From the Pen of Ingmar Malmsteen, Upsala, 1849

My most esteemed and enigmatic Frau Linnea Elfeklint,

It is with a heart aflame with both curiosity and trepidation that I take hold of quill and parchment, compelled by an invisible hand to address you, a luminary shrouded in the mists of legend and residing within the enigmatic confines of Upsala Asylum. My name, I daresay, requires no introduction, for “A Song for the Drown’d Man” has echoed through drawing-rooms and taverns alike, a testament to the power of the written word.

Yet, it is not literary accolades that bring me to your doorstep, but whispers, like smoke tendrils curling through the shadows carried on the wind – whispers of a coterie, a Society veiled in secrecy, its tendrils reaching into the very heart of the unseen world. Of this Society, you, Frau Elfeklint, are said to be the sole surviving member, a repository of arcane knowledge, a keeper of secrets older than time itself.

My own path, I confess, has taken a most unsettling turn. A vaettir, a creature of shadow and malice, has woven its curse upon my very being, a chilling presence that whispers madness in my ear and saps my strength. It is in the desperate search for solace, for a weapon against this unseen foe, that I find myself drawn to the whispers surrounding your name and the elusive Society.

Do such whispers hold truth, dear Frau? Does a haven exist for those like me, burdened by the unseen, yearning for the power to defy the darkness? Is there within the Society a key to unlock the secrets that bind me, a path to wrest control from the vaettir’s chilling grasp?

I understand the weight of my request. To seek entry into a clandestine order, to pry into the mysteries it holds, is not a decision taken lightly. Yet, I stand at a precipice, my soul teetering on the edge of despair. The power that you possess, the knowledge you hold, represents a lifeline, a glimmer of hope in a tempestuous sea.

Should this letter find its way to your esteemed hands, I implore you, Frau Elfeklint, to grant me an audience. My thirst for knowledge is as insatiable as the ocean’s tide, and my spirit, though burdened, burns with a fire that refuses to be extinguished. Perhaps, within the hallowed halls of the Society, my song will not be one of drowning, but of resilience, of defiance against the unseen forces that threaten to consume us all.

With utmost respect and fervent anticipation,
Ingmar Malmsteen

P.S. Should discretion be of paramount concern, I assure you, my lips are sealed tighter than a miser’s vault. The secrets you share shall remain as safe as the words locked within my own heart.

The Fren Arms Company

A Corporation for Warpstar!

The Fren Arms Company formed when Hasbro, Inc. liquidated its NERF division. Former NERF employees incorporated their own company, purchasing the rights to many toy gun designs from the 21st Century. Speculators assumed the new company was doomed from the start. Immersive, VR first-person shooters and dwindling demand from the outer colonies1 had already forced “knock-off” NERF companies into bankruptcy. Imagine the surprise when Fren unveiled the Helios XVIII-700: a bullpup carbine firing a 7.5mm caseless round. During the press briefing, Fren president, Julie Balamudi, stated, “We can’t sell toy guns anymore, so here’s the real thing!”

Fren has yet to secure a major government contract, but their arms have proven popular in the private sector. A reputation for rugged durability endears them to colonial militias. Balamudi often says. “These were designed for ten-year old boys. Of course, they’re gonna be tough.”

The company is famous for its CurveShotTM technology. Powerful electromagnets flex the weapon’s SmartSteel barrel, changing bullet trajectory to fire around corners or arc over cover2.

1In other words, the Iapatus 6 incident. Sanitary facilities for the installation failed and nearly the entire crew of the station and their family members contracted dysentery before they could be evacuated. The subsequent investigation revealed over 2000 NERF darts had clogged the waste treatment system. The toy guns were subsequently banned in all outer colonies.

2CurveShotTM technology allows the shooter to ignore cover penalties. This impacts muzzle velocity, and the weapon will do 1 less point of damage per 2 points of cover ignored.

Kronus XVIII-500
Type: Pistol, Damage: S1D6+2P, Range: 10, Cost: 2D6+2 Shards
The Kronus heavy pistol was Fren’s first commercially designed firearm, even though it was released after the Helios. A rugged weapon, it features a high-capacity magazine and chambers the hard-hitting, 10mm caseless round. Some users complain the Kronus is a little front-heavy, others appreciate the weight distribution – claiming it mitigates recoil.

Helios XVIII-700
Type: Carbine, Damage: M2D6P, Range: 25, Cost: 3D6 Shards
The Helios carbine fires a 7.5mm caseless round. Its bullpup configuration makes it ideal for vehicle crews that want a weapon with a little more oomph than a submachinegun. The pistol grip magazine alleviates loading issues common to bullpup weapons, but this increased the complexity of the internal feed system. The weapon is reputed to be hard to clear when it jams3.

3The GM may rule that the Helios jams when the player rolls a “1” on an attack. It takes an action and Repair (15+) to return the weapon to service.

Hypnos XIX-1200
Type: Rifle, Damage: M2D6P, Range: 50, Cost: 4D6 Shards
The Hypnos rifle has never been popular. It fires an 8.5mm caseless round that is only produced by the Fren Arms Company. While the round has a good ballistic profile, this ammunition is hard to acquire on the outer rim. The odd caliber is because the weapon was designed as a tranquilizer rifle; standard ammunition was an afterthought. The Hypnosis may either fire “ball” or “tranq” rounds. The stats for ball ammunition are given above. Tranq rounds do only 1D6 damage, but if any damage gets through armor the target must make an Endurance roll (20+) or fall unconscious for 2D6 minutes. Rumors of black market “poison rounds” are entirely unfounded4.

4Or maybe not? If the GM allows poison rounds, they do only 1D6 damage, but if any damage gets through armor, the target is poisoned. Poison does 2D6 damage if the victim fails to make an Endurance roll (20+) or 1D6 on a success. If the character’s Stamina drops below zero, they must make an Endurance roll (20+) to avoid dying. A successful Medical (20+) roll will stop the poison from progressing.

Knockout XX-100
Type: Pistol, Damage: S1D6+2P, Range: 5, Cost: 2D6 Shards
The Knockout is a concealable derringer. Chambering the same 10mm caseless round as the Kronus, it lives up to its name by delivering a knockout punch! Range is abysmal and recoil from the heavy round is punishing. Never-the-less, it has become a popular back-up gun for many. Characters gain a +5 bonus to their Sleight-of-Hand skill when attempting to conceal a Knockout pistol.

Finisher XX-700
Type: SMG, Damage: S1D6+2P, Range: 15, Cost: 3D6 Shards
Fren’s first foray into the submachinegun market was the Finisher. It is an awkward weapon, being neither a proper SMG nor a fully automatic pistol. The Finisher has no stock, and the 10mm round makes it nearly uncontrollable when fully automatic. It has found favor with some larger alien races and cybernetically enhanced individuals.

Takedown XX-800
Type: Shotgun, Damage: M2D6+1P, Range: 15, Cost: 2D6+3 Shards
The Takedown is Fren’s only entry in the shotgun market. The short, pistol grip, pump action weapon is popular with Bounty Hunters throughout known space.

Charger XX-1200
Type: Carbine, Damage: M2D6P, Range: 25, Cost: 2D6+6 Shards
The Charger is Fren’s second bullpup carbine. Engineers simplified the loading system and worked out the bugs seen in the Helios. The charger design places the magazine horizontally on the weapon. It uses the same 7.5mm caseless round as its predecessor.

Roundhouse XX-1500
Type: Grenade Launcher, Damage: by grenade, Range: 25, Cost: 4D6+6 Shards
The Roundhouse is a 20mm mini-grenade launcher. The tried-and-true revolver technology makes this weapon extremely reliable. The Roundhouse can also fire shotgun rounds5. The Roundhouse can fire any small grenade (see the Grenades for Warpstar! post for more info).

5Use stats for the Takedown when loaded with shotgun ammunition.

Flex XXI-100
Type: Pistol, Damage: S1D6P, Range: 10, Cost: 4D6+6 Shards
The Flex would be an unremarkable – possibly even poor – entry into the pistol market if not for CurveShotTM technology that allows it to shoot around corners or over cover. The weapon’s grip is designed to accommodate a variety of alien species. This makes it impossible to holster and many users purchase aftermarket magnetic clips to secure the weapon when not in use.

Sideswipe XXI-1200
Type: Carbine, Damage: M1D6+3P, Range: 30, Cost: 5D6+6 Shards
The Swideswipe is a light carbine that uses CurveShotTM technology. Many users complain that the grip makes it hard to aim and load the weapon. Some larger alien species are known to wield them as pistols.

Helix XXI-2000
Type: Rifle, Damage: M2D6P, Range: 40, Cost: 4D6+6 Shards
Fren’s Helix rifle has become a favorite of SWAT units on many planets. The folding stock, CurveShotTM technology and hard-hitting 7.5mm round make it ideal for close quarters work.

Fate XXII-100
Type: Pistol, Damage: S1D6P, Range: 15, Cost: 2D6+12 Shards
Fren’s latest pistol takes conventional firearms to the next level. It chambers a 6mm discarding sabot round with impressive range and penetrating power. The weapon is equipped with a holo-sight package making it one of the most accurate pistols in the galaxy. Add +2 to the user’s Small Arms skill when using this weapon.

Vision XXII-800
Type: SMG, Damage: S1D6P, Range: 30, Cost: 3D6+12 Shards
The Vision is Fren’s most modern machine pistol. The weapon chambers the 6mm discarding sabot round and comes with a holo-sight package standard. Recoil bafflers help keep this weapon on target, even when firing on full auto. Add +2 to the user’s Small Arms skill when using this weapon.

Pathfinder XXII-1200
Type: Carbine, Damage: M1D6+2P, Range: 60, Cost: 4D6+12 Shards
The Pathfinder is the carbine scouts dream about. The rugged weapon boasts a folding stock and large capacity magazine. It chambers the same 6mm discarding sabot ammunition used by the Fate and the Vision and a similar holo-sight package. Add +2 to the user’s Small Arms skill when using this weapon.

WarpStar! does not use Range. I’ve included ranges on these weapons for my personal house rule. Here it is in a nutshell:

Range increments are measured in meters. Characters suffer a -1 to hit penalty for each increment past the first. For example, Harriet the bounty hunter cuts loose on a rampaging alien monster. The creature is 32 meters away – a tough shot for a scattergun – so she suffers a -2 to hit penalty.

ALIEN RPG: Liars & Shadows

NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD HERE!

It’s been a long haul. What began as a 2020 Covid lockdown pass-time, became a little bit of an obsession. We enjoyed playing Andy Gaska’s ALIEN RPG cinematic scenario Chariot of the Gods so much, that we couldn’t bear to leave the sole survivors hanging in imaginary gaming limbo. So I gave them an opportunity to go back out into the void and try to do more than just survive; to redeem themselves. Or die a horrible, bloody, agonizing death in the process. One of the two.

Thanks so much to Filbanto for doing all the page layout, editing and compiling of artwork. Hastur knows what possessed you to undertake such a labor. I hope this breaks the Filbanto Stew internet.

Enjoy!!

Icculus

ALIEN RPG: Liars & Shadows, After-Game Summary

Greetings, fellow Filbanto-heads! (or is it Filbantonians?) It is I, Icculus, your intrepid guest blogger. I came here today to tell you more about about this little original ALIEN Cinematic Scenario that I concocted during Covid for our group to run. Filbanto has previously written here (and Act II , Act IIIa, Act IIIb, Act IIIc) about our run-through of the adventure, almost two years ago now, and it just refuses to pass on peacefully. This is also a little “teaser” for you, as we plan to publish the adventure here in its entirety, exclusively available at Filbanto Stew! Like, soon!

Not being one to leave things as what felt, to me, as unfinished or at least unpolished, after running L&S I continued thinking about and continuing to work on this adventure. Last Spring I got word from Free League, the publisher of ALIEN RPG (and many other great games) that they were actively looking for GMs to run their games at Conventions across the country. In addition to to the fun of running my adventure again, the incentive was, if one ran 14 hours of game sessions, The Con would cover the cost of the 4-day Con pass, Free League would garb us in a deluxe Free League T-shirt (it’s very soft), and also provide a generous (one time) discount code to use at their online store. It just so happens, our little hometown has a very successful and well-attended annual game Con which attracts people from all over the country (about 5000 attended this year, I think I heard). So I signed up to run Liars & Shadows there. Turns out our little GameholeCon had significantly more Free League game sessions run than at GenCon, the granddaddy of them all. So there!

I chose to run the scenario in three separate game sessions of four hours each. ACT I Friday, ACT II Saturday, and ACT II Sunday. The sessions sold out on the first day the sales were made public. I found this to be encouraging. I did, however, notice that there were few, if any, other examples of multi-session game arcs being offered. Hmmm, what’s up with that?

Over the next few months I continued to work on the scenario. I’ll assume you have already read Filbanto’s excellent summaries of our previous game sessions and know exactly what I’m talking about here. Some of the changes and improvements I made were: (OBVIOUSLY, SPOILERS. DON’T CONTINUE TO READ THIS IF YOU EVER WANT TO PLAY IN THIS SCENARIO AS A PLAYER)

  • The scenario was originally written for five players. The Con “suggested” that six players per game was ideal, so I needed to write another character for it. To enhance the theme of thriller/intrigue I wrote a mercenary character, Novak, who is actually a synthetic (android), who is also actually an undercover law enforcement officer, investigating the smugglers’ activities and gathering evidence against them.
  • Our original run-through of Act I worked out well, I thought, in terms of the number of scenes or events. I left it pretty much as written. ALIEN Space Combat rules are pretty cool, in my opinion, with enough to keep players on their toes and engaged, but not burdensome and slow, so I was glad to use them in the adventure.
  • Act II felt a little thin to me, so in order to ramp up the tension and paranoia, I made enhancements to the NPCs that make their debuts at the end of Act I, and to their story arcs. So that, in the event of an Act I PC’s untimely demise, the player could jump into a better fleshed out and real-feeling NPC character and have fun with their agendas and motivations. There are 4 NPCs at the colony the players can encounter and/or assume the role of. Each one now has a better agenda and backstory. Fowler, the colony VP (think corpo sleaze analog), especially, as he is now a secret agent for his friends, the Union of Progressive Peoples (the “commies,” a foil to the Colonial Marines), and is acting to call in the liberation of the colony from the corporate oppressors, the Marines.
  • Act III we originally did not even come close to finishing in one session. I believe it was three sessions. I was okay with stretching out the action and suspense for our weekly game group. But for the Con, I was going to have to be on my toes to even attempt to run it in one session. A lot of the Act is a dungeon crawl through a dark mining tunnel complex that has been overrun by hideous mutated creatures. Instead of several monster encounters and combats, I used the same map, but reduced the number of combats to three, basically: the first to reveal the nature of the monsters (the Marines’ own people, succumbed to some substance that transforms and warps them), the second to ramp up the horror and action, and the final “boss” battle to possibly cull the PCs, and likely infect some of them with the same mutagenic goo. The exploration of a mostly empty dungeon, strewn about with corpses and scenes of horror, should be equally suspenseful.
  • I also made enhancements to the Act III NPCs, the Colonial Marines, so that they too could be interesting NPCs to interact with and become fleshed out PCs to run. There are 4 of them.
  • I think the stakes at the final showdown scene are even higher than originally, with the addition of the covert law enforcement agent, and all the conflicting economic, military, personal and political motivations present. I picture a cross between Reservoir Dogs and Hateful Eight. I really hope for some PvP action here, as someone has to come out on top, and it could be the strongest one, or the one with the ability to convince and lead the most survivors.

One thing I didn’t really wrap my head around was the difference between running a game for people you know, who are going to be present at each game session, and the consistency that imparts. At the Con, I assumed most of the players would be at all three of the sessions. In reality, I only had two players out of six sign up for all three sessions. Of course I should have realized that many people come to the Con to try out a lot of different game systems. What worked to my advantage was that people who have played ALIEN really seem to enjoy it.

So, come Con time (which was October 20-23), I was ready to play my revised and updated scenario. Here’s a few highlights of the play-through:

  • The two players who are signed up for all three sessions are buddies from the Twin Cities. I suggest for them to play Miller and Rye. After all, they are the protagonists that drove the creation of the sequel. Having two people who know each other is perfect for those roles.
  • The guy playing Abbie, realizing that she is a stowaway on a ship, is role-playing the shit out of that, has not made a peep through all the PCs introducing themselves (because Ruth Santos, the “patron” of the mission, actually introduces them to each other), through the introduction of the mission, through the crew collaboratively outfitting the ship’s armory, and through the events that hint at an unknown presence on the ship. Maybe the other players all think the guy is just quiet? The players are starting to get a little freaked out. They know something is aboard the ship, probably assume it’s a xenomorph stalking them, and have been trying to use their investigative and tech skills to track it down. One suggests using the flamethrower. I gently discourage that. Abbie is still quiet. Nobody notices. Novak is the investigator, so he opens up a vent where they heard something and crawls inside. I ask him to roll for Observation. He gets a success. I ask Abbie to roll for Mobility, she gets three successes. I say, “whatever you heard is gone, there’s nothing there now.” They suddenly realize all at the same time that there’s another player sitting at the table, who is….who?? It was a priceless RPG moment for us.
  • Everyone who played a character brought a different aspect of them to light for me. I was blown away by the creativity and talent of the people who came there to play games. I’m hoping some of this was having fleshed out characters to run.
  • Again, Act I was, overall, the right length and really fun to run.
  • Act II, also seemed to work out really well. The event where Fowler drops his secret agent cipher device went so much better than I could have anticipated. Everyone is pretty stressed out at this stage, and someone notices that he drops something, and Fowler (me, NPC) supplies the given lie as an explanation. They give the tech to Abbie to look at, and she can’t make head or tales of it. Miller rolls better than me at Manipulation and knows he is lying about what it is. She draws her pistol and at gunpoint, she demands the truth, but she follows up with a lower Manipulation roll to get him to spill. Fowler sits there with a pistol in his face while Miller screams at him (roleplayed VERY well), everyone else expecting her to off him right there in the vehicle. Fowler is probably sitting in a puddle of pee, but he doesn’t reveal what he’s carrying. And in fact, convinces her to return the object to him. The suspense is thick.
  • At the end of Act II, Monroe pushing himself past the limit (I think he had 8 or 9 stress dice going), saves the whole crew with an insane driving move that allows Novak to take down the Cheyenne dropship. But their vehicle is disabled in the process, by a rocket that impacts in front of the truck. Monroe gets hit by chunk of shrapnel that severs his femoral artery. He’s dead if they do nothing. They manage to save his life and then limp the Tramp down to the pirate base, where they leave him behind in the truck, drugged to the gills. Essentially left for dead. What are you gonna do? Having a PC “die” at the end of the Act was perfect, IMHO.
  • Act III is big, we need to get a move on. Fowler becomes a PC. The first small combat takes longer than anticipated. Tick tock.
  • The players decide to barricade themselves into the rec room to take a minute to rest and reduce stress. Rye gets out the welder and runs a bead around the hatch to the room. The problem is there’s another door in the room besides the one they came in. Behind which, is a horrible mutant creature, in a passive state. They all are quiet enough so the monster does not hear them. Until Abbie starts poking around and makes noise, suddenly the creature is bashing at the hatch, making huge dents in it. It won’t last long. They’re trapped in here. Un-welding the hatch allows them to escape in time, barely. Abbie almost just stays hidden in the duct network she discovered and lets them all flee without her. It would have made sense for her character. Would they have gone back for her?
  • The players try to sneak around the boss monster, and almost succeed, until they don’t. Padilla gets taken out of commission and Rye gets infected with the black goo. They blow it up.
  • For me, the inter-PC showdown was anticlimactic. We didn’t have enough time to fully play it out (literally Miller and Rye needed to get on the road to Minnesota). The surviving Marines were NPCs so I didn’t want them to play too big a role. Novak never revealed themselves as an android OR agent, which was impressive, and went with the flow of allowing Miller to bring the shuttle down and extract the rest of them. I think Padilla had thrown in the towel, was injured with a crit that meant he couldn’t fight his way out of anything, and also went with the flow (his real strength is Manipulation, but I didn’t try to railroad him into it). That left Fowler to stay behind and wait for the UPP to rescue him, also a bold move. Abbie went with the rest. I didn’t have time for Danko to figure into the chaos in any way. Too bad Rye probably mutated and ripped all the survivors to shreds by the time the post-credit scene happens.
  • Several players hung out after the session, in order for me to describe all the hidden events and agendas of the other characters. It took a while to describe it all. I took that as a compliment.

TLDR: Many things worked really quite well for me. Even better than I had hoped for. What doesn’t work is rushing the showdown. There needs to be space enough for all the conflicts to play out, ideally with players who are committed to their players’ agendas, and IDEALLY with players who have been in all three Acts. Having to spend 15-30 minutes each session to fill in new players on the “Previously on Liars and Shadows,” was exhausting. I don’t think I would attempt a multi-session adventure at a Con again. I’m glad to have tried it. Play Liars and Shadows with your regular group, and let it be 4 or 5 sessions if need be…my two cents. Please enjoy!

Grenades for Warpstar!

“He blowed up good!” – Big Jim McBob
“He blowed up real good!” – Billy Sol Hurok

Grenades. My first role playing experience with grenades was the FASA game Behind Enemy Lines. My character snuck up to a pillbox, chucked a couple of “pineapples” in, and that was all she wrote for the poor Jerries manning the machinegun nest!

Players love blowing things up and I wanted to give them some more options to do so in Warpstar! The following rules may get a little fiddly for some. They’ve also not been extensively play tested. Use at your discretion.

Grenades come in three sizes: Small, Medium and Large. Small grenades are about the size of a 12g shotgun shell. Characters get a +5 modifier to their Sleight of Hand skill when attempting to conceal them. Medium grenades are baseball-sized or 30-40mm in diameter for propelled models. Large grenades are usually rocket-propelled but can represent satchel charges. In the listings below, Damage, Burst and Cost may have three entries separated by slashes. Read them as Small/Medium/Large. Burst is the diameter of the roughly circular area the grenade affects. Cost is for a case of 6 grenades. GMs may wish to make grenades harder to come by or only available on the black market. This can drive up the price significantly.

Delivery Systems

Thrown
Most beings can throw a grenade about 25 meters. Satchel charges are heavier, and 5-10 meters is about as far as they can be thrown. Characters use Throw skill against the target’s Dodge. The great thing about grenades is they only need to land near the target to do damage, so targets take a -5 penalty to Dodge.

Grenade Rifles
Small or medium grenades can be fired from shotgun-like weapons. Single-shot, pump action and revolvers are common models. They hold 1 to 10 grenades and can shoot to about 100 meters. Use the character’s Small Arms skill against the target’s Dodge -5 to determine hits. Grenade rifles cost 4D6 Shards.

Grenade Launchers
Grenade launchers can be mounted on rifles or carbines. The hold 1 to 3 grenades and have a range of about 100 meters. Use the character’s Small Arms skill against the target’s Dodge -5 to determine hits. They cost 2D6 Shards.

RPGs
RPGs are shoulder mounted weapons. They hold 1 to 3 grenades and have a range of about 250 meters. Use the character’s Heavy Weapons1 skill against the target’s Dodge -5 to determine hits. They cost 4D6 Shards for reusable ones and 2 Shards a piece for disposable models.

1 I added this “big gun” skill for RPGs, cannons and such as a house rule. Use Small Arms skill if you don’t care to add another skill to your game.

Types of Grenades

Concussion Grenade
Type: Concussion, Damage: 1D6C/2D6C/3D6C, Burst: 2m/4m/6m Cost: 1D6/2D6/3D6 Shards
This grenade causes damage from the explosive force and subsequent shock waves. Anyone caught in the burst area takes damage and must make an Athletics roll (20+) or be knocked prone. Concussion grenades shine when used in enclosed spaces because the shock wave reverberates off interior walls. Add +2 damage per size (e.g., a large concussion grenade will do 3D6+6) when used indoors.

Flame Grenade
Type: Flame, Damage: 1D6E, Burst, 3m/6m/12m, Cost: 1D6+1/2D6+2/3D6+3 Shards
Showers the area with a flaming gel compound. Flames will go out in 2D6 Turns unless the area is flammable (GM’s discretion), in which case somebody better call the fire department! Anyone caught in the blast area will take 1D6E damage per round. Characters moving through the area2 must make a Luck roll (20+) or catch fire, taking 1D6E damage per round. Armor provides protection only until it is breached (e.g., fire damage does more than armor protects).

2I’d call for an Endurance roll (20+) in order for a character to voluntarily step into a raging inferno.

Fragmentation Grenade
Type: Fragmentation, Damage: 1D6+2P/2D6P/3D6P, Burst, 3m/6m/12m, Cost: 1D6/2D6/3D6 Shards
Showers the area with fragments of metal. Anyone caught in the burst area takes damage and must make an Athletics roll (20+) or be knocked prone.

High Explosive Armor Piercing Grenade
Type: HEAP, Damage: 1D6+1E/2D6E/3D6E, Burst, see below, Cost: 1D6+2/2D6+4/3D6+6 Shards
HEAP grenades are designed to penetrate armor. A character or vehicle hit by one of these weapons should reduce their armor level by one step. In other words, heavy armor will only protect 1D6, medium armor 1D3 and light armor offers no protection. HEAP grenades have a very small blast radius. Anyone in a vehicle hit by one of these weapons will take the damage that gets through vehicular armor.

Gas Grenade
Type: Gas, Damage: see below, Burst, 3m/6m/12m, Cost: 1D6/2D6/3D6 Shards
Fills the area with gas. The cloud will disperse in 2D6 Turns (less if very windy). Anyone without a filter mask or oxygen source caught in or moving through the cloud will be affected. Contact agents are also available and only a sealed suit will protect against them. There are three types of gas: Poison, Sleep, and Tear.

  • Poison gas does 2D6 damage if the victim fails to make an Endurance roll (20+) or 1D6 on a success. If the character’s Stamina drops below zero, they must make a Luck roll (20+) each round to avoid dying. A character can be revived if pulled from the cloud and resuscitated using Medicine (20+).
  • Sleep gas is similar to poison gas, except the victim drops unconscious when Stamina is reduced to zero and the victim has no chance of dying.
  • Tear gas is an irritating agent. Any character exposed to it must make an Endurance roll (20+) or suffer a -5 penalty to all actions. A successful roll still imposes a -2 penalty. Once they are clear of the cloud and succeed in an Endurance roll or get medical attention the penalty is removed.

Plasma Grenade
Type: Plasma, Damage: 1D6+2E/2D6E/3D6E, Burst, 3m/6m/12m, Cost: 2D6+6/3D6+6/4D6+6 Shards
Showers the area with burning plasma. Plasma grenades do the listed damage to anyone caught in the blast and then ignite the blast area as if they were Flame grenades.

Pulse Grenade
Type: Pulse, Damage: see below, Burst, 3m/6m/12m, Cost: 1D6/2D6/3D6 Shards
A force pulse emanates from where the grenade detonates. Anyone caught in the blast is immediately pushed outside the burst area and must make an Athletics roll (20+) or be knocked prone. Some creatures or robots may be too heavy to be affected by Pulse grenades (GM’s discretion).

Smoke Grenade
Type: Smoke, Damage: none, Burst, 3m/6m/12m, Cost: 1D6/2D6/3D6 Shards
Fills the area with a smoke/chaff that obscures vision and most sensors. The cloud will disperse in 2D6 Turns (less if windy). The GM will need to adjudicate the impact of smoke, but any characters shooting through it are effectively “shooting blind” and should have a -10 penalty to hit. Smoke completely stops laser weapons as the aerosol is designed to disrupt laser beams.

Stun Grenade
Type: Stun, Damage: see below, Burst, 3m/6m/12m, Cost: 1D6/2D6/3D6 Shards
Stun grenades bathe the area in a combination of strobe lights, subsonic vibration and EMP pulse that disables most organic or cybernetic beings. Anyone caught in the burst area must make an Endurance Roll (20+) or suffer a -10 penalty to all actions for the next 1D6 Turns. Those who succeed will still be disoriented and suffer a -5 penalty to their next action.

Tangler Grenade
Type: Tangler, Damage: see below, Burst, 3m/6m/12m, Cost: 1D6+2/2D6+2/3D6+2 Shards
Fills the area with adhesive strands. Anyone caught in the burst area must make an Athletics Roll (25+) or be rendered immobile. Characters may attempt to break free of the strands once per Turn as their action. The strands will decay after 1D3 hours or can be dissolved by a chemical agent (a small canister is usually supplied with a case of grenades).

This post has been brought to you by the Farm Film Report.

May the Good Lord take a likin’ to ya and blow ya up real soon!

Lobsta Lobsta

A corporation for Warpstar!

One of the most popular restaurants of the solar system, Lobsta Lobsta is the creation of Sam “Cha Cha” Chaluey. Chaluey introduced several hundred breeding pairs of lobsters to the under-ice ocean of Enceladus1. The arthropods flourished in its icy depths and lobster quickly became one of the most economically viable “real meat” sources in the solar system.

Lobster-fishers comb the ocean floor in small submersibles, collecting traps, then bringing them to facilities for processing and shipping. While lucrative work, lobster fishing on Enceladus is not without its dangers. Several submersibles have gone missing, and some lobster-fishers have reported getting strange sonar blips of an enormous creature that roams the ocean depths…

The restaurant prides itself on its simple menu. There are two types of lobster rolls, a traditional lobster salad using May-Yo!2 or one featuring drawn BUDR3. Specials, like the beloved Wasabi roll occasionally make an appearance on the menu. Coleslaw, French fries and soft drinks are also available. “We don’t do everything, but we do it right!” Seems to be Chaluey’s mantra.

Given its popularity, Lobsta Lobsta must be doing something right! Franchises exist throughout the solar system; even the dwarf planet Pluto has a Lobsta Lobsta.

1Chaluey has been the target of several lawsuits for seeding lobsters on the moon, but thus far he has been acquitted of any wrongdoing.

2May-Yo! contains force-grown cloned chicken embryos and a synthetic cooking oil derived from petrochemicals mined on Titan. It tastes surprisingly good! Studies show that 5 out of 10 people can’t tell the difference between May-Yo! and Hekmann’s mayonnaise. Characters of an anarchist bent will know that mixing May-Yo! with powdered laundry detergent creates a jellied accelerant like Napalm. The ingredients cost 2D6 frags per “grenade”. Weaponized May-Yo! does 1D6E damage and burns the target for 1D3 rounds.

3BUDR: Bovine Udder Derivative Replacement. This artificial butter is also derived from Titanean petrochemicals. Half the taste and twice the calories of the real thing! Wait a minute, we can’t say that… Get Marketing on the phone, now!

Warpstar!

My son has been bugging me to play some RPGs with him. We’ve enjoyed watching the Disney Star Wars spin-offs, like The Mandolorian, so I thought a Sci Fi game would be fun. I finally settled on Warpstar! for the following reasons:

  • Easy system: Roll 1D20 + skill to beat a target number.
  • Hackable: Very easy to add or remove things without “breaking it”.
  • Quirky: You get an interesting background during character generation.

We roped Mrs. Filbanto into playing with us too. (She’s been a good sport about it.) We’re also starting to use miniatures for the game. Here is the party:

  • Harriet: Bounty Hunter
  • Hillary: Diplomat
  • Howard: Soldier
  • Henry: Scout

I also ran a session for our regular gaming group when we put the Alien game on hold due to COVID at the GM’s house. They also chose to go with the “H-theme” for naming…

I’ve introduced a few house rules and have a few more in the works:

Character Generation: Roll 3D6, assign one die to Luck and the other two to Stamina.

Careers: Dumped career skills, progression and advanced careers. Instead, players can spend XP on any skills. Skills cost 1 XP per point up to 10, 2 XP per point to 15 and 4 XP per point to 20. I’ll probably allow players to increase Stamina and Luck, but I haven’t thought up XP cost for them. An XP per point of Stamina seems okay and maybe double or tripling the skill XP cost for Luck?

Skills: Added Computer, Sensors, and Psionics. I don’t have rules for the latter, but thinking about how I would implement them… I changed Ship Gunner to Heavy Weapons. The latter can be used for any “big gun” like a a tank or rocket launcher.

Melee Combat: Dumped the “+5 bonus to character with the initiative” and “winner does damage even if they are not the attacker” for a simple “attack and defense” roll system. Fights will take a little longer under this system, but it keeps melee and missile combat consistent.

Crits: (In the works) I am thinking of Roll 1D6 + damage instead of 2D6 + damage for the crit tables. Most crits have resulted in auto-death. This is fine for NPCs, but a little harsh for PCs. Maybe this is only used for PCs?

Ranged Combat: (In the works) I’d like to add range to combat. I am thinking about a base range for a weapon and a -1 penalty for each multiple. So a pistol with range 20m would have a -10 penalty if fired at a target over 200m away.

Move: (In the works) I’d like to give every character a move value so we can be a little more prescriptive while using miniatures.

Ranged Combat and Move ideas came out of reading through Stargrave. This is also a great little game and I am mining it for ideas.

I’ve really enjoyed this game and have started on some more rules for it including some corporations and grenades! I’ll be back soon!

Troika: Make Happy – Session 2

We finished off the Troika adventure during the last game. I don’t feel I was at my best for this session, but we had a lot of fun.

Cast of Characters:

  • Bashir the Epopt
  • Cleveland the Claviger
  • Muck the Befouler of Ponds
  • Chipper the Dwarf
  • Dick – Chipper’s mysterious, little, armored friend from the the B&T
  • Maximilian Young III, a Member of Miss Kinsey’s Dining Club

As you recall, our intrepid adventurers were hired by Mr. Smedley of Swoon Industries to find the former gatekeepers of Castle Swoon and bring them back posthaste. It seems the sentient gate, Harmony, was sad that her former friends had been replaced and she was not opening for anyone! The party had found Titi and journeyed to the North Island looking for Thomas. They’d been directed to talk to the Spiteful Tree, who assuredly knew where Thomas’ lair was, but were ambushed by Moss Men in the forest. The party decided to camp and roast some marshmallows that Titi had thoughtfully brought along.

Morning broke and our heroes were surprised when their old compatriot Chipper stumbling into camp with Dick and Maximilian in tow. Apparently, they had been hired by Mr. Smudley, VP of Access, Marketing and Coffee Ground Disposal of Swish LLC to hire new gatekeepers for Citadel Swish. Smudley had some very specific people in mind – all former employees of Castle Swoon. “You must bring them straightaway to Citadel Swish when you find them. No stopping off for picnics or visiting old friends or the deal is off!”

The party got to know Maximilian. The commiserated with his short-term memory loss and then spent an inordinate amount of time discussing “Chipper’s Dick”. Titi finally wandered off on her own and then informed the party that she had found the Spiteful Tree.

Picture, if you will, the Spiteful Tree. A majestic pine that would rival any tree in the forest. Tall, unbent and thoroughly spiteful. But wait. What is that furry thing moving about in the upper boughs? Bishir sure couldn’t see it…

The Spiteful Tree was not happy to meet the adventures. He gave them a withering glare and did not seem inclined to answer any questions. “Sure, I knew where Thomas lairs, but what’s in it for me? Tell you what. If someone will climb up and get this damned koala out of my branches, I’ll let you know where Thomas is.” Bishir still couldn’t see it…

The stout adventurers decided that a koala trap would be just the thing. Cleveland set out to build a serviceable contraption from downed branches and twine woven from leftover moss men parts. During this time Bishir is still searching the branches for the elusive koala.

As Cleveland proudly displayed his handiwork, Bishir finally spies the furry little creature. Pthoop! He hits it right between the eyes with a tranquilizer dart from his blowgun and the koala falls from its lofty perch. Luckily, Maximilian catches it before it splatters on the forest floor. There is a quick discussion about what koala tastes like, but the party decides to present the creature to Titi who is overjoyed to finally have a pet. The Spiteful Tree reveals the location of Thomas’ lair and was overjoyed to be rid of the adventurers.

Now I’d originally envisioned this going a lot differently. I figured some poor sap would climb up the tree and face an angry koala in hand-to-hand combat. Instead, Bishir rolled boxcars and pegged it with a tranq dart. I periodically mimed the koala trying to remove the dart from its forehead head during the rest of the game.

Thomas’ abode was a dank and spooky cave. None of the party seemed eager to face a vampire head on. Bishir, who as you will remember had broken his lantern in the fight with the moss men, demanded Maximilian give him his lamp so he could lead the way. Maximilian denied owning a lamp, but after a bit he reluctantly pulled it out of his rucksack and turned it over to Bishir.

This was fun. I’d told Maximilian’s player to write down all his starting gear and he missed that he had a lamp and oil. We decided it was more entertaining to rule he lied about it and chalk it up to his short-term memory issues…

Bishir led the way through a winding passage and emerged into a large cavern. He immediately noticed a large, bat-like creature hanging from a stalactite. When the beam from the lantern fell upon the beast, it unfurled its wings, hissed and flew off deeper into the cave, as if seeking to escape. “Snot so fast!” Cried Muck, who promptly webbed it. Web-bound Thomas railed and cursed and called down the vengeance of Shub Niggurath on our merry band. Titi tried to calm him down, but Thomas was wanted to drain the blood of the living! “He always gets so hangry!” Titi opined. The party wrapped Thomas up in Muck’s cloak (to protect him from the sun) and hustled him back to Captain Ronaldo’s steam launch.

Off to the East Island our hearty band ventures. Captain Ronaldo drunkenly explains the sites our characters may see. “Oh, there’s the timeshare zombies and the fish shack and old Jesper who collects the tolls… Be good lads and pick me up a bottle of Fishy Rum at the fish shack will ya? Have her put it on me tab.” About this time, the party realizes that Ronaldo has not reduced speed and is coming into port at full throttle! Cleveland keeps his head and tosses out the anchor, so the vessel doesn’t shatter against the pier.

Disembarking, the characters see a large automaton in the middle of the pier. His name tag says “Jesper” and he demands a toll of 1000 silver pence to pass. Haggling doesn’t work. Sweet talking doesn’t work. Bishir trying to run really fast doesn’t work. Exasperated, Jesper offers to fight an honorable duel to allow the party access to the island. His hands retract and hefty ball-peen hammers emerge in their place. at this point, our stout heroes set to arguing about who is the best person to meet Jesper in combat. Exasperated, Jesper turns his gleaming electronic eyes on Bishir, who wisely retreats down the pier. Finally, Chipper readies his own hammer and steps into the fray. It’s about this time that Muck asks, “why can’t we all just attack him?” And so it goes. The battle is fierce! Muck manages to web the automaton but is laid out by a crushing blow for his cowardly suggestion and mucus. Chipper is also gravely wounded, catching the “peen-side” of a hammer to his temple. Cleveland finally conks the thing on the head and finishes it off. Unfortunately, Jesper had collected no tolls that day…

The party makes their way through the timeshare zombies and finally comes to Swoon’s Fish Shack. Nobody seems interested in the Phresh Cought Phish(TM), but they pick up a bottle of rum for the captain and directions to Blake. “He hangs around by the palm tree. Yes, the palm tree – only one on the island.”

Blake, of course, freaks out when he sees the characters. He’s especially scared of Bishir and his blowgun. Thomas is busy calling him a wuss from under Muck’s cloak and Titi tries her best to calm him down. Blake is nervous about getting into a boat to travel – there are boathooks and marlinspikes and all sorts of other sharp objects on boats. Cleveland tries to explain that even if the boat sinks, Blake will be okay since he’ll just float away while everyone else drowns. Blake hadn’t even thought of the boat sinking… Eventually, they talk him around and depart for the South Island.

Captain Ronaldo set a meandering course for the South Island. As his vessel careened around a rocky shoal, it was set upon by the dreaded Hassela Youth Rowing Crew! The bone-chilling sound of the coxwain calling “stroke, stroke, stroke” struck fear into our band who urged the good captain to put on more speed. “Do we have anything I could skip across the water at them?” Maximilian mused. “Here’s a half-empty can of Adze Bodyspray.” Chipper offered helpfully. “I picked up in the B&T elevator store for you know who.” Well, skipping a can of body spray across open water to deter the pirates went about as well as expected, so Maximilian decided to fashion a Molotov Cocktail instead. “Are there any bottles around?” The launch was practically awash with empty rum bottles by this point in the adventure, so obviously “Yes”. The flaming bottle was hurled at the oncoming vessel, striking it square amidships. The calls of “stroke, stroke, stroke” were replaced with “douse, douse, douse” and the pirates were soon left behind.

Our brave lads prevailed upon the captain to tell them of the South Island and Ronaldo was happy to oblige. “There’s only two things on this island: a graveyard and a big damn swamp! Oh, and there’s a funeral parlor, for the cemetary, fill out death certificates and so forth, so I guess that’s three things. And the dock, so four. And I forgot about the sandwich shop too… They can make any kind of sandwich. It’s on the opposite side of the island from where the dock is so you’ll need to go through the graveyard and swamp to get to it. Be good lads and pick me up two bottle of rum sandwiches. Hold the bread. Tell them to put it on me tab. And watch out for the mudmen in the swamp.”

“Surely you could drop us off by the sandwich shop?” Maximilian enquired.

“Nope, no dock on that side of the island.”

“Could we walk on the beach to get to it and avoid the graveyard and swamp?”

“My recollection is they extend across the island but knock yerself out.”

The party made their way into the creepy cemetery and soon stumbled across a band of teenagers hanging out. The teens had all heard of Pickles but were in no mood to tell any adults where he dwelled. Pressing on, the party made their way into a dismal swampland and soon found themselves surrounded by mudmen! The hulking creatures seemed in no mood to talk, but Muck called upon the mighty P!P!Ssshrp and banished them in the name of the Toad God. Suprisingly fleet of foot when threatened by amphibian vengeance, the mudmen fled into the swamp leaving our brave band to press onwards. And onwards they pressed, right into a patch of quicksand! Poor Chipper stepped into a sinkhole. “Ah, if I struggle and thrash around, surely I will free myself from this clinging morass!” He thought. In practice it was less successful. Fortunately, Dick was on hand to rescue him from the mire.

Eventually the party emerged from the swamp to find Swoons Sandwich Shop. They entered to find a bored teenager manning the counter. “Can I get a granite lava sandwich?” Maximilian asked. The teen patiently explained that while he could indeed make a lava sandwich, there was no such thing as ‘granite lava’. “I mean, granite is an igneous rock, and like you can have andesitic or basaltic magmas, but granite isn’t really a magma so the best I can do is give you a lava sandwich that is the same chemical composition as granite, but it really won’t be a ‘granite lava’ if you get my drift.” Maximilian settled for a caviar sandwich with siracha, Chipper had a palladium on rye with mayo, they got Thomas a blood sandwich – hold the bread, and Bishir had a turkey and cheese on wheat – no mayo. It was a little dry. The also ordered two bottle of rum sandwiches – hold the bread – for Ronaldo. The teenager suggested they chat with Lord Thad at Swoon’s Death Services to find out where Pickles lived.

Lord Thad was happy to see the party. “Who is the lucky corpse?” After chatting about coffins for a bit, Lord Thad gave directions to Pickle’s home. Our doughty band was soon backtracking their way through the swamp. The trail seemed oddly familiar. Finally, they arrived at the sinkhole that had nearly claimed Chipper’s life. This very sinkhole was the front door to Pickle’s home! “Hmmm, I guess the door mat in front of the hole makes a little more sense now.” Chipper mused.

Pickles put on his best fake smile when he saw the characters. He was a little taken aback when Titi tried to give him a hug. “I’m still not over that ‘early bird’ incident.” Suddenly, he screamed “terrordactyl” and ducked back into his hole. Indeed, it streaked out of the sky to grab Pickles for its dinner. “I can see its point.” Mused Titi. “Thomas does look delicious.” After a fierce engagement, the terrordactyl lay dead and Thomas was cajoled into heading back to Swoon Island for a picnic with Harmony and her friends. “You just need to keep me well moisturized.” He wheedled. Fortunately, Maximilian was up to the task.

Our band made their way to Castle Swoon. A checked tablecloth was spread on the lawn. A delicious picnic with all the fixings was laid out. Titi said, “The best part about picnics are the ants. They are just like tiny, moving sprinkles when they get on your cupcake.” Most importantly, Harmony was happy and allowed the poor employees of Castle Swoon to leave the building. Mr. Smedly gave Bishir, Cleveland, and Muck 5 silver pence and a coupon for a free side of tartar sauce at Swoon’s Fish Shack. A job well completed!

I kind of glossed over the last bit of the adventure. It was pushing 11 and it was time to wrap things up. In retrospect, I probably could have squeaked another night’s play out of this one if I had been a little more on top of things and played up the NPCs a bit more. Overall, this was a fun little adventure.