O5R Virtual Tabletop RPG Platform

Off and on, I've been using Roll20 to run brief one-shot games for Alpha Blue and write post-game session reports for them... like this.  I limp along with Roll20, mildly dissatisfied with the format/platform because of the counter-intuitive stuff that bothers me and their refusal to expand the drop-down menu of available RPGs to choose from.  In my opinion, the infrastructure is better than nothing at all, but just barely.

I have a tech/gamer friend who's helping me create a website with Alpha Blue character generator and text-based solo adventuring.  But since Roll20 isn't really doing it for me, I've been talking to him about creating a new virtual tabletop platform... especially one geared towards the O5R movement.

This is all just talk at the moment - and early stages of that, even.  However, I'd be quite interested to know how you feel about virtual tabletop sites/systems, what do you currently use and why, what do you like, what would you like to see in the future, and what irritates you?  Any feedback you can share is appreciated.

Thanks,

VS

p.s.  Check out my latest Kickstarter

Star Babe

I would probably have gone to my grave without knowing that something called Star Babe existed, if I hadn't published Alpha Blue.

What is it?  A super-cheap 1977 porno meant to cash in on Star Wars.  I haven't seen the entire thing, but what I did watch kind of made me misty eyed.  Just like The Satisfiers of Alpha Blue, I can see bits and pieces of Star Babe in Alpha Blue's genetic code.

Which goes back to the vocal minority wondering aloud, "Why would you make something like this, Venger?"  Well, there's a sweet spot between vintage sci-fi and sex that leads to certain avenues of gonzo, exploitation, comedy, so-bad-it's-great awesomeness that's difficult to describe to the uninitiated.

Suffice it to say, there's just some of us who want to know what it's like to drink weird smoking liquor with a blaster at our hip, making conversation with a hooker wearing silver hot pants when a bug-eyed alien starts busting up the place.

Here is a link to the "Mos Eisley cantina" scene set to other music (that's not in the film).  I could only find it on FB.

Below is the actual movie (most of it, at least) on youtube without any of the sex...

This is an excellent blog post I found, shedding a little light on what Star Babe is (or was).  Damn it, now I'm hungry for bearded space-clams!  Pity, it doesn't sound that awesome.  However, I will watch the porn parts later this week and see for myself.  You know, for research.

But let this be an educational moment.  Don't let your parody of space operas and sexy star babes disappoint players.  Go beyond the tawdry rip-off... into new galaxies of nostalgic sleaze!

VS

p.s.  Thanks to +Logan McCormack who alerted me to this lost jewel.

Alpha Blue session report (part 2 of 2)

Here is part 1 of my Alpha Blue playtest.  Full disclosure: my brain is half-fried from putting the finishing touches on the book.

Here's the subject for one of my favorite new tables created since Saturday's session:  Besides girls, drugs, and music... what's this party got going for it?


The Plot

I randomly rolled to see what the adventure would be.  Alpha Blue had stiff competition to see which was the best space brothel in the universe.  The PCs were hired by AB to ensure their victory.  If they won the contest, the space adventurers would make 25,000 blue bucks.

Everyone was on board with that.  I let the players know ahead of time that this adventure would be rather silly and sleazy, ridiculous and raunchy.  Mission accomplished.

Getting to Alpha Blue

The ship map that comes with the book is for Blue Flamingo.  It's supposed to be a designated Alpha Blue spaceship, but made sense to re-purpose it for the PCs' use.  There were two pilots and they co-owned the ship with borrowed money from an eccentric trillionaire who was going to break their kneecaps if they didn't make regular payments.

The following was a combination of rolling on tables and something else... Since it was my birthday last Wednesday, I got to watch an episode of Space: 1999 that I'd read about.  Supposedly, one of the scariest episodes of anything on television.  It was called Dragon's Domain, and while it didn't quite live up to the hype, I could see why that episode had such a reputation.  It was Lovecraftian and very enjoyable.

While I didn't approach the cosmic dread of Dragon's Domain, I still thought it was cool (more like a better than average episode of Blake's 7).  The PCs docked with a drifting cryo-ship that appeared on their ship's scanners and had their first encounter with an alien species and some tentacled horror.

Sugar D dealt the death blow with his ultra-glaive.  Ambassador General Starburst put the moves on some aquatic humanoid honey and convinced her to stay with him while the rest of the aquatic aliens continued their journey to a new planet.

Arrival

Master Humpty successfully negotiated a better exchange rate for the party at the Alpha Blue bank.

The first thing they saw was some guy in a gorilla costume being thrown out of an airlock by a security-bot.  They decided to save him and he led the party to... a party!

Imagine a futuristic disco nightclub in Vegas, abiding by frontier law.  That's pretty much what it was like.  Mastery Humpty caught some guy cheating at smuggler's quarry.  He and Taran, a human assassin technician, took his money and tossed him out of the space station.

Meanwhile, "Doc" encountered a hooker with some time to kill.  He declined, but I think everyone had fun watching him decline the offer.

The station's captain was met and they moved discussion to his quarters where so many plans were made.  Various schemes such as exhausting all the space-whores at other brothels, contracting really bad venereal diseases and then giving it to space-whores at other brothels, and messing with the food and beverage distribution channels of those competing brothels.  There were more.  Lots more!  But I'll stop there.


Interruption

Suddenly, the space station went to red alert because it drifted into some kind of alien radiation eating away at the hull.

Lead pilot Bloto took the Blue Flamingo and most of the PCs to a nearby asteroid that was at the center of the radiation.  There, they found alien technology and an unseen, malevolent presence.

Even though passing cards to a few players who rolled 1s with information about their possession didn't quite work the way I planned, the encounter was still pretty awesome.  Han Zulu, a reptilian dog-sized pilot, and Mrvlka'l, a cat-sized pirate that could camouflage itself so well that no one really knew what he looked like (but most assumed he sort of resembled a cat), got blasted for a lot of damage.

In the end, they defeated the alien consciousness and flew back to AB.  Almost forgot - its defeat wouldn't have been possible without the strangest member of the team.  Ace Rimmer was a thought-form existing only in the minds of those he interacted with.  Since he was also an unseen presence, he was able to weaken the alien force enough for others to destroy it.

Long story short, their plans had gone well.  Alpha Blue won the best brothel in the universe competition and they split the money.

There's a lot of stuff I left out.  Sorry if someone's favorite part got cut.  Anyways, I'll leave you with a couple playtester testimonials...

This is from Joshua Cooper Darlington:  Alpha Blue is a rockinroll Science Fiction/Transhumanist RPG filled with 80s inspired B movie psychotronic sleaze and tentacle porn.  The character generation is brilliant and the game is fast and super fun. Playtesting was an honor.  More please.  

Here's something from +sean mcconkey:  Early stages of Alpha Blue prove that it will not be a game that the entire family can sit down and enjoy, it might even prove a bit robust for many adults. 

However, if you find humor in random sex jokes, insane tables that skew a game into madness, and a groovy 70's vibe then Alpha Blue will be a game you need to add to your library. It is probably best enjoyed while sipping on a Harvey Wallbanger or a Grasshopper as some Marvin Gaye or Blondie wraps you in shag-carpeted wonderfulness. A sense of humor, an admiration of vintage porn, a fetish for fetishes, and a nostalgic longing for the 70's are a must. So just chill and know everything will be copacetic as you experience... Alpha Blue. 

Thanks for reading,

VS

p.s.  The book will be out in January and at that time I'll be releasing the ship and space station map files into cyberspace for general recreational (non-commercial) use.

Alpha Blue maps

Now, even though I just posed this question to Alpha Blue kickstarter backers (as they are my primary audience - having already pre-paid for the book), I'd still be interested to know what other gamers think.

Here is the update regarding maps.

Thanks,

VS

p.s.  The color may vary slightly on the left side (more blue and less grey), but the right side is pretty much the way it'll look at the end.