Crystals of Chaos (session report #17)

 

This session concludes the Crystals of Chaos 9-month Cha'alt campaign on 2023.

That scene from Kill Bill (volume 2, I think) where Bill's brother asks Daryl Hannah's character which she's filled most with, after it's all said and done... relief or regret.  Like her, I'm sure every GM feels a bit of both.  And like him, if pressed, we'll usually feel more of one than the other.  So, which is it?  

It's sad when things end, but if nothing ended, there also wouldn't be new beginnings. Put me in the relief column.  So many things transpired, in and out of the game, since January.  Also, it does suck that not everyone could be at the last session.  But we have to take a 3-week break after yesterday's game and I'd been meaning to reach a conclusion for a little while.  Plus, I want to experience new RPG awesomeness.  

So, while the RPG Pundit is already chiding me for concluding my 9-month campaign when his World of the Last Sun has lasted 10 years, all I can do is nod and laugh and be grateful for everything that led up to this point.  What we accomplished is quite remarkable, as you can see by reading my Crystals of Chaos session reports.  Thanks this Crystals of Chaos, we have the lavender moons, Cha'alt X-Cards, fuchsia burn, and so many things!

Who was on the roster?  Robard the Red, Jackal, and Heighten Chancery Philthrop III.

Last session, the PCs had taken the hellevator down to the bowels of Cha'alt where the Hell Worm dwelt.  They were chasing a Federation officer named Commander Andrak who got hold of a device that, if opened, would annihilate the universe.

Before breaking camp and heading off in search of Andrak, the party got a visual communication from Starship Jefferson (their transport presumably still parked above Cremza'amirikza'am).  It was Teddy Westside wearing a banana-furry costume.  After the initial shudder, the PCs asked what was up.  

"I've got good news and bad news.  Which do you want to hear first?"

The bad news, Robard said.  "The bad news is 19, aka centaur hottie."  Then what's the good news, the sorcerer followed-up?  "I'm getting married," Ted replied.  

Yep, Teddy Westside and centaur hottie were eloping to Alpha Blue... and taking the Starship Jefferson with them.  They assured the party that they'd be back eventually to pick them up after their honeymoon.  

Robard fell into a deep, dark depression... and we all watched him go down the emotional well.  It humanized Robard, made him more relatable, watchable (from an audience's perspective), and provided extra fodder for roleplaying.  Throughout his breakup ordeal, he was awarded a couple Divine Favor fuchsia stones for character embodiment.

The PCs saw another brown pool of sweet smelling candy water, and a white unicorn trotted up to it, turned around, backed up a couple paces, and pooped into it.  After the unicorn finished her business, a couple demons came along.  

Robard wanted a unicorn horn as a spell component and the halfling tried to help by remotely shoving his hand/tentacle through a portal to hold onto it.  Heighten critically failed and the unicorn stabbed his hand, instead.  Robard used one of his infernal lavender moons of destiny dice to make this a defining moment for his character.  Unfortunately, he, too, rolled a 1 on the d6.  Even though he had that Divine Favor.  Robard refused to spend it, only accentuating his emotional depths.  Robard missed and broke down crying.

After the demons led the unicorn away, the PCs examined the brown liquid pool that smelled like blueberry waffle cone graham cracker cheesecake, knowing what it was from before and just now, Jackal turned the pool into zoth with the tip of his trident.  Heighten dipped his hand tentacles into the zoth and healed himself.

Meanwhile, the demons took the unicorn to a nearby cave where a demon Willy Wonka waited upon a candy-studded chocolate tentacle thrown.  Further back in the cave, a film crew was getting shots of THOTs wrestling in candy slime.  Where did these women come from?  demon Willy Wonka touched the unicorn with his wand and she turned into a hot chick, which the candy man sent to his film crew to create even more content for his OnlyFans account.

Seeing demon Willy Wonka as a threat and wanting the unicorns / hotties for themselves, the PCs attacked without warning.  The battle was quickly over, ending in a fiery crescendo as Robard fireballed all three.  The demons were dead, and Willy Wonka with devil horns and a tail was mostly burned to a crisp.  The PCs took his wand and broke it, but instead of turning the girls back into unicorns, it permanently kept them humanoid females.  

And there was another spell cast (or maybe this was still due to the fireball), but I rolled on the d100 weird spell aftereffect table and fruities came out of a portal to challenge the adventurers for supremacy of this domain.  Robard's character grabbed the Cha'alt X-Card for "sleaze."  So, I told them the fruities wanted to decide things with a fuck-off.  Whoever can bang these sluts the hardest and best would rule this candy cave and all the unicorn girls it contained.

I had everyone pick a woman, sexual position, and bedroom maneuver, then asked for a d20 roll.  Real quick, all the players were rolling like crap most of the game.  The strawberry, who revealed his strawberry dick upon opening his trench-coat, won the fuck-off when I rolled an 18.  The PCs hung their heads in shame as the fruities victoriously danced and gyrated their junk to the crippling defeat of the Crimson Bastards!

At some point in there, the film crew recording the slime candy wrestling girls (who used to be unicorns) and the documentary film crew capturing the adventurers' exploits needed some legal guidance so one group couldn't sue the other... and a demon lawyer was summoned.  The halfling murdered the lawyer because of course he did.

The OnlyFans film crew either joined the PCs' documentary film crew or died horribly.

Knowing the PCs as I do, it wasn't at all surprising when the PCs decided to crush the fruities... and crush them they did.  Jackal's player held up the "exploitation & grindhouse" card - I leaned into such cannibal holocaust fare as primitive humanoid tribesmen came out of the shadows to light a bonfire and prepare a fruity feast.  Everyone had plenty to eat as the screams of chopped up and burning anthropomorphic fruit filled the cave.

I believe it was at this point that Colin, Robard's player, said something that was so glaringly obvious that I scarcely know how it wasn't part of the Cha'alt X-Card guidelines this while time.  Of course, a PC should be incentivized with Divine Favor after he taps a card.  So, yeah, I started giving that out.

After the cannibal carnage, the PCs decided to take it easy for the rest of the day, sleep in the cave, and wake up the next morning to continue their journey.

The PCs kept going, walking down the main tunnel which eventually led to a deposit of massive crystals showing different scenes in space, time, and dimension.  Specifically, these four... Commander Andrak opening a red box and Cha'alt exploding; demons launching a brutal attack on the surface, specifically, A'agrybah, killing the banana-men defensive guard; an alien temple containing humanoids all wearing lavender robes - at the center of the temple is a weird device; and a world similar to Cha'alt but everyone and everything had dicks covering it.

The halfling wanted to use his dimensionally remote tentacle hand to grab Andrak and pull him through, which he did... as they found out that Andrak was just a humanoid shell or puppet for Ubbo-Sa'athla who wanted to destroy the whole universe and remake everything with dicks all over stuff.

Jackal hacked into Andrak who just crumbled and melted away.  Heighten used his hand again to knock the red box away.  Robard cast a spell using the party's unicorn girl entourage menstrual blood to fuel his sorcery (it was just lucky that the girls got their periods that morning).

I rolled on that d100 wild magic table again and Robard was out of phase with everything on this plane.  But he saw a portal to the purple labyrinth, and went in with the box, trying to lure Ubbo-Sa'athla into it.  His plan worked, but then Ubbo-Sa'athla was trapped in the purple labyrinth with Robard - even if the sorcerer escaped, the Great Old One would have a chance to either leave or destroy that extra-dimensional wizard plane - which would be a shame since sorcerers of Cha'alt (and other realms) rely on the purple labyrinth for all kinds of strange mystical stuff.  

The labyrinth itself was trying to communicate with Robard.  Robard wanted to use another soul-shard corresponding to the infernal lavender moons of Cha'alt to trap the Great Old One and explode the red box without harming the PCs, Cha'alt, or even the purple labyrinth.  He rolled a 3, which is the lowest roll possible while still succeeding.  Creating a much smaller and even more purple universe behind yet another portal, Robard went in... and so did Ubbo-Sa'athla, then Robard escaped just as the instability of that device inside the red box was triggered by so many dimensional doorways.  

It exploded, ending that universe within a universe within a universe... possibly even now being remade in the Old One's image... as everything and everyone are covered with dicks.

Upon walking out of that cavernous crystal area, the PCs saw graffiti on the rock that read, "Go immediately to the Chartreuse Dragon Cantina ~ Crimson Bastards."  

They teleported there, at which point the PCs were met with a surprise party.  Even though Teddy Westside and centaur hottie weren't there, all the adventurers... Krandol, Zagreus, and even Gath were there.  And a bunch of NPCs lost to the mists of memory.

They all drank and ate and laughed at stories of their adventures.

That was it.  I closed the campaign with one last gong, and the players and I talked about how much we enjoyed the adventure and the whole damn thing.

Receiving a point of Divine Favor was really both a no-brainer and master stroke that I still can't believe I didn't think of.  I'll have to read through my posts, but I'm pretty sure that notion never actually came to me.

Oh yeah, this session's audio was also recorded on a tiny device.  So, once the audio is cleaned up, we might have something neat to share with folks.

The following are hilarious and/or cool things that were said this session...

• The unicorn/centaur sexcapades reminded someone of this SNL sketch with Christopher Walken. Here it is, if you're curious.
• "He flew too close to the lavender moons."
• "Unicorns have IBS, but zoth makes them regular... but too much gives them constipation."
• "The only economy that's still viable on Cha'alt is OnlyFans."
• When you can legitimately say, 'Surprise, motherfucker!' you get to roll your attack with Advantage."
• "I should have listened to my Mother and gone into bird law."
• "I was touched by the greater magics of this place."
• "Would that be a dickopalypse or dickaggedon?"
• "Maniacal laughter is the last phase of grieving." 
• "Objection, your honor, he's leading the GM."
• "Failing foreskin... instead of failing forward, but also a dick joke."
• "I don't think there was ever a 'normal' Robard."

I've said it before and here it is again, thanks to all the players, everyone who's reading these session reports, those commenting and talking about Crimson Dragon Slayer and Cha'alt, the people who've purchased Cha'alt, and support what I'm doing with Kort'thalis Publishing.

When I'm back from vacation later this month, I'll let you know what we plan on doing Saturday, October 7th.  Colin was thinking about running a SLA Industries one-shot, and then I've got something wicked up my wizard sleeve as Halloween draws nigh.

So long and thanks for all the fuchsia tentacles!

VS

p.s.  Get your Cha'alt hardcover trilogy and a custom made set of Cha'alt X-Cards with this here special deal.  And don't forget all the fun you'll miss if you don't attend VENGER CON III: Revenge of the OSR... next July in Madison, WI.

Playtest Palooza

 

Got to run another playtest session of Encounter Critical III this morning [wrote this yesterday afternoon].

Here is the Encounter Critical III kickstarter.

Fantastic game and fantastically weird!  I tried to incorporate as many of my proposed ideas as possible.  This contains the various concepts and mechanics I wanted to test out.

There was some combat, but not much, and no one rolled a critical-success or failure.  So, Obsidian Escalation didn't really come up.  Which is fine, I tried it out last session, and will include that in subsequent sessions.

I don't know if the stars aligned or what, but I had SIX players.  Normally, it's two; occasionally three.  Text only, I feel, is easier with bigger groups than voice & camera, but still challenging.

Before I dive-in, let me give you an overall impression:  I feel like the playtest was a success because the ideas seemed to fuel an immersive, fun-filled game.  And one of the highlights was having Jeff Rients as a player!  Achievement unlocked, bitches.  ;)

All the information gathering prior to the session's start had a specific purpose - to give players a better idea of their characters, so they actually had backgrounds to roleplay off of.  Any RPG can encourage backgrounds, but what I'm trying to accomplish with the new rules is in-game incentives.

The scenario was to search the interior of a dimension traveling space-worm and find an unknown artifact.

Here's a window into my playtesting soul... good, bad, and ugly.  Instead of a carefully crafted scenario providing a curated experience, I like to playtest by the seat of my pants.  Given enough time and creative juice [Venger juice], I feel like the GM can turn a shitty system with dumb mechanics into something pretty cool.  I don't want to do that because engineering a fool-proof experience isn't going to help me figure out if I'm doing something right or headed in the wrong direction.

Instead, I prefer to attune myself to the world in the campaign setting, rules, vibe, and whatever else... becoming an integral part of the game..  Having a few ideas in the form of loose notes and winging the rest will show me what I need to see.  

Every designer eventually hands-off his ideas to another GM in hopes that he'll get it and be able to run a great game.  So, the improv also helps put me in the perspective of the GM who most likely has a vague notion of what I said in the rules, or was trying to get across.

Can this anonymous GM take what I give him and make gold?  That's the question.

The players did great with coming up with background stuff.  I didn't need to break out the random tables that I had ready to go just in case.

Since this was just a one-shot, I didn't meticulously write every flaw and obsession and drive down in my GMing notes.  Everything exists in the chat log on Roll20, though, which is another good reason for running games as text-only.

But I realized the PCs had plenty of material to riff, and riff they did.  I told them about the point of Divine Favor they'd receive for roleplaying their backgrounds.  If this was several adventures into a campaign, I can only imagine the heights of roleplaying and social interaction we'd reach.  As it was, there was enough to prove my theory - an "old-school" RPG focused on social interaction (as opposed to combat and exploration) is not only needed, but totally awesome.

And I asked them to take part in a flashback scene.  I neglected to mention that relationships should include another PC, my bad, so the first thing that came to my mind was a tavern where they hear the proposed mission.  That went well.  For instance, without even realizing it, one of the players, Judd, came up with an identity for the "quest giver"... a wizard.  

The free exchange of ideas before solidifying what's going on is exactly the sort of Fiasco-like scene creation I was hoping for.  The vibe was assuredly set because a little later, when I was describing the immediate, present-day environment, one of the players provided some bonus description all on his own.  "Reeks of  bile, but then again, what doesn't?"  Excellent!

So, the PCs are wandering around the inside of a space-worm traveling through dimensions... and PSYCHOCOSM was had by all.  Well, certainly me.  Staring into the psychedelic depths of the Kort'thalis meta-sigil didn't hurt.

They follow a trail of popsicle sticks (a subtle nod to Cremza'amirikza'am that one player picked-up on) to find something pretty weird, dark, and gross.  I'll save that for another time, or perhaps a future adventure that you'll be apart of.

The PCs fought some toadlike humanoids who desired tasty flesh.  Combat ensued, but the adventuring party was so large that 4 toad dudes didn't last too long.  It was pretty much over before the spellcaster could do anything.

After a bit, and learning of Xedra'as, an evil sorceress currently residing within the space-worm, the PCs came face-to-face with Xedra'as and her demon minions.

The PC sorcerer who didn't get a chance to act wanted to go first.  Since combat hadn't even begun, I said Hell yeah, go for it.  He cast a spell, and I had him roll a couple of six-siders (because I'm also workshopping an alternative system of magic for EC3 - check back here in a couple days).  He rolled really well, a critical-success, in fact.  Xedra'as and the demons were caught in the sorcerer's ectoplasmic webbing.

The session was coming to a close, all too quickly.  Some of the PCs were wondering if they should keep searching for the mysterious artifact the tavern wizard told them to recover.  They had found a magic item (and a powerful one at that), but was this what they'd been seeking?  Others wanted to leave as the space-worm seemed to be blinking out of existence as we know it.  Since we had about 6 or 7 minutes remaining and there wasn't enough time for another encounter, I decided we should do another scene.  This time a flash-forward.

The "kid" who'd been traipsing through the space-worm with the adventurers was all grown-up.  Another player volunteered to be part of the scene but only if he could roleplay an NPC who was also present during the scene.  I was all for it.

The young man who had grown since that adventure taking place several years ago was accompanied by his butler Gerhart.  The wizard from the tavern addressed him, asking what he found in the worm.

Sadly, there wasn't much interaction between the young man and the wizard, so the wizard said his peace and promptly vanished... again!

"That pain was necessary for this world to grow, to change, to become what it must. There is no stopping the evolution of Cha'alt. Freeing the Duke allowed it to evolve. That's what was needed."

It was an extremely bizarre adventure (even for me), but it was equally awesome.  And just as the camera faded to black, there was a little bit of not-quite-necrophilia, thanks to one of my favorite recurring players.  Why have an online game tagged "sleazy" without a cherry on top?

Below are a few choice lines copy/pasted from the chat log...

• "I have never been inside a purple space worm before, unless you count this one tentacled lady in Port Grenthak."
• At a lull in the conversation, full of liquid courage, the kid asks "How come you're not going?"
• "WHERE IS THE CONTROL CENTER? I WOULD HAVE HIS BODY." You see the inner mole rat tugging at various nerves/wires within the golem-body.
• Mork Borg draws his untrustworthy blade.
• "This transdimensional space-worm gets a lot more traffic than I expected."
• "Ok, here's what we need to do.  On the count of three, I pull the sheet and whoever can kill her the fastest gets it done. Ready?"
• Once again, the playthings of gods and wizards. Thus is always the fate of honest, hardworking adventurers.
• "I assumed he had a name like Slartibartfast."
• "I am Barry Fastslart, or Duke Fastslart, if you prefer.  Do you know of me?"
• I was going balls-deep as we faded out...

In a couple days, I'll post what I have for the proposed magic system (working on the details right now).

As always, thanks to the guys for playing; and thanks to you for reading.  Don't miss the next session (I'm going to squeeze-in two sessions a week for the next couple months).

VS

p.s. Like what you're reading?  Want to be part of the action?  For $5 a month, you can have first-crack at playing in one of my weekly one-shots!  Subscribe to me on SubscribeStar!

Saving Cha'alt Kickstarter

 

I know I said February 5th, but just couldn't think of a good reason not to pull the trigger.

The Saving Cha'alt Kickstarter launched yesterday, and is already on track to do big things!  With your help, we can reach 7k.

That means talking about it on twitter, FB, reddit, Mewe, YouTube, RPG forums/blogs, and whatever social media platform you're on.  

Don't be shy about reviewing stuff like Crimson Dragon Slayer D20, Cha'alt, and Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise. I'm also making myself available for interviews.

All the info is on the KS page, but if you want to talk Cha'alt or ask questions, feel free to do so here.

Thanks for your continued support!

Venger As'Nas Satanis
High Priest of Kort'thalis Publishing

p.s. Saving Cha'alt has already funded!

Optimized PDF - Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise

 

I'm pleased to report the Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise PDF has been updated with bookmarks and hyperlinks.  

Additionally, a few typos, layout inconsistencies, and various errors have been fixed.  Oh yeah, and the index has been added, too.

If you see anything amiss, please let me know.  The print files are going to be finalized soon, and I want the upcoming luxury hardcovers to be as close to perfect as possible (coming in October).

There's been a lot of great feedback, but I could always use a little more.  Definitely review Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise and talk it up on social media.

Thanks,

VS

p.s. I still have about 40 Cha'alt books available before they're sold out.  Ordering details here.

WoTC Disclaimer - Sign The Petition

The Petition

Those commenting below, the undersigned, agree to not purchase another Wizards of the Coast product until the legacy content disclaimer is removed entirely.

We believe its removal will remind everyone of the truth - that D&D is not, and has never been, prejudiced in regards to race, ethnicity, or gender.  Furthermore, America is not systemically racist, and does not need to apologize or make excuses for its existence. 

The values of self-reliance, self-determination, and personal responsibility are worth infinitely more than the feelings of social justice warriors, virtue signalers, woke-scolds, and those desperately clinging to their intersectional victim-hood. 

Awake!

Venger As'Nas Satanis
High Priest of Kort'thalis Publishing

Dystopia, Totalitarianism, and O5R

God damn, we're living in some fucked-up times!

Sure, there's the pandemic; lockdown house-arrest with accompanied domestic abuse, boredom, depression, and suicide; racial tensions with riots, looting, arson, shootings, vandalism; the proposed de-funding of police... take your pick.

But right now, I want to focus on social justice warriors taking aim at our beloved hobby.  From orcs and drow to disclaimers disavowing legacy products such as Oriental Adventures. Can anyone guess where they'll strike next?

Ironically, a contingent of SJWs are boycotting WotC and D&D because the company isn't woke enough, not far-left enough for the screeching radicals on twitter.

Well, finally some of the old guard are taking notice and putting their foot down.  For instance, This post from the Greyhawk Grognard.  The top illustration of Daenerys Targaryen is apt.  We're in a cultural war and the opposing side won't accept anything less than total submission.

The far-left fascists won't stop there, either.  Eventually, they'll take everything old school away.  If they had their way, the OSR would be nothing but a reminder of the horrible, oppressive, racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, colonial, alt-right, no good past that must be annihilated in order to bring a new age of peace and prosperity.

Never mind the Socialist & Communist horrors of mass death, imprisonment, poverty, starvation, and loss of freedom.  After all, you can't make utopia for the very few who truly deserve it without breaking millions of eggs along the way, right?  That's by design, only we're the eggs.

Here is an interesting article from The Hill.  From a Democrat perspective, Judd Gregg will tell you these new progressives want power.  Their ends justify any means - that means darkness, evil, corruption, oppression, and terror for those unfortunate enough to be under their iron fist.  Think I'm exaggerating?  There's a lot of things the "trained Marxists" never told you... but that's a blog post for another day.

What to do about the SJWs coming for our Isle of Dread?  Well, speak up for one thing.  If the silent majority made their voices heard, we'd be out of this mess, instead of sinking deeper into the quicksand of resistance-is-futile totalitarianism.

Cancel culture is real.  This is the open-letter by celebrities.  I've suffered from its affects in both greater and lesser quantities, everything from censoring crybabies telling me they'll never buy my books to being from certain social media platforms.  Nevertheless, I'm thriving.  As Ben Shapiro recently said, the dirty little secret is they can only cancel you if you allow yourself to be cancelled.

I don't care which side the of the political aisle you're on or who you vote for in November.  That's your business.  But I love this hobby/industry/community and don't want to see it destroyed.

As much as I love being a lone wolf, it may be time to organize.  Is some kind of organization to push back against the takeover of our gaming culture warranted?  If so, I see it as 5th wave OSR.  Years ago, I and a few others started using O5R to mean a combination of OSR and 5th edition, but it never really caught on as I'd hoped.  So it goes...

After due consideration, I think it's time to remodel O5R to mean the 5th wave of the OSR - forces openly and actively opposed to disclaimers, sensitivity readers, consent checklists, tradition shaming, attacking the fandom (remember when they called us straight white male terrorists?), shoehorning racist stereotypes into fantasy humanoids, banning or outright burning their own books, and so forth.

The O5R is dead... long live the O5R!

Venger As'Nas Satanis

High Priest of Kort'thalis Publishing

p.s. Only 74 luxurious hardcover Cha'alt books remaining.  Ordering details here!

p.p.s. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a petition.

The Cha'alt Challenge

I laughed quite a few times when listening to the 3T RPG Podcast.

This episode... they review Cha'alt!  Loved it, and they loved Cha'alt.  I thought it was funny, awesome, and interesting... what are your thought, and what is this challenge?

See for yourself.  Make up your own mind.  Is Cha'alt the best D&D campaign setting and megadungeon ever made?  Can you play it without falling in love and/or die laughing?  Challenge yourself!

FYI, I've got about 250 hardcover Cha'alt books left.  If you want yours before these gorgeous, signed, limited edition books are all gone, then send $60 via paypal to Venger.Satanis@yahoo.com

If you live within the USA, no further postage is necessary.  If you live overseas, that's going to be an extra $25, I'm afraid.

Enjoy,

VS

p.s. If you buy the hardcover, you get the PDF for free!

Crimson Dragon Slayer

It's my game; it's what I run.  I may not be the best RPG designer in the world, but I know what I like. 

After a year of playtesting various Cha'alt content, Crimson Dragon Slayer has gone through yet another revision. 

I made the switch from VSd6 (d6 dice pools) to D20 awhile ago.  But now, it's got spells, an updated layout, and streamlined expression of the same O5R (OSR + 5e) rules that I can't live without.

Crimson Dragon Slayer is neither robust nor revolutionary.  It's just my preferred version of D&D.  And so it goes...

What's been my biggest gripe about traditional, old school D&D?  Starting a session with new players, or perhaps just new characters, and everyone's 1st level.  This may be the only game you get this week... or this month.  One and done!

The wizard's got one spell.  Yeah, we know.  He's supposed to become all badass somewhere down the line, maybe around 5th level.  But that's not the game I'm running.  I will run about a hundred games in 2020, and no one's going to have a 5th level character.  I teach a lot of noobs to play D&D on Roll20, plus my home-game playtests stuff between 1st and 3rd level.

What else?  The cleric's got a mace, and the thief starts out with a handful of Hit-Points.  If there's combat or even the threat of violence - please don't call our bluff - it's the fighter's world... everyone else is just living in it. 

Well, not anymore.  This is arcade mode D&D (coined by Cha'alt consultant Prince of Nothing).  I don't spend my valuable time and energy running games so the party can sleep after a couple encounters.  Go hard and go long or just go fucking home! 

To quote Starship Troopers, "Everyone Fights, no-one quits.  If you don't do your job, I'll shoot you myself."

Many critics don't get that or they simply don't like it; perhaps it doesn't feel like real D&D to them.  Oh well, I shrug in response.  Crimson Dragon Slayer is for me, and I'm happy to share it with anyone who wants to try.

VS

p.s. To avoid confusion, let me state the new Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 Revised files are identical to the updated Crimson Dragon Slayer D20.

Unspoken Tags

I was putting together a short adventure for a Roll20 game using the ever-changing Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 rule-set (final version will be uploaded sometime in the next couple days), and it hit me that I often have these unconscious, unspoken tags in my mind as I write and then proceed to run a scenario.

Knowing the effect you want to achieve is key to crafting adventures like a fucking boss!  One-shots especially are not unlike short stories.  As Edgar Allen Poe said about that particular art form, it should create a singular effect and every element of that short story needs to carry its own weight, driving it home.

As I was writing this latest one, I had the following emblazoned in the back of my mind: desperate, exploring the unknown, weird location-based scenario, and Lovecraftian.

Depending on my mood, I might have a different set of tags, such as: cat and mouse, whimsical, gonzo, introspective.

I don't know how many GMs do this and are also acutely aware of it, but just thought I'd mention it.  Is this part of your process?  If so, does it help?  Is this something you'd try using?  Have you ever run an adventure that someone else wrote, using a completely different set of tags?  What was that like?

VS

p.s. This new adventure will eventually show up in my upcoming book Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise.  Still haven't gotten your hardcover Cha'alt?  Now's your chance!

Cha'alt Hardcover Deal

This Deal Is Now Over!

This weekend only - from now until Monday morning at 10am - I'm running a special deal...

$50 for one Cha'alt hardcover or two for $75!  If you live within the USA, shipping is included.  If you live outside the USA, $25 shipping for the first book and $35 for both.

All you gotta do is send $ via paypal: Venger.Satanis@yahoo.com

You've never seen an RPG tome of this high quality!!!

Along with the print version, you'll get complimentary digital files; just need your DriveThruRPG associated email address.

Thanks,

VS

Kickstarter Concluded

It's over.

Thank dread Cthulhu and His one-hundred-and-eleven slimy green tentacles!

Now, I can breathe a sigh of relief before diving back into the writing side of self-publishing.

What am I referring to?  Only the greatest Kickstarter comeback in the history of everything.  That's all.  Yes, Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise secured just over $13,000.  Less than I dreamed, but more than I realistically expected after the first 20-25 days where we seemed to be irrevocably stuck at about 7 grand. 

If you decide you want in, don't worry.  You didn't miss out on your chance to secure a luxury, signed, numbered, off-set printed hardcover edition of Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise (or it's predecessor... Cha'alt).

I can't keep this eldritch, gonzo, science-fantasy, post-apocalypse campaign all to myself, now can I?  Simply email me and we'll get you squared away: Venger.Satanis@yahoo.com

This past week, I ran three playtest sessions.  Two on Roll20, and one face-to-face.  I'll be blogging about them either tomorrow or the next day.

Besides saying THANK YOU to all my supporters, backers, fans, and fellow gamers, I'm done here.  ;)

VS

The Ultimate Megadungeon

I feel like I fought long and hard for this review...

Battled my inner demons, smoked a peace-pipe with that old serpent until we were both baked into a fever-dream cake with black rainbow frosting, risked my stack by going all-in against a lavender mo-hawked skeever who I knew was bluffing, and so forth!

Endzeitgeist's Cha'alt review!

I knew it wouldn't be easy, that he'd make me pay dearly for every bit of laziness or self-indulgence, every decision carefully considered and weighed as if standing before an exotic gold idol with a pouch full of sand, every creative choice mercilessly judged.

And yet, I came out unscathed... relatively speaking.  I just re-read the damn thing and I'm exhausted.  I don't have the time, energy, or even the inclination to refute his claims, except to say that I really wanted an all-caps GONZO fun-house megadungeon.  If blasters and sleep spells were commonplace, then really weird stuff would have to be way over-the-top.

Also, for a 90 minute online game or 3-hour face-to-face one-shot of D&D, Crimson Dragon Slayer D20 is just about perfect.  It also plays better than it reads.  ;)

Those brave enough to see for themselves are welcome to play in one of my Roll20 games or on January 11th in Madison, WI.

VS

p.s. Yep, still pimping the Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise kickstarter - only 5 days left to go!

Retro-Stupid Is The New Purple

Before the featured video, I'd like to share this blog post from Jeff's Gameblog.  It's his three-fold model of RPGs.  Essentially, there are only 3 categories - retro, pretentious, and stupid.  And he's right, of course. 

Coincidentally, purple is the stupidest (veering towards retro) color in Jeff's model.  ;)

Without further ado, here's the RPG Pundit reviewing Cha'alt...

If you enjoyed that, there's my current Kickstarter campaign to fund Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise. 

If you want to order the fancy hardcover Cha'alt direct from me, this link has details.

VS

Cha'alt Play Report on Roll20

Earlier today, I ran yet another one-hour session of Cha'alt using my own O5R hack / houserules Crimson Dragon Slayer.

More and more I enjoy the quick start, fast paced action and reliance on old school techniques like actually describing what you're character is doing, rather than rolling a die to determine ordinary things, such as exploring a room or talking your way past a guard.

Let me introduce the PCs...

• Ta Daar; half-orc fighter, chaos, goofball.
• Axel; half-orc fighter, chaos, tall and intimidating.
• Flint Deadlock; human, thief, neutral, he didn't really have a backstory or noteworthy detail, but this was a one-shot, so no big deal.
• Nanof Stylen; elf, sorcerer, chaos, obsessed with the dead.
• Q'ira; sky-elf, sorceress, chaos, sold into slavery but then killed her evil master.

Incidentally, Q'ira was the only returning character.  She started the session at level 2 (the rest at 1st level) because of her previous exploits - hey, she survived The Black Pyramid once... that's a feat few can call their own.

Due to her past, I had Q'ira working under the warlord Ka'an Dar.  The rest of the PCs were slaves.  Q'ira was to lead the other adventurers into The Black Pyramid in order to find valuables and split them with Ka'an Dar.

As the party approached the nigrescent shard rising from the sand like a beacon of dread, they realized another party was already waiting.  The Very Powerful Wizard, a rival of Ka'an Dar, had 4 mercenaries with him.  The VPW had a similar plan - send in the mercs to retrieve artifacts and relics.

There was some inter-party talk of attacking the warlord and VPW, but they soon thought better of it.  I squashed their metagaming out-of-character chatter by saying that they can do anything that's physically possible - no railroad!

I've been noticing that new players are hesitant to act or make the first move.  This is understandable for a variety of reasons.  No one knows each other (for the most part), and also noobs don't want to do something stupid.  Similarly, veterans don't want to die right away.

Since this was a one-hour game, I let the mercs make the first move in order to speed things along.  

After entering and exploring the first room of The Black Pyramid, the PCs followed one of the mercs into an adjacent room.  

Having run this introduction to the pyramid countless times, I decided ahead of time to assign rooms randomly.  That way I can actually see what deeper rooms are like when explored by those outside my home group.

The PCs entered a large facility full of technicians working on computers, 3 gigantic vats full of bright-green stuff, and a yellow robed priest looking on, watchfully.  

The mercs pulled out automatic weapons, but the PCs wanted to get in a surprise attack, which I allowed.  After all, they are the protagonists.

They killed one outright.  Q'ira wanted to cast a fireball spell.  Which allowed for another opportunity to use this handy little table.  Perfect for theater of the mind scenarios such as this.

She rolled a 5 and the sky-elf's opponents burned to a crisp... moments before the yellow robed priest called a tentacled abomination from the depths of Hell!

The players kept asking what the mercs were doing, aside from ignoring the PCs... so, I eventually slipped in something juicy.  One of them muttered "B-team rejects" under his breath.  Well, that was enough to get the PCs into a murderhobo kind of mood.  They immediately turned on the mercs, using clever tactics to get the upper hand.

But then one merc ran up ahead and surprised Axel.  Luckily, he took minor damage before rolling a critical hit - skewering the mercenary.  

One of the mercs had stayed behind in the first room, so Flint Deadlock went back to sneak attack the poor bastard.  After a poor roll (even with advantage), the merc fired and wounded the thief.  A second attack by Flint landed and he rolled max damage, killing his heavily armed foe.

So, a 100% survival rate has maybe happened once in all the times I've run Cha'alt.  Kudos to this group for their skill and luck!

Here are some comments discovered after I exited the chat (but still recorded by Roll20).  I fought hard against my natural inclination to edit punctuation and the like...

"I want to play more of this"

"That was amazing"

"I have never felt that epic playing D&D"

"Thanks Venger Satanis"

"I might buy Cha'alt and run it / very simple system to DM"

It was gratifying to read such praise.  If you're available, join me sometime!

If you're interested in grabbing the PDF of Cha'alt for yourself, it's currently on sale due to DriveThru's Thanksgiving sale.  But if you really want to Cha'alt like a fucking boss, you'll pick up the fancy hardcover and get the PDF for free!

Enjoy,

VS

Back From Vacation

It feels good to be home again.  Also, I turned 45 today.  Seems kind of crazy, but then most people probably get that feeling on their birthday.

I know the first thing you may be thinking... what can I get Venger for his birthday this year? 

Well, it's the same thing I want every year - reviews!  Although, technically doesn't have to be a review.  All the following would be acceptable: blog post analysis, play report, fan art, Q&A, or just your thoughts posted on an RPG forum somewhere.  I take what I can get.  ;)

What else?  Well, I'm wrapping up Kickstarter fulfillment and post-KS orders that have been coming in.  Want your hardcover Cha'alt?  Look no further.

Speaking of Kickstarter, I'm starting to think about the next one - the first official Cha'alt adventure.  Still groggy from 10 days away, so nothing is set in stone, except that it'll be just as awesome as Cha'alt itself... if that's even possible.  Maybe I can do one of those wild "break Kickstarter" ideas?

What content do you want to see?  I'm sure you have suggestions.  Let me hear 'em!

VS

p.s. Yes, in all seriousness, please post a review or something today, November 25th.  And let me know so I can gaze at your generosity whilst basking in the chartreuse glow of our Lord drowning in the radioactive wasteland of S'kbah's desert.

50% off Cha'alt

I'm going on vacation in a bit, and my birthday is coming up (November 25th)... so, why not give a little to get a little?

Slashing prices while thrusting deep into the bowels of magenta slimed terrors from beyond time and space.  Who wouldn't want to adventure in a mutant wasteland of alien weirdness and ultra-telluric monstrosities?

Yes, my eldritch, gonzo, science-fantasy, post-apocalyptic campaign setting + megadungeon Cha'alt is only $10, now through 11/25!!!

Or, if you prefer to buy the hardcover and get the PDF for free... that's also a wise choice.

If I don't get back to you right away, it's because I'm on vacation.

Cha'alt is 218 pages of O5R sandbox lollipop-flavored doom and irreverent exploitation gloom.  You'll love it, especially The Black Pyramid.  ;)

This just in - Grim Jim Desborough just uploaded a review of Cha'alt.  I haven't watched it yet, but will later this afternoon.  Here it is...

Let him know you enjoyed his video with a like, comment, and subscription!

VS

p.s. Please leave a review and talk about Cha'alt on social media if you want to keep seeing more from Kort'thalis Publishing.

The Cha'alt Event (part II)

If you want to start at the beginning, this is part 1.

Five players was a decent turnout.  I was hoping for something ridiculous, like 12... with spectators standing nearby, hoping someone would unceremoniously die so they could jump in, taking the dead PC's place.  Alas, I'm not there yet.  Soon!

The PCs

• Kalovi: female blood-elf fighter, quick to draw first blood.
• Dome Clo-Kar: human fighter, sturdy and tough, his right arm blackened and cursed.
• Ultimus Van Huka'a: moon-elf, thief, came to Cha'alt for the rich zoth deposits.
• Sasha: female sun-elf cleric whose family lost their name because of some disgrace, but still carries herself with pride.  Also, has a demon that she must appease.
• Bandalorr: midnight-elf wizard.  Absorbed in the dark arts, he shocked his own people and was captured by slavers.

The Setup

I wanted something really simple, direct, and flavorful to begin with as the PCs were ushered into The Black Pyramid, which was the meat and potatoes of this session.

Marched through the desert wastes for a couple hours by slave master Kell, the PC slaves finally reach the shining black capstone to the pyramid of wondrous mysteries and unutterable doom.

In three days, Tyra'ak the prolonged of life will turn one-hundred-and-eleven.  Kell took the 5 most able-bodied slaves to The Black Pyramid in order to obtain a magic item for the birth-festival of Tyra'ak.

If a magic item is retrieved from the weird depths of that nigrescent sepulcher, a slave shall win his freedom.  

Incidentally, the players interpreted this as 'they find one magic item and bring it out, then all the survivors go free'.  What Kell had in mind was that freedom must be bought with one magic item per slave.  As you'll read, in the end, it didn't matter.

As per usual, the PCs entered the pyramid and began to explore.  I'll present the highlights as bullet-points to keep things moving and to avoid spoilers.

The Highlights

• Dome Clo-Kar did something which no one else has tried, and I didn't really anticipate (that's just one of the many things I love about roleplaying games).  He exited the conduit between rooms and was able to walk upon the outside surface of a room.  The hardened fighter stood there, surrounded by the inky void of blackness... before coming back inside.
• Exploring the movie theater playing Escape From New York, I feel the players really got a sense of The Black Pyramid.  It's not just a tomb of horrors waiting to crush PC bones into dust.  Rather, it's a strange environment with people looking for not just survival but entertainment, power, and looting the room that contains god's shadow.
• There were a number of great lines heard from the in-character banter back and forth between PCs.  My favorites were, "All men are free when the slave masters aren't around," from Dome Clo-Kar.  And the gloomy Bandalorr, "We'll be free when we're dead."
• Bandalorr acquired himself a magic item via Logan's Run.  After he identified and attuned it, he went up a level.  I decided that for this one-shot, it made sense to incentivize the acquisition of magic items above all else.  
• It's not a dungeoncrawl until a PC goes all murderhobo on some poor unsuspecting NPC.  Kalovi decided to slit a priest's throat for no reason in particular.  That led to interrogation of the dead priest's companions and eventually bartering with amicable psionicists.  
• The last room explored contained a gigantic devil-toad slumbering next to a pile of treasure.  Amongst the treasure was a magical sword.  Dome Clo-Kar really, really wanted that sword.  So, he stole it, waking the devil-toad, failing to correctly answer a riddle, and then the rest of the party tried to kill the infernal, tentacled godling because... it's D&D, I guess.  Well, that proved to be a fatal mistake for all but one party member.  Bandalorr used his fireball spell (thanks to my little fireball hack d6 table) and rolled a 1.  He used divine favor to re-roll... and got another 1.  Then no one made their saving throw and all the PCs were either burned to a crisp right then and there or died in the next round of combat against the devil-toad.
• Using his newfound magic item to escape harm, Bandalorr walked, between universes, out of The Black Pyramid and back to slave master Kell.  In exchange for the sanctuary medallion of renewal, Kell rewarded the sorcerer with not only freedom, but a spot in the highly coveted sorcerer's training program that Tyra'ak instituted not long ago.

The Aftermath

While I was routing for the players and their characters to not only survive but flourish, I realized that glory was not to be there's as they willfully engaged in battle with such a creature.  

There were many chances to avoid the fight, but apparently that was not the adventuring party's destiny.  

Still, a sole survivor is pretty badass and the legendary lethality of The Black Pyramid remains.

Any questions?  Feel free to ask!  I really wish I had the time to run Cha'alt 5 days a week because it's both very much like, as well as distinctly unlike, anything I've ever created.  Cha'alt has a life of its own.  

If you're looking for the Cha'alt PDF, it's here.  If you prefer the fancy hardcover (the PDF is a FREE bonus), it's there.

VS

p.s. I also want to thank Misty Mountain Games for allowing me to hold the Cha'alt book release party at their store.  Also, the Dominos pizza was pretty good!

The Cha'alt Event (part I)

I realized I could make videos with my phone, rather than the crappy flip camcorder I've had for years.  Probably with better quality.

Anyway, I ran Cha'alt for the first time since receiving the hardcovers (face-to-face, that is).  Had the interior map of The Black Pyramid printed out and laminated.  That was cool.  Also gave away some Kraken dice I had laying around.  Plus, pizza and mountain dew... and of course, books on hand to sell, sign, and draw tentacles upon.

Part II includes the actual play report.  This post contains the videos I made right before and just after the session.

Some wisdom for those who traffic in such things...

• Nothing about a campaign setting (including Cha'alt) is so precious that it can't be altered to conform with the GM's desires.  
• While I, as GM, and Crimson Dragon Slayer D20, my O5R hack/house-rules, may be forgiving... Cha'alt is not.  Cha'alt is a merciless son of a bitch that'll kill your character in the blink of an eye.  PC death is the norm.
• Cha'alt is not deadly because I'm a dick.  Yes, there is that, of course, but that's not the whole story.  Decades of "modern" D&D design and play have either softened us or forced us into linear thinking.  How do I win in this encounter?  Attack!

Check out the PDF before you buy the hardcover.

Enjoy,

VS

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.