Narcosmos: The Tiger-Soul Rainbow Quintessence

Earlier this year, Rafael Chandler shepherded #Narcosa to life -- a collaborative, psychedelic OSR megacompendium available for free. (You can download it right now, if you don't already have it.)

Now, he's rallying the G+ gaming community (and beyond) to create #Narcosmos, a collaborative, psychedelic megacompendium IN SPACE. Obviously, I can't NOT participate.

My contributions will be easily adaptable to your favorite Old School RPG, and these could be considered Crawljammer bonus features. The stuff that the Crawljammer overlords don't officially want you to see, because Crawljammer is printed in black and white, and these ideas are in mind-altering technicolor (as my first entry will demonstrate)!

So, here we go...launching Narcosmos...

The Tiger-Soul Rainbow Quintessence
In your travels through the psychosphere, you may encounter the Tiger-Soul Rainbow Quintessence in one of two ways: (1) it stalks you from the edges of your consciousness as you fly through the void of space or teleport to a distant world, then pounces and devours you hours later, or (2) you slowly, terrifyingly begin to realize that you have been trapped inside the creature for weeks, and it has already begun feeding off your psychic energy. In the latter case, you must escape or transform. There is no alternative.

A psychic amalgam of lost souls and desperation, the Tiger-Soul Rainbow Quintessence appears in its primary form as a hint of light at the edges of your eyes, then when you are alone -- the first around a corner, the last in a room -- it strikes. Horrifyingly, gorgeously vibrant in its hues of pink and green and purple, throbbing with the majesty of prismatic mind-energy, the great cat-shaped creature bares its blurred teeth and lunges at the core of your being.

Tiger-Soul Rainbow Quintessence (Animal Form): AC 2 (17); MV 50'; HD 7; #AT 3: claw/claw/bite (1d8/1d8/1d12). On a successful bite attack, save vs. death or the Tiger-Soul deals 1d6 damage to your Intelligence and Constitution and instantly transports you back to its lair -- a small black hole in the psychosphere.

Your adventuring companions may follow the trail to the beast's lair to recover your body through astral projection or planar travel or spirit walking via shamanistic means, but unless you are prepared to confront the Tiger-Soul Rainbow Quintessence on your own, you should think twice before journeying across time and space.

The secondary, and more terrifying, aspect of the Tiger-Soul is in its abstracted form. To a visionary or a seer, its abstracted form would look like a 30' tall translucent, rainbow-hued tiger, surrounding its victim like a ghostly shell, mimicking its every move, leeching energy with every step. To the victim, and to anyone without a psychic connection to the spirit world, the creature is intangible and invisible. You only become aware of it in your dreams, after 1d4 weeks of living inside the creatures unreal aura, and when your consciousness fully accepts that you have become inextricably linked to this extradimensional creature, you cannot escape. Only a banish spell or the equivalent will send the beast away and detach your psychic umbilicus. Otherwise, you will lose 1d4 hit points per day after the moment of realization occurs...until you die, and then your departing consciousness will transform into the animal aspect of the Tiger-Soul Rainbow Quintessence yourself, first lurking in the shadows of the psychosphere, seeking a lair in which to rest, then hunting your own prey across the reaches of spacetime, then, after 100 years, growing larger and more abstract until there is nothing left but to continue the cycle anew.

Tiger-Soul Rainbow Quintessence (Abstract Form): AC -2 (21); MV 100'; HD 15; #AT 1: bite (1d20). The Abstract form of the Tiger-Soul is invisible and intangible, and can only be damaged by psychic energy and soul-bound weapons. A Tiger-Soul linked to a victim will drain 1d4 hit points per day and add those hit points to her own total. Only a banish spell (or its equivalent) will dissolve the connection with its victim, sending the great beast away, but a system shock check is needed or the victim will immediately die after being disconnected from the Tiger-Soul Rainbow Quintessence.

Promethean Lance Omega -- by Mark Malone

Contributor Mark Malone recently posted a "Director's Cut" version of Crawljammer #3's Promethean Lance as a G+ reply, and I asked him if I could share the revised and updated version with our readers and here it is! This one is nastier, because it has its own Crit and Fumble tables! Enjoy!

THE PROMETHEAN LANCE OMEGA
Phlogiston is an unstable, extremely volatile energy, an element of pure chaos. While it can be tapped into by Wizards and Technomancers alike, it is impossible to contain, or so it is believed. Legends tell of an ancient order of Techno-Wizards, known as The Illuminates of Prometheus, whose towers lay deep within the nine rings of Ouranos. It is said they were able to harness the phlogiston and develop powerful weapons. One such device, the Promethean Lance, was a weapon of chaotic power treasured by kings immemorial. Armies with these lances became unstoppable, entire races extinguished, kingdoms fell, planets razed, titans slain. While powerful, phlogiston proved to be too unpredictable, and the armies were eventually defeated through attrition. Few Promethean Lances have survived to this age, and the knowledge of its manufacture is lost to time.

Damage: variable (see below)
Range:  16/32/64
Ammo:   variable (see below)

Phlogiston check: Each time the lance is discharged a phlogiston check must be made. This check follows the dice chain, with the starting power die (dP) determined by the judge when the item is discovered. The d8 version of the lance was most typical in ages past, but a few have been discovered with full power.

For attack, roll the current dP to determine the power of the blast emanating from the tip of the lance, consult the chart below. If a '1' is rolled, the lance dephlogisticates and drops a level on the dice chain. Rolling a '1' after the power die has dropped to d3, renders the lance inert. There is a 1 in 4 chance the target will catch fire. If successful, the target must make a reflex save DC 10, or spend a round putting out the flame and suffer 1d6 additional points of fire damage.

Power table (roll current power die):
Result : Damage*
7+     : 4dP
4-6    : 3dP
2-3    : 2dP
1      : 1dP and dephlogisticate (drop one level on dice chain)

* The damage column represents the number of times to roll the current power die (dP) for damage. Example: if the power die is d7 and a '3' is rolled, then 2d7 is used for damage calculation.

Overload: On a standard attack, the triggering mechanism releases a controlled amount of phlogiston into the ignition chamber that creates a blast emanating from the lance; however, the operator can override the normal safety mechanisms and release more phlogiston into the chamber to trigger a supercharged blast. It is also possible to overload it by releasing all the phlogiston at once, causing the lance to explode. Promethean knights were known to detonate their lances rather than be taken alive during failed planetary assaults. The player can choose how powerful a blast will discharge, and for every permanent dP expended in this way (the phlogiston is used up, just as a standard discharge) a +1dP will be added to the immediate attack and will trigger an automatic roll on the Critical table. If all the phlogiston is released at once, an explosion centered on the weapon will result in damage affecting an area 6dP' in diameter, and will cause an automatic roll on the Critical table.

Critical (Use current power die for crit check):
0 or less: Perfect shot. Vital organs are hit, increase power table and damage roll by +1dP.
1 : Armor burn. The target's armor is damaged by the blast, they suffer a -4AC until the armor is repaired.
2 : Unquenchable fire. The target is set ablaze (no save) and will take 2dP extra damage this round, and each successive round dropping one dP each round until the dice chain is exhausted.
3 : Knock back. The blast lands squarely on the target's torso which knocks them prone and causes them to forgo their next attack. Increase power table and damage roll by +1dP.
4 : Explosion. The blast explodes when hitting the target, and anyone within 10' take damage as well. Increase power table and damage roll by +1dP.
5 : Cone of fire. Jets of flame erupt from the end of the lance, setting everything in front of the lance ablaze. Increase power table and damage roll by +1dP. Anyone in front of the lance will need to make a reflex save DC 10 or also be caught in the flame.
6 : Plasma blast. The target is covered in super heated plasma and one of their body parts starts to melt. Determine location randomly (1d6): (1) face; (2) arms; (3) legs; (4) torso; (5) hands; (6) feet. For damage, increase power table and damage roll by +2dP.
7 : The white-hot intensity of a thousand suns. A searing hole is burned through the opponent and they must make a Fort save (DC 15 + PC level) or fall unconscious from the pain for 1d4 rounds. For damage, increase power table and damage roll by +2dP.
8+: Phlogiston disturbance!

Fumble (Use current power die for fumble check): 
0 or less: The weapon strays, wildly missing the target.
1 : The lance hums and starts emitting an odd ozone smell, but does not fire this round.
2 : The lance clicks, but doesn't fire, and the operator quickly checks to make sure it is working order. Make a reflex save DC 10 or lose next round.
3 : The sight is knocked askew, suffer a -2 penalty to next attack roll.
4 : Malfunction. Debris is caught up in the barrel of the weapon, it will require 10 minutes to clear.
5 : Dephlogisticate. The lance begins smoking and drops one level for its current dP.
6 : Backfire! The volatile element explodes affecting only the shooter. The shooter takes normal damage.
7 : External phlogiston ignition! Some phlogiston has escaped and ignites around the shooter. Roll 10' area effect damage as normal centered on the shooter.
8+: Phlogiston disturbance!

Phlogiston Disturbance:
See table 4-7 in the Core Rulebook, and substitute shooter and target for "casters", or in case the table roll is the result of explosion, anyone in 6dP' area will be affected. The only exception is entry #6 which should be substituted as follows:
6 : Eldritch energy merge. Eldritch energy interacts with the phlogiston of the lance causing a magnificent explosion centered between the shooter and target. Roll a spell check twice for Fireball using d20 + dP, and use highest result.

THREE NEW CON ADVENTURES FOR 2015!

Three games submitted for TotalCon 2015. Two DCC adventures and one new twist on a Marvel Superheroes "classic." I photoshopped some sweet posters for the games!

Thursday, February 19, 2015
1 PM - 5 PM TotalCon

Friday, February 20, 2015
8 AM - 12 PM TotalCon 

Sunday, February 22, 2015
8 AM - 12 PM TotalCon

Crawljammer Character Sheet!

Hey, if you want to make your own Crawljammer characters and use them in your game, here's a PC sheet for you: CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF!

It's the one I use, and it deserves to be printed in neon green. Or pink. Or orange. Or anything but white.

Crawljammer #4 NOW AVAILABLE!

This one is the biggest -- and dare I say? -- BEST issue of Crawljammer yet. Clocking in at 36 pages, issue #4 has a full-length DCC adventure spanning the moons of Pluto and the perils of Club Starshard and the depths of Hellscape, along with a few other features that would totally make the issue worth checking out.

See that guy on the cover? That's a Riftrunner as drawn by Crawljammer graphic-design-guy Matt Hildebrand. And the Riftrunner is like a dimension-hopping, elemental-powered spellcaster with the offensive might of the phlogiston fist. That new character class is in this issue. For you.

And Sean Ellis comes in again this issue to show us what Crawljammin' elves are like. And how they live on a floating volcanic island in space. And are not to be messed with.

Plus, there's some other stuff as well, like a short piece that lays the metaphysical foundation for the upcoming Space Gods issues to follow later this year. And cool drawings! Lots of 'em.

Yeah, it's Crawljammer #4, and it's now for sale! Buy it in print over on the right of this blog. Buy it in PDF over at RPGNow.

I hope you love it as much as I do!

#RPGaDAYGenCon2014 the Mash-Up Superpost

I never joined in on the post-per-day on RPG stuff kicked off by David F. Chapman, but I played along at home. In my head. I also never wrote a recap post about the amazing slice of amazingness that was Gen Con 2014. So, in true Crawljammer spirit, I have decided that the only correct and just way to continue is to mash both things into one post. It's called the magic of the creative mind, folks, so hold off on battling your laser cobras with your halberd cannon and learn a little bit about life at Gen Con:

First Game Played [at GenCon]
Escape from Catastrophe Island at the Embassy Suites, coordinated by the genius Doug Kovacs and the co-geniuses Wayne Snyder and Adam Muszkiewicz. Adam was the judge in my section of the bar. My character, a slave master of dubious morality, never even made it to the island, what with the fire eel biting and the acid blood rain falling. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

First Game Gamemastered [at GenCon]
Since I finally made up my mind to go to Gen Con exactly 4 days before it was scheduled to begin, I didn't have a whole lot of time for planning or registering for games or...anything, really. But I called upon the powers of Google Plus and announced that I would be running a Crawljammer game on Saturday afternoon at the Embassy Suites bar. And players showed up. Eight of them! And they were fantastic, and we had the best time! And they didn't even die! (Though one of them lost a hand, which was nice.)

First RPG Purchased [at GenCon]
The first RPG books I bought were the new releases from Goodman Games, including their first two 5E adventures. But the first system purchased? I think it was Trail of Cthulhu. That's not new, I know. I wish my answer here were much cooler, like...I found some guy selling a bootleg Thundarr/Adventure Time/Land of the Lost RPG out of his trunk. Pretend that happened. Or MAKE that happen for next year.

Most Recent RPG Purchase [around the time of GenCon]
I guess that copy of the 5E Player's Handbook that was waiting for me when I got home from GenCon. Does that count? Ugh, another lame answer. Okay, come on people! That Thundarr/Adventure Time/Land of the Lost game is not going to happen by itself!

Most Old-School RPG [Purchased at GenCon]
I had a copy of Boot Hill in my hand and passed on it, only to swing by that booth later to find it long gone. I did pick up some Judges Guild Journals. The one that is all just wandering monster tables is pretty crazy and useful, if you like rolling d1000000s. (Which I do.) But, I also bought that proto-modern masterpiece that is Road Hogs, for the TMNT game by Palladium. That is my kind of sauce.

Favorite RPG You Never Got to Play [at GenCon]
D6 Star Wars. Or Gamma World. Or Marvel Super Heroes. All of the above. They should be one game anyway. But I did not play in that game. (I did run Crawljammer, though, which can't escape their influence.)

Most Intellectual RPG Owned [at GenCon]
This question doesn't make any sense -- who wrote these things and applied them to Gen Con experiences anyway? What a dumb idea! Plus, the answer is obviously Road Hogs, as usual.

So, instead, I'll mention that the most intellectual conversation I had was with Dr. Edgar Johnson. He of the Metal Gods. And dropping RPG science on your head. And one of the co-conspirators of the Purple Planet. I don't remember the conversation exactly, but it involved Catastrophe Island and a thong and slave revolt and flying laser fish and it was deep, man. It changed us all.

Favorite Character [at GenCon]
Favorite character? What am I, a child? Oh, Bo Duke is my favorite Duke boy! Come on! Grow up!

(Sniff. My favorite character was Sir Rey of Light, who survived several encounters in the Seven Pits of Sezrekan. I weep for his soul.)

Favorite Die / Dice Set [at GenCon]
Hugh and Shanna both have weird dice in tubes. I love them both. I cannot even pretend otherwise.

Favorite tie in Novel / Game Fiction [at GenCon]
The Chronicles of Catastrophe Island have yet to be written, but when they are, they will be written in the acid blood of the sky and they will be inscribed directly on your brain and you, too, will weep for the soul of Sir Rey of Light who lost the psychic duel of the laser fish wizards on that fateful Thursday eve.

Weirdest RPG Owned [at GenCon]
Another poorly worded question, gods of the Googlesphere! So I mock thee and shout, "Metal Gods of Ur-Hadad #2!" and brace myself of the kickassapocalypse.

Old RPG You Still Play / Read [at GenCon]
What does this even mean? D&D, obviously. It is carved into the faces of all who attend. Except for everyone playing RPGs in the Wizards of the Coast hall-of-seriousness. They had the intensity of purpose that can only be found on players who must win at all costs.

Most Memorable Character Death [at GenCon]
SIR REY OF LIGHT DIED IN THE SEVEN PITS, WAS REBORN LATER THAT NIGHT ON CATASTROPHE ISLAND AND DIED AGAIN REINCARNATED AS A LASER WIZARD FISH TRYING TO PSYCHICALLY DUEL THE GHOST OF A FORMER SLAVE MASTER.

No, I am not "over" it. I don't even know who you are anymore.

Best Convention Purchase [at GenCon]
DeathFear is pretty handsome. The DCC RPG t-shirt looks great and makes me feel like a hero. Battle of Five Armies is a giant game. Jurgen Mayer's Shinobi Clans is super-fun. But Road Hogs is forever.

Favorite Convention Game [at GenCon]
They were all great! I had zero bad experiences in a game at Gen Con. And I didn't sign up for any in advance. Take that, thoughtful-planners of your existence! The lords of chaos are powerful.

Game You Wish You Owned [at GenCon]
I don't know if you know this, but I am the PUBLISHER of Moon Dice Games and Crawljammer. If I wanted a game, I would just buy it with all of my profits. (Unless that game costs more than $10. In that case, I would need a loan.)

I wish I owned all of the Call of Cthulhu and Age of Cthulhu books. I really do.

Funniest Game You've Played [at GenCon]
The great Sarah Richardson ran a Dungeon World game on Saturday night that I really wanted to get into. But it was Games on Demand, and the games demanded that I not get a seat. So I was "stuck" with Lowell Francis's  Fate game, which I couldn't believe, because I would consider myself a Lowell Francis fan (I have read his comics, his blog, and listened to his podcast...a lot), and I knew he would be running a great game. It was. But what I didn't expect was how funny it would be. The other players were great, but Lowell undermined D&D tropes the whole way and role-played some fantastically amusing NPCs. It was brilliant. I ended up missing the finale of Catastrophe Island because of it, and, yet, I'm okay with that. Lowell's game was that much fun.

Favorite Game System [at GenCon]
Dungeon Crawl Classics. It is the BEST. You know that.

Favorite Published Adventure [at GenCon]
Peril on the Purple Planet. I may be adding more stuff to that world, but Harley Stroh is the master of the Purple Planet and that adventure will likely become the foundation of my after-school group's campaign for the whole next year.

Game You'll Still Play in 20 Years' Time [at GenCon]
If I go to Gen Con when I'm in my 60s, and I hope I do, I will spend 90% of my time sitting on those chairs in the auction room and spending my space credits bidding on mint condition copies of After the Bomb and Mutants Down Under. But the game I hope to be playing is Dungeon Crawl Classics. Or maybe "Dungeon Crawl Classics, the 20th Anniversary Annual."

Favorite Licensed Game [at GenCon]
Marvel Super Heroes was my favorite licensed game that I saw played at the convention. I was happening right behind the Cthulhu Invictus game I was in. Here's the thing I noticed: by my scientifically-inclined data-gathering methods, I know that 85% of all Marvel Super Heroes games bring DC heroes into the mix for some super-Crisis of double-corporate catastrophe. Folks just want to play Batman and Booster Gold vs. Doctor Doom, I guess. But the truth is that all Marvel/DC comic book crossovers in the history of the medium have been either terrible or boring or both. Except for one: SPIDER-BOY TEAM-UP.

SPIDER-BOY TEAM-UP is one of the best single issues of the past 20 years. I am not joking. Read it. Make a game out of that, America! Or Europe! Or Venus!

Best Secondhand RPG Purchase [at GenCon]
Road. Hogs.

Coolest Looking RPG Product [at GenCon]
Anything involving the work of Doug Kovacs. I almost bought a huge lot of forgotten Dreamblade miniatures just because he designed some of them (I was outbid by another like-minded connoisseur). Just look at the Goodman Games releases NOT painted or drawn by Doug Kovacs and then compare them to the things Doug has worked on. One set looks nice and fine. The other set looks like it will haunt your dreams and nightmares with joyous psychedelic tendrils from the gods beyond.

Most Complicated RPG Owned [at GenCon]
I ain't got time for that, Palladium.

Favourite RPG no one else wants to play... [at GenCon]
I didn't ask, but if I cracked open my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game book, I suspect folks would have been excited to play. Then, after 2 hours of making characters and selecting skills and reminding ourselves how this system is supposed to work, we all would have wandered off to stare at Golem Arcana and pretend it looked like fun.

Coolest Character Sheet [at GenCon]
The fatalities from the Seven Pits of Sezrekan. Yellow. Stamped. Brutal. In our hearts forever.

Game You'd Most Like to See A New / Improved Version Of...[at GenCon]
Top Secret S.I. -- I don't even want a new, improved version, really. I just remember how much I want to play it. Maybe at Gen Con 2015!

Road Hogs needs an unofficial Crawljammer conversion. Will Palladium sue if I release "Biker Boars from Dimension Gamma"?

Scariest RPG Played [at GenCon]
Catastrope Island, powered by DCC (sort of). I didn't know if we would be bombarded by acid blood rain or fried by laser wizard fish or trapped in a tunnel with revolting slaves or joining a centaur rugby match or betrayed by our closest friends. Catastrophe Island, like Herman Melville's Moby Dick, is a microcosm of the human experience. Only, sometimes, these fish wear hats.

Most Memorable Encounter [at GenCon]
I liked harassing a monster menagerie owner in Lowell's game, but man those laser wizard fish from Catastrope Island? Those will live on in literary history like the Bhagavad Gita's Gilgamesh.

Rarest RPG Owned [at GenCon]
I am now the owner of the cover sketch and cover painting for this sucker: BLADES AGAINST DEATH.

I have the only copies of those things in existence. Pretty rare. Rarer than that woodgrain box you're hoarding in your temperature controlled basement. Weirdly, not as rare as players who enjoy actually playing the Palladium TMNT system.

Favorite RPG of all time [at GenCon]
Ah, we all know this is a trick question. The best thing about Gen Con is the PEOPLE. Not the ones stepping on you or talking way too loudly about L5R on the shuttle bus. Those people should stay home and comment on YouTube videos. But everyone else is wonderful! Particularly the friends you make (or meet in person for the first time). Those are the best!

So, let me end this ridiculous post with some sincerity: If I hung out with you for even a minute at Gen Con 2014, I consider you a friend. You were fun to talk to and I enjoyed playing with you or near you or in your general vicinity. I really didn't have a bad moment at Gen Con when you were around. I hope we meet up again next year! In the meantime, come out to the east cost and join us at some conventions out here. It's just Michael Curtis and I out this way, holding the chaos at bay. Come help us set it free.

Demon Drums Limited Edition Now FOR SALE!

Hi! For Gen Con this year, I published a 12-page complete adventure compatible with DCC and other old-school role-playing games. It's called DEMON DRUMS and I think it turned out really well.

I distributed a bunch as an exclusive give-away at Gen Con, but I still have about 20 copies of the signed and numbered edition left AND when I came back from Gen Con, my printer called to say that they accidentally printed another 100 copies of the adventure. I bought those copies rather than have the printer throw them away, and since a bunch of folks have emailed me asking how they could buy a copy of DEMON DRUMS, well, now's your chance! This is the last time DEMON DRUMS will be available in print through Moon Dice Games.

The first 20 people who order a copy will receive the DEMON DRUMS signed and numbered edition. Everyone after that will receive the special surplus edition (limited to 100 copies), signed by me. Place your order below (select the International option if you are outside the U.S.) and then you can run what has been called, by some players*, "the best game they've ever played!"

*these players had never played a role-playing game before.

Order and enjoy!!!
NOTE: THIS LIMITED EDITION IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE. THANK YOU!