Tommy's Take on The Walking Dead

As part of DBloC, I thought I would do a little talking about The Walking Dead today, both the TV series (early candidate for best show currently on TV) and the comic book (probably my favorite comic of all time).

So be warned...there are spoilers.

Tommy's Take on Reviews, or "I hate ratings."

I review lots of stuff these days.

The most read review on my blog, and I
still haven't figured out why.

You can scroll down the archive just to see the stuff I've reviewed this year. Go on, I'll wait.

And now, I review comic books on top of the roleplaying games and occasional novels I pick up. I enjoy reviewing products. I get free stuff, occasionally people buy things through my referral links and that has kept gas in my tank when I didn't have any other money coming in, and I've made some contacts - and friends - through my reviewing. As a bit of an egotist (I'm sorry, it is impossible to put yourself out there, splashing your opinions for the world to see, without being at least a bit of an egotist. In wrestling, my mentor told me it was "being a mark for yourself"...and it's not inherently a bad thing, it just is what it is), it makes me feel good when someone hits me up out of the blue and says "Hey, I like your reviews, wanna review my game?"

I try to be nothing but honest with my reviews, and I try to be as objective as I can be, for the bulk of the reviews. I may toss in a line here or there, and I always wrap up with my overall opinion on a product, but I try to present as much factual information as I can leading up to that because, honestly, I think factual information does a prospective buyer more good than me talking about how cool or crappy something is...which leads to my next point: Even when I'm criticizing a product, I try my best to never be rude about it. I don't see the sense in it, really. I will certainly never go on a profanity laced tirade about a book like some might, because it serves no purpose. It doesn't make me look any better, it doesn't help the writers or publishers of the books and it doesn't help prospective buyers.

The thing I like most about posting my reviews here and not crossposting them to RPG.net, RPGNow or The RPG Site, though, is that I hate rating reviews. I've seen people get far too hung up on the numbers attached to the reviews over the actual content of the reviews. I may really love a book and so I give it a 5 on RPGNow or a 4/5 on RPG.net or whatever, and if a reader just looks at that number, they may think "Man, that's gotta be great!"...only to buy the book and be horribly disappointed.

I guess the moral of the story is: If you read my reviews on an external site, take my ratings with a grain of salt. I'm not saying I put NO thought into the ratings, because I do...but I would rather you read the reviews for themselves, and the facts therein, before drawing your conclusions and not just looking at the ratings I've tagged to the entry.

MAX LIVES~!

As some of you know, I fancy myself something of a comic book writer.

I've only had the one book published so far (Equinox #1, now only 99 cents in digital format), but earlier this year, Werner Mueck, Ben Soto and I entered Small Press Idol 2010 with mine and Werner's brainchild: Max Monkey, Monster Masher.

We started off really strong in the contest, but were summarily rejected in Round 3 by the judges, at which point our voting coalition also fell apart, meaning we barely retained our "cover slot" in Mysterious Visions Anthology. Our chances of being picked up for anything after the contest were similarly hurt, since our 12 page story was not finished by July 15th (and, indeed, is not finished today, though it is much closer now) due to frustrations with the contest.

However, it is finally back on track, in the capable hands of Ben Soto who is completing the coloring on the project (and maybe lettering, depending).

Personally, I'm glad to see it. No disrespect intended to anyone else in the contest, I promise, but I completely believe in Max Monkey as a concept, and if nothing else, I am looking forward to having it free from the constraints of Small Press Idol, for us to do with as we will...although I am REALLY crushed about us not winning the toy deal...our roster of characters are tailor-made for a toy deal.

Werner and I haven't seriously discussed what format Max will take in the future, at least not in a while...but I do hope people pick up (and enjoy) "Max Monkey and The Mark of Zumagoathulhu" when it is released soon (I will have details, of course).

In other comic news, "Hellrazer versus Voodoo" is in the hands of the colorists as well, well past its October release date. I still can't wait to see that one fully completed. "The Curse", written by me and drawn by Ben Soto, will be the back-up in Equinox #2.

Finally, I'm finalizing the outline on a black and white horror project with Ben Soto (one of two that we are going to be working on simultaneously) that will either be the best thing I've ever done, or the worst thing...but I'm still holding that one close to the vest for a bit.

Tommy's Take on Shanghai Vampocalypse

There have been folks who have felt, and not without justification, that while Savage Worlds is awesome...it falls short of "epic".

Savage Mojo has felt that way themselves, releasing their Suzerain multiverse setting for Savage Worlds, which goes so far as to add a whole new tier to character advancement beyond Legendary: Demigod.

I am ashamed to say that I only have the free version of Suzerain at the moment, which is pretty  comprehensive, providing most of the necessary rules needed to get your PCs at Demigod rank, and half a dozen sample PCs, scaled to various ranks...which is what Shangai Vampocalypse is built for. Let me reiterate: Shangai Vampocalypse is a Savage Suzerain plot point campaign *designed* for beings well beyond Legendary, and you can use the free version of Suzerain if you don't mind using pregens.

FOR PLAYERS

Shangahi Vampocalypse is set in China in the year 2048, after a nanotech virus was used to turn soldiers in vampires, for two reasons: 1) They're scary and 2) They can feed off of their rival soldiers.

This, shockingly, has not gone well...and now the PCs have to rush against time in order to save the world from a rampaging vampire army. No pressure.

You can either build to this as a grand culmination of a lengthy Suzerain campaign, or you can just level guys up to Demigod and drop them in, your choice. Luckily, popping Savage Worlds guys up from Novice to Demigod is pretty simple, just taking advances as you go.

In typical Savage Worlds fashion, we get a list of character archetypes appropriate to the setting, in this case falling more under party function (like Advisor and Long Range Fighter) rather than character concept.

NEW EDGES, HINDRANCES AND POWERS

The setting is Mysticism Meets Cyberpunk, and there are a number of suitable Edges and Hindrances to accomodate this. Ancient Master, for instance, requires your character being Elderly, but also makes his your unarmed damage equal to your Smarts + Spirit. Shang-Fu Edges are martial arts Edges, for those hand to hand types.

Rather than Arcane Backgrounds, Suzerain uses Pulse Paths, and Shanghai Vampocalypse provides Bioartificial Eugenics and Master of Veneration, the first being very much a cybernetics type thing and the latter allowing your PCs to do crazy mystical things involving spirits.

We also get a listing of setting tech, such as medpacks that get "slapped" onto the body and breakdown over time, the common "chip in the head" type feature and all kinds of crazy weapons and armor, including nanite-enhanced weapons.

FOR GMs

Tommy's Take on Progenitor

Arc Dream has some of the best ideas for books.

The only problem is, I have never been able to get comfortable with the ORE system. I own Dreadful Secrets of Candlewick Manor and Monsters and Other Childish Things, and we've made characters...it just never makes it to game time, mostly because I am just so skeptical about how well the system would work out for us in play.

Progenitor is a setting book for Wild Talents 2e, and it is very much an alternate reality type setting. Amanda Sykes, an unassuming housewife type in 1968, gets nearly Godlike power...(no pun intended)...with a catch: When she uses her power on someone, they become empowered. This goes on...it's now modern times and there are people with powers running around all over the planet.

Progenitor is a $20 PDF that is copy and paste enabled, fully searchable and bookmarked. Even has a clickable table of contents. Considering it clocks in at nearly 400 pages, features like that are ESSENTIAL. It is black and white, aside from the cover, and it does require the Wild Talents rules (the full second edition will work, as should the Essentials in a pinch).

NOT TALKING ABOUT THE WAR

Honestly, I usually skip the setting fluff pieces. Occasionally, I'll skim the first few paragraphs...but a lot of times, I just move on. I intended to do the same here, as Amanda Sykes is interviewed by a reporter, but I found myself intrigued. Sykes comes across as a very relatable Godlike being.

THIS CHANGING WORLD

Here, we get the World in the Four Color system as written by Ken Hite in the Wild Talents rulebook. For those curious, it starts at Red 5 and drops to Red 2 quickly. The Gold Axis is also a 2, while Blue goes from 1 to 3 pretty quickly. The Black Axis hangs around 2-3.

Here is also where the author talks about how the PCs can change the world, and details how the power tiers work, as each "generation" produces fewer (and weaker) supers. There is also a character option for "Marks", who are beings marked by the campaign's "Dark Energy", but have no real powers.

Five sets of power templates also exist, for quick PC or NPC creation if nothing else. But basically, the way it works is that this Dark Energy spreads, creating more supers when the powers are used, generally giving them what they desire at that point (ala Aberrant).

In the here and now, the first two tiers are all filled up, leaving tiers three through ten open for population. One interesting optional rule allows for "backwash": When a metahuman dies, there's a chance that their power returns to its ancestor, causing them to spawn again.

The world also moves on four Metrics: Suspicion, Technology, Economy and Warfare, each of which help to set the tone for what is going on in the world at the moment.

Now, here is the cool part: Random event charts, depending on the "tone" of the world. I loves me some random. Every game year, you take the two highest gauges, roll the dice, check the length and width with the relevant chart, and get the events. Any isolated dice become personal events (which have their own charts as well).

Authoritarianism can produce results such as cameras being installed in every public place and street corner, beings with Dark Energy being refused the right to vote, citizens begin refusing jury duty and more. Some personal events include stolen DNA being used to clone PCs, and a serial killer stalking metahumans.

Imperialism can give us fishermen turned pirates, dictators defaulting on their debts and a radical Atheist group declaring a...er...Holy war.

That's 12 charts (counting the personal charts for each) of random events...enough to make my mouth water.

The chapter ends with a broad overview of the important NPCs, as well as the timeline, before the book dives into each with an immense amount of detail.

THESE CHANGING TIMES

This is the extensive timeline from 1968 through Y2K. There are two timelines presented, with one being "our" history and the other being the Progenitor history, when Amanda Sykes gained her powers and began (inadvertantly) infecting people.

We get campaign frameworks along the way, spinning out of historical events in the Progenitor timeline, such as terminally ill patients rescued by young Tina Shaw and now not only alive, but empowered.

Historical figures such as Lyndon Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover and Martin Luther King, Jr. all wind up empowered and influencing events, even after King's death.

The world mostly carries on next to ours with minor changes until 1983...when the Metalocalypse occurs, complete with killer robots hunting metahumans and the biggest threat of nuclear war yet. Martial law gets declared in the US and much deatha and chaos ensues...but in a nice change, the world almost seems to get better for it, at least for a time afterwards...at least until President Reagan's untimely death, and the ascension of George HW Bush.

Things begin building to a new head in the late 90s, all culminating in the year 2000, which is left wide open for your group to explore.

I love the timeline and the setting BEGS to be run in a year-to-year campaign, skipping over months here and there so that the PCs can see (and probably change) the world around them. Given how heavily political the timelines are, I was honestly expecting to be annoyed or offended by the author's take on history, but was instead pleased: Some historical figures are painted in a very bad light, others are not. The world isn't necessarily nice to them, but there good and bad guys on all sides of the political spectrum, much as it truly is.

THE METAHUMANS

Here, we get tons of NPCs, starting with Tier One (Amanda Sykes) and running down through Tier Ten...with fictional characters and historical figures along the way.

Every character is given their background, Loyalties, Passions, Power Suites and Destiny...everything you need to know, from where they begin, to where they are going to end up (unless the PCs get involved).

In addition to the dozens and dozens of important characters, we also get a listing of straightforward "bad guys"...no deep, morally ambiguous motivations...just people who need to get beat up.

Additionally, as each character appears in the timeline, they are crossreferenced with the page number here, for extra utility. That's a big plus, in my view.

DEVICES AND DEVELOPMENTS

Here we get into just how the world has been changed, technologically speaking.

We start with syntergenes, which amount to tangible ideas and how to construct them (taking into account important things like symbolism, social class and even the language barrier)...you can even determine how quickly the effects kick in and how deep the brainwashing goes, complete with examples from the setting's history.

We next get various devices by superinventors, complete with the "when", such as Soviet laser guns in '78 and modular cars in '85.

Other Progenitor-specific developments such as the rise of Atlantis in '68, The Church of the Emerald virgin convinced that Amanda Sykes is the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary and the Metavictims Advocacy and Support Group, founded when Jarvis West gained powers in '69 and immediately went on a rampage, trying to hurt everyone he could.

CONCLUSION

A character sheet and index would have been nice, the index especially so for those getting the physical book instead of the PDF.

It's a very compelling setting, reminiscent of Aberrant and very much an "actions matter" kind of thing. Again, it BEGS to be ran from at least the dawn of Tier Three and playing loose with the passage of time, so that the long term effects on the world can be played out. In fact, I intentionally skipped over discussing much of the character or timeline sessions in detail, just so I didn't inadvertently spoil some of the twists.

That said, at 380 pages, it feels like a lot of it could probably have been said in less. I think a good product could have become great with tighter focus in the writing...something. It just never quite feels like the nearly 400 page count is fully needed, with the bulk of the book consumed with NPC write-ups and the two timelines...trying to cram so much stuff in, and only really slowing down at a couple of points, hurting the presentation.

And now, I review comics...

...just not over here.

Nope, I responded to a call for comic reviewers over at Project Fanboy, where I seemingly "passed the audition" with my review of DAYS MISSING: KESTUS #1 (of 5). The administrators over there seemed pleased with my reviewing, and so it sounds like I'll be sticking around over there...so I encourage all of my comic buddies to come over, join in the discussion, read the reviews, all that goodness!

In other news, we had no Marvel SAGA gaming last night, unfortunately...hopefully next week.

Had a fairly exhausting couple of days, thanks to Faith's lack of a sleeping schedule, and so I didn't get as much done on most other things as I would like, but I'm pretty psyched at the opportunity over at Project Fanboy. I haven't figured out exactly what it is I'm good at in life, but people seem to take to my reviews at least...=)

Also, currently working on the playtest for the next Misfit Studios' ICONS release, another adaptation of their Superlink products. I won't say any more because, well, not my company and Steve may not want anything else said right now.

Anyway...check me out at Project Fanboy, and be back here this week as I hope to at least get Progenitor and Shanghai Vampocalypse reviewed!

Tommy's Take on Axes, Horrific Books and Halloween Horrors

5 MAGIC ITEMS: AXES

This is a set-up identical to the Blades PDF, with five axes, their values, abilities and the Knowledge charts that can give the PCs information on the items...with the possibility of completely misleading information.

Additionally, a rule for using bennies is supplied, in the event that the GM makes the Knowledge rolls. Essentially, PCs can make the roll blind and, even if they fail again, can get a hint that they are remembering SOMETHING wrong.

It's not the most elegant solution, but with the GM making rolls for the PCs in that case, there's not much you CAN do.

First up is the Falcon Axe, which is a nice name for an old classic, an axe that returns to your hand.

The Headhunter Cleaver is an Orcish axe that will seek the heads whenever possible. It's an ugly, violent weapon, with a REALLY nice plot hook that would be GREAT to surprise an unsuspecting user with.

The Magicbreaker Axe is not a wizard's best friend, and is valuable for a warrior battling spellcasting types.

Stonehewer axes can inflict massive damage on stone and anything made of stone, while Treecleaver axes are their plant-fighting equivalents.

This is a really good addition of some solid weapons to the Magic Items list, with the most inspiring item being the Headhunter Cleaver and its awesome plot hook (that requires two raises on a Knowledge roll for the wielder to be aware of).

5 MAGIC ITEMS: HORRIFIC BOOKS

I don't expect this to end well, with a name like "Horrific Books". Betting everything here has, at least, a double edged sword.

Misfit Studios has announced that they are preparing for Halloween. and this seems to be the first step in that.

The first book is the Arcane Catalog of Dej, which is as it sounds - a helpful catalog of arcane items. Even if you don't otherwise know jack about magic items, this is useful...it, uh, can just get in your head a bit.

The Folio of Fiends is similar to the Arcane Catalog, except it imparts all kinds of useful knowledge on various types of beasties.

Purgatorum can inform a user about demons, including offering resistance against demonic powers...however, it is FULL of side effects, with one of the NICER side effects sucking a user into Hell.

The Tome of the Underworld can be used to enhance the powers of anyone with access to Miracles, infusing them with the essence of the dead. Best check with your deity, though, 'cause they may have a problem with it.

The Necronomicon...you might have heard of it. The Necronomicon makes its appearance, and it can be powerful, if you can understand it. However, it can wreak even more havoc if you don't.

Nice step away from weapons for the new release, with a couple of truly horric items, including the old classic the Necronomicon. A good selection that lives up to the "horrific" descriptor.

MONSTER BRIEF: HALLOWEEN HORRORS

This is Part 2 of Misfit Studios' Halloween PDFs, a collection of Halloweenish monsters for your Savage Worlds game. Though they are intended for a fantasy game, with a bit of work most of them could probably work in most settings.

Up first is the Death Dragon, which is actually a template and not a true monster in and of itself. Just take any Dragon and apply the template. It retains its intellect as well, so it definitely just makes the dragon more dangerous.

The effigas are spirits that like to possess objects, and we get two in this supplement: Doll effigas and Scarecrow effigas. The scarecrow, especially, has the very real possibility of being scary if the players aren't thinking.

Plague wraiths are tragic and dangerous, but not really evil. They are victims of disease who cannot rest in peace...and inadvertantly spread it.

Reapers are what you think, and about as scary. They share many of the traits of the Undead, though they do not serve evil...just death...and if they are locked in on a target, there's not much shaking them.

Though a definite horror theme is prevalent here, the effigas are the only things that really SCREAM "Halloween". I do always like it when Death is portrayed as neutral and not evil, and the Reapers uphold that: Everyone dies...they just make sure of it. Halloween Horrors is a good product that is really only held back by how great several of the other releases are.

DBloC - I'm in.

Sean Preston of Reality Blurs has thrown down the gauntlet: The Daily Blog Challenge...lots of writer types are working on their novels for the National Novel Writing Month (or whichever it is), and Sean decided to hit the Daily Blog Challenge for this of us who aren't going to be doing that (due to time or whatever reasons). I'm gonna attempt it, with two blog posts today (making up for my missing post from last night, since he posted the challenge right before I left for work).

So...just some random stuff to kick this off:

- Last week, Kenny and I played The Pine Ridge Horror for Savage Worlds. I've been meaning to sit and do an actual play, but a week later and it hasn't happened yet. I believe tonight we are going to launch back into Marvel SAGA.

- Obviously, I have more reviews upcoming, like Progenitor for Wild Talents, Shangai Vampocalypse for Savage Worlds, and more "mini-reviews", including a three-pack I'm posting today that really should have come out for Halloween.

- I'm going to try to stat up Hellrazer and Tonton Macoute from Equinox #1 (which is now only 99 cents at DriveThruComics) in probably BASH, ICONS and Marvel SAGA and post them by the end of the month, but no promises on that.

- And we'll see what else comes along.

Don't forget to vote!

Happy Halloween from The Most Unread Blog on the Internet. Ever!

Just in time for Halloween, we have the free scenario "Jigsaw Puzzle" by Carl Hickman, which was the winner of the Realms of Cthulhu Scenario Contest hosted by this site! The best part is, you actually only NEED the Savage Worlds rules to play!

Happy Halloween, and enjoy!

Tommy's Take on Killer Thriller

Killer Thriller is the first RPG from Timeout Diversions, the new small publishing venture by Tony Lee, who I am most familiar with through his work on the WWE Know Your Role RPG...he's setting this imprint up as the "Cheapass Games" of RPG, barebones PDF products with more substance than style, at a low price.

Killer Thriller It's a b-movie horror RPG, designed to be very tongue in cheek, a slightly less serious Slasher Flick, if you will and unlike a traditional RPG, every player is meant to play three (or more) PCs, and any character of any consequence who isn't The Monster is meant to be played by the PCs.

VICTIMS OF CIRCUMSTANCE

As noted, everyone plays multiple PCs, ensuring that no one gets kill "off screen". Character creation is simple enough, as PCs have three Inabilities (Unwise, Unluck and Undone) and you have a 7, 8 and 9 that you assign to each stat. When you roll against an Inability (2d6), if you roll under, something not great happens...if you roll it exactly, something epically bad happens.

Unwise is a measure of how not smart a PC is, and thus how likely they are to make...questionable...decisions...like when the lights go out and you hear a noise in the basement.

Unluck is a little better than Unwise, as it's just like likelihood that something will go wrong, not that you screw yourself up. Note: It's still bad. Unluck is used when you're trying to climb through the half broken window on the second floor, for instance.

Undone is both the social stat, and what you use to keep your crap together...i.e., seeing if your PC completely loses it when he boyfriend is found nailed to the bedroom door.

There is also Unharm, which is Hit Points, essentially.

Next, you define all of your PCs with a stereotype (although I might recommend starting with the stereotype and then going to the stats, but that's me). Every Stereotype gets a "free pass", which is something related to their schtick that they don't have to roll for.

Finally, characters get Unreal (think Advantages) and Unthinkable (Disadvantages), of which there are only about four each, so we're not talking a complicated system here.

For a pretty dirt simple system, the author does a GREAT job of suppyling all kinds of examples, both in-game and from films, about how the Inabilities work. The three stats might be a tad simplified, but it's a beer-and-pretzels horror movie game...let it go.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

THe way the group of PCs thing works is that when a character kicks it, you get to add their Unharm to another one of your characters. If you describe the death scene well, you can get more Unharm. This leads to one of your PCs eventually being big enough and bad enough to stand up to the bad guy.

When it's down to the Monsters vs Last Surivors, the Monsters have Inabilities that finally kick in, essentially putting the Monsters and Last Survivors on even footing. Last Survivors ALSO get to reroll doubles, making them even more efficient.

Finally, we get a list of common weapons, and their damage and any special notes that might apply (like getting tangled in barbed wire, or taking damage from electricity until something kicks you loose).

Again, the chapter abounds with examples, including a chainsaw weilding maniac performing an Epic Fail while trying to slice up a victim.

DEAD THINGS WALKING

This is all about Monsters, and the types of set-ups you can use...like a Boss Monster and Minions, like if you wanted to do Dracula and his Brides. This would also work with The Lost Boys, although I think that one would qualify for two bosses.

Among other things, it helpfully reminds you to give your monster a Weakness...with the helpful advice that you can ignore that Weakness come the sequel (see any Nightmare on Elm Street).

The rules for making a monster are real similar to the rules for making a Victim, and take up about a Paragraph...and a lengthy list of alliterative entries as inspiration for your Monsters, ranging from insane animals to demons to zombies and even using unearthly natural disasters are your baddy, each with a relevant movie quote for flavor (the PDF is filled with relevant movie quotes).

RUNNING THE SHOW

This is, essentially, a pair of horror "films" for your game, complete with relevant Monsters. The first is a slasher flick set in a mining camp, complete with three different "twists" to choose from. The second is a combo alien invasion/wheel out the monsters montage.

Even if you don't use the "films" as written, there are some very nice examples of monsters to use to build your own, including (essentially) The Blob, Dracula and Jason Vorhees.

The book ends with the author detailing the 15 year evolution of the game, and his apprehension about releasing it.

CONCLUSION

It's fun.

Seriously, it's a good fun game that can be a blast with the right group. It makes Slasher Flick (with 100 premade archetypes) look like GURPS in comparison, it's that light...but it is very detailed. There shouldn't be much confusion about how to do anything in the game, and the writing is very witty to boot...(seriously, I've never seen so many footnotes in a 25 page PDF)...so if you're wanting a dry, textbook read...this isn't it.

It's definitely NOT for someone wanting a gritty horror experience...it is meant to emulate the schlockiest excesses of the horror film genre, not that that's a bad thing.