Contact Information:

jay@vanishingtowerpress.com

Thursday, March 28

Santicore 2017!


Image result for santicore 2017

I am placing this link here mostly for my own benefit. I'm also proud to have wrangled for Santicore. It was a wild ride and certainly had given up hope and dropped out of the line.


Big hearty thanks to all who dragged the beast over the finish line. Now to stab  it with our steely knives!


Friday, March 22

Stupid, Simple Way to assign Milestone XP's in OSR games


Besides experience point awards for monsters defeated completing “other challenges” is the only other way to earn xp RAW with the Basic Fantasy Roleplaying Game. What the xp awards are for monsters defeated is easy to calculate for like most OSR rules systems there is a chart outlining these awards. But not so these other challenges. Here all is subject to DM/GM whim. If you are interested in reining in randomness which may occur in the flurry of events, and begin to set PC’s teeth on edge, may I recommend a simple xp calculator.



BFRPG has an optional rule for “Ability Rolls” which I am not to keen on and do not use in play. But I see it as a useful method to assign experience “for other challenges as the GM sees fit.”

Use the Target Number as a quick guide to calculate XP awarded for such “milestones” achieved. The scale of difficulty for BFRPG goes from 7 to 17 with a “roll over” needed for success. The DM assigns a milestone, a goal the character (or characters) wishes to achieve with one of these difficulty numbers. When success is achieved multiply the difficulty number by 100. The DM doesn’t even need to tell the PC’s ahead of time what the number assigned is. All they know is they should make 700 to 1,700 xp when successful. This is for each character, not an award to be split. And it doesn’t matter how many characters are involved in pulling whatever it is they are trying to pull off. Three, Four, Nine… just hand them out to the characters which are invested in the outcome.

Of course this shouldn’t be applied to every little thing the character gets up into. You have players that want to win xp for successfully walking across the room and opening the door? Rocks fall all die.

Milestones, goals, achievements; these are not created equal. Saving the world is not the same as saving someone from a burning building. With only a thousand point swing separating the extremes of this goal orientated method of achieving xp we may need more granularity. Especially as PCs reach high levels. Adjust the multiplier. Instead of multiplying by 100 multiply by 1,000, or only by 10 if that makes sense. These awards are all subjective. It is up to the DM to give each task and/or goal, player driven or not, a number.

BFRPG makes gold for experience points as an optional rule interestingly enough, leaving awards “for monsters defeated, and for other challenges as the GM sees fit.” as the players only way of measuring their overall success in the game. I gladly add GP=XP, optional rule or not, into my BFRPG. But I like the players can establish their own path to XP through achievements and goals as well as grabbing loot. Hopefully this use of difficulty target numbers can guide your hand with fair and equitable disbursements.

Friday, February 22

PM conversion guide for USR PDF now available

My conversion guide for Jack Shear's Planet Motherfucker is now complete as a PDF with all twelve Planet Motherfucker character classes statted out for Trollish Delver Games Rules-lite USR system.

Download the free PDF HERE

Purchase Planet Motherfucker HERE

Download the free USR rulebook HERE


Thursday, February 21

Killer Clown, Living Dead Girl and Murican Warlock for USR


Have to call it a night but I did make some ground on completing a PDF of all this. Here is another three PM character classes converted to USR statistics. I give you the following; 

Killer Clown! After the trauma, you realized that all the world is one big absurd joke. You also felt the need to paint your face like a harlequin and dress in jester’s motley – hey, if the world makes fools of us all, why not double down on being a fool. Life is short and you want to show the goodly people of Planet Motherfucker how to laugh – even as they choke on their own blood.
Image result for killer clown
Action: d8  
Wits: d10
Ego: d6
Hits: (roll normally)

Specialisms: Stealth +2 Action, Backstab +2 Action, Pick Locks +1 Wits, Set/Disable Traps +1 Wits.

Equipment: Fireman’s Axe, Lockpicks, Squirting Flower on Lapel.




Living Dead Girl & Teenage Frankenstein! Some sicko – coulda been a mad scientist or a voodoo mama – brought you back from the dead. Now that you’ve got a second chance at life, you’re gonna meet all the people you can. Live your (second) life to the fullest, you know? Bump-n-grind ‘til you’re ground meat.

Image result for teenage frankenstein

Action: d8
Wits: d10
Ego: d6
Hits: (roll normally)

Specialisms: Streetwise +2 Wits, Investigation +2 Wits, Shooting +1 Action, Athletics +1 Action.

Equipment: Claw Hammer, Colt .45, Big Black Boots.
Murican Witch/WarlockIt was when your back was against the proverbial wall that you first heard the voice. “Make the pact,” it said, “and you’ll have all the power you need to make your foes beg for mercy.” And make the pact you did, signed in blood and sent to a devil without hesitation. And boy did hearing our foes plea for their miserable lives sound excellent. 

Action: d6
Wits: d8
Ego: d10
Hits: (roll normally)

Specialisms: Knowledge (Arcane) +2 Wits, Spell of Armor +1 Ego, Spell of Blinding +1 Ego, Spell Bolt +1 Ego, Spell of Confusion +1 Ego.

Equipment: Ritual Dagger, Colt .45 Pistol, Book of Black Magic, Leather Cloak +1 Damage Resistance.

Three more PM characters converted to USR


This is a continuation of my previous post on Jack Shear's Planet Motherfucker and converting the described character classes to the classic (U)nbelievably (S)imple (R)oleplaying rules. Rules which are free! from Trollish Delver Games here on DriveThruRPG.

Today I am converting the following three character classes; Doom Nun/Hellfire Preacher, Dr. Satan/Nurse Lilith and the Facebreaker!

I kick ass for the lord, or just because kicking ass feels goood! The Doom Nun (or Hellfire Preacher)!

Image result for doom nunAction d8 
Wits d6
Ego d10
Hits (roll normally)

Specialisms: Divine Miracles (Healing & Smite) +2 Ego, Gun Combat +2 Action, Knowledge (Arcane) +1 Wits, Hand-to-Hand Combat +1 Wits.

Equipment: Derringer Pistol, Hollowed-out Bible (holds ammunition or a grenade), Backpack.

Bodies tend to come apart with alarming frequency on Planet Motherfucker. Arms get ripped off, torsos get riddled with bullets, legs get run over by motorbikes. Stitching all that human mess back together is just part of the gig for Dr. Satan & Nurse Lilith!

Image result for doctor satan Action d6
Wits d10
Ego d8
Hits (roll normally)

Specialisms: Medical Science (Experimental) +2 Wits, Knowledge (Scientific) +2 Wits, Lockpicking +1 Wits, Repair Machine +1 Wits.

Equipment: Hypodermic Pistol, First Aid Kit, Backpack (carries various “hypo” darts).








Facebreaker: You are a hulking brute whose bulging muscles ache to break faces. Everything in the words looks like a nail to you because you are a hammer ready to swing. You may not enjoy brutalizing others (but then again this is Planet Motherfucker so you just might) but it’s something you absolutely excel at. Hey, if you got the gift, might as well use it.

Image result for road warrior

Action d10 
Wits d6
Ego d8
Hits (roll normally)

Specialisms: Brawling +2 Action, Throw Ridiculously Heavy Objects +2 Action, Toughness +1 Damage Resistance, Gun Combat +1 Action.

Equipment: Baseball bat with nails driven through it, Peacemaker Pistol, Wicked cool Tattoos.



Saturday, February 16

Planet Motherfucker is perfect for USR


Jack Shear's Planet Motherfucker is a tight, compact setting book for Savage Worlds RPG. The conventions of character creation in Savage Worlds ports over really simply to the classic (U)nbelievably (S)imple (R)oleplaying rules. Rules which are free! from Trollish Delver Games here on DriveThruRPG.

I'm drafting each one of the starting character classes from the Planet Motherfucker sourcebook here on my blog. When I've finished I should be able to make a PDF compiled document for allz youze enjoyment, you voyeuristic, post-apoc sleaz-oids! I'll start off with three character classics for playing in this delightful psycho-hillbilly-hellscape game world; the Chainsaw Paladin, Brickhouse Amazon and the Creepbot 2000!

Despite living in a world gone mad, you've sworn to uphold a moral code and fight for truth, justice, and the Murican way. The instrument in your fight to bring order to a lawless land is...a chainsaw. If you're going to cut the Gordian knot of Planet Motherfucker, might as well do it with whirring teeth of utter destruction. This is why they call you the Chainsaw Paladin!

Action d10 

Wits d6
Ego d8
Hits (roll normally)

Specialisms: Melee Combat +2 Action, Gun Combat +2 Action, Knowledge (Religion) +1 Wits, First Aid +1 Wits.

Equipment: Chainsaw, Pump-Action Shotgun, Kevlar Vest +2/+4 DR.

Yeah, the world has gone to hell in a hand-basket, but who cares? Your abs are ripped and you turn heads. And if those heads don't do what you want, you can crush them. Love 'em, leave 'em, crush 'em. That's the motto of the Brickhouse Amazon or Neo-Barbarian Stud!

Action d8 
Wits d6
Ego d10
Hits (roll normally)

Specialisms: Melee Combat +2 Action, Persuasion +2 Ego, Athletics +1 Action, Survival +1 Ego.

Equipment: Desert Eagle Pistol, Big Knife, Backpack.





Creepbot 2000: Although you've got a human brain floating around up in your chrome dome, you're still more machine than man. “Yeah, replace my feeble human body with a sweet robot chassis!” you said. What a gaff; now you're a hulking beast made of twisted metal, rusted circuits, and frustration on overdrive.




Action d8
Wits d10
Ego d6
Hits 15

Specialisms: Gun Combat +2 Action, Lockpicking +2 Wits, Stealth +1 Action, Melee Combat +1 Action.

Equipment: Metal Carapace +2/+4 DR, M1 Rifle, Spare Parts.




Monday, January 28

Mishap Class has Modern, Sci-Fi Use


My Google search for random encounter material turned up this gem


BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE
AIR FORCE INSTRUCTION 91-204
27 APRIL 2018
Safety


It is 104 pages of mind numbing bureaucrat speak which can easily be ported into the mouths of your science fiction NPCs. 

Code definitions in a statute(?) can be useful when defining random table elements I pulled these out of the document and I think these five class distinctions can be real useful for any Game Master of a Modern or Science Fiction RPG. Not the least is "pegging" the dollar-damage amount to a Class value. Now you have a built-in scale you can extrapolate results for whatever game system you may be using.

Class A Mishap—A mishap resulting in one or more of the following:
1.Direct mishap cost totaling $2,000,000 or more.
2.A fatality or permanent total disability.
3.Destruction of a DoD aircraft.
4.Permanent loss of primary mission capability of an AF space vehicle.

Class B Mishap—A mishap resulting in one or more of the following:
1.Direct mishap cost totaling $500,000 or more but less than $2,000,000.
2.A permanent partial disability.
3.Inpatient hospitalization of three or more personnel. This does not include individuals hospitalized for observation, diagnostic, or administrative purposes that were treated and released.
4.Permanent degradation of primary or secondary mission capability of a space vehicle or the permanent loss of secondary mission capability of a space vehicle.

Class C Mishap—A mishap resulting in one or more of the following:
1.Direct mishap cost totaling $50,000 or more but less than $500,000.
2.Any injury or occupational illness that causes loss of one or more days away from work not including the day or shift it occurred. When determining if the mishap is a Lost Time Case, you must count the number of days the employee was unable to work as a result of the injury or illness, regardless of whether the person was scheduled to work on those days. Weekend days, holidays, vacation days, or other days off are included in the total number of days, if the employee would not have been able to work on those days.
3.An occupational injury or illness resulting in permanent change of job.
4.Permanent loss or degradation of tertiary mission capability of a space vehicle.

Class D Mishap—An on-duty mishap resulting in one or more of the following:
1.Direct mishap cost totaling $20,000 or more but less than $50,000.
2.A recordable injury cost or illness not otherwise classified as a Class A, B, or C mishap.
3.Any work-related mishap resulting in a recordable injury or illness not otherwise classified as a Class A, B, or C mishap. These are cases where, because of injury or occupational illness, the employee only works partial days, has restricted duties (does not include medical restriction from flying or special operational duties by AF Form 2992) or was transferred to another job, required medical treatment greater than first aid, or experienced loss of consciousness (does not include G-loss of consciousness). In addition, a significant injury (e.g. fractured/cracked bone, punctured eardrum, any laser eye injury) or occupational illness (e.g. occupational cancer (mesothelioma), chronic irreversible disease (beryllium disease)) diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional must be reported even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work, job transfer, medical treatment greater than first aid, or loss of consciousness.

Class E Mishap—A work-related mishap that falls below Class D criteria. Most Class E mishap reporting is voluntary; however see discipline-specific safety manuals for a list of events requiring mandatory reporting.