A musical interlude!

Released my eighth album, Impact, on Bandcamp today. CD Baby release comes later! Listen to the first track. If you like it, listen to the second. As Blondie almost said, streaming is free!

Impact

Blood Games 4 Bestiary

We are currently working on the Blood Games 4 Bestiary. We are completely revamping it. I just essentially copied the original bestiary when I came out sith Blood Games II, just tweaking for the new system, so this will be the first complete change. We have changed the presentation, from a listing in paragraph form to a one page complete tool for GMs. The GM can now just copy/print the relevant page complete, and use it as an interface. If you have 4 imps as opponents, just print it out 4 times! Here is an example:

If you compare this with the BGII Imp entry, it has completely changed. We are looking at the sources instead of the BGII listing and putting the result in BG4 form. Note that Spirits are ranked, all attacks have dice, Target Number, damage, and range listed clearly. All Attributes are clearly listed, with damage boxes. Weaknesses are things that particularly harm the creature - doing double damage, or having twice the effect. Vulnerabilities are things that the creature is vulnerable to - such as blessed or silver weapons. The remarks give a full overview of the creature, explaining things in some detail.

Blood Games 4

My son Klaxon and I have been working on translating the Blood Games series of urban fantasy games to the StarCluster 4 system. Blood Games I (2003) used the StarCluster 1 rules from 2002, as Blood Games was my second game, but being an entirely different genre, it was all exception-based. Blood Games II used the cleaner but still clunky StarCluster 2 rules. I never did integrate the Blood Games line with StarCluster 3 - On Her Majesties Arcane Service and Outremer were both written using the StarCluster 2 system, so there is no Blood Games 3.

Blood Games 4 uses the StarCluster 4 system, which is robust and flexible enough to accommodate the differences in genre without using exceptions. I have made Player's Option characters, who are different because of what they are, as species, while Path characters, who are different because of what they know, as Template Trees.

OHMAS will become a Blood Games Toolbox for Renaissance play, probably called Blood Games 4 - Renaissance, and Outremer will become a setting for Blood Games 4 with that Toolbox. This will make Blood Games development easier, and new stuff will follow that pattern.

A Short Musical Interlude

I released my seventh album today. It's called Burning Chariot, and is songs written and recorded between November 8 and December 19, 2019. Each album has, I think, been better than the last. Certainly the difference between this one and my first album is gigantic. I continue to evolve and learn.

Burning Chariot

My previous album, Sextillius, is now available for free streaming on youtube:

Sextillius

And my fourth and fifth albums, Plush Universe and Strange Attractor, were reviewed on Divide and conquer:

Reviews of Plush Universe and Strange Attractor

So we live in interesting times!

Mandelorian Armor

I created six suits of Mandelorian armor using the In Harm's Way: StarCluster 4 armor sheet. Each one is built form the same stock Mandelorian armor, but each is modified differently - one is geared for enhanced sensory input, one enhances physical attributes, one is heavy armor geared for absorbing damage, one is command armor with enhanced comm, one is designed for enhanced mobility with jet engines, and one is light maneuverable scout armor with camoflage capabilities. These are for the mercenary group who are trying to pass themsleves off as Mandelorians. I hope this is an interesting idea for the players. They may have to draw lots to get their choice!

Post Mandelorian

I really, really am jonesing to do a Star Wars-ish game based in the setting of the Mandelorian. I am developing the idea, and will probably move to that when we are done with Weirder Stuff. I am setting up 3 different concepts. The players will choose which they would prefer to play.

In one, the PCs play effectuators of a local rebellion leader - not, or at least not yet, a part of the ineffectual New Republic - who is trying to stabilize the local area of space. In the second, the PCs play former effectuators of a local ex-Moff, who is attempting to stabilize and take over the local space area, who have turned against their former master, and are doing what good they can where they can. In the third, the PCs will play ex-Imperial prisoners who have found Mandelorian armor and are attempting to pass themselves off as a Mandelorian mercenary clan.

In all cases, the PCs are Force sensitives who were rounded up by the Empire and used as test subjects, and the local area will be the same. They will have an ancient ship, modified - or perhaps worn down would be more accurate - from stock to fit the needs of the Association, and constituting the bulk of their assets.

Elder Sibs, Continued

The breaking of the glass woke the security guard, who immediately started with his flashlight. One of the kids, forgetting that THEY were the ones breaking and entering, shouted "Hey! What're you doing!", which drew the attention of his flashlight. One of the other kids used a LUCK, and his light went out. As he was fumbling more batteries in, the boy who studied karate struck him. It was just a momentary stun, but enough for them to bind and gag him. They unloaded his shotgun and explored the lower level more, finding a giant laser with immense power cables, which was focused at a giant crystal protruding from the rock wall. There were two cameras mounted to record what happened, so they decided to look for videos.

They went upstairs, where there was another guard walking the beat in the dark. They rushed him and bound and gagged him as well. With the keys they had taken from the two watchmen, they were able to open the Director's office door, where they found a VCR player and monitor set up, but no tapes. They figured they were in the padlocked 4 drawer file cabinet, so one of the kids broke the glass and grabbed the fire axe, which set off the fire alarm. They were just off Uranium Road, a thoroughfare, and close to the new fire station, so they knew they had only minutes! The broke the padlock with the axes and ran off with the four drawers, escaping over the wall just as the fire trucks rolled up.