What are y'all up to these days?

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I've mentioned before that my home-system heartbreaker project is a reworked Living Steel. But when I was up in Michigan last month for a wake I talked to some of my old gaming crew, and as I'm moving back up there, they wanted me to bring it into my old favorite system, Interlock, because (and I quote) "That system is way too dangerous for anyone to have fun in who isn't a vet too. Your players want to be heroes, not corpses or ICU inmates."

So I'm reworking into Interlock, writing up all the stuff in there, retyping the rules and making further refinements as I go.

It's further complicated by my stubborn use of MS Publisher because 1) I'm too cheap for InDesign, B) I don't like Scribus; and III) I already have MS Pub with my Office 365 subscription. So I do what I can, secure in the knowledge that I'm at least not doing layouts with magazine cutouts or GI Joe dolls.

Anyway, I'm 6 chapters in and I'm finding it frustrating to write down all the rules for combat, probably because deep down, inside, i KNOW that everyone already knows them and why should I have to explain it all? But the answer is because I want to PLAY someday, so I have to put the stuff down on paper so I don't have to be asked.

Pre-coffee rambling complete.

Anyone else already planning on giving FFE more money in a couple days?
 
I've mentioned before that my home-system heartbreaker project is a reworked Living Steel. But when I was up in Michigan last month for a wake I talked to some of my old gaming crew, and as I'm moving back up there, they wanted me to bring it into my old favorite system, Interlock, because (and I quote) "That system is way too dangerous for anyone to have fun in who isn't a vet too. Your players want to be heroes, not corpses or ICU inmates."
And now my interest is piqued:smile:!
I mean, some people think Interlock is too rough for them (many of those play D&D, BTW). What are your rules like that they'd prefer Interlock?

It's further complicated by my stubborn use of MS Publisher because 1) I'm too cheap for InDesign, B) I don't like Scribus; and III) I already have MS Pub with my Office 365 subscription. So I do what I can, secure in the knowledge that I'm at least not doing layouts with magazine cutouts or GI Joe dolls.
OK, you know that was a cheap shot:wink:.
 
And now my interest is piqued:smile:!
I mean, some people think Interlock is too rough for them (many of those play D&D, BTW). What are your rules like that they'd prefer Interlock?
Have you ever played Living Steel or Phoenix Command? My home system was pretty much using the damage table from those (a 0-99 hit location table, where you hit defines the damage based on the Damage Class of the weapon) with a d20 skill system and hit mechanic. I made it when I was deployed and wanted something to run when I came back, but my home crowd was seriously into 3.5 at the time (this was 2010), so I used that as a shell.

As a quick overview, I have some collected examples from the book (none of them EXPLAIN any of the rules, but they do show the complexity and relative lethality:
As an example, Mike (an operator with 3 Combat Actions) moves out from behind cover, assuming a firing stance with his assault rifle (1 CA) and moving 5m. He notices an enemy 40m away and closing, and takes aim while moving another 5m towards his opponent (1CA). With his final action he cannot close the distance any further without breaking his firing stance, so he takes the shot, firing a burst at the opponent (1CA) using the ‘Action’ modifier for accuracy (2 CA spent acquiring the target).

Mike sees another enemy trooper moving across a rooftop 200m away. He takes a knee and changes to single shot fire mode (CA1) and carefully lines up his assault rifle on the target, declaring a Round action of aim. On his next turn, if he can still see the target, he fires a shot at his target, then stands and moves 2.5m (half of a CA’s worth of movement for changing his posture up one stance) while performing a tactical magazine reload (CA2)

Mike’s round fired at the enemy target on the roof is rolled on the “In the Open” location table. The roll is a 42, “Abdomen”. The target is wearing a Armor vest (PF 5), and Mike is using Armor Piercing ammunition in his Assault Rifle (Pen 11, Damage Class 3). Comparing the Pen to the PF, he determines that he will use the ≥2xPF line of the Glance Table. Rolling a D10, he rolls an 8, indicating that he will use Damage Class 1 (Low Velocity Penetration), for 35PD. If the target had not been wearing armor, the same rolls would have resulted in a high velocity penetration at Damage Class 3, for 5000PD.

Mike’s target from the example above has a Con of 14, with KV’s of 14, 28, 42, 56, and 70. He was not wounded prior to being shot in the abdomen, and so his PD total is now 35. He must make a Fortitude Save against a DC of 15 (35 exceeds 28 but not 42).

Mike has had a bad day. In an engagement earlier, he received a shrapnel wound for 20 PD. His +3 CON Modifier reduces this damage to 5 DT, and he is still able to fight at full efficiency.

During another engagement later, he comes under direct fire from a machinegun, and takes two more hits, a flesh wound in his upper arm (50 PD + disabling) and a chest wound (51 PD). He was incapacitated by the second MG hit and, when he recovered, was at a –2 CA penalty, as well as having an arm disabled.

After the engagement, Mike’s 101 PD total is converted to DT. Starting at the 100 PD line on the chart, and moving up 3 entries results in 70 being added to Mike’s DT, resulting in a CA Penalty of 2. With only 1 CA available, Mike will probably be sitting out of missions for a while.

Mike has had ten days to recover from his MG wounds. His initial healing time for 75 DT was 51 days (50 days for 70 DT and 1 day for the extra points), so his current HT remaining is 41 days. Checking the 41 entry on HT indicates that his new DT is 30, but he still has the 2 CA penalty.

Mike’s disabling arm wound is still a problem, however. It will take 37 days (51PD) for the break to heal, and he will most likely remain out of action until he can use both his arms effectively.

Mike has learned his lesson from his previous experiences with automatic weapons, and during the current engagement he has taken cover behind a sandbag wall. He comes under fire from a machinegun spraying the length of his cover (4m), which would normally result in 2 automatic hits (HRAF, 4m spread). Consulting the Cover Protection Factors table, the GM determines that the sand bag wall has a PF of 20 (30cm of hand-packed earth) and notes that this is greater than the PEN of the MG (does not penetrate). Both rounds fail to penetrate the wall. A sniper with an anti-material rifle notices the sounds of Mike’s hysterical laughter, however, and sights in on his location. The rifle’s PEN of 82 tears through the wall (<4x PF), and strikes him in the chest. However, the PF of the wall (20) combined with his chest armor (5) reduces the effect of the round to rolling on the <3x PF line of the Glance Table, significantly improving Mike’s chances of surviving to receive medical attention.

Some time after the previous example, Mike is unfortunate enough to be the recipient of a sniper attack. He takes a 5000 PD hit to his chest, failing his KV roll and becoming incapacitated for 6 days. The PD is converted to 2000 DT, and Mike’s CTP is 28 rounds, with no chance to survive.

Luckily, Mike’s team medic is nearby and rushes to provide First Aid. His assistance increases Mike’s CTP to 15 hours, however there is still no chance that Mike will be able to survive a wound of this severity. A MEDEVAC is called, and Mike is moved to a nearby base with a Field Hospital. Mike’s CTP is now 25 days, but the RR is still a hefty 27. The decision is made to move him again, this time to a theater Trauma Center.

At the Trauma Center, Mike’s CTP is still 25 days, but his RR is now 17. The doctors recommend that Mike remain in the Trauma Center for the full 25 days of his CTP, as well as the extra 3 days to reach the 1/3 of his total HT (84 days). Mike’s team agrees to this (he is still unconscious), and after 25 days Mike will make his RR at a DC of 11. (84-25 = 59, rolled on the 61 line). Additionally, after 28 days, Mike’s new HT is 37 days (84-17(20% of 84) -28 (days healed already) and his DT is a mere 25. Mike is ready for action again, with a –1 CA penalty.

Overall, I've seen someone spend an hour making a character, then (in a practice dry run) try something heroic and get shot for it, rendering them non-combat effective for two months. When he asked me what he was SUPPOSED to do there (he teleported into an ambush that was already ongoing) the answer was "Step 1 is ALWAYS find cover." It's not forgiving.

If you're truly enamored, hit me up in PM and I can email you a copy of the .pdf, but I'd rather not post it, it's chock full of art scans from the original LS books and around the internet. It's a personal use document only.

OK, you know that was a cheap shot:wink:.

Maybe. Like I said when they released The Witcher though, all they have to do is start putting books back out and I'll buy them. Based on that, I think I can make a joking dig at them once in a while for the 3.0 trainwreck.
 
Yep, Dirk worked hard on the OSR version and is very interested to see how it does.

I helped a lot with the standalone system books for the previous multi-book KS under my Jargogle pseudonym. The supplement I just wrote includes a complete new continent called Nuzoz.

It's nice to be chilling out while writing again, and selling Atomic Highway was one of my best decisions.
Would you happen to know what are the plans for the OSR version, supplement-wise? Will the other books also get an OSR version?
 
Would you happen to know what are the plans for the OSR version, supplement-wise? Will the other books also get an OSR version?
I think Dirk is waiting to see how the KS goes, understandably. I personally love the original FAL system (it's simple and elegant) but if the demand is there for the S&W version, who knows?
 
I think Dirk is waiting to see how the KS goes, understandably. I personally love the original FAL system (it's simple and elegant) but if the demand is there for the S&W version, who knows?
I've thought about picking up the FAL version, but an OSR version would probably be more useful because of its compatibility with other OSR materials. So I look forward to pledging for the OSR version.
 
I just realized something quite evil, and I feel like I need to do it.

  1. these doomhand clerics in RHOD have a scroll of animal summoning. I converted it to the lowest level animal summoning spell.
  2. it can summon something within a mile or so.
  3. dire wolves are legitimate targets
  4. the clerics are allied with goblins riding dire wolves, and send them on scouting missions in packs of 6
so... i feel like the clerics go "summon dire wolves!" and it brings a pack of 6 with their goblin riders :smile:
 
Once again the women have led the men astray in our Boot Hill game, this time by resorting to violence and turning potential allies into bitter, vengeful enemies. Their motto seems to be: "Shoot first, ask no questions at all." So...they're all wanted criminals now. :gunslinger:
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Seems like NZ has a few rpg writers and designers down there. Cam Banks moved down there a few months back.
Just wait until they start to outnumber the rest of the hobby. Then you'll see where "down" is on a planetoid:grin:!
 
Have you ever played Living Steel or Phoenix Command? My home system was pretty much using the damage table from those (a 0-99 hit location table, where you hit defines the damage based on the Damage Class of the weapon) with a d20 skill system and hit mechanic. I made it when I was deployed and wanted something to run when I came back, but my home crowd was seriously into 3.5 at the time (this was 2010), so I used that as a shell.
I have played PC. But I don't really remember any shootouts...:smile:
Might be because of our group's tendency towards close combat, and less military-style engagements. We default to "old-school gang fights", instead, so using guns is Serious Business:wink:.

Overall, I've seen someone spend an hour making a character, then (in a practice dry run) try something heroic and get shot for it, rendering them non-combat effective for two months. When he asked me what he was SUPPOSED to do there (he teleported into an ambush that was already ongoing) the answer was "Step 1 is ALWAYS find cover." It's not forgiving.
Well, "find cover" would have been my action. And if I've got the ability to teleport, I'd have teleported outside the ambushing forces, and behind cover...
But I'm not a soldier.

BTW, do you have experience with Millennium's End, too? How do you think they compare?


Maybe. Like I said when they released The Witcher though, all they have to do is start putting books back out and I'll buy them. Based on that, I think I can make a joking dig at them once in a while for the 3.0 trainwreck.
It's between you and them, of course!
I also like The Witcher RPG*, so at least we can agree on this.

*Excluding some of the fluff text where it speaks about putting more power in your swing to cut through armour:grin:!
 
Well, "find cover" would have been my action. And if I've got the ability to teleport, I'd have teleported outside the ambushing forces, and behind cover...
But I'm not a soldier.

BTW, do you have experience with Millennium's End, too? How do you think they compare?

It wasn't access to a teleporter, it's a thing in Living Steel, they can teleport around once every two weeks, but this was his first time being sent in somewhere. Story stuff. And a Soldier's response should be to find cover too.

On ME.. yes. I don't like it as much as I like PC/LS. I did like the impairment totals across the skills based on trauma to location bit, but I thought the use of the the obtuse chart for trauma vs blood loss was a bit hard to follow.
 
So while I was scouring the new for minor villains to use for my Fantastic Four one shot, I got an idea to run another one shot set in the 70's. Which led me to scouring the net for older costumes used by heroes and villains (and wow, some are bad). Settling on a group of 6 heroes, I put together a group shot. The heroes are Torpedo (flying), Black Goliath, Shang Chi, Guardsman (a second rate Iron Man in his original armor), The Cat (Greer Nelson, who went on to become Tigra) and The Dazzler (who actually started in 1981, but was called Disco Dazzler on stage)Group Shot.png

For the bad guys, I totally embraced the cheesy costumes. We have Stilt-Man, Beetle flying in his original costume, then The Melter in his original suit, Leap Frog, Kangaroo and the Top (who later became Whirlwind, a recurring foe of The Avengers)

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Still in the idea stages on this one, as I'm trying to finish writing the FF one shot
 
It wasn't access to a teleporter, it's a thing in Living Steel, they can teleport around once every two weeks, but this was his first time being sent in somewhere.
OK, so he could have teleported on the other side of the ambush and made it into a pincers manoeuvre, right? Preferably to high ground with cover:smile:?

(And if he had a multi-use teleporter, he should have started to send hand grenades with their pins removed over the positions of the ambushers...no, you don't want to give me access to multi-use teleport in almost any game:wink:!)

Story stuff. And a Soldier's response should be to find cover too.
But why just cover? I'd say, pincers+high ground+cover>cover:grin:!

On ME.. yes. I don't like it as much as I like PC/LS. I did like the impairment totals across the skills based on trauma to location bit, but I thought the use of the the obtuse chart for trauma vs blood loss was a bit hard to follow.
Totally agree with you...but I seem to remember there was quite the chart for PC damage, too.
Either way, I'd also prefer to not have to consult charts.
 
Either way, I'd also prefer to not have to consult charts.
Any character sheet is a collection of charts. My answer to that with my D20 LS game was to put that complicated hit-location and damage chart right on the character sheet. Some players didn't understand it, but those were the same players who were happy for me to tell them what the results were.

The ones who understood it (of the playtest group) were ok with it, since it was right there.

Now, the HEALING chart, that was too big to have laying around on the character sheet. And probably too disappointing.
 
Any character sheet is a collection of charts.
Depends. I guess you can say that it's also a collection of charts...but AE6968 Revolver-2, Cutlass-1, Streetwise-1, Grav Vehicle-1, Battle Dress-1 involves a lot less chart checking during play than Millennium's end or what I remember of Phoenix Command:smile:.
(And amusingly, the above example is from a game where unarmoured - or even armoured - personnel in combat always, always look for cover first and foremost:wink:).

My answer to that with my D20 LS game was to put that complicated hit-location and damage chart right on the character sheet. Some players didn't understand it, but those were the same players who were happy for me to tell them what the results were.
That's an option, too!

Now, the HEALING chart, that was too big to have laying around on the character sheet. And probably too disappointing.
Ah, so it's like my famous Healing Rules which my players resumed in one sentence:tongue:?

The sentence, of course, is "Don't You Get Hurt No More" (very rough translation:grin:)!
 
...The Dazzler (who actually started in 1981, but was called Disco Dazzler on stage)View attachment 8726
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Dazzler's first appearance was in X-Men #130, which was cover-dated February 1980, which means it was on newsstands probably around October 1979 (note the copyright date on the cover). So you're all good with the '70s! I would buy your team's comic book. It reminds me of the oddball conglomerate Champions.
 
Dazzler's first appearance was in X-Men #130, which was cover-dated February 1980, which means it was on newsstands probably around October 1979 (note the copyright date on the cover). So you're all good with the '70s! I would buy your team's comic book. It reminds me of the oddball conglomerate Champions.

The Champions is one of my main inspirations for the concept. I loved that comic
 
I would buy your team's comic book. It reminds me of the oddball conglomerate Champions.
Honestly, it sounds better than the Champions, which, let's be honest, was a pretty stinky comic book series.

(which is annoying because the Champions actually had a pretty interesting mix of characters - for any given social situation you might have thrown at them, it's easy to visualize each character having a different reaction due to their varied backgrounds - but that potential was completely squandered as the series was actually written)
 
The Champions is one of my main inspirations for the concept. I loved that comic
Didn't see your post here when I was responding to Dumarest. Sorry if that post came off as overly harsh.
 
Honestly, it sounds better than the Champions, which, let's be honest, was a pretty stinky comic book series.

(which is annoying because the Champions actually had a pretty interesting mix of characters - for any given social situation you might have thrown at them, it's easy to visualize each character having a different reaction due to their varied backgrounds - but that potential was completely squandered as the series was actually written)

Towards the end, when it crossed over with Supervillain Team Up (when Magneto was trying to save the world from Doctor Doom of all people), it wasn't so bad. I liked the cheese factor. Plus it did give us Darkstar, who I always liked. And the villain Rampage, who was a three bit Iron Man wannabe (but his exoskeleton looked cool at the time).

I'm thinking of throwing in Doc Samson, just so I can use the original villainous Power Man (who became Atlas of the Thunderbolts later on) as one of the bad guys.

I was going to just do some cheesy plot using the villains I put together, but now I'm sort of leaning towards a contest between The Grandmaster and Kang, with Kang controlling the villains
 
Didn't see your post here when I was responding to Dumarest. Sorry if that post came off as overly harsh.

Not at all. I agree with a lot of what you wrote about that comic. The inspiration is mainly due to the cheese factor from a lot of these comics back then, so I take no offence :smile:
 
Towards the end, when it crossed over with Supervillain Team Up (when Magneto was trying to save the world from Doctor Doom of all people), it wasn't so bad. I liked the cheese factor. Plus it did give us Darkstar, who I always liked. And the villain Rampage, who was a three bit Iron Man wannabe (but his exoskeleton looked cool at the time).

I'm thinking of throwing in Doc Samson, just so I can use the original villainous Power Man (who became Atlas of the Thunderbolts later on) as one of the bad guys.

I was going to just do some cheesy plot using the villains I put together, but now I'm sort of leaning towards a contest between The Grandmaster and Kang, with Kang controlling the villains
Not at all. I agree with a lot of what you wrote about that comic. The inspiration is mainly due to the cheese factor from a lot of these comics back then, so I take no offence :smile:
Overdone! Use Hypno-Hustler in place of The Grandmaster and The Big Wheel in place of Kang!
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Towards the end, when it crossed over with Supervillain Team Up (when Magneto was trying to save the world from Doctor Doom of all people), it wasn't so bad.
Wasn't Byrne working on the series near the end of its run? I have issues with Byrne, but yeah the latter issues are much better than the early part of the run.

I'm thinking of throwing in Doc Samson, just so I can use the original villainous Power Man (who became Atlas of the Thunderbolts later on) as one of the bad guys.
I like both Samson and Atlas as characters, so that sounds like a winner to me!
 
Also, if you're going to have (Doc) Samson and (soon to be) Atlas in this, you really need to make a Captain Marvel joke sometime during the game.
 
I had looked at Matador, but I forgot about Locust
 
Forgot?! How is that even possible?

What's funny is, I remember reading the X-Men comic he was in. But that was in the 70's or so, so it has been awhile. Other than the cinematic stuff, I haven't been reading much Marvel of late (mostly smaller press stuff), but I have been picking up older digital trades on Comixology and such. Like the early runs of Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Shang Chi, and all the Captain Mar-Vell comics. I do have the first 50 or so issues of X-Men via comixology, but haven't started reading them yet. I will, just haven't been in the right mood. Maybe after Dark Phoenix.
 
Dazzler's first appearance was in X-Men #130, which was cover-dated February 1980, which means it was on newsstands probably around October 1979 (note the copyright date on the cover). So you're all good with the '70s! I would buy your team's comic book. It reminds me of the oddball conglomerate Champions.

I loved Dazzler as a kid. Either because of my crush on Olivia Newton John or a budding appreciation of camp. I was an odd kid. Or just because she is awesome? I like colourful superheroes.

Apparently Dazzler will be in the upcoming Dark Phoenix film, they had a scene where they showed one of her albums in a record store in the last film. Looking forward to it.

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I loved Dazzler as a kid. Either because of my crush on Olivia Newton John or a budding appreciation of camp. I was an odd kid. Or just because she is awesome? I like colourful superheroes.

Apparently Dazzler will be in the upcoming Dark Phoenix film, they had a scene where they showed one of her albums in a record store in the last film. Looking forward to it.
I liked her best when they had Frank Springer doing soap opera art.
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Holy, Hypno-Hustler looks superbad.
I assume his band covers James Brown.
Super-Bad-James-Brown.jpg
 
What's funny is, I remember reading the X-Men comic he was in. But that was in the 70's or so, so it has been awhile. Other than the cinematic stuff, I haven't been reading much Marvel of late (mostly smaller press stuff), but I have been picking up older digital trades on Comixology and such. Like the early runs of Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Shang Chi, and all the Captain Mar-Vell comics. I do have the first 50 or so issues of X-Men via comixology, but haven't started reading them yet. I will, just haven't been in the right mood. Maybe after Dark Phoenix.
I've read or at least skimmed every issue of the original series (plus guest appearances, etc) so they're still fairly fresh in my mind. Fair warning- the book is great under Jack Kirby, then doesn't get truly good again until Roy Thomas returns with Neal Adams in tow (for all of like 5 or 6 issues before it gets cancelled). It's in that BIG in-between period where we get winners like El Tigre, Mekano, Frankenstein's Monster and, of course, the aforementioned Locust. Wheeeee!
 
I had read most of the early X-men via reprints in the past. I do remember Mekano as well. I almost used him as one of the villains lol. I also considered Big Wheel (and still might, as I keep changing my mind on who to use). Hypno Hustler I knew of but hadn't considered. He might actually work well for this. Now I need to find a good image of him lol
 
Not what you're looking for, but still pretty funny-

I actually saw that when I was looking for an image of Hypno Hustler. If I knew it wouldn't offend too many people, I think running a DC/Marvel crossover game that is basically a superhero blaxploitation movie would be kind of fun. Luke Cage's early rogues gallery was a blaxploitation dream team. Some of Black Lightning's were too
 
I’m preparing a campaign inspired by Kingdom Death and Dark Souls. It will be using a hacked version of D&D 5e:
  • No skills: proficiency by class and background (alternate rules from the DMG)
  • No ability scores: only modifiers (max of +5). Which leads to:
  • No feats. Character just get +1 to an ability score of their choice when they get to the right level.
  • Hit dice will play a much larger role, including being used on the fly during boss fights (« Hunts » in Kingdom Death). Also, several items will use HD as currency, and characters can gain more from upgrading their settlement.
  • Stress, Fatigue and “slot” encumbrance rules from “Darker Dungeons”.
Very excited about this...
 
I actually saw that when I was looking for an image of Hypno Hustler. If I knew it wouldn't offend too many people, I think running a DC/Marvel crossover game that is basically a superhero blaxploitation movie would be kind of fun. Luke Cage's early rogues gallery was a blaxploitation dream team. Some of Black Lightning's were too
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