An Introduction to the Elementals of Subazurth

The primal elements of Subazurth are not the same as in the Land of Azurth above, though why this is so is not entirely clear. Perhaps they represented altered or tainted refuse from the creation of Azurth by the giant crystal gnome, Gob, under the direction of the Lady Azulina. Here are the elements as found in the world beneath the world:

Art by Juan Diego Dianderas

Ooze/Slime:It's elementals are slimes or jellies. The viscous, semi-liquid Kingdom of Oozurth with its laminar fiefdoms connects to bubbling Lake Ooze,

Crystal: It's elementals are fae folk composed of gem or crystal. It intrudes upon the environs of Troglopolis as the Crystal Forest.

Magma: It's elementals are various fae folk composed of lava or magma. It's people are kept out of the upper levels of Subazurth for the trouble they cause, however innocently.

Art by Valterri

Dust: It's elements tend to be indolent folk, resting as often as they cane, though some cause mischief as swirling dust devils. They lay claim to unused caverns, but their primary habitat is the air itself beyond many a yawning precipe.

Wednesday Comics: Fallen Angels

I ran across a copy of the Fallen Angels collection for a great price this weekend. I was not particularly surprised to see it on discount. Few older comics readers probably remember it, and few younger readers are likely intrigued by an obscure limited from the late 80s. I think they're missing out, but then I'd probably by a Steeltown Rockers collection, too, so make of my judgement what you will.

So, for the uninitiated, Fallen Angels was an 8 issue limted series from Marvel written by Jo Duffy and drawn by Kerry Gammill, Marie Severin and Joe Staton. It was originally going to be called The Misfits and house ads use that name up until right before the release. It tells the story of a team (maybe more of a social group) forming from a group of disparate, predominantly young characters.

First there's a group of super-powered young thieves that Vanisher is playing Fagin to: cyborg Gomi with his cybernetically enhanced lobsters Bill and Don, Ariel with teleportation powers, and Chance with the ability to randomly enhance or limit other people's powers. Add to that crew the (relatively) bigger-named young mutants Sunspot and Boom-Boom, and throw in Multiple Man and Siryn for good measure. Finally--and this is the real wildcard--mix in Devil Dinosaur and Moonboy.

What do they do? Well, they hangout. They have misadventures. Learn some lessons--like not to trust Vanisher, who's really more laughable than a serious threat. They also get shanghaied to Ariel's strange home dimension Coconut Grove, but manage to evade becoming test subjects.

It's hard to know what Duffy was going for here. There doesn't seem to be a strong rationale for this particular group of characters. But it's pretty well done, and has a quirky charm about it. It's worth checking out.

Science Fiction Month Sale

May is Science Fiction Month on Rpgnow and Drivethrurpg. The *Strange Stars* pdf is one of the great science fiction titles at 15% off.

Need more convincing? Check out this new review.

Also, check out The Manor #8 (coming out later this week) for a Strange Stars feature!

Your Own Cinematic Universe

I saw Avengers: Age of Ultron this weekend and my short review is: it's good. I'm slightly troubled by the degree setting up future films and dealing with "universe" concerns are becoming more and more a part of the Marvel cinematic experience, while perhaps paradoxically also miffed they seem to drop plot threads from previous films. These are small concerns, though. I didn't seriously impair my enjoyment.

I had some game related thoughts after the movie--and maybe this is something everyone else thought of a long time ago and only my comic-centric thinking has kept me from considering it. As I mentioned last week, superhero games are potentially bedeviled by the problems of all licensed property games: fan-players' knowledge and connection to canon, and on the other side of the coin, inaccessibility or at least a steep learning cover for newcomers.

Movies and animation all have to deal with that second problem (They have the first too in a way, but that crowd is much smaller for them.) and they get around it by creating their own universe, by picking and choosing from the existing mythology. Since anyone's in-game version of a comic book universe winds up being an alternate universe anyway, why not make it one from the start? To me, this sort of seems like the best option for getting the advantage of a established universe while having a good deal of creative freedom and not have to sweat your player's knowledge of the comics.

One final note: comics rpgs haven't completely ignore other media, but they tend to focus on trying to recreate the feel of certain other media adaptations rather than the continuity aspects I'm talking about. There haven't been any such supplements for licensed rpgs as far as I know.

Rumored Mysteriarchs of Zed

As their name should suggest, little is known of those great magi, the Mysteriarchs of Zed, and this is presumably the way they prefer it. Even great wizards are powerless before rumor and tale-telling, however, and so the names of some alleged members of that shadowy assemblage are widely whispered in the Land of Azurth:

art by Francisco Segura

The Great Enigma may or may not have ascended to a higher plane to compare his knowledge with that of more potent beings than humanity, or perhaps he lingers awhile yet to train worthy apprentices. He has placed himself under a peculiar geas wherein in a challenge he will only cast any spell his opponent hasn't thought of yet, but none that they have.

Art by Algosky

Agar the Green holds unorthodox theories about slime and its place among the primordial elements. He makes a study of various slimes, oozes and jellies, and spends much of his time in a semi-viscid form to aid his research. Some of his colleagues suggest he has even sought the lubricous embrace of Jellia, the Gelatine Princess of the Ooze Folk, but such matters are scarcely the topic of polite conversation.

art by Moebius

Generys the White is said to have lived half her life in the realm of dreams, and this has made her cold and cruel in her affairs in the mundane world. She knows secrets that are only shared in dreams and the making of potions that aid either forgetfulness or memory. Any gift of a jewel or precious stone from her is to be avoided at all costs, but must be refused politely.

Another Head of the Hydra

As mentioned by Chris Kutalik on his blog earlier this week, I've joined forces with the Hydra Cooperative. You already know Hydra, of course, from the very successful Kickstarter and release of Slumbering Ursine Dunes. I've worked with Hydra on some of the stretch goals (soon to be released!) for Dunes, so in addition to knowing the members socially from G+ and the blogosphere, I also know they are a creative bunch of guys and dedicated to turning out great rpg projects. I don't mind admitting that after the grueling last few miles in the marathon that was Strange Stars, I was considering taking a looonnng break from indie publishing after I got the gamebooks out. Working with Hydra has given me a bit of a rejuvenation.

So it seems natural to merge my Armchair Planet storefront with Hydra's. This will give them a higher profile and given customers one place to go to get all of our products.  Like what, you ask? Well, Strange Trails--my pre-Weird Adventures free pdf is already there. So is Mike Davison's feudal Japan-tinged old retro-clone, Ruins & Ronin, and a host of Hill Cantons-related goodies. And that's just the beginning. A Hydra website is in the works, but for now, check out the G+ forum for updates.

Atlas Super-Heroes Roleplaying

When contemplating a new superhero campaign, the choice is usually between creating an original setting or playing in an established comic book universe. It occurs to me another option be playing in a failed or defunct superhero universe: you get the advantage of having some established elements to pull from (not to mention art), but few people will have strong enough attachments to it and the worlds are unlikely to have last long enough to really constrain you with canon. You get to build your own house but with a foundation and all the building materials supplied.

No has-been or never-was universe became so as spectacularly and quickly as 70s Atlas Comics (or Atlas/Seaboard). I won’t delve into the history (you can read it here) but suffice to say despite prestigious talent and money no Atlas title lasted more than 4 issues. Conventional wisdom would hold that this failure was because the Atlas characters weren’t very good and their stories possibly worse. I would submit, however, that uninspiring or mediocre comic book characters are pretty much the stock and trade of supers rpgs. Game characters don’t need concepts that swing for the fences, they just need to get on base. That’s why Marvel and DC B and C-listers are the sweet spot for using as game characters—and Atlas’s “superstars” are pretty much at that level.  Let’s look at the standouts in turns of gameability:

Jeff “the Cougar” Rand is a stuntman that battles supernatural or weird menaces that keep cropping up in LA. He’s sort of Colt Seavers: The Night Stalker.

A Viet Nam vet joins a cult and gifted with supernatural powers, including a cape that serves as a portal to a pocket dimension. He turns on the cult when he found out thy’re out for Xenogenesis, and the advent of Demon-kind on Earth. This is pretty much the same character Rich Buckler would introduce at Marvel as Devil-Slayer.

The Destructor is young criminal whose scientist father gives him an experimental formula to save his life. He gets powers a bit like a combination of Daredevil and Wolverine. He’s sort of like a Peter Parker gone wrong, out for vengeance on the Syndicate who killed his father.

An astronaut rescued by aliens steals a super-powered suit from them and escapes, then fights to stop the aliens from destroying mankind. Phoenix has a bit of a Green Lantern or Captain Marvel vibe, with a little von Däniken/70s UFO conspiracy garnish.

18th Century Highway is released from Hell by Satan serve as his agent in the 20th century, sending the souls of evil-doers straight into Perdition’s flames. He’s sort of the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh by way of Spawn.


Not exactly the “new house of ideas,” but not that bad, either. Well, most of these characters got a big shift in the last issue, so the thought would be: take the first issue or two as “canon”, then build your own universe from there, using things from later stories as fodder for inspiration. PCs could have latitude in how to develop their characters further from their comic roots, perhaps doing some “retcons” to the backstory over time, just as would likely have happened had the comics kept being published.

There are other Atlas characters, some that could be good PC material with a “bold new direction” here or there. There are also several barbarians, a few horror characters, tough cops, and two future dystopias that can help fill out the universe and inspire further development.

What crashed and burned in the world of comics publishing may soar in gaming. The Atlas Age just might be here!