armors of the Ancients and The Thinking Races: Diverse Humanity. Lots of content from those two books will be re-mixed and respun into a cohesive, He-Man flavored campaign setting.

Over on the right, a basic map I hacked together for Endara. This will, of course, eventually get transformed into a decent piece of fantasy cartography, but it serves the purpose. It's a bit vague, there's only a few cities shown, and there's no rivers, lakes, ect, nor are most of the geographic features marked down.

Here's a copy of the first world info I set down for Endara. I put together a bulleted list of terrain features and setting details for each major region. It'll give you an idea of what this world will feel like as it comes together. Note that since this document is a couple of weeks old at this point, it's already a bit out of date. Especially the religions overview at the end: I've firmed up the demi-human faiths quite a bit, for example.

Continent One: Endara

Ravanna (Kingdom)

Old growth forests, center of the Raven’s Faith.
Lightly populated, small feudal villages in miles high wilderness, raven towers rising high above the forest.
Few ruins. Pre-Cataclysm society didn’t reach this far north.
Conservative, believes the rising monotheism out of Ducharr is a heresy. Religiously zealous. Dirty tricks and espionage to destabilize Durcharr and limit the rising tide of monotheism. Matriarchal and theocratic.
Lots of clerics, druids, inquisitors, bird-sorcerers.
Pale skinned humans, black hair, More than half of births are albino, others powder their bodies.

Mallard’s Landing (Free city)

Huge glacial cliffs miles high. Spectacular waterfalls feeding the Delta.
Trade city built on the lake. Old, dating to a time when cities had to be built on water to protect from monsters. Sorta like the one town in the Hobbit. City is rundown, crumbling, jury-rigged.
Originated the worship of the Mallard.
A “Arab Market” type feel. Lots of outdoor stalls, you can buy anything here. Great place to pick up weird tech items and magic items.
Green and gold sails on ships, onion domes on roofs.
Ethnically diverse population, lots of non-humans.

The Vall Lowlands (Loose confederation of tribes)

Far below sea level, whole region is an enormous valley/basin, bordered on all sides by cliffs and mesas. Chaotic, rocky, Earl Norem style terrain.
Barbarian tribes. Vall-ling is equivalent to ‘Viking’. Primitive raider culture.
Relatively low tech, only recently come into the Endaran Alliance and not fitting in too well yet.
Lots of old ruins cities, fallen pre-Cataclysm monuments. A ‘Dragon-line’ rail system is being built but its slow going.
Half Orcs (a separate, true breeding species called Tuskers) and Humans interbreed here. Also Gnomes (weird little oracles to the tribes).
In ancient days, Tuskers immigrated from Terra Mortis by sea. That explains by there are Tuskers in Endara and Terra Mortis. Endaran Tuskers are green, brown, blue. Terra Mortis Tuskers are crimson, magenta, purple.

The Sunlands /Solar Kingdom (Kingdom)

Equatorial savannah/veldt and desert. Lots of pre-Cataclysm ruins and archeological sites. Huge, broken, moss-covered statues rising out of the grass.
Local population is mostly black. Worship the Sun Following Fox and other animal deities.
Green, browns, blacks and golds, some pale blues are common in dress and architecture. Simple geometric designs, vaguely tribal/African motifs. Decorated, attractive armor.
Very high tech, first by copying pre-Cat tech and then by bootstrapping their own tech. Bionics, blasters, magi-tech golems. Feels similar to Asgard or Wakanda- Kirbytech utopia.
Strong allies to the Endarans. Mutual aid treaties, arranged marriages, military alliances, going back centuries.
Capitol is a techno-magical floating city that drifts over the plains and can be deployed to defend threatened regions of the Solar Kingdom. .

The Wheatlands of Amn (Endaran Province)

Breadbasket of the Endaran Empire. Lush farmland, cultivated fields as far as the eye can see, some forests and grassland.
Feudal kingdoms. Mostly medieval society, lots of farms, keeps, castles, stone granaries, roadside inns, ect. However, there’s a sub-current of tech though; villages have comm-links to Endara to call for help from the legions if needed, there’s robot farm equipment, some blasters, other minor tech.
People are big, reddish skinned / dark Caucasian behemoths, curly red or brown hair, beards & bushy eyebrows. Stereotyped the same as Red State America- hardworkers, farmers, but unimaginative, conservative, powerful but not too bright. Strong military traditions.
Current king of Endaran Empire (Andar something or other) is an Amnite. Point of pride for the region, feels like its finally getting its due.

Amn’s Spear (Endaran Province)

Named for a legendary mythic warrior, Amn, who supposedly settled this region.
Peninsula is super densely populated. Multiple cities, harbors, factories, warehouses. Shipping and commercial hub. Waters are crowded, dirty.
Even monsters from Terra Mortis are allowed to trade here if they come in peace!
At the tip of the spear we’ve got Schendenwatt: the ultimate cosmopolitian city, like NYC or Sharn. Major trade center, every race found here. Near by is High Harbor, its rival city that isn’t quite as big or powerful.
Schendenwatt has the best and most universities and military academies in the world. The wealthy and nobility from every nation send their kids to school here. Cutting edge art scene, theaters, huge influence on culture and fasion across Endara.
Techno-magical shield wall and huge artillery pieces protect the Endaran mainland from Terra Mortis invasion. This is pre-Cat tech, kept maintained and improved into the present day.

Dragon’s Roost (Border City between Endaran Empire & Solar Kingdom)

A relatively new innovation are bullet trains spanning the continent.
The oldest and most famous line, the Orient Express of the setting, is the Silver Dragon. It runs from Alldura to Schendenwatt, built in partnership between the Endaran Empire and Solar Kingdom. It looks like a Tokyo bullet train with a dragon head prow.
Maybe an NPC Silver Dragon secretly protects its namesake train.
Other lines are named Gold Dragon, Copper Dragon, Brass Dragon, ect.
Lines only service the Central Endaran region. No service down to Martyns or Serpis, lines still being built towards the Vall Lowlands. Ravenna rejected the trains.
Metallic (good) Dragons are mythic, probably extinct.
Dragon’s Roost is a very new city, a product of the monotheism/tech revolution. Less than a century old. No dragons here, named for the dragon trains that are switched and serviced here. Shared jurisdiction by the Endaran Empire and Solar Kingdom.

Alldura (Endaran city)

Endaran capitol city.
Name implies “All Enduring”.
Old, like Mallard’s Landing, from a time when cities were built on water for defense. But unlike the crumbling, archaic Mallard’s Landing, Alldura is undergoing a renaissance.
Durcharri ideas about monotheism have found fertile ground here. Lots of sciences, universities, tech centers.
Mostly surreal Earl Norem style Art Deco architecture. Grand, sweeping structures, impossibly tall spires, clean lines and white marble.

Martyns (Endaran Province)

Rugged coastline, lots of shipwrecks, cold fog. Weather like San Francisco basically, throughout the whole region. Cool to cold plains and heaths.
People are poorer, lower tech, hard-living, tough. Pessimistic, with a dark sense of humor, fatalistic.
Some Dwarves and Halflings mixed in with humans.
Has been invaded multiple times by Terra Mortis sea fleets, always expecting another invasion of monsters. Lots of humans here have Monster blood, some look Irish, but a majority have orange or brownish-gold skin, cat-like eyes, feral features, as a result of ‘impure bloodlines’.

Ghiles (Endaran Province)

Hilly, warm, gentle farmland. Good soil.
People are arrogant, dueling tradition, corrupt nobility, decadent city states.
In old days, they enslaved the Martyns population, and there’s still lots of prejudice. Mutual distrust and hate on both sides.
Halflings live in the burrows under the hills, traditional Tolkien style halfings. They’re a client state of the Endaran Empire and the Solar Kingdom, no real military might to speak of.
Luxury good exports: wines, cheeses, jewelry, precious metals, art, courtesans.

Serpis (Kingdom)

Cold to cool, rainy mountains. Some good soil, but its hard to work. Tiny, scattered farms, individual micro-fields are the norm. Similar to the Andes
Volcanic activity. Ancient volcano temples where old sacrifices and atrocities happened, stained with evil, haunted.
People look Hispanic.
Step pyramids, obelisks, ziggurats. A very Meso-American feel, with a snake motif. The official state religion no longer sacrifices humans, but there are demon/snake cults in the wilderness that still cling to the old ways. Reluctant to embrace the new monotheism.
They worship snake deities that are similar to some of the demons worshipped by the Terra Mortis creatures. Some prejudice by other Endarans- worry the Serpis nation are demon worshippers, In reality they’re more like barbaric, sorta creepy heroes.
Lower tech. Very few blasters. Most heroes are clerics, druids, barbarians, summoners, rangers. Close to nature and warlike.

Ducharr (Free city)

Wet, rainy land, decent farmland and rice paddies. Lots of rivers and some swamp land.
Extremely high-tech location, lots of universities, stellar/astronomical observatories. Huge techno-domes rising out of the fields.
Founded by iconoclasts who struck out from Alldura for religious freedom centuries ago.
These guys have invented monotheism. Realizing all the gods are just manifestations of the One, the universal order, ways for mortal minds to comprehend the One.
Monotheism is the cutting edge, sweeping across Endaran Empire. With it, there’s a science and magical rennisance.
New buildings, new tech, new hope. New discoveries in physics, advanced mathematics, quantum physics, techno-magic, chemistry, medicine, lots more. It’s all coming out of Ducharr.
Distrusted and despised by Ravenna. Political infighting, dirty tricks.
Heroes are alchemists, bards, wizards, summoners, fighters, monks, all with a high-tech bent.

New Sulan (Free city)

The desert/savannah region is wilderness, most of the area outside the city-state of Ducharr is wildland, unclaimed frontier.
Immigrant push into the wilderness from the Central Endaran region. Lots of unexplored and un-searched ruins to explore. Place for the PCs to claim as their own.
New Sulan is an Elven city, founded by immigrants from Continent 3: Althena. Half Elves are common here, probably the only place in Endara they are.
Sorta Moorish/Muslim architecture and culture for the Elves.

V’Lak (Endaran Province)

Freezing arctic tundra and glacial plains. Months of endless night due to orbital rotation, the Dark Sea gets its name from this.
Spectacular aurora, lots of moons visible. Some Durcharri observatories located up here for a clear view of the dark sky.
Local tribes are basically Iniut style hunter gatherers. Smallest and weakest Endaran province, effectively a territorial afterthought.
Mostly rangers, druids. Almost no human tech. Dwarves are much higher tech- vast forges and tech-centers in the mountain caves.
Dwarves live in the mountains, as do ice creatures, Bear anthros, yeti, and other winter/cold themed creatures.
Polar worms, white dragons, other acrtic monsters.

Continent Two: Terra Mortis (Dead Earth)

The Sea Fires

Huge volcanic island, visible from hundreds of miles away.
The largest active volcano on Endara is here. Crazy levels of tectonic activity makes the seas choppy and ultra-dangerous between Endara and Terra Mortis.
New islands and sandbars raise and sink randomly, hazards to navigation. Most people prefer to fly.
The Sea Fires are never quiet. Sometimes belch so much smoke and ash into the sky they block out the sun: the CO2 pollution causes the spectacular sunsets visible in Endara. Sometimes its like a mini-ice age, lasting weeks, or even months or years.
Terra Mortis’ monsters become more active when the ash hangs in the sky.
Dragons, fire elementals, salamanders, and other fiery creatures.

Traitor Town

Wilderness, frontier city behind walls to protect it from monsters and crazy wildlife.
Founded by exiled criminals from the Endaran Empire and/or the Solar Kingdom.
Like Austraila, the only recognizable humanoid settlements on Terra Mortis clings to the coast, because the interior is too harsh.

Continent Three: Althena

Sulan

Elven nation.
Isolated from the struggle, a legendary location for heroes to journey to in search of greater power, magic items given to the worthy.
Sorta a Moorish or Muslim feel to the culture.
New Sulan in Endara is an outpost of this culture.

Old Endaran Colony

During the Cataclysm, a few surviors from whatever the pre-Cat Endaran culture was settled here.
Buried their tech and then vanished. Lots of ancient relics, major and minor artifacts, and unique spells found here.
Adventuring site for mid/high level characters.

Religious Basics

Religion wasn’t a big point of the cartoon, almost never mentioned, but let’s make it dominant in the setting.
Everybody on Endara worships gods who manifest as cosmic animals, each addressed by animal name commonly, their secret names used only in ritual. You don’t say their true names causally.
Like humanoid heroes with their punning, MOTU style nom de gurres/codenames.
Ravenna worships birds. The raven is the queen of all birds. The Mallard is a merchant god, the Parrot, the Rook, the Kestrel (sin eater).
The Solar Kingdom worships the Sun Following Fox. Other gods there include the Coyote, the Dog, the Lion, mammals.
Serpis worships Snake and Dragon gods. Lizards, Little White Snake.
Coming out of the Ducharr city/state there’s monotheism. All Gods are representations of the One Universal Order. That’s spreading throughout the continent, sparking the renaissance.
Not sure what the Vall Lowlands worship. Not sure about demi-human deities. Not sure about the Elves.

In Non-Endaran news, we may have a new artist working for otherverse games. Shinkei, who does amazing CGI stock art available from UKG Games,

http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?cPath=703

has agreed to do original artwork for me. Hopefully, you'll see some of his art on the upcoming Kodiak Island sourcebook, as well as a Synthetic Heroes III he's convinced me to do.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Recent Toy Purchases: Fall 2012

2011-12-08T11:58:00.000-08:00

As I’m getting ready to work up a campaign world inspired by one of the most famous action figure lines of all time, I figured I’d share with you some of my recent toy purchases.

First off, the fact I’m buying toys again is a sign of the relative prosperity I’ve had the last year, since moving to Kerrville. Seriously, I didn’t realize how bad things had gotten for me in Corpus Christi until I was out of there. I’m not just talking about my writing, (though my PDF sales have picked up dramatically, which I attribute mostly to a more regular schedule of well illustrated product), but I’m speaking mostly about my day job at the restaurant. Up here, I’m getting full time hours, and more importantly, a bunch more respect from my co-workers and bosses, than I was in that piss-hole back in Corpus.

Anyway, in the last couple of months, I’ve picked up two new Iron Man figures, from the Iron Man 2 movie line.

First, I acquired Ultimate Iron Man, which is probably my favorite design for the suit. This thing is big, bulky, and ugly: it looks like realistic (albeit futuristic) military hardware. The sculpt accurately captures the MASS of the thing, which is tough to do at 3.75 inch scale. The armor feels like its heavy enough to actually have a guy inside. Too many Iron Man figures (and the armor designs that inspired them) look too slender: if you didn’t know the character you’d assume he’s a robot, not a man inside the armor. The newest, Salvador Larocca designed 3.75” fig has this problem. It looks great, but it’s just too skinny.

This fig came with a second, trapezoidal head with round eye-pieces. This is from the Ultimate Iron Man origin comic, written by Orson Scott Card and illustrated by Adam Kubert. I like the design of that helmet, but I’m displaying the figure with the Hitch designed helmet. That one has heavy black lines around the eye slits, which sets of the white optics from the yellow face place nicely; the Kubert helmet doesn’t have the extra black detailing (though I suppose I could take a Micron pen and fix that) and the white goggles get lost against the yellow face plate.

Next, I picked up the War Machine figure. This version of the armor is the one that appeared in Iron Man 2, not the bulkier version of the suit from 1990s Marvel Comics, unfortunately. I prefer the original comics suit, or else the heavy, aerodynamically rounded version of Jim Rhodes from Avengers: The Initiative. Again, it all comes down to my preference for bulkier powered armor. This fig also includes an alternate head, revealing a battle scarred Rhodes with a cybernetic eye and partially metal jaw. I’m actually keeping the second head in my ‘toy parts’ drawer: it’s just so dead eyed and creepy I’m not sure I want it staring at me from my shelves.

While getting groceries last week, I picked up a Steve Rodgers figure, wearing his post-Siege SHIELD commander suit. I love this guy, and I’m a big fan of this simple, pragmatic body stocking as opposed to the Captain America costume. Steve comes with an absolutely kick ass M-16 and pistol (probably a Colt automatic, though I can’t be sure), and right now I’ve got him standing side by side with my GI Joes.

Finally, while doing some Christmas shopping I picked up the revised version of Chetarra from the latest Thundercats toon. (Yes, I do buy gifts for Christmas. I don’t do this because I actually LIKE the holiday or give two fucks about the birth of a Messiah I don’t even believe ever lived, but I do enjoy the chance to give cool shit to my friends and family.)

Anyway, the design on the character is awesome, but the figure’s execution is somewhat lacking. Her limbs are a way too slender and fragile. I’ve got some concerns about her bicep-joints, and I wouldn’t be surprised if her forearm snaps off entirely at some point in the future. The slenderness of her legs is only exaggerated by the long black stripe that runs down the front of her legs, connecting her shorts to her shoes, like some really long, mutant version of a garter strap. It’s really an odd design choice, and I can’t imagine what function that strap serves in-story; I wish the character illustrator had either just given Chetarra pants, or left the strap off entirely.

Also, Chetarra is a bit anemic in the accessories department. She’s got a brown bo staff, made out of really, really soft plastic. This wouldn’t be so bad if I hadn’t gotten so used to the excellent selection of accessories the new GI Joe figures come with. Hell, my Beachhead came with like 30 different guns, and all Chetarra gets is a stick? WTF? Give the poor girl a sword at least.

On the plus side, the figure has some of the best paint apps I’ve seen recently. The detail on her face, particularly her eyes, is stunning, and her spots are well applied. Anyway, I’ve got her standing side by side with the 4 inch “Planet Hulk”. They make a pretty bad-ass couple, and great inspiration as I’m starting work on my He-Man homage world.

On a related note, why the hell hasn’t Mattel put out a 3.75 inch Masters of the Universe line? Seriously, their adult collector focus really pisses me off. First off, these figures should be purchased and enjoyed by kids, and within the price range of working class families, not 40 year old white guys with way too much disposable income. My making MOTU a pure-nostalgia brand, I’m worried that Mattel is pretty much going to kill off all interest in the world, and certainly prevents any growth into a new generation of kids.

The smaller figures are exponentially cheaper, can come with more accessories (as Beachhead or Planet Hulk prove), and it’s easier to produce vehicles and play-sets for.

Not only that, but the smaller figs take up less shelf space, and as an ‘adult collector’ living on a budget and in a small apartment, those factors really matter to me. Those four figures I mentioned above retailed for about $8 each; roughly $32 for the lot, which is about what I’d be paying for one MOTU Classic figure, including shipping and handling.

And that’s if I buy direct from the on-line store, as soon as an action figure hits the secondary market, the price doubles or triples. So my chances of scoring the awesome looking Optikk are pretty much nil at this point…. Unless I shell $70+ to some basement dwelling fuck with an online storefront.

Seriously Mattel, get your head out your corporate ass and put out GI Joe scaled He-Man figs. The collector in me will buy dozens, and the kid in me wants to see Ultimate Iron Man trading repulsor blasts with Man At Arms, or see Snake Eyes slitting Webstor’s throat, or my Cobra Viper firing off a LAW rocket at Trap Jaw and recoiling in horror as he realizes the blast does exactly jack shit, because Trap Jaw is an MDC creature…. Sorry, I geeked out there for a second.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Upcoming Projects: Fursona III and Races of the Tatakama

2011-12-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

I'm getting some art trickling in for some products that will either be the last Otherverse Games releases for 2011, or among the first of 2012's crop.

Shown here are the cover illustration for Fursona III, by Amanda Webb. This book will focus on using Fursona-built characters, and including Furry heroes in modern and sci-fi settings. There's going to be a HEAVY, HEAVY emphasis on porting Furries to Otherverse America, as that wonderfully pro-choice tigress can attest.

Next, we've got a bunch of black and white images of some of the races described in Races of the Tatakama, by Anthony Cournoyer. This kick-ass sourcebook will convert some of the coolest races from the perverse, hentai-inspired Black Tokyo campaign world to the Pathfinder RPG.

I'm also waiting on some character and location artwork for Ghosts & Promises, an Otherverse America sourcebook focusing on the secret Lifer city out in the Alaskan wilderness.

Later on in the year or early 2013,
I want to release a full Pathfinder campaign setting inspired by the classic He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon. So far, every artist I've talked to about it has been excited, so it should be a fun project. More on that later, but expect a world book as big and comprehensive as Otherverse America was.

With that last project in mind, go here:

http://monsterbrains.blogspot.com/2011/05/masters-of-universe.html

You can see for yourself why I want to do a MOTU-style world, and why my artists are so excited. Earl Norem's art (and the art of other freelancers working on MOTU) is simply beyond belief.

Also, I got a kick out of this story today.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/07/9282920-new-poll-fuels-southern-baptists-concern-over-their-own-name

Note that the Southern Baptist Church isn't talking about changing its behavior, or correcting some of the loathsome injustices that give people a (justifiably) unfavorable view of them. They just want to change their name and rebrand. Sorta makes me laugh, a sad, bitter little laugh.

Anyway, enjoy the art.
Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Boycott the Salvation Army

2011-12-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

I found a link to this article on Slacktivist and thought I'd repost it here. I mention it because the Salvation Army has an enormous, tax-payer funded community center in my little redneck town, and I get a first hand look at their malice and pseudo-militaristic idiocy.
CHRIS

Why You Shouldn't Donate to the Salvation Army Bell Ringers

Filed By Bil Browning | November 21, 2011 8:00 PM | 125 comments

Filed in: Fundie Watch, Living
Tags: anti-gay charity, anti-gay policies, anti-gay prejudice, bad charities, bell ringers, Christmas, give to Salvation Army, holiday season, Salvation Army, Thanksgiving

As the holidays approach, the Salvation Army bell ringers are out in front of stores dunning shoppers for donations. If you care about gay rights, you'll skip their bucket in favor of a charity that doesn't actively discriminate against the LGBT community.

The Salvation Army has a history of active discrimination against gays and lesbians. While you might think you're helping the hungry and homeless by dropping a few dollars in the bright red buckets, not everyone can share in the donations. Many LGBT people are rejected by the evangelical church charity because they're "sexually impure."

The church claims it holds "a positive view of human sexuality," but then clarifies that "sexual intimacy is understood as a gift of God to be enjoyed within the context of heterosexual marriage." The Salvation Army doesn't believe that gays and lesbians should ever know the intimacy of any loving relationship, instead teaching that "Christians whose sexual orientation is primarily or exclusively same-sex are called upon to embrace celibacy as a way of life."

On its webpage, the group claims that "the services of The Salvation Army are available to all who qualify, without regard to sexual orientation." While the words are nice, their actions speak volumes. They blatantly ignore the position statement and deny LGBT people services unless they renounce their sexuality, end same-sex relationships, or, in some cases, attend services "open to all who confess Christ as Savior and who accept and abide by The Salvation Army's doctrine and discipline." In other words, if you're gay or lesbian, you don't qualify.

The organization also has a record of actively lobbying governments worldwide for anti-gay policies - including an attempt to make consensual gay sex illegal. (Yes, you're paying lobbyists with those donations.)

After the break are some highlights from the evangelical Christian charity's recent anti-gay political lobbying, a handy video with more information, and a list of charities who don't discriminate against their clients and employees.

Since 1986 the Salvation Army has engaged in five major assaults on the LGBT community's civil rights and attempted to carve out exemptions that would allow them to deny gays and lesbians needed services as well as employment.

When New Zealand considered passage of the Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986, the Salvation Army collected signatures in an attempt to get the legislation killed. The act decriminalized consensual sex between gay men. The measure passed over the charity's objections.
In the United Kingdom, the Salvation Army actively pushed passage of an amendment to the Local Government Act. The amendment stated that local authorities "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship." The law has since been repealed, but it led many schools and colleges to close LGBT student organizations out of fear they'd lose their government funding.
In 2001, the organization tried to extract a resolution from the White House that they could ignore local non-discrimination laws that protected LGBT people. While the commitment would have applied to all employees, the group claimed that it needed the resolution so it "did not have to ordain sexually active gay ministers and did not have to provide medical benefits to the same-sex partners of employees." After lawmakers and civil rights activists revealed the Salvation Army's active resistance to non-discrimination laws, the White House admitted the charity was seeking the exemptions.
Also in 2001, the evangelical charity actively lobbied to change how the Bush administration would distribute over $24 billion in grants and tax deductions by urging the White House deny funding to any cities or states that included LGBT non-discrimination laws. Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary, issued a statement saying the administration was denying a "regulation sought by the church to protect the right of taxpayer-funded religious organizations to discriminate against homosexuals."
In 2004, the Salvation Army threatened to close all their soup kitchens in New York City to protest the city's decision to require all vendors and charities doing business with the city to adhere to all civil rights laws. The organization balked at having to treat gay employees equal to straight employees.

I've seen the discrimination the Salvation Army preaches first hand. When a former boyfriend and I were homeless, the Salvation Army insisted we break up before they'd offer assistance. We slept on the street instead and declined to break up as they demanded.

Instead of donating to the Salvation Army, choose a different charity that will help everyone without prejudice. Find a local secular charity - or here are some national organizations that provide help to anyone who needs it:

Goodwill (disabled and unemployed)
The Red Cross (medical and emergency relief)
Doctors Without Borders (medical and emergency relief)
Habitat for Humanity (homelessness and housing)

Fursona III: Modern Anthros

2011-11-30T16:49:00.000-08:00

I'm waiting on the cover art for Fursona III.
This cover will feature three characters: one representing the possibilities for Anthro characters in Otherverse America (the sketch of which we see at right), one representing Psi-Watch Anthros, and a third representing the general 'modern magic' type of anthros you'd see in something like True Blood. I told Amanda to give me a cover similar to the Dave Johnson D20 Modern covers: a trio of representative figures posed together, showing what you could build with the rule set.

I'm also finishing up the Kodiak Island sourcebook, and as I wait for the last art for that one to trickle in I've been going back and adding some more content.

Ghosts & Promises and Fursona III will probably close out the year, though I might put out some unplanned micro-PDFs between now and then. Yesterday I sent off a 5 page weapon book to Mark, and might do other short products.

As it stands, 2011 brought about 45-50 releases from me- most through Otherverse Games, but a few good sourcebooks I freelanced for Louis for. 2012 looks like it will be similarly productive.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Synthetic Heroes II is SELLING!

2011-11-23T14:49:00.001-08:00

What the hell? I expected Synth Heroes II to be a decent, lower tier seller, maybe reaching 60-70 on the top 100 chart, but I just dropped into RPGnow and saw its fluctuating between the number one and number two slots!

Wow, thanks to everyone who's picked up Synth Heroes.

I figured I should tell all the fans of free-form D20 character generation out there, (and appearantly there's alot of you), that I'm doing some work on Fursona III RIGHT NOW! I'm putting together a 'mutant' character builder running off the Fursona engine. It'll include some conversions of Psi-Watch material, letting you build free-form versions of the Challengers and City Born, as well as converting the Mutant player race to a build-your-own version. In addition to the char-gen, you'll get some world info. This book will delve HEAVILY into Otherverse America's 'mutie-porn' underground- it should be kinky, transhumanist and body-horror intensive, everything a good sourcebook should be.

I should have a finished draft in a few more days, and I'll post a preview or two later. I was expecting to illo it mostly through stock art, but I'll probably get at least one or two comissioned pieces now. (The illo on the right is some TMNT fan-art I've found on line, unfortunately not a piece for the new book. I can dream, though).

Anyway, expect that soon. Also based on the content of my last post here, I'm wondering if I could pull together a Witchy Hero basic class, which not only allows you to play a badass witch girl type hero from level 1, but which explores the trope of the 'witch hero' genre the same way my Sentai Spectacular release a couple months back explored the tropes of sentai TV? Might be a fun way to end the year.....

Also, just as an aside, I'm looking forward to the revised Neo-Exodus Campaign Setting, from Louis Porter. That should also be up in a few days- I'll be picking it up, and hope most of you do the same.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

The Witch As Superhero

2011-11-23T13:53:00.000-08:00

The Witch As Superhero

One thing I picked up, as a result of www.RPGNow.com ’s ‘Teach Your Kids to Game’ week, and the associated discounts is the Witch Girls Adventures roleplaying game (Channel M Games, 2009). I’d been curious about the book for a long time, and now that I own it, I figured I’d talk about it a bit here.

First off, I am in total love with this game. Character generation is my favorite part of gaming, possibly because these days, cut off from a regular game group, I can still bust out a rulebook and experiment with different builds for various systems. Witch Girls has amazingly quick and fun char-gen, which is a huge plus.

Let’s run through char-gen.

Chargen is freeform, but guided a little bit by a simple template. Basically you pick a Clique (your social group, which determines your outlook towards magic and the size of your Magic Die, and decides what spread of dice you get for your attributes), you then assign dice to your other attributes as desired.

Then, pick 2 talents (equivalent to D20 feats in utility and power), 1 heritage (like a mini-template, in D20 terms, that offers a powerful advantage and corresponding disadvantage). Finally, you pick choose your skills (which really help define your character’s personality and interests), your known types of magic, a few specific spells and some very fun magical equipment. I made my first Witch Girls character in about 15 minutes; in my experience only Big Eyes, Small Mouth (2^nd edition) has faster or easier char-gen.

Oh, since most gamers want to know the basic resolution method used in a system, Witch Girls Adventures uses attribute plus skill versus either a target number or an opponent’s roll. Say you’re trying to hack a computer, and you assigned a D8 to Mind, and have 3 ranks in Computers. You’d roll D8 + 3 and hope you beat the difficulty. Quick, workable and easily understood. I also like the fact that combat (both magical and mundane) slightly favors the defenders, which should keep character death to a minimum. A character’s basic, passive defenses are equal to a defensive attribute +3, which makes it a bit harder, statistically speaking, for an attacker to kill a heroine.

As Witch Girls is targeted at young gamers, keeping the PCs alive for a few sessions is a plus in my book; leave cheap deaths and highly lethal settings for older and more experienced gamers. Of course, as characters (and their opponents) get more powerful, and gain more ranks in Fight and Casting (the basic offensive skills), these training wheels come off a bit. It becomes more common to find more and more stuff with significantly more than just 3 ranks in Fight or Casting.

Enough about system.

Why do I love this game so much? First off, I like elegant rules, and these are. The traits and heritages, which are the real meat of char-gen cover most of the possibilities commonly found in the genre (magical/ modern fantasy tween literature) and leave lots of room for future supplements without excessive power-creep, making them well designed from both a gaming and a commercial standpoint. I also am digging the artwork: adorable describes the gamebook nicely.

Anyway, as I’m reading the rulebook, I start seeing thematic commonalties between Witch Girls and other tween/teen-focused magical fiction, and even mass media stuff aimed at a slightly older audience like Charmed. Call it the concept of “witch as superhero”…. to me, as a pagan and an author, it’s a fascinating concept.

What is the Witch as Superhero anyway? What kind of character fits that mold?

Female, of course.
Magical, intelligent, wise, attractive.
Able to cast spells, and usually only supposed to cast beneficial or pleasant spells- healing magic, love spells, ect. Witch Girl adventures breaks this aspect of the trope- its characters can throw full on D&D combat magic. In other media, some Witch Girls might be pure ‘white mage’ types, completely unable to cast any kind of harmful (read: tactically useful) magic. This part of the trope varies a bit by writer.

So far, I’m describing Clea, right? Zatana, maybe? Nothing specifically pagan, right. Here’s where it gets a bit different.

Witch superheroes are hereditary. Most of them are fundamentally different from ordinary people- the descendents of Lilith in WGA, homo magi in the case of Zatanah, the descendants of ancestral asskickers in the case of Charmed, ect. There’s an almost classist theme here, one which is explored explicitly in WGA. The trope says “WE are not YOU. We’re BETTER.”

Correspondingly, these characters seem to be outside of the law, outside the social structure, above it or around it. These witches follow their own rules, screw mundane social mores. WGA is HEAVY into this.

Fast. Witches are fucking FAST, both physically and emotionally. Decisive, quick, able to rapidly come to a conclusion, to act as they see fit. WGA has witches on broomsticks- that folkloric assumption carries over in comic books and TV as superspeed, and with superspeed comes DECISIVENESS. The sense of speed in Rob Zombie’s ‘American Witch’ is palpable- the speed of her passage sets the ground on fire beneath her. Though The American Witch is by no means a superhero, meets this criteria, as well as criteria 5 above and 7 below. Part of the Witchy decisiveness might be a result of freedom from outside moral constraints: these Witch Heroes do what they need to, with only their own conscience as guide.

Vengeful. Witch Heroes are occasionally angry, and most times rightfully so. Lots of fictional witches have some unfinished scores to settle from the Burning Times. Usually in fiction, this a specific grudge against some semi-immortal witchhunter or a demon that manipulated medieval Christians to hunt innocent witches, not the Christian power structure as a whole, but the righteous anger is there. Zombie’s American Witch is a great example of this somewhat optional requirement for the trope, as is the film version of Silent Hill.

The vengeful and ‘outside the law’ traits go hand in hand if you think about it for a minute. A few years back, I saw some crappy Hallmark Channel made for TV movie about a magical, “Bewitched” style Witch Hero who moves into a small town and gets screwed with by the bigoted local rednecks. Over time, and with good deeds and love, she won everybody over and improved everbody’s life. That’s sorta a fucked up morality tale if you stop to think about it. This fictional witch has to be the good one, has to prove her worth time and again, just to eventually enjoy the acceptance her Christian neighbors take for granted?

She has to kiss ass for 90 minutes just to be treated like a decent human being? Fuck that. My thought, if society’s majority-written laws do not respect the rights of the minority, they become morally worthless. Obeying these laws becomes not a moral duty- you don’t refrain from killing or stealing from your oppressors because it’s the right things to do in such a situation, you do it merely because you fear the reprisal of the powerful. Anyway, Witch Heroes are often powerful enough to be outside the law (#5), decisive enough to break any law they feel is unjust (#6), and have a legitimate root for their anger (#7). These traits are optional, but when they’re placed together, there’s something really powerful there, story-wise.

Finally, Witch Heroes rarely follow any recognizable magical tradition. Sometimes their powers are a jumble of different styles- a little Goetic summoning, some half-assed kitchen witchery, a little Voodun, a whole lot of Dr. Strange. Other times, the author just makes something up: Charmed makes up its cosmology as it goes, taking the majority of its inspiration from lame-ass angel calendars as far as I can tell. Even if the character calls herself a Wiccan, like Willow, the fictional definition of Wiccan is closer to the definition of Jedi than what I believe. Belief tends to be blandly, inoffensively spiritual- faith devoid of context, but in a way even that’s daring, because it shows a world without Jesus, even if that world is created by omission more than intent.

Back to Witch Girl Adventures.

Here we’ve got ‘witches’ as heroines, as the reason the game-world exists, but they are divorced (mostly) from real world concepts of ‘witch’. These girls aren’t Wiccans or Pagans, not really, even though they are nothing recognizable as Christian, either; they aren’t ‘witches’ the way I am a Witch. They also are not baby sacrificing black magicians either, which negates the other definition of witch, one I struggle against often. They’re inoffensive witches, PG-rated witches. These girls didn’t hang at Salem, but they’re not reading Gardner or Crowley (or even, Goddess help us, Silver Ravenwolf ™ ) either.

More Effective Than a Gun

So what are the Witch Girls, then?

They’re witch archetypes, in the same way Superman is a messianic archetype.

Inoffensive, cute, loveable, the Witch Girls are weapons. So are the sisters on Charmed, so is Willow on Buffy, so are a dozen different pop culture heroines I could name. These Witch Girls, in all their many forms mutate real world Wicca and Paganism into something unrecognizable- a slightly feminist action movie world with no bearing on real practices or beliefs. In most cases, realism isn’t desired, nor is it necessary. In fact, realistic portrayals of my faith would turn off Christian publishers, advertisers, ect… who are anxious to avoid controversy and boycotts. So we get in under the radar, but more on that later…..

Problems (?) With the Portrayal of Witch Heroes

There’s problems with the Hollywood Wiccan Superhero stereotype, of course. First off, in fiction, you will NEVER find a male Wiccan, and other forms of Pagan are rare. (The most visible male neo-pagans, unfortunately, are Neo-Nazi Ásatrú- which is unfortunate. The Norse myths are pretty bad-ass and inspiring, and its tragic, unforgivable, that a bunch of bigoted, tattooed skinhead fucks have stolen that from all of us.) Anyway, back on topic- female Wiccans. The mass media making Wiccans exclusively female is annoying to me, as a male Wiccan, but not unforgivably so. It provides a nice feminist slant on faith, and justice, which I can’t argue with, and provides a nice contrast between feminist Wicca and patriarchal monotheism. I actually don’t mind defining my faith by that contrast, because it’s a struggle that needs to be undertaken.

This emphasis on feminist paganism also shortchanges gay pagans a bit, but that particular can o’ worms goes back to Gerald Gardner himself, so I can’t blame Hollywood for it too much. Most Witch Hero/Witch Girl media is pretty heteronormative, but I expect that the whole concept of hetro-noramlity will start fading a bit as the culture changes, the old bigots die off, and a new, freer, less reflexively homophobic generation comes of age.

The other problem with Witch Hero media is that as mentioned above, it tends to be classist- there’s usually some kind of race of hereditary witches, usually passing the power down the matriarchal line. In most fiction, Witch Girls are portrayed as inherently superior due to their powers, which makes story sense: if these girls can cast spells, and nobody else can, they ARE superior. End of story. Of course, teaching prejudice of any kind, even in the harmless context of an empowerment fantasy is a bit of a bad idea. It’s my understanding that WGA has taken some flak for making this classist power fantasy such a big part of the setting fiction. Of course, most of those doing the criticism are RPG nerds on message boards, 90% of whom are some form of Christian themselves, and don’t have anything similar to say about far more obvious and far more pervasive Christian-based power fantasies, ranging from Narnia to Left Behind. So take the criticism with a family-sized grain of salt.

I also wonder if spreading the meme that witches are special, superior, is necessarily a bad thing. The hereditary lineage of witch powers in fiction is actually pretty close to the historical concept of ‘hereditary witchcraft’ that’s been a working, if oft criticized theory of Wicca heritage since the beginning. But more to the point, I’ve noticed that every oppressed group in history needs some arrogance, some elitism, some swagger, even if its only false bravado in the face the bad guys. Sooner or later, that swagger settles down into true and quiet factional pride, and the oppressed get to work on true equality, now with the unity and sense of pride that swagger gives them. Before you had real gay rights, you had camp. Before Barack Obama got elected, before black pride, you had black power- raised fists and afros. Superficial, angry, maybe a little shrill, but both camp and black power were full of the bravado that told a people that had been stepped that they were worth fighting for. My opinion, modern pagans could use a little bit more of that swagger, and if elitist fiction gives it to ‘em, great.

Why do I like the ‘Witch as Superhero’ concept so much?

Witch Girl media are building the modern stereotype of what a Pagan is; these Witch Heroes reappropirate the noun ‘witch’, branding the term, the concept of a witch not as a demon-worshipper or mewling, ineffectual victim of Dark Ages Christian persecution but as a spell-casting superhero. Not too shabby. Of course, nobody really expects Witches like me to cast spells like witches like them, but look at what else comes with the sterotype. Witch Girls are smart, noble, able to see and do things mundane humans (read: Christians) can’t even imagine.

You get a kid at 12-13 reading Twitches, playing Witch Girls, watching Charmed re-runs, even if he abandons them when the kid puts away the things of childhood, he has been shown something. The lesson might go unremembered, consciously, but the lesson has still been taught. The lesson is this: witches are the good guys.

Even if that kid later goes to the most fundamentalist Evangelical church on the planet and gets the line from Leviticus “Thou shall not suffer a witch to live” tattooed on his ass, the counter-thought is rattling around in his brain. The meme ‘witches are the good guys’ is a part of that kid’s soul now, and maybe, just maybe, that meme will break through the relentless Christian conditioning the kid is exposed to every other minute of his life.

Maybe this theoretical kid someday meets a real Wiccan or Pagan, and when he picks his jaw up off the floor that there are real ‘witches’ out there, starts asking questions. Now, the first question this Witch meme-infected soul is going to ask is going to be dumb as fuck, probably even unwittingly offensive. So, Pagan readers, if you get asked a question born of genuine, if ignorant curiosity, answer it honestly. It’ll be the second lesson about witches this theoretical pre-teen Charmed watcher has learned: witches teach.

We enlighten. Our simple existence, outside of Christianity, uncaring about the Christian themes of salvation and judgment, not having Jesus, and not wanting him either, offers a different way to live.

WGA plays with this trope explicitly. At one point in the setting fiction, WGA states the great moral purpose of Witches, the reason they exist is to bring Wonder (they even capitalized it) into the world. There’s a similar motif in Changeling: The Dreaming (White Wolf), in that fey characters are simply more FUN then mundanes, and it’s the duty of every fey to bring joy and enlightening, childlike wonder to mundanes. WGA has some obvious White Wolf influence, especially in the contrast between the drab mundane world and the colorful, joyous world of witches and magic. In both these campaign settings, remember that the mundane world IS the Christian world, our Christian world- the world built by 2,000+ years of monotheistic domination.

I’ve spoken before about the difference in attitudes towards art and craftsmanship as perceived by Christian and pagan artists. I feel it is our duty as pagans, and I certainly consider it my duty as a pagan artist to create simply BETTER art than my Christian competitors. It proves my superiority as a person, a creator, and my faith’s superiority. Let Christians build a Starbucks on every corner, write one repetitive ass sitcom after another, I’ll do something a bit more kick-ass, thanks. So I can definitely get behind the concept of ‘Witch Hero as bringer of wonder and enlightenment.’

So maybe a kid’s adventure game, one that has characters called Witches who worship no god nor goddess, carry no atheme and have no politics beyond the politics of the cute, can show the next generation of real world Pagans something transdescent. I’m a big believer that secular entertainment can inspire, as much if not more than traditional religious works. So if a secular work like Witch Girls can inspire a few kids in the direction of my faith (or even better, in the direction of my politics), awesome. This game, possibly by accident, is showing ostensibly ‘Witch’ heroes in the same light I want to show modern neo-pagans. WGA is like the Disney Channel version of Otherverse America.

Somewhere along the way I read something about how media depiction of black people progressed. You started off with them exclusively as villains, subhuman- the blackface, spear-throwing tribals in King Kong. Then, black people in media became comic relief in minstrel shows and blackface comedy. Then they become the sidekicks, loyal and stupid but dependable- heroic, but in an extremely limited way, and existing only to make their white superior look good. Then, and only then do you get to complex, well rounded portrayals, and in a bit of irony, you got extraordinary black heroes (Black Panther, for example, the king of his own Utopian African nation) before you got realistic, interesting black villains.

So I’ve always kinda wondered where the media depiction of Wiccans and Pagans falls along that same continuum? Right now, we’re in the goofy sidekick phase, with a few genuine heroes here and there. Of course, you could also argue that since very few media portrays our culture than any more depth then the minstrel shows portrayed black folks of the 1920s maybe we’re still in the ‘comic relief’ phase. Who knows. Do you consider the Witch Heroes of Witch Girls Adventures to be close enough to pagan to count as genuine pagan characters, or to paraphrase Dr. Evil are they ‘the Diet Coke of paganism’? Again, who knows. It’s a good question though, and gives me a few ideas to write about myself.

Anyway, hope you were able to slog through my rather convoluted thoughts here.
Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Post Script

As a Wiccan author, a military vet, and a longtime GI Joe fan, I wonder one thing: have there been any Wiccan or Pagan members of the Joe team? I only ask because the Joes are the most crazy-diverse team in comics, which is appropriate considering they are a reflection of the real US military.

I sorta remember a jungle warfare expert joe- Recondo, maybe- leaving a ‘sacrifice’ of some captured Cobra weapons at a jungle totem pole. I can’t quite remember if it was a joke on his part, him just being quirky in that Larry Hama-written way, or just trying to fit in with the locals, or a genuine expression of belief. And there is the IDW version of Breaker, who is a member of Serpentor’s cult, though that seems to be more “Scientology + Snake Motifs” rather than anything neo-pagan. I’m willing to count those two if you are, but I’d love to know if there’s anything closer to my definition of Pagan on the team.

Three Books

2011-11-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

My weekend is Wednesday and Thursday. The very poor, which I am, rarely have the luxury of Saturday and Sunday off. But I guess I get by. It’s been a productive weekend for me.

I finished up Synthetic Heroes II, and am right now, taking a break from working on Fursona III, which will ‘hack’ the Fursona character builder to create a variety of mutants and animalistic post humans that don’t have a ‘furry’ look or feel. Instead, these guys will be more like Marvel Comics mutants….. It’s going to basically tweak the Mutant race from Psi-Watch, removing its connection to the now outdated D20 Future Mutation rules, and plugging it into the more flexible Fursona system.

The Christian Bible

Also, yesterday, I took my mom out for Chinese. Good family fun there. We ended up talking about this fat, perverse recovering drug addict (and evangelical Christian whakjob) who lives in my complex and has decided I must be capital-S Saved. Dude leaves a Bible on my front steps while I’m at work. I come home, see a book on my steps, and think a friend left me something cool; I get there, pick it up and see it’s a Good News Bible. So I pick the thing up, set it on the chair near my front door, and leave it there. It can stay there until it rots for all I care, or until somebody who wants it takes the damn thing.

It infuriates me that this guy is trying so hard to convert me. First off, I’m not going to take religious advice from a fat, washed up old junkie under ANY circumstances. Second, it galls me this guy thinks I’m just a non-Christian because I’m unaware of the Bible’s contents. I’ve read the fuckin’ thing from cover to cover before, because it is referenced in so many other literary works, and is a cornerstone book of Western culture. I wanted to better understand Western history, so I read the thing, probably deeper than Fatso ever has. It’s that kind of magical ‘all I have to do to convert the heathen is quite randomly from scripture’ false and easy evangelism Fred Clark writes about so eloquently on his Slactivist blog.

Second, if I wanted a Bible, I know where to go to get one. I could check one out of the library, go to any bookstore and have my pick of any of 20 different translations and editions, or go to any church in town and ask for a free copy. The reason I don’t have a B Bible in my house is quite simple: I don’t want that crap in my home.

Each day I roll out of bed, put my pants on and step out into the world, especially in Kerrville, TX, I have to step into a Christian world. I’m fricking alone out there, and I have to tolerate all the petty little prejudices and misapprehensions and the sense of entitled cultural superiority the Christians show me. I hate to put up with REALLY far right bumperstickers on at least 20% of the cars in town, with a 90 ft tall wrought iron cross on a hill just outside town, marking Christian territory like garish gang graffiti, with Christians believing I practice black magic, or kill animals (or even in extreme cases, babies) for sacrifice, or use Ouija boards or whatever other sterotypes they believe about me.

I put up with that nonsense all day, and you know what, it’s fucking exhausting and infuriating. I want my home to be a sanctuary, a purely pagan place, a place I can take off my mental armor and relax and just…. Be. Blessed motherfuckin’ Be.

A place where I can do my work- my pagan work, to my mind, my Craft if you will- of writing to the best of my ability and occasionally creating a meme that might, just might make a Christian reader reconsider some of their cultural assumptions. Having Bibles dropped off on my front stoop is not exactly conducive to this. To me, it feels like a scouting mission by the onward marching Christian soldiers, a prelude to full invasion.

JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit

I also hit up a couple of local thrift stores, picking up several novels for like 50 cents each, and a copy of the live action GI Joe movie for 3 bucks. I know, as a movie that thing was pretty crappy, but for 3 bucks, it’s fairly entertaining.

Among the books I got were copies of the Hobbit and the Similarion…. I don’t really want to trudge through the entire Rings trilogy, but as I expected, Hobbit was a fast read, and the Similarion is really just an anthology of loosely related short stories. I finished the Hobbit last night, and I’m amazed at how many of the tropes Tolkien established are being used un-modified today. Seventy years since Lord of the Rings first hit, and it’s kinda sad how little fantasy as a genre has grown.

My thoughts…. It was a good, fun, light read. The Hobbit is a straight up kids story, and had quite a few of the problems inherent to the genre. There were tons of dues ex machine last-second rescues. I know that the real point of the book’s climax was the Battle of Five Armies, but Smaug died like a bitch. All of a sudden, this character, who we’ve seen speak like one line before the climax picks up a bow and kills the thing? I’m reading it, and thinking, who the fuck is this Bard asshole?

Seriously, the lackluster death of the dragon really hurt the book for me. Still, like I said a fun read. And its interesting to look at the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game’s Halfling racial traits right after reading the Hobbit. Really, really off. I know, intellectually, that Halflings and Hobbits are evolutionary different creatures- D&D Halflings had to evolve along different lines to fend off the super-predators known as the Tolkien Estate, but jeez…. These two races are NOTHING alike. There’s a part of me that wants to do up a quick race book for more Tolkien styled Halflings. I might do that in the next week or two…..

The Robotech Novel Series

Another book I started reading is a collected edition of the first three Robotech licensed novels. I figured I deserved some trashy, juvenile literature, and this fit the bill. Holy crap, are these things ludicrous. It seems like the poor author was basically shown the anime, and told to write something to make all this shit make some form of sense.

Now, this is really my first exposure to Robotech. During its original run, the Robotech saga played at like 6 AM in my market, so I missed it as a kid. As a teenager, when I was first getting into anime (then referred to as Japanimation, to give a linguistic clue to how long ago my teenage years were), I passed over Robotech. It seemed juvenile and outdated compared to edgier, more modern (for the time) like Bubblegum Crisis and Wicked City. So I missed Robotech both times.

The books are so bad they’re good. There’s these incredibly lurid descriptions of space-folds, the Zentradi (who I’m picturing as 60 ft tall Klingons, basically) and ‘proto-culture’… okay, I gotta ask? In the anime, were Veritechs really powered by some kind of funky alien flowers? Really? I just figured they had a mini-reactor aboard or something. This ‘flower of life’ bullshit is sorta…. it reminds me a lot of Cobra-La, which I definitely do not consider a compliment. Or maybe the Fire Flower from Super Mario Brothers, neither concept which really fits into a story that is basically “Top Gun in space!”.

Of course, I pretty hate all the characters and wish they would all fucking die. Roy Fokker is sorta cool, if a completely generic stock character: he’s dashing fighter pilot #4723, nothing more. He gets the job done and doesn’t detract from the point of the books- cool mecha blowing up aliens. This Rick Hunter idiot, who I think ended up being the POV character for the anime, is a juvenile, whining asshole.

And his sorta-girlfriend Minmei…. She may be the single stupidest character in all sci-fi. Seriously, is this vapid, immature bitch retarded or something? Seriously, she’s gotta be somewhere along the autistic spectrum: she constantly misreads fairly basic, fairly obvious social cues to a level that makes her seem either terminally self-absorbed or else neurologically atypical. Of course, considering she basically suggests to her adoptive parents that they basically become war profiteers after Macross City gets warped out to Pluto-orbit (which makes even less sense in context) and goes on a shopping spree while rescue crews are still digging out the rubble of her rebuilt (twice over now) city…. I think self absorbed is a more likely diagnosis.

I actually stopped reading (by throwing the book at the wall, hard as I can) during the shopping spree scene. You’ve got this novilization of a shitty anime-slapstick scene where Rick Hunter, the whining little douchebag, goes on an accidental rampage through a lingerie shop. It was physically painful to read, but you gotta give the poor author credit for doing the best he could with the crappy, cliché material he was given. But the waste of talent involved was pretty obvious.

Anyway, I don’t think I need to read any more Robotech. I feel like I’ve gotten the full treatment, about 20 pages into the second book in the trilogy. On onehand, you’ve got bad ass space mecha and military sci-fi… on the other, you’ve got Three’s Company. And guess which side of the story the books choose to emphasize. If you said military sci-fi, you’re wrong…..

I’ll start up the Similarion later, and let you know how that goes.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Synthetic Heroes II

2011-11-16T18:41:00.001-08:00

I've been doing a bunch of work lately on some Black Tokyo related products, and I realized that I haven't really put anything new out this month.

So take a look over to the right of the page. I've put out a sequel to the Synthetic Heroes robotic character builder, which is in turn based off Fursona.... one of my most popular and one of the products I've had the most fun writing this year.

Inside you'll find 6 new design schemes, a couple dozen new minor and major racial traits, some new disadvantages to balance them out, a couple of new templates and a new robotic/cybernetic disease.

This is a character builder, so what would you be able to build with the new content inside? Try this list of characters: Robocop, Battle Angel Alita, any of the girls from Strike Witch, Snout Spout (from Masters of the Universe), Fanotomex (from Morrison's X-Men run) or Warlock (from New Mutants).

Anyway, this book will be out in a couple of days, and look for a couple of small releases. I think my next major release will be the PFRPG Black Tokyo conversion. At this point, I'd expect that in late December or early January. I'll roll over the profits from it into Pirates of Bronze Sky and Guide to the Known Galaxy, so those will come later in the spring of 2012.

Talk to you later,
CHRIS

Dragon Strippers Vs Zobmies

2011-11-09T12:54:00.000-08:00

http://www.toplessrobot.com/2011/11/super_terrific_japanese_thing_nsfw_1.php

Saw this on Topless Robot this morning, and I loved it. I'm ABSOLUTELY stealing this for Black Tokyo!

Also, I need some advice and marketing data from you, my readers. Are any of you guys doing anything with Psi-Watch and Battlechangers? I'm trying to decide if I should continue supporting those worlds, or just consider them dead universes?

Especially with Psi-Watch, should I just pull out the variant Psionics rules, and character builder stuff and leave off the setting fiction, or is it a world you're still interested in gaming in?

Leave me some comments here, please.
CHRIS

Talented Perverts

2011-11-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

Last post, I mentioned starting talents for Races of the Tatakama. Here's a preview of the first few starting talents, A-D, excerpted from the manuscript. Enjoy.

The new talents described below offer another way to customize the heroes, gods and monsters of the Tatakama. Each trait is roughly as powerful as half a feat, a little less powerful overall, or only useful in certain situations. Players can each select two feats at character creation, which must be chosen from different categories. As the Tatakama is steeped in magic, many of these new talents offer obvious supernatural abilities, while ordinary feats usually are limited to extraordinary abilities, the result of training or drive. These Tatakama-specific starting talents join the roster of available talents described in the PFRPG Advanced Player’s Guide.

A few of these talents have prerequisites that must be met. You must meet any prerequisites listed (such as gender, ability score minimums, or ranks in a particular skill) to choose that talent.

Angelic Little Loli

Type: Faith

Restricted: good aligned, female or bishonen characters only, young adults or younger characters only

Ability: WIS 13+

Your beautiful girl’s body hides a saintly and pure heart. Your innocence provides a measure of protection against oni-spawn horrors. You gain a +1 holy bonus on all Saves made against the hostile attentions of evil outsiders and undead.

Hostile creatures of those types who confirm a melee critical hit against you must succeed at a WILL Save (DC 10 + your WIS modifier) or be shaken for as long as they remain in your presence and for 1 round after they leave it. Once a creature saves against this effect, it cannot be affected by your purity again for 24 hours.

Limitation: You lose the benefit of this talent for 24 hours if you engage in consensual penetrative sex, though you can engage in masturbation, oral or fetish acts with a lover.

Bara (EX)

Type: Social

Restricted: Male characters only, adult age category or older only

Ability: CON 13+

You are bara “bear” a healthy, virile and sexually insatiable gay man, proud and strong. Your hyper-masculinity makes you desirable, especially in the eyes of younger lovers. You may add your CON modifier as a luck bonus on sexually oriented Bluff and Diplomacy checks involving other men.

Bishonen / Bishojo (SU)

Type: Social

Ability: CHA 13+

You are a bishonen ‘beautiful boy” or bishojo “beautiful girl”, a seductive and androgynous beauty. Your strange, gender-bending beauty makes you particularly adept at seducing members of your own gender. You receive a +2 bonus on sexually oriented Bluff and Diplomacy checks made against creatures of your own gender.

Bless Gohei (SU)

Type: Faith

Ability: WIS 13+

You can bless the zig-zagging ritual streamers commonly found in Shinto temples. This minor magical artifact is common across Tatakama and even the strange world of Black Japan. Blessing a gohei requires a short ceremony requiring 1d4 rounds, and a token sacrifice of religious oils, herbs or incense worth 1d4 GP. Once created, a gohei can be worn on a believer’s clothing, affixed to a weapon or a shield, or hung from a structure such as a temple gate or the entry arch of a private home.

Once blessed, a gohei retains its blessing until the next dawn. Evil outsiders suffer a -1 morale penalty on all attack rolls, skill checks and saving throws within 60 ft of a blessed gohei. This penalty is not cumulative if the outsider is exposed to multiple gohei simultaneously.

Broken Doll (SU)
Type: Combat

Ability: CHA 13+

You are at your most beautiful bloodied and with your face swollen and deformed by bruises. When you are reduced to half your maximum Hit Point total or less, you receive a +2 enhancement bonus to your CHA score.

Carnal Inspiration (SU)

Type: Magic

Restricted: Ability to cast arcane spells

For 24 hours (or until you next sleep) after a sexual encounter with a partner who has a charisma score of 15+, you are blessed with a gift for the magic of change, creation and lust. You cast all spells from the Conjuration and Enchantment schools at +1 caster level.

Charming Seducer (EX)
Type: Social
Ability: CHA 13+

You have a knack for talking lovers into your bedroom. Once per day, when attempting to seduce a new lover, or to convince a current lover to accede to some specific sexual request, you may add +20 to a single Bluff or Diplomacy check to do so. You must declare the use of this ability prior to making the check.

Carve Netsuke (SU)

Skill: Craft (bone or woodcarving) 1 rank

Using techniques passed down from your parents, you have mastered the art of carving netsuke- tiny charms often used as decorative clasps, made from bone or wood. With a successful DC 12 Craft (bone or woodcarving) check, and about two hours of exacting work, you can carve a netsuke.

While carrying a netsuke, a character receives a +1 luck bonus on a single skill check, represented by the activity depicted by the carving. A netsuke will only function for the specific person it is carved for, or that character’s child or heir. A person can carry any number of netsuke at any given time. As an art object, most netsuke can be purchased for 2-5 gp; as a gift to a trusted friend, their value is far greater. Netsuke are Fine magical trinkets of negligible weight.

Cherry Blossom Touch (SU)
Type: Faith

Ability: WIS or CHA 13+

You have been blessed with the mysterious ability to touch a cherry blossom tree, no matter how ancient or sickly it is and return the tree to full health. The tree is covered in fragrant blooms, as if at the height of spring, no matter the season. You must touch the tree for at least one minute to use this ability, and this touch has no affect on a tree that is truly dead, nor upon processed wood or lumber.

Anyone of a non-evil alignment who sees you make a cherry blossom tree bloom when it shouldn’t is favorably deposed to, and you receive a +2 luck bonus on Diplomacy checks against that person for a day.

Demon Hunter’s Semen (SU)

Type: Combat

Restricted: Male characters only

You have been blessed by luminous semen that can strengthen a lover against demonic violence. For one hour after accepting your semen into their body, characters receive a +1 luck bonus on all saving throws against spells and effects generated by creatures of the Outsider type.

Dreams of the Earth Realm (EX)
Type: Magic

In dreams, you walk the neon-soaked streets of Black Japan, remembering a previous incarnation in another world hung in the branches of the Great Universal Tree. Each time you awaken, you may attempt a DC 16 WILL Save to remember some fragment of your dream. If successful, you receive one of the following benefits, determined by rolling D4.

You can speak and are literate in modern Japanese, as spoken in the Black Tokyo campaign setting.
Your faint memories of otherworldly science provides you with a +1 insight bonus on Craft and Disable Device checks.
Your previous incarnation’s karma provides you with a +1 luck bonus on WILL Saves.
You gain proficiency with firearms, which may or may not be of any use depending on the technology available in this incarnation.

These benefits last for 24 hours, or until you next sleep or rest.

Dimwitted but Mighty (EX)

Type: Combat

Ability: at least a -1 penalty in either INT or WIS

You aren’t exactly brilliant, but you are as strong as an ox. If you have a penalty to either your INT or WIS scores, once per day, you may add that penalty as a luck bonus on any STR check, STR-based skill check or melee attack roll. You must declare the use of this talent prior to making the roll.

Hentai!

2011-11-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I collected all my separate files relating to the "races of the tatakama" into one big working document. Right now, it's standing at about 38,000 words (about 100 pages). To celebrate, have an image of the Strike Witches, all pantsless. Enjoy.

So the format for Races of the Tatakama will look like:
1. The twelve races, with a minimum of 4 alternate racial traits for each species.

2. Alternate racial traits for the Core Races, designed to give them a distinct hentai feel.

3. A new innovation: cultural templates. Edo period Japan was ridiculously class conscious, so to emulate that, I've got seven cultural/caste templates. Pick one, add it to your character, and the game will treat you like a member of the caste automatically. It takes something that would normally be a purely roleplaying advantage or disadvantage and gives it mechanical support- support that is effectively invisible. The seven castes will be:

Ainu (a primitive animist culture that were the first inhabitants of Japan)
Burakumin (untouchables that are considered ritually unclean)
Heimin (the merchants, the middle class)
Samuari (noble warriors)
Ninja (spies and blackmailers, more subtle and pragmatic than the flashy, Hollywood style ninja)
Nobility (exactly what the name implies)
The Imperial Family (super nobility, a direct connection to the current ruling dynasty).

After that, you'll have starting talents, similar to the ones in the Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide, but with a distinct hentai flavor. I'll be using the starting talents from Black Tokyo II as a base, converting everything over with a more medieval mindset and flavor. I'll preview a few of the starting talents at the end of this post, in fact! I'm having a ton of fun with these- they add a lot of flavor, and tell you tons about the WORLD and CULTURE of the Tatakama without large blocks of text, just in the game rule info about them.

Finally, the book will include hentai feats- lots of high power, gory, supernatural talents. Feats from Black Tokyo like Armor of Filth, Moonflit Wings, Unbirth, Mother to Demons, Rebuilt by Lust, and other 'favorites' will be included, often in heavily modified form. The differences betwen D20 Modern and the Pathfinder ruleset are great enough that a straight conversion is flat out impossible, plus I'm going back and revisiting Black Tokyo after four years of design experience and improvement- I'm a better writer today than I was then, and a better game designer, so I'll be bringing those new advantages to the table.

Plus, the Pathfinder magic system is a lot tighter and more comprehensive then D20 Modern. Let me do a side by side comparison. I'll post the D20 Modern and the Pathfinder version of the "Mother to Demons" feats side by side, and you can see the differences. Mother to Demons was one of the most complex feats in the original Black Tokyo, and I'm amazed how much smoother it works and how much smaller the text box is in the PFRPG version.

D20 Version: Mother to Demons (General SU)

Your womb is a gate to a dark and hellish dimension of monsters and foul things, and your vaginal lips are a torrii gate that opens between worlds. You can give birth to powerful, deadly creatures that defend their mother with the dark devotion of a monstrous son.

Prerequisites: Racial Exotica, Vaginal Prison

Benefit: You can give birth to a variety of creatures, an entire ecosystem of monstrous beasts and animalistic demon-kin who emerge naked and feral from your vulva. Many of your creations lack the divine spark that would allow them to remain in existence for long, dying within minutes or hours, but a few of your most beloved ‘children’ are imbued with a portion of your soul. These favored children can survive indefinitely, and can learn, grow, and gain XP and character levels.

The children of your womb are fully described in chapter eight of the D20 Modern Core Rulebook. Your children have average statistics and abilities for a member of their species. Sentient ‘children’ have an unshakable loyalty to you as their primary allegiance, but as sentient creatures may change their opinion towards you over time. When first created, even your sentient children will gladly obey even suicidal and atrocious commands.

Most of your children only remain in existence a short time, determined by their relative power level, before dying and rapidly decaying to dust and dried blood. You may spend action points and/or XP to bind your children permanently to the world.

You may birth different combinations of monsters each day, from hordes upon hordes of pitiful creatures to single hulking guardians. The monsters you birth are organized into rough ‘birth point’ categories, based upon their power level. Each category has an associated numerical value. Each day you may birth any number or combination of creatures, provided the total birth point cost does not exceed your CON score.

Birthing your dark children is incredibly painful and difficult, just like natural childbirth. Birthing a child requires at least 1d4 minutes per size category, and after the birth, you are nauseated for 1 minute per size category. During the birth, you are effectively helpless.

There is no limit to the number of demonic children you can birth or have in existence at any one time. Your demonic children may be used as familiars, though they provide no nutritional value if consumed nor leave any useful components unless they are made permanent.

Table: Mother to Demons

Birth Point Category	Creature Types	Life Span	Cost to Make Permanent
One Point	Bat, Cat , Ferret, Toad, Viper	48 hours	25 XP per creature
Two Points	Dog (medium), Kobold, Hawk, Spider (medium)	24 hours	50 XP per creature
Three Points	Goblin, Horse, Spider (large) Constrictor Snake, Wolf	12 hrs	50 XP + one action point per creature
Four Points	Ape, Crocodile, Gnoll, Troglodyte	6 hours	100 XP + one action point per creature
Five Points	Bear, Bugbear, Crocodile (huge), Tiger	4 hours	200 XP + one action point per creature
Six Points	Minotaur, Monstrous Flytrap , Ogre	2 hours	500 XP + one action point per creature
Seven Points	Rotlord Fiend, Gargoyle, Medusa	1 hour	1,000 XP + one action point per creature

Special: Only females can select this feat.

PFRPG Version: Mother to Demons (General SP)

Your womb is a dark and hellish dimension of monsters and foul things, and your vaginal lips are a torrii gate that opens to the darkness between worlds. You can give birth to powerful, deadly creatures that defend their mother with the dark devotion of a monstrous son.

Prerequisites: Vaginal Prison, Knowledge (the planes) 5 ranks, female gender

Benefit: You can give birth to a variety of creatures, an entire ecosystem of monstrous beasts and animalistic demon-kin who emerge naked and feral from your vulva. Birthing your dark children is incredibly painful and difficult, just like natural childbirth. Birthing a child requires 1d4 minutes plus an additional +1d4 minutes per size category past size Small, and after the birth, you are nauseated for 1 minute per size category. During the birth, you are effectively helpless.

Each day upon awakening you can cast up to 10 levels of Summon Monster in any combination of Summon Monster spells you desire, up to a maximum of Summon Monster 6. For instance, you may choose to cast Summon Monster 5 and Summon Monster 1, cast Summon Monster 6 once, or any other combination that adds up to ten and does not duplicate a higher level summoning spell than Summon Monster 6.

Once summoned your creature (s) remain in existence for one hour after leaving your womb. You can have any combination of summoned monsters at any given time, so long as the limits of this feat are requested.

Hope that gives you an idea of the direction I'll be taking Black Tokyo in 2012.
CHRIS

Playing With Black Tokyo, Watching the X-Quadrology

2011-10-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

So I've been adding more content to the Races of the Tatakama sourcebook. I've brought over two races from BT III: the Ubume and the Kijimuna. The Ubume are the ghosts of women who died while pregnant, burdened eternally by a ghostly fetus. The Kijimuna are playful little plant-based lolicons. They each bring in some new gameplay niches- with the Ubume, you get another race of undead to try out, and the Kijimuna add the plant type to the play roster. I'm also adding an all new race, the Kami- which are a diverse race of demigods and demigoddesses based on the '8 million spirits' of Shinto thought. They're sorta of a skill based Belldandy (from Oh, My Goddess).

That brings the total roster of playable races in the first book to 12.

I'm also adding 'social level' templates to represent the various different social casts of feudal Japan. I recently downloaded Highmoon Press' "Ronin" sourcebook, and its' excellent. I'll be referencing it fairly often, in fact. However, instead of just talking about the different castes of samurari, heimin and burakumin, like Ronin does, I'll just add a few different +0 CR templates that players can apply to their characters, and capture the feel of the world through gameplay, not exposition.

One problem I had with Ronin is the fact it labeled the untouchable caste of old Japan "eta".... I did about 20 minutes of research and found out that term is really, really offensive. It's the equivalent of playing a Civil War RPG and there being a 'nigger' character class. So out goes eta, and in goes the slightly less offensive 'burakumin'. Of course, in a game about shit eating undead and fucking 12 year olds, that might seem a little over sensitive, but I never said my code of personal morality made any sense.

So I've also been watching the four X-Movies this week. You know what, each has their flaws, but most of them are entertaining.

The first movie: the best parts were in the first 20 minutes. Magneto's origin, the cage fight and Wolverine taking a shotgun blast to the face, and then the X-Men descending in the Blackbird through the blizzard to save Wolverine and Jubilee (who they renamed Rogue for some reason)... all those moments were perfect. The entire rest of the movie was boring and drab. The only good point from the later movie was the hypercompetent, super-spy version of Mystique.

X-2. Easily the best of the four movies, but it had its problems, notably giving Colossus a glorified cameo, turning Deathstrike, who is a passionate and aggressive badass in the comics into a pitiable zombie, and Jean's rather lack-luster demise. Of course, Wolverine's pity towards Deathstrike was well done, as was his rampage through the mansion. The standout scene still remains Magneto's seduction of Pyro.

x-3. Deeply flawed, but the only film to have any sexuality to it. I've always sorta had this theory that since the first 2 flicks were directed by Singer, a gay man, he just didn't have it in him, emotionally to make Jean as sexy on screen as in the comics. Here, Rattner at least remembers that Jean is a woman. The most critically panned of the original trilogy, this movie might actually be my favorite for three reasons: Angel's origin scene (though he had NOTHING to do after that amazing opening, and the scene could of been given, with little modification to Beast, providing a much stronger arc for him), the fucking brutal 4 way brawl at Jean's house. And the third reason: the clinic protest. That fucking clinic protest scene kicks my ass every time I watch it.

You've got a protest put together by EXPLICITLY referencing real world anti-abortion protest footage and changing the text on the signs slightly. And prowling through the crowds of activists and fanatics... you've got these two living weapons that look completely human but AREN'T. Fuck I love that scene- it may be arguable whether or not it's an X-Men scene, but its definitely an Otherverse America scene, and for that I'll always love it.

X-Men First Class. Possibly my new favorite. It's definitely channeling James Bond, which is a good thing. But it's likely the most flawed of the four. First, because all the X-Men characters anybody real cares about are locked into being in the present team (Storm, Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean, Colossus, ect)....so you're left with the dregs of the X-universe to set up the precursor team. Second, in 2011, it does the sci-fi 'kill the black dude first' thing, and does it to a character whose whole power is basically 'survive anything'. Still I did like it- you've got young Magneto killing Nazis in incredibly badass ways, and I could of watched THAT for 2 hours alone. For some reason, I really liked Banshee in this movie- he goes from 12-14 y/o punk to genuine hero and rising badass pretty authentically. And as I predicted, Mystique's transformation from innocent girl to terrorist was the best part of the movie.

Anyway, talk to you all later
CHRIS

Working on Black Tokyo Legends

2011-10-23T18:46:00.000-07:00

Right now, I'm working on the PFRPG version of Black Tokyo, and its turning into a bigger thing than I initially planned. Originally, I only intended to include 9 races and alternate racial traits (but not alternate racial favored class abilities, because I think coming up with a dozen of 'em for each race is too much work for too little reward, content-wise). Now, I'm adding in starting talents, feats, ect, as well as some of the Tatakama's deities and some basic world info.

I figure, eventually I release a proper campaign setting, along with a book of classes, but for right now, this will be a great start.

One thing I've noticed, as I'm working on it, is that this version of Black Tokyo focuses more on weird horror and slightly less on transgressive erotic. It's a bit more folklore intensive, and has a distinct flavor to D20 Modern Black Tokyo- BT D20 is louder, more shocking for the sake of being shocking. This is a bit more mythic. Of course, once I convert over the feats- especially really freaky ones like Scatological Armory (which turns you into a shit fetish version of Ben Grimm), that impression may change.

I'm going to use a lot of period ukiyo-e and shuna to illustrate the book, as well as illos by Amanda Webb and some of the usual crew. Using ukiyo-e is both a matter of affordability, and a stylistic choice.

Anyway, look for it soon.
CHRIS

I want a radio telescope named Optimus Prime!

2011-10-19T13:14:00.001-07:00

http://www.nrao.edu/namethearray/

Hey, I just saw this while screwing around online. Go here, suggest "Optimus Prime" as the new name of the VLA radio telescope array.

CHRIS

Ghosts and Promises for 2012

2011-10-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Kodiak Island

This last two weeks I’ve been working on a combination of ‘city-book’ and character-builder for the Lifer Nation, emphasizing their hidden fortress/city on Kodiak Island and its next generation super soldiers. I just got the manuscript to a fairly complete point last night, to a level I’m satisfied with. I’ll be going through, adding a bit more flavor text, and going to press with in a month or so. This sourcebook, which I’ll be titling “Promises & Ghosts: The Secrets of Kodiak Island” will probably be the last big Otherverse America release of the year, though I’m working on Guide to the Known Galaxy in the background.

Expect the New Promise Infantryman Basic Class- a Lifer specific starting class that allows you to build competent and powerful, but rigidly trained supersoldiers. The advantage of this class is its excellent conventional combat training and the ability to select advaced-level talents while still a Basic Class; the disadvantage is this class and its members are very ‘by the book’, and sorta inflexible- they can’t select class based Bonus Feats. The New Promise Infantryman plays different, and feels different than APEX or Choicer soldiers, and should be a fun option for gamers wanting to build Lifer heroes.

Several times throughout the previous sourcebooks, I’ve mentioned a ‘class’ or caste of Lifer soldiers- a sprawling legacy of super-terrorists known as “Ghosts of Babies Past”. Not only will gamers get dossiers on the most famous “Ghosts”, there’s a new 5 level Prestige Class consisting solely of modular super-abilities that allow Lifer characters to custom build a unique, powerful and utterly terrifying GoBP of their own.

My Non-Fiction Book on the Army of God

As I’ve been writing Ghosts & Promises, I’ve been seriously considering writing a serious, non-fiction work on the real world’s AOG, and I’ve decided, yep. I WILL DO THIS. However, the research and depth required by a sci-fi RPG loosely based in reality and the research and depth demanded by a more professional work are two different animals. I expect to spend at least 6 months or a year doing some pretty intense research before I even start writing: part of this will involve either face to face or phone/email interviews with real world anti-abortion terrorists. That’s…. that’s going to be interesting. First off, will these people even talk to me? Second, I’m a pretty broke individual, so if I do end up traveling the country, talking to AOG members, I’ll be riding a whole lot of Greyhounds.

Should be interesting.

Anyway, last week I finally saw the HBO Documentary “Soldiers in the Army of God”- I missed it when it first aired. I think I was still in Corry Station, in Pensacola FL ironically enough, completing my Naval training. (Or more accurately, waiting for my fuckin’ security clearance to get approved and doing bitch work around base while I waited to start my training. Fuck the Navy.)

Anyway, as a source of new intelligence on the AOG, it was pretty useless to me. I knew most of the data already, from reading other sources, and the documentary focused on a guy named Bob Lokey, who was fairly low-level and enough of an idiot he was an outcast even among the rest of the AOG members. The one interesting thing was a PDF copy of “Neal Horsely & the future of armed abortion conflict”, a magazine article by Daniel Voll (Esquire, Feb 1999), that inspired the documentary. I read it and I found out something I’d never known about Horsely, and something that other sources have apparently not picked up on.

Horsley, who started the Nuremberg Files website (an intelligence resource about abortion docs, listing photos, names, home & work addresses among other data…. And which in the fictionalized Otherverse America setting evolved into the Nuremberg AI), at the time of the Esquire article was employed as a computer programmer at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA!

Holy fuck nuggets. I have no idea if Horsely is still employed there, and Wikipedia is of no help…. But that’s SCARY…. a dude who argues for violent succession from the United States, who advocates armed resistance to the federal government, with nuclear, biological and chemical weapons if necessary….working a few hundred meters away from the only viable Smallpox samples remaining in the USA. I’m really hoping that after 9-11, somebody other than me realized how cataclysmically BAD an idea this was and fired Neal’s ass.

Anyway, realizing that Horsely worked at the CDC paints the Nuremberg Files and their OCD completeness in a whole new light. He’s thinking like an epidemiologist. Think of abortion as a disease- it makes sense to track the carriers (the docs) and the known loci of infection. Anyway, it’s an angle on Horsely that nobody else has, and will probably form a big chunk of my book- it also paints the man (who usually comes off as a criminally insane redneck) in a much more disturbing light- he’s smarter and more potentially dangerous than he lets on.

Anyway, don’t look for the book soon, but sooner or later, it’ll be out there.

Black Tokyo IV and Black Tokyo Legends

My best selling works continue to be Black Tokyo and its spin offs. Mark just sent over some title art for Black Tokyo Legends: Races of the Tatakama, which will become the first in a series of Pathfinder-compatible conversions of Black Tokyo. This sourcebook will include 9 races and some world information about the Tatakama. Each of the races has been selected for uniqueness and to fill a specific gameplay niche.

Kitsune are sexy tricksters and thieves, Anakame are perverse stealth experts that offer gamers a chance to play as an Undead hero from level one. The Daughters of Kirin are tough, gorgeous and heroic women, destined to make kick ass fighters and paladins, and so on. Each of the races will also include several alternate racial traits, that link them to similar critters from different Asian myths.

I’m also working on another D20 Modern chapter of Black Tokyo focusing on high tech erotica and hentai-inspired cybernetics. Think a perverse Guyver or Ghost in the Shell campaign- should be pretty fun.

I’m also toying with the idea of releasing an “ultimate editon” of Black Tokyo with more and better artwork and information from the sequels and splatbooks integrated into the core campaign setting book. After all, the Ultimate Editions of my other core settings, Psi-Watch and Otherverse America were very well received. (Otherverse America more so than Psi-Watch. OA’s controversial nature and unique point of view has attracted more attention than the more standard, ‘generic superhero’ Psi-Watch gameworld.)

Pirates of the Bronze Sky

I’m working on it, I’m working on it, I’m working on it. Still no scheduled release date, but I’ve been gathering art in the background for a while now, and deciding what else to include in this setting. (I’ve always been more a fan of sci-fi and cyberpunk than fantasy, so my mind always tends to wander to Otherverse America when I should be working on Pirates).

Those of you who received the free ‘beta playtest’ might be interested to know that I’ll be scrapping the more complex air-combat rules found within. Since those rules were written Paizo introduced its own official naval combat rules, and it will be easier to modify those excellent rules slightly to model three dimensional combat than start from scratch.

LPJD Image Portfolios

This week, I sent along a bunch of artwork, used to illustrate Otherverse America and Psi-Watch to Louis and allowed him to include it as stock art in his Image Portfolio line. I chose artwork that had a more genetic sci-fi vibe (no recognizably Choicer or Lifer characters, first off) and that would be useful in a wide variety of sci-fi, supers and cyberpunk settings. The Image Portfolios he put together are AMAZING.

I chose to go through Louis rather than releasing the stock myself because his Image Portfolios are a respected and popular brand of stock art. Anyway, I look forward to seeing this very cool artwork used in a lot of products.

Also, I partnered with Louis to release a sourcebook of 100 new cleric spells for the PFRPG, ten spells from each spell level. That should be out soon, and should be a fun little product. Go give it a look.

Recent Toy Purchases

You know what got me started on the Kodiak Island sourcebook in the first place, and thus, put the idea of a non-fiction book into my mind? This guy. I picked up a great “Pursuit of Cobra” Cobra Viper figure at Wal-Mart a couple of weeks back. I’ve always liked the design of this faceless, but well equipped Cobra troop. The old-school Cobra troops are okay looking, but their WWII styled helmets give them too low tech a look- they look too conventional. This bad boy, with his load bearing vest and that amazing helmet, now he looks like a high-tech terrorist supersoldier. I was playing with this guy, and had him staring at me from my book shelf, when I started getting the idea for the New Promise Infantryman, and the context in which this class originated.

Also, I just picked up the Marvel 3.5 inch Ultimate Iron Man figure. He joins my small army of Tony Stark. I love the design on this fricking suit so much- it has the bulk and solidity power armor should have.

Next Year’s Plans

I’m already planning for my big 2012 releases.

My biggest, coolest and most art-heavy books will be the Revised Guide to the Known Galaxy and Pirates of the Bronze Sky. Those two books will anchor the year, the same way the revised Otherverse America Core Book and Fursona anchored 2011.

However, I rarely plan out smaller releases. I usually work on shorter and mid-length books as I get inspired to. This year, well received, and majorly fun sourcebooks like ‘The Wiccae’ and ‘Sentai Spectacular’ came about because I felt like doing a book on the subject. No big business plan, no marketing strategy, just an idea I had to get out there. I consider sourcebooks like that a pleasant surprise, and look forward to see what surprises 2012 has in store for us.

Blessed Be,

CHRIS

I may have a non-fiction book in me....

2011-10-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

Right now, I'm working on a nice big faction-splat for the Lifers, something focusing on the elite supersoldiers cached on Kodiak Island, their training and how they fit into the world of 2107 CE as a whole. Naturally, this involves (because this is D20) coming up with bunches of mechanical bits- feats, classes, gear, ect.... and to give everything a strong Lifer flavor, and make sure the faction has its own identity and play-style, I've been revisiting tons of the original research I did on the real world Army of God and anti-abortion terrorism as a whole.

And I realized something.... while a few books have come close, especially Risen & Thomas' Wrath of Angels, which I cited in the core book's bibliography, there hasn't really been a definitive text on the Army of God. So I got to thinking, I'm knowledgeable about the subject, passionate about it, and a pretty decent writer. So why not (and this is a while down the road) go a bit deeper into the rabbit hole, do some more research and put out a nice non-fiction book on the subject? A big true crime/political science hardback would look pretty kick-ass on my shelves.

Anyway, talk to you later,
CHRIS

Back In Kerrville

2011-10-06T13:17:00.001-07:00

This weekend, I went up to San Antonio again to see some old friends. Had a great time, visited some awesome comic shops, and some outstanding restaurants. Now, I am back in Kerrville, TX.... a township which is, I kid you not, hosting a "Pro-Life Chili Cook Off and Adult Spelling Bee" later this month.

I'm not sure what I did to end up here, but here I am.

To take some of the bad taste out of my mouth, here's the cover art for an upcoming micro-sourcebook dealing with Choicer medics. Its by Vic Shane.

I'm also working on a mid-length "army book" for the Lifers, focusing on their hidden base at Kodiak Island and new equipment, feats and advanced classes for them. I just put out the call for artwork from Vic and Amanda for that book. I'm also still working on the PFRPG conversion of Black Tokyo, and just sold 100 new clerical spells to Louis.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Three Stories

2011-09-28T14:04:00.001-07:00

Here are three stories I found while surfing the web today.

One is depressing, the other is infuriating, and the third is wonderful. I'll let you figure out which is which.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128315.700-rat-cyborg-gets-digital-cerebellum.html

http://io9.com/5844355/a-7+year+old-girl-responds-to-dc-comics-sexed+up-reboot-of-starfire

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-dudley/pro-life-evangelicals_b_970800.html

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

My Recent Purchases...

2011-09-22T17:46:00.000-07:00

So I've blown huge chunks of my profits from Otherverse America into picking up PDFs of Green Ronin's Freedom City setting. I love this world so fricking much.... It's got me hankering to do a superhero RPG of my own.

I know that'll be way down the line, as I have too many other projects to get out right now, but I would love to do I superhero RPG.

My initial thoughts:

1. Lower the point buy numbers. It's like an unwritten rule that all Superhero games are point buy, however I hate the huge 200+ point math that most games involve. That's something I deliberately avoided with FURSONA. You're working with 4 build points, maybe 6-8 if you add in some disadvantages. Now, I know superheroes are more complex mechanically than furry characters, but I'd love to get the numbers chopped down a bit. I'd love to work on a system where you could build somebody as mechanically complex as Dr. Strange with like 20 points.

I bring up Dr. Strange for a reason. Most superheroes can't handle magic well- they assign sorcerer type characters a 'dynamic' or free floating power set. To me, magic superheroes don't really do that. Dr. Strange doesn't really have Unlimited, dynamic type powers. Instead, he's got a basic energy blast spell, an astral projection ability, can see through illusions, has some exorcism/uncurse type powers, and he can fire off the Crimson Bands of Cytrorak as either a personal forcefield or mystic prison. Sure, he occasionally does other stuff, but in every comic I've ever read, he defaults to those basic powers I just listed. Basically, you could really simplify the write up, and just mention that Dr. Strange can do lots of power stunts or use lots of Hero Points or whatever.

2. I'd also like to design a system that makes things feel less generic. I hate gadgets in superhero games, even M&M 2, which is my current favorite. A pistol isn't a Glock or a Colt 1911, it's a Blast +5 with the device flaw. And don't get me started on the FUCKED-UP gadget system in the old DCU Adventures game. You get to the point where the stat blocks suck all the life and individuality out of the characters, because you start seeing the same numbers and power modifiers in everybody.

For instance, you've got Cyclops- he should be simple character, a guy with a cool energy blast and excellent leadership abilities. Instead, he's a basic Blast power with tons of power modifiers and a couple of flaws tacked on, not a viable character, or even an interesting character sheet.

This generic-ness, is the only reason I picked D20 Modern over a M&M iteration for Otherverse America. To me, classes and levels and racial choices that matter are more fun and result in more interesting characters than just giving the player 150 build points (or whatever the budget is) and telling them to build something. D20 Modern has more 'flavor' than M&M2, even though M&M2 is mechanically a better system.

3. I'd like a high lethality system with HP, not damage saves or condition tracks. I really like the Image Comics/Ultimates/Warren Ellis era of comics, where superheroes are living weapons that can absolutely kill the hell out of an ordinary human, rather than the Silver Age 'no killing' default most superhero RPGs go for. Give me a lethal system with lots of equipment crunch and 'weapon porn' and I'm happy.

4. Less emphasis on experience points and character advancement than even that found in M&M2. In comics, the only guys that seem to get better are gadget users (like Batman or Iron Man) and young heroes (like Robin, the New Mutants, most of the Legion of Superheroes). Ironically, those are among my favorite characters in comics, but I digress.... Spiderman never really gets better, or gains new capabilities. Superman's abilities fluctuate at the needs of the story, but Iron Man's suit has been on a consistent upward powercurve since the 60s. I think it's because his suit is meant to be 30+ years higher tech than what we've got in the real world, and as the real world has caught up, he's had to stay competitive. I mean, an iPod today has better processing power and better electronic warfare capability than his first VC-era Iron Man suit.

Heroes in training get better steadily over time; they learn new skills, in the case of guys like the New Mutants, they buy off some pretty heavy power limits after a few issues, the Legion turns joke powers into things that are amazingly tactically useful, and so on.

I wonder if limiting character advancement to certain genres of heroes would be appropriate. If you're playing a Thor or Martian Manhunter character, you'll be kick ass from the beginning, but won't get much better by the end of the campaign, but your sidekick might eventually grow to equal or surpass you....

Anyway, more thoughts as they come.
CHRIS

Black Tokyo is coming to the PFRPG

2011-09-21T11:59:00.001-07:00

A couple of nights ago, I started working on a PFRPG conversion of Black Tokyo. I plan to do a series of linked PDFs exploring the "Tatakama", a dark fantasy world that's basically the collective unconscious of Japan. The Tatakama was mentioned in the original Black Tokyo, as the place where all the monsters come from, but wasn't detailed very much. Black Tokyo was the focus of the story, of adventures.... the Tatakama is basically just a rationale for where all this weird shit comes from.

That changes with this set of releases. The Tatakama will become the default campaign world for Black Tokyo related material. The first book I'm going to do will be "Races of the Tatakama", which will convert 8-10 of the races from Black Tokyo and BT II over to PFRPG. I want a good mix of types, including one or two Undead player races for gamers to try out.

Right now, Races of the Tatakama will include:

The Akaname (shit eating undead)
The Bloodstrong Men (inbred demonhunters)
The Daughters of the Kirin (heroic unicorn girls)
The Dodoma (many eyed thieves)
The Futakuchi (two mouthed drill sergeant type women)
The Ironclub Oni (big, demonic bruiser types)
The Kitsune (shapeshifting foxes, tricksters)
The Tanuki (shapeshifting raccoon dogs with magic testicles)

I'm going to add 2 more to the book, but I'm not quite sure which races will add to the mix.

Anyway, I'm about 50% on the text, and art will come in quickly after that, so expect something soon. Do me a favor, leave me some comments arguing for (or against) the inclusion of any of BT's races. I'd love to hear some feed back.
CHRIS

Solomon Station Preview Part III: Layout

2011-09-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

Levels, Decks and Districts

Solomon Station is arranged vertically, along the Well. Its neighborhoods are arranged into multi-story Levels, most accommodating several decks (each deck is about equivalent to the story of an Earth skyscraper). Each Level is color coded, with an instantly recognizable artificial sky playing on flat panel holo-displays built into every ceiling on the Level, and color coded decorations built into the bulkheads and portals help identify Level as well. Traditionally, the higher the Level, the higher the standard of living and the wealthier the tenants. Despite the class divisions implied by these levels, its not uncommon to see wealthier station inhabitants on lower Levels. Parents will often take their children on family excursions to different levels to enjoy the light of a different false sky. Only Below Decks Charlie is off-limits to non-essential personnel, because of the hazardous work being done down there.

The station celebrates holidays by altering the artificial sky. The July 4^th night-cycle is a spectacular, 12 hour long fireworks extravaganza. January 22^nd, the Roe Anniversary, is marked by high resolution time lapse footage of a developing fetus, bathing the station in blood red and soft pink light. Thanksgiving is a holographic autumn, and it’s always a white Christmas. The station also celebrates the March 15^th anniversary of the Sacajwea’s first flight by converting all the station’s screens to spectacular, color manipulated star-scapes.

Level	Color and Artificial Sky	Number of Decks In This Level	Notes
7	Violet. Earth twilight or sunset.	3	Elite neighborhoods for the wealthy. Mansions, shopping, mega-churches.
6	Indigo. Earth twilight or sunset.	1d4+1	Primarily housing for the station’s engineering and scientific community. Several universities and tech schools.
5	Blue. A pleasant summer day somewhere on Earth.	3d4	Primarily middle and some upper class housing. Several churches, schools, hospitals.
4	Green. The Aurora Borealis, seen from Kodiak Island, Alaska.	3d4	Agricultural and hydroponics, several ‘micro-parks’ and small public baths. Emergency o2 scrubbers and algae tanks.
3	Yellow. Close satellite views of Sol in visible light.	2d4	Lower-middle class housing. Large population of recent immigrants. Large Wrench community. Some decent libraries and cheap theaters.
2	Orange. Earth sunrise.	1d4+1	Poor areas. Some ‘rehab’-ed shopping areas and surprisingly good, affordable restaurants.
1	Red. Earth sunrise.	2d6	Governmental and beauracratic areas, several elementary and high schools, hospitals and nursing homes.
Below Decks Alpha	White. An Earth blizzard.	5	Tourist areas. Commercial starliners and most private ships dock here. Hotels, shopping, entertainment, all at premium prices.
Below Decks Beta	Grey. An Earth rainstorm or thunderstorm.	4d6	Stores and grain silos. Emergency o2 scrubbers. Fuel depots. Zero-gravity repair bays and shipyards.
Below Decks Charlie	Black. No false sky, just ambient lighting.	6d6	Refinery and heavy machine level, space docks for industrial starships and fuelers. Refining booms and harvesters.

Individual districts within a Level are arranged radially around the central Well. Districts are usually named for conservative politicians, moderate Lifer activists and Christian authors and artists from the Protestant Reformation through to today.

The Card District, named for ultra-conservative science fiction author Orson Scott Card, dominates Yellow Level and has been home to a thriving Mormon community since the stations founding, a sort of Enclave within an Enclave. Several of the most conservative voices on the Council of Mothers call Card District home, and the district serves as their power base. Station law allows the practice of polygamy, which spurred the immigration of ultra-conservative Mormons early in the station’s history- a migration that virtually gutted the religion’s presence on Earth.

Most of Solomon’s Wrench community also lives on Yellow Level, in a crowded and rambunctious residential district nicknamed “The Toolbox”. Located along the curve of the station’s outer hull, the Toolbox is designed to open into space. During Wrench holidays, warning klaxons blare for up to an hour, before the depressurization bulkheads slide into place, separating the Toolbox from the rest of the station. The outer hull slides open, giving the space-born Wrench a day to play in hard vacuum. Ordinary humans either clear the district or gear up for an EVA whenever the Toolbox opens.

Other interesting districts include:

Harvey, located in an isolated part of Green Level, is protected by heavy, fire-proof emergency bulkheads, and remains perpetually sealed from the rest of the station. Harvey is one of the few places on station without the omnipresent kudzu. Harvey is home to Triumph Hall and Victory Hall, the two live-fire training centers for the Solomon Fire and Rescue Department. The two modular halls can be reconfigured to mimic the layout of any building or environment on Solomon Station.

Gensen, on Blue Level, is an educational district, and home to the best schools on station. Nearby, several pediatric and pre-natal hospitals, founded by the Council of Mothers, serve the station’s families. Some of the best gene-labs on Solomon are found here; the district has several facilities dedicated to the care of Solomon’s post-human community.

Gentry, on White Level is a prestigious shopping district catering to tourists. Gentry is home to salons, boutiques, and designer clothing stores. It’s also home to the largest Baby, Belly, Blankets franchise on station, a two story behemoth catering to the needs of the station’s mothers-to-be.

Le Hay is sandwiched between Blue and Indigo Levels, and hosts several colleges and technical schools. Le Hay is also the location of the Galactic Studies Group, a Lifer-run think tank dedicated to examining Lifechained artifacts. The GSG has some War-era Artemis-tech on site, as well as a few pieces of Senator xeno-tech bought on the open market.

McCorvey, named for the bones of the district’s most famous ‘resident’ is located on Indigo Level. After her death in the 2030s, the pro-life activist Norma McCorvey (who was once the plaintiff in the Roe vs. Wade case under the pseudonym Jane Roe), was disinterred and her bones carried to Solomon. Her crypt was built against the Wall, and is the centerpiece of Solomon’s museum district. McCorvey hosts the Roe’s Tears Museum, a comprehensive history of abortion (and the reasons behind the Evangelical Exodus to Solomon). Despite the accomplishments of Solomon, the Museum focuses heavily on the crimes, scandals and atrocities committed by Christian America. The history of Solomon goes virtually unmentioned in its premier museum, in favor of propaganda.

Ramirez, located in central Orange Level is one of the station’s older habited districts. Its first citizens were primarily South and Central American Evangelicals, who won citizenship aboard the station in complex, mega-church run lotteries during the early 2050. Strong pioneer spirit and Hispanic pride are the dominant emotions driving Ramirez. The system-famous Abuelita’s restaurant chain (long regarded as the best Mexican food in Jupiter-space) got started here.

Reagan Center, which surrounds the Well on Red Level, is the center of station government. Several courthouses are found here, as is Peace Hall (police headquarters), Serenity Hall (the fire department’s central HQ), and Station Control, the Solomon Station equivalent of a city hall.

Thurmond, located in Grey Level is the center of Solomon’s rather rudimentary cybernetics industry. A few full disassembly parlors serve the maintenance needs of the station’s full conversion cyborgs. Three or four cyber-clinics in Thurmond offer full conversion, but most facilities are limited to repair and upgrades. Thurmond is home to a thriving trade in black market cyber-weapons, most smuggled in from the Belt.

Station Laws and Crime

Compared to the superbly trained and equipped Fire and Rescue Department, the station police force is trained to only baseline competence and equipped with whatever scraps are left over from Solomon FD’s annual budget. Constantly overworked and ill equipped to deal with serious crime, the local police force often rely on vigilantes and Block Mothers in the community to solve any crime much more serious than shoplifting or a stolen ‘machine’.

Most crime on Solomon tends to be fairly minor: petty theft, domestic violence and minor assaults are common, and most of Solomon’s citizens are fairly law abiding. Social pressure and the threat of a career-ending censure from the Council of Moms keeps most of Solomon’s citizens in line. However, Solomon is home to over 50 million souls, and due to sheer weight of numbers means the station has more than its share of drugs, murders, rapes and felony assaults.

Solomon Station maintains several large brigs across Red and Grey Levels, but is ill-equipped to handle long term custody of prisoners, and the station maintains contracts with for-profit prisons on Diana and Earth-side to imprison any one sentenced to more than a year in the brig. Most crimes are punished with censure and long terms of community service, or by confinement to quarters. Solomon Station’s legal codes allow the death penalty for only a handful of crimes: the willful murder of a child (which by Lifer standards includes abortion), the murder of a station police officer or firefighter, sexual assault of a child, or arson. Condemned criminals are spaced- anesthetized and then launched out a Black Deck external airlock and into Jupiter’s gravity well. The last such spacing was carried out in 2103.

Police Chief George Ortega

George Ortega is the older brother of the station’s current mayor, and the battle-scarred old Wrench was appointed by his ‘baby brother’ as head of Solomon’s poice force nine years ago. Since his appointment, George has attempted to modernize and expand the station’s relatively primitive police force. Though it offended the station’s sense of sexual modesty and decorum, George Ortega established a sex crimes unit as part of the station’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID), even hiring a few former Fed-Gov techs to provide the necessary know-how.

More controversially, Ortega personally approved the visas for a trio of Covenant doctors to train his investigators in handling sex crimes investigations; though the women were not technically abortion providers, and wore the golden bionic arms of civilian medical techs, their arrival sparked three days of protests and near riots. JP Ortega backed his older brother’s modernization initiative, though squabbles with the Council of Moms over the issue cost him dearly. Ortega knows that if his brother is voted out of office next year, his career is over.

Ortega is most often found at Peace Hall, the station’s police headquarters, centrally located on Red Level. He lives alone in a dreary apartment a few blocks away, above a Mexican food kiosk- the real reason he picked that address. When she’s in the solar system, Ortega rendezvoused with a Sequence scout/navigator named Cha-Sa-Fel. She usually hires on as a guide for exploratory vessels heading into the Galactic Core, and as such is usually only in town for a few months at a time, every 3-5 years. Somehow, the dour old cop always knows when she’s heading back, and manages to schedule his few vacations to coincide with her arrival, even when she turns up unexpectedly.

Fire Chief Louis Salvador

Chief Salvador is an old Wrench fire-fighter, harder than carbon nanotubes, and marked by gnarled silvery scar tissue, the result of a plasma fire aboard The Laughing Elephant back in 2089. Salvador has run the station’s fire and rescue department nearly single-handedly since the 2090s. He holds his department to impossibly high standards, and has blacklisted hundreds of otherwise qualified candidates for a FD appointment based on gut instinct alone.

Salvador refuses to hire anyone he doesn’t trust one hundred percent, and refuses to play politics with his department. Two years ago, he brutally beat one of Randy Jammner’s loyalists rather than allow the well connected Wrench into the department over his wishes. Instead of getting fired, Salvador became a local hero, and only strengthened his position in the FD. He is virtually untouchable, and no matter how the 2108 elections turn out, he knows his position is secure through sheer force of will.

Immigration Restrictions

Solomon prohibits the entry of any thing it considers dangerous to station morale and well being, which may range from aliens or post-humans with potentially hazardous powers to ideas. The following are banned from legally immigrating, or even setting foot aboard, Solomon Station.

Neo-Witch Midwives or any other known abortion provider, whether or not she possesses ob-nan cybernetics.
Any current or former member of the Choicer Woven Circle.
Any Choicer military officer above the rank of 0-5.
Known homosexuals are allowed on station as tourists, but are not usually approved for permanent resident status.

Any Powered Hero with Shooter Type talents or any Psionic with any kind of pyrokinetic or heavy energy manipulation abilities. A handful of Shooter Type Powered Heroes serve with the Solomon PD; these native superhumans only manifest non-flammable force-based energy blasts, less dangerous aboard station.

Full Conversion Cyborgs with onboard weapon systems are required to remove the components and submit to a full system diagnostic before boarding. Despite being a Lifer flagged station, characters with levels in the Closer Advanced Class are always prohibited entry.

Choicer and non-Christian Psionics with telepathic or empathic abilities are forbidden entry. Mediators are also refused entry; the station council is justifiably afraid of Choicer memetic warfare efforts and their effects on station morale.

Choicer characters who have mastered any Object Philosophies are similarly forbidden on the city. The station government may make exceptions for tourists with non-combat, minor Philosophical talents. However, despite the ban, Solomon Security has no real way of screening for Philosophy practitioners other than self reporting.

Travelers to Solomon are prohibited from bringing weapons of any kind aboard station. Flammables and volatile chemicals are only allowed aboard under tight control and only after the importer pays hefty surety bonds. Paper is forbidden- it is both an ignition hazard and unnecessary in the all-electronic future, a waste of precious space. Beauty products and household chemicals must be carefully screened, so not to disrupt the station’s artificial ecosystem, and are often confiscated at the immigration checkpoint. The Council of Moms periodically attempts anti-pornography and anti-Choicer entertainment crusades, with predictably minimal effect.

Childhood and Education

As a pro-life colony, a huge portion of Solomon’s population is under twelve. Huge families are the norm; the station’s Council of Mothers encourages steady population growth- most of the stations middle class have 3-5 children, and the wealthy significantly more.

Each district is peppered with dozens of elementary, middle and technical schools. By long standing tradition, these public schools follow specific naming conventions. Kindergartens, pre-schools and elementary schools are named for Old Testament prophets and heroes; middle schools are named for New Testament and early Christian figures, while high schools take their name from medieval and modern Christian heroes and theologians.

Education is strange on Solomon, and more than a little schizophrenic. Through their high school graduation, children are steeped in Young Earth Creationist dogma- the Earth was created by Yahweh little more than six millennia ago- and are taught a distinctly biased, Christian view of history. However, Solomon has a top flight technical education and physics program that has little time for superstition. Teenagers enrolling in one of Solomon’s many universities are expected to have (somehow) acquired a technical education equal or better to most Choicers by the time classes begin for the first semester.

Solomon’s most prestigious university is the centerpiece of the Mormon section in Card District: the New Brigham Young University (NBYU) is a 22^nd Century counterpart to Utah’s prestigious college. NBYU is known for its top flight physics, astronavigation, and xeno-tech departments, and in terms of job prospects, its graduates compare very favorably from those hailing from Harvard. Most NBYU graduates stay local, finding careers in Solomon’s volatiles refining or stellar aviation industries.

NBYU makes efforts to recruit some of the best scientific minds in Earth space, including many thinkers and scientists from Choicer America. In contrast to the rest of faith-based Solomon, many of NBYU’s intelligentsia are atheists (and even a few iconoclast pagan ex-pats, living out in the Black among the Christians). Most have employment contracts that keep their names off the censure black lists. This makes NBYU a haven of sorts for free-thinkers, and a constant source of irritation to the Council of Moms.

Entertainment

As space starved as Solomon Station is, its inhabitants have been forced into more sedentary and less equipment intensive pursuits than Diana’s inhabitants. Theaters are popular, and hundreds of small movie houses and live stages can be found on every Level; few seat more than 100 patrons, and most consisting of only a single screen. Finding a theater playing a recent film can be a challenge- most theaters choose their play lists more by their owner’s whim than any real schedule.

Plays and live entertainment are popular; most local bands play cutting edge smartlight instruments almost as good as the real thing. While many local blues trumpeters dream of one day visiting Earth and putting their lips to the brass of a real, hard-tech trumpet, the cost of importing instruments to the station is prohibitive for most.

Dreamscape is intensely popular, but due to the expense in maintaining FTL communication links, most Dreamscape servers are purely local. A few servers are linked to similar servers out in the Belt, but most are limited to gamers in Jupiter-space. Offline, Solomon’s citizens pass the time with word games and logic puzzles; despite the old Evangelical distrust of gambling, poker is a major pastime, though gambling is a misdemeanor on station.

Public pressure and the threat of a one month censure for sloth or gluttony forces most of Solomon’s adults into small gyms. Like everything else, most of Solomon’s gyms and weightrooms are microscopic, just big enough for one or two athletes at a time to work out, in uncomfortably cramped quarters. Most decks offer hundreds, however, though finding an unoccupied workout spot can be an irritation. Most fitness centers also offer treadmills fitted with full holo-suites, to simulate running through a natural, Earthlike environment. Similarly, resistance pools are designed to mimic an ocean in a space only a little bigger than most Terran bathtubs.

Team sports are almost non existent on Solomon for two reasons. First, it’s hard for competing teams to get to Solomon; the expense of travel to the station for away games would bankrupt most pro sports teams. Second, Solomon’s quarters are too tight for practice areas or pro-quality sports arenas. That said, individual, amateur level sports are common, especially ones that require small arenas and simple equipment. Racquetball is extremely popular; wrestling, MMA fighting and Rescue Judo have their fans. Half-court, 3 on 3 basketball is the station’s favorite sport. Every school, business, church and even most private families field several teams of amateur ballers.

There’s a station-wide obsession with Lifer Idol Singers; it seems like every flat surface that isn’t buried under kudzu is papered with holofoil stickers and holographic pin ups of the latest spritely young diva. Strangelet’s the current dream girl; this summer, she’ll be returning to Solomon after a year long tour of the Big Black.

Heather Marie Vickers, Codename: Strangelet

Nineteen year old Heather Vickers has been a performer since she was five, and is already a multi-platinum recording artist. As Strangelet, the perky little blond is one of Earth-space’s most powerful superhumans, a being of pure light, willpower and energy who can soar through ITF space under her own power. There’s also a very good chance that Strangelet is the first True Post-human (see the revised Otherverse America core rulebook) of the Lifer nation.

Fortunately for the Choicer Covenant, Strangelet has channeled her impressive superhuman gifts into her career as an Idol Singe rather than as a combatant. At thirteen, she released Non-Lethal Sanctions, a collection of old Lifer protest songs and combat anthems re-mixed into electro-pop, which became the definitive sound for that Summer of Rescue. Each succeeding release has been bigger, and she’s even crossed over into the Choicer mainstream, converting a few pagans in the process. Two years ago, she took a sabattical, heading out into Phallus Space under her own power. The energy being has made good time, and is en route from the galactic core, her head filled with an entire catalogue of new song, all of which she’ll premier at this summer’s Resk-Fest aboard Solomon.

What ideas she’s bringing back from the core is anybody’s guess. Even before her extra-solar sojourn, Strangelet was an iconoclast. She counts Makepeace Lacy, the disgraced creator of the Neverborn species as one of her favorite authors, and has spoken openly against the Lifer military. A few extreme voices within the Lifer AOG would like to see her dead, but nobody is sure if that’s even possible anymore.

The Wrench living on station have a slightly greater degree of freedom than their human neighbors. They can simply step out of an airlock and into the depressurized Well anytime they want privacy or the simple pleasure unaided flight through deep space. Wrench children zip like porpoises through the crowded air space surrounding Solomon station. Evolved Wrench teenagers, who’ve pushed their gifts to the fullest, race their friends into the Belt, or skim the icy atmosphere of Ganymede after classes let out for the day.

Regular Visitors

As the last inhabited human outpost before the Big Black, even spacers who normally want nothing to do with the Lifer nation are forced to use Solomon as a way-station and refueling depot. Billions of tons of cargo come through Solomon each day. Freighters from the Asteroid Belt, carrying raw ores for processing, luxury yachts from Earth, ferrying in blue-haired Lifer touristas, Stonecutter merchant sloops, bringing in ultra-tech from beyond humanity’s stars…..

Some regular visitors to the station are described below. These ships might be docked alongside Solomon Station at any time.

The al-Bīrūnī, is registered to the Belt. The refinery ship assists with collecting volatiles from the upper atmosphere, and is a familiar sight for the Wrench working the Below Decks refineries. The ship’s captain and first officer are husband and wife, Thomas and Jessica Shawki, who make their home in one of the more liberal asteroids. The couple are popular with the Wrench community because they usually smuggle in Choicer movies when they come aboard.

The Lizzette Barnes is a gambling yacht that makes regular 2-3 day tours of Jupiters moons. Passage aboard the Lizzette is priced to remain an affordable vacation for Solomon’s middle class population. The three day tour is a non-stop buffet and has an excellent open bar- more of the ship’s passengers come aboard for the free food and liberal amounts of booze then for the gambling. The Lizzette Barnes is captained by an assortment of former military fliers and Islamic retirees from the Belt’s space program.

The Samantha Dacoveney is named for Ellen Dacoveney’s first child, her infant daughter, who never made it to three years old thanks to dumb, tragic luck. This silver-hulled luxury liner can carry 3,200 passengers on the tourist circuit between Boston and Solomon using a non-ITF ‘slow drive’ that can make the journey in about two weeks.

The Trockman is a grungy old cargo hauler flying the Lifer-American flag, registered out of Pensacola. The Trockman usually hauls foodstuffs (grains and citrus mostly) to Solomon, and volatile fuels back to Earth. Its captain, Sammy MacDonald, is a former Lifer pilot, and its rumored he occasionally smuggles Lifers to and from Solomon for the right price.

Solomon Station Preview Part II: Politics

2011-09-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

Solomon Station

Solomon Station hangs like a state-scale man-o-war made of steel and polymer in Jupiter’s crimson sky. Larger than the state of Nevada, Solomon is largest structure ever devised by humanity. Drifting through the gas giant’s turbulent upper atmosphere, thousand kilometer long harvesting booms dip down into the atmosphere, scooping out usable trace chemicals and refining the volatile chemicals into starship fuel and complex hydrocarbons. Solomon Station was founded in 2055, by moderate North American Lifers who wanted no part of the dominant Choicer mega-culture, nor did they want to become gunslinging soldiers for the pre-born.

Hardworking and insular, Solomon Station is one of Earth’s most prosperous out colonies, and among the oldest. It is also an ideological Enclave, a proudly Lifer nation far from what its citizens see as an increasingly pagan, increasingly Hell-bound Earth.

Demographics

Solomon’s populace is mostly human, of mostly Hispanic ancestry. Roughly sixty percent of Solomon’s baseline human population is Hispanic, with Caucasians making up the next largest racial block. The black presence aboard Solomon is tiny, and the Asian community is a demographic footnote. Wrench post-humans are by far the most common non-human species on station; the Wrench dominated Spacelifters Union is a powerful force in local politics. Mechanic post-humans are slightly less common, but still found in sizable numbers aboard the colony. A few dozen Half Grey and a handful of Stone Cutter businessmen can also be found on station. In addition, 5-10 Dhale technicians are on station at any given time, assigned to upgrade and maintain the imported Tessarect mansions that have become a status symbol for Violet Level’s ultra-rich.

The Treaty of Boston has made the independent station the ‘ancestral homeland’ of the Lifer Nation. Any Lifer can petition the Solomon Station government for an immigration visa, though the conservative and increasingly insular station council only tends to approve such immigration requests in two cases: when the potential immigrant has skills or training useful to the Station, or if the potential immigrant is wealthy enough to afford citizen ship in Jupiter-space’s sole Enclave.

For many poor Lifers, Solomon is an unattainable dream. Some sign on with Lifer-run mega-corps, hoping to earn Solomon citizenship for themselves and their immediate family as part of a corporate benefits package. Though officially, Solomon Station is a refuge for any Lifer who needs sanctuary, in practice the station council rarely extends citizenship to former terrorists or direct rescuers. Despite Fairfax Dacoveney’s political pressure to make Solomon Station a non-extradition sanctuary for his operatives, Solomon has always tried to keep the ‘direct action’ arm of the Lifer Nation at arm’s length.

Solomon Station, Independent Orbital Habitat

Location: Jupiter Orbit

Colony Officially Founded: 2055

Type of Government: Independent City-State with an elected, Christian theocratic mayor and two chamber legislature

Progress Level: Mid-PL Seven

Total Population: 52.3 million permanent residents

Timekeeping: Based upon Greenwich Mean Time

Current Governor: John Paul Ortega (Starlifters Unionist), third term

Average Educational Level: Equivalent to a 4 year bachelor degree

Percentage of the Population below the poverty line: 3-5%

Percentage of the Population who are combat veterans: 6-8%

Percentage of the Population with a felony record: 12%

Age of Consent: Twenty One

Age of Majority: Twenty One

Metahuman to Human Ratio: 1 in 600+

Full Conversion Cyborg to unmodified Human Ratio: 1 in 195

Wrench to unmodified Human Ratio: 1 in 93

Station Life and Layout

Solomon Station is a multi-level colony arranged around a depressurized central shaft, known aboard station as “the Well” or “the Womb”. This wide, zero-gravity shaft runs the length of the station, from the mega-church cathedrals touching the stars at the upper level, all the way down to the refinery levels at the station’s below-decks areas. The Well has loading docks and airlocks to accommodate workers and small work vehicles, which are allowed to enter and exit through the lowest, open end of the shaft. Both the inner and outer surface of the Well are lined with gleaming gold-alloy paneling, laser etched with the names of millions of aborted humans. Insect-like droids, linked to the constantly updating Nuremberg AI, use their cutters to etch in new names.

An enormous ‘Golden Door’ encloses the upper reach of the well. With a radius of nearly ¼ mile, the Golden Door is a gleaming beacon at the exact center of Violet Level anytime the distant sunlight touches it. The Golden Door has never been opened in the station’s history; station legend has it that when the lord Jesus Christ returns, He will enter Solomon Station in triumph through the massive portal.

In contrast with spacious Diana, Solomon Station is a working colony. Every square inch of space is utilized and conditions are incredibly tight. A family of four might make do with only 600 sq feet of living space, 700 sq ft if they’re really lucky or have good friends on the Housing Board. Every bit of technology brought into the station must be miniaturized, and most consumer electronics sold on Solomon Station, by necessity, are equipped to perform dozens of functions. Bedding retracts into walls or floors when not in use, to maximize floor space, and many of the station’s poorer residents use memory-gel hammocks rather than beds. Most of the same waste recycling and water rationing technology used on Diana is also in wide-use on Solomon.

When Solomon was commissioned, its designers wanted low-tech backups and multiple levels of redundancy for the station’s life support system. In addition to huge algae tanks identical to those on Diana, most station bulkheads and inner walls are carpeted with a fast-growing, genetically engineered strain of kudzu moss. This supposedly infallible back-up O2 generation system has proven to be one of Solomon Station’s greatest missteps; all but impossible to eradicate, the kudzu has plagued colonists since the 2050s. Residents spend hours each week cutting back the weed, pruning it back where it overgrows doors or gets tangled in electronic cabling. More than just an annoyance, the weed’s life cycle has super-saturated the station atmosphere with oxygen.

An onboard fire is the single greatest threat to life aboard the station. Solomon’s citizens fear uncontrolled electrical fires the way Earthers fear terrorist nukes or Lifechain bio-warfare. Solomon Station’s fire suppression systems are top quality, and its elite fire/rescue department is widely regarded as the best in Earth-space. Even Choicer fire fighters salivate the prospect of a few weeks of joint training with Solomon FD, and the waiting list for the few training slots stretch back five years or more.

Private vehicles are not allowed on Solomon; all working vehicles are company owned. The station is small enough that most citizens walk everywhere, and people-mover sidewalks are in place to accommodate Solomon’s large and growing geriatric population. Some of the station’s wider concourses allow the use of ‘machines’- the local station term for jury-rigged bicycles and rickshaws (usually collapsible), often running off battery-driven electric engines. Machine drivers are notoriously rude and have no problem running over the toes of any pedestrian dumb enough to get in their way.

Adventuring aboard Solomon Station

Solomon Station is an enclosed orbital habitat. All internal walls and bulkheads are advanced polymers, and extremely durable. The nano-laced spun-diamond windows that dominate the outer hull of Violet Level are as tough as an outer airlock door, and recover 1 Hit Point per minute if damaged, which protects them from micro-meteorite bombardment.

Normal Gravity. Solomon’s grav-generators give it an Earth normal conditions throughout most of the station. The Well is a Zero Gravity environment, as are several industrial areas on Black Level (space ports, drydocks, heavy machinery and refining areas, and so on).

Ordinary Walls and Bulkheads. Hardness 15, 40 Hit Points per 5 ft section.
Inner Airlock Doors. Hardness 15, 45 Hit Points per 5 ft section. Disable Device DC 20 to open, or DC 30 to open simultaneously with the outer airlock doors.
Outer Airlock Doors. Hardness 20, 60 Hit Points per 5 ft section. Immune to Fire, Cold and Electrical damage.
Emergency Bulkheads. Hardness 20, 100 Hit Points per 5 ft section. These doors automatically seal shut on Initiative Count 0 in the round after a fire or depressurization is detected. They can also be sealed by station law enforcement in an emergency, by verbal command. DC 30 to open or seal. Immune to Fire, Cold and Electrical damage.

Fires are especially dangerous in the super-oxygenated environment aboard Solomon Station. Increase the die size of any Fire based attack by one step (from 1d6 to 1d8 for example), and increase the REF Save DC of all fire based hazards by +2.

Government

Solomon Station is governed by an elected mayor and a station council that function pretty much identically to the city council of any large, Earth-side city. Though its population dwarfs most Earth-side mega-cities, some American states and more than a few small nations, Solomon Station has never formally declared itself a nation. Instead, it operates as an independent city-state. Occasionally, proposals drift through the station council to formally declare nation-hood, and divide the station’s many Levels into provinces, such measures have been consistently voted down. Solomon’s 50 million citizens enjoy the illusion of small government provided by electing only a mayor and city council rather than a President and Congress.

The station’s mayor is elected to a four year term, while council members serve staggered two year terms; about a third of the station council is up for re-election in any given election. Solomon Station’s charter has also empowered a Council of Mothers, a civic advisory board that has complete authority to over ride station council decisions ‘in the interests of the pre-born and mothers-to-be.’ The Council of Mothers is only open to Lifer women in good standing, who have chosen the Block Mother starting occupation; these women are elected for six year terms.

Mayor John Paul Ortega

J.P. Ortega is a consummate politician; before being elected to Solomon’s highest office, he was an influential union boss. The slender, steel skinned man’s slick, ever-present grin makes him seem much younger than his 60 years, and his slick demeanor hides a cunning and manipulative mind. Ortega organized the ’96 strike, and the political capitol he earned among his fellow Wrench enabled him to claim office; Ortega is still paying off favors he called in during his first campaign.

J.P. Ortega lives on Indigo Level in a sprawling (by Solomon standards) 1,500 sq ft mansion with his wife Cynthia and their two teenaged sons, John Paul Jr. and Adam. The entire family are Wrench post-humans, and JP Ortega’s political career means the family is required to wear human clothes far more often then their neighbors. Most of Ortega’s old friends from the union days mock the tailored suits he wears today, and the family takes every opportunity to shed their clothes when away from the cameras.

The Council of Mothers are a source of constant consternation to the station council. They are fixers and political king-makers; offend the Council of Moms and you’ll never get re-elected. Keep the Mothers happy, and you can have a long and prosperous career as a Solomon politico. An appeal to the Council of Moms can earn a new family a few more square feet of living space allocation, especially if accompanied with a ‘gift’ to an acceptable Lifer charity. The Council of Mothers also mediates family and workplace disputes, meaning they often butt heads with the Spacelifters Union.

The Council of Moms (a less formal name as common as their official designation) represents the largest social-conservative voting block in the colony. Billions of dollars are funneled to the Earth-based Coalition for Life through Mom-approved charities. Though the citizens and government of Solomon Station do not want to stain their hands, nor risk their habitat’s prosperity, the station is a fertile fundraising ground for Earth’s Lifer nation. Virtually every business has a tip jar on its counter collecting for the CFL or to fund social programs for imprisoned Lifer ‘direct rescuers’ and their children.

Dr. Lamb Bachman

Dr. Lamb Bachman is the current chair of the Council of Mothers. An extremely low level telepath, she augments her Psionic gifts with a doctorate in psychology and memetic warfare from an on-station university. In addition to her duties on the Council, Dr. Bachman operates the Edenbright Center, a for profit clinic that offers the Heteronorm genemod and psi-manipulation from Bachman herself to ‘cure’ the stations minority openly gay population. Repeated sessions at the Center can remove a homosexual from the censure list- a list she controls.

Lamb Bachman lives in a suite of small apartments near her Edenbright Center, deep within the pastoral Green Level. Her husband, Dr. David Bachman, is a grief counselor specializing in abortion recovery. He has authored several books on the subject and often travels to Earth, and particularly Boston, on speaking tours. The Bachman family owns the Guinevere II, a four person ITF-capable spaceplane, one of the few ITF capable starships in private ownership. The luxury starship has a private dock on White Level. The family has three children; the oldest, Harold is a college student, majoring in urban planning and attending his mother’s alma mater. The other two kids are significantly younger: 12 year old Kenneth and 6 year old Brianna, have inherited some traces of their mother’s psi-talent. Young Brianna is an especially gifted telekine.

The Spacelifters Union is the dominant political power on station, and has made their power felt throughout the system. When the Union felt it wasn’t getting proper compensation back in 2096, the strike they organized virtually brought intra-system space travel to a standstill for three days. Faced with an economic crisis costing Terran businesses trillions of dollars, the Spacelifters got everything they wanted. The Union is dominated by Wrench post-humans, though most of the workers Below Decks, human and post-human alike are proud Starlifters Union members in good standing. Work on Solomon Station is hard and frequently dangerous, but thanks to the Starlifters Unions, it is at least well compensated.

Randall “Randy” Jammner

A young and ambitious Wrench businessman, Randy Jammner was a millionaire by 22, finding a new use for some of the volatile gases Solomon mines. His company, Horse-Sense Hydrogen directly employs 8,000+ Wrench, and indirectly employs or benefits tens of thousands more, and is a huge social presence on the Below Decks levels. Through his company, Jammner funds schools, dozens of 3-3 basketball teams, and hospitals specifically equipped to cope with the unique medical needs of the Wrench species. Jammner is obviously trying to buy influence, and its working. He’s an extremely popular local politico, beloved by the Wrench working the refinery.

Jammner has recently announced his candidacy for the 2108 mayoral election, and has been attacking JP Ortega as being ‘too human’. Mocking campaign ads show close ups of Ortega in a finely tailored, human-cut suit, contrasted against Jammner’s steely nakedness. Even before making a single argument, these attack ads have scored points with the station’s Wrench population.

Faith and Censure

Solomon Station’s charter has declared it a Christian colony, and only Christians are allowed full participation in station life. Staunchly conservative, setting foot aboard Solomon means stepping into a comprehensive parallel world where multiculturalism and inclusiveness were abandoned somewhere out in the Belt. Fully 95% of station inhabitants are some breed of Christian, including many ultra-conservative sects long since extinct on Earth; Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses make up a large percentage of the station’s population, as do Roman Catholics. Many of the colony’s first citizens immigrated to Jupiter space from Central and South America, having been successfully evangelized by these faiths in the years prior.

Non-Christians are ostracized and quietly ignored. The few non-Christian station inhabitants and tourists practice their faith behind the scenes. While Violet Level mega-churches serve most of the station population, the handful of non-Christians aboard Solomon meet for worship service in private homes or in rented restaurant halls, after business hours. A single, overcrowded Jewish temple can be found somewhere in the depths of Orange Deck, one of the only non-Christian holy sites on the entire orbital habitat.

Abortion on Solomon Station

Abortion is outlawed on Solomon Station, as are most of the most common Chocier sexual gene-mods. Neo-Witch Midwives are arrested upon arrival and deported; there has not been a Midwife (or known abortion provider without Midwife training) allowed on station since Solomon went online. Performing an abortion is a capitol offense on Solomon, though in practice, usually results in deportation and a lifetime ban from the station rather than spacing. Joyce Sivik v. the Council of Mothers (2073) was the last time an abortionist was spaced- a politically motivated circus that ground the station’s legal system to a halt for months, and still strikes a raw nerve, even thirty years after the fact. That particular lunacy isn’t something the station government is anxious to repeat.

Procuring an abortion, or advising in favor of abortion is a misdemeanor, punished by public humiliation, community service and official censure from the Council of Mothers. Homosexuality and the implantation of sexual genegrafts or sex-cybernetics are punished similarly. If it can be proved a station resident traveled off-station to procure an abortion, she can be banned from Solomon for life, though this last proscription is rarely enforced. Simple forms of contraception are allowed and encouraged on station. Condoms, diaphragms and the rhythm method are all in wide use. However, bio-chemical or genetic birth control remains prohibited; the Council of Mothers still shares the old Lifer distrust of such drugs.

The Council of Mothers has wide latitude in issuing public censure for any activity they deem contrary to Christian law or station health. Most censures range from between 3 months and one year; while censured, a criminal is publicly shunned and is a social pariah. Censured citizens cannot vote nor hold governmental office during the period of censure. The station’s child welfare agency is administered through the Council of Mothers; families that find themselves repeatedly censured will usually lose custody of their children. The stations few liberal politicians and reformers are under a near constant sentence of censure, preventing them from ever being more than an irritation to Solomon’s ultra-conservative government.

Covenant ideas are semi-officially banned on Solomon. Ritual artifacts such as athames or pentacles are on the import-restriction “black list”. Covenant Mesh signals and slower than light comms signals are scrambled intermittently; most signals originating in Choicer America are still viewable, but static shot and ragged. There are no official pagan covenhouses on Solomon, nor is the pagan faith officially recognized by the station government.

Jenna Lacklan, Codename: Tabby Bast

One of the stations few secret pagans, Jenna Lacklan is a self taught witch and one of the station’s most capable dissenters. Lacklan works as a computer technician in the station’s life support section on Grey Level. Her liberal tendencies are well known, and a source of scandal for her family; her confused and mostly self-taught worship of the goddess Bast isn’t, and could be cause for expulsion from the station. She moonlights as a hacker, and occasionally pulls off some minor act of sabotauge, particularly against the Council of Mothers. She despise them- with good cause, as she’s spent most of her adult life on the censure list for one reason or another.

Over the last year, as ‘Tabby Bast’, Lacklan has made contact with Earth’s Choicer community. A small team of Bastian Assault Infiltrators (see the Coven of Bast sourcebook) is planning an incursion into Solomon, in hopes of teaching the station’s women another way to live. Tabby Bast has been giving the Infiltrators information on the station’s layout and culture through a dedicated comms-wormhole. In addition, and more importantly to Jenna Lacklan, the young spy is learning the true worship of Bast for the first time in her life.

Solomon Station Preview Part One: The Wrench Player Race

2011-09-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

Over the next few posts, I'm going to preview a major part of the revised Guide to the Known Galaxy right here, giving you a preview of Solomon Station. Basically, you'll be getting a free city sourcebook, including a new race for your Otherverse America campaign. Now, I might add some information before GTKG v2 is released, or change the layout, but what you're seeing here is pretty close to what you'll see in the book.

Wrench

Medium Humanoid (Lifecount 1)

The Wrench were originally engineered at NASA’s request during the late 2020s, as mankind took its first steps outside our solar system. The first generation of Patriot Wrench were human volunteers who accepted untested genemods in hopes of winning a berth on one of the early FTL starships, but every generation of Wrench since then has been freeborn, and rightfully proud of their heritage as early out-colonists.

The Wrench genemod is one of the most severe alteration of the human genetic code in existence. Wrench mutates incorporate Lifechained alleles recovered from space-born super predators. These lines of alien genetic code give the steel-skinned mutates their ability to survive (and enjoy) hard vacuum. Further, their genetic heritage means that Wrench are comfortable in deepest, blackest space in a way few other Earth-born humans can ever be. Wrench are happiest on some massive starship heading towards Phallus Space and the Galactic Core; they’re bored and claustrophobic on Earth, preferring the cold, austere beauty of the stars.

Wrench are relatively rare in Earth space. They might return to their planet of origin for a brief R&R stopover, and might even own an Earth-side house or two, but they spend 80-90 % of their lives ‘out in the black’. They are a common sight in human and Stonecutter spaceports, and most Beanstalk shops and bars have learned to accept their quirks without complaint.

The majority of Wrench in our Solar System call Jupiter’s Solomon Station home, making their living servicing visiting star-liners. The Wrench union on Solomon is one of the out-colony’s foremost political voices and has been since 2096, when a Wrench strike shut down intra-system travel for nearly three days. Needless to say, by the time the strike was over, the Wrench Spacelifters Union had got what it wanted.

In Psi-Watch

In Psi-Watch, Patriot Wrench mutates are a refinement of the earlier Shiftsteel Symbiote soldier-species. Patriot Wrench are less physically powerful, but more psychologically stable- they do not have to endure the alien dreams and implanted memories that plague Shiftsteel mutants. Every faction fields at least a few Patriot Wrench, because their natural gifts make them perfectly suited for exo-atmospheric work.

Psi-Watch itself has trained a small, elite Cadre of Patriot Wrench supersoldiers known as the Morningstar Brigade. Morningstar Brigade troops are trained in sky-diving and HALO operations, and a preferred tactic is to make a dangerous HALO jump from the edge of the ionosphere, using a Phobos suborbital as a mission platform. Morningstar Brigade is commanded by Major Samuel Jane, codenamed Starburn. The career Air Force pilot who accepted genetic reorganization after being shot down over Iraq. The Patriot Wrench mutation was Major Jane’s chance to walk- and fly- again.

Appearance

Wrench mutates are instantly recognizable thanks to their metallic, gleaming skins, which are as warm and supple as human flesh but have a silvery, gun-metal sheen. They are perfectly adapted for starship life. Their skins are tough enough to shrug off micro-meteorite punctures, and they are highly resistant to temperature extremes. Never cold, and rarely modest, most Wrench mutates go nude or nearly so, only donning clothes or a uniform when they absolutely cannot weasel out of it. When forced to wear anything more confining than a tool belt, they are uncomfortable and fidgety.

A Wrench’s upper torso and upper arms are decorated with luminous, genetically encoded tattoos. These glowing tattoos display the Wrench’s name, birth location and current duty station. The Wrench can alter the color and illumination provided by these glowing birthmarks with a thought, and a Wrench’s brightness is a good clue to his or her emotional state. A Wrench’s radiance can dim to near invisibility, or can flare bright enough to be seen at orbital distances. Wrench astronauts use color-flashes to communicate with one another when performing EVAs.

Reproduction

Wrench mutates have no set breeding season and enjoy sex for pleasure. Despite their human-like shape, they cannot successful interbreed with baseline homo sapiens. The genemods that make a Wrench are far too extreme for cross-fertilization. Wrench can only bear off spring with their own kind or another Lifechained humanoid.

Most Wrench prefer sex in zero gravity or hard vacuum conditions, and have little interest in sex when trapped in a gravity well. Wrench males usually suffer impotence while on a planet with Earth-normal gravity.

Size and Type

Wrench are Medium Humanoids with the Lifechained subtype, and have no special bonus or penalties due to their size. A Wrench’s base landspeed is 30 ft.

Ability Score Modifiers

+2 to one ability score of choice. Wrench post-humans are every bit as diverse as their human ancestors.

Racial Feats

All Wrench receive Zero-G Training as a racial bonus feat. They enjoy zero-g conditions and make excellent spacers.

Racial Skills

Wrench have direction finding organs modeled on bee and homing pigeon anatomy built into their neural tissue. They receive a +8 racial bonus on Navigate checks, and can always sense their distance and relative direction to their birth planet, regardless of how far they range. They also receive a +2 racial bonus on Pilot checks.

Enhanced Senses

Patriot Wrench receive lowlight vision and darkvision with a 120 ft effective range. They can sense the presence of, and general direction to, other Lifespawn within one mile.

Natural Armor (EX)
A Wrench’s metallic skin is designed to be resistant to micro-meteorite punctures. It can also shrug off small arms fire. The Wrench receives a +3 natural armor bonus to Defense, which improves to +4 at 5^th level, and by +1 for every five additional levels.

Spaceborn (EX)

Wrench do not need to breathe and are immune to the effects of suffocation, vacuum and radiation. They are immune to environmental heat and cold and can sustain themselves indefinitely on solar energies and ambient cosmic radiation. Outside of an atmosphere they do not need food or water, but in a planetary atmosphere, they need as much food and water as a similarly sized human.

As Lifespawn, Wrench characters may select the Awakened Heritage feat at any point during their careers, not just at first level. A Wrench may always take either the Thermonuclear Heart or Starleap Spaceflight Lifechained feats, regardless of whether she meets the prerequisites or not. These two feats represent natural evolutions of her already impressive engineered gifts.

Starbright (EX)\

A Wrench’s natural biological processes allow the humanoid to generate incredible amounts of light. The Wrench can produce light equal to that of a halogen spotlight (bright illumination in a 100 ft cone, shadowy illumination for twice that distance). The Wrench can reduce her light output to less than that of an illuminated watch dial.

As a standard action, the Wrench can create a blinding flash of light, similar to the effect of a flash grenade centered on her self. All creatures within 30 ft of the Wrench who can see her must succeed at a FORT Save (DC 10 + her CON modifier) or be blinded for 1d4 rounds.

Wrench Racial Feats

Sequence Hybrid (Racial- Wrench)

Intermarriages between Wrench spacers and Sequence meta-humans hired on as guides for the starships they serve with are extremely common. The two species are extremely similar in outlooks and abilities, and both share a love for the freezing beauty of deepest space.

Prerequisites: Wrench species, character level first

Benefit: You gain a Sequence’s Starburst racial ability. Additionally, you can speak and are literate in Sequence. Wrench with this feat usually have coronas of ivory white flame licking their steel skins.

Upcoming Micro-sourcebooks

2011-09-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

I’ve been thinking about what I want to do with Otherverse America now that the revised Core Rulebook is out.

Right now, I have two short sourcebooks focusing on various aspects of Choicer culture, one dealing with variant Ubasti breeds, and one focusing on medical equipment, for used by Neo-Witch Midwife characters. Those will be out in a few days.The rough sketch of the medical equipment micro-book's cover, by Vic Shane, is shown.

I’m still playing with the revised Guide to the Known Galaxy, but I find myself wondering about the format. Will it be one huge sourcebook, or a series of smaller PDFs each focusing on a particular galactic region, its adventuring sites and its inhabitants? Right now, I’m leaning toward the series of regional PDFs idea- it gives me more page count to work with, allowing me to get a bit more in-depth about each region.

One thing I know I will do: whatever sourcebook ends up including the Lifechained Bestiary will be presented in dual stat format, allowing awesome monsters like the Nemesis Hellraider, Scorpion Mirage, Hostage Taker and others to be used in both Pathfinder RPG and D20 Modern campaigns. Likewise, I want to include stats for using Genesis, Nemesis, Roe and Artemis as gods in a PFRPG campaign, with appropriate domains and new Lifechained sorcerer bloodlines. That should be A LOT of fun to work on.

Farther out, I want to a setting book on India, circa 2107. I almost completely ignored the region in the first book, only going back and giving India a bit of personality and page space in the revised Core Book. Now, I want to do something unique with the region. As I was planning the revamp of Otherverse America, I bought the first trade paperback of Devi (Virgin Comics) and it blew me away with how much beauty and dramatic potential Indian culture offers. Anyway, I see 22^nd Century India as this utterly bizarre, post-human, high-tech, cyberpunk place. You’ve got the Indian government spending billions of dollars on national uplift programs to upgrade its citizens, this super high tech industry contrasted against a still poor rural population and some surpisingly primitive elements, even in 2107. I also want it to be the country where cyborgs from all over Earthspace come to get upgraded- you can buy shit in India that’s 20 years better than anywhere else, but with tech that cutting edge, who knows if it really works or not? I figure the India sourcebook will also be a kick-ass cyborg sourcebook and equipment manual.

I’m also going to put together a serious Lifer ‘army manual’, focusing heavily on the Lifer nations best trained soldiers- the ones they grow in secret on Kodiak Island. I want something as comprehensive as Palladium’s Coalition War Campaign sourcebook, or one of Games Workshop’s army books for Warhammer 40,000…. Lots of new feats and talent trees, cybernetics unique to the Lifer military, and some new classes reflecting the unique training the superhumans on Kodiak are given. I also want to stat out several of the Ghosts of Babies Past- a lineage of Lifer terrorists, the most powerful and fearsome of their kind- and offer suggestions on players wanting to build a current-gen Ghost as a player character.

Finally, I want to put out huge, comprehensive city books for the major cities of the setting: San Francisco/Aradia, The Federal Metroplex, Boston and Pensacola. Of course, that’s going to be a lot of work, and a lot of art, so the city books are pretty far down the line.

Blessed Be,

CHRIS

If I Revamped Rifts....

2011-09-08T20:19:00.001-07:00

Okay, the other day, I found this awesome image on Deviant Art, and I figured I’d fantasize a bit, as I often do, what I would do with the license if I were working on RIFTS. Seriously, I would kill to covert Rifts over to an updated D20 Modern, or even just modernize it into a stand-alone system.

So what would I do with it? First off, I’d change up the organization slightly. As with the Ultimate Edition, Erin Tarn’s overview of North America would begin on page one, and only after the fiction’s done do we start in with character generation.

I would like to include about ten playable races in the revised Rifts core book, and I’d do away with the whole concept of Racial Character Classes. You pick a race, then a class and then some feats and gear. That’s it, simple and done. However, I’d take a cue from 1^st and 2^nd Edition D&D (which is appropriate, since D&D 2^nd was a major inspiration for the Palladium house system in the first place) and restrict specific classes to specific races.

The core player races would represent the most common races in North America, and unlike the original, gloriously unbalanced Rifts book, would have a bit more level power curve. So there’d be no Dragon Hatchlings as a player race in the revised corebook. Save that for the first sourcebook.

Humans (probally pumped up with some kind of enhanced action point/drama point mechanic to keep them competitive and effective in mixed race parties)

Dog Boys (a bit restricted in terms of occupation: can only choose soldier/fighter style classes, and maybe juicer)

Full Conversion Cyborgs (I treated FCBs as a race in Otherverse America, and it seems to work pretty well; since Rifts is a major inspiration, why not port that concept to the setting. They’d be restricted to mostly military occupations, but maybe there’d be a feat or variant character class that allows them to become Techno-Wizards.

I’ve always wanted to include cyborg mages, even if the original flavor text forbids it. I figure if as Crowley says, magic is causing change in accordance with the will, who would better able to effect such changes then someone who had the will to surgically change their entire body? As an aside, that’s one of the reasons I love Grant Morrison’s character Lord Fanny- probably the only likable character in the entire Invisibles roster.)

Psi-Stalkers (they’d be restricted to stealthy/predatory classes or psychic classes)

On the D-Bee front, I’d make the Brodakill, Simvan Monster Riders, Quickflex Aliens and those big guys with the sword-hands as core races. I’d also include an option, similar to my upcoming Space Cases PDF, about rolling up a random D-Bee refugee or explorer stranded on Rifts Earth.

The more powerful races, like True Atlantean, Dragon Hatchlings, Titans, Vampires and more powerful D-Bee and demonic races would be in the first sourcebook.

I would convert the various classes into D20 compatible Base Classes, but I would probably keep Palladium’s unique 15 level class format, and for the spell-casters, I’d change the spell progression so a 15^th level caster could cast 9^th level spells. That not only emphasizes that Rifts Earth is a ridiculously magic-rich setting, and the mages there can do things effortlessly that are epic feats elsewhere in the multiverse, but also encourages multiclassing. In an expected 20 level character progression, on Rifts Earth, primary spellcasters can take a few levels in other classes, expand their capabilities and still have access to 9^th level, capstone spells. It makes mages on Rifts Earth a bit tougher, and emphasizes how deadly the world is: to survive, even the mages have had to learn to fight and shoot.

The core classes would remain mostly as found in the original core rulebook, though I wouldn’t bother much with the Mystic, just covert over the Pathfinder RPG sorcerer and give him a bit more ‘hippy’ flavor text. The one problem with Rifts classes is they’re super frontloaded- most classes give you all your cool abilities at 1^st level, and nothing but skill boosts for the other 14 levels. The Lord Magus from the FoM sourcebook, with its new spell-like abilities at every level, has the most Pathfinder-like progression in the game, giving a cool ability at every level.

I would also like to give a greater sense of history to the Glitter Boys- an elite caste of warriors piloting armor handed down and lovingly maintained since before the coming of Rifts. They’d be somewhat like the Cavilers in the PFRPG Advanced Player’s Guide, but with a supersonic rail gun (Another thing I’d change- most of the fiction in Rifts uses rail guns as a futuristic substitute for mini-guns like the one Jesse Ventura carried in Predator. I’d change that so rail guns work more like sniper rifles, and leave the heavy machine gun role to some other form of MDC weapon).

Other than that, most of the classes would be unchanged, you’d still have Cyber-Knights, Ley Line Walkers, Juicers, Crazies, Techno-Wizards, Shifters, Wilderness Scouts/Rangers and so forth, though I would probably consolidate the Rogue Scientist/Rogue Scholar and Cyber Doc into a single “expert” class with more balanced and useful abilities. The vagabond OCC would disappear forever, and I don’t think any Rifts player would shed a single tear. I’d love to pull the Ecto-Hunter class from one of the Russian sourcebooks into the corebook, because they were just damn cool, and filled a neat niche- the high-tech monster hunter. Core book Psychic classes would include a generic psychic warrior class, Mind Melter, Burster, Operator (which would be purely psychic to differentiate it from the Rogue Scientist), the Nega-Psychic from Psiscape, and maybe one or two others. I would also like to include a dedicated Healer class of some kind in the game.

One thing I would love to do is streamline the various Coalition and NGR military occupations into a single Soldier class (and the Headhunter would be more of a bounty hunter/slaver variant on this class). It would free up tons of page space, and consolidate classes with only minor differences in skill selections and equipment packages into a single class. Various modular class abilities would let the players build up different kind of soldier: a field medic package, a sniper package, an officer package, a combat engineer, an infantry grunt, saboteur, whatever. There’d of course be a minor skill mod for Coalition soldiers, one long time fans would expect: they’re all illiterate.

That’s one thing I would definitely play up. The Coalition bans literacy, but they’ve got this crazy-advanced, high tech military. Now, I did my four in the Navy, and everything had a procedures manual… .I would love to know exactly how a military conveys this info to its troops without the written word. I figure all of their gear comes with a little hologram projector that projects a CS Drill Sergeant explaining how to use it, and they have to be huge into symbols and info-graphics. Anyway, I’ve never seen much on the daily life and civilian culture of the Coalition, and would love to see more about that. Hell, I’d love to write that.

I’d pull some of the info found in Sourcebook One and the Federation of Magic sourcebooks into the core book. Archie-3 is a fucking AMAZING villain, and I’d love to see more on him. I love the idea that he’s this total wildcard, this secret power that the other great American powers (the Coalition States, the Federation of Magic, the Vampire Kingdoms) have to deal with the repercussions of, all without realizing that he exists. I’d also like to include an allegiance type system, and make who the PCs allies are count more. An adventuring or exploratory unit backed by Tolkien (renamed from the slightly too cutesy Tolkeen) or Lazlo would feel different than a FoM or Coalition group, obviously.

One thing I would absolutely not touch is the setting’s lethality and the ridiculously over powered nature of the weapons. One shot from even the crappiest MPC pistol should be able to mist an unarmored human- I’ve got no problem with hand weapons of this era being deadlier than artillery from an earlier era. (Though I might change the history a bit so that when the apocalypse happened, humanity still only had cyberpunk-level, SDC weapons and nukes…. They boostrapped their technology, developing juicers, ‘borgs and mecha from recovered tech they scavenged from whatever poor D-bees fell into Rifts Earth and died there. That also explains why, in some ways, Rifts-tech is inferior to our own.)

When I first started playing Rifts, I was also reading Mark Silvestri and Jim Lee’s run on Uncanny X-Men and so the concept of MDC was a natural one for me- Colossus is an MDC creature in armored form, adamantium is an MDC alloy, Cyclops and Havok fire MDC energy blasts, and so on. I’ve never understood fans who complain that MDC is too over the top- playing Rifts with non-MDC weapons or MDC that’s been nerfed so one MD=10 HP or some similar ratio seems to be missing the point. Uncontrolled, unstoppable power in the hands of unworthy people is the central theme of Rifts- playing Rifts without MDC is like playing Dungeons & Dragons without any dragons, and without ever setting foot into a dungeon. Hell, it’s more fundamental then that, because I’ve run in plenty of campaigns like that- it’s like playing D&D without SWORDS.

However, with MDC armor, we need some kind of kinetic damage or traumatic brain injury mechanic. That way, even SDC peasants have a chance to kill MDC thugs and oppressors if they fight dirty and fight clever; shaking them to death inside their armor with high explosives or roadside bombs, breaking their bones by ramming them with a truck doing 70+ MPH, killing grunts walking through the forests with one ton log falls and so on.

One thing I would love to include is some kind of political mechanic. To me, Rifts adventures should include convincing a dozen small wilderness towns to ally against an invading CS army, jockeying for position within the Coalition Military and eventually leading a military coup against the Prosek regime, backstabbing your betters in the Federation of Magic and so on. I’d love to have actual rules support for building alliances, screwing over your allies, breaking or keeping treaties and so on.

Anyway, just some thoughts I had.
CHRIS

Ubasti Micro-Sourcebook Upcoming

2011-09-07T13:20:00.000-07:00

Right now, as I'm gathering up art for Guide to the Known Galaxy 2nd Edition, I'm working on a few minor projects.

Some of them: I'm working on some freelance spell collections for Louis Porter. Right now, I've got open documents detailing 100 new sorcerer/ wizard spells and 100 new cleric spells for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. That should be a good, fun seller for Louis. By the way, thanks to everybody who's buying Trade Routes, the caravan rule book I wrote for Louis. I didn't expect that one to sell as highly as it has.

Otherverse America is doing well, and I hope everyone who has bought a copy is using it in a game this weekend. If you are, send me some table stories, and if you're pulling ideas from the setting to use in other game worlds or other systems, let me know what you used. I'm always curious what my readers are doing with my products.

The image up top will, when colored, be the cover to a micro-sourcebook focusing on the Ubasti race. That should be a fun little sourcebook. Now, I've got to share something adorable Amanda told me. She said her daughter was watching her ink this piece and shared her opinion that the Ubasti are "good lions, not bad lions". What a bad lion is, I'm not exactly sure, but it was a cute quote.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Otherverse America: ON SALE NOW!

2011-09-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

First and most important, the revised Otherverse America Core Rulebook, which includes over 400 pages of awesome, is available now at RPGnow! It just went up about a hour ago. The sale on pretty much every product for Otherverse America is also on going, so if there's something of mine you've been interested in, now is a great time to pick it up.

As I wait to see what you all think of the new OA core book, I'm putting together a revised version of one of my neatest sourcebooks, Guide to the Known Galaxy. I've been picking up some amazing art for it, replacing my scribbles in the original edition. I've already gathered a few pieces: the left image depicts an Arab spacer, working the asteroid belt. Near-Earth space will be getting a lot more attention, as you can tell from this kick ass image. Expect a ton of detail on the Asteroid Belt region, more plot hooks set on the the lunar state of Diana, and the Lifer free-city of Solomon Station, high in Jupiter's orbit.

On the right, one of the most unique and visually appealing monsters in the setting, the Valkyrie Type. These demi-goddess level adversaries are the cosmic servants of Roe Athene, and in addition to being fucking cool looking, they are deadly snipers with those rail guns of theirs. She, like most of the monsters, will be redesigned from the stats up, making them tougher, faster to GM and more fun (and challenging) to fight.

The races will also get stream-lined. The two most important alien races in the setting, the Stone Cutters and the Half Grey won't change much, though we'll find out more about their off-earth politics and lives. However, the 'lesser' races of the setting, the ones that don't quite have as iconic a role in my mind will get tweaked dramatically. I've been going through and cleaning up everything. The Dhale get new flavor text and some really cool new abilities, the Ejaw's multiple racial trait packages get cleaned up- I say more with a smaller and more consise word count. The Thrayce get slightly renamed, and instead of being "French Revolution" reptile aliens, they're now post-apocalyptic reptile aliens who nuked their own planet. I could go on and on, but I figure I'll preview some of this stuff later in the month.

Talk to you later, and hope you like the new Core Rulebook,
CHRIS

Upcoming Sale!

2011-08-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

Hey, the Revised Otherverse America core rulebook (which includes the Game Master's Guide) will be on sale at RPGnow very soon. To celebrate, I'm going to be doing a pretty comprehensive sale on Otherverse America supplements all throughout September.

Included in the sale will be:
Coven of Bast
The Eleusinian Covenant
Neverborn Again
The Otherverse Armory
Sexually Transmitted Future
Guide to the Known Galaxy
Species of Otherverse America
The Powered Hero Basic Class
Fundamental Forces
Tactical Upgrade 2107
...and maybe a few more titles I've forgotten. In short, since I want everybody to pick up and play the new Otherverse America corebook, every one of my pricey splat-books is going on sale! Micro-sourcebooks like the Techno-Magic of Bast or Razor Culture won't be affected.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Lifepaths

2011-08-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

Today, I started laying out the Otherverse America Game Master's Guide, and thought I'd talk a little bit about how I laid out the core book, and why I chose that format. Every campaign book I've ever picked up lays out its information differently.

Rifts has a 500 word over view of the setting, then character generation rules and only then do we get history and world info. We get to know the heroes of the setting first, but we're making Dog Boys and Juicers and whatever without ever really getting to know the world they inhabit.

Eberron and Forgotten Realms follow the standard Wizards of the Coast format: races, classes, feats, prestige classes, world info, monsters, spells and items. It's okay, because at least we start off with a description of the races that inhabit the world.

Aberrant, like most White Wolf products, has 100+ pages of history and flavor text before we ever start assigning stats. We definitely know what the world's all about and can build characters that fit in, but the sheer weight of flavor text before rules might turn off some gamers.

So what's the right way to arrange a campaign guide? Fuck if I know. All of these layouts have strengths and weaknesses. What I did was lay out the book as if it were a character's life. The book starts with a birth, and then describes the world and the factions as if the character were literally born into and growing up in Otherverse America. The first 120 pages or so are all history and setting info, but through out the fluff, there are Affiliations- groups players can sign on with and get a bonus similar to a feat. The affiliations mentioned during the first chapters are all available to first level characters- they're things like Choicer clinic defender organizations that characters can belong to in their teens.

Next, I've got the settings starting occupations and birthright feats, which can only be chosen at first level. Now, the characters feel like high school or college students, or boot camp recruits, or whatever, just starting out. After that I've got Advanced Classes, feats and powers. Finally, I've got 'advanced' affiliations that have requirements beyond the reach of most starting characters. Those are options for 'adult' characters, experienced in the world.

Anyway, I kinda like this arrangement.
Blessed Be
CHRIS

Just a Few Edits and Otherverse America Will Be Done....

2011-08-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

Last night, I finalized the layout of the revised Otherverse America core rulebook. This sucker clocks in at 285 pages, including a full glossary and index, and the PDF is in the rather weighty neighborhood of 63 mb. Tonight, I'm going to go through the text, find all the little formatting errors and minor typos I didn't catch on the first run-through and print out a final copy. I've also set up a complete printer friendly version of the text. The printer friendly version consists of several smaller PDFs each covering a related topic: feats, character classes, Object Philosophies, setting history and flavor text.

After this I'm going to work on the Otherverse America game master's guide, which I will include as part of the purchase of the Core Rulebook. Basically, when you download this sucker (I'm figuring on a price point between $25-30.) you'll get a zip file the Core Rulebook, the GMG and all the little printer-friendly PDFs. Early on in this project, I figured to make the GMG a stand alone release, so what changed?

Simple, I downloaded the One Ring RPG a few weeks ago. It had a similar split between core rules and the GMG, and I felt the decision worked well. As a consumer, I definitely like I got my money's worth- between the One Ring core book and GMG I got 500+ pages of kick-ass content. I figure that my Otherverse America, like Tolkien's Middle Earth is detail heavy enough that this format really works. (And somewhere, if he's reading this I know Louis is gnashing his teeth, going like "Chris, you idiot, put out a mid-length corebook and lots of little splats to maximize profits.")

Anyway, I'll start laying out the GMG tomorrow and should have it completed by Monday or Tuesday.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Last Art

2011-08-17T18:01:00.001-07:00

Okay, I just received this piece, illustrating an APEX supersoldier, from Alex Garcia. After this, I've got one last illo outstanding: a landscape shot of Pensacola, FL from Felipe. The scenic shots have been a huge drain on the budget, artwise- they're more expensive than most character shots- but they're absolutely vital to the setting. I'm glad I've gotten them. Anyway, Felipe send me a rough draft for comments the other day, and I should have a finalized illo soon.

In the meantime, I'm starting to work on a revised draft of Guide to the Known Galaxy, and I've already commissioned a handful of images: Amanda is doing a revised illo of the Sequence, while I'll eventually get a shot of a generic Arabic spacer (who works the Asteroid Belt region) and a monster called a Valkyrie Type from Alex.

I'm also in the process of revising some Black Tokyo content for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Living Toys and Harem Mages has sold (and continues to sell) ABSOLUTELY HUGE numbers. However, as I'm working on the text, I'm realizing that D20 Modern and the PFRPG are such different beasts that I'm not just going to do a straight up conversion, and worry more about capturing my original feel and intent within the new rule set. I figure I'll start with a couple of mid-length sourcebooks: one focusing on shit and blood magic, and one focusing on the various races of the setting. I'll be using Amanda and some of my other artists for the illos, and will use the eventual profits from these sourcebooks and other BT-converts to fund Guide to the Known Galaxy and Pirates of the Bronze Sky. Also, expect a few quick sourcebooks in the meantime, including a very fun Galaxy Command sourcebook I've got Amanda doing cover duty on.

Also, I'm looking for even more artists. If you've got a decent online portfolio, send me a link and a basic schedule of your rates to Chrisfieldotherverse@hotmail.com.

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Patriots, Robots and Ghosts

2011-08-11T13:54:00.001-07:00

Hey, I finally saw Captain America this weekend. It was a ridiculously fun, and extremely pulpy movie. I'm amazed that Marvel Studios has so far been able to produce three movies, each with their own unique feel, but keep everything as integrated as it has. Capt. America was straight up classic 40s style pulp; Thor was Kirby-tech filled science-fantasy, and Iron Man was straight up military sci-fi.

The possibly best part of the movie? Seeing Nazis get disintegrated with their own, ridiculously over-powered guns. Seriously, seeing Nazis get blasted what what's effectively Rifts weapons never gets old. Chris Evans did a spectacular job as Capt America too- determined, clever and noble (if a little too prone to martyrdom). Capt America's "death" was really touching and emotionally affecting.

The worst part? That fucking 40s style show tune. Yes, it accurately captured the music of the time. the only problem is that the music of the time fucking sucked. That was five minutes of my life I'll never get back.

Anyway, I should have the last piece of Otherverse America artwork in a couple of days. Now, once that's in hand, I'll have everything laid out pretty quickly. My only internal debate is, after having purchased the awesome (and HUGE, I'm talking 600+ pages) One Ring RPG, is should I keep the division between the core book and game masters guide I was planning, or make one mammoth core book that includes everything? I'll probably decide that during the layout stage.

I'm also planning a short follow up to Synthetic Heroes, offering a few new robot Design Schemes and new powers, including robot specific talent trees.

In addition, as you can see by my visual hint over to the right of the page, I'm thinking of doing a Fursona-compatible freeform creation system for Undead characters. Build your own vampires, liches, mummies and zombies- it should be fun, and a good seller. Hopefully, I'll have it ready by Halloween/Samhain.

Talk to you later,
CHRIS

This Makes Me Happy

2011-08-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

Enjoy.

Competing with Tolkien

2011-08-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, The One Ring RPG hit yesterday, and I did pick it up. I'll post my thoughts on it a bit later. What's awesome, and thank you for all this is that as of 5 minutes ago, The One Ring is at the number one slot on RPGnow. As it should be- it's probably the most venerable and respected license in gaming. And I'm at #8 or #9. I'm competing with the big boys- in this case, the biggest of the big boys, old JRR himself, and while I'm not winning, I'm not exactly getting embarrassed either.

Sorta makes me feel better about life.
CHRIS

Goat-fucking Sons of Bitches....

2011-08-04T12:22:00.001-07:00

You know who is a goat-fucking son of a bitch?

The goat-fucking son of a bitch who stole my bikes yesterday night! Yep, I said bikes. I had two of the damn things chained up against my porch, and when I went out yesterday morning to run some errands, guess what I saw? My porch, now minus my bicycles.

Fuck.

CHRIS

Two More Previews

2011-08-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

When I first started doing work for Skortched Urf Studios, I did an advanced class for D20 Modern called the Sentai Spectrum Ranger. Over the last couple of weeks, I've gone back and blown this 10 page class into a 50+ complete guide to playing Sentai superheroes. Amanda will be providing a color version of the image at left for the cover. As soon as I get that, my little Sentai sourcebook will be out. On the right, you've got a really evocative image of 2107's Boston, by Felipe Gaona. This very amazing piece of art will find itself a home in the revised Otherverse America.

Blessed Be
CHRIS

My Backlog

2011-08-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, Alzrius pointed out something to me- I need to mention what I'm working on a bit more often. Thanks man, and thanks for the notes on Living Toys and Harem Mages. Okay, first.... I finally started converting Black Tokyo material over to Pathfinder. I started with Living Toys and the Harem Mages concepts- they work well together, and I had all the art I needed for it ready to go.

As expected, my fans are pervs. This thing has been up for about 24 hours, and has outsold my last 3 releases. I love my perv fans.

I have two pieces of art outstanding for Otherverse America: an illustration of Pensacola by Felipe Gaona, and an illustration of an APEX supersoldier by Alex Garcia. I should have those within the week, and then I'll lay out the book.

I've got small releases on deck, too. Expect a 10 pager called Ediolons Unleashed, which is a bunch of new options for Pathfinder's Summoner class. I added a few new base forms, some Summoner class feats, and a couple of new magic items. Fursona II, a short supplement for the Fursona character-generation system will also come out soon. Expect 5 new orders, a bunch of new racial traits, and some more spells and a pretty funky new kind of magic item: enchanted gastroliths.

On the Otherverse America front, I'll have two short tech books coming out about the same time as the revised core rulebook. One is entitled "The Technomagic of Bast" and focuses on Bastian psi-tech, and the other is called "Medical Pack" and focuses on lifesaving and EMT gear.

A big release coming out soon is Synthetic Heroes. You know the bad ass character generation system found in Fursona? Twist that one just a little bit and use it to build robot and android player characters. That one will support Otherverse America, Psi-Watch and Galaxy Command, and like Fursona is going to be a kick ass general supplement that offers a ton of new player options.

Looking farther ahead, right after I'm done working on this, I'll go back to working on the revised Pirates of the Bronze Sky. I'm completely re-organizing it, adding lots of new factions, countries and a couple of new player races beyond those included in the original draft I sent Louis. I'm also debating whether or not to include slavery in this Revolutionary War analouge setting, or avoid heavy, realistic concerns like that, and just focus on the swashbuckling action. Thoughts?

I'm going to start gathering artwork for Pirates of Bronze Sky (and a revised Guide to the Known Galaxy) later tonight.

Anyway, I hope enjoy what I've got for you.
CHRIS

I Need This, You Need This.

2011-07-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/07/21/idw-star-trek-legion-super-heroes-crossover/

Oh, I need to get this. I'd pick it up for Jeff Moy's artwork alone.
CHRIS

Comics Review: Age of X

2011-07-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

So, this week I picked up the Age of X trade paperback.

My first thought is that it’s not as good or as emotionally satisfying as Second Coming (reviewed a couple of months back), but it’s still a pretty good graphic novel.

I’m a sucker for alternate world stories, because they offer creators a freedom to cut loose with the characters and their world. The old series, What If? Was a favorite comic of mine back during the early 1990s, and Age of Apocalypse (which is a thematic precursor to this story) was mind-blowingly good. I suppose since I’m comparing Age of X to its predecessor Age of Apoc, it comes up short. Then again, comparing anything to a bad ass sci-f story with art by Joe Madueria at the top of his game, most things would come up short.

On its own merits, though, I’d give Age of X a solid 7 out of 10, maybe even 8 of 10 if I’m feeling generous. My biggest problem was despite the huge cast (pictured at left) the story only focused on a few characters: Rogue/Revenant, Mageneto/The General, Cyclops/The Basilisk, Wolverine, Cannonball and Legion. All the rest of the characters had glorified cameos, and quite a few characters had no speaking role at all.

This left me feeling a bit unsatisfied, and there were a lot of tantalizing questions posed by the excellent Clayton Mann art that the script left unanswered. In no particular order: what the hell happened to Collosus’s arms, and can he turn back human now? Where exactly did Gambit pick up the musket? Who the hell was the red haired telekinetic with the X scar on her check? She wasn’t Jean, nor was she Rachael, and I don’t think she was identified by name any where in the entire storyline. She was a cipher, which is a disappointment, because I really liked her bondage-harness costume. It was kinky enough to catch my eye.

Also speaking of ciphers, I find it really disappointing that the creative staff decided to include Avalanche, give him a redesigned costume, and not give him one single line any where in the book. I’ve been reading since the Claremont days, and Avalanche has always been the thug in the back of a crowd scene- a soldier with a cool power and neat helmet but no discernible personality. I figured we’d finally get to see some humanity from this guy after 30 years of being a non-entity. Nothing.

Anyway, the wrap up was a bit quick and considering it involved the alteration of reality a bit too easy, but based on what I’m seeing in current issues of X-Men: Legacy the repercussions will continue to be explored. I gottta say one thing though: why hasn’t anybody in the Marvel Universe come by and smoked Legion like he’s a Polish sausage?

Seriously, this guy has broken reality twice now. The Scarlet Witch only fucked up reality once, and everybody was ready to kill her. And the Scarlet Witch, for most of her career, was a cute, cheerful superhero. Legion, by contrast, has been a selfish, twitchy little dweeb since his first appearance. Letting him live just makes the X-Men seem too dumb to live themselves.

Anyway, I’ve only got two pieces outstanding on Otherverse America, which means that this beast will be ready to go soon. I’m also working on a short companion PDF to Fursona, that uses the same basic character generation system to build robotic heroes and villains. It should be a fun one.

Blessed Be,

CHRIS

Species of the Otherverse

2011-07-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

Species of the Otherverse just came out. This 70 pager sourcebook was originally going to be part and parcel of the revised Otherverse America corebook, but got moved to it's own release because of page count concerns. With Sexually Transmitted Future, Tactical Upgrade 2107, and the Powered Hero Basic class, it forms the core of the Otherverse America character builder. It's a pretty sweet release- lots of art, not very much of which is stock. Inside, you've got 13 of the most common alien and post-human species found on Earth, including racial feats for each species.

A listing of the species found inside:

Courier	Medium Humanoid (Psionic)	2030s, United States Military	Teleporting military psions
Dreamborn Mau	Medium Humanoid (Psionic)	2079, Coven of Bast	Cat like children of a goddess
Fluxminx	Medium Humanoid (shapechanger)	2034, Sanger Genomics and other meta-porn companies	Seductive shapechangers
Full Conversion Cyborgs	Large Monstrous Humanoid	2030s, various corporations and militaries	Heavily armed and armored bionic warriors
Half Grey	Medium Humanoid (Psionic, Lifechained)	2011, alien	Stealthy, predatory refugees
Mechanics	Medium Humanoid (Psionic)	2050s, various corporations and militaries	Psions able to manipulate plastic and metal
Mediators	Medium Humanoid (Psionic)	2090s, United States Military	Logical, atheistic geniuses
Nanofeasters	Medium Humanoid	2060s, Lifer Army of God	Predators designed to feed on nanotech
Neverborn	Medium Undead (Lifechained)	2080s, Lifer Army of God	Zombie-like activists
Shy Minutemen	Medium Humanoid	2040s, United States Military	Predators designed to hunt Lifechained superhumans
Softling Healers	Medium Humanoid (Psionic)	2040s, Sanger Genomics and the Covenant	Psi-capable healers
Stonecutters	Large Monstrous Humanoid	2020s, alien	Wealthy, advanced shapeshifting giants
Ubasti	Large Aberration	2079, the Coven of Bast	Sentient combat trained lions

Cover: Otherverse America Unlimited Edition

2011-07-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

Cover for the upcoming Otherverse America Unlimited Edition, by Alex Garcia.

Wow.
CHRIS

Major Release Plans

2011-06-30T13:20:00.001-07:00

I just thought I'd follow up on the last post and give you an idea of the schedule (at least as far as major releases) looks for the next year or so. For minor releases, those come out as I have ideas for them. I've got a good backlog of 10-30 page short PDFs on file, some for Pathfinder, others supporting Otherverse America, Psi-Watch and Galaxy Command.

1. Otherverse America Unlimited Edition. This huge book should be out by late August or early September. The Game Master's Guide will release at roughly the same time.

2. Pirates of the Bronze Sky. At this point, I don't have a firm release date that I can promise with the authority I'm promising Otherverse America Unlimited, but I'd expect this lavish Pathfinder RPG Campaign Setting sometime either in late winter or (more likely) early Spring 2012. You know, just in time for the Mayan Apocalypse. Make sure to print out a copy so you can play in the ruins of civilization after the power goes out.

3. I have a mid-length D20 Modern PDF in the pipes. Think of it as a campaign overlay for playing sentai characters, dramatically expanding the old advanced class I did for Skortched Urf Studios: Sentai Spectrum Ranger. That one's pretty much done and I just need to buy some art for it. Look for it around the time Otherverse America comes out.

4. I want to revamp and revise the Guide to the Known Galaxy, and I'll be buying up art and taking a second look at the text over the next few months. Expect alot of the profits from Otherverse America Unlimited Edition to go here. I'll also probably put out a 'monster manual' type book with the new art that converts the Lifechained monsters in the Guide to the Pathfinder PRG ruleset, sorta doubling my sales! Look for that in late spring or early summer 2012 as well.

5. I've decided to go ahead with the Otherverse Modern revamp of the D20 Modern ruleset. That will probably release in late fall 2012, unless I hear anything that makes me decide to scuttle the project. (Namely, Paizo finally doing a Modern RPG of their own).

6. Finally, when I originally solicited Sexually Transmitted Future, I had planned to include alot more information on 2107's meta-porn culture. However, the published PDF didn't have much metaporn content in it. That's because I want to make the eventual meta-porn sourcebook much sexier and much wierder, and it will need lots of good art to make it stand on its own. This unnamed sourcebook, when it comes out will draw on these three major inspirations: classic William Gibson style cyberpunk, the Playing D&D with Porn Stars blog, and Grant Morrison's "World" introduced during his X-Men run. Make of that what you will.

Talk to you later,
CHRIS

Final Days Before the Release

2011-06-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, I just sent out a mass email to all my artists still working on the Otherverse America core rulebook. I should have all the illustrations in by the last week of July at the latest, and I'll begin layout on the Otherverse America Unlimited Edition by the first week of August. That means, it should be up for sale before September!

I also found out something about one of my artists. Turns out, Felipe Gaona is also doing work on the Legend of the Five Rings CCG, one of the highest profile, most venerable franchises in gaming, and something alot of gamers consider the definitive fantastic-Japan game. Very cool.... I'm happy that I've got somebody with that level of resume on my game.

ALSO- I just popped over to RPGnow, and noticed that somebody tagged Sexually Transmitted Future with a 5 star review. Awesome! I'm glad you liked it, and wait till you see Species of Otherverse America, which should be coming out in the next few weeks.

Talk to you all later,
CHRIS

Comics My Mom Likes

2011-06-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, something a bit different. My mother is more a fan of Jane Austin than modern comics, but raising me, and then just being around, she’s been exposed to quite a few comics over the decades.

First and foremost, she’s proud I’ve been published but mostly baffled by what I write. She under stands the basic concept of roleplaying games well enough, and has seen me run games for my friends and/or my kid brother when I was in high school. So unlike most non-gamers, she understands what D&D is and basically how you play it, though she’s never had an interest in trying it herself. As to Otherverse America…. she knows what it is, knows the basic conflict, and likes most of the art I’ve commissioned for it. Her opinion on abortion is that men shouldn’t have an opinion, and shouldn’t speak or preach publicly on it, since its an inherently female issue. She says she gives me a pass because as a pro-choice man, I’m a nice counterbalance to all the right wing asshats out there.

Anyway, other stuff. Her favorite sci-fi movie is Soldier. She liked Kurt Russell’s transformation from emotionless killing machine to real person. She’s also a huge fan of Tank Girl, just because she thought Laura Petty kicked ass in that movie. She likes strong female characters- she loved the scene in T-2 where Sarah Conner racked the shotgun one handed, and had me ask some of my gun-nut buddies at work if you could really do that. She’s been thinking of buying a shotgun specifically to recreate that scene. Not kidding there.

Knowing how much she loved Victorian era literature- like I said, she’s a huge fan of Jane Austin, so I turned my mom onto League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I bought her the hardback edition of the first volume, she loved it, and its’ the only graphic novel on her bookshelf. I sorta warned her away from the second volume though…. And she’s seen the movie, though like anyone with a soul, while she thought Sean Connery was awesome, she didn’t like the rest of it.

The Beast is one of her favorite characters- she knows him best from the 90s X-Men cartoon. She likes the mix of gentleness, intelligence and sheer physicality- to her Hank McCoy is like the perfect man. Yes, my mother is a furry.

She’s also flipped through Coleen Coover’s Gingerbread Girl and will probably read it at some point. At one point she saw this spread of the Legion as the background on my lap top. She instantly pointed to Saturn Girl and started asking me questions about her- she was fascinated. I asked why, and she said she liked Saturn Girl’s more realistic physique and militaristic uniform and hair style- she looked like a credible, professional hero.

Anyway, talk to you later,

CHRIS

Free20: You Pick the Topic!

2011-06-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, right now, I’m waiting on art on my bigger projects, and not really doing any thing too important. I’ve got a bit of free time on my hands, and I want to put out another Free20 product.

The problem?

I don’t know what I want that Free20 to be about. So I’m leaving it up to you. You get to decide what Free20 product I work on next. It can be Pathfinder fantasy or D20 Modern, sci-fi, space opera, superheroes, old school dungeon crawls, whatever. Do you want a new advanced class, a new player race, a new monster, some feats or gear? Do you want support for one of my campaign worlds: Black Tokyo, Galaxy Command, Otherverse America or Psi-Watch… or do you want a stand alone Free20 product?

Leave me suggestions in the comments below.

Now, there are a few ground rules. Most importantly, the subject you suggest must be one I can cover thoroughly in about 2,000 to 2,500 words (around 5 pages). Ideally, the subject you suggest should only require public domain photographs or readily available stock art to illustrate…. If you include a link to image resources from RPGnow or another source, that will go along way to getting your idea chosen. Finally, if the subject you suggest requires specialized knowledge to write about intelligently, include some links to the appropriate resources- a Wikipedia page or whatever else you’ve found.

Once I get a good selection of results, I’ll either just roll some dice and pick one randomly, or pick the suggestion I like the best.

Blessed Be,

CHRIS

Battle Changers Out Now, Mutants Coming Soon!

2011-06-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

One of my first freelance projects for Louis was Accidents of Birth, a collection of mutations and deformities for 3.5. Last week I completely overhauled it to Pathfinder, and the revised edition will be up for sale soon. This new version- it's light years better than the immature work of a first-year game designer. It's also about twice the size, and includes alot more world information and context for using mutations in a fantasy campaign.

Anyway, take a look when it comes out. After this, I've got a short PDF dealing with new familiar abilities, a random gun generation system for D20 Future, which was ALOT of fun to write, and a couple of small equipment books for Otherverse America. I'm waiting on art for the "Techno-Magic of Bast" and "Medical Pack".

I'm also waiting on some art for a couple of short race books for Psi-Watch, and the last 3 pieces for Otherverse America.

Right now, Battlechangers is up for sale. Go check it out, and let me know what you think.
Blessed Be,
CHRIS

Modernizing D20 Modern

2011-06-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

So Louis and I have a bit of a difference of opinion.

Ever since Pathfinder came out, I’ve been trying to convince him to go in with me on creating a PFRPG compatible revamp of D20 Modern. He always demurs: his logic is that eventually Paizo will create it’s own version of Pathfinder Modern, and this version will become definitive (in addition to looking better than anything we could produce ourselves), and our effort will be wasted and forgotten.

I admit, it’s a pretty good argument. My counter argument, for going ahead, is this. First, it’s been more than two years since PFRPG came out, and there’s been no word from Paizo, not even whispers that they’re working on a modern version. As a company, they seem more focused on medieval fantasy, and they’ve got plenty of money rolling in from their various adventure paths, supplemental books and the like. There’s not really any indication they’re going to branch out into D20 Modern, and no real reason for them to do so. Paizo staffers seem to like working on Pathfinder, so more power to them.

By contrast, while the PFRPG is a kick ass rule-set, and I’ve had fun writing some stuff for it, my first love is sci-fi gaming. I’m not as much of a fan of dungeon crawls. Plus, I’ve done tons of work for D20 Modern, and when it comes right down to it, I can make that rule-set jump and dance. I’ve done things with D20 Modern that nobody else has- not Wizards of the Coast, not Gareth, not Louis, and not any of the other PDF publishers.

Call it ego, but I want to take a stab at revamping and modernizing D20 Modern. I think it would be good for both my company, and the industry. I don’t have the name recognition Paizo does, but I’ve got more name recognition than the guys who did Infinite Futures or The Modern Path: Heroes of the Modern World do…

Also, I don’t think it would be a huge investment. In time, yes, but not in money. Doing a basic PFRPG/D20 Modern core book might not be that expensive. I’d need to buy a kick ass cover, yes, but for most of the internal art, I can use previously purchased or stock stuff.. I need an image of a modern cop? I’ve got 3 different ones in my stock morgue.

Anyway, if I did a D20 Modern/PFRPG Modern Conversion what would it look like?

The Core Modern Book would focus on tech and adventurers from roughly the Wild West era through the Cyberpunk Era. The core book would have NO magic, Psionic or space-opera technology. Those aspects would be covered by smaller 96-150 page plug- in PDFs.

The corebook would have some sidebars and support for running earlier tech games (Revolutionary War, golden age of piracy, Victorian steampunk, Renaissance, Dark Ages, Classical Rome, ect) . These historical campaigns would have included rules modifications, archaic gear, maybe some specific talents. As this wouldn’t be the focus, you’d need some work to run one of these campaigns, but it would be possible. In the same vein, I’d give some support and rules modification (including elements similar to the genre-specific Starting Talents in Black Tokyo III) and a short historical overview for running games in different eras of the 20^th century- 80s action movies, 60s civil rights era, WWII or WWI one games, Casablanca style espionage between the wars, pulp, ect.

I think I would ditch the 6 Attribute-based Basic Classes, but keep the concept of modular talent trees. Instead of Strong and Dedicated Heroes, you’d have the most common modern character archetypes. I think the class list would look something like this.

Police Officer

Doctor

Soldier/Mercenary

Investigator/Detective

Pilot/Driver/ (which would include options for mounted combat for low tech campaigns- pony express riders, Mongols on horseback, jousting knights, ect)

Diplomat/Con Man

Mechanic

Thief/Spy

Hacker

Gunfighter

Martial Artist (which would include support for boxers, mixed martial arts and wrestling as well as traditional kung fu guys)

Different specialties within a given archetype would be differentiated by the player’s choice of talent tree. Some of the talent trees would be exclusive to one class, shared between 2-3 classes, while others would be available to pretty much any character. For instance, both the Police Officer and the Doctor character might be able to take talents from some kind of ‘forensic expert’ talent tree.

Like Pathfinder, characters would get either a special class ability, feat or talent every level. Character creation and progression would match Pathfinder more closely, as would the skill and feat wording.

I’d also like to modernize the equipment list. The D20 Modern equipment list is 10 years old at this point, and is starting to show its age. In addition to upgrading the computer tech to include modern smartphones and iPads and the like, I’d want a greater selection of vehicles. Notable gaps I’ve noticed in the current D20 Modern include aircraft, military gear, including tanks and APCs, and sea craft, not to mention non-American civilian vehicles.

I also think we need to streamline and simplify the gun rules as well as the vehicle rules. Streamline both those stat-blocks, because as it stands now, most guns and cars in D20 modern have stat-blocks longer and more complex than most 1^st level characters. I’d like to reduce the number of feats needed to be an effective gunfighter. To that end, I’d split guns into simple and marital weapons, and cut out the Personal Firearms Proficiency feat entirely. You’d need martial weapons proficiency to use a gun in autofire mode effectively, though.

Future Splats

I figure I’ve got a pretty good set of splatbooks for my theoretical D20 Modern update on deck. There would be a future tech book focusing on space ships, really advanced weapons, and really cool gadgets. The ‘tech books’ I’ve done for Otherverse America, including my Drain-based cybernetics rules and the genetic engineering rules in Sexually Transmitted Release would probably become core. I would probably put out a version of those rules with Otherverse America-specific stuff stripped out. I would probably do the same with Psi-Watch to create a generic psychic powers system.

I think the modern magic book could actually be split into two synergistic books. One magic book would focus on Elves, Dwarves, Trolls in the modern world, sorta a Shadowrun feel. This book would also have modern mages- you’d want this book to play John Constantine or Harry Potter.

The second modern magic book would focus specifically on were-creatures and vampires in the modern world. Think True Blood, Twilight, Underworld or classic World of Darkness. I figure each modern magic book would have neat stuff you can use as a stand alone product, but is even cooler when you mix and match it with stuff from the other book.

Finally, I can envision a hard-core military sourcebook with lots of advanced weapons and improved vehicle rules- including a 3D air combat system that actually works…. unlike the current D20 modern aircraft rules, which suck to a truly professional level.

What Could You Do With It?

The basic book is meant to be Tom Clancy, The Burke novels, GI Joe, James Bond, The Wire, NYPD Blue, The Shield, NCIS, CSI, 100 Bullets, 24, Sin City, Machete, any John Woo or Ong Bak movie.

What sci-fi could you run with just the near future tech in the core book? Cyberpunk 2020, Neuromancer, The Matrix, Robocop, Mad Max, Martha Washington (at least the first few books), Demolition Man, Predator, Terminator, The Running Man, ~~Total Recall (we’ll need psychic plug ins, so never mind)~~ maybe Bubblegum Crisis or the first ½ of Akira with the core book.

You could run Wild Wild West, Indiana Jones, Sherlock Holmes, Leauge of Extraordinary Gentlemen (maybe), Unforgiven, Jonah Hex, The Patriot, Roots, Shanghai Noon, anything Civil War, - at the low tech end just from the core book. You could probably work up something more archaic- ancient Rome, warring states era China- but you’d need to do a lot of work yourself.

For Minority Report, Transmetropolitian, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Star Trek, Total Recall, Serenity- you’d need the future/space opera book and/or the psionics book.

For True Blood, Twilight, Underworld, World of Darkness, Spawn, Tarot, Ghostbusters, Ghost Rider, The Exorcist – you’d need core book plus at least one of the magic books.

Rifts, Shadowrun, He-Man- for something that multi-genre either go get your favorite edition of Mutants & Masterminds or get all our books and mix and match.

Anyway, give me some opinions in the comments. Should I go ahead and do an updated modern system, or would it be a waste of my time?

Blessed Be,

CHRIS