T&T 7.5 Creature Feature # 25

For the 25th edition of TROLL HAMMER's Creature Feature, The Mighty Trollgod, Ken St. Andre, provides us with a bruiser of a Troll armed with, you guessed it, a mighty, magical trollhammer. His work is accompanied once again by an incredible rendering by Christa St. Jean.

T & T Characters You Don’t Want to Meet



Name: Blood-Eyezz
Level: 18
Kindred: Rock Troll
Class: Does Not Apply

STR: 182
Luck: 38
DEX: 13
SPD: 30
INT: 15
WIZ: 9
CON: 123
CHR: 34

ADDS: 215
HT: 15’ 2”
WT: 2380 lbs.
AGE: 1432

Weapon: A massive enchanted Trollish warhammer (245 D6 + 49 adds) (This weapons constantly emits flashes of energy that takes the form of crackling green lightning around the head of the hammer.)

Description: Blood-Eyezz gained his name because his eyes appear to be two pools of blood set into his craggy head. The lava-like blood that animates his body sometimes burns through the thin layer of stone on his face and gives him the appearance of weeping blood.

Background: Blood-Eyezz the Rock Troll was one of Lerotra’hh’s corps of Trolls who fought for her during the War of Liberation. When the war ended, he went back to wandering around Trollworld. He sometimes goes underground for years at a time, but he is a wanderer, and may be found almost anywhere if his aimless travels have led him back to the surface. Lerotra’hh had Chthonian smiths make the trollhammer, only one of many magical weapons created for her fighters during the great war of Monster Kindreds versus Good Kindreds.

Copyright © 2012, Ken St. Andre
Art Copyright © 2012, Christa St. Jean

~~~

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? Do you have a favorite player or non-player character you want to show off? Send submissions to the_mystic_fool@yahoo.com and include the words 'Creature Feature' in the subject line.

~ the game as it is played ~

Check out my new post, John Q. Public, up at The Trollhalla Outer Sanctum, a brief exploration of playing Human Citizen characters:

http://trollhalla.com/outer-sanctum/2012/03/28/john-q-public/

Enjoy!

~now for something completely different~

Tired of eating fat, blubbery Hobb meat?
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Looking for a healthier, leaner bit of Hobb to sink your fangs into?

LOOK NO FURTHER!!!

NEW from the creators of HOBB BITS...

INTRODUCING...

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That's right Trolls, Hobburgers!
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100% free-range Hobbs, trimmed of all fat, ground and formed into patties!

Each patty individually flash frozen by a powerful wizard, and instantly defrosted with the utterance of a key word! Grill-ready in seconds!

Healthy Trolls prefer...

!!!!!HOBBURGERS!!!!!

{Brought to you by Fritroll-Lay, makers of healthy snacks for over 250 years}

Coming Soon: Dwarf-Kabobs

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming...

Initiate Landing Sequence...

...ROGUE SPACE is in docking position!



The print edition of Rogue Space by CR Brandon is now available for ordering!

Don't know what Rogue Space is? Check out my review for an overview of the rules, as well as sample characters and a solo campaign report.

This great set of rules includes my first ever published solo adventure, entitled 'Shrooms'. It is a neat little sword & planet adventure designed to help new players learn how the rules work.

CR is selling the print edition for only the cost of production, and if you visit his Rogue Space blog, you'll even find a discount code for a further 15% off!!!

There are also plans for a fanzine entitled Rogue Transmissions to be released in the near future, which I hope to have a contribution in.

If you enjoy Rogue Space, please consider donating to the Rogue Space Program (details at the Rogue Space blog). CR is not making a single penny from the sale of Rogue Space, and the future existence of this neat little game is going to depend entirely on fan response and donations. I've got a lot of plans for Rogue Space, so give a couple of bucks and help keep this star ship in orbit!

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!

T&T 7.5 Creature Feature # 24

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE WEIRD KIND

A Special T&T NEW KHAZAN Creature Feature
by the one and only 'Mad' Roy Cram (Channeling Professor Whenn)

SPACE HAUNTS

On almost every known inhabited planet it seems there are bizarre and unusual happenings referred to as ‘hauntings’. It should surprise no one, then, that there are similar kinds of events in space, on spacecraft and in space bases. What is unusual, is the relatively higher incidence of these occurrences compared to the low population level.

The great majority of space hauntings seem to involve one susceptible individual who becomes the center, or focal point, of the event. People who have a history of using or abusing mind altering drugs, medications or alcohol, and those who have been exposed to serious or extensive traumatic experiences are the most frequently afflicted.

What happens can vary from mild and relatively harmless up to, and including, very severe and extremely serious life threatening crises. The average ‘haunting’ starts off slowly at a low level, and then builds quickly to a peak. Once the peak of activity is reached they tend to taper abruptly and rapidly, but, in some cases, may continue until the focus person is driven to suicide or forced to retire from the space service. The 'haunting’ does not seem to follow these people once they leave the ship or base where it occurred.



Some of the ‘haunting’ manifestations that occur are detailed below.

1. ‘Cold Spots’: These are areas of a ship or base where a person feels suddenly chilled. This happens despite the fact that instruments detect normal temperatures at that site. This is one of the ‘haunting’ events that persons other than the focal point can feel. It is often accompanied by a feeling of intense dread or apprehension.

2. Visual Manifestations: the victim may see things, ranging from annoying peripheral vision flashes or eerie ghost-like creatures scuttling down distant hallways, to faces in mirrors, or even full-blown apparitions, usually of persons the victim knew or knows. These visions are generally accompanied by intense feelings of awe or fear. The victim is the only one who can see these things, and usually only when they are alone.

3. Auditory Manifestations: Victims may hear a variety of unpleasant noises, hissing, indistinct muttering, footsteps, knocking, distant wailing or weeping sounds, voices that speak to them or threaten them, or any combination of these events. Often the voices urge them to do terrible things. Only the victim can hear these manifestations, and this case often resembles a mild to severe case of schizophrenia. The cessation of these events, when the victim leaves the ship or base, tends to rule against the diagnosis of mental illness as a cause.

4. Full Manifestations: Sometimes a full blown ‘ghost’ will appear to the victim and actually converse or talk to them. Fortunately this is quite rare, as it is a very severe form of manifestation, often with dire results.

5. Tactile Phenomena: Some victims may experience the sensations of being touched, stroked, scratched, struck, or bitten. These events may leave wounds or bruises. Severe cases can result in significant injuries. Stigmata may occur in rare instances. Again, these events resolve once the person affected leaves the haunted environment.

6. Poltergeist Phenomena: This is a very dramatic and frightening kind of event. Objects around or near the focal person may be moved, levitated, broken, thrown, or otherwise manipulated. This generally happens while the victim is alone. Auditory manifestations usually accompany severe incidents.

Severe cases of extreme hauntings can endanger a ship or base, and must be dealt with before they get out of control. Often the only recourse is to restrain or lock up the victim and keep him under watch at all times. Sometimes chemical sedation is necessary. Hauntings almost never kill their focal person, but they do drive many insane. Crazy crew members can do serious harm to their ship mates or to their ship. Ship doctors find these cases very frustrating as standard medical interventions do not seem to be helpful. It is hard to tell if the patient is possessed, haunted, or just simply off his rocker.

Priests, shamans, wizards, and exorcists are often consulted in these cases, and have proved useful in some events. In rare cases, however, they have only aggravated the manifestation and made it worse. In very rare instances, the practitioner becomes the new focal point of the haunt which then assaults him with a vengeance.

Something other than simple mental aberration or illness must be involved, because of the higher rates of these kinds of incidents in space, and because there are ships and bases where the problem is very severe and persistent in a manner and at a rate that defies the rules and laws of probability. One can only hope that some day scientists will solve the mystery of these haunting phenomena and find effective ways of treating or preventing them.

G.M. notes: These events are usually limited to vessels where crew members work alone in creepy environments. Loners are more likely to be affected. A roll of 2D6 can be used by G.M.’s to determine the severity of the problem; the higher the number rolled the longer and more severe the haunting. Boxcars (double sixes) are a disaster while snake eyes (double ones) are merely annoying. It is probably best for G.M.’s to tailor the events in such a way as to make the story interesting and exciting for the players. I like to pass little notes to the players, telling the victims what they are experiencing and let them respond and interact with the other players accordingly. Some really fun and interesting role playing can result in such cases, a nice change from battling mutated bugs or other awful creatures.

SPACE MADNESS

This mental malady could be written off as simple psychiatric illness except for the unusually high rates at which it occurs in spacers and on space ships. Some authorities are convinced it is related to space haunting phenomena though it lacks the characteristic events that usually accompany the latter condition.

The most common problem that arises is paranoia in a susceptible individual. The victim becomes progressively more convinced that something terrible is about to happen and/or his shipmates are all out to harm or kill him. Often the patient complains in therapy of the little voices that whisper in his head and reinforce his delusions. Paranoids are very dangerous because they are usually able to act and appear rational and harmless until the late stages of their problem drive them to desperate measures or acts which they commit in an effort to ‘protect’ themselves or the ship. Note: The computer HAL in the 2001 Space Odyssey was the perfect paranoid.



Depression is a less dangerous malady, as far as the rest of the crew is concerned. The chief problem here is the loss of the victim as an effective crew member. The risk of suicide is very high in these persons, but only in the rarest of instances will one of them decide to take the rest of the crew and the ship with them.

The last and, fortunately, rarest of the mental problems that afflict spacers is the simple nervous collapse or mental breakdown which leaves the victim in a state of helplessness, and even, in severe cases, catatonia. Such a crewperson must be restrained and sedated in the former case, and, in the latter, watched for the rare abrupt and violent manic state that sometimes comes over the catatonic patient. This can be a problem in a short-handed crew, especially if the victim has personal skills needed to operate the ship and cannot be spared.

Standard medical intervention and treatment of these individuals is the rule here, but it is only helpful in a few cases. Getting them off the ship and into a planet based hospital is almost always very helpful.

G.M. notes: I like to use the mental collapse state if someone in the crew drops out of the game. The role of paranoid can be used to liven up some of the dull hours when a ship is cruising between stars or planets and we don’t want everyone to get bored. I pass notes to my best role players and let them know if they are crazy, and let the interaction begin! It can get interesting!

SPACE 'VERMIN'

Some things exist in space that can defy logical and reasonable explanation. Three major kinds of entities (?) have been encountered by space ships in deep space, but still virtually nothing is known about any of them.

Nannites or Miconauts
These creatures, or ships, or whatever they are, simply appear as tiny gray specks about the size of a terrestrial midge. There may be several hundred of these at once. They just suddenly show up on a ship and then swarm busily about, as if inspecting the crew members and other objects on board, and then, buzz off and disappear. They have so far successfully avoided all efforts to communicate with them or capture them. Scientists have offered large rewards to anyone who can provide them with a specimen.

Void Faeries
This is another ‘visitor’ entity that sometimes appears mysteriously on board a ship. They are made of colored strands of bright colored light, and have gorgeous wings. Again they show not the least interest in communicating, and no one has been able to capture one. They sometimes will take some small object with them when they fly away to wherever they hide or disappear to. Many people who have seen them say that the experience makes one feel really good, a virtual high. They are considered harbingers of good fortune. Again, scientists would love to have a specimen to study.

Tiger Eyes
These odd things are dark spheres about the size of a bowling ball. Large swarms of them will appear outside spaceships and follow them for millions of miles. They do not enter ships, but may sit on the hull as if hitching a ride. While they are doing this they often assume the appearance of the mineral called Tiger Eye, and they are quite beautiful to behold. They have never been reported to do harm to any ship or any of its crew. In fact, if a crewman emerges from the ships airlock, they all fly away at once in a mad rush and swiftly vanish. They are just one more of the many mysteries of space that drive exobiologists crazy.

I Hope you have found my brief essay interesting and entertaining!
Professor Whenn

Copyright © 2012, Roy Cram
Artwork free for use from http://openclipart.org/about
New Khazan Copyright © Peryton Publishing


~~~

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? Do you have a favorite player or non-player character you want to show off? Send submissions to the_mystic_fool@yahoo.com and include the words 'Creature Feature' in the subject line.

T&T Supplement: TrollsZine #4

After a seeming eternity of waiting, TrollsZine #4 has finally arrived! The verdict? WELL worth the wait! Following are a few of my humble thoughts about the contents of this issue.

Truckloads of cheese and biscuits to the editors, past and present: Dan Prentice, Scott Grant, and Dan Hembree. Thanks for all the hard work guys! I'm looking forward to #5 and beyond.

The artwork was exciting and provided by over a dozen talented T&T artists, including TWO full color pieces by the amazing Liz Danforth, and a bunch of work by two of my personal favorites, Jeff Freels and David Ullery. All under a great cover by Chad Thorsen (I love it). 'Nuff said!

Each piece of writing had a certain amount of value and appeal for me.

The Delverton piece, by Lee Reynoldson, continues to deliver the quality of its preceding entries in earlier issues with a general store that can certainly provide some fun. Good adventure hooks here.

Tori Bergquist’s Thalindar Vokaryane is an interesting character, indeed, with a colorful background and an ultraviolent future in the making. It is amazing how just a few paragraphs of rich background detail can add so much to a character. Well done!

I enjoyed Al McDougall’s Survival Kit very much, but then, I enjoyed it when I picked it up at RPGNow a while ago as well. This version differs in style and layout, and is one table short, which makes sense since the RPGNow version is still for sale (last I checked, anyhow). This is a cool little cheat sheet, essential for new players just learning the rules, and handy for old timers who don't feel like flipping pages looking for tables.

When I first saw the Horses article by Justin T. Williams, I groaned through my teeth and thought 'How many pages of rules? For horses?' I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. While I don't think it is critical for my general style of play, it is absolutely great if you happen to have a character whose horse is almost like an extension of him, or a game in which horses play an essential role. The rules are easily integrated into a game, and as the author reminds us, just strip down the info to what makes sense for your own style of play. It could be fun to role-play a cavalry unit with these rules. Great job!

I haven't played Mike Eidson’s Down Time solo yet. I just might run Warrax through this one; he has been in a sort of limbo since he won ten combats in the Arena of Khazan a couple of years back. Mike’s solo about off-time between delves sounds like just the ticket to get Warrax back into the game. Of course, we’ll have to see if he survives.

Zachary and Joshua Ullery treat us to the mouthwatering Unlucky Unicorn menu which certainly gave me a few chuckles. I’ll start with an order of Nymph Nuggets, followed by Hobbit Hash, with a Bloody Mary (Type O Negative, of course) to wash it all down. Mmmm. Oh, and a Brownie Brownie, gotta have one of them!

Cristina Lea’s fiction could easily be turned into an exciting wilderness/urban adventure. Some really great ideas here, but I don’t want to go into any detail and spoil the story for those who haven’t read it yet.

The How to Write a Solo Article by Simon Rafe was interesting, however the overall process seems complex to me. Everyone has a different writing style, and I enjoy pieces describing a writer's process. I need to go back and re-read the earlier articles, then read this one again. I look forward to future installments.

My two favorite pieces were Patrice Geille’s Mass Combat, and The Wild Woods GM Adventure by Russ Westbrook and Scott Grant.

There is so much I could write about Mass Combat, it is a topic I enjoy, and as any of you regular readers know, I am particularly fond of running skirmish setups. I have been thinking of using T&T rules for a few skirmishes to see how they would work, and this article articulates many of the thoughts that have been bubbling in my brain. Strange, I've been playing T&T for over 25 years and I never set up minis and skirmished with the rules. Funny, T&T is probably the only game that I have played with any regularity that I've never used minis or counters with. But that's going to change, soon. Yep, this article was right up my alley.

There's a pretty good chance that Wild Wood is going to be that stomping ground where I bring T&T and skirmishing together on my solo table for the first time. This scenario is so ripe with ideas it's ready to bust open! It brings together two of my other favorites: goblins and fairies. I have a bunch of Heroquest goblin figures, and the T&T7.5 counters will do just nicely to keep track of where the tiny little fairies are.

OK, and now the best part of all this? TROLLSZINE IS FREE!?!?! All this T&T goodness by an assortment of incredibly creative people, FREE.

You heard me, right? I said FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DO NOT PAY A PENNY FOR TROLLSZINE TO ANYONE, PERIOD! IT IS FREE!

I could really go postal with this one, but, in all seriousness, swing by Dan Hembree's great blog: http://danhemsgamingblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/trollszine-is-free-and-not-for-sale.html#comment-form for a very important message.

When you're done there, go to https://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?&manufacturers_id=2238& and get your FREE copy. Oh, and don't forget to nab issues # 1, 2, and 3 as well. Guess what? They're FREE, too.

So that's it! My brief reflections on TrollsZine #4. A great issue, filled to brimming with talented writers and artists.

In a word: AWESOMESAUCE!

(Sorry. Just got a few more in me, then I'll be over it, really. Maybe.)

Copyright © 2012, Paul Ingrassia

Other P&P RPGs #8: Awesomesauce: The Roleplaying Game

I have come to love the PocketMod format, and I have a whole stack of PocketMod games that I've downloaded, printed, and played or will play, and they are all just waiting to make appearances here at TROLL HAMMER. I guess you could say I think PocketMods are Awesomesauce.

Speaking of Awesomesauce, this leads to me explaining the source of my sudden infatuation with this silly word:

Awesomesauce: the Roleplaying Game, by Mark Meredith of Dice Monkey.

Mark originally created the rules on Twitter in just a few minutes. What he accomplished with Awesomesauce is minimalist Roleplaying at its minimum. So much so, that if I attempted to explain the game, I would have told you the rules in total. So, with his kind permission to reprint them here, I will let Mr. Meredith tell you the rules himself:



Awesomesauce: The Roleplaying Game

CHARACTER CREATION

Name your character. They begin the game with 1 Awesomesauce. Play the game.

THE GAME

When faced with any challenge, your character will roll a number of d6's equal to their Awesomesauce value. They roll a competing roll against the monster or object they are in conflict with.

Example: Dave the Barbarian has 1 Awesomesauce. The Orc he’s facing also has 1. They roll their dice against one another. Whoever rolls higher wins.

If you lose, you lose one point of Awesomesauce until you rest. If you are reduced to 0 Awesomesauce, and are in combat, you are unconscious. If you aren’t in combat, you cannot attempt that roll again until you’ve rested.

Example: Bill the Rogue wants to pick a lock. He has 2 Awesomesauce. The lock has 3. Bill rolls, as does the GM. Bill has a 7, while the GM rolled a 12. Bill’s Awesomesauce is reduced by 1. He can attempt to roll again, but it’s going to be even harder this time.

If you describe doing something awesome, your Awesomesauce will go up by 1, permanently. That’s how you grow in power.

Awesomesauce describes everything you do. A mage uses Awesomesauce to cast spells. A barbarian uses Awesomesauce to hit people with swords.

~~~

That is the basic rules set in its entirety. Nothing ground-breaking or innovative, but elegantly simple, just grab some dice and play, dang it! Awesomesauce is very suitable for fast-play tabletop skirmish battles (see below), it has excellent beer and pretzels potential (even sloshed you can remember these rules), and has a built-in, essential need for tweaking and house ruling. It works for a one-offer, particularly solo skirmish battles, which I am very fond of. The question arose in my mind: can it withstand continued play and character advancement with so few rules?

Almost immediately after the initial rules, a supplement was created: The Awesomesauce Fantasy Bestiary, also by Mark, and also reprinted here (with permission) for your perusal:



Awesomesauce: The Fantasy Bestiary

The following monsters are listed by their Awesomesauce level.

1 Awesomesauce
Kobold, Goblin, War Dog, Eagle, Green Slime

2 Awesomesauce
Orc, Giant Bat, Skeleton, Wolf, Zombie, Bullywug, Darkmantle

3 Awesomesauce
Gelatinous Cube, Gnoll, Pegasus, Tiger, Ghoul, Lizard Man, Cloaker

4 Awesomesauce
Ogre, Hippogriff, Warg, Wight, Grey Ooze, Draconian, Roper

5 Awesomesauce
Hill Giant, Gryphon, Displacer Beast, Wraith, Ochre Jelly, Mimic, Yuan-ti, Grell

6 Awesomesauce
Stone Giant, Peryton, Ceberus, Spectre, Doppleganger, Naga

7 Awesomesauce
Fire Giant, Chimera, Mummy

8 Awesomesauce
Cloud Giant, Sphinx, Vampire

9 Awesomesauce
Storm Giant, Roc, Lich, Illithid

10 Awesomesauce
Dragon

~~~

Aside from reminding me of early D&D, this short list went a long way to causing my questioning further the 'If you describe doing something awesome, your Awesomesauce will go up by 1, permanently. That’s how you grow in power' rule. I thought 'If a dragon is only 10 Awesomesauce, it must be a long ride for a character to get to 10 Awesomesauce'. And thus was born my first Awesomesauce house rule, which adds to the 'grow in power' rule:

House Rule #1: If you describe doing something awesome, your Awesomesauce will go up by 1, permanently. That’s how you grow in power. Characters are limited to earning 1 additional Awesomesauce per adventure. They do not necessarily receive one every adventure, only on adventures in which they do something that is awesome.

Thus, even if someone does something truly Awesomesauce every adventure or even multiple times per adventure, it will take at least 10 such adventures to reach the power of a dragon. Still pretty quick, in my estimation, but this is a minimalist RPG, after all, and there has to be some gratification from advancement.

Another supplement was then released by Mark, and, with his approval, I provide it here for you as well:



Amazeballs!

Your character still has just one stat: Awesomesauce. However: You can now do things that are AMAZEBALLS! At any point, you may choose, when you roll the dice, to expend a certain number of Awesomesauce to do something that is Amazeballs. If you do, first describe the amazing thing you do. You then choose a number of points to reduce your Awesomesauce by, and if you succeed at the roll, rather than reducing the enemy by one Awesomesauce, they are reduced by the amount you were reduced by.

Example: There’s a big, scary dragon. Dave the barbarian decides to do a roundhouse kick to the dragon’s face, something that is truly Amazeballs. He has five Awesomesauce. The dragon has been reduced to six Awesomesauce. He decides to expend four Awesomesauce. When he does his Amazeballs thing, he rolls, beats the dragon’s roll, and now has reduced the dragon to only two Awesomesauce! Now his companions can beat the dragon to a pulp. Unfortunately, he’s now reduced to only one Awesomesauce. Poor, poor Dave.

And that’s all there is to it! AMAZEBALLS!

~~~

So simple! This led me to another tweaking:

House Rule #2: Successfully accomplishing something that is Amazeballs qualifies as awesome and earns the character his additional permanent Awesomesauce point for that adventure.

So, now I've read the rules, absorbed them, and added a few house rules for advancement. I'm ready for the solo play test.

Awesomesauce Play Reports

I decided to go with a few solo tabletop miniatures skirmishes to test drive the Awesomesauce rules.

Battle #1
February 19, 1862
Two confederate soldiers, Matt Cooper and Justin Smith, have been separated from their battalion and are on the run from Union forces. They stumble upon a small, hidden cave and decide to duck in. Once inside the tiny crevice, they discover a flight of carved stone stairs heading down into the darkness...

Matt Cooper
Awesomesauce: 1
Stuff: 2 pistols, sword

Justin Smith
Awesomesauce: 1
Stuff: 2 pistols, knife

They descend the stairs and come upon a room with tiled walls, marbled floors, and a well at the far end. The walls are curved into a somewhat clover-shaped footprint. The room is lit by two small stone braziers upon two-foot-tall stone pedestals. The two men notice two small chests and about a dozen clay coffers. As the two Confederates reach the midpoint of the strange room, a band of four goblins (Awesomesauce 1 each) leap out from the shadows by the well and charge.

The surprised soldiers manage to fire off a few rounds at the charging goblins, killing two. They did not fare so well in melee, however, as when the goblins closed they made quick work of our intrepid heroes.


After Battle #1, I had an idea for an Awesomesauce supplement, so without further ado, here is my first offering for the Awesomesauce RPG:



Amplescrew
An Awesomesauce RPG Supplement
by Paul Ingrassia

Amplescrew works just like Awesomesauce, but is not expended with use, is only available via an item to which it is permanently linked, and is only usable under a defined set of circumstances.

Example: After defeating the Orc he was facing, Dave the Barbarian found a Magic Sword (Amplescrew 1) hidden among a pile of bones. The sword will grant him 1 additional, non-expendable Awesomesauce point (one extra d6) for every melee combat roll with it.

Another Example: Fizz the Wiz found a gnarled stick in an abandoned hut. It turns out to be a powerful Magic Wand (Amplescrew 2) that grants him 2 extra Awesomesauce points (2d6) whenever he rolls to cast a spell with it!

Yet Another Example: Bill the Rogue bought a 'Skeleton Key' lock pick (Amplescrew 1) on the black market. Every time he uses this specially crafted tool while attempting to pick a lock, he gets 1 extra Awesomesauce point (1d6) for his roll.

~~~

Now I have a vehicle for magic items, special weapons/tools, and weird science devices. Now THAT is Awesomesauce!

On with the play reports...

Battle #2
For this battle I decided to go a little more straight fantasy, with experienced characters, and I wrote the Amplescrew supplement for it. Abel and Agonn, two renowned warriors down on their luck, have discovered the entrance to an ancient tomb. They decide to check it out for treasure and slowly descend the rough-hewn stone stairs.

Abel
Awesomesauce: 4
Stuff: Magic Sword (Amplescrew: 1)

Agonn
Awesomesauce: 2
Stuff: Magic Sword (Amplescrew: 3)

Note: Abel and Agonn's Awesomesauce and Amplescrew were determined by random die rolls of 1d4

They discover a dark, dusty room with two stone sarcophagi. They stop to examine some stone jugs and hear whispers of movement all around them. What first appeared as stone statues are now moving, and are revealed to actually be five skeletons (Awesomesauce 2 each) closing in on them from all sides.

The mighty warriors almost get surrounded, but they manage to position themselves to fight one opponent each at a time. They easily defeated the skeletons in just a few combat rounds.

Battle #3
I decided to send Agonn from the previous battle into the same room against four skeletons that are identical to the skeletons of the previous battle.

When Agonn reached the center of the room and the skeletons attacked he was quickly engaged by two. I decided to roll the skeleton's Awesomesauce together for battle since they were attacking together. Agonn won the roll, so each skeleton lost an Awesomesauce point.

The next round found Agonn surrounded. Again, I combined the Awesomesauce of all four skeletons (1 each for the wounded ones, 2 each for the 'fresh' ones). Our mighty hero once again rolled higher, and two skeletons were defeated and the other two knocked down to 1 Awesomesauce left apiece.

Agonn made quick work of the remaining two in the final combat round.

More House Rules

Battle #s 2 and 3 led me to incorporating a few more new tweaks:

House Rule #3: Multiple allies may add their Awesomesauce scores together for melee combat rolls, but if they lose, each of them loses an Awesomesauce point. If they win, the loser(s) lose one Awesomesauce apiece for each of the allies who attacked.

House Rule #4: Tie rolls for challenges or combat indicate a stalemate and nobody loses an Awesomesauce point. The roll may be attempted again.

House Rule #5: During ranged combat, if the shooter misses, he does NOT lose an Awesomesauce point. I could not justify the next shot being harder, or a character falling unconscious, just because he missed a ranged attack.

I went on to play two more battles, much lengthier. The first was a steampunk fantasy sort of setting, humans armed with black powder weapons vs. goblins with integrated steam-enhanced weaponry (sort of steam-borgs) led by a mighty orc warlord. The humans won. The second, inspired by The Walking Dead, was a strange alternate history sort of setup, zombie apocalypse in 1864. The American Civil War ended when the zombie apocalypse began. Our intrepid hero, a highly experienced Confederate Veteran (Awesomesauce: 5) is holed up in his remote forest cabin trying to survive the apocalypse. Little does he know, a zombie horde is approaching. This was the most fun scenario, and the longest, and it gave me a few opportunities to try Amazeballs feats. It was tough, but in the end, our hero survived, and he killed a total of 15 zombies before the area around his cabin was cleared.

So there you have it, a spartan set of rules that are easy to remember and use. Will this be the next RPG rage? Probably not, but it sure has value, for those times when you just want to grab some dice and play, rules be damned! I just might have to try a sustained solo campaign, just to see how it fits and what other house rules I can dream up.

Be sure to swing by Mark Meredith’s most excellent site, Dice Monkey, to check out the original rules postings, as well as to find out where to get a free PocketMod version of the rules.


Article Copyright© 2012, Paul Ingrassia

Awesomesauce: The Roleplaying Game, Awesomesauce: The Fantasy Bestiary, and Amazeballs! are Copyright© 2011-2012, Mark Meredith

Amplescrew, An Awesomesauce RPG Supplement is Copyright© 2012, Paul Ingrassia

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