Heroic RPG Day at CSW!

Saturday, April 24 two KGS members will be hosting events at Comic Store West's Heroic RPG Day. The event is being held to celebrate the release of the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Game by Margaret Weis. Sessions are from 11-3 and 4-8.

Scott will be running the new Marvel RPG in both sessions. Sam will be running Judge Dredd in the first session. Advanced sign-ups are required. When I checked earlier today, there were only a few spots left! Hope to see you there!

 

Role Playing Games I'm Looking Forward to in 2012

The three RPG games I’m looking forward to most in 2012:

1> Mutant Epoch – Even though this game came out toward the end of 2011 I have not had a chance to read or play it yet.  There is a ton of support for this game and I am really looking forward to playing it.

2> Marvel RPG – Fans of the KGS know how much I love the original Marvel RPG.  Well the new version is about a month away and I am very excited to see what they done to it. 

3> Finally, just announced D&D 5.0.  Yes you heard it a new version of Dungeons and Dragons is due out by the end of 2012.  WOTC is promising to design a game based on input from the many, many fans of the game.  Play testing to start very soon.  I was not a huge fan of 4th edition but I’m hoping all of the problems from 4th will be adjusted with the new version later this year.  Hopefully it will it stores before the end of the world on December 21.

Marvel Heroes RPG Basic Game

At last, the new Marvel Comics RPG game is now orderable.
Tell your FLGS (hopefully it's our sponsor Comic Store West) that you want to order this game.

Due to ship February 2012.

What are your 10 Favorite RPG games of all time?

I googled this and found several websites where the author or authors listed the best RPG game systems of all time.  It seems like the following list is what most people seem to think:


10 - Gamma World
9 - Vampire the Masquerade
8 - RuneQuest
7 - Champions
6 - Tunnels & Trolls
5 - GURPS
4 - Star Wars
3 - Traveller
2 - Call of Cthulhu
1 - Dungeons and Dragons

Now I gotta say there are several listed above that would appear on my list.  But there are a few that are missing.  The one's that should definitely mentioned are:

Savage Worlds
Marvel
Pathfinder
Atomic Highway

Mouse Guard RPG - New Rules and New Missions

A new Mouse Guard supplement is available in PDF format.
This supplement was originally available only in the Mouse Guard Boxed Set.

The supplement contains new rules for using mounts, weapons for conflicts and three new locations for adventuring.

If you have the original hardcover rule book for Mouse Guard and did not want to purchase the box Set you can pick up the PDF at drivethroustuff.com

Lord of The Rings HeroClix

It's been almost a year since I broke the news about Lord of the Rings miniatures coming to HeroClix. Well the wait is finally over. The LOTR starter set and single booster packs release this week. These are fully compatible with the HeroClix Gaming Engine.

These are also going to be perfect when we play The One RPG game (Adventures in MiddleEarth).

Smallville WatchTower Report

Mysterious projects, villainous experiments, and superpowered opponents constantly challenge Clark and his companions. Rising above them all is the Watchtower, always ready to provide support, guidance, and direction for these heroes. This sourcebook expands and builds upon the rules found in the Smallville Roleplaying Game with a special focus on antagonists and opposition. The Watchtower Report also features a Season Ten update to the Smallville RPG, spotlighting new allies such as Booster Gold and Blue Beetle in addition to new threats like Granny Goodness and General Slade Wilson.

Release date: December 2011

New Post Apocalyptic RPG - Mutant Epoch

As many of our viewers know the KGS Post Apocalyptic RPG Games. Atomic Highway is one of our favorite games we have played. We at the KGS are very interested in game companies that support their games, whether it be online support or just timely expansions. Well the following game caught my eye and looks to be a game we would all enjoy - Mutant Epoch.

Mutant Epoch

Not only Core Rules, and One Expansion so far but a MONTHLY magazine just for the game. Also for anyone purchasing the book you get a free life time membership to the SOE Online Club which offers exclusive online support for the game.

I will be checking with my FLGS for availability of this game and hopefully will have it in hand soon for a full review.

Savage Worlds Horror Companion

Description

Take your Savage Worlds games to new depths of darkness with the Horror Companion. Inside are new rules for playing monsters, signs and portents, buckets o' blood, ritual casting, new spells, sanity, gear, new Edges & Hindrances, Setting Rules, over 100 new monsters, advice on creating and maintaining atmosphere, and MORE!

This tome of terror is essential for anyone running a dark or horrific setting.

Get Your Hands Off Me You Damn Dirty Ape !!

Why am I just hearing about a RPG game based on one of my favorite movie properties - The Planet of the Apes? I am a gaming addict and FLGS owner. Someone's head is going to roll. I know it's an older game but has anyone played it?, drop me a line and let me know. I just picked up the PDF version of the rules and am really excited to play.

It's TERRA PRIMATE by Eden Studios (All Flesh Must Be Eaten).

Star Wars Gaming Notes from 10/25/2011

With little backstory, the party is thrown together on a ship headed for Alderaan to claim the bounty on an assassin droid sent to kill Senator Ilan Tah. Only problem? We have no idea what this droid looks like. As a cover, we're suppose to pick up some wine. Should be simple enough. I'm playing a Wookie bounty hunter so I've practiced my grunts and growls all week.

We land on Alderaan and they immediately lock up all of our weapons. Seems Alderaan is a peaceful planet. We begin our investigation by setting up appointments with the Senator and the winery (separately, of course). In the meanwhile, we start spitballing ideas on how to identify and stop this assassin droid. We search databases for droids recently entering the system, try to establish underworld contacts, and eventually try to tail the Senator to establish likely ambush points.

It seems that our tailing attracted some attention, however, because we were stopped by the police and detained. All of this fit into my Wookie's plan. I hoped that news of my arrest in connection with the Senator would lure out the elements who had hired the assassin droid. Unfortunately, no such luck.

When it came time to go to the winery, the wine snobs wouldn't sell us their precious wine called "Alderaan Blue Fury". So my wookie had intimidate the shop employees into selling him the wine. Once they saw his credits were good they complied with our *ahem* gentle request. We safely loaded the cargo and waited to meet with the Senator the next day.

Finally, the day arrived and we were greeted by a protocol droid. Something didn't seem right, however, when the droid took a translation device in with us to see the Senator. When we accused the droid of trying to kill the senator, he fled. Some of us pursued and apprehended the droid while the rest defused the device which turned out to be a bomb and guarded the Senator.

We collected our bounty, earned the thanks of the Senator, and headed off to deliver our wine cargo. Unfortunately, before we could leave the system, a large moon appeared around Alderaan. Tie fighters swarmed us and forced us onto what we now realized wasn't a moon at all but a fully operational battle station.

It's ALWAYS great to roleplay in the Star Wars universe... To be continued...
(originally posted by Scott on his One Long Road blog)

Role Playing games Are Good For Kids (CNN Article)

CNN has a really good article about why role playing games are good for kids.
Link

KGS Podcast - Episode 00030 - Lone Wolf RPG Review

KEYSTONE GAMING SOCIETY REVIEW
GAME:	LONE WOLF RPG
PUBLISHER:	MONGOOSE
THE RATINGS:
SCOTT:
OLD BRIAN:
YOUNG BRYAN:
DAVE:
TISHA:
SAM:

AD&D1e, A New Way to Play?

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, 1st edition was the first role-playing game I ever played, and recently I've been interested in playing it again. Is it nostalgia for a bygone age when phones were attached to cords, tv screens were concave, and floppy disks were cool? Sure, but it's more than that. 1st edition was great! OK, the combat system isn't realistic and the way it handles armor is silly. Alright, the character classes might have been a little unbalanced. And yes, many campaigns were little more than dungeon crawly, hack'n'slash fests. But gods, was it fun to play! Even with all its sloppy game mechanics, endless charts and tables, and ridiculous monsters. Some of the best adventures I've ever played, both modules and home-brewed, were for 1st edition.

I've been thinking about running a module or two for KGS within the next 6 months, but was worried finding copies of the rules, both for players and myself, might be a problem. I still have most of the original books and modules, but I never bought the Fiend Folio and my original Monster Manual was misplaced. I was going to check eBay when I found out about OSRIC.

OSRIC (short for Old School Reference and Index Compilation) is a set of free rules that creates a version of AD&D 1st edition within the guidelines of the OGL. Basically, it's 1st edition without the original art and layouts of the TSR books, but the rules are almost identical. Within the 400-page pdf (found at www.knights-n-knaves.com/osric/) are the equivalent of the Players Handbook, Dungeon Master Guide, and Monster Manual. Instead of splitting the rules into 3 books, the OSRIC rules are broken down into 6 chapters: Creating a Character; Spells; How to Play; Dungeons, Towns and Wildernesses; Monsters, and Treasure. There is also a Compiled Tables appendix, character sheet, and index. This layout is a real upgrade over the original books, which were labyrinthian in their layouts, and allows for much quicker rules access. I recommend OSRIC for anyone who wants to learn AD&D 1e and doesn't have access to the original books, and for those of us who no longer have all our old books and need to fill in the gaps. Again, the pdf is free, but they also have softcover and hardcover editions available if you'd prefer those.

I also found that Expeditious Retreat Press has published a number of 1st edition adventure modules using the OSRIC rules under OGL. While original, creative modules in their own right, they are definitely inspired by the classic TSR adventures. You might also want to check out Dungeon Crawl classics, also modeled on the classic style. Both are available as hardcopies at your local gaming store, or as pdfs on a number of gaming sites.

Finally, there is a podcast solely devoted to AD&D1e called Roll for Initiative (http://rfipodcast.com/show/, also on iTunes). While not the most dynamic podcast ever, they do pack the show with a fair amount of information, and I like their takes on the various character classes.

So here's to AD&D 1e. Long may it reign!

KGS Podcast - Episode 00029 - Classic Marvel RPG Review

KEYSTONE GAMING SOCIETY REVIEW
GAME:	CLASSIC MARVEL RPG
PUBLISHER:	TSR
THE RATINGS:
SCOTT:
OLD BRIAN:
YOUNG BRYAN:
DAVE:
TISHA:
SAM:

Marvel Super Heroes D100 - Gaming Notes #4 (FINAL)

Recap: The X-Men are on the trail of Apocalypse, a powerful mutant who may be holding their missing teammates. Mr. Sinister gave them a tip that there was someone using his technologies in the Morlock tunnels who might be able to help them locate Apocalypse. After hours of fruitless searching, they open a door and see... a blue-furred Beast!

The Beast greets the heroes warmly, which is strange to the human-form Beast that has been adventuring with the X-Men. The Beast explains that he is from an alternate reality that was ruled by Apocalypse. He was thrown into this reality's past 20 years ago when his reality ceased to exist. He offers the X-Men a device capable of tracking Apocalypse in exchange for access to their scientific equipment.

The heroes, with this new Beast in tow, return to the X-Mansion to rest and heal. They hear the news that Avengers mansion was destroyed by the Masters of Evil and the Avengers have been badly hurt. Magneto calls from Muir Island and reminds them of the urgency of their mission - find the missing teammates!

Suddenly the Apocalypse detection device goes crazy... Apocalypse just appeared in Washington DC with his "four horsemen" and demanded the surrender of the President! The X-Men leap into action! When they arrive on the scene, they witness the destruction that has been wrought. They also notice Uatu, the Watcher, a cosmic level being who appears to record historically significant moments in time. The X-Men attack, only to realize that the four horsemen are their four missing teammates - Magma, Rogue, Angel, and Sunspot, all of whom are now controlled by Apocalypse!

In the combat, Longshot quickly goes down as does the Beast. Wolverine takes down Sunspot but makes a tactical error in attacking Apocalypse directly! It appears the X-Men will be easily defeated when a man with grey hair wearing body armor appears above the battle... Cable! He is badly injured and passes along this message, "The Scarlet Witch! She is the end of all mutants! No more mutants! You must stop her! She's too powerful to live!" Images of the horrible future (Avengers Disassembled, House of M, Decimation, Schism, Mutant Extinction) flash in the minds of all assembled - including Apocalypse. Apocalypse teleports away with his horsemen saying, "With the Scarlet Witch's power I could reshape the world in my image!"

The X-Men scramble to the New Jersey suburb where the Scarlet Witch and her husband the Vision live. The town is on flames - the Avengers are losing a pitched battle to defend the Scarlet Witch against Apocalypse (which is odd because the Avengers are still recovering from their mansion being destroyed...). Approaching, the X-Men are surprised when the Scarlet Witch blasts their plane out of the air!

The X-Men escape the burning vessel and rush into combat only to be stopped when the Scarlet Witch summons Magneto, Quicksilver, Crystal, and Wonder Man to defend her! They quickly engage in a three way battle -
On one side are the X-Men - Longshot, Colossus, Wolverine, and Beast.
On another side are Apocalypse and his three remaining horsemen - Rogue, Angel, and Magma!
On the final side are the Scarlet Witch's reality-warped puppets: Magneto, Quicksilver, Crystal, Wonder Man, Vision, and Agatha Harkness!

Apocalypse swiftly knocks Agatha Harkness down and Rogue steals Magneto's powers, putting Magneto out of commission. The Vision and Wonder Man quickly defeats Wonder Man's good friend, the Beast, and Magma puts Longshot out of commission. A battered Colossus is barely standing. Crystal and Angel exchange blows Quicksilver and Wonder Man pound on Wolverine with a flurry of blows, almost knocking him unconscious.

As a last ditch desperation grasp at victory, Wolverine goes into a berserker rage and beheads the Scarlet Witch! 

Instantly, the Avengers and her extended family are returned to their rightful places. Apocalypse, his prize stolen from him, says that the Scarlet Witch must not have been strong enough to survive and disappears, leaving his failed horsemen behind. The X-Men pick up their fallen comrades and head home. A dark future was averted but at what cost?

The Climatic Final Battle of Our Marvel RPG Campaign

Gaming Aide #1c - Tabbing Eclipse Phase

As a promised, following up my post Gaming Aide #1this post, Gaming Aide #1c, is my third in a line telling everyone where I've put my tab in some of my most used game books.

Eclipse Phase is a near future sci-fi roleplay for the experienced gamer. To me it lending itself to the long term campaign, push's the boundaries of sci-fi and horror while giving the player the ability to move his character from body to body. This trans-human genera will most likely step you out of your comfortable sci-fi zone to a harsher more real feeling future.

The Eclipse Phase book needs tabs! If your a player you going to need a book so you can read up on the background and to have access to all the things you'll want/ need to know to play and your going to need to tab those pages! For us referees your going to find the referee screen to be incredibly helpful one minute and yet incredibly useless the next and so your going to need your book tabbed to fill in for all the other stuff you'll need to reference during play.

If you've read my other 2 posts about tabbing you know this disclaimer already! One thing to keep in mind about my list is that my books are tabbed for my use as a referee not a player. Here and there you'll find me marking a page for my players but not to often. So as a player in Eclipse Phase game you'll want most of these same tabs along with the tabs for your morph, weapons, gear and any other things that you end up using all the time.

What you'll find below is what page to put the tab on and what I wrote on my tab

Eclipse Phase referee tabbing:

-

pg 71 - Hypercorps

pg 75 - Political Blocs

pg 79 - Socio- Political Movements

pg 83 - Criminal Factions

pg 119 - Actions

pg 153 - Rez Points

pg 191 - Combat

pg 198 - SS, SA, BF, FA

pg 203 - Weapon Ranges

pg 207 - Wound Effect

pg 209 - Healing

pg 243 - Muse 1 of 3

pg 265 - Muse 2 of 3

pg 313 - Equipment

pg 332 - Muse 3 of 3 Stats

pg 335 - Melee Weapons

pg 337 - Fire Arms, Railguns

pg 371 - Creatures

An amazingly small number of tabs for how much I used the book during our 4 weeks of our playing it.

Eclipse Phase / Mindscan - Understanding copying consciousness

During our Eclipse Phase podcast I mention a book that I used to help people understand the concept of copying your consciousness into another body. This is a common theme in EP and an important idea to have a solid grasp on when playing the game.

The book is:

Mindscan by Robert J. Sawyer

The 4 pages you want to read are all that is of Chapter 2.

some excerpt from that chapter:

"from the moment the synthetic body is activated, there will be two of you-two entities who each feel they are you.

...In your own mental picture of yourself, which one do you consider the real you: the one that suffers aches and pains, the one that has trouble sleeping through the night, the one that is frail and old? or the vigorous you, the you in full possession of all your mental and physical faculties?

...the human mind is nothing but software running on the hardware we call the brain.

...consider the fact that the atoms that make up your body are completely replaced every seven years: there's not one bit of the you who was once a baby that still exists; it's all been replaced.

What matters is the continuity of being....

I'm sure that even by my few quote's you now have a better idea of the concept.

So the only question is when can we start actually doing this?! I mean, I might not be able to go on but I know that my copied self would want to and what if we could have a copy of those we know and love around long after they died?!

Marvel Super Heroes D100 - Gaming Notes #3

Previously, on Marvel Super Heroes RPG - X-Men...
The heroes defeated the Marauders in downtown Omaha in search of Mr. Sinister's base so they can rescue the kidnapped baby, Nathan Summers.

Angry crowds gather around the street-clothed heroes and the villains they just defeated. Devastation surrounds them in the aftermath of the battle. Two cops are calling in reinforcements but the mob surges forward, chanting anti-mutant phrases. Rocks are thrown at the unconscious Marauders by a few irate rioters. The situation is quickly spiraling out of control until Wolverine steps forward and calms the crowd. The mob disperses with some interested onlookers lingering to see what will happen next.

Cyclops and Colossus enter the orphanage in search of Mr. Sinister's base, which they believe to be under the orphanage. Finding the orphanage empty, they go to the basement where they hear sniffles and children crying. The children are huddled together in the basement with the orphanage staff trying to sooth their fears as best as they can due to the loud, destructive fight that just occurred outside the orphanage. Cyclops tell them the danger has passed. One of Cyclops's old orphanage guardians from when he was a child at this orphanage recognizes him and agrees to let me look around the orphanage. Their search is fruitless - it turns up nothing.

Meanwhile, outside more police show up and rope off the crime scene. Freedom Force, the mutant government team, has been called to take the evil mutants into custody. Wolverine catches Marvel Girl saying as she calls Nathan "her baby," when, in reality, it's Madelyn Pryor's baby. He confronts her but she dodges the question. A blind lady in the crowd catch's the Beast's eye - it's Destiny from Freedom Force. She warns him, "Beware the red death. It's an end to all mutants. Stop the coming Apocalypse!"  then disappears back into the crowd. Knowing that the rest of Freedom Force can't be far behind, the X-Men redouble their efforts to find Sinister's base.

A search of the exterior of the orphanage and the sewer turn up nothing so in desperation, the X-Men have Jean Grey read the mind of one of the Marauders, Scalphunter. They discover that their is a dimensional portal nearby that is activated by a device the Marauders have. Jean lifts the device and they proceed to the nearby door.

Upon entering, they are transported to a long, dark corridor with a large, bright room at the end. "Welcome, my brothers!" Mr. Sinister greets them warmly. A force field prevents them from attacking Mr. Sinister and Dazzler, who is with him holding Nathan. Mr. Sinister and the obviously mind-controlled or possessed Dazzler explain their master plan to the X-Men: They had to have the Morlocks killed to weed the mutant gene pool of those unworthy. Sinister claims that the Morlocks were created by somebody else using his technology. He explains how he has manipulated Cyclop's, Jean's, and Madelyne's lives so that Nathan can be born - the mutant he hopes will grow to be capable of destroying the ancient, evil mutant - Apocalypse. He reveals that Apocalypse most likely has their missing teammates (Rogue, Sunspot, Magma, and Angel) and that he desires to rule the world. He doesn't know where Apocalypse is, but he is guessing that the one who stole his technology to create the Morlocks does. Sinister has Dazzler return Nathan to the X-Men saying, "I have what I needed," before disappearing.

Mr. Sinister's tesseract base starts collapsing and the X-Men struggle to get out. Uncharacteristically, Marvel Girl seems reluctant to save anyone except Nathan. Finally, she does but once outside Dazzler hands Nathan to Marvel Girl and both of them start walking away. The team pursues Marvel Girl and after Cyclops strikes her with an optic blast, she reverts back to her normal self. It seems Madelyne Pryor had taken over Jean's mind when Jean had made mental contact with the comatose Madelyne earlier. Freed from Madelyne's influence, a weakened Jean flies back to the X-Mansion with the rest of the X-Men. Jean stays behind with Nathan and Psylocke at the X-Mansion while the rest of the X-Men return to the Morlock tunnels in search of the one who can lead them to Apocalypse.

After ten hours of fruitless searching in the scorched-clean tunnels, Beast's "kit-bashed" radar device detects an energy signature. Opening the door, the X-Men discover in a room crowded with computers and lab equipment... A blue, furry Beast!?! How can this be? Is this another clone or imposter or something else? Find out next time...