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.

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.

My Table Rules for Players

I am a fan of letting players know up front what sort of campaign they will be experiencing, both in-game and at the table as friends. I find it useful to have a set of guidelines for the table, so they know what to expect in terms of both play and behavior while playing. This is by no means an exhaustive list of what I like to tell players up front (depending on the campaign I run, of course - each campaign may be different with regards to table rules), but when running older games meant to be played a certain way (BECMI D&D, for instance, my favorite iteration of the game, or S&W), these are the guidelines I put forth. I plan on having them out on the table, or on a whiteboard, or on the outside of my GM screen during session 0 and session 1.

Here we go:

* Life is cheap in old style games sometimes, and so are character sheets. Have 3-5 additional characters ready to go, since this may be a high-mortality campaign. You may level up each of your other characters that aren't being played at the same rate your current character is earning experience points, so they may be called upon in the event of death. Plus, creating characters is fun. No switching, however, until someone dies, unless you can make a case for it.

* That all being said, I won't kill your character. You will. Running is not cowardly, it's smart. If you venture into an area to nasty for your current characters, retreat is expected and intelligent. Likewise, don't stick your head or hand in a hole before checking it out thoroughly. You never know what's in there.

* If you steal from another party member, or attack them, I wouldn't be surprised if you disappeared in the depths of the next dungeon crawl. I will look at any motivations for doing this kind of thing, meaning starting intra-party conflict. If it's player vs. player motivated, I'll take action to remove one of you from the game permanently. If it just makes sense in the game that the character acted this way, I want everyone to realize that, and respect it. It's a game of choices, and sometimes choices like this make sense in the story, even if it's not the victimized player's first choice of things to happen. Who's to say a demon didn't possess them at the time?

* Permanent level drain is included in this rule set. Be prepared.

* If you want to play a class from a different OSR ruleset or different iteration of D&D up through AD&D 2nd Edition, it's not hard to convert at all. Let's do it. I don't care if it seems "overpowered". I'll adjust things accordingly.

* No cursing at the table, please. We want kids to be able to play with us if they show interest. Likewise, treat everyone with respect. I am a father of two girls and a stepfather of two boys with autism. Play like they're at the table and set a good example. Also, help new people to learn. Do not deride them as "newbies." That is despicable.

* There will be no rules-lawyering. If you have an issue with a ruling, we can discuss it after the game. If for some reason, I make an error in judging a situation, we can rectify it afterward, up to and including resurrection of a character if necessary. Anger over a game won't be tolerated. It isn't that important. It's a game.

* I am not "out to get" your characters. At the same time, I shall not fudge a die roll. Approach encounters with caution, as well as dungeons and wilderness in general. I promise to be fair. If it kills you, it kills you, and if you kill the bad guy, it dies, too, no matter how much planning went into it. If you hammer the final enemy with one nasty spell and he's down, then I didn't plan properly for what your characters can do.

* Dungeon environments are apt to be an "underworld" environment where the world works a little differently and perhaps unexpectedly. Doors lock and open on their own sometimes and are constantly sticking, closing behind you constantly after a few turns, making the characters' lives difficult, and all or most of the monsters can see in the dark down there. It's the nature of the place. It hates you and doesn't want you there. It has a mind of its own, or at least it seems that way.

* I expect the players to use everything at their disposal, including the depths of their imaginations, and bring it to bear against their antagonists. Likewise, the bad guys will have plans in place to deal with adventurers and thieves. If you outwit me at the table, I will enjoy it and reward good, skilled play accordingly.

* I tend to dislike the whole "speaking with funny accents" aspect of roleplaying and other cliches of this type of game, since I find it grating. I tend to narrate like a story teller rather than act. It's up to you what you choose to do.

* This is a game of exploration. Be prepared to map as you go. It doesn't have to be 100% accurate, nor is it ever expected to be unless you make it clear your characters are going to take the ridiculous amount of time it would take to measure out each chamber, alcove, and tunnel. All you need to know is how to get out of the place you're exploring and where unexplored areas are located.

* I'll let you know of any house rules that we'll be using, like the famous Shields Shall Be Splintered rule, or if we will deviate from the current ruleset in any way. For instance, in BECMI D&D I tend to drop the skill system completely, or award them as special abilities. 

* This is a table of respect and fun. Be respectful of the life experiences of others. If the adventure is making you uncomfortable, let me know somehow. We want to have fun, not remind you of something that happened to you that was no fun at all. At the same time, let's all have a sense of humor and not be overly sensitive. Again, we want to have fun. For my part, as far as the themes encountered, the game will be the equivalent of a PG-13 movie rating or less. I won't touch upon certain taboo subject matter for the sake of shock or horror. 

The Return & The Illusion

I'm finally back on this horse after 7 or 8 years ago being thrown off its back and having landed in the muck of life, disease, and financial disrepair. Also, marriage happened, and that's good. Now that I'm living in the Detroit area and my life has settled down quite a bit, I have found some time to start plucking away at these keys again. I really only expect to use this as a space to develop my own campaign world, even if it is never played. I have no group, and I may not, since a lot of people that play roleplaying games really drive me nuts with a lot of their behaviors. The "nerd culture," so to speak. I hate it. Right or wrong, I am honest about why I stay away from a lot of other folks that play these games.

I do, however, enjoy the fire it sets in my brain when I pick up a new manual and see things that urge me to create new monsters, or new rules, or new lands. I don't think that will ever stop. Recently, it's been Palladium's Rifts, Ninjas & Superspies, Heroes Unlimited, Nightbane, Palladium Fantasy, and my personal favorite, Beyond the Supernatural that have really fired my imagination. I have no idea why these games aren't more widely played. There is a perception out there that the "system isn't good" but that lacks merit if the game works, and it does. It may simply be a difference in modern expectations of game design, much as we've discussed time and time again with old D&D versus new D&D. "Game balance" is an illusion in my eyes, and an illusion that must be met by the GM. The idea across all of Palladium's products is to just change or disallow what you don't like, and use what you do like. Think of it as a toolbox, not something to be played rules-as-written. 

What's happening when someone perceives something as "imbalancing" in a game? Well, something was either introduced into the game at far too different of a power level for the current campaign to sustain its use, or the GM isn't doing his job. That second point often causes the first point to happen. Without going into specifics, let's all agree that the power levels, especially in Rifts, of different OCCs vary wildly. But are they truly "unbalanced?" I don't think so - they may have a very specific niche to fill, but "unbalancing' the game isn't something that occurs from this. The illusion of balance really only depends on what you throw at the PCs. 

Let's go look at the TV show Supernatural, which is my favorite television show of all time. The Winchester boys routinely run into beings that can only be hurt by one thing. If they fail to prepare, they prepare to fail, as the old adage goes. Angels, for instance, were indestructible nukes before the Angel Blade was introduced as a way to kill them in one strike, and you could blast a bunch of them away (for a time) with some magic sigils drawn in blood. With Demons, all the boys could do was tie them down and exorcise them until they acquired Ruby's knife that kills Demons in much the same way as an Angel Blade. And let's not forget that there are some things that only the Colt can kill, including Alphas, certain Knights of Hell, etc. But there are rumored to be seven things it cannot hurt, like Lucifer (and we saw it happen - it simply knocked him down and shut him up for a few seconds).

I see this being much like the difference between MDC and SDC in Rifts. Certain things can only damage other certain things. Otherwise, you could pound on them all day and only wear yourself out or deplete your ammunition. Take the Colt, for instance. If there was an unlimited supply of ammunition, and it hadn't kept being stolen by other entities, the boys would have walked over most of their opposition. However, it was difficult and probably expensive to make more bullets, and they were rarely in charge of the weapon after a while. When something like that exists, every big bad sits up, takes notice, and makes plans.

So why mention Palladium classes? Well, the fact that there's Glitter Boys and folks in regular clothes without MDC weapons potentially running around in the same group. Unbalanced? It doesn't have to be as long as the GM is savvy and actually prepares encounters that consider this fact. Now that's not to say the GM should always cater to the group. There are times when the PCs need a good stomping (or, in this case, possible vaporization) to remind them that they are mortal and that their luck can suddenly run out. But they should have a way out, a way to potentially succeed even if it's a long shot, and consequences that ride on their success and failure. The player of the "regular guy" running around with the player that's running a Glitter Boy? They should also be hunting for things to do in the game that may help their friends - things to do aren't limited by the rules, but by your imagination! Skilled play should be rewarded, and the player that knows this is always thinking outside the box, for a different way to succeed. He knows his SDC weaponry isn't going to hurt the Dragon they just encountered, but he may well be able to participate in the ritual that's needed to weaken it for the big guys to have a chance in taking it down, or steal the thing from the Dragon's treasure that could do it in - big bads love to hoard the crap that can kill them (wouldn't you?) to keep it out of reach of anyone that might thwart their plans. There's a million ways to play, and varying levels of power can be very, very interesting.

I'm sure people have argued this point more eloquently than me in the past, and probably very recently, especially while talking about our beloved Rifts and all the games that are in its orbit. I was simply thinking about it, and decided to write down my thoughts. This is how I would play, and have played in the past. It can be immense amounts of fun, but requires running a tight ship on the GM side.