Friday, November 20, 2015

Real Dungeon, American Style


Back in rpg blogging's Golden Age (well, the part of it I was there for). I wrote a series of posts about "real" (meaning some people believe them to be real) dungeons of America. It seemed like a good time to collate those in one place.

Burrows Cave: A burial crypt...in southeastern Illinois.
The Grand Canyon: It's not just big. It's weird.
Coral Castle: Not an actual castle, but still kind of cool.
Murder Castle: A real Tomb of Horrors in Chicago.
Lizard City Under L.A.: "Busy Los Angeles...stands above a lost city of catacombs..."

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Antediluvian Apocalyptic

"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
                                                      - Genesis 6:5
Think Carcosa is the only horrifying milieu for gonzo adventure fantasy? Ditch the mutli-colored men (maybe) and get Biblical, Old Testament style.

Before the Flood, (the book of Genesis tells us) humankind was exceedingly wicked, which is a good way for them to be for adventuring, really. And there were giants (gibborim) in the earth, and the Nephilim (either giants or fallen angels, or the children of fallen angelss), who were "mighty men or men of renown." Talking serpents from Eden were still probably around somewhere. And though the Bible doesn't mention they specifically, any good creationist will tell you there were dinosaurs. Check out this I'm sure meticulously researched timeline:

(source)
It's not hard to imagine a sword and sandals (plus sorcery) or barbaric sort of world were weird Antediluvian beasts and human-angel hybrids run rampant--and apocalypse hangs over it all. It's like Afronosky's Noah meets The Road. Or Hok the Mighty meets Blood Meridian. The new Aaron/Guera comic The Goddamned approaches this same era, the it's early to same how gonzo it's going to get.

Actually Masters of the Universe, but this fits.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Wednesday Comics: Masters of the Universe

"To Tempt the Gods"
Masters of the Universe #1 (December 1982), Written by Paul Kupperberg; Pencils by George Tuska, Inks by Alfredo Alcala

Synopsis:  On Eternia, a world with a "medieval exterior" but whose technology nevertheless outstrips that of Earth, there's a party (dancing girls) for the Queen. Man-At-Arms asks the King where his heir Prince Adam is. The two commiserate over how irresponsible Adam is.

That's Adam's cure to jump the hedge and make an appearance. Apparently, he's been dallying with a young lady...


They are commemorating the arrival of the Queen on Eternia 25 years ago. Adam heads off the his chambers to get his gift for his mother. He regrets he has to play this false personality and disappoint his father.

At his door, Adam is assailed by magical power. The room is filled with demonic presences. Adam dives over his bed to escape--and finds Cringer waiting there. Cringer tells him Skeletor had his presence known here.

The mention of Skeletor's name galvanizes Adam into action. He and Cringer run to the Cavern of Power. There, they are transformed into He-Man and Battle Cat. Even then, they here the sound of mocking laughter.

Skeletor gloats that he has the Goddess captive. He did battle with her, and though she kept the two halves of the power sword from his grasp, he managed to defeat her. He knows that only a heroic soul will be able to find the power sword, and he plans to force He-Man to do it for him by having him seek out three talismans representing the sea, the sky, and the cosmos that will lead to the swords.

He-Man knows the cosmic star cluster is in the hands of the royal wizard, Tarrak. He meets Teela, captain of the guard, and enters the palace, He meets his parents, though they don't recognize their feckless son in the heroic He-Man. They enter Tarrak's chambers and find:


Man-At-Arms here's the clamor of battle and joins in. Once the demon's are defeated, Tarrak reveals that they stole the talisman in the shape of the nexus constellation.  Someone else is after the talismans, too.

Meanwhile, Avion is attacked by dragonriding beastmen. It's Stratos they're after. The birdman flies to the castle. His strength failing, only Tarrak's magic saves him. He-Man notices Stratos is wearing the talisman of air. Our heroes now have one in hand.

Commentary:
This issue is the introduction of Prince Adam. He's a bit more Don Deigo Vega in concept than the overmuscled Billy Batson he'll become in the cartoon. Still, the genius of the "fantasy superhero" are definitely here. Eternia is much more "standard fantasy comic" than it is later, down to Teela's outfit that doesn't look anything like the toys (until this). Still, this is much closer to the universe sketched in the original Don Glut mini-comics than what is to follow.

Zodac really has a Metron of the New Gods vibe here. This begins the transition from his original intended role as a villain to the heroic role he has in the mythology now.

Under interesting detail: Stratos's wife is completely human rather than anthropoid like him.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Strange Stars Fate A-Z

Just in case you missed it last week, the Strange Stars Fate rule book pdf is available. The softcover files are with OBS and hopefully will be approved for printing soon.

While you wait, check out the "Strange Stars A-Z" series John Till, the author of the Fate rule book, has been doing on his blog.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Random Ultra-Warriors

Interested in generating the sort of visually distinct science fantasy characters of the sort found in Masters of the Universe? I've got a set of random generators for you. Pair the Random Ultra-Warriors Creator with your favorite science fantasy/post-apocalyptic rpg and your ready to create characters so distinctive they ought to be sold separately in their own blister pack.



Thursday, November 12, 2015

Strange Stars Fate Released

The wait is over--at least for you Fate fans. The Strange Stars Fate Rulebook written by John Till edited by myself and featuring art by David Lewis Johnson, Adam Moore and Reno Maniquis and layout and design by Lester B. Portly is here!

For those of you of more old school tastes, you are not forgotten. The OSR rulebook is in the works. Stay tuned.




It's Full of Stars


Strange Stars, Weird Adventures, and products by my Hydra Co-op partners Slumbering Ursine Dunes and Fever-Dreaming Marlinko are in a Bundle of Holding--along with Gnomes of Levnec, Owl Hoot Trail, Beyond the Wall, and Red & Pleasant Land! Check it out and get some good stuff.

Speaking of Strange Stars, here's a sequel to my post on random adventure idea generation for the setting:

The Hunt: The PCs search for [A] [B] but must contend with [C]
A: 1 A Eden Seeker terrorist cell  2 A bioengineered horror from the surface of Phobetor  3 Convicted megacorp executive 4 A thief with a stolen bioweapon 5 A Wanderer Avatar
B: 1 across the deserts of Deshret  2 in Smaragdoz City  3 through the forests of Woon  4 on the planet Rune  5 during a party in a domed city on Aygo  6 under the ice on Boreas
C: 1 the Pharesmid Syndicate  2 the hellhounds  3 Talosian Moravec supremacists  4 a squad of Thrax  4 a djagga bounty hunter  5 Instrumentality agents  6 a Circean witch

The Challenge: The PCs (or one of them) participates in [A] on [B].
A: 1 A martial arts competition  2 A high-stakes gambling tournament  3 A race  4 A hunt for an exotic animal  5 A deadly game  6 A battle of the bands
B: 1 A vessel circling a hyperspace anomaly  2 a domed area of an asteroid  3 Interzone  4 the wilderness of Smaragdoz  5 Gogmagog  6 the diamond planet Solitaire (Fortuna I)