I finally got to run a one-shot of Cepheus Atom, Stellagama Games' post-apocalypse version of the Cepheus Engine. It's a fun, light little system designed to run Gamma World-style games using Traveller-style rules. Cepheus Atom doesn't have a built in setting, so I threw together the Shabby Lands, a small hexcrawl. I'm thinking of cleaning … Continue reading Cepheus Atom – Pregen Characters
This is the fifth in my series of capsule reviews of non-fiction books that would be useful or inspiring in RPGs – Weird Books for Gamers This 1979 book is pretty simple. It's a collection of over 100 black & white maps of fictional worlds from various fictional works. There's a short description for each. … Continue reading Weird Books for Gamers V: An Atlas of Fantasy by J.B. Post
There's a game jam on itch.io called the HexDrive Zine Jam. It's ending tonight. It's a collection of articles for the D&D Spelljammer setting, but only by people who have never actually read the setting. Just under the wire, I've added my own contribution - The Broken Shroud. It's a short article about a Sargasso-sea like … Continue reading A Spelljammer Zine by people who haven’t read Spelljammer
As part of the 2020 Bookmark Jam over on itch.io, where people are designing games that fit entirely on a bookmark, I've added my own contribution. I've made a game called Angry Fan vs. Genre Show A two player GM-less tabletop RPG designed to replicate the relationship between a genre TV show and its fanbase. … Continue reading Angry Fan vs. Genre Show – my free Bookmark RPG at itch.io
I've made an ODT (Open Document Text file) template to create custom classes to match the style found in the Black Hack Second Edition book. I've designed it in LibreOffice. You can add your own text and images. You can print it directly or export it to a PDF. BH2E_Template (ODT) You'll need the following … Continue reading The Black Hack: Custom Template for Classes
I run mostly one-shot adventures for my home RPG group, so I'm always on the look out for one-shot scenarios that will save me time. With that in mind, I just came across this amazing blog - One Shot Adventures. There's a whole bunch of table-ready one-shot adventures in multiple genres (including pulp - which … Continue reading My new favorite RPG site: One Shot Adventures
Stellagama Publishing recently released Cepheus Atom, a sci-fi RPG set in a gonzo, Gamma World-style post apocalypse world. It's a stripped down version of the Cepheus Engine/Traveller rules. Most of the Cepheus stats are gone, and the character generation is a simple point buy instead of the normal career system. It looks like a excellent … Continue reading Cepheus Atom: Fillable Character Sheet for new post-apocalyptic RPG
I've been enjoying the first issue of the Cepheus Journal, a fanzine for the Cepheus Engine RPG. They've just put out their first issue. Looking forward to whatever they do next. It can be downloaded here: https://cepheusjournal.com/downloads/
There's a 2020 One-Page RPG Jam underway over at itch.io. I've added my own little contribution, a simple, but silly dungeon crawler called Dungeons Without Love or Imagination. Dungeons Without Love or Imagination by ng76
Here's a somewhat more academic work then the last few books. It's a review of various alternate theories of the origins of humanity from pseudo-scientist cranks, religious cults, and various grifters. It includes multiple Ancient Astronaut theories, various Creationisms, and a couple of ideas so bizarre, as to defy any easy categorization. Strange Creations: Aberrant … Continue reading Weird Books for Gamers IV: Strange Creations by Donna Kossy
