So, what's up with this ARGUS reboot? & Other Stuff (including health references)

Current situation

I have a very talented artist producing colour faction iconics, but since he has a very serious real-life job, and I only have monthly funds from which to pay him, that front is steady, and not likely to outpace my sporadic writing and technical illustrations and layout and editing as I go -- routine.

There is a particular section, one which requires setting-specific character background tags, which stymies forward progress in finishing a particular step in char-gen, or building, or both/either.  Fortunately,I can skip past that and introduce other portions of the text, but I've been gnawing away at that and therefore not making progress in the writing.

Instead, I have been using a freeware CAD lite program to illustrate the primary faction military arms, which are essential to PCs, as this first product is explicitly from the PoV of this faction.  I'm likely to import these images into a raster programme to enhance the colours and fill areas which the CAD doesn't recognise as a shape, but rather, a collection of lines.

I generally get to run this once a week over Discord, and a wayward player may be rejoining us after a couple of months off.  They do much more setting-effery than mechanics testing, but that may simply be the thing that kids do these days, dunno.

Other stuff

Recovered a copy of my 'award winning novella' from a site that had been out of commission for years, and my mom is urging me to get back to that and expand it or simply publish it and get on with actually writing Urutsk' grand cycle.  Considering my age and general health, not a bad idea; it'd be kinda bittersweet to sign off thinking of my unpublished Magnum Opus I've talked about so much.  Here's to the hope for that I do get to it before too late.

I participated in a Harnworld seminar at GenCon 2020 online, and also played in a Morrow Project 4e game while suffering from disabling allergy symptoms.  I had also been playing Jessica Jones in an online ICONS game with reprobates from G+/MeWe, and I think I won the internet when I played Frank Castle in the finale and had him urge a ghostlike baddie to kill him so he could spend time with his dead family; still, playing Jessica was a lot of fun, and Mothmaiden the GM (not her handle) ran a fun campaign with decent RP moments.  Oh, yeah, imagine Jessica Jones paired up with Dazzler, it was priceless.

Let's see, I've recently received my HarnMaster Deluxe 3rd Edition books in print, and added them to my zipper binder.  I'm waiting on Fading Suns, Dark Matter, MetAlpha Warden, and a clay monster maker game from KS.  I found the Legendary Games' Forest Kingdom Compendium pdf and then purchased the hardback new: gorgeous and well worthy of mention.  It, as another poster wrote, and the 5e PHB are all that are necessary for a long campaign in that sort of setting.  It also pairs up thematically with my Harn and The Green Knight focus.

A24 movies, such as Midsommar, and, The Vvitch, have produced a beautifully boxed starter style FRPG with wonderful production value, and a very solid system -- but hobbled by the strict adherence to what I suppose will be the movie's narrative structure and philosophy.  I plan to spend some time liberating it from the hardwired railroad encounter system which penalises PCs for mandatory encounters and then hard-codes specific outcomes.  The end-state of three addressed outcomes of the boss fight do not permit future play with the same PCs, and there is no evidence they plan to support the game with future, freer scenarios or anything else, but this is 202, so, who knows?

If the Coof weren't screwing everything up, I could conceivably actually see a Dr. about this and other health issues, but this one is my daily antagonist); when I was smoking on a daily basis I don't think I was ever this bad off, but perhaps that is what led to the current situation.  Oh, I've been smoke-free for years now, btw, for anyone who knew me for a while.  Now I drink Kombucha 2x a day; crazy, I know.

OK, that's it for now, or is it? <eerie music>

A24's The Green Knight boxed RPG set

 A24's The Green Knight boxed RPG set

#rpgreview

[I am re-printing this from my MeWe timeline]

After having read the core adventure of The Green Knight, I wonder if I will enjoy the movie as much as I had hoped.

Not only are the choices and rules structure constructed to disadvantage PCs, with automatic Dishonour resulting from mandatory encounters, but the boss fight outcomes are ... ideologically-loaded propositions which do not seem to permit continued play with the same characters. The three 'scenario outlines' after the conclusion are not only allusions/overt advertisements/in-jokes regarding other A24 movies, but I can't imagine they will produce [them] as future products.

Mechanically, I think there is a good deal of merit to the structure of the TGK, and the Classes' abilities definitely play well into the conceit of the Honour/Dishonour system -- that's all good, but the scenarios' H/D ratings are definitely questionable by my outlook, and may brand me as more of a misanthrope than I would like to imagine. These encounters' metrics would be hard-pressed to win general accord, especially from the more aggressive OSR crowd. I briefly thought of codifying them in one place for a 'rules compendium' document, but am waffling on the idea for the reason I have stated above.

So, what is my current analysis of A24's The Green Knight?

It is a playable, expandable, marketing gimmick likely created just as merch with no plans to support, and yet it is playable, expandable, and is worthy of attention.

Plus, the box construction with the insert is the new standard IMO, and the d20 (and you know i don't like d20s) is gorgeous.

Perhaps expansion articles to precede a contemporary Clone so that its strengths can be maximised while liberating it from the narrative philosophy of the movie are necessary.

[][][*][/][] 3.5 Stars of 5

P.S. I am more likely than not to collect the H/D ratings from the essential mini-campaign, so that some work can be done on this otherwise fine system.

2020! Amirite?

One would think that if the zombies or space rocks don't wipe us out, I may have something to show by 2021, as the end of this year is unlikely for a release, but one never knows.

If I'm smart, I may yet this year release a freebie or a short whatsit.

Who can say?

ARGUS reborn & Urutsk: Worlds of Mystery update

ARGUS Alternate Reality Games Universal System

One set of Attributes, Abilities, and Skill Spheres, one Combat and Damage system, many ways to achieve the goal of entertaining players with detailed characters and settings, or, you know, wrecking stuff and partying until the next adventure, as you prefer.

* Fantasy Build: gods and magic, blood and steel, clash to win freedom on an alien Earth.
This establishes important prologue elements to Urutsk.

3d6 (or d20) based system


* Tech Build: from '90s techno-thrillers to system space cybernetics, long live the new flesh.
Exists in both precursor time periods and later in the Urutsk chronicle.

0-10 dice pair or 1d10 based system


URITSK: Worlds of Mystery

Using ARGUS to bring the grand setting to life: Pre-Imperial stellar picaresque rogues trying to turn a profit, to the establishment of the Sphere of Stars and its effects on the galaxy, to the aftermath of the Starshock -- in particular upon a cool wetlands world on what was the periphery of the then galaxy, through four distinct Grand Seasons of the decline and rise of the Vrun back to their rightful place among the (remaining) stars.  But, the setting is far more complex than that, with conspiracies, lost histories, and a largely invisible war fought across parallel worlds, alternate timelines, and hidden realms through which mind-bending horrors swim, only dimly aware of puny mortals.

Percentile system


Other ARGUS builds dedicated to genres I love are back burner material for now, but, given the time an opportunity, I hope to bring them to you as well.

Oh, yeah, when?

Fantasy Build is the first to be released, and then likely Tech build, as they help establish the core elements of Urutsk.  I am running Tech Build weekly and writing Fantasy Build daily.  2019 was the 10th anniversary of the two slim volumes release, but I simply wasn't able to release anything last year; I hope to make 2020 the year.

Another Quick Update

Even one of my Sunday gamers commented that I haven't posted here for a while...

Other Stuff:

Formatting the text of my Sci-Fi Homage Game.
Drawing a bit for it.

UWoM:

Still trying to figure out the Characters Without Class XP cost ... if I don't get something for it soon, it will not be included in the main rules.

Writing the chargen order of operations with the character sheet in mind to guide players through the first time.

Additionally, hoping/planning to create a least one pre-gen for each Class.

Starship stuff still needs a finishing bit of work.

I may actually get the Homage game out by the end of '19, but, I think UWoM won't be out before '20.

Confessions of a Reverse Dungeon GM

The Monsters have Unionised and are willing to let Adventurers ransack the place unless management improves workers' conditions and pay. See, Monsters can't go into town for essential services, becoming dependent upon the Owner of the Dungeon to provide fodder, healthcare, ongoing education, childcare, etc.

Since most Dungeon Owners and their despotic Mangers at best neglect their Monsters, and at worst abandon them to the mercies of Reaction Chart Old School (drop loot and food to avoid combat) or Kill-'Em-All Hack-n-Slashers (who don't even get a name until 3rd level), it has become increasingly necessary for monsters to band together despite natural antipathies brought about over competition for resources (Monster on Monster crime has been an under reported aspect of Commercially Operated Dungeons for decades, if not centuries).

Is it any wonder that while many Adventurers have become softer-hearted, and some Monsters have found a soapbox from which to decry their oppression (workplace injury rates for Monsters do not take into account wounds or fatalities caused by Adventurers), Dungeon Owners are switching to a Monstrous Dungeon model, where a living macroorganism (Giant Mimic disguised as a Dungeon) is purchased from Skunkwork Wizardry sites and replaces the need for construction crews and Monster employees. The Dungeon-Monster simply grows as it is fed, with the occasional stocking of trinkets is performed by off-site service contract personnel (often Humanoid, or even Demi-Human or Human veterans unable to adjust to commoner life after all of the killing).

Dungeon Politics is a complex, multi-sided issue, but one thing is certain, Dungeon Owners are getting something out of the cycle which cannot easily be sussed out; if it isn't money, what is the draw?

James Mishler Games' Recent Labyrinth Lord Products

Overdue review:

James Mishler has been kind enough to furnish me with a pdf copy of three of his new products designed for Labyrinth Lord (and Advanced Edition), although these will be of benefit to all other Old School groups.

1). https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/279158/Quick-Start-Character-Race--Class-Sheets-BtB

and

2). https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/279446/Advanced-Labyrinth-Lord-Character-Record-Sheet

and

3). https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/279538/Advanced-Labyrinth-Lord-Adventure-Record-Sheets

The Quick Start Character Race & Class Sheets By-the-Book are a condensed chargen guide for each of the three components, to be printed out, and handed to the player, providing them with all of the essential information to create their new character.

In combination with the Advanced Labyrinth Lord Character Record Sheet, the Quick-Start sheets provide everything necessary to determine stat minima, bonuses, special abilities, class features, as well as Hit Dice, Hit Points, and, required XP for 2nd level.  The time savings alone justify the existence of the Quick-Start sheets; don't underestimate their usefulness to veteran players; after all, starting PCs are easy to lose even when run by experienced old hands.

For the LabyLord, the Adventure Record Sheets keeps track of essential data used in each session:

Session Party Members

Locations Explored

NPCs Encountered

Information Learned

Monsters Killed

Treasures Won

Henchmen & Hirelings

Division of Spoils & XP

Mysteries & Loose Ends

Character Adventure Record

Labyrinth Lord Adventure Log

(Marching Order, Light tracker, Monster details)

The only criticism I have of the LL Record Sheets is that the individual Attribute abbreviations (Str, Dex, etc.) are not included, forcing LabyLords to rely on notoriously dodgy handwriting in a small space to track scores for those secret rolls.  We strive to avoid the, 'What is Zarbur's Wisdom score', situation which alerts players to character peril.  Perhaps James will be able to revise this one facet, or, I'll get over it.