Tommy's Take on Camp Terror, an Actual Play Review

 So this weekend I talked my group into taking a detour from D&D 5e to return to an old friend of ours: Savage Worlds. Not for an established setting such as ETU or Deadlands, both of which we love, but to try out a horror one shot from a friend of mine called Camp Terror.

 

 

So we fired up Savage Worlds and had us a brutal, throwback horror adventure.

Degrees of Horror: An East Texas University Post-Mortem Part 2 - Freshman Year

 Welcome back, friends. Last week, I laid the ground the work for this series, a recap of one of the best campaigns I've ever ran. Now I'm going to pour over my notes and go back to the very beginning of the campaign, and run through the adventures we played through, starting with Freshman Year.

I put a lot of thought into just how I wanted pace this, as I knew I wanted the campaign to have time to "breathe", and so I made the decision to aim for 13 adventures per school year. The idea being that it would be 3 adventure per half semester, with one adventure taking place on break. This meshed well with the idea of ETU's advances coming at the end of mid-terms and end of semester. This incorporated every Plot Point adventure from the Plot Point Campaign, every one of the original 12 to Midnight Adventures, the Class Ring adventure from the ETU GM screen, Owen Lean's Horror for the Holidays, and a number of my own creations, some using the Adventure Generator and some just crafted whole cloth.

Some of my notes are a little light. And we started this campaign 6 years ago, in person, at my dinner table, before moving online to Roll20...and we played The Curse of Strahd in between. So my memory may fail in places.

And again, be advised that spoilers will be unmarked.

Degrees of Horror: An East Texas University Post-Mortem Part 1 - A New Class

 Late last year, my group finally finished East Texas University: Degrees of Horror, the ETU Plot Point Campaign for Savage Worlds.

 This is the first in a series of articles in which I will take a deep dive into my campaign, including what worked, what didn't work, what we kept, what we changed, and so on.

 It will contain heavy, unmarked spoilers for the campaign, so read on at your own risk.

But I'll provide the tl:dr up front: East Texas University is one of my favorite RPG settings ever, and the campaign is one of the two best I've ever ran (alongside Necessary Evil), both of which I attribute to both stellar writing from the authors of the settings (cheers to Ed Wetterman, Preston DuBose, and Clint Black), as well as to my amazing players (Kenny, Jack, Ellie, Brian, Russ, Chrystal, and Tommy - not me, but the sole player who participated in both campaigns).

 And with that, on to the cast:

A Look Inside the New Deadlands Kickstarter

This isn't a normal "Tommy's Take", because I don't have a full book in front of me, but a review copy of the new Deadlands book on Kickstarter right now. It's still incomplete - it was noted to me that it's missing a bestiary still - so rather than do a full review of the book, I'm putting it side by side with the Player's Guide and Marshal's Handbook to get an idea of just what has changed and what's staying the same in this new edition.

Disclaimer: I'm not telling you to pledge. I just didn't have a cover image for this article.

Tommy's Take on The Covey (D&D 5e)

Over at The RPG Pub (my preferred home for RPG discussion on the internet), I was asked by one of our regulars to review something from their catalog. And so I am.

Tommy's Take on Zombie World

A novel concept: An RPG featuring zombies!



All snark aside, Zombie World has a couple of unique hooks that caught my eye during their Kickstarter, so I decided to check it out.

Clock is Ticking on Solomon Kane

In case you hadn't heard, Pinnacle is losing the Solomon Kane license at the end of this year, and so your chance to buy the books or PDFs (if you haven't yet) is on borrowed time.

While Solomon Kane is not fully updated to SWADE, there is a free separate conversion document on Pinnacle's website. The rulebook itself is completely standalone, so you can even run it without a copy of the Savage Worlds rules, since they are already included (though an earlier version, as noted above).

The Savage World of Solomon Kane is one of my favorite books by Pinnacle, and I wouldn't sleep on this one, personally.

A Pair of Kickstarters From a Pair of My Favorite Writers

Two of my favorite writers have Kickstarters running right now, so I thought I'd bring them to your attention.

Arthur Lives! 2nd Edition



Powered by Fate Core, Arthur Lives! 2nd Edition is an urban fantasy RPG by Jason "Doctor Comics" Tondro. Jason, who was actually my first (technically only) D&D 5th Edition DM, is a big Arthurian nut, and wrote Arthur Lives! for the True20 system.

Arthur Lives! is an RPG about aspects of the Arthurian legends returning to life via reincarnation in modern times. The interesting hook is that it is only aspects that are reincarnating, meaning that there are multiple "Arthurs", multiple "Lancelots" and so on kicking around.

I read the old first edition years ago, but haven't had a chance to read the Fate Core version yet. You can - sans art and layout, by backing at the $5 level (the full eventual PDF release requires a pledge of $20 or more).

The Kickstarter is a little over 50% funded with 24 days to go.

Leagues of Gothic Horror: Ministry & Mordavia Books and Dice



Paul "Wiggy" Wade-Williams - whose impressive resume includes Hellfrost, All for One: Regime Diabolique and Leagues of Adventure - is expanding the Leagues of Gothic Horror line with the Guide to the Ministry of Unusual Affairs and the Guide to Mordavia: Land of Horror books.

Leagues of Adventure is a pulpy, globetrotting game, powered by the Ubiquity system. The Leagues of Gothic Horror line expands that pulpy adventure into darker, more horrific places, and is already supported by guides to Apparitions, Mummies, Black Magic, Vampires and Shapeshifters. This Kickstarter will shed light on the Ministry of Unusual Affairs, the Crown's response to the horrible things in the world, and the land of Mordavia. The Mordavia book promises flexibility, as each major character will have two backstories, and you pick the one that applies in your campaign.

The campaign is just over $1000 away from reaching its goal, and has 11 days to get there. A stretch goal is out there to unlock a Guide to the Walking Dead as well.

Tommy's Take on The Goon RPG

Got a chance to crack into the second book in Pinnacle's current double shot Kickstarter, The Goon. People say they sometimes like to hear my thoughts on these things, so here we are.

Deadlands: Love on the Mountain is now available for free!

Hey guys, for a limited time (I think, maybe not), Pinnacle is giving away Deadlands: Love on the Mountain from Savage Tales of Horror Vol. 2 for free!



From the page:
True love is hard to find, and a father’s love can be a difficult obstacle for a wellmeaning young suitor to contend with. The suitor, heir to a fortune, employs the posse in rescuing his love from her father’s farm on the mountain. Sounds simple enough, right? But strange things happen on that mountain, and they just get stranger the higher you go… Check it out, then go buy the Savage Tales of Horror books!

Tommy's Take on Army of Darkness

So I recently started watching Ash vs Evil Dead thanks to Netflix DVD, and it took my mind back to another older RPG: Army of Darkness by Eden Studios, powered by the Cinematic Unisystem.

Hail to the King, baby.

Tommy's Take on Adventurers! Revised Edition

So close to three years ago, GRAmel released Adventurers!, touted as being an RPG in only two pages. They recently hit me up about reviewing the upcoming Adventurers! Revised Edition, and so here I am.

Tommy's Take on Bloodshadows Third Edition

Evverything old is new again, as classic games rise from the dead with a growing frequency (throw in retroclones, and there are increasingly few classic games that you can't get your hands on in some capacity now). Joining that list is Bloodshadows Third Edition, the latest release by Precis Intermedia, dispensing with both the d6 and Masterbook systems and instead powered by their GenreDiversion system.

Tommy's Take on AZ: After Zombies

AZ: After Zombies was released late last year by Charles Rice and Apocalyptic Games. Zombies are still big business, and with The Walking Dead going strong, and the (IMO) gold standard of zombie RPGs - All Flesh Must Be Eaten - seemingly dormant, there is certainly room for a new game to satisfy that niche.

Tommy's Take on Buffy the Vampire Slayer Revised Corebook

No, a new Buffy RPG didn't come out. This is the one that came out...holy crap...eleven years ago, from Eden Studios. This is not an old review, though. Yes, this is a brand new review of an eleven year old RPG that I got when it was brand new.

Why?

Because it's badass, and you can still get copies for cover price on Amazon even though it's out of print. You can also get the PDF for $20 at RPGNow. (Disclaimer: That last one was an Affiliate link.)

Tommy's Take on Shadow of the Demon Lord

Earlier in the year, I called Shadow of the Demon Lord "the RPG I was most looking forward to". When it was released, I gushed about it. This weekend, I actually got a chance to run it, for my son and one of my longtime players. So this is my actual play review of Shadow of the Demon Lord by Schwalb Entertainment. I ran the Survival of the Fittest and Apple of Her Eye adventures, so some spoilers for those may be included.

East Texas University: Freshman Year - Meet The Cast!

So we have started East Texas University, and I am probably going to post my ETU stuff up here on the blog, for those interested. With this campaign, I went the route of having the group "cast" their characters with actors and such.

I'll try to keep up with at least rudimentary actual plays as well.

SO...let's meet the cast of ETU: Freshman Year!

Russ "Bad Moon" Rison, Pinebox Texas' Favorite Son!




Russ "Bad Moon" Rison (three time State Champion Quarterback) had his season - and dreams of being a Texas Longhorn - ended when he tore up his knee his Senior year. His cannon arm and football mind, combined with an intense rehab schedule, left him in prime position for a scholarship from the ETU Ravens, especially when his old Wide Receiver "Racin'" Mason Holmes transferred from Texas University after being cut from the Longhorns for disciplinary reasons.

"Bad Moon" and "Racin'" Mason are dead set on leading ETU to its best football years ever...even if players keep mysteriously disappearing.

Major: Agriculture (But really football)
Extracurricular Activity: Athlete
Agility: d4
Smarts: d6
Spirit: d8
Strength: d8
Vigor: d6

Cha: 0     Pace: 6     Parry: 5     Toughness: 5     Academics: 0

Edges
Local Favorite
Command

Hindrances
Overconfident
Party Animal
Trouble Magnet
Minor Phobia (Woods)

Skills
Knowledge (Agriculture) d6
Fighting d6
Tracking d6
Boating d4
Driving d4
Shooting d4
Throwing d6
Knowledge (Football) d6
Notice d4

Transportation
Used Pick with slick tires (-1 to Driving)

Becka Nicole Lane, Just a Girl, Trying to Make Her Way in the World



Becka came to ETU mostly because it was affordable. Here for her teaching degree, she gets pulled along into wacky adventures by her roommate Brandi, who is a Pinebox native and Bad Moon's biggest fan. Becka and Brandi are a liiiittle on the scatterbrained side, though Becka takes life and college a little more serious than Brandi does. Becka hasn't talked much about her life before ETU, but her sweet appearance seems to hide a harder edge.

Major: Education
Extracurricular Activity: Tutoring
Agility: d8
Smarts: d6
Spirit: d6
Strength: d4
Vigor: d8

Cha: 0     Pace: 6     Parry: 5     Toughness: 6     Academics: -2

Edges
Ambidextrous
Fast Healer

Hindrances
Major Phobia (Bugs)
ADHD
Annoying Roommate (Brandi)

Skills
Knowledge (Education) d4
Fighting d6
Shooting d6
Driving d6
Healing d4
Notice d6
Lockpicking d6
Streetwise d4
Persuasion d4

Transportation
Used Midsized Car with an engine that slips (-10 to top speed)

Jonathan T. Wolfwood, aka Europe, The Vampire of Pennsylvania



Jonathan T. Wolfwood, Anthropology Major and son of the East Coast Wolfwoods, has come to ETU to get out from under the thumb of his overprotective parents (yeah, right). While he is genuinely curious about the mysteries of the world, he is quick to rationalize anything out of the ordinary, even when the supernatural is staring him in the face. "Racin'" Mason and "Bad Moon" Rison are convinced he's a homosexual European vampire, but they don't care, as long as he can kick a football (which he can't, and has no interest in doing).

Major: Anthropology
Extracurricular Activity: Part-Time Job (Teacher's Aide)
Agility: d6
Smarts: d8
Spirit: d6
Strength: d4
Vigor: d6

Cha: +2     Pace: 6     Parry: 2     Toughness: 5     Academics: +2

Edges
Noble
Test Taker
Brave

Hindrances
Curious
Doubting Thomas
Overprotective Parents

Skills
Knowledge (Anthropology) d6
Healing d4
Investigation d6
Notice d6
Repair d4
Driving d4
Shooting d6
Swimming d4
Taunt d6

Transportation
New Pick-Up Truck

With Special Guest Stars (aka NPCs)...

"Racin'" Mason Holmes



Mason Holmes could have been a huge college star if he had kept his head on straight, but his freshman year at Texas University ended with him kicked off the football team for disciplinary issues, and him transferring to ETU, where his former High School Quarterback "Bad Moon" Rison was about to start school. Mason...isn't the brightest tool in the shed, laser focused on football above all else, and his views towards women are a bit...suspect...but he is loyal to a fault.

Major: Undeclared (But really football)
Agility: d10
Smarts: d4
Spirit: d6
Strength: d6
Vigor: d6

Cha: +4     Pace: 8     Parry: 5     Toughness: 5

Edges
Very Attractive
Fleet-Footed
Quick

Hindrances
Loyal
Clueless
Misogynistic
Major Phobia (Fire)

Skills
Climbing d6
Driving d6
Fighting d6
Notice d4
Intimidation d6
Persuasion d6

Brandi Jo Miller, Becka's Roommate and Bad Moon's Girlfriend (Maybe)

Brandi is Pinebox born and bred, and has a huge crush on "Bad Moon" Rison. They had Chemistry class together and she once accidentally caused Bad Moon to fail a test, because she let him cheat off of her notes, which were kind of bad. She has decided that her and Becka will be besties, and her and Bad Moon are totally going to be a thing, to the point that she's considering trying out for the Ravens Cheer Squad.

Major: Criminal Justice
Agility: d6
Smarts: d6
Spirit: d6
Strength: d4
Vigor: d6

Cha: +2     Pace: 6     Parry: 2     Toughness: 5

Edges
Attractive

Hindrances
ADHD
Fraidy Cat

Skills
Driving d6
Knowledge (Criminal Justice) d4
Notice d6
Persuasion d6
Taunt d6

And there's the main cast! Stats actually reflect two adventures down (which I'll try to get recapped soon).

Three Kickstarters and a Sale

Hey all, just popping in to boost the signal for three Kickstarters and a sale that you need to be aware of (see, it's right there in the title)!

DARKMOOR RPG

The Darkmoor RPG is a zany, over the top, video game inspired RPG that pulls from all kinds of pop culture elements. You define your race and class, and even have to provide all of your own drawings (actually talent hopefully not needed). You beat the cash out of enemies, level up in glowing bursts of light, and create hyper awesome special moves. Paul "Wiggy" Wade-Williams, of Triple Ace Games, has agreed to write a minisupplement for the game, and you can download an Introductory Guide that gives you a better idea of how the game works. The project is already funded, though not by a comfortable margin, with four days left to go, and you can pick up digital, softcover or hardcover rewards.

RIPPERS RESURRECTED

With five days left to go, Rippers Resurrected has demolished its funding goal and all but one of their stretch goals - a print compilation of the adventures unlocked as stretch goals, which will be given free to backers of the print levels. Rippers Resurrected as a sequel to the Rippers setting/plot point campaign (which is included as one of the stretch goals) in which Victorian monster hunters find and defeat monsters and "rip" their body parts and special abilities and add them to their bodies to gain an edge against the monsters...all while trying not to lose their grip on humanity. Pinnacle has a stellar track record on Kickstarter fulfillment, and the PDFs are set for delivery before Halloween so you can run Rippers for your group if you like. You can also add Savage Tales of Horror to your pledge, including my Deadlands adventure in vol. 2!

THE NINJA CRUSADE 2ND EDITION

Hot on the heels of the fulfillment of the Apocalypse Prevention Inc. 2nd Edition Kickstarter, Eloy Lasanta is overhauling Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade into a slightly less "crunchy" and more cinematic RPG. I have made no bones about what a fan of the first edition I am, and I was both nervous and intrigued by this upcoming 2nd edition. Dispensing with the d20-based Dynamic Gaming System, the 2nd edition will use the Chakra System, a d10 die pool system. Another huge improvement is supposed to be a system for making enemies up on the fly, very useful for a game such as The Ninja Crusade that leans heavily on PC-like foes over a bestiary. The Ninja Crusade still needs over $3,000 to hit their funding goal, but they have 19 days left to hit it. Third Eye Games has a sterling track record for Kickstarter fulfillment as well, so you can pledge with confidence.

NEOPLASTIC PRESS PAY WHAT YOU WANT SALE

In the Halloween spirit, Rafael Chandler - one of the sickest, most twisted RPG authors I know, and I mean that as a compliment - has offered seemingly everything in his back catalog (aside from SlaughterGrid, it seems) as Pay What You Want (including nothing) through Halloween. I, personally, recommend Pandemonio, which is his revision of his Dread and Spite RPGs, but you really don't have anything to lose by taste-testing any of his stuff, do you? And if you like what you read, go back and "buy" the PDFs. That's kinda how Pay What You Want works.

Savage Tales of Horror is Here!

I have been a pro wrestling champion, I have published comic books, and now I have an honest to God official Deadlands adventure under my name.

If I die tomorrow, let it be said that I achieved goals that I reached for in life.

Melodramatic? Maybe. What do you expect from an ex-pro wrestler turned comic book writer turned RPG writer?

Inspired by a folk song, Love on the Mountain is written with Deadlands in mind, but is completely compatible with The Sixth Gun RPG or playable with just the Horror Companion, and it is found in Savage Tales of Horror volume 2, along with several other amazing horror adventures.

You can preorder the bundle today and get the first two volumes in PDF right now!

And I would dearly love to know what you think.

The Shadow Has Fallen...

This is not a review.

This is not a press release.

This is not solicited by Schwalb Entertainment in any way, shape or form.

This is my squeeing with fanboy glee at the release of Shadow of the Demon Lord in PDF.

Disclaimer: Using that link will provide me with a percentage of the sale at OneBookShelf sites.

Earlier in the month, I named this most most anticipated upcoming game. As of today, it is out digitally. I have only skimmed it, but I am very, very pleased. It is brutal, grotesque and over the top. You can roll up characters in minutes, literally, because the thing is overflowing with tables. I think the only thing missing is a random adventure generator.

I wanna run this thing very, very badly.

Things you should know:

- It is class and level. Those classes tend to fall in fantasy archetypes. You start at level 0. At level 1, you pick a Novice Path, which is a Magician, Priest, Rogue or Warrior. The options branch out at 3 and 7, and there are no Path requirements (so you can go a couple of levels as a Warrior, then become an Assassin, before ending you career as a Druid). The level scale is 0-10, but the promise of higher level range is coming in the future. If I counted correctly, there are a whopping 84 paths to choose from, from iconic roles like Ranger and Paladin, to odder choices like Exorcist, Shapeshifter and Technomancer.

- The game uses d6s and 1d20. The core mechanic uses a d20, but if you have Boons, you add a d6 to the roll for each Boon. If you have Banes, you subtract a d6 from the roll for each Bane. A lot of the random tables use 3d6.

- Characters have four main stats, rated from 1-20: Strength, Agility, Intellect and Will. They also have Health, Defense, Perception and Insanity.

- Races include Human and Dwarf, but also Goblin, Orc, Clockwork and Changeling, each with unique tables for character creation.

- The Shadow of the Demon Lord is a mechanic in the game that can have bizarre consequences in the world, from the dead rising to beastmen being more violent, to famine and drought...and worse.

- The world is provided in loose detail, to not bind you to too much "canon", and encompasses demons, dragons, undead, Elves ARE in the game, but you can only kill them, not be them. Just tossing that out there.

The game has a bit of a Warhammer/Diablo feel with none of the canon, and a slew of D&D5e style customization options without a ton of book keeping. I'm not telling you to buy it, but I'm telling you I threw a bunch of money at the Kickstarter and, with the first release, I am REALLY freaking pleased with what I have seen thus far. If I have time (which is a maybe, my plate is suddenly very full), I will try to review it. More importantly, I will try to run it.