Other P&P RPGs #5: Fabled Worlds RPG System: Part 3

Spotlight On: Jeff Freels and his Fabled Worlds RPG System

Part 3 of 4: Uncle Cucuy’s ¡Lucha Libre!



Uncle Cucuy’s ¡Lucha Libre! is a quick, fast-paced dice game based on Mexican Wrestling, capable of a quick diversion or extended play, solo or multi-player. With a rules set only four pages long, you’ll have them read and memorized in minutes, and be playing faster than a flying Luchador! A character is created in seconds, and a match may be played in just a few minutes, making this an ideal lunch break or beer-and-pretzels game. The potential for character improvement allows for long-term play, and even some character development if one desires. The character sheets (neat little stand-up cards) even have a place for designing your own special Luchador mask.

Interview Part 3
(Plus TWO exciting announcements!)

Q: Where did the idea for Uncle Cucuy's ¡Lucha Libre! come from, are you a fan of Mexican wrestling?

A: Actually I believe it was Jack Black's Nacho Libre movie that planted the seed for ¡Uncle Cucuy's Lucha Libre!. It reminded me of the Mexican wrestling figures my wife's family would bring back from Mexico, and I thought it would be cool to have a quick little game that you could play for a few minutes or even a whole afternoon. My favorite Luchadores are the ones who seem to fly through the air and do all the amazing stunts.

Q: Do you have a favorite Luchador, real or imagined?

A: I think Santo is the Luchador who springs to mind. He embodied the idealism and honor of Mexican wrestling and really became his character. He wore his mask continually until his last days...and he fought zombies!

Q: You call ¡Lucha Libre! a dice game, do you not see it as an RPG? I know when my son and I play, we like to do a little acting, calling holds and attacks, and we even describe the results of our actions after the dice roll. What a blast we had the other night when two Rudos battled and a chair made its way into the match! Do you role play your bouts at all?

A: You're playing it the right way to be sure, but then that's how my wife and I play Monopoly too. If you're going to play a silly game you might as well go over the top and enjoy the spectacle of it! I didn't feel it was fair to call UCLL a true Role-Playing Game though because the rules are really only about dice challenges, a bit of strategy, and luck. It's more fun to get into character while playing, but as the rules stand now it's up to the players to bring personality to the game.

Q: Would you do me the honor of telling our readers about our project, the exciting first release from TROLL HAMMER PRESS?

A: I feel like I'm letting your cat outta the bag here! Paul was inspired by the flavor of UCLL and did some great research on the luchador culture. The product is ¡Luchas de Apuestas!, which gives some great insight into elements that players can bring into their games. It's a really inspiring little booklet, and we're offering it as a Freebie!

Q: Have you got any plans for expanding ¡Lucha Libre! further?

A: I was approached by another game designer who wanted to expand on my basic rules to add a more traditional role-playing component to build stories between matches and drive the characters to different settings. It's a fun idea, but we'll have to see how it develops as we both have a lot of other projects going.

Announcement # 1: Available NOW, for FREE, ¡Luchas de Apuestas!, the first supplement for UCLL:



You can download it from the files section of the (announcement # 2) NEW FABLED WORLDS YAHOO GROUP:



The Fabled Worlds Yahoo Group is a place to discuss and ask questions about the FW games, share ideas and house rules, upload files and photos, play online FW games by email or chat, or just plain hang out! You'll receive news and updates regarding future FW projects, and perhaps a freebie every now and again.

Join today (membership requires approval): http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/fabled_worlds/

The supplement is also available at RPGNow.

Order the Uncle Cucuy’s ¡Lucha Libre! core rulebook at lulu.com or at RPGNow.

Next: Fabled worlds Part4: BEAN!
Previous: Z-Town

~~~
Other P&P RPGs covers current RPGs, generally small, independent releases, all-in-one rules sets, and/or freely available pdf copies. Do you have a rules set you would like to see discussed here? Submit a pdf copy to troll_hammer_press@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2010, Paul Ingrassia

Trollhalla Expands Its Borders

Ken St. Andre, creator of the Tunnels & Trolls game, and affectionately known as the Trollgod, has pushed the borders of his trollish kingdom, Trollhalla, to include a presence on the mega-popular Facebook social website.

While Trollhalla is 'members only' in its classic incarnation (although membership is simply a request away), Trollhalla Facebook is far more accessible to the casual player or curious gamer, as well as a potentially more interactive forum for the dedicated Trollhallan. The wall format is old hat to any member of Classic Trollhalla, and the built-in chat function at Facebook should probably spark some real time conversations.

The best part? You can bet if you hang out at Trollhalla Facebook, you'll get your chance to chit-chat with the Trollgod himself, Ken St. Andre!

Trollhalla, now in two flavors:

Trollhalla Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Trollhalla/166805760026125
Classic Trollhalla: http://www.trollhalla.com/

LONG LIVE TROLLHALLA!
LONG LIVE TROLLGOD!
LONG LIVE TUNNELS & TROLLS!




can you feel the ugh?

Other P&P RPGs #4: Fabled Worlds RPG System: Part 2

Spotlight On: Jeff Freels and his Fabled Worlds RPG System

Part 2 of 4: Z-Town



Do you have what it takes to live through the night in Z-Town?

The first title in the Fabled Worlds series is a classic zombie romp. The rules lite, all-in-one-book game system is easy to learn, complete in only seven pages! The majority of the rest of the 72 pages are filled up with not one, but two complete solo adventures.

No spoilers here, but I’ll tell you, you just might end up on the menu in Z-Town. The first character I ran through Z-Town was toasted pretty quickly, but my second character survived both adventures.

The story was well written and fresh, lots of typical zombie fare, but infused with a few new surprises. Jeff’s location descriptions drew me in and helped me visualize my surroundings quite well. Overall, a fun pair of solos with a great, easy to use rules set.

Interview Part 2
Q: So what inspired you to create Z-Town, what were your major influences?

A: The story of Z-Town is a long and winding road of ghoulishness. I worked in a Haunted Attraction for several years and zombies just kinda get into your brain after awhile. I created The Year Of The Zombie Calendar as kind of a joke. It was a retro styled look at how the age of the good citizen might have responded to zombie outbreaks. The calendar had a bit of success, and some local film enthusiasts wanted to do a short film version of the writing featured in the calendar as their first project. That was a lot of fun, and the film appeared in several little film festivals. I created The Zombie Coloring & Activity Book, and shortly thereafter I wanted to write a solo role-playing adventure and it was suggested that I draw from the mythology of the zombie projects. Ziggurat Chemical Company was born, and Z-Town was a great way to break in my Fabled Worlds RPG system.

Q: What was your involvement with the ‘In The Event Of A Zombie Attack’ movie?

A: I was pretty involved. My wife did most of the make-up work and we were there for most of the filming. I stagger around as one of the zombies, and it was a lot of fun to help other actors develop their zombie walk. It was really amusing to see the actors struggling to get out the overly dramatic lines of psuedo scientific wackyness I'd written, but they all did a great job. 4d4 Films was learning as we went along and Will was amazing at building his own gear and learning how to do all the technical stuff.

Q: Do you have any plans to release more solos or any supplements for Z-Town?

A: I can't say for certain that I won't be hit with the sudden drive to write more doom an' gloom zombie apocalypse stuff, but if so that's probably a ways off.

Q: How about a multi-player version of the rules, maybe with more archetypes, a weapons chart, zombie creation rules, and other GM goodies?

A: That's a great idea. I suppose it would be kind of a toss up as to whether I should release the Fabled Worlds Core Rules, which would have everything you mentioned, or to do a dedicated zombie romp. If only there were more time in the day!


Order your copy of Z-Town in print or pdf today: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/z-town-solo-adventure-rpg-deluxe/3551674


Next: Fabled worlds Part3: ¡Lucha Libre!
Previous: Introduction

~~~
Other P&P RPGs covers current RPGs, generally small, independent releases, all-in-one rules sets, and/or freely available pdf copies. Do you have a rules set you would like to see discussed here? Submit a pdf copy to troll_hammer_press@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2010, Paul Ingrassia

Other P&P RPGs #3: Fabled Worlds RPG System: Part 1

Spotlight On: Jeff Freels and his Fabled Worlds RPG System

Part 1 of 4: Introduction

Fabled Worlds Role Playing Game System by Jeff Freels of Jeffwerx is a generic RPG system that Jeff uses to create and release ‘all-in-one’ game books based in various settings. Although the core system for Fabled Worlds has not been released on its own to date, there are three fantastic stand-alone titles available from FW: Z-Town, ¡Lucha Libre!, and BEAN! They are all short on rules and big on fun and playability.

Each title has its own setting and variation of the FW rules: Z-Town is a classic zombie apocalypse romp complete with two deadly solo adventures set in a town overtaken by a zombie horde; ¡Lucha Libre! is a quick, fast-paced dice game based on Mexican Wrestling, capable of a quick diversion or extended play, solo or multi-player; and the crown jewel of the FW line is the newly released BEAN!, a fantasy rpg that is simple and flexible, great for beginning gamers, and best of all: you get to toss your beans!

Who better to tell you about Fabled Worlds than the game creator, Jeff Freels, so lucky for us he agreed to an interview!

Interview Part 1
Q: Hi Jeff! How about an introduction, tell us all about yourself and your work.

A: Hello Paul! Well, I'm just the average blind cartoonist who spends his time drawing monsters, designing games, and playing uke.

Q: Tell us about the Fabled Worlds RPG System in general.

A: I wanted a rules-lite gaming system that put most of the emphasis on role-playing and storytelling. It was important that the mechanics be consistent, and that they work in any genre. The Fabled Worlds core rules have been tweaked slightly for each of the stand-alone releases as I've experimented with different kinds of games (modern zombie horror survival, Mexican Wrestling non RPG, and my favorite, BEAN!), but it's still essentially the same easy system. I think that's the coolest thing about the Fabled Worlds system, that with very little adjustment it can be the basis for any kind of game genre.

Q: Do you have plans to release the Fabled Worlds core rules?

A: I have a draft that's mostly done, and I would like to polish it up a bit before releasing it. The stand-alone games have also done quite a lot to help solidify and streamline various points of the core mechanics along the way. It's mostly a question of finding the time when I'm not illustrating Tunnels & Trolls stuff and working on BEAN!

Q: What future plans do you have for the Fabled Worlds games line?

A: BEAN! The D2 RPG is getting a lot of great attention lately, and I want to keep developing this. Several people, including Ken St. Andre and Mike Holcomb, have contributed adventures that I want to offer as cool little freebies on the BEANpage while I work on the next "Official Release".

Next: Fabled Worlds Part 2: Z-Town
~~~
Other P&P RPGs covers current RPGs, generally small, independent releases, all-in-one rules sets, and/or freely available pdf copies. Do you have a rules set you would like to see discussed here? Submit a pdf copy to troll_hammer_press@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2010, Paul Ingrassia

T&T 7.5 Creature Feature # 11

Creature Name: Sickening Hornets
MR: 10
Combat Dice: 2d6+5
Combat Damage: none
Special abiliites: Sickening sting. If a player get stung they must make a Con SR lvl 2 or start hurling untill their next turn. After that they will make a Con SR lvl1 if they fail that they will hurl untill their next round. After that the sickening feeling leaves them.
Description: Sickening Hornets look just like a normal hornet, only larger, and are the size of a normal man's fist. They are mostly black with a black and yellow butt end like a bee. They usually occur in groups of 3-5.

Written by Arrdhann Trrelish, Copyright © 2010, glen4642000@yahoo.com

Next: A purr-fect new kindred!

Would you like to see your nasty beastie included in Creature Feature? Have you got a new kindred or creature you want to share with the world? Send submissions to troll_hammer_press@yahoo.com and include the words 'Creature Feature' in the subject line.

Other P&P RPGs #2: Zombie Death Town

Zombie Death Town
A solo role playing game book
By Charlie Fleming
Published by Rarr! I'm A Monster Publishing

With my recent excitement over the new AMC TV series 'The Walking Dead', I have slipped into zombie mode once again. To that end, I've hunted up a few zombie games to try out. Last night I gave Zombie Death Town a whirl.

In the tradition of Tunnels & Trolls and Fighting Fantasy, ZDT is a complete solo adventure in one book, including a very basic rules set. The rules comprise only two (actually 1 2/3) pages, and the only equipment needed to play are 3d6, pencil and paper. Ultra-simplistic, there are only three steps to character creation: 2 attributes (Hit Points and Combat Score) and a name (which is optional, according to the rules). Aside from character creation, the only other rules cover basic combat, weapons, and a few special combat rules.

The remaining nine pages contain the solo adventure. I don't want to spoil any surprises, so I'll just say the adventure is short, heavy on flavor text, and had enough excitement to keep me going. My character did not survive.

I wouldn't exactly call it an award winning game or solo, but for 2 bucks, it was worth the diversion, and I did enjoy playing it. There is also a set of multi-player rules for the mini-system, available for free. It basically mirrors the solo rules set, with the main addition being a weapons chart. It could make for a good night of zombie splatter fun, but there are no rules for character development or ongoing campaigns whatsoever, and no rules for situation resolutions other than combat. Basically, a hack-and-slash system for zombie apocalypse games, good for short, combat heavy adventures.

Both the solo and multi-player booklets may be found as pdfs at: http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=3227

~~~
Other P&P RPGs covers current RPGs, generally small, independent releases, all-in-one rules sets, and/or freely available pdf copies. Do you have a rules set you would like to see discussed here? Submit a pdf copy to troll_hammer_press@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2010, Paul Ingrassia

T&T 7.5 Creature Feature # 10

Creature Name: Vampire Rat
Monster Rating: 9
Ability Modifiers: n/a
Combat Dice: 1d6+5
Special Damage: 1/1 Normal Spite Damage
Special Abilities: Blood Drain - Whenever a Vampire Rat attacks successfully, it attempts to lock its jaws into its prey. Defender must make a L1SR vs. Luck or the rat has locked on and will do an automatic three points blood drain damage per round until it or its victim is killed. The rat does this automatic damage instead of rolling for combat each round.
Description: Vampire rats are the result of a magical experiment gone wrong. They are the size of a small dog, black or brown in color, with the body of a rat and the head of a monkey. They have large human-like ears, and long, curved fangs. They are very rare, and prefer to live in forests or swamps, but can adapt to almost any temperate environment. They generally appear in groups of 2 - 6.


Concept by Paulie Ingrassia (9 years old), written by Paul Ingrassia (42 years old)

Next: This one will get you buzzed!

Copyright © 2010, Paul Ingrassia and Paul Ingrassia Jr.