The System Hits 2,000 Downloads (Plus Links to Loads of FREE RPGs!)

I'd like to start off this post by saying "Thank you!" to the 2,000 (and counting) people who, in the last seven months, have downloaded a free copy ofThe System, my universal RPG written originally in the mid-80s. I'd also like to thank Chris's Compendiums of Free Role-Playing Games, John Kim's Free RPGs on the Web, and Rob Lang over at 1KM1KT (1,000 Monkeys, 1,000 Typewriters), all of whom have taken on the vocation of helping rule-makers and home-brewers to get their work out there. Rob even goes above and beyond, working double-duty with the 24 Hour RPG competition, and triple-duty with the Game Chef competition.

So... "What's The System?" you ask?

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Some time around seventh or eighth grade (this was around 1980, mind you), I started hearing about this game called Dungeons & Dragons. I knew a couple of guys who played it, but I didn't know much more than that. I remember making the mistake of buying the blue box Expert Set without having played the game or having read the Basic (red) Rulebook. So I saved up another twelve bucks, bought the red box, figured it out (a little anyway), and convinced my younger brother to roll up a character or two. Soon enough we were on our way... to adventure!

The bigger impact on me as a role player came not long after while accompanying my mother on her trip to the hobby shop for cross-stitching supplies. It was there, in a clearance bin, I spied it... a copy of Metagaming's Wizard. It blew me away. It was simple and straightforward. But more importantly, I realized there was more than one RPG out there, and there were other ways of handling character creation and combat.

I moved onto high school, joined the "Warlords" club (our school RPG club) and was exposed to the gamut of games available on the market—simple and fun superhero games, complex medieval games, unique starship combat systems. And the more I discovered, the more interesting it became. Then it hit me... "Why isn't there one RPG that lets you play in any setting or time period." It seemed so natural to me, and I couldn't figure out why no one had done it yet. So I set about creating one.

I'd go to my dad's office every chance I got, sit at that newfangled Wang word processing workstation (you know the one, the big thing with the black screen and green text, the one hooked to that big box on the other table, next to the daisy-wheel printer), and clack-clack-clacked my way through the rules. This early version of “The System” was mostly engineered from the mechanics of other games that made the most sense to me, filling in here and there with some contrivances of my own.

By early 1986, I had a working version of the rules together. I had a few copies printed out, ready to bring them to my gaming group (to see how they played), when a friend showed up at our weekly session with the first couple of GURPS rulebooks. "AAUGH! Somebody beat me to it! (Not that I shouldn't have figured it would happen.)" Staring at those fully-illustrated/typeset/printed GURPS books, I just didn't see the point in continuing with my game.

I went off to college at the end of that summer, got REALLY busy on my schoolwork and lost time to play, and drifted away from the hobby for a while. So my rulebook sat in a folder for years... somewhat forgotten. Until I found them in a box stored in the back of my garage last year, about the same time I discovered the OSR.

Call it nostalgia for those early years, call it the internet “if he can do it, I can do it” attitude, or just call it a waste of virtual space. With a little help from my scanner, an OCR program, and 20 plus years of graphic design experience, I published my original system earlier this year via a downloadable PDF and in a print version through Lulu.com. There was very little content editing (just some clean up for comprehension and a few glaring rule inconsistencies,) and I gave it a decidedly retro bent to the layout and graphics (inspired more by the post white box wave of wargame based RPGs.) So there it is... very raw, but "out there" in the universe nonetheless.

The rules are a little bare-bones and include some very obvious holes (and more typos than I care to mention). Moreover, I feel it to be plagued by the poor writing of a teenager who had yet to discover his voice as a writer, and was doing his best not to plagiarize the writing of the games that "inspired" him.

The new layout, however, is much more user-friendly than the original version produced on that Paleolithic word processor with monospaced daisy-wheel printing and justification forced to the point of illegibility. (It might as well have been chiselled on stone.) And with the addition of a few perfect pieces of vintage public domain clip art, I think it captures the spirit of that early wave of (now “retro”) role playing games. (BTW, there is a much smarter, much stronger, much deeper, and much more streamlined version in the works - The System: Expanded.)

So why did I put it that original (albeit re-published) version out there? Vanity? Legacy? Boredom? Most likely a combination of all three.

I hoped that somebody might find something useful in there, whether it be a game mechanic they'd adapt for their own use, an insight to the home-grown nature of early role-playing games, or (at the risk being committed) a system of mechanics they actually use outright!

So what do those 2,000+ people who've downloaded The System think of it? I have no idea. Though my email address appears with the copyright indicia, I have yet to hear from a single one.

To download a PDF of The System, follow this link to MediaFire.

And don't forget to let me know what you think. I've been in the advertising/design biz for 25 years. I've got thick skin. I can take it.

New OE/BX Monster: Guardian Bramble

From the upcoming module
OE1 The Mysterious Mist of Foxpond,
an introductory OE/BX OSR adventure
for characters level 1-3.

NO. APPEARING: 4-16
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVE: Nil
HIT DICE: 1-2
% IN LAIR: 100%
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE: See below
ALIGNMENT: Neutral

Guardian brambles are fashioned by magic means from standard bramble bushes.

To create a guardian bramble a medium-level magic-user must enchant the brambles through use of a magical tome, or an 8th-level+ magic-user may use a combination of the following: a polymorph object spell, a strength spell, and a charm monster spell.

Guardian brambles are engaged to perform the simple act of protecting doors and passageways, and will try to stop anyone from passing except as instructed by their creator. A guardian bramble appears larger, thicker, and thornier than a standard bramble, and will never bear fruit (berries.) Each guardian bramble bush stands between 2' and 3' tall, and occupies anywhere from 3-5 square feet of ground. Furthermore, it will appear as a normal plant type and is not usually detected as anything more (unless detected by magic or some similar means) until it is approached or engaged in an effort by and intruding party to pass and access the door or passage beyond it. At that point, it will attack any creature within 3' of the area it protects.

A hit by a guardian bramble indicates that the target (i.e., “victim”) is entwined within it’s branches. Each bush has a strength equal to its current hit points. A victim compares his strength against the bush that has entwined it and has a 10% chance to escape for every strength point of difference (e.g., a 1 point advantage give the victim a 10% chance, a 2 point advantage gives the victim a 20% chance, and so on.) If the victim has a deficit in points, he will take a number of points of damage equal to the difference. Any entwined creature suffers a -1 penalty on it’s “to hit” rolls while entangled.

New OE/BX Monster: Canine Flesh Golem

From the upcoming module
OE1 The Mysterious Mist of Foxpond,
an introductory OE/BX OSR adventure
for characters level 1-3.

NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 7
MOVE: 10
HIT DICE: 2
% IN LAIR: 100%
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE: 2-8
ALIGNMENT: Neutral

A canine flesh golem is a dog that is animated by magical means from the corpses of dead dogs.

To create a canine flesh golem a high-level magic-user must engage the corpse (or corpses) of a dead dog through use of a magical tome, or a 12th-level+ magic-user may use a combination of the following: a polymorph object spell, a strength spell, a charm monster spell, and a wish spell. Synthesizing the creature costs 500 gold pieces per hit point of the creature, and requires two weeks time.

A canine flesh golem will follow only standard canine commands (heel, fetch, growl, attack, etc.) and only from its creator. Additionally, the activities of a canine flesh golem may be “suspended” until triggered by some event (e.g., when someone enters the room.) They are, however, quite unpredictable and there is a 5% chance per melee round that a canine flesh golem will go wild and randomly attack any creature in sight. There is also only a 5% chance per melee round that the creature's master may regain control of the beast.

Canine flesh golems are unharmed by normal weapons, but are normally affected by magical ones. Electrical attacks will actually restore the creatures lost hit points at a rate equal to the damage that sort of attack may normally do (e.g., a 4 point lightning bolt would restore 4 hits points to the creature.) Fire- and cold-based attacks will slow canine flesh golems by 50% for 3-12 melee rounds. Otherwise, most spells will have no effect on the creature.

d30 Chart of the Week: Hit-Area Determination

This week's d30 Feature presents a hit area determination chart for hex-based combat facing (center facing, right facing, right flank, rear, left flank and left facing.) I have to admit, the chart is really better suited for ranged attacks than for HTH combat, but it's still passable. To download the PDF from MediaFire, click on the image at left or click here.

Quick Character Generator PDF

This 11"x17" PDF features tables to quickly generate Animé characters but can be easily adapted for use in fantasy, superhero and sci-fi genres for both PCs and NPCs. No ratings or points are assigned, only generalities for the following: 1) body type, 2) personality, 3) skills, and 4) powers/origin of powers.

This chart was developed as part of an early incarnation of StoryCode AG, when character generation was randomly determined rather than an extension of an archetype/pt. build system.

Note: This chart uses a d4, d6, d8 and d10; it does NOT use a d30. (Sorry to disappoint the d30 fans out there; maybe I'll adapt it for d30 use in the coming weeks.)

To download the PDF from MediaFire, click here.

Starmasters Preview: Sluuth (Character Race)

Sluuth: (singular and plural; a “Sluuth”;
the “Sluuth”; pron. SLOO-uth)

OVERVIEW

The Sluuth are a cumbersome, multi-pedal race, which may be explained by their origins on a high-gravity world. Two sets of eyes (fore and rear) give them 360 degree vision, but their massive size requires the need for constant sustenance and causes narcoleptic behavior.

Their society is dependent on one technology—genetic engineering. As a result of their “purification” through breeding and genetics, there is little variance in appearance among individuals, making it easy to mistake one for another. Additionally, as a by-product of their self-proclaimed “genetic superiority,” they are extremely snobbish when dealing with other races.

Their world is resource-rich and features thirteen vastly different moons. Their government is a technocracy that is ethical in its own way, holding high regard and affording extreme protection to most intellectual property and technological innovation.

Attribute modifications: +1 STR, -1 ACC, -1 MOV, +1 INT, +4 HPs.

SPECIAL ABILITIES

There is a reason that Sluuth are so “genetically conceited,” as they have developed a great number of special abilities through their unique approach to selective genetics.

Acid Glands
Each Sluuth possesses a pair of glands situated at the corners of his mouth that secrets an acidic substance that aids in digestion. They are also able to squirt this secretion at a distance of 1 meter (1 hex,) with the secretion acting as a Type I Acid, with 1 RP on the C Effect Scale.

Resistant Skin
Sluuth skin has been bred to be as protective as possible, giving adult Sluuth Acid, Fire and Electrical Resistance (at 1 RP each,) and a Natural Armor of 1 RP.

Water Abilities
Sluuth have the ability to breathe and move underwater freely with their ACC and MOV unaffected.

Psionic Inability
While the Sluuth’s self-acquired evolution has made them stronger and more intelligent, it has also limited their capacity for natural psionics. Sluuth are, therefore, incapable of achieving psionic abilities without the aid of some sort of external psionic stimulant in the form of neurological equipment. Ironically, their hubris keeps most Sluuth from admitting they need such devices and, as such, will rarely use them.

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Starmasters is the old-school science fiction game of interstellar exploration, conquest, and proliferation. (Currently in development from New Big Dragon Games Unlimited.)

Illustration of the Week: Double Shot

Today's 1st Image (at left): Ubiquitous Group Illustration. (Need I say more?)

Today's 2nd Image (below): a drawing inspired by the illustration from page 35 of the D&D White Box "Men & Magic" book (on right.)

Both images ©2011, Richard Jean LeBlanc, Jr./New Big Dragon Games Unlimited. If anyone would like to use either of these illustrations, please contact me for a release. These images are NOT CREATIVE COMMONS! You must have my permission for all distributed/reproduced use! I will, in most cases, be happy to grant it and provide you a PDF or print-resolution JPG. (Thanks for understanding.)