Friday Fantasy: Inferno Road

Hell rocks with rage and the race never ends! An enormous Doom Buggy roars across the foul and sulphurous landscape, its great steel-plated wheels smashing the smaller vehicle that swarm around, crushing flat boulders, crags, and fissures, cracking the bone dry surface from which first black blood spurts and then seeps. Atop is Satan, the Lord of Darkness, the Greater Deceiver, and the Master of the Nine Levels of Hell. But Master no longer, for he is chained and can only scream out his pain and frustration at his betrayal. Screams that cause the demons and devils that the work the great vehicle to cackle and the drivers of the convoy that chases in its wake—Killcycles, Motor Devils, Succubi on Unicycles, and more, to urge themselves to driver faster, faster, faster. As Satan shakes his chains and the whole of Hell shakes, the Dark Lords, his Princes see this as an opportunity. A chance to prove their loyalty? A chance to supplant their former master? No matter what their aim and their ambition, they have a ready supply of proxies—soulless grubs endlessly churning and writhing in the burning pits of Hell. Only each grub knows or cares how long it has been there, but what they all share is a constant, agonising desire for a Soul! Any Soul! Even if it was not a Soul that was theirs. Each of the Princes of Hell reaches down and scoops up grubs and after imbuing them with past lives, throws them into the convoy chasing after the Doom Buggy!

This is the setting for Inferno Road, a race and a chase scenario Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game. It comes from the same team behind The Hobonomicon and again, is a showcase for the art of Doug Kovacs. This has ramifications for how easy Inferno Road is to use, since there is more art than text and that leaves the scenario with much less direction—other than onwards across the plains of Hell—in terms of running it. It should be no surprise that the players take the roles of the Grubs scooped up by their Princes of Hell and thrown into the chase. Each Grub has the traditional six stats of Dungeon Crawl Classics, some Hit Points, and two past lives. The latter are nearest thing that Inferno Road has to skills and the Judge might grant bonuses if a player can bring an aspect of them into play. However, once per game, a Grub can manifest an item pertaining to a past life. A Grub’s Prince of Hell is its Patron.

One thing to note is that some of the Past Lives are dark, even horrifying, in nature and veer towards the tasteless, if not cross that line for some players. Of course, Inferno Road is set in Hell and the Past Lives reflect that, each one of them having committed sins and other actions that resulted in their Soul being cast into Hell. Some require some invention upon the part of the players, but others are suggestive, and some are actually overt as what those sins might have been. For example, ‘Manson Family Member’, ‘Sex Criminal’, and ‘Nazi Stormtrooper’. With these, Inferno Road does cross the line because of what they ask the player to think about and then bring elements of that into play, the Judge might also want to decide which of the Past Lives that she wants to include right from the start. Ultimately, it up to the players at the table how far such sins and what the Past Lives did is expressed at the table and brought into play. What it makes clear though, is that as silly as its set-up is, Inferno Road is an adult scenario, one that in this instance deserves the advice it gives of ‘Trigger Warning: Everything’.

Just Another Grub
Strength 12 Agility 16 (+2) Stamina 7 (-1)
Personality 11 Intelligence 11 Luck 10
Hit Points: 6
Past Lives: Canadian Immigrant, Dog

From this simple set of stats, it suggests that Inferno Road is a ‘Character Funnel’. This is a singular feature to the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game, which takes Zero Level Player Characters—usually four per player—and pushes them through a Zero Level dungeon. Devoid of the abilities, spells, combat acumen, and Hit Points that a Class would grant them, a Player Character in a ‘Character Funnel’, must instead upon his luck and his wits, all whilst aspiring to a proper Class. In Inferno Road, the Grubs seek not treasure, but Souls—and everything has a Soul. Kill another creature and a Grub can harvest its Soul and if aboard or close to the Doom Buggy, it knows where the nearest and biggest pile of Souls is. When a Grub harvests a Soul, it can either eat the Soul or add it to its Luck. Eating a Soul is really how a Grub gets better. Consume a Soul and a Grub will transform into an Arachnodaemon, Brute, Harpy, Killcycle, Motor Devil, Pit Imp, Spiny Devil, Succubus (Type I), Succubus (Type II), Twins, and so on. He can also regress back into a Grub. All of this is randomly determined.

Bar the set-up, almost everything in Inferno Road is randomly determined and thus supported by several sets of tables and the means to generate various aspects of the game. This includes the means to generate Hell Princes, Upgrades to the Player Characters, vehicles in the convoy chasing the Doom Buggy, and random crew and miniboss features. Separate sheets provide charts of random stuff and things to find on the way, and infernal weapons. The Spinner is used to indicate what new form that a Grub, or the Grub in its current form, transforms into, but there is a simple table included if the Judge simply wants to roll on that. It is also possible for a Grub to roll its current form and get Upgrades instead.

What Inferno Road does not provide is any guidance on running it. It does not explain how to set it up or what to do from turn to turn. The Judge has to infer a lot from reading Inferno Road and then set it up from that. It is not necessarily difficult, but it is made all the more challenging because of the lack of advice. And further, it means that Inferno Road is definitely not for the inexperienced Judge.

Physically, Inferno Road is a great looking book. Doug Kovacs’ artwork is as good as you expect it to be and it is clear that he is having fun drawing for a project of his own rather than a commission. Inferno Road does need an edit in places though.

Ultimately, Inferno Road is more of a set-up and then work it out how you want to run kind of thing. It is not so much a ‘Character Funnel’ with Zero Level Grubs as a ‘Character Grinder’ since there is no conclusion to Inferno Road, no end to its ‘Hieronymus Bosch meets Mad Max 2’ grind of road rage and high demonic action. What its set-up is designed for is a convention event with multiple players passing by, dropping in to play, and dropping out again as the Judge keeps the churn of Grubs and the Doom Buggy rollin’ rollin’ rollin’… Inferno Road looks good and sounds great, but like any demon pact, the Judge really has to have a very good idea of what she is getting into and what she wants out of it.

Friday Filler: The Parks and Recreation Party Game

The deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department in Pawnee, Indiana, Leslie Knope, is incredibly enthusiastic about her job, about the good works that government can do, about promoting the town (despite its sometimes less than perfect history), and life in general. Her boss, Ron Swanson, the Parks and Recreation Department director, as a staunch libertarian, believes otherwise and would in fact prefer to shrink the government, including his department. The rest of the department vary in their enthusiasm and attention for their roles in the office, but they have their own projects that they need to complete. Even Ron. This is the set-up for the Parks and Recreation Party Game, based upon the sitcom. It is all about the Waffles. If they Complete Projects, the Parks and Recreation Department employees will earn Waffle Rewards. Sometimes—and more than sometimes—they need the help of their fellow employees, who have to help, and if they take the credit, then all of the Waffles are theirs. The Parks and Recreation Party Game is designed to be played by three to six players and is published by Funko Games.

The Parks and Recreation Party Game is played over several rounds. Each round, a player attempts to complete part of project, with or without the help of another player. If with, the other player must help and cannot act in that round. When a project is completed, the players who helped and are recognised for doing so—that is, they have their tokens on the project—get Waffle Rewards. The Waffle Rewards have numbers on their reverse that are kept hidden until the end of the game. The game ends when ‘Li’l Sebastian’, Pawnee’s much loved celebrity miniature horse, eats the last of his waffles. At which point, the players turn over their Waffle Rewards, count their scores, and the player with highest is the winner.

The Parks and Recreation Party Game consists of six Character Cards, a Project Deck, a ‘To Do’ deck, a ‘Visitor’ deck, a supply of Waffles, and a cute ‘Li’l Sebastian’ figure. The six Character Cards each show a character from the television series—Leslie Knope, Ron Swanson, Donna Meagle, April Ludgate, Andy Dwyer, and Tom Haverford—and is marked with a symbol representing ‘Personnel’, ‘Music’, ‘Catering’, ‘Sponsorship’, ‘Public Support’, and ‘Cut Red Tape’. The ‘To Do’ cards are numbered, show one or two sets of two or three of the aforementioned symbols. They also have quote from the series. The Project Deck consists of large cards which show the type and number of symbols required to complete each part of the project, a bench where the characters can sit to indicate that they have helped complete the project, and symbols that indicate whether ‘Li’l Sebastian’ eats Waffles and moves the game closer to its end or if a new Visitor card has to be drawn. Every Project Deck is illustrated much like the paintings that depict famous scenes in Pawnee history and are hung on the walls of Pawnee City Hall. Visitor Cards are drawn at the start of the round and remain in play until a new Project indicates that a new one is drawn. They represent other characters from the television series visiting the Parks and Recreation Department and grant various effects. For example, the ‘Chris Traeger City Hall Visitor’ card lets every player take a Waffle Reward, except the player with the most Waffle rewards’ and the ‘Tammy Swanson 2 City Hall Visitor’ card forces everyone to play with their hand of ‘To Cards’ in front of them. There are also several tokens for each of the characters, Pawnee Tokens to indicate that part of project has been completed, and Waffle Reward tokens.

At the start of a round, each player, assigned a Character card, has a hand of five ‘To Do’ cards and there will be ‘Project cards’ in play on the table. On a round, each player selects one of the ‘To Do’ cards in their hands and places it face down on the table. These cards are revealed simultaneously and then in order, from the lowest number to the highest. What a player is trying to do is match the symbols and their number on his ‘To Do’ card with those on a ‘Project card’. If he can, the requirement is fulfilled and he gets to place a character marker on the ‘Project card’. If he cannot, he goes round the table and finds a player who has played a ‘To Do’ card with the symbols that he needs and gets that player to help him by using his ‘To Do’ card. If the requirement is fulfilled, both players place their character marker on the ‘Project card’. The player who is asked for this help has no choice in this and the act of helping serves as his action for the round. This is not as bad as it sounds because it gives both players the opportunity to gain Waffle Reward.

Lastly, if no other player can help complete a ‘Project card’, then the acting player can turn to ‘Jerry’ Gergich, the much put upon and gently mocked character in Parks and Recreation. In the Parks and Recreation Party Game, he serves as a wild card and can be used to stand in for any symbol that a player needs. However, he can only be used once in a round.

Waffle Rewards are earned once a ‘Project card’ is completed. The player whose character marker is to the left on the completed ‘Project card’ will gain a Waffle Reward which is more likely to have a better scoring value. What this means is that it is better to start a ‘Project card’, that is, ne ‘assigned’ it, rather than work on it latter as the scoring potential is higher. However, some ‘To Do’ cards are ‘Promotions’ and let a player move his character marker to the left, gaining the spot with the higher scoring potential, effectively taking credit for the project despite not being assigned to it. If at the end of a round, a player has been unable to act, most likely because the ‘Project card’ he was planning to work on has been fulfilled, he can discard as many cards from his hand at once and refresh them.

Play continues like this until ‘Li’l Sebastian’ has eaten all of his Waffles. This ends the game and the players turn over all of their Waffle Rewards and add their scores. The player with highest total is the winner.

Physically, the Parks and Recreation Party Game is well presented. The cards use photographs of the characters from the television series and the artwork on the ‘Project’ cards is decent. The rules are clearly written, although they leap straight into set-up without any explanation. The figure of ‘Li’l Sebastian’ is cute.

The Parks and Recreation Party Game does not feel like a party game. It is not particularly social in its play or interaction and there is nothing physical about it. Its character is more amiable than anything else, its forced help mechanic actually giving both players involved the chance to score. That does set up an opportunity for a player to gain a promotion and move his character to a better scoring position, but that is about as sharp as play gets. As much as that feels like the office politics of Parks and Recreation, the game is lacking. The problem is that none of the characters have any character. The personalities of the characters seen on screen are not reflected in the game play. That is, they have no special abilities that match their personality and they feel all the same. In fact, the ‘Visitor’ cards have more personality than the characters and that ultimately, is the undoing of the Parks and Recreation Party Game. Without any variation in the characters and without any special abilities to reflect their personalities from the television series, there is no reason to want to play the Parks and Recreation Party Game more than once because it does not enough variation between games.

The Parks and Recreation Party Game is a game for the Parks and Recreation fan rather than the experienced gamer. There is nothing wrong with that, since not everyone is an experienced gamer. Yet even the Parks and Recreation fan is going to bored of this game fairly quickly, and ultimately, the Parks and Recreation Party Game is a missed opportunity.

Miskatonic Monday #406: Kaidan – Great Service

Much like the Jonstown Compendium for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and The Companions of Arthur for material set in Greg Stafford’s masterpiece of Arthurian legend and romance, Pendragon, the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition is a curated platform for user-made content. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

—oOo—

Name: Kaidan – Great Service

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Warped Plots

Setting: 1980s Japan

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Thirteen page, 9.11 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: “I am better able to imagine hell than heaven; it is my inheritance, I suppose.” – Elinor Wylie

Plot Hook: Guess who’s going to dinner? meets the Samurai Gourmet

Plot Support: Staging advice, one floorplan, and three non-Mythos monsters.

Production Values: Reasonable

Pros

# Non-Mythos scenario in 1980s Tokyo

# Easy to adapt to other post World War II-eras

# Japanese folklore horror scenario
# The folklore could be a façade

# Could be condensed down to a one-session one-shot

# Easy to prepare with most options and outcomes covered

# Vorarephobia

# Daemonophobia

# Chrematophobia

Cons

# Non-Mythos scenario

# The full horror really only comes with saying yes

# Fifty-two bodies a year for seven decades, and nobody noticed? Now that’s magic.

Conclusion

# Hell’s kitchen and nary a Gordon Ramsey in sight

# Claustrophobic Japanese folklore horror scenario about inheritance

Miskatonic Monday #405: The Mortal Muncher

Much like the Jonstown Compendium for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and The Companions of Arthur for material set in Greg Stafford’s masterpiece of Arthurian legend and romance, Pendragon, the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition is a curated platform for user-made content. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

—oOo—

Name: The Mortal Muncher

Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Jared Tullis

Setting: 1930s New Orleans 

Product: Scenario
What You Get: Fifty-one page, 42.87 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Fear upsets the Big Easy

Plot Hook: A monster stalks the streets of New Orleans and the Investigators may need to turn to crime to defeat it

Plot Support: Staging advice, five pre-generated Investigators, eleven NPCs, seven handouts, four maps, one floorplan, one Mythos Tome, two Mythos spells, and two Mythos monsters.

Production Values: Cramped

Pros

# Scenario for Pulp Cthulhu: Two-fisted Action and Adventure Against the Mythos

# Easy to adapt to other modern eras

# Highly detailed investigation into victims old and new
# High action monster hunt

# Includes detailed descriptions of New Orleans

# Works with Tales of the Crescent City: Adventures in Jazz Era New Orleans

# Sanguivoriphobia

# Haemophobia

# Kinemortophobia

Cons

# Needs an edit

# Cramped and information heavy

Conclusion

# Highly detailed vampire stakeout in the Crescent City

# The Gothic in Southern Gothic in a ‘B’ movie spine tingler

Strontium Dog I

In 1988, Games Workshop would have published its fourth home grown roleplaying game. Like its second, Judge Dredd: The Role-Playing Game, this would have been drawn from the pages of Britain’s longest running Science Fiction comic, 2000 AD. Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game was based on the comic strip of the same name, telling the exploits of Johnny Alpha, an ‘S/D’ or Search/Destroy agent forced to live off Earth because he was a mutant and work collecting bounties on some of the worst criminals in the galaxy. Working Typically accompanied by one or more of his partners—Wulf Sternhammer, the Gronk, and Middenface McNulty, Johnny Alpha dealt with prejudice against mutants—the worst of which came from within his own family, rival bounty hunters, revenge-seeking criminals, and worse. The stories were essentially Spaghetti Westerns in space and the comic strip, which originally appeared in the pages of Starlord in 1978 before transferring to 2000 AD in 1980 ran until 2018 with the death of its artist, Carlos Ezquerra, was very popular. It has since been revived with stories exploring other characters and the wider setting. Had Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game been published by Games Workshop, it would have no doubt sold well. After all, in the mid-eighties, Strontium Dog was one of 2000 AD’s most popular series, as was Judge Dredd, and its familiarity to the British roleplaying game hobby would have given it as firm a fan base as Judge Dredd: The Role-Playing Game. Plus, there were fewer stories for Strontium Dog and its setting was more open—the whole of galaxy, plus time travel—so there was more space in which to create and tell adventures, and then, of course, the set-up was simple. Play a Mutie ‘S/D’ Agent, overcome the prejudice he faces, travel the galaxy, capture or kill criminals, collect their bounties, make a living.

Alas, it was not to be. In 1987, following the release of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, Games Workshop pivoted away from supporting intellectual properties that were not its own, dropping board games and roleplaying games in favour of miniatures and wargames. This included what would have been Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game.

This is not a review of Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game as released, for that did not come to pass, but a review of what could have been. This is a review of the playtest version that was very close to completion and came with everything necessary to play, including a beginning scenario.

—oOo—

Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game would, like the Judge Dredd: The Role-Playing Game, have appeared as boxed set. Inside there would have been three books—‘The Player’s Book’, ‘Equipment Manual’, and ‘The Game Master’s Book’. In addition to this, there would probably have been a set of percentile dice and some cardboard standees. The latter, along with the box itself and the book covers would have been the only things in colour. The books would have otherwise been black and white, but exactly like Judge Dredd: The Role-Playing Game had its artwork by various artists to draw upon to illustrate its pages, so to would have Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game with the artwork of Carlos Ezquerra. This would have imparted the rough, working and frontier nature of the Strontium Dog setting as well as its action.

‘The Player’s Book’ introduces the setting and details both the means to create characters and the rules for Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game. There are some suggestions as to how it might be played using miniatures, and no doubt, Games Workshop would have made a set of miniatures available. Everyone plays a Mutant ‘S/D’ Agent, operating out of an orbital base nicknamed the ‘Doghouse’. He is defined by his Attributes, Special Abilities, and Mutations, and will also have some equipment and weapon proficiencies. The six attributes consist of Strength, Initiative, Combat Skill, Technical Skill, Street Skill, and Psi Skill. Of these, Strength is both an ‘S/D’ Agent’s ability to both inflict and suffer damage, Initiative is both his speed and his agility, and the Psi skill is his ability to withstand psionic attacks and if he has a special Mutant Power, use that as well. These are all percentile values and are created by rolling ‘2d10+30’. He will definitely have a mutation of some kind, including minor, major, and extreme physical mutations, animal mutations, and Mutant Powers. If an ‘S/D’ Agent has a Mutant Agent he will still have a physical or animal mutation, and in all cases, the mutation also imparts a negative Reaction Check modifier. The more extreme the type of mutation, the more negative the Reaction Check modifier. ‘The Player’s Book’ includes multiple tables for determining an ‘S/D’ Agent’s mutation and its extent, providing for a lot of detail whilst still leaving room for the player to detail the specifics. This can lead to the creation of grotesques, but this is not out of keeping with the source material.

The Mutant Powers consist of a range of psionic powers, such as Absorb Energy, Chameleon, Illusions, Mind Control, Psychic Attack, Pyrokinesis, Telepathy, and Teleportation. They also include Johnny Alpha’s Alpha Ray Vision. Special Abilities consist of a mix of what would be abilities and skills in another roleplaying game. They are categorised under Initiative, Combat Skill, Technical Skill, and Street Skill. For example, Initiative-based Special Abilities include ‘Ambidextrous’, ‘Dodge’, and ‘Target Tracking’; Combat Skill-based Special Abilities include ‘Fast Aim’, ‘Hammerfist’, and ‘Weapon Specialist’; Technical Skill-based Special Abilities include ‘Computer Use’, ‘Drive’, and ‘Medtech’; and Street Skill-based Special Abilities include ‘Detect Traps’, ‘Intimidation’, and ‘Smooth Talker’. These Abilities provide a range of effects, including simply being able to undertake a particular task, grant a bonus to the associated Ability, or change when an ‘S/D’ Agent acts in combat. They typically require a roll against the associated Ability to activate. Penultimately, the ‘S/D’ Agent receives the standard equipment for an ‘S/D’ Agent and an advance to spend on extra arms, armour, and gear, which will be paid back from his first successful bounty. Lastly, the player rolls for his ‘S/D’ Agent’s weapon proficiencies. These represent some training and the weapons the ‘S/D’ Agent used during the Mutant Uprising.

To create a ‘S/D’ Agent, a player rolls for his Abilities and his Mutations and their depth and detail. Having generated his ‘S/D’ Agent’s Abilities, he receives points to spend on their associated Special Abilities. This is equal to the number of points above thirty for each Ability or equal to the die roll used to generate each Ability. Any excess points are saved to be spent later. He will also purchase further equipment. By the end of it, the player should have a very good idea of what his ‘S/D’ Agent looks like and what the extent of his mutations are. The process is not difficult, but slightly fiddly when it comes to determining the nature and extent of his mutations. It helps that there is a full example of ‘S/D’ Agent creation. Plus, at the end of the process, there is an engaging in-game briefing that the ‘S/D’ Agent would receive that sets the scene for his reception of his first bounty.

Raggedy Ann O’Riley

Strength 44
Initiative 47 (1)
Combat Skill 38 (0)
Technical Skill 36 (0)
Street Skill 40 (0)
Psi Skill 43

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Dodge (Initiative), Target Tracking (Initiative), Weapon Specialist (Combat skill), Drive (Technical Skill), Pursue (Street Skill), Sign Language (Street Skill)

Reaction Check Modifier: -05
Security Rating: CCC

MUTATIONS
Skin colouring is quartered (indigo, magenta, dark brown, normal flesh)
Skin is like coarse fabric
Eyes have strange colour (wheat yellow iris)

WEAPON PROFICIENCIES
GCC Standard Issue Single Cartridge Blaster, Skatta Gun, Lazooka

EQUIPMENT
GCC Standard Issue Single Cartridge Blaster
No. 1 Cartridges (3)
Wanted Meter
Custom-Fit Chest Armour, Upper Back Armour, Arm Protectors (pair)
GCC Standard Issue Jumpsuit, Black
GCC Standard Issue Combat Boots, Pair, Black
GCC Search/Destroy ID Badge with CCC Security Rating
GCC Standard Issue Pouch Belt with eight Pouches
2,500 cr

Mechanically, Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game is a percentile system. To have his ‘S/D’ Agent undertake an action, his player rolls the percentile dice and compares the result against the appropriate Ability. If the result is equal to, or under, the Ability, the action is a success, but if over, a failure. A roll of ‘01’ is always a success and a roll of ‘00’ is always a failure.

Combat, a major aspect of the roleplaying game, is played on a timescale of one Round equals five seconds in which there are five Phases. A combatant can act in one or more of those Phases, the number determined his current Initiative. All ‘S/D’ Agents begin play being able to act in two Phases, but their Initiative can go up and down. Up due to improvement, down due to injury. Most actions take a single Phase. Firing a weapon involves aiming, weapon proficiency (halved if the ‘S/D’ Agent lacks the appropriate weapon proficiency), size, distance, movement, and illumination. Combatants can target specific locations, but weapons can jam if a ‘00’ is rolled. A jam might simply be that, but it could also be a misfire or even the weapon exploding!

The combat rules also cover thrown weapons—a lot of different types of grenades are available and thrown in Strontium Dog, hand-to-hand, and so on, all supported by examples. Damage is determined by the attack type and for missile weapons, the base damage is modified by range. More damage is inflicted at close range, less at long range. Damage itself is applied to hit locations, which can be a challenge because not every mutant is going to have the same body parts, the same number of body parts, or the same bodily arrangement as other mutants or normal humans. The rules include advice on this, but ultimately in such cases, it is down to the Game Master to decide upon what part of the body that the damage is inflicted. Armour, if worn on a particular location, has a percentage chance of stopping the damage completely equal to its Armour Rating. If this Armour Roll is successful, the damage is stopped, but it damages the armour and reduces its Armour Rating. Damage is deducted from a target’s Strength and Initiative Abilities, potentially reducing his speed and capacity to act. Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game does include rules for critical hits, which occur when an ‘01’ is rolled, or an ‘01’ or ‘02’ if the combatant has the ‘Weapon Specialist’ Special Ability. The list of effects is not extensive, but range from loss of an eye or ear and permanent Initiative to extra damage and temporary unconsciousness. It can every result in the target being killed outright. This is rare though. There are Critical Hit Tables for each location. ‘The Player’s Book’ makes clear that the Critical Hit rules are optional.

The rules also cover movement, pursuit and fleeing, tracking, sneaking and searching, listening and observing, driving and flying, and more. Traps are covered too, as criminals not infrequently lay them for nosy ‘S/D’ Agents. What Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game makes clear though, is that combat is an option. An ‘S/D’ Agent can attempt persuade or intimidate a bounty into giving himself up and may well need to do so, since the terms of a bounty may require the apprehension of a fugitive or criminal rather than execute him. To that end, particular attention is paid to intimidation. The Intimidation Special Ability will give an ‘S/D’ Agent an advantage here, as will Persuasion and Smooth-Talker. That said, the negative Reaction Check Modifier from being a mutant and an ‘S/D’ Agent will counteract that.

‘The Player’s Book’ comes to close with a discussion of warrant types—‘Apprehend & Return’, ‘Dead or Alive’, and ‘Termination’—and the crimes that lead to their being issued and what sort of bounty an ‘S/D’ Agent can expect to be paid for completing each type. Presented here too, is discussion of the regulations as they pertain to each warrant type, how to use the Wanted Meter, and lastly, the rights of criminal once he has surrendered. This is all useful information as it underpins the structure of how the game is played from one scenario to the next. There are similarities here between Judge Dredd: The Role-Playing Game and Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game with the lists of crimes and associated values. Of course, in the former, the Judge is apprehending perps and sending them to the isoblocks for years, whilst in the latter, the ‘S/D’ Agent is apprehending criminals and bringing them back for money. Both are dispensing the law, if not justice, and there are situations where both can be regarded as executioners.

The ‘Equipment Manual’ is an extensive guide to the guns and gear used by ‘S/D’ Agents that appears in Strontium Dog. From signature blasters and blaster cartridges to mini-nukes and planet-busters, the list of equipment is lengthy and detailed. Lasers, grenades, bombs, hand-to-hand weapons, vehicles, and more are all described. The miscellaneous section covers bleepers (or tracking beacons) and com-units of various ranges), jetpaks, maps, medi-paks, toolkits of various kinds, security devices, and a lot more, including Plastiflesh for disguising oneself. The vehicle section gives profiles for various models and types along with rules for driving, crashing, and vehicular combat. These are comparatively more detailed than those for man-to-mutant combat, and so require more attention and study to bring them into play. The last entries in the ‘Equipment Manual’ explain the workings of the ‘AAA Security Weapons’ that Johnny Alpha is occasionally issued with in the comic series. Things such as ‘Stasis Grenades’, ‘Time Bombs’, ‘Time Traps’, and ‘Time Shrinkers’. Developed by the Galactic Crime Commission that the ‘S/D’ Agents ultimately work for, they are issued only to the most trusted agents and their unsanctioned use is a crime. Essentially, these are only to be issued by the Game Master and only for specific missions, their use serving the story rather than anything else.

‘The Player’s Book’ begins by giving the advice that the reader work through the examples included in its pages and create some examples of the ‘S/D’ Agents before running them through the rules to grasp how Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game is designed to work. This element of advice continues for the reader in ‘The Game Master’s Book’, suggesting she skim it more than once to gain an idea of where everything is in its pages, before examining its different elements in more detail. The specific advice focuses on the creation of scenarios and on running the game itself, discussing in turn, plot, settings, and encounters, all leading to the climax. It also provides Game Master with advice on various aspects of the roleplaying game, including mutations and Special Abilities, skill checks, combat and damage, as well as adding more details for criminals surrendering, including even the possibility of a reversal of any such surrender!

‘The Game Master’s Book’ includes the introductory scenario, ‘Doggy in the Middle’. This is specifically designed for beginning characters who are ready for their first bounty. It opens with the ‘S/D’ Agents in the Capitol on the planet of Sleaz, assigned a warrant from the Doghouse raised by the Sleaz Police. It wants the ‘S/D’ Agents apprehend several members of the Pleasant Street Gang. The ‘S/D’ Agents are told where the bounties can be found and told that they cannot use firearms of any kind. Fists and clubs are okay. The gang members are in Sammy’s Bar and the ‘S/D’ Agents are to apprehend them without causing too much collateral damage or killing anyone. There are about thirty staff and patrons in the bar and the ‘S/D’ Agents must sort the bounties from the innocent civilians. ‘Doggy in the Middle’ is fine for a single evening’s worth of play, but it is not a disappointing at the very least. It only showcases limited aspects of the roleplaying game, with no scope for the use of blasters and other ranged weapons, for investigating a bounty, and for action beyond the confines of the bar. For a barroom brawl, it is not a terrible scenario, but for introductory scenario, it only does half the job. This would have been disappointing had Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game actually been published, but its failure to fully support the rules and showcase what an actually showcase what a Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game would actually look like is compounded by an editorial note deleting the mention and thus possible inclusion of a longer adventure.

‘Doggy in the Middle’ does show what an NPC looks like in Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game and in addition, the roleplaying game gives rules and tables for creating a variety of NPCs, including mercenaries, police, engineers, scientists, and aliens. Naturally, particular attention is paid to the creation of criminal NPCs since they will be the target the bounties in play. It includes minor criminals, criminal henchmen, and major criminals, and their equipment and their crimes. The most interesting addition here is for ‘Security’, specifically the ‘Security Rating’ for ‘S/D’ Agents. An ‘S/D’ Agent’s Security Rating consists of three letters such as ‘CCC’, ‘BCC’, and ‘BAC’. The first letter indicates the amount of bounty that an ‘S/D’ Agent has brought in, the second how well an ‘S/D’ Agent pursues warrants, and the third a general assessment of the ‘S/D’ Agent’s capability. The ratings can go down as well as up, and in the game, it represents an ‘S/D’ Agent’s access to equipment, which at a Security Rating of ‘CCC’, this could be Pressure Sensitive Device or Magnetic Decoder; for ‘BBB’, some Plastiflesh or a Retina Printer; and for ‘AAA’, the aforementioned special devices that the Galactic Crime Commission only assigns to its more trusted ‘S/D’ Agents.

Rounding out ‘The Game Master’s Book’ are sections on space travel, including vessels and hazards, and then time distortions. Time travel is known in Strontium Dog, indeed, one of the first stories sees Johnny Alpha going back in time to collect the bounty on a certain Adolf Schicklegruber! Dimensional travel is also possible as the universe is not stable, both being intended for use as narrative devices. There are some details given too on various galactic organisations, galactic and planetary law, crime and punishment and the legal process, as well as the means to create planets where criminals might be operating or hiding.

Overall, as a playtest version of what would have been the Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game, the files are very, very close to being complete. Everything necessary is included in its pages to be a playable, fully rounded roleplaying game. Character generation, core rules, combat rules, objectives of play, background, advice for the Game Master. It is all there. Of course, there are things missing. One is a fuller, more sophisticated, and more detailed scenario. The other is details of the cast of the source comics translated into game form. The latter though is something that the manuscript does acknowledge it as needing.

Physically, Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game in its playtest form is plain and simple. Literally plain, simple text. Further, it actually consists of over two hundred pages of printout from a late eighties dot matrix printer, which has then been marked up with red pen. Not extensively, but some. This means that it is not an easy manuscript to read physically and there is a degree of fragility to it.

Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game is a lost, forgotten roleplaying game. As an artefact, it is a possibility of what could have been. Another roleplaying game based on the pages of 2000 AD, supported with scenarios, miniatures, and content in the pages of White Dwarf. As a design, it is not ground-breaking, but it is a sound adaptation of the source material and it is more sophisticated than Judge Dredd: The Role-Playing Game, but not as complex as Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, sitting somewhere between. It is easy to understand and easy to play and doubtless, it would have been a popular roleplaying game had it been published and supported. And likely, it would go on to be held in high affection just as Judge Dredd: The Role-Playing Game is held today.

—oOo—

Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game is a very playable roleplaying game because I have played it twice—thirty years apart. In the September of 1986, we made the trip from Dorset to London for Games Day ’86 held in the Royal Agricultural Hall. It was notable for several reasons. As our first trip to a gaming convention. As where we met gamers outside of our gaming circles. As where we first encountered the roleplaying game, SkyRealms of Jorune. As where I sat down and played a playtest version of Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game. My ‘S/D’ Agent was striped green and brown so had the name Esmeralda Brown. Somewhere I still have that character sheet for her. It was a fun game and in the months that followed, I awaited the publication of Strontium Dog: The Role-Playing Game. Of course, it never appeared and that character sheet remained the only proof of such a game actually existing. Games Workshop moved on and that Saturday afternoon experience became a memory.

Fast forward three decades and a Strontium Dog roleplaying experience was offered at the Manchester convention, GrogMeet. Not the versions based on Traveller, First Edition from Mongoose Publishing or Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000 AD from EN Publishing, but using the original ruleset. The ruleset that had never been published. I was both flabbergasted and intrigued and could not wait to speak to the Game Master. I wanted to find out how he had got hold of them and tell him about my connection to them, however tangential that was. I got to play them too and they still worked. I said at the time, that I was interested in reading them and reviewing them. I also said I understood that was not possible. After all, the three folders that hold the printouts of the rules are a singular artefact, a piece of roleplaying, Games Workshop, and 2000 AD history which never came to pass. It was very unlikely that anyone else had a copy and unlikely that Games Workshop had an accessible copy in its extensive archive. Of course, the Game Master wanted to ensure that they remained safe. Then in 2024, the Game Master turned up a convention and handed me the folders, saying that he trusted me to look after them and write the review that I wanted to. The review is late, but it is the review that I wanted to write and now, the files are going back to the Game Master next week at GrogMeet 2026.

—oOo—

With heartfelt thanks to Sam Vail for his patience and trust and generosity without which this review would not have been possible.

With thanks to the late, much missed John Amos, and Alex Blair without which that first trip to a national gaming convention would not have been possible.

Rebellion & Repulsion

It is 1775. It is an Age of Reason. It is an Age of Rebellion. It is an Age of War. New philosophies of logic, mathematics, and science appearing in the writings of Descartes, Hobbes, and Newton are being read and embraced and are supplanting centuries old beliefs rooted in myth and superstition. In the Thirteen Colonies, the first shots have been fired and the Patriot militias defeating the British Army at the Battles of Lexington and Concord, igniting tensions between Colonies and the Crown in London and setting them aflame. Great Britain and her Thirteen Colonies in North America are now at war. It is also an Age of a Secret War. For as many embrace the new ways of thinking, some still reject it, for they know the truths about the world, whether that is learned from a master or a mistress or because they have confronted it in all of its terrifying reality. Monsters are real. Magic is real. There are some men and women who would use their knowledge of magic and monsters for ill, there are monsters native to the New World and some came with the colonists from the Old, and perhaps there is a deeper, darker threat that only the most ambitious and most foolish would treat with. Whatever your politics—Loyalist, Nonassociator, or Patriot—these threats may be the biggest danger to the future of the Thirteen Colonies whether they remain in the grasp of the Crown or break free of its regime and achieve independence. This is the setting for Colonial Gothic.

Originally published in 2007, Colonial Gothic returns to its original roots after Flames of Freedom with a streamlined and revised version of the original rules. Published by Rogue Games, Inc. can be a roleplaying game of ‘High-Action’ a la the film The Patriot or the comic book, The Rebels; ‘Occult & Mystery’ inspired by H.P. Lovecraft or Edgar Allan Poe; or of confrontations with the ‘Supernatural’ like the films, Sleepy Hollow, Brotherhood of the Wolf, and Pirates of the Caribbean, with the latter being the default, but still cinematic. The core rulebook covers character creation, rules, magic, and some of the dangers that the Player Characters might face.

A Player Character is defined by seven Abilities—Brawn, Nimble, Vigor, Reason, Resolve, Vitality, and Sanity. Of these, all but the last two vary in value between ‘+0’ and ‘+4’, although they can be as high as ‘+10’. Vitality and Sanity are derived factors, Vitality representing a Player Character’s ability to suffer damage and Sanity his mental well-being. He also has a Background, Side, Profession, Action Points and Hooks, and skills. The Background options include Frontier Colonist, Rural Colonist, Urban Colonist, Freedman, Freed Slave, Former Indentured Servant, Immigrant, Native, and Tribe-Adopted. His Side can be Loyalist, Nonassociator, or Patriot. Neither Background nor Side impart any bonuses or skills, instead providing roleplaying details only. His Profession further explains his background, grants a Vitality Bonus, gives some starting skills, and three items of equipment. They include a wide range of Professions such as Alchemist, Barber, Clergy, Clerk, Farmer, Gambler, Lawyer, Libertine, Militia, Publican, Robber, Student of the Occult, Witch Hunter, and more. Hooks are categorised as either Educational, Emotional, Magical, Metaphysical, Physical, Situational, or Supernatural, and are statements such as ‘I will pay my taxes to the American government to forge my freedom rather than pay them to a king I will never see’ or ‘My faith is all I have in the face of a greater evil’. These are tagged in play in order to spend Action Points.

To create a character, a player assigns six points across Brawn, Nimble, Vigor, Reason, and Resolve. He then selects a Background, Side, Profession, Hooks, and skills. All of the Backgrounds, Sides, and Professions are all really nicely detailed and for the Native and Tribe-Adopted Backgrounds, Colonial Gothic provides very decently done descriptions of the peoples of the Indigenous nations.

Name: Simon Teahan
Background: Former Indentured Servant
Side: Patriot
Profession: Student of the Occult
Brawn 0 Nimble 1 Vigor 1 Reason 2 Resolve 2
Vitality 12
Sanity 50

Skills
Astrology (Reason) 0, Herbalist (Reason) 0, Lore (Reason) 1, Magic (Resolve) (Clarity’s Embrace) +0, Magic (Resolve) (Veiled Aegis) 1, Study (Astronomy) 1

Hooks
‘The bastard British deserve every kicking they get’
‘I owe my master for the knowledge I know, but I will become greater than him to defeat his evil’

Equipment
The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, The Divine Pymander of Hermes Mercurius Trimegistus, The Hieroglyphic Monad

Mechanically, Colonial Gothic involves the rolling of two twelve-sided dice. The typical Target Number is twelve and to this a player add the Ranks for his character’s Skill and its associated Ability. Modifiers apply to the dice rather than the Target Number. Rolls above the Target Number can generate Degrees of Success, whilst rolls below the Target Number can generate Degrees of Failure. It is up to the Game Master to decide what that might be narratively. Combat uses the same mechanic. Initiative is a simple test using Nimble and actions include Attack, Casting Spell, Hiding, Loading a Weapon, Searching, Withdrawing, and so on. Rolling the exact Target Number in combat inflicts only the base damage for the weapon, whilst Degrees of Success will add to the base damage. When a Player Character suffers damage, he suffers a ‘-1’ penalty to all actions for the first ten points suffered, and then ‘-1’ for each five points after that. Damage is deducted from Vitality. Fear is resolved as a Resolve test and if failed, the Player Character loses Sanity and suffers a ‘-2’ penalty until he can rest. Losing Sanity can result in the Player Character also suffering from a phobia, which when it is in effect, imposes a greater penalty. Both Vitality and Sanity recover at a rate of one point per day, and a Phobia can be overcome, but should a Player Character’s Sanity be reduced to zero, the Phobia becomes permanent and his Sanity is permanently reduced by one.

Colonial Gothic is a set in a world in which magic is real and practiced by mages, sorcerers, witches, and shamans. Two forms of practice are detailed, Alchemy and Magic, both exclusive to the other, so that if a practitioner studies one, he cannot study the other. Mechanically, an Alchemist gains ranks in the Alchemical Arts, whilst a Mage gains ranks in different spells. The Arts include the Alchemicall Revanaunt by which the alchemist can create a zombie; the Arte of Blackpowder, the creation of various types of gunpowder; the Arte of Elixirs such as the Philosopher’s Tincture which sharpens wits; and the Vitae of Rekyndlyng for restoring a person to life. Alchemy requires investment in equipment and reagents, and it takes time to complete as well as gather any ingredients needed, whilst failed tests tend to concoct tinctures and elixirs that have negative rather than positive effects. The casting of spells is quicker, but still takes several rounds depending upon the spell. Spells also have a cost in Sanity to cast. Of the two, more detail is accorded to alchemy including its history and aims, making it easier for the Game Master to make it an aspect of play.

Besides a good list of equipment that includes weapons and alchemical apparatus, the Game Master is supported with advice on running Colonial Gothic. It primarily focuses on how to use the history of the period and how to use horror in play. Its default is a ‘secret’ history, but does not discount using alternative history either. It advises that the Game Master be respectful of the history whilst using it as a source of ideas. That said, it does not suggest where to look for that history and it highlights one absence from Colonial Gothic—and that is the lack of a bibliography, which would have served as a pointer for the Game Master wanting to do some research herself. This is not an issue that affects the roleplaying game’s advice on horror, which covers various types including folk, Mythos, and supernatural, as well as how to use it in play. This is all combined with a good section on creating adventures and an even better one on creating interesting and memorable villains.

Rounding out Colonial Gothic is ‘Lurking in the Shadows’, an extensive list of threats that the Player Characters might face. As well as breaking down their various possible abilities and traits, they are categorised as either Infernal, Natural, Otherworldly, and Undead. Infernal creatures such as the Boo-Hag and the Headless—as per Sleepy Hollow—have Taint, representing their evil presence in the world, but which can only keep them in this world for a short time. Oddly, the Byakhee, the Jersey Devil, and the Werewolf are included in the Natural section. The chapter includes several entries of Indigenous origins including the stone giants known as A-sense-ki-wake of Abenaki lore and the Mestabeok of the Atikamekw legend found in central Quebec. This is a decent selection of monsters which includes the familiar and the unfamiliar.

Physically, Colonial Gothic is decently presented with a good mix of artwork. It is an easy read although it needs a slight edit in places and it does feel slightly odd to have the roleplaying game’s mechanics explained before Player Character creation.

Colonial Gothic includes excellent sections that are full of historical detail, such as the examination of alchemy and the descriptions of the peoples of the indigenous nations, yet in terms of the history of the period it is set in, it is lacking. Much of that is saved for the Colonial Gothic Guidebook and the Colonial Gothic: Atlas, but some background details could have been included as well as a bibliography for the benefit of the Game Master or player for whom the roleplaying game does not share their history. Whilst the system is straightforward enough, it lacks examples of play, combat, and character creation. There is also no scenario to help the Game Master get started or show her what a Colonial Gothic adventure looks like.

Overall, Colonial Gothic is a solid roleplaying game that is easy to pick up and play, the revised rules being slicker and quicker to grasp. The rules are backed up with some solid character options and historical details. However, unless the Game Master is knowledgeable about the period and ready to write her own scenarios, she will need to make further purchases and possibly conduct some research of her own.

The Demon Drug

The sacred streets, back alleyways, and secret sanctuaries of New Heaven and Perch are rife with rumours and fear. A new drug has hit the streets and hit the streets hard. Dreck is making in-roads everywhere with its surefire hit, but making its addicts hyper-violent. Someone is snatching Drow off the street, but that appears to have nothing to do with a serial killer called ‘The Swan’, who kills his victims by excising their hearts and leaves them pinned up with swan wings in glass piercing their limbs, along with cryptic notes that taunt the authorities to catch him before he kills again. Then there is rumour of a demonic incursion which tore apart a tower of silence, killing everyone inside and driving everyone nearby mad. This is the set-up for Eidolon Sky: A Campaign Frame for Spire RPG.

It is a mini-campaign for Spire: The City Must Fall, the roleplaying game of secrets and lies, trust and betrayal, violence and subversion, conspiracy and consequences, and of committing black deeds for a good cause. It is set in a mile-high tower city, known as the ‘Spire’, in the land of the Destra, the Drow, which two centuries ago the Aelfir—or ‘High Elves’—invaded and subjugated the Dark Elves. The Drow have long since been forced to serve the High Elves from their homes in the city’s lower levels and allowed only to worship one facet Damnou, the moon goddess, instead of the three they once did. However, not all of the Drow have resigned themselves to their reduced and subjugated status and joined ‘The Ministry of Our Hidden Mistress’, or simply, the Ministry. Its members—or Ministers—venerate the dark side of the moon, the goddess of poisons and lies, shadows and secrets, her worship outlawed on pain of death, and they are sworn to destroy and subvert the dominion of the Aelfir over the Drow and the Spire. Published by Rowan, Rook, and Decard Ltd., Spire: The City Must Fall inverts traditional fantasy, making the traditional enemy in fantasy—the Drow—into the victim, but not necessarily the hero.

Eidolon Sky: A Campaign Frame for Spire RPG is not a traditional roleplaying scenario. It foregoes the traditional construction with prewritten encounters that the Player Characters play through one. Instead, it presents three plot threads that they can investigate—the drug ‘Dreck’, the serial killer ‘Swan’, and the demonic incursions. Each thread includes an opening or ‘Trigger’ scene, these being the closest to prewritten encounters in Eidolon Sky. Each of them begins their plot thread with a bang and is followed by the details that the Player Characters can discover as they investigate each thread. Stats and details of the antagonists involved in each thread are listed at their ends, but these feel underwritten in comparison to the various NPC write-ups that follow. This is because they are accompanied by a list of suggested scenes that where the Player Characters might encounter them. Essentially, what Eidolon Sky gives the Game Master is a set of plot threads and NPCs that she can set up and have her Player Characters engage with them. The Game Master is free to bring these into play as necessary, but in the main, what she will be doing is responding to the decisions of the players and the actions of their characters as Eidolon Sky is very much a player-led investigation.

The most detailed advice for the Game Master is on how to end the campaign frame. As they investigate the three threads, the Player Characters will come to realise that they are connected and following those connections will lead to the villain of the piece. Eidolon Sky both explains what will happen if the Player Characters fail and what will result depending upon their actions. This includes discussions of what leverage the Player Characters might gain over the villain, how they might seek help from other factions, and so on. Representatives of these other factions are included in the NPC descriptions given earlier.

Eidolon Sky: A Campaign Frame for Spire RPG ends with a set of five pre-generated Player Characters. They include a trader-priest, one of the Bound vigilantes, a Carrion-Priest, a Midwife, and a Vermissian Sage. All five are fully detailed and not only do they include a character sheet, they come with short backgrounds each of which has some details designed to hook them into the campaign frame’s three plot threads.

Physically, Eidolon Sky: A Campaign Frame for Spire RPG is well presented and its contents are neatly organised and easy to reference, done in an easy-to-grasp style from start to finish.

Eidolon Sky: A Campaign Frame for Spire RPG is a solid investigation for Spire: The City Must Fall, a good mix of investigation and violence in three flavours—criminal, occult, and horror. However, it also a straightforward investigation meaning that it lacks some of the moral ambiguity at the core of Spire: The City Must Fall which casts the Player Characters as much terrorists as they freedom fighters, dedicated to the cause that leads them to make difficult and questionable choices. Where the Player Characters will be making moral choices in Eidolon Sky is in deciding which faction to side with and perhaps what to do with the villain of the piece, but these are not hard choices and their consequences are lacklustre. The Game Master may want to find scenes and points in the campaign frame where she can inject some of that moral ambiguity, although she could run it as written as change of tone and style. Eidolon Sky: A Campaign Frame for Spire RPG is an entertaining and straightforward, but not typical campaign frame for Spire: The City Must Fall.