Blood in Translation

Nearly a dozen creators reached out to me about publishing their own Blood Dark Thirst material since announcing the open license last week.  Which is awesome...

But now The Hills is pre-selling their Spanish translation of Blood Dark Thirst right over here!

I've seen their PDF and it's top-notch, just like the original.  And what is Blood Dark Thirst, you ask?  The PCs are vampires... though, more demon than undead.  The system is quasi-neo-OSR and rules-light using the VSd6 engine, just like Crimson Dragon Slayer, Alpha Blue, and The Outer Presence.

So, if you haven't already downloaded the PDF or purchased the full-color softcover on Amazon.com, get on that.  Don't miss out on the other vampire RPG that's taking the night by storm!

VS

Save vs Death

While listening to RPGpundit review one of my recent collections in his video (below), I felt compelled to set the record straight on something...

Pure luck is a dyed-in-the-wool old school concept.  You roll the dice and have x% chance of good, bad, or ugly.  Like anything else, relying solely on luck can be overused. 

Do you know why something like Save vs Death is old school?  Because the idea of initiation is ancient. 

Not everyone will make it.  Some things aren't about preparedness, skill, inborn talent, or - they come down to the luck of the draw... in other words, divine favor.  If characters roll well, that means the Gods have given their blessing and certain individuals may continue to prosper.  If a particular roll goes poorly, characters die. 

The world is cruel, Gods capricious, and fate makes its own choices.  That's just the way it goes!

VS

p.s. For comparison's sake, here's Endzeitgeist's review of Player's Handbook like a Fucking Boss and his review of Play Your Character like a Fucking Boss.

p.p.s. For the sake of completeness, here is RPGpundit's review of How to Game Master like a Fucking Boss.

What's Dark, Thirsty, and Red All Over?

What's it like being a vampire in your campaign setting?

RPGpundit's review of Blood Dark Thirst (and resulting commentary on g+) has inspired me to announce something I should have done months ago...

I'm officially opening up my neo-quasi O5Rish rules-light vampire RPG to those interested in licensing that shit for FREE!!!

Yes, you can write, publish, and reap all the rewards for your very own Blood Dark Thirst supplement, sourcebook, or scenario from now until January 1st of 2020.  You can even bounce ideas off me and I'll take a look at what you're making and probably give you suggestions.  I've got lots of opinions!  ;)

That game is literally dying for content and I'm committed to a big project in 2019 and won't be able to publish more than a short adventure until next summer.  Too bad, since it's a great little game with lots of potential.

However, I have a feeling that ambitious gamers will gladly pick up the slack.

Any questions?  Feel free to comment below!

VS

p.s. After this licensing term ends, what you previously published in 2018 and 2019 won't be affected by new licensing terms in 2020.

p.p.s. My friend Egg Embry reminded me of something... it would be nice if mention was made that Blood Dark Thirst was created by Venger As'Nas Satanis and is published by Kort'thalis Publishing.

James Gunn Gone For Good

I think it's safe to say that James Gunn will NOT be re-hired by Disney.

As I predicted in Inappropriate Characters episode #4, where there's smoke, there's usually fire.  You can't be that obsessed with talking (even if it's joking - sometimes, especially if you're joking) about a subject and not have that thing be a part of your life... even if it's a very small part.

And with a subject as abhorrent, taboo, and just plain morally fucking wrong as pedophilia, even dipping your toe in the water is the end of the road for your Disney career.

I'm not going to post the leaked photos of James Gunn attending a pedo-themed costume party because... gross!  However, I will link to the page where they appear.

A year ago, I never thought I'd be saying something about the far-left, rampant SJWs, or the liberal media, but Jesus Christ, what the Hell is going on?  Everything from silence on Jeremy Hambly's assault by some "punch Nazis" asshole to the James Gunn pedo-apologists who seemed a hair away from getting him re-hired.

Yes, I love diversity and inclusivity, too, but stop acting like a hive-mind propaganda machine whose chief objective is identity politics and having fun / playing games is only a secondary consideration... at best.

Thoroughly disenchanted,

VS

p.s.  If you want some tangentially-related Guardians of the Galaxy RPG stuff, here's a FREE adventure for Alpha Blue.  It's sleazy without having anything James Gunn might get off on.

Inappropriate Characters - episode #5

Are social justice warriors slowly but surely ruining the hobby?

Whole lot of good stuff in this episode of our RPG talk show Inappropriate Characters.  Join the RPGpundit, Grim Jim Desboroughs, and I as we hash out the RPG related topics of the day! 

Let us know what you think about our show, and if you're enjoying these episodes, consider checking out our Patreon - I definitely need a decent microphone!

Enjoy,

VS

p.s.  4d6 drop the lowest and place the scores wherever you want is for children.  ;)

More Cha'alt on Roll20

I've since GMed two more sessions of 5e D&D on Roll20. 

This is my Cha'alt campaign which is slowly and organically (which is how I like it) taking shape. 

The first session was mostly about exploring the caves and tunnels beneath the desert wasteland.  The second started right at the entrance (one of the many entrances) to the Black Pyramid of Cha'alt.

I had a lot of peripheral information, such as brainstorm notes and odd bits/pieces on my phone.  Sadly, my phone was viciously dropped onto the wood floor by our 21 month old.  I lost all my contacts and text conversations where those notes were stored.  Luckily, I had transferred most of the good stuff into a word doc before the phone's destruction.

When online, a big group is like 5 or 6 players.  For me, a big group face-to-face is double that.  There's a lot of herding cats going on.  These sessions only being about 90 minutes long, I had to prompt them and move things along at regular intervals.  Not a problem if you know what's required and don't mind putting some stick about...

"Oh, you want to hang out by the pyramid's entrance (and waste 10 precious minutes looking for stalagmites that could be used as a door-jam or teaching the party's wizard how to make a trap with no supplies)?  Well, those hungry cannibals are closing in on you."

The second playtest featured factions.  Well... it was going to feature them.  The PCs kind of just started attacking the first big group they came across.  It ended in 3 NPCs being knocked unconscious and half the PCs getting fairly hurt, but no one died.  Disappointing, considering I spent a couple hours preparing for lots of interaction, but sometimes that's how D&D goes.

Maybe the next group will want to talk to everybody, you never can tell.  It's always different, which is part of the fun. 

I'll keep doing these weekly sessions as long as possible.  The next 4 hour face-to-face game will be a week from tomorrow.  Looking forward to it!

VS

Justice for Jeremy!

You've probably seen text and/or videos I've posted about the man who was assaulted at GenCon this year, Jeremy Hambly aka The Quartering.

I've never met him.  In fact, I just started watching his YouTube channel when Jessica Price hit the fan about a month ago.  But he seems like a cool guy, maybe kind of an outspoken instigator at times and bit edgy, but a good dude, nonetheless.  He actually lives relatively nearby, too.  Maybe one day we'll grab a beer?

Here is the Go Fund Me that one of his supporters set up for him in order to cover legal fees and other expenses incurred because of the unwarranted "punch Nazis" SJW attack on his person when he was at a bar with friends after hours just a block or two away from the convention center.

There have been calls for political-motivated violence from the far-left since the attack, so my repeated mentioning of the situation was warranted. 

We really need to calm the fuck down, people, and realize that criticizing others, saying mean things, and having opposing view points does not make you Hitler, Satan (although in my case... perhaps), a member of the Nazi party, Trump, or the Boogie-Man.

Stay safe out there,

VS

GenCon Dumpster Fire

When a man can assault someone at GenCon and then go about his business like nothing happened... as a gaming culture, I think we have to draw a line. 

The historically disenfranchised shouldn't have more rights than anyone else living in America.  If the roles had been reversed, you can safely bet all your money that GenCon would have responded swiftly and with zero tolerance.  As it was, Matt Loter was allowed to roam the convention halls like nothing ever happened. 

As I've said before, I'm not part of either the Alt-Right or Ctrl-Left.  I think Trump is a terrible President.  I voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and plan on voting for Joe Biden in 2020.  I'm a political moderate and centrist who doesn't want either extreme strangling this great country.

First, some male feminist "nazi punching" antifa SJW gets away with assault and battery.  Then you have right-wing escalation.  Finally, domestic terrorist threats start happening more and more frequently until the United States looks like fucking Baghdad. 

Let's see the same accountability as if a female cosplayer was cat-called or transgendered person was told they couldn't use the restroom of their choice.  A GenCon attendee got sucker-punched just a few blocks from the convention center by a GenCon exhibitor! 

This is fucking news... and I really don't think ENworld or RPG.net care enough to cover or even discuss the matter.  So disappointing...

VS

p.s. You have my support, Jeremy.  Stay strong, hoss.  Get Woke - Go Broke!

Glynn Seal Wins ENnie Gold

Just wanted to publicly congratulate my friend and layout / graphic design partner who's been helping make Kort'thalis Publishing stuff awesome for about the last 3 years. 

Want to see a little bit of what Glynn's been up to?  Most of this shit is his fault!

If anyone needs help with their gaming project, definitely seek Glynn Seal out.  Here's his MonkeyBlood Design website.

So thrilled with your victory and looking forward to what we create together in the future, hoss!

VS

The Other N-Word

I'll be brief.

Throwing the word "Nazi" around has become rather fashionable these days.  And that's bad for a variety of reasons...

1)  It's inaccurate.  The Alt-Right, if that's what we're calling that huge swath of people from present-day conservatives to Trump supporters to counter-cultural independent thinkers to anti-left/SJWs to white nationalists, are not equivalent to the German war machine in World War II.  When you describe someone with alternative views a Nazi - same goes for calling people fascists - you devalue what real Nazis did in the 1940's.  Pretty soon, actual Nazis may start to look like the good guys because of our twisting and turning linguistics.  We don't want that.

2)  It's dehumanizing.  Calling someone a Nazi immediately paints them as the enemy, the other, non-human, unworthy as the same rights as the rest of us.  Before you call someone a "Nazi," think about how that would sound coming out of your mouth if you called that person a "n@gger."  Because, to me, they're both not ok to casually throw around.

3)  Eventually, we're going to have to come together, find some sort of middle ground, and make peace.  The polarization and politicization of everything and everyone in this country - maybe this world - is frightening to behold.  We should all take a step back and look at ourselves, look at what kind of country - or world - we want to live in

That's all I'm going to say for now. 

VS

WTF GenCon?!?

First, Anita Sarkeesian is invited to GenCon as a guest of honor.  This upset a lot of people because, as I've researched, she's not at all a gamer or game fan, but a professional feminist... and not even a very good one, from what I've heard.

Second, GenCon mismanages the way people get their tickets in order to participate in the games they signed up for.  I know it's super crowded, but no one on God's slimy green earth should have to wait three hours in a line to do anything.  Someone needs to be fired and hopefully GenCon runs more smoothly next year (there's a slight chance I might be able to attend).

Third, this youtube vlogger Jeremy Hambly from The Quartering gets assaulted by some SJW dude believing he was a Nazi and that alone seemed to give him the right to do so.  Jeremy is a fan of Magic the Gathering.  I've played MtG, and it's a lame reflection of actual roleplaying games, but hey, he's still a gamer and a human being.

Fourth, GenCon seems determined to hush up the attack by banning/blocking people on twitch who bring it up or talk about it on their channel.  And some jackass from The Nerdist (and many others, I presume) is happy the assault happened on social media.

What in the actual fuck is going on?

I remember the whole "punch a Nazi" thing after the Charleston protest over Confederate statues, memorials, and such.  The aftermath was increasingly polarized sides and anyone Alt-Right being deemed a Nazi, racist, fascist, etc.  And claiming someone was a Nazi became provocation to behave violently towards others of an opposing viewpoint.

Disagreement over politics should never devolve into physical harm to people.  So, I hope that Jeremy Hambly is alright, that GenCon addresses the incident instead of cowering from it like Matt Loter (who ran off with a bunch of Kickstarter money, I'm told).  And I sincerely hope this shit doesn't happen again anytime soon.

The Ctrl-Left doesn't get to feel self-righteous about fighting their ideological enemies in the streets.  That's some bullshit.  What's next... terrorist bombings?  That whole "punch a Nazi" meme, Antifa, and extreme politicization of the RPG hobby/industry has to stop now!

VS

p.s. Despite this unfortunate business, Liberation of the Demon Slayer is still FREE for the next couple weeks!  If your adult filter is on, turn it off!

Almost Like Being There

Sadly, I'm missing yet another non-Milwaukee GenCon, just like I've missed all the previous ones. 

However, I just found out that some guys were playing through Liberation of the Demon Slayer using AS&SH.  And that's awesome because now I get to feel like I'm part of the magic!

Details: the guy drinking diet Mountain Dew fell in a blue slime pit and died.  The dude drinking Irish whiskey lived to tell the tale.  Haha.  Good times!

To celebrate such awesomeness, LotDS shall be ZERO dollars until after H.P. Lovecraft's birthday (August 20th, if you didn't know).

Looking forward to hearing more fun gaming news - especially if it relates to me or anything Kort'thalis Publishing has put out!

VS