Retro-Clone RPG based on the RC of BD&D

Okay, I think that is the most Acronym laden title of any article here at Gaming with Chuck.  (The Staff is currently on a Health Improvement Program (HIP) and that means increased levels of vitamins being consumed.  So there is a big fascination with letters....)

Okay, a Retro Clone of a Role Playing Game is one of a new-ish batch of RPGs that seek to capture either the specific rules or the flavor of classic RPGs.  You know - like Good Old Dungeons & Dragons (or Basic D&D).  One of the versions of that game (a pretty good one) was the old Rules Compendium.  A great collection of rules.  It has everything in it that I usually like in a simple RPG - good distinct classes.  Nice list of spells and equipment.  Skill system.  Weapon system.  In fact, for me, the only things missing would be (1) Speed factors on spells and weapons (easy to add in), and (2) Tactical moves for doing combat with miniatures (also easy to add in).

Alright - so there is this great new retro-clone of the RC version of BD&D called "Dark Dungeons" (yes, named after the made-up game in the old Chick comic.  If you have to ask, then you are better off not knowing).

It has it all.  And in true to form honesty to old Basic D&D (or OD&D - Original D&D, although that is sometimes more narrowly defined as old White Box D&D - again, if you have to ask, you are better off not knowing, although it might be a good plan for the Staff to write a history of versions of D&D) there are only Classes, not the Race/Class combination we have seen in so many other RPGs.  This means that if you want to play an Elf - then that is your class.  This bodes well for the geek tshirt I once saw that said "I Remember when Hobbit was a Class" - and it was in OD&D.  It is again in Dark Dungeons (although, for several legal reasons, they are called Halflings).

How does this race-as-class thing work out?  Well it makes the race of non-humans Really important.  As in it is a big deal if you say you are an Elf.  Unlike in, say, AD&D when you are an Elf MU or an Elf Fighter, or an Elf F-M-C, then there is not too much of a big deal about the Elf Part.  Especially in 2E, 3E or 4E (remember the vitamins thing and acronyms).  But in OD&D - and in Dark Dungeons - being an Elf is a big deal.

So what are these races as class all about?  More coming in a future article but briefly - Elf is a Fighter/Magic User mix.  Halfling is a Fighter/Thief mix.  And Dwarf is crusty.  Like I said - more coming soon.

Also - look for some coming up articles on content for Dark Dungeons.  I am inspired . . .

ps- thank you especially to Matt and Braz, whom I saw at Battlefield Band in Williamsburg on Nov 5 - and they got me jazzed up on Dark Dungeons.  Previously my favorite retro-clones included Castles & Crusades (which I still love - and the Castle Keeper's Guide finally came out - w00t), and Mutant Futures.  Both of those generated a fair amount of press here at GWC.



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More Gamma World - The Rise of the Mutated Plants

Alien Plants
Uploaded by Chromer.

Also, for grins and giggles, a nice academic article about Roleplaying Games and their ilk.

More missing mutations

More fun for Songs of Mutants and Death Ray Guns . . .

Weather Manipulation - The Mutant must take 2 actions to activate this mutation. Then, based on a 3d6 Q check, he may change 1, 2, or 3 aspects of the weather (either temperature, cloud cover, or wind).

Empathy - As Telepathy, but affects all models within Short range.

Life Leech - treat as Telepathic Scream, out to Short Range. If any target is knocked-out, then the Mutant receives a Force Field.

Displacement - Whenever the Mutant receives an attack that results in a Knock Down, Kill, or Gruesome Kill result then that Mutant immediately rolls 3d6 against Q. If it is Knocked Down, then it must score 1 success to Displace. On a Kill it must score 2 successes, and on a Gruesome Kill it must score 3 successes. If it succeeds, then the model is placed, in a random direction, one Medium stick away. Note that it will not displace into a harmful situation (i.e. - mid air, over a lava pit, in front of an onrushing hovertrain, etc).

Acid - treat as Poison.

Emit Radiation Field - As Radiation Energy Projection, but affects all models within Medium stick.

Electrical Generation - Electricity Hand-to-Hand attack. Lethal against Robots and Androids.

Resistance to Mental Attacks - Mental Shield

Total Resistance to Mental Attack - Mind Block

Immune - as Absorption towards a particular type of attack (Radiation, Heat, Sonic, Light)

Precognition - Danger Sense

Heightened Intelligence - as per Psychometry

Radioactive - On a successful Hand-to-Hand attack, target must make a Radiation Check.

Coated in Poison, Acid - as per Poison

Telekinesis - as Telekinetic Disarm (may also grab other small objects)

Repulsion Field - as Telekinetic Shield

Mobility - treat as Medium Movement

Manipulative Vines - treat as Entangle

Increased Metabolism - requires 2 food per week.

Molecular Disruption - The Mutant may make an attack as per a Death Ray Gun, except it is Lethal against all targets. When using this mutation, the Mutant is immediately knocked unconscious (whether it is successful or not). The Mutant must eat two Food per week.

Symbiotic Attachment - Whenever the Mutant makes a H-t-H attack, and scores either a Kill or Gruesome Kill, the target is instead Controlled (as per Telepathy). The controlling Mutant may make the victim do whatever he/she likes, but it must remain in Contact with the controlling Mutant.

Mass Mind - When in contact with other Mutants with Mass Mind, this allows all Mental Mutations to be employed as a "group effort". This means that all attempts to use Mental Mutations will be treated as always having a minimum of 1 success.

Chameleon Powers - May start game in Ambush

Carapace, Armor - Treat as Flak Jacket

Fear Generation - Terror

Intuition - Danger Sense

Fear Impulse - treat as Phobia

Shoot/Spit Poison - treat as Short Range attack, if successful, roll vs. Poison as with a Needle Gun attack.

Levitation - Fly

Attraction Odor - Allure

Small - Ground movement is reduced by one category (not below Short Stick). Also, all ranged attacks against this mutant are at -1.

Density Increase - Short range. With 1 success, may make the target Larger or Smaller by 1 category, for 1 turn. With 2 successes, the change is permanent. With 3 successes, the change may be 2 categories. The categories are - Small, Normal, Big, Huge.

Anti-Life Leech - Whenever attacked by Life Leech or Telepathic Scream, the results are automatically reversed.

Tags: mutants, gamma world, miniatures, wargames

Songs of Mutants and Death Ray Guns

So I picked up a copy of "Songs of Mutants and Death Ray Guns" (SoMaDRG or SMDRG) over the weekend, and I am excited to give this a try!

Anyone who does not get the picture couldn't possibly understand why I am so excited about this.

There are a couple of important things missing from the book, however. The version of "figuring out" an artifact given in the SMDRG book is woefully inadequate. Use this (genetically pure) version of the original instead. Much better.
Something that might be fun to do with SMDRG is to take all of the classic critters and encounters from a classic post-apocalypse game and publish them on some website. Yessirree, that would be a fine thing indeed...



Tags: gamma world