Mountain Monsters: A "Reality" Show for Cryptid Hunters

 

I subscribe to Max, and since the merger of Warner and Discovery, they've added all the Discovery Plus content. This includes a show I never knew existed, but I am now addicted to, called Mountain Monsters. The premise of the show is that a group of backwoodsmen attempt to encounter or trap (or even kill) cryptids in the Appalachian wilderness. It's such an obviously scripted show (the monsters are never shown, and when they are, it's clearly a CGI embellishment), but it is incredible fun. I look at it as a hillbilly version of Supernatural, the kind of guys that Sam and Dean would make fun of, because they're all gonna die approaching monsters this way.

However, I did have a wonderful idea. I haven't decided if I'll use an OSR ruleset, or Beyond the Supernatural from Palladium, but since each episode has some lore and imagery of each monster, I figured what better opportunity to adapt them for roleplaying! I've always been fond of Appalachian folklore and horror, like Manly Wade Wellman's fiction, from Silver John to his other characters. The down-home aspect of this type of fiction appeals to me, and seems all the more fantastical due to being in a setting I can relate to - I'm from just north of Appalachia myself, lower Northeast Ohio. I loved making my way down through the hills of Ohio on a drive, through forests and farmland.

That's the plan, then. I'll be posting them here, also, as I write them up. The plan is to take each of these critters and stat them out completely. Of course, since the lore on the show is usually paper-thin, I'll have to do a bit of research on each to make sure I'm giving them all the powers and abilities they need to kill player characters. I'll make sure to reference each episode, also.

Please note that this isn't a challenge to any copyright, or an attempt to use the show to improve this blog - I'm just a fan, and I wanted to make some monsters based on what I've seen on the show, and weave these cryptids into the fantastical landscape of Appalachian fantasy stories.

Stay tuned, so to speak. Monsters are coming.

You guys... Look...

Words sure can change over time. I know Tenkar played thru this years ago and is old hat for some of you, but I was just going through my files, and... bruh.

Book Review: Age of Aztec by James Lovegrove

I don't generally review fiction on this site, I try to keep it all game-related, or at least musings about certain games, and so on. However, I remember the old Dragon Magazine book review column, and they would focus on what might be mined from a book for a game.

This particular book has ideas all throughout. I'll keep it short, however, so I don't ruin anything.

Age of Aztec by James Lovegrove is part of his loosely-related Pantheon series that focuses on different mythologies and the "what if" factor of what might happen if they existed and either ruled mankind or returned. In this particular novel, the Aztec Empire rules the entire world, keeping it under control with iron-fisted police called Jaguars, and with the Great Speaker's own crack teams of Serpent Warriors. The mythology is paid close attention to, and there's even a guide for proper pronunciation of Aztec words since they're used quite often in this science fiction tale.

I found the book a solid read, although I struggled with the slow build through the first 200 pages. Plenty of character development to go around, and plenty of inspiration for games. Since I'm on a Rifts kick, my mind immediately went to the possibility of a nation completely ruled by the Aztec pantheon (and if Siembieda has already done this, I haven't bought that sourcebook yet). Lines of people waiting for death through a sacrifice of their own life to the gods, police state oppression, the equivalent of mega-damage tech, and the return of the gods themselves all feature within the book, and an entire Rifts campaign could be culled form it.

The only criticisms I have is that the book has a bleak outlook on the divine, and I am assuming this is the author putting his opinions into the theme of the book. I'm a religious person, and even though we're talking about mythological figures, some of the statements the characters make about their now-damaged faith are fairly troublesome to me. The language is harsh at times, and I found the cursing a bit "try-hard" at times. Grittiness can be achieved without resorting to pages full of cursing. I have no problem reading it if it fits the story, but this felt a bit like the author relies on it too much to express a character's anger. The ending is a bummer, too, which I won't spoil for you, and I understand why the author did what he did with the no-hope-left resolution. It sticks to the Mayan calendar 2012 end-date. I get it. I just wish there was more book after so I could find out what happened, but I guess that's a good thing if I'm left wanting more.

If you want heroic sci-fi with a touch of fantasy and superheroics, this one's for you. I've deemed it a keeper, and it's staying on the shelf for a re-read eventually, after I finish the 3 other books in the Pantheon series I bought.

Game Hack: Tabling Out Rifts OCCs

One of the things I wanted to do for myself, for when I eventually run Rifts or another Palladium system, is to give myself the gift of organization. You'll see what I've done below, and I've started with the Crazy OCC from Rifts. 

(Please note: this post is in no way intended to infringe any copyright, it is simply an example of how I'm re-organizing class information for personal use, but it's interesting enough to show people how I've done it.)

I scoured the pages in the book that the class is presented on, looking for benefits that increase with level to table out, and then mapped the rest out in a tight format, but there's much information that simply won't be able to fit into this table due to the way classes work in Rifts. As such, this in no way replaces reading the description of each ability and making copious notes on the character sheet, but is an at-a-glance method of checking the abilities gained over time. I like it, so I'm working on converting info from each Rifts (and Palladium games in general) to this format in Microsoft Excel, so I can pop right to a certain OCC and see if they gain certain things at certain levels. All of us familiar with Rifts know that PCs gain a ton of abilities and skills right off the bat and then it's just gradual progression, but this is useful nonetheless.

See what I did:

Scribes & Scribbles: My Notebook Collection and Campaign Preparation

I have a habit that I haven't been able to figure out for years. I've collected notebooks and journals. Any nice, high-quality, usually hardback or well-bound notebook or journal, if inexpensive enough, finds its way into my collection. And once in a while I'll spring for Moleskine notebooks. Often, I will also buy composition books (like the ones we all used in high school and middle school for writing assignments) if they're unusual or the covers are especially nice.

Why do I do this? I have no idea. I'm assuming it's somehow connected to my grade-school dream of becoming a writer. Back then, in the 1980s, unless you were rich, writing within a program on a computer was pretty much out of the question, and since my family was poor, writing in notebooks was really the only option, unless I somehow was able to learn to use the old typewriter my mother left accumulating dust. The keys required a lot of pressure, and I can't count the number of times it made the tips of my fingers smart, or the number of times I managed to get my fingers stuck in between the keys, resulting in skinned-up fingers around the first knuckle area. A few of the letters wouldn't work properly, either, the arms being bent or too close to the surrounding letters. I played with it, but that was it.

For a long time, I wanted to upgrade to an electric typewriter. I thought it would solve my writing problems, since I was stuck with the low-tech option of pencil, pen, and paper. That was the desire for a while, until I learned to type in middle school in our computer classes (which tended to simply be games of Oregon Trail on an old Apple computer). The typing instruction did help, though, and my speed was built up by re-typing old articles from the Polyhedron Newszine issues I had laying around, to compile them for use in a campaign that never happened. I now type 80-100 words per minute, or thereabouts. The classes gave me the basics, I did the rest.

The dream then became owning a computer, and I managed to get one for 500 dollars or so after I had graduated high school and moved into my first apartment when I was 19. Yes, I moved out and supported myself when I was 19. On 7.50 per hour. That's an impossibility today. But in the year 2000, it could be done. I learned a lot about desktop publishing, Word, and other programs. This is a self-education that continues to this day.

But I digress. Obviously.

I've come to realize that with about 100 or so notebooks in my collection that it's time I do something with them. And, since I also collect vintage and high-quality pencils (think Mitsubishi, Nataraj, Apsara, and the incomparable Blackwing), I figured I must once again put pencil to paper to start collecting my ideas in some sort of organized fashion, rather than a jumble of computer files.

In this act, I have found peace. I am putting to use old things that people donated to thrift stores (I get some fantastic pencils and notebooks from thrift stores in Holmes County, Ohio when I venture there). I am practicing an act of resurrection in this way, taking the unwanted and unused and pressing them into action once more. It's satisfying, and therapeutic. Satisfying in that there is visible progress as you turn the page, and therapeutic in being able to touch the book and the paper in it, hearing the scratch and scribble of the pencil, and even in the sharpening of the pencil to a perfect point.

But how does this relate to roleplaying games? I hear you asking that question if you've read this far. Here's the answer - in each notebook, I am choosing to record ideas for each separate campaign I choose to dream up. When I have enough material written in them (meaning they're full), I'll take those notes and begin the process of putting them into a manuscript on the computer, collating and cleaning up the ideas and presenting them in a cohesive fashion, either for my use, or for possible publishing projects.

I'm currently working within two separate notebooks. 

The first is taking form as an apocalyptic modern fantasy horror campaign that focuses on the war between Heaven and Hell on earth, sparked by the return of the Ark of the Covenant to earth, which awakens magic and the supernatural on Earth. There will be demons, angels, magic, and a war-time footing within the campaign, and multiple other supernatural elements. A fantasized pseudo-Christian theology is the basis for the milieu. The characters will experience the return of magic, the arrival of the forces of Heaven and Hell, and be the focus of plots to either stop the war, or turn it one way or the other. Intrigue and special quests will feature large.

The second notebook contains my scribbles for a dark action horror campaign in a modern setting. It may sound somewhat related, but the tone and content will be different. I haven't decided the details yet (it's still early in the notes stage), but the world has been overtaken by different supernatural creatures in the aftermath of the war between Heaven and Hell. The Rapture occurred, taking all the worthy humans to Heaven (it's assumed so, anyhow), and those left in the wreckage fight for survival on a daily basis. Creatures that took part in the war that did not leave Earth for whatever reason have set up their own domains, and factions have formed. The human characters will exist in a sort of "points of light" setting, but the points of light are few and far between. It will be bleak and hellish, with fantastic supernatural creatures abounding. Exploration and shoot-em-up action will abound.

I just had an idea today for a third campaign, so I'll break out a new notebook this evening and begin making notes. I have a ton of OSR-produced modules for OSRIC, so what I figured I would do is scour them, placing all the lost cities, dungeons, and forgotten tombs and temples in a sandbox-style campaign, so that anywhere the characters decide to go, I have the material to handle it with little work. It will be gonzo, anything-goes fantasy, a sort of RIFTS approach to D&D. I think I'll use the BECMI rules or possibly Swords & Wizardry as a base, and since it's so easy to bolt on aspects from AD&D or other clones, it will be anything goes, dream up the craziest thing possible, and clear dungeons. But, I'll put a high mortality rate into play. That sounds fun.

I hope I haven't bored you. This particular entry is mainly a way for me to organize my thoughts and do a little introspective self-reflection, but sharing this with you, dear readers, is satisfying to me. As I fill notebooks, I'll keep you up to date with my progress. It may be interesting to see how it progresses.

Tomes of Magic: Upcoming Campaign

Despite the name of this post, I am not going to call my new campaign Tomes of Magic. For one, it's far too on-the-nose, and it's just unimaginative.

However, magical works of writing will play an outsized role in the campaign, with the primary method of discovering new spells consisting of stumbling upon them in ancient lore or finding them scrawled on prehistoric tablets and scrolls. In fact, the PCs will be questing for the correct magical knowledge to take down whatever big nasty they may be facing as they progress through their careers (if they don't DIE of course).

In the spirit of this new campaign idea, I offer you a new magical tome, described below.

CROWN AND INFERNO

Author: Unknown

Crown and Inferno is large at 18 inches tall and 12 inches across the front cover, and is bound in red dyed leather with luxuriously smooth vellum pages. The tome seems ageless, remaining like new even over years of use and storage, with no fading inks or colors, and no wear to the binding.

Within the book, should a character peruse its contents, the hierarchies of Hell are explained in great detail, and the text abounds with purported True Names of demons, along with instructions for summoning their kind to the Material Plane. If the characters research the book before they attempt to read it, they may find out (an Intelligence check with a positive or negative modifier, depending on the accuracy of the research materials) that it may help to be warded against evil when reading. Just the first few paragraphs of the book are enough to potentially leave a character open to demonic possession. The GM is free to use the rules he likes for possession attempts, since many of these rules exist in different games, and many will work with old style rules.

Should the character(s) reading the text avoid any possession attempts that may befall them, they will be able to identify 1d4 different spells of any spell level, providing these spells can help in attempting to summon demons or extraplanar entities. The GM should choose the spells from the game rules he likes best, as long as they contain spells for demon-summoning. These spells may be transferred to a character's spell book in the usual time frame, and the spells may not be used from the book as a spell scroll would be used.

Only one attempt at spell discovery per character is allowed, and each will have to defend against demon possession. After the spells are discovered, the book remains in their possession, but is useful only as a reference for future research. It does not radiate magic, since it merely contains instructions for magical rites.

OGL 1.1 - An Article that Mimics My Own Thoughts on the Matter

Head on over to Grognardia and read what James writes about the OGL move WOTC recently made. His thoughts are right there with mine.

Here is your link.