The Nerd's RPG Variety Cast, er, Blog

Day 12 Main Prompt: RPG with well supported campaigns

Palladium Book’s most infamous game, Rifts, comes to mind. Throughout the many, many supplements are the seeds and outlines for I don’t know how many campaigns and adventures that can be woven together into campaigns. The support is in the many supplements with more ideas than you could ever use in a dozen campaigns. The potential downside is the need to do some of the heavy lifting yourself, the game master will need to take the time to fill in gaps and make everything work but the building blocks are all here for that self starting GM with too much time on their hands.

Day 12 Alternate Prompt: Parallel Worlds and my d10 roll is a 3, Write a Bulletin Board Quest.

Your first brush with parallel worlds was probably the StarGate movie or TV show or perhaps Sliders even though both were predated by the tabletop roleplaying game Fringeworthy by Tri Tac Games. Of course parallel worlds and the idea of the multiverse is common throughout all media these days. Who knew that the technology to explore those worlds really does exist! More amazingly who knew you would be drafted to help explore those worlds. Time to check the bulletin board to see what new missions are available. While you are sometimes assigned urgent missions the higher ups quickly found with civilian recruits it was better to let the teams have some choice in the worlds they explored. Here’s a promising one:

Initial exploration shows the majority of our world’s United States of America under the Spanish flag with the French flag flying over Canada and our Northeastern states. Retrieve records of this parallel world’s history to see where it diverged from our own.

That’s all for today, until tomorrow be excellent to each other!

August is #RPGaDay2024 and I am going to posting daily responses to the prompts. You can find more information about #RPGaDAY2024 here: https://www.autocratik.com/2024/07/announcing-rpgaday2024-for-august.html

There are two sets of prompts this year and since I have room to do so on the blog I will answer both. In episode S2E6 of my podcast titled RPGaDAY2024 Panel Discussion I assemble an esteemed panel and we go through the main prompts for the entire month’s so I will try to give different answers here on the blog but may end up repeating myself occasionally.  

On their podcast Mirke the Meek suggested using the alternate prompts to create a setting and that is a great idea so I’m going to steal that. The setting I am going to craft for this month will be a modern, conspiracy style setting. Nominally I think we’ll set it in the 1970’s to avoid the problems cell phones and the internet can cause if player characters have access to them.

Here are the main prompts:

And here are a set of alternative prompts suggested by Skala Wyzwania, look at the day on the left, pick the theme, then roll d10. 

Day 11 Main Prompt: RPG with well supported one-shots

One Shot RPG (OSRPG) is not only well supported with a ton of adventures in a number of different genres but they are pay what you want! The system is sort of a lighter, improved version of Call of Cthulhu / BRP. You can find them here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/4266/one-shot-rpg

Day 11 Alternate Prompt: Invasion and my d10 roll is a 8, Present an idea of random encounter.

Now you have done it, you had to enter the hive. You couldn’t wait for reinforcements, heck your comms aren’t getting out due to some sort of interference. But if you don’t find the missing children soon there won’t be anything left to bring back to their parents.

1d4 Giant Ants, every four rounds the combat continues roll for reinforcements, not the friendly kind. Good luck!

That’s all for today, until tomorrow be excellent to each other!

August is #RPGaDay2024 and I am going to posting daily responses to the prompts. You can find more information about #RPGaDAY2024 here: https://www.autocratik.com/2024/07/announcing-rpgaday2024-for-august.html

There are two sets of prompts this year and since I have room to do so on the blog I will answer both. In episode S2E6 of my podcast titled RPGaDAY2024 Panel Discussion I assemble an esteemed panel and we go through the main prompts for the entire month’s so I will try to give different answers here on the blog but may end up repeating myself occasionally.  

On their podcast Mirke the Meek suggested using the alternate prompts to create a setting and that is a great idea so I’m going to steal that. The setting I am going to craft for this month will be a modern, conspiracy style setting. Nominally I think we’ll set it in the 1970’s to avoid the problems cell phones and the internet can cause if player characters have access to them.

Here are the main prompts:

And here are a set of alternative prompts suggested by Skala Wyzwania, look at the day on the left, pick the theme, then roll d10. 

Day 10 Main Prompt: RPG you’d like to see on TV

What RPG could TV do justice to? It is popular belief, I’m not sure if it has been verified for certain, that the series Firefly was based on a Traveller campaign. I think TV did Firefly justice so maybe this prompt isn’t so crazy after all.

Of my favorite games I think the one that would be well served by a TV show would be Colonial Gothic. It is a time period most people are familiar enough with, there are plenty of great social and ethical dilemmas, plus who isn’t a fan of the Headless Horseman? You could adjust this easily to anytime in the 18th Century if you didn’t want to focus on the American War of Independence.

Day 10 Alternate Prompt: Steampunk and my d10 roll is a 7, Create a simple mechanic.

It is no secret that I am not a fan of steampunk. It just isn’t my jam. That said I do have a great board game called Incursion which mixes steampunk into WWII that I enjoy so I don’t believe that I can claim to actually hate steampunk, how’s that for staying positive?

Reliability for weird science devices.

Here at the tail end of the 19th century most of our products are fairly reliable. Eli Whitney did a great job pioneering mass production and Samual Colt proved that you could apply that to the mass production of things like revolvers. The one off creations of weird scientists don’t have the same reliability as the parts have to be hand crafted and fitted, often by a scientist who is paying more attention to the theory behind their next invention than the fine details of the part they are currently filing down.

Translate the skill of the inventor into a percentage, so if they have 11 with a maximum of 20 that would be 55% or if they have 3 out of 6 it would be 50%. Roll 2d10. If the job was rushed or done without proper facilities or materials use whichever die is higher as the tens digit so a 2 and a 7 would be 72. If they had extra time, special assistance, or otherwise an optimal situation to craft the device use whichever die is lower as the tens digit. If the situation was neither really poor or really good just do a straight 2d10 roll reading them as percentile dice. Success means the device is reliable and failure means it will fail at a time of the game master’s choosing.

That’s all for today, until tomorrow be excellent to each other!

August is #RPGaDay2024 and I am going to posting daily responses to the prompts. You can find more information about #RPGaDAY2024 here: https://www.autocratik.com/2024/07/announcing-rpgaday2024-for-august.html

There are two sets of prompts this year and since I have room to do so on the blog I will answer both. In episode S2E6 of my podcast titled RPGaDAY2024 Panel Discussion I assemble an esteemed panel and we go through the main prompts for the entire month’s so I will try to give different answers here on the blog but may end up repeating myself occasionally.  

On their podcast Mirke the Meek suggested using the alternate prompts to create a setting and that is a great idea so I’m going to steal that. The setting I am going to craft for this month will be a modern, conspiracy style setting. Nominally I think we’ll set it in the 1970’s to avoid the problems cell phones and the internet can cause if player characters have access to them.

Here are the main prompts:

And here are a set of alternative prompts suggested by Skala Wyzwania, look at the day on the left, pick the theme, then roll d10. 

Day 9 Main Prompt: An accessory you’d like to see

This is a tough one. I’m a pretty simple guy, give me a set of rules, some dice (and/or cards if needed), pencil & paper and I am pretty happy. If I have a game master’s screen or quick reference sheet for the rules all the better! I use dice towers and dice trays but of course they are already out there. As far as electronic support it doesn’t get any better than the The Crawler’s Companion by Purple Sorcerer Games for Dungeon Crawl Classics. If you play DCC I can’t begin to express how helpful this is, check it out here: https://purplesorcerer.com/crawler.php

But none of that helps me answer the prompt!

I would like a device like a Kindle Paperwhite, a super lightweight reader with long battery life, designed from the ground up for optimal presentation of RPG PDFs. This device might exist but I am not aware of it. I don’t need an iPad or the ability to do anything but be the best PDF reading device it can be.

Day 9 Alternate Prompt: Heroes and my d10 roll is a 6, Create a random table.

Heroes, every world needs them. They might have super powers or they might just have heart but we all need heroes to look up to, to admire, and to encourage us. Of course the danger in the real world is that your hero might have a skeleton hiding in their closet…

Hero’s Dark Secrets Table (Roll 1d20) (These are purposely vague to give you room to interpret them and not every hero should have one of these)

1 Hidden Criminal Record

2 Is Secretly a Mutant

3 Is Secretly an Extraterrestrial

4 Is Racist

5 Belongs to a Cult

6 Stolen Valor

7 Secret Vice

8 Family Problems

9 Bad With Kids

10 Is a Cad

11 Paranoid

12 Has a Phobia

13 Has Unpopular Political Beliefs

14 Vain

15 Acts Superior

16 Routinely Plants Evidence

17 Enjoys Hurting Animals

18 Uses Excessive Force and Enjoys It

19 Odious Personal Habits

20 Is Really a Super Villain

That’s all for today, until tomorrow be excellent to each other!

August is #RPGaDay2024 and I am going to posting daily responses to the prompts. You can find more information about #RPGaDAY2024 here: https://www.autocratik.com/2024/07/announcing-rpgaday2024-for-august.html

There are two sets of prompts this year and since I have room to do so on the blog I will answer both. In episode S2E6 of my podcast titled RPGaDAY2024 Panel Discussion I assemble an esteemed panel and we go through the main prompts for the entire month’s so I will try to give different answers here on the blog but may end up repeating myself occasionally.  

On their podcast Mirke the Meek suggested using the alternate prompts to create a setting and that is a great idea so I’m going to steal that. The setting I am going to craft for this month will be a modern, conspiracy style setting. Nominally I think we’ll set it in the 1970’s to avoid the problems cell phones and the internet can cause if player characters have access to them.

Here are the main prompts:

And here are a set of alternative prompts suggested by Skala Wyzwania, look at the day on the left, pick the theme, then roll d10. 

Day 8 Main Prompt: An accessory you appreciate

Physical dice. Even though I almost exclusively play online these days I still strongly prefer physical dice and use them instead of online tools whenever possible. Dice can be something you collect, I have a feeling most of us have not only multiple sets but also a number of interesting dice that may have never been used in a game but that we bought because they looked neat or had a gimmick on one side. Dice also fill that tactile need some players have, a connection between the real world of their table and the imaginary world of the roleplaying game itself.

Day 8 Alternate Prompt: experiment and my d10 roll is a 9, Write an eavedroppable dialogue.

“You have gone too far! Can you not see that this is knowledge we are not meant to know?! Please Professor, stop this before it is too late!”

“I am surprised Brinks, I thought you wanted to find out the truth behind reality? I must have been mistaken, we have one minor setback and you are ready to throw in the towel.”

“You call that a minor setback, Professor? He is a vegetable! We fried his brain, we might as well have put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger.”

“Tsk, tsk Brinks, he was homeless. No one will miss him and the hogs will eat well tomorrow. The important thing is that we made progress! Perhaps what you need to focus on is the fact you aren’t blameless in the eyes of the authorities anymore. You picked him, you brought him here, you injected him.”

“Trapped, you have outwitted me and trapped me Professor.”

“Of course I have. Now there is no need to pout, accept that we are working on something larger than the life of a few homeless bums. Let us move on to the vivisection, I think we might find some new surprises this time…”

That’s all for today, until tomorrow be excellent to each other!

August is #RPGaDay2024 and I am going to posting daily responses to the prompts. You can find more information about #RPGaDAY2024 here: https://www.autocratik.com/2024/07/announcing-rpgaday2024-for-august.html

There are two sets of prompts this year and since I have room to do so on the blog I will answer both. In episode S2E6 of my podcast titled RPGaDAY2024 Panel Discussion I assemble an esteemed panel and we go through the main prompts for the entire month’s so I will try to give different answers here on the blog but may end up repeating myself occasionally.  

On their podcast Mirke the Meek suggested using the alternate prompts to create a setting and that is a great idea so I’m going to steal that. The setting I am going to craft for this month will be a modern, conspiracy style setting. Nominally I think we’ll set it in the 1970’s to avoid the problems cell phones and the internet can cause if player characters have access to them.

Here are the main prompts:

And here are a set of alternative prompts suggested by Skala Wyzwania, look at the day on the left, pick the theme, then roll d10. 

Day 7 Main Prompt: RPG with “good form”

I will define “good form” as well written, clear, in a usable format and pleasing to the eye. One of the first games I ever owned fits this to a “T”, TSR’s Marvel Super Heroes Basic Boxed Set from 1984 designed by Jeff Grubb. The Battle Book is an intro to the game that provides the very basic information a player needs to get started in just 16 pages. The boxed set also has pregens in the form of cards with the hero’s picture on the front and game information on the back. There is a more in-depth Campaign Book that the Judge (game master) will need to read but it is only 48 pages in length so you could buy this and conceivably play it the same day as there is even a 16 page adventure included. The set also includes a great map, tokens and dice.

Marvel Super Heroes, like Boot HIll, draws on tropes most people are already familiar with and the setting is very accessible to anyone that has picked up an issue of Spiderman. Speaking of Spiderman one neat thing these books do is use Marvel characters throughout not only as examples but to explain how the rules work. The art is well done and the overall the presentation is top notch.

I haven’t played this game for years but would love to get it back to the table, I have fond memories of playing during the 1980s. I hear great things about DC Heroes but this, and later Palladium Books’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness / Heroes Unlimited, were our super hero games of choice.

Picture is from Wayne’s Books, let me take a minute to give a well deserved shout out to Wayne’s Books. Not only do they buy and sell older RPGs like the better known Noble Knight but they also provide a RPG Reference where you can find very useful notes on a number of older games. I have done business with them in the past and heartily recommend them. Check out the RPG Reference here: http://www.waynesbooks.com/index.html

Day 7 Alternate Prompt: Forgotten City and my d10 roll is a 10, Draw!

I love the idea of lost and forgotten cities. I especially like the idea of a city you can only access at certain times for a limited amount of time. Here Indy and Short Round come across a forgotten city deep in the Jungle that you can only access for 24 hours once every 10 years.

That’s all for today, until tomorrow be excellent to each other!

August is #RPGaDay2024 and I am going to posting daily responses to the prompts. You can find more information about #RPGaDAY2024 here: https://www.autocratik.com/2024/07/announcing-rpgaday2024-for-august.html

There are two sets of prompts this year and since I have room to do so on the blog I will answer both. In episode S2E6 of my podcast titled RPGaDAY2024 Panel Discussion I assemble an esteemed panel and we go through the main prompts for the entire month’s so I will try to give different answers here on the blog but may end up repeating myself occasionally.  

On their podcast Mirke the Meek suggested using the alternate prompts to create a setting and that is a great idea so I’m going to steal that. The setting I am going to craft for this month will be a modern, conspiracy style setting. Nominally I think we’ll set it in the 1970’s to avoid the problems cell phones and the internet can cause if player characters have access to them.

Here are the main prompts:

And here are a set of alternative prompts suggested by Skala Wyzwania, look at the day on the left, pick the theme, then roll d10. 

Day 6 Main Prompt: RPG that is easy to use. 

I am going to mention two games today, both are free to download.

The first is Dan “Delta” Collins’ OED. It uses the Target 20 system which replaces Attack Rolls, Saving Throws, Thief Skills, and more with the following simple formula: d20 + level + modifiers, a result of 20 or more is a success. It is designed for OD&D although you can easily use it with B/X or any number of OSR games. 

You can read more about Target 20 here: http://www.oedgames.com/target20/

You can download OED, which is Dan’s version of OD&D using Target 20 and his house rules which among other things remove clerics, here: http://www.oedgames.com/

The second game I want to mention is Brandon Goeringer’s Pocket Fantasy RPG. It is a simplified OSR system that uses a single d6. Pocket Fantasy RPG was designed as a ruleset suitable for last minute pickup games but it definitely has enough heft for ongoing games as well. The core game is just 4 pages. There are a number of expansions and adventures available as well as a science fiction version. 

You can find Pocket Fantasy RPG here: https://pocketfantasyrpg.wordpress.com/

Day 6 Alternate Prompt: Portal and my roll on the d10 is a 5 which is “Write a Legend or Rumor.”

What is a conspiracy game without the Hollow Earth? The legendary portal in question goes into the hollow earth to a realm of mystery and wonder, dinosaurs and danger! This portal’s location is hidden, on both sides of the portal. Most sources say the portals are at the North and South Poles but what if they were along the equator instead? 

For source material I recommend Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Pellucidar books, and of course the DC Comics featuring Mike Grell’s Travis Morgan, The Warlord. 

That’s all for today, until tomorrow be excellent to each other!

August is #RPGaDay2024 and I am going to posting daily responses to the prompts. You can find more information about #RPGaDAY2024 here: https://www.autocratik.com/2024/07/announcing-rpgaday2024-for-august.html

There are two sets of prompts this year and since I have room to do so on the blog I will answer both. In episode S2E6 of my podcast titled RPGaDAY2024 Panel Discussion I assemble an esteemed panel and we go through the main prompts for the entire month’s so I will try to give different answers here on the blog but may end up repeating myself occasionally.  

On their podcast Mirke the Meek suggested using the alternate prompts to create a setting and that is a great idea so I’m going to steal that. The setting I am going to craft for this month will be a modern, conspiracy style setting. Nominally I think we’ll set it in the 1970’s to avoid the problems cell phones and the internet can cause if player characters have access to them.

Here are the main prompts:

And here are a set of alternative prompts suggested by Skala Wyzwania, look at the day on the left, pick the theme, then roll d10. 

August is #RPGaDay2024 and I am going to posting daily responses to the prompts. You can find more information about #RPGaDAY2024 here: https://www.autocratik.com/2024/07/announcing-rpgaday2024-for-august.html

There are two sets of prompts this year and since I have room to do so on the blog I will answer both. In episode S2E6 of my podcast titled RPGaDAY2024 Panel Discussion I assemble an esteemed panel and we go through the main prompts for the entire month’s so I will try to give different answers here on the blog but may end up repeating myself occasionally.  

On their podcast Mirke the Meek suggested using the alternate prompts to create a setting and that is a great idea so I’m going to steal that. The setting I am going to craft for this month will be a modern, conspiracy style setting. Nominally I think we’ll set it in the 1970’s to avoid the problems cell phones and the internet can cause if player characters have access to them.

Here are the main prompts:

And here are a set of alternative prompts suggested by Skala Wyzwania, look at the day on the left, pick the theme, then roll d10. 

Day 5 Main Prompt: RPG with great writing. 

Another tough one, how do we define great writing? I’m going to say entertaining enough that you enjoy reading it for its own sake as opposed to just looking up rules questions on occasion. With that in mind one line I return to again and again for inspiration and to just read through (also to look at the art) are the games by Palladium Books. 

Palladium has some of the best settings and core ideas in the industry and their adventures with detailed and interesting NPCs are inspirational even if you don’t run them. The books may not be the best organized and easy to use but they are endlessly entertaining. 

Day 5 Alternate Prompt: Fairies and my roll on the d10 is a 6 which is “Create a Random Table.”

Random Fairy Table

1 Leprechaun

2 Red Cap

3 Pixie

4 Joint-eater

5 Brownie

6 Banshee

7 Selkie 

8 Moss People

9 Nine-Tailed Fox

10 Bluecap 

 

That’s all for today, until tomorrow be excellent to each other!

August is #RPGaDay2024 and I am going to posting daily responses to the prompts. You can find more information about #RPGaDAY2024 here: https://www.autocratik.com/2024/07/announcing-rpgaday2024-for-august.html

There are two sets of prompts this year and since I have room to do so on the blog I will answer both. In episode S2E6 of my podcast titled RPGaDAY2024 Panel Discussion I assemble an esteemed panel and we go through the main prompts for the entire month’s so I will try to give different answers here on the blog but may end up repeating myself occasionally.  

On their podcast Mirke the Meek suggested using the alternate prompts to create a setting and that is a great idea so I’m going to steal that. The setting I am going to craft for this month will be a modern, conspiracy style setting. Nominally I think we’ll set it in the 1970’s to avoid the problems cell phones and the internet can cause if player characters have access to them.

Here are the main prompts:

And here are a set of alternative prompts suggested by Skala Wyzwania, look at the day on the left, pick the theme, then roll d10. 

Day 4 Main Prompt: RPG with great art. 

There are so many! I’m sure it is nostalgia but I still love the art in early TSR products. The sense of humor that comes through and the quirkiness of the implied setting really sits well with me. 

Tri Tac games also deserve a shout out for the fun art in them. Bureau 13 Stalking the Night Fantastic is probably their most famous game and it is well worth checking out, I did a hour long episode gushing over it a while back. 

In the same vein I am taken by the art in Machineguns & Magic a game from 1991 that is now available through Precis Media as part of their classic reprints line. I am not in love with the cover of the reprint but the interior art is well worth the price of admission.

Day 4 Alternate Prompt: Cosmos and my d10 roll is a 1 which is “Describe a Monster”

The Cosmos of this setting is much like our own and there is no question that a battle is being waged with humanity being mere pieces used by powers beyond our ken in their contest against each other. These great powers reach into our reality from their own to wage a war to see which will dominate. Instead of fighting directly they pick champions and pawns to represent their interests until they are killed or worn out at which time they are discarded for new ones. 

If that was all it would be enough but no, dear reader, there are other forces at work in the Cosmos, other life outside of the sphere we hurl through space on in such blissful ignorance. Other star faring civilizations and entities that on occasion take interest in the curious creatures called humans. 

One example are known as The Greys. They can take different appearances but often seem to be thin, grey skinned creatures the size of children with large, hairless heads and piercing black eyes. They are the masters of technology flying craft that do impossible feats in our atmosphere. In addition they are curious, they will kidnap and experiment on humans, on occasion even implanting devices in them, often for no discernible purpose. The Greys will use devices to try and paralyze their prey or anyone that they deem a threat. They will either leave them, if the victim is lucky, or take the victim back to their craft where they will strive to understand what makes that poor soul “tick.” They are physically weak and if one can avoid being paralyzed overcoming them in a physical fight will not be difficult. 

That’s all for today, until tomorrow be excellent to each other!

August is #RPGaDay2024 and I am going to posting daily responses to the prompts. You can find more information about #RPGaDAY2024 here: https://www.autocratik.com/2024/07/announcing-rpgaday2024-for-august.html

There are two sets of prompts this year and since I have room to do so on the blog I will answer both. In episode S2E6 of my podcast titled RPGaDAY2024 Panel Discussion I assemble an esteemed panel and we go through the main prompts for the entire month’s so I will try to give different answers here on the blog but may end up repeating myself occasionally.  

On their podcast Mirke the Meek suggested using the alternate prompts to create a setting and that is a great idea so I’m going to steal that. The setting I am going to craft for this month will be a modern, conspiracy style setting. Nominally I think we’ll set it in the 1970’s to avoid the problems cell phones and the internet can cause if player characters have access to them.

Here are the main prompts:

And here are a set of alternative prompts suggested by Skala Wyzwania, look at the day on the left, pick the theme, then roll d10. 

Day 3 Main Prompt: Most Often Played RPG.

I am in three ongoing games all of which are over a year old. The Reaver game I mentioned yesterday, a Pathfinder 1E game running through the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path, and a play by post En Garde! game on Discord. In Reaver I play a rogue, more of a soccer hooligan, by the name of Brutus who looks a lot like Jason Stratham. In Pathfinder I am playing a Dwarf Monk by the name of Randur and finally in En Garde! I am on my second character, Major Claude du Raines, my first died serving his country at the front. 

Day 3 Alternate Prompt: Demonology and my d10 roll is a 9 which is “Write an Eavedroppable Dialogue”  

Here is a conversation that might be overheard while outside the window of a suspect’s study, an exclusive club for the elite, deep in the sewers, or any college campus.

Voice 1 “Preparations are almost complete, we will move forward with the ceremony tonight!”

Voice 2 “I don’t know, it feels we are rushing this. Perhaps we should wait one more cycle. The authorities are starting to take notice of the disappearances.”

Voice 1 “That is of no consequence, after this sacrifice the ritual will be complete and IT will be here. Even if they can connect us to the disappearances they will have bigger problems and we will relocate to the next nexus point to continue the work of preparing this world for The Master’s return.”

Voice 2 “Very well, I will let those moronic bikers know that the distraction must happen at 10:30 tonight, the authorities will be so busy dealing with it that we will be finished and gone before anyone knows what happened.”

Voice 1 “Let it be done.”

That’s all for today, until tomorrow be excellent to each other!