Night Shift

This game looks cool, and Tim is a friend of mine... so, definitely back it!  Only 7 hours left and about $100 shy of their funding goal.

If you're into Buffy and Angel (like I am), Stephen King, or one of the many CW shows and its ilk... Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Legacies, Charmed, and Supernatural - this will be an old school RPG catering to your needs.

Here is the link!

Happy Halloween,

VS

Ideas for upcoming games

So, there a couple things I want to try for my upcoming sessions of Cha'alt (the first at Game Hole Con, the second at the book release party for Cha'alt).

As an ice breaker, to get things going, incentivizing awesome creativity, I have a little program for awarding Divine Favor (inspiration).  It's as follows...

Point of Divine Favor Awarded at Character Creation

• Best PC name.
• Best PC one-sentence background.
• Best PC one-sentence description.

That should keep winning PCs alive for at least another 3 or 4 minutes.

Since these sessions are both one-shots, I want the possibility of leveling during the actual adventure.  This goes especially for old school games, XP is doled out a little at a time and it's almost impossible to gain a level mid-way through the initial adventure.  

Well, this gives players a goal, something to shoot for, if they're focused on improvement.  What's the worst that can happen... after risking life and limb, they reach 2nd level an hour before the game ends?

Gaining a Level

• Possessing a magic item (must be attuned to you - so, you've had it for at least 20 minutes of in-game time).
• Possessing at least 1,000 gold pieces worth of treasure (excluding magic items).
• The party kills at least 10 HD worth of monsters/NPCs (those who take no part in the battle receive zero credit).
• Successfully using the Epic Deed of Awesomeness three times (must be during combat, tense interactive scene, or be otherwise significant).
• Successfully rolling a saving throw three times.

Open to suggestions.  Let me know what you think.  I've got the rest of today and tomorrow to think about this concept.

VS

p.s. If it wasn't obvious, I'll be using my own O5R hack Crimson Dragon Slayer D20.

p.p.s. Yep, someone's face is probably going to be melted off.  See you in Hell, sucka PCs!  ;)

Cha'alt at Game Hole Con

Looks like I'll be going to Game Hole Con, after all.  ;)

As it happens, something opened up at work and I have free time Friday, November 1st.  So, I'll be running Cha'alt from 10am - 2pm.

That four-hour window is all the time I'll have at the convention, so if you want to shake my slimy tentacle, sign something, ask me questions, or just check out a hardcover copy of Cha'alt, you know where to find me.

The event link is here.  It's called "The Black Pyramid of Cha'alt".  Hope to see you there!

VS

p.s. The Cha'alt book release party will be held at Misty Mountain Games on Saturday, November 9th.  Details right here.

What's Your Cha'alt Hack?

"Basically, Venger is a crazy person... everything in Cha'alt really feels connected, even though it's kind of manic and bizarre."

One reviewer in particular, I'll paste his video flip-through down below, mentioned the hackability of Cha'alt.  It's both big and small, sketchy (in both senses of the word) and detailed.  The campaign setting gives you a lot to go on, but pulls back a little in order for the GM to make Cha'alt his own.

I'd like to read about your own personal Cha'alt hack!  If you're in the planning stage, gearing up for session zero, or already running it... what sort of things are you doing differently?  Some things I intended for GMs to alter and fully expect, other things I'm sure will blow my mind because I didn't even consider that possibility.

Please, satisfy my curiosity!  Everyone who posts their own Cha'alt hack in the comments (or on your own blog - provide a link!) will be eligible to win the grand prize - one FREE PDF from Kort'thalis Publishing.  Your choice!

Thanks for watching!  Feel free to leave a comment on Aaron's video, too, and subscribe to his channel.

Enjoy,

VS

Where can you find this wondrous book?  RIGHT OVER HERE!!!

Cha'alt Ascended

Like many of you, I'm comfortable with OSR.  Not just because I'll be turning 45 next month.  Rather, early D&D seemed to have a magic that 3rd and 4th editions forgot. 

I don't want PCs running around like super heroes or demigods, optimized up the wazoo.  Things should be fairly simple, one might even say basic.  And yet... tiny details from those apostate editions creep in. 

As much as I've tried to fight it, I think something additional for PCs is a good idea, whether that's the occasional feat, set of skills, class options, or merely special abilities.  So, after putting it off for years, I finally came up with a list of 63 "old school feats" that I'll be using in my own Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 games while running Cha'alt. 

Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 [FREE PDF] is my own hack (that's what the kids call self-published house-rules now, right?) of old school 5th edition D&D.

What else is in Cha'alt Ascended?  A short optional rule for sorcerers and, my favorite, a d20 random table of prior events that are both memorable and life changing... well, perspective changing might be more accurate for some of them. 

A number of these feats and backgrounds are tied to the eldritch, gonzo, science-fantasy, post-apocalyptic world of Cha'alt.  They'll go hand-in-tentacle with my FREE PDF of pre-gens, Cha'alt Pre-Generated.  But everything in Cha'alt Ascended is fairly system and campaign neutral for maximum usability. 

If you enjoy it, please rate and/or review it on DriveThruRPG... or elsewhere! 

VS

p.s. I still have plenty of limited edition, gorgeous full-color, off-set printed, hardcover Cha'alt books.  Get yours today!!!

Cha'alt Hardcovers Arrive

Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise kickstarter!!!

The day long awaited finally came!  Yesterday, 10/11 (do you see the significance!?!) over 2,000 hardcover books were delivered to my house.

Apparently, with off-set printing it's common to get a few more than your original order.  So, I have a lot.  And they're amazing!

Yesterday was also a super-busy day at work, and some of the time our internet was down.  That's why the announcement is coming this morning.

What is Cha'alt?  An eldritch, gonzo, science-fantasy, post-apocalyptic campaign setting and megadungeon for pretty much any version of D&D, including its many OSR offspring.

Many gamers have come out of the woodwork to praise the Cha'alt PDF.  Soon, they'll have a chance to hold the hardcover in their hands... or tentacles.  All 216 pages.

I've got a lot of packages to stuff in order to fulfill my Kickstarter obligations, but if you want to get on the list for one of these babies, you can order now.  I take paypal.  My address is: Venger.Satanis@yahoo.com

At the moment, it's $60 if you order one book; $110 for two; and $140 for three.

If you live in the United States, I'm not going to charge extra for shipping.  But if you live outside the U.S., I'm charging an additional $30 (plus $20 per additional book. Thankfully, easyship.com saved my ass).

All books will be signed and numbered by me.

Send me an email with your street address after sending payment.

Last but not least, a gargantuan and slimy purple "Thank You" to everyone who helped make Cha'alt possible.  From the backers who took a chance on it to gold ENnie award winning layout and cartographer Glynn Seal of MonkeyBlood Design to Prince of Nothing who consulted to all the guys who helped edit and proofread the damned thing.

Tremendous work went into making this book, and we should all be proud of it.  Cha'alt!

Enjoy,

VS


p.s. Oops, forgot a key note... if you've purchased the PDF already, then deduct that amount from the purchase price.  Additionally, if you purchase a hardcover, you get the PDF for free.

Cha'alt Stream Reflections

If you need a refresher, this is the blog post about our Cha'alt live-stream.

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, so we'll be back!  I think we're aiming for every other month.  Depends on how our schedules align. 

However, I'm still interested in a side-gig stream of all things Venger.  More info about that here

Below are some questions I received along with my answers...

1.  What (if anything) was ad-libbed or spontaneously created?

I didn't think of anyone climbing to the top of the waterfall, so that was a total blank canvas moment. But knowing the campaign world as I do, I improvised.  In my mind, I was thinking of that crystal cave scene from the old movie Journey To The Center Of The Earth (a classic and favorite of mine).  I suppose that was the inspiration.

2.  Was this scenario included in Cha'alt?

Nope, I wrote it earlier in the day.  Totally new content.

3.  What did you roll for morale?

Well, since I've been using my Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 house-rules, I didn't have anything else in front of me, such as a table or chart for morale.  In my head, I determined that if I rolled high on a d20, the blind, albino cannibals would stand fast.  I ended up rolling a 5, I think.  So, they ran away.

______

That's all, folks!

VS

p.s. Want to know where I bought my chartreuse and magenta Cha'altian dice?  Over yonder.  Tell them Venger Satanis sent you!