Alpha Blue session report: Green Slime Boobs Religion

Another excellent game of Alpha Blue last night... a continuation from last session.

Three players, two new PCs, and one returning - Ginger Roots, a female navigation expert and explorer who's contemplative, healthy, wealthy, and wise - along with being good with lasers and hand-to-hand combat.

The other PCs were a robot chef named RB with flamethrower, chopping knives, and hover-board feet who also kept a little creature in his chest oven.

Hanzo was a space rat templar embodying the worst parts of organized religion - fanatical in the promotion of his own god for the dual purposes of increasing the power and spreading the influence of that god's religion.

Hanzo was created using the traditional character generation tables in the Alpha Blue rulebook, while RB was made using the new 7 word or phrase method over here.

Left high and dry on Alpha Blue by their former crew, they wandered the Mardi Gras type celebration happening in the entire entertainment section of the space station.

Ginger Roots and Hanzo got acquainted with RB as he was serving succulent and effervescent desserts upon a platter or h'orderves.  If the player hadn't come up with his own, we could have used this random dessert table here.

Ginger and Hanzo were looking to join a new crew on a new ship, so they asked RB if he knew of any job openings.  Turns out that RB's master was in the market for spacers. 

They talked to Kystin pirate pimp extraordinaire and he agreed to take them on as probationary members of the crew if they delivered a message to his rival, Vom Fass.

So, the PCs continued to walk through the celebration - going to the restroom, watching some alien get blasted, someone bought them drinks with his gambling winnings, they bought some drugs from a shifty trench-coat wearing dude, and chatted with a bunch of prostitutes who took RB's credits so he could taste a very special kind of dessert in the backroom. 

Before you know it, they were standing in front of Vom Fass who stood inside an environmental suit. Vom Fass insulted them and when the PCs talked back, he got ready to draw.  RB preempted any dueling by letting loose his flame thrower.  Hanzo kept shooting laser crossbow bolts into his groin while Ginger Roots blasted his arm off.  Vom Fass got a couple good shots in before he died.

They hightailed it onto Kystin's ship and out of Alpha Blue before a small angry, laser-toting mob got to them.  Off to the desert planet of P'oon to pick up an illegal shipment of... an undisclosed substance.

While relaxing on route to P'oon, Hanzo took a look at the meditation room on the ship, only to discover there was another crew member already using it.  This fellow spacer was a pink gelatinous dude who worshiped an entirely different space god.  This distressed Hanzo and led to a heretical religious debate of sacrilege and blasphemy. The jelly dude's form of worship was oozing green slime on women's breasts.  As much as Hanzo wanted to denounce such alternative religious practices, he couldn't help but realize the sense of it, eventually joining in.

Kystin's ship bypassed a Federation battle cruiser thanks to Ginger's navigational skills.  They landed in the desert, near the intended target - a starport. 

A Zone trooper security patrol caught up to the PCs, demanding to see their papers.  Instead, Kystin blasted them, but then got shot himself.  Before dying, his last words to the PCs were don't forget to pick up the turquoise.

RB used his computer access to locate the ship full of turquoise.  Dressed as Zone troopers, the PCs cut in line at the checkpoint.  Hanzo decided to pop some drugs he had bought on Alpha Blue and started seeing colorful dots all over, plus he was talking to himself. 

Luckily, he held it together until they could take possession of the turquoise.  Another security officer came by to check on things, questioning the PCs.  They made it through ok and flew the smaller ship full of turquoise into Kystin's ship. 

Then, they went back to Alpha Blue to sell it.

It was a typical Alpha Blue sandbox adventure driven by the players and helped with some random tables.  Besides coming up with a couple of NPCs beforehand, it was all improvised.  I got to use my electric, color-changing candles and roll on some new tables, so that was also cool.

VS

p.s. I had planned on recording some of this session and uploading it to YouTube, but since it was Alpha Blue (the sleaziest RPG in the galaxy), the wife vetoed that pretty hard. 

Let's play some Q'uay-Q'uar!

What started as a passing thought - wouldn't it be cool to have a totally made-up "space casino" game for gamblers in my sleazy scifi RPG Alpha Blue - has now become a reality.

It's called Q'uay-Q'uar; translated, it means "purple and yellow" in the Q'tari language.  Some play for fun, others for cold hard credits, and for a rare few... it's the difference between life and death.

Not totally happy with how it played (or looked) in the prototype stage, I asked +MonkeyBlood Design (Glynn Seal) to create an awesome looking board, and then I made up the rules to go with what he put in front of me.  It was a bit of a challenge, but I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

Q'uay-Q'uar will be available with the upcoming Alpha Blue scenario High Stakes Q'uay-Q'uar landing June 1st.

Below is a video of my eldest daughter and I playing a quick game.  We played quite a bit over the last couple days - my next eldest daughter, as well.  There's a surprising amount of latitude for such a simplistic diversion.

Thanks for reading and watching,

VS

Alpha Blue Campaign Manager

Remember when I was talking about keeping track of all those scifi references?

This here is a sheet of incredibly fancy paper that you can print out and take notes on.

Collect data regarding your campaign's name, key locations, prominent NPCs, influences and details... all that fun stuff!

It's FREE, so go ahead and download it from DriveThruRPG / RPGNow.

The "Alpha Blue Campaign Manager" will also be included in the upcoming scenario High Stakes Q'uay Q'uar, but now's your chance to get it early.

Have a good week,

VS

Alpha Blue session report: The Nuts on Zeta Minor

Want to make things happen?  Start small, do what you do (which is hopefully what you love), and keep at it, little by little.  Sustained effort.

That's how you build an audience, a player pool, a long-term campaign...

So, I ran five players through another 90 minute Alpha Blue session on Roll20.  To give you some idea, I've run probably a dozen sessions on Roll20, all Alpha Blue.  Once I had a single player and once I had three, the rest were all two-player games.

There's no way I can transcribe the chat log faithfully without it taking me hours and hours, so I'm just going to summarize, showcase bits here and there - the highlights!

The cast of characters...

• Miles Artemis (male) - human telepathic space pirate
• Dask Jorana (male) - human space pirate and mutant with ice powers and a love of brains (eating them)
• Saga Vortau (female) - human performer and prostitute who wants to be famous
• Lexina (female) - human gambler and mutant with snake DNA
• Katya Vosdil (female) - human medic who gets lucky when she needs it

Opening Crawl

All of you were contacted by a temp agency calling itself Universal Exploits.  They need a few expendable spacers to investigate troubles on the planet Zeta Minor.  Universal Exploits doesn't believe in specifics and they pay triple for dead teammates... that's all you need to know.

You're currently flying in a starship called The Nuts on route to Zeta Minor.  

It's going to take a couple hours before you're in planetary orbit.

Settling In & Small Talk

Dask:  Who is piloting The Nuts?

GM:  It's on autopilot.

Lexina:  Do we have a holo-deck or some entertainment center?

Katya:  I will be in whatever passes for a lounge on the ship, checking medical kit and making sure no one is a cop.

Miles:  I'll be greeting my fellow companions while drinking from my flask and offering a swig to each one I greet.

GM:  There is entertainment aboard The Nuts.  Three-dimensional chess, miniature holographic creature battles, and your own private lounge called Moonglow & Stardust (it came with the ship when you bought it).

The ship came with its own droid, too.  He looks like C3-PO, except he's shiny and sparkly blue.  The droid is unpacking a crate in the lounge, something he found in the cargo hold.  "One of Captain Urez's leftovers from his tour of duty in the clone war."

Saga:  I'm going over to take a closer look at the contents.

GM:  There's a thousand little styrofoam peanuts all over the place; underneath is some kind of sexbot.

Proximity Warning

The Nuts' crew talks amongst themselves about the sexbot, gambling debts, seeking adventure, and Zeta Minor (it's rich in blue crystal) when suddenly the ship is on alert - something approaches!

It's a klingon warship.

Since Lexina speaks Klingon, she does her best to persuade the klingons to back off.  Nope, they want to board The Nuts and make sure the crew is who they say they are (on a mission from some high-up klingon that Lexina remembers hearing about).

Long story short, The Nuts tries to get the hell out of there - but not before Lexina grabs the weapon controls and starts firing.  She rolls a 19 on the ship-to-ship combat table found in Girls Gone Rogue.  The klingon ship is heavily damaged and the crew are dead.  

Time to loot the warship!  Just as they find some nifty body armor, small noises are heard.  Something is rummaging around the debris.  Face huggers!

Almost all of the alien organisms are destroyed, but one hugs onto Dask's face.  Everyone who went aboard the klingon ship races back to The Nuts, which promptly lands on Zeta Minor.

Planet-Fall

Miles lands their ship, but his controls are jammed with raspberry.  A couple of rough looking spacers are coming up the landing gantry with laser rifles.  They want everyone out so they can steal the ship.

Meanwhile, the face hugger has fallen off Dask's face and his stomach isn't feeling too good.  What bursts out is, in fact, space herpes!  Dask just barely makes his saving throw, which means he survives but is unconscious for awhile.

There's a shootout with the spacers trying to steal The Nuts.  Katya deals out the most damage, eventually killing the space thieves.  

_________

That's about it.  Hope you enjoyed reading about the latest adventure in deep space!

There's a fine line between moving onto the next scene and wanting to preserve those little moments where characters are interacting with each other and the world.  

Squeeze too much and you're wasting time on spent fruit... squeeze too little and you may be throwing away the best parts.  Finding that balance is key.

VS

p.s.  Just lowered the price on Alpha Blue softcovers - fancy, thick cream-colored paper.  But it here for a better deal!

Alpha Blue session report: Second Time Only Costs You Credits

Continuing Friday's one-hour game (that invariably takes 90 minutes to complete) from last week, I've got a whole new actual play to report on.  There were two new players, neither of which had ever played Alpha Blue before...

Patrick H's character was Miles Artemis, a human space pirate with telepathic abilities wearing an outre denim ensemble with over-sized collar in orange sunburst and pink.  He wielded laser nun-chucks and throwing stars.  His sexual fantasy/fetish is amputees.

SirSPT's character was Katya Vosdil, a human (female) medic from one of those Slavic countries on old Earth, though she used to be a slave on Arrakis, who's also incredibly lucky (re-roll any dice pool once per session, which, now that I think about it, I forgot to tell the player.  Oops!  I'll give him two re-rolls next session), wearing a leather acid wash uniform in flesh tone (Caucasian), beige, and silver.  She wielded a laser rifle.  Her sexual fantasy/fetish was tentacles, monsters, creatures, aliens, etc... and she's also bi-sexual.

The player mentioned up front that he was modeling Katya on a previous player-character from one of his Warhammer 40K sessions, possibly influenced by Babylon 5's Susan Ivanova.  No problem there, Alpha Blue's rules are extremely light and flexible, most of the game is in the roleplaying.

GM:  A shuttle is taking you both to Alpha Blue, one of the largest and most notorious pleasure stations in the galaxy.  You notice various space phenomena on the way and make idle small talk with your fellow passengers.

Miles Artemis and Katya Vosdil are seated next to each other and so the two of you have been talking most of the way.

A service-bot is scooting around the shuttle, asking anyone if they want a purple prizm to drink.

Katya:  I shift somewhat uncomfortably next to Miles, really hoping to not get captured and sold off again.  "So... what brings you to Alpha Blue?"

GM:  Both of you notice an inordinate amount of "rough types," aboard the shuttle, spacers criminals, degenerates - human and alien.

Miles: I reach into an inside pocket, grab my personal flash, swallow a mouthful of sour whiskey, and offer it to Katya before responding to her question.  "I'm looking for some work - heard this was the place to go, ya know?  Also, I'm mighty curious to see Alpha Blue, my adventurous spirit demanded it."  I let out a small laugh.

GM:  The service-bot rolls up to where the two of you are seated, "Would the lady and gentelman care for a purple prizm?

Miles:  I ponder for a moment, "Aye, I'll take a purple prizm."

Katya:  I shrug and try to play along.  "I'll take some purple prizm, too."

GM:  It hands Miles a purple-colored can of sparkling grape soda.  You crack open the top, about to drink in the delicious carbonated burn... when an alien grabs the prizm out of your hand.  He takes a long drink, finishes it, and throws the empty can in your lap.  "Now get yourself one, space chump."

The service-bot uses its robotic hand to offer a purple prizm to Katya.

The alien has a large, bulbous and veiny head, wearing purple robes.

Miles:  I let out a booming laugh at the alien, "Well, that's mighty polite of you, ain't it?" resting my hand on my weapon, "I'm sure you only meant to take a sip."

Katya:  I look the can over, then the alien over with a mixed reaction before watching Miles to see what he does.

GM:  The alien replies, "Put that thing away, human.  You don't want to mess with me.  I'm wanted in 12 systems for mindless violence and piracy in high space!"

Miles:  "Well, ain't that something, a fellow pirate, is it?"  I laugh a bit more before offering my own flask to him.  "Why didn'tcha mention that in the first place?"

GM:  The alien smiles and takes a couple steps back, as if he's decided to terminate the interaction before things escalate.  Miles senses that this alien jerk is going to fire on him as soon as you go back to whatever you were doing.

The alien winks one of his many black-within-black eyes at Katya before leaving.

Miles:  Just so I read clear, he left but will eventually shoot at me?

GM:  He's slowly leaving, but still within sight, maybe 20' away, leaning against the shuttle's inner door.

You look into the alien's mind and see that he plans on shooting you before the shuttle gets to Alpha Blue.

Just then, an automated female voice announces, "Two minutes before this shuttle reaches its intended destination."

Katya:  I fan myself at the alien's gesture.  "He's nice..."  I mutter as I hand my can of purple prizm to Miles.

Miles:  Probably will regret this, but I fake a movement of bringing the flask to my lips and whisper the words "He's about to shoot, you might want to duck," to Katya before taking one of my hidden ninja stars and throwing it toward the alien's head and throat in a quick, sudden motion.

Katya:  I look over with some confusion before watching Miles throw some sort of projectile.  With a quickly explaimed, "Cyka!" she hits the deck.

GM:  Your laser throwing stars slash the alien's face and body [13 points of damage].  Bright green blood gushes over the floor as he raises his blaster to fire... [I end up rolling a total of 21 damage]

Miles gets shot right in the chest.  There's a large energy burn in the center of your outfit, ruining it.  You have 4 Health left.  Your move, Miles.  Also, once per session, you can double your dice pool.

Miles:  Do I have more of those stars?

GM:  You have unlimited stars.

Miles:  I'm going to throw more at him and double my dice pool.

GM:  Ok, roll 6d6, and good luck!

What's Katya doing besides trying not to get shot?

Miles, your highest result was a "5," unfortunately.  So, I'm going to roll 2d6 damage (exploding) for you.  [I roll a 5 + 6 + 6 for a total of 16]

Katya:  I fumble for my old laser rifle and glance around in case anyone else starts shooting or throwing stars around.

GM:  Several of your laser stars embed themselves in the alien's head, neck, and torso.  More green blood oozes out and he slumps down in front of the inner door, dead.

Katya doesn't see anything besides people cowering and also trying not to get shot.

Miles:  I walk over to the body, checking to make sure the alien is dead, taking the gun from its hand and my thrown stars before walking back to my seat, "Well, now that hurt a bit," I grunt in pain.

GM:  The automated female voice over the shuttle's speaker says, "This shuttle will arrive at its intended destination in 10 seconds.  Please stay seated until the vehicle is completely still.  Have a wonderful day, and thank you for traveling Federation Space."

Does Miles also search the alien's dead body?

Miles:  Yes.

Katya:  I rise to my feet, now pointing the rifle at Miles.  "Debil!  What are you thinking?  You cannot just murder aliens!"

GM:  You retrieve your laser stars, take his blaster, as well as, find a black pouch and three drink tickets for the Blue Oyster Lounge (an Alpha Blue bar).

Miles:  "Listen, sweetheart, I'm a telepath.  He was about to shoot me; I managed to strike before he fired his first shot."  I grunt again in pain.

I open the black pouch to see what's inside.

GM:  You find 32 greenish-blue marbles with pink sparkles.  At least, they look like marbles.

Katya:  Pressing the laser rifle against Miles' head, "You have no right to call me 'sweetheart,' cyka.  I'm going to need more reason beyond telepathic bull."

GM:  While Miles examines the contents of the black pouch, taking a few of the small, colorful spheres out and putting them back in, a 3' tall insect humanoid with cybernetic enhancements walks up to you and makes you an offer.  "I'll give you 100 credits for those things."

Miles:  "Shall I read your mind to prove that I can do it?  Also, the way he moved said he was about to attack.  I seen it many times from pirates to hired killers."  I put my hands up to show no weapons to Katya.

I say to the insectoid, "Sure.  Sold, buddy," and hold out my hand for the credits while I give him the pouch.

GM:  The little insect alien hands Miles 100 credits and pockets the black pouch containing those marbles.  "Thanks.  By the way, I like the way you handled that scum, you really draxed him the sklonst."  Then the insectoid turns to Katya and says, "This human's a real droom'bsh.  I'd hang on to him if I were you."

Katya:  I think for a moment before lowering my rifle.  "Zayebis.  Fine, but if I find you going off and throwing more stars around at people, I will come down on you like blizzard on invading army."

Miles:  I let out a small chuckle and bow my head to the insectoid, "Why thank yah for the compliment," holding up the drink tickets toward Katya and the insect, "When we get in, first round's on me."

GM:  "Yaaz!" The insectoid exclaims.

Katya:  I mull the idea over for a moment before shrugging.  "Sure, would be a waste to turn down free drink."

GM:  The three of you go through the usual decontamination screening before reaching Alpha Blue's central terminal.  You easily find directions to the Blue Oyster Lounge.

Moment's later, you walk into the lounge.  It has dim, midnight-blue lighting.  You hear soft but eccentric alien jazz played by an exotic looking trio of blue-skinned humanoids.  Drinks are being poured by a human bartender.  Several patrons are sitting at the bar at various tables.  Most are alien.

Miles:  Nodding his head appreciatively, "I can dig this place, shall we grab a table or sit right up at the bar?"

GM:  Katya immediately notices an alien humanoid of ambiguous gender with pale green tentacles.  It's sitting at the bar.

Katya:  "Bar," I say without hesitation.

Miles:  I let out a booming laugh, "Bar it is!"

GM:  The three of you sit at the bar.  Katya maneuvers herself to sit next to the tentacled lifeform.  The bartender asks if ya'll want to order the special.

Miles:  "What's the special?" I ask the bartender.

GM:  "It's today's drink.  You wouldn't know it by its name, pal."  The bartender chuckles.  "Ever heard of a flaugyn'naar?"

Miles:  I laugh a bit.  "Don't think I have, but I'll give it a try!"

Katya:  I hold up two fingers.  "One for me and one for my tentacled friend next to me."

GM:  The bartender pours 4 drinks in clear, rectangular glasses.  The liquid is thick, red, and bubbly.

"Thanks for the drink," the tentacled humanoid replies.  "A pleasure to meet you.  My name is Jayna."

Miles:  I put down the three drink tickets, "This is to cover me," points to Katya, "her," points to the insectoid, "and him."

GM:  The insectoid asks Miles, "So, are you working with anyone... like a crew?"

Miles:  I shake my head, "Nah, I actually came here to see what work I can find, see what this huge place has to offer."

GM:  "That'll be 10 credits for the 4th drink," the bartender says.

The insectoid says, "Well, I might have some work for a droom'bsh like yourself.  Pays real well, too."

Katya:  I nod at Jayna while setting 10 credits on the bar.  "Pleasure is all mine.  Katya Vosdil, MD at your service."

Miles:  I grin wide.  "I'm all ears.  What kinda work we talking about?"

GM:  The weird drink is cold and tastes like a mix between strawberries and raw shrimp.  It doesn't do much for Miles, but Katya feels especially in the mood for love...

___________

Unfortunately, work duties in the real world abruptly halted our game.  Both players said they had fun, so I plan to pick things up where we left off next Friday.

And then the Friday after that, I'll be at GaryCon running Crimson Dragon Slayer and more Alpha Blue!

Thanks for reading.  I hope you enjoyed this actual play report of "Second Time Only Costs You Credits."

VS

Setting List: Influence/Details

An idea suddenly came to me this morning - a simplistic idea, easy to implement, and awesome in its usefulness (or so I believe).

Specifically, I was imagining my sleazy sci-fi RPG Alpha Blue and how it's a mash-up of so many TV shows and movies.  It can be difficult to keep a wide variety of influences in your head while running a game.  Eventually, it becomes just one more thing to juggle.  However, instead of trying to keep another ball in the air, why not write it down?

Here's what I came up with - list all the influential titles (books, movies, series, comics, music) you want to include in your campaign setting.  You could organize them by medium, chronology, most influential to least, etc.  Once you have all your categories, write down between one and three details for each influence you want to include in your campaign setting.

Coming up with a single detail for each influence should be a no-brainer.  Obviously, if your campaign is being influenced by... say, Ice Pirates, you can at least write down "hijacking starships hauling ice across the galaxy."  As your setting starts taking shape, incrementally add details as they come to you.

Now, you have a record of it.  Something you can look at while you're GMing.  You can also show this list to your players in order to give them a better idea about the setting (just remember to redact any secret information you don't want them to know about).

This influence/details list can be used over and over again, and slight alterations are a breeze.  Simply erase or cross out what you no longer want to use and if you want to make an addition, add it to the list.

Let's look at an example.  I'm going to list seven influences with at least one detail per influence.

Setting List

Star Trek: Photon torpedoes and starship on a diplomatic mission to discover new alien civilizations and negotiate peaceful co-habitation in the universe.

Blake's 7:  The Federation and Orac.

Star Wars:  Mos Eisley Cantina, the rebellion, and dark zedi (force users).

Dune:  The desert planet Arrakis, the spice melange, the Bene Gesserit (school of psi-witches), and Guild Navigators.

Total Recall:  Three-boobed hooker and domes shielding radiation on Mars colony.

Blade Runner:  Replicant who doesn't know she's a replicant and giant electronic billboards advertising coke, geisha women, and purple prizm.

Logan's Run:  Humans have to compete in "carousel" game when they turn 30, runners, and sandmen.
___

And then next week I could add... Space 1999:  the handheld weapon they use on that show.

With this visual reference at hand, I can quickly glance at it during sessions - see what setting notes I've already hit and others I missed.

Seeing everything laid out in front of me, my subconscious will hopefully make connections that my conscious mind fails to come up with (are there hookers with three boobs intentionally distracting runners or trying to aid them?  That's my kind of sanctuary!)

With a game like Alpha Blue, that relies on combining established sci-fi franchises because its own vague, nebulous setting is similarly cobbled together, this list is going to help immensely!

I'll include this information and a lot more in my upcoming Alpha Blue scenario, "High Stakes Q'uay-Q'uar" available via the Trinity of Awesome Returns Kickstarter happening right smegging now!

Thanks for reading, and if this idea helps you out, I'd love to hear about it.  So, stay in touch!

VS

Alien Hieroglyphs - Alpha Blue actual play report

Yesterday was probably the last face-to-face roleplaying I'll get to have until sometime in 2017.  Impending twins and all that.  So, I wanted to go out with a bang.  And we did.

The 4 hour game turned into a 2 hour game because of pizza, off-topic discussions, and character creation.  Since there was only 2 players, we went all-out, despite the one-shot nature of this particular game.  Below are a couple videos that capture the character creation experience that is Alpha Blue...

Steve's character, Azaxyr, was an alien pilot who needed an atmosphere suit to survive (non-oxygen breather).  He was a dog-sized amphibian with a strange way of speaking, porcupine quills, hemophilia, and a Necrophilia sexual fetish.  Oh yeah, he also had the power (more like a defect in the far future) of disabling any electronic device he came within a few inches of.

Patrick's character was a human pilot and bounty hunter named Gebek wielding a neon-frisbee.  It's like a laser-frisbee, except neon doesn't cauterize the wounds, so you keep bleeding.

Since I don't have a chat-log that I can just look back at and retype here, I'm going to bullet-point the crap out of this actual play report.

• The space adventurers were traveling to Alpha Blue when intercepted by a Federation patrol ship who wanted them to submit to a random checkpoint search and seizure.  "Fuck that," was the PC's response, naturally.
• It took awhile to destroy the Federation ship.  Waterbeds were punctured on both sides of the conflict.  We decided that once you take your waterbed off-world, the warranty is invalidated, and that artificial gravity is the leading cause of waterbed death.
• Once everyone was dead, the PCs went aboard and found a criminal in a similar survival suit to Azaxyr.  This convict's name was Ettis, a human-sized being made of pure energy who considers the spilling of blood to be a sign of good fortune.
  
• The reason they were going to Alpha Blue in the first place was a new Ancient Egypt exhibit in the space station's museum - yeah, sex and drugs on Alpha Blue, but there's culture, too.  Somewhere in this collection of Egyptology junk was a sarcophagus which contained hieroglyphs.  When deciphered, the hieroglyphs gave coordinates to a stable wormhole (Patrick's idea).
• They got to Alpha Blue and Azaxyr disabled the space station's automated welcome wagon with a touch.  This is where Azaxyr said, "I just want to watch the world burn... one small display screen at a time."  The spacers continued on towards the Egyptian exhibit.
• That led them to the red hologram district where Gebek got knifed and the pair of them were propositioned by a hooker.  No takers, as they had a mission to fulfill.
• The PCs entered a cross-section of the space station that was both red hologram district and party/entertainment.  So, there was wall-to-wall sex, drugs, alcohol, and weirdness going on. 
• They both smoked some pink crystals and enjoyed the benefits, as well as, succumbing to the dark side of alien narcotics.  
• While Gebek was out of commission and propped up at a booth a la Weekend at Bernie's, watching a stripper with 5 boobs, Azaxyr took a job - kill 3 Federation officers walking around this section of Alpha Blue.
• Once Gebek woke up, there was a shoot-out.  Azaxyr died in the laser fight.  Ettis walked up behind the toughest Federation officer and blasted him in the back of the head.  
• Luckily, Alpha Blue has one of the best medical care facilities in the galaxy.  Although, Azaxyr didn't have space health insurance, so it cost him 1,400 credits to get a new pancreas, spleen, and right arm.  I finally got to roll on the spare parts random table in the Alpha Blue book. Yay!  
• Not only were pictures of the sarcophagus taken, but a space mummy was destroyed, and the entire sarcophagus was stolen by the PCs. 

I wanted to play my CD of Heavy Metal (yeah, I still use CDs - when I can find them - I'm old) but lost it somewhere.  Patrick used his phone to play the entire album.  But the songs kept getting interrupted by Red Lobster ads.  So, I told them that Space Lobster ads were coming over the "air waves" of the PC's starship... even though there isn't a Space Lobster within light years of here!

Anyways, it was a fun game.  And the last for awhile.  But I'll still run a few one-hour games via Roll20, so at least I've got that to look forward to.

BTW, Thilo reviewed Girls Gone Rogue on his Endzeitgeist website here.

Thanks for reading,

VS

p.s.  Almost forgot!  I'm still promoting my Trinity of Awesome kickstarter.  Check it out, and tell your friends.  ;)

It's all about the exploits!

This blog post focuses on Universal Exploits, my latest creation.

Reviews have been favorable.  Some say, it's the best thing Kort'thalis Publishing has ever put out.  Here are reviews one, two, and three.  Additionally, a fresh review of Alpha Blue herself.

Below is a video walk-thru or visual preview of Universal Exploits.  Even at 9 minutes or so, I feel like I barely scratched the surface...

If you've had a chance to check out the book, I hope you also consider writing a review and telling people what you think about Universal Exploits.  Actual play reports are awesome, too!

Curious about any aspect of the game or its sourcebooks?  Just ask, I'd be happy to provide info or run a short demonstration for you.

Remember, if you purchase UX from Amazon or CreateSpace, email me for the PDF (just send invoice, receipt, proof of purchase, etc.) so you can get those high-resolution files of starships, Grabba the Butt's palace of perversity, and custom character sheets.

Enjoy,

VS

p.s.  This is where to find the previous maps/PDFs.  Oh yeah, and here are the new custom character sheets for Alpha Blue.

Universal Exploits in Print!

For those who don't know, Universal Exploits is the 2nd sourcebook for my sleazy space opera RPG Alpha Blue.  Yes, I merged R-rated, NC-17, and even XXX stuff with 1970's sci-fi.  You're welcome.  ;)  

It feels old school, even though its system only vaguely resembles D&D, Star Wars, and Traveller.  The vast majority of content is system-neutral, but the engine runs on d6 dice pools (usually the most you'll be rolling is 3 or 4d6 - you won't need 15d6 for anything!)

You've heard the expression - give a man fish and he'll eat for a day, teach him to fish and he can feed himself for a lifetime?  Well, a good random table is like teaching a man to fish.  It'll serve him a hundred times over, maybe even a thousand.

All three books - Alpha Blue, Girls Gone Rogue, and Universal Exploits have more random tables than 3.5 had feats!  This is pure space sandbox roleplaying with adventure hooks galore.  Combine these three books with whatever sci-fi / space opera RPG you're already using.  Make it edgy and dangerous - make it dirty!  Three times the laughter, three times the fun, three times the retro weirdness among the stars!

Universal Exploits is now in print over at CreateSpace - that's Amazon's print-on-demand service.  If possible, get it there.  Otherwise, you can get it at Amazon itself (they take a larger royalty, in that case).

Regardless of how you get it, definitely email me with some kind of confirmation or receipt so I can get you the PDFs that come with it!  There's the book PDF with new custom character sheet, maps of new starships, and a layout of Grabba the Butt's palace of perversity!  All high-resolution for printing out and using in your Alpha Blue game.

Here's my email:  Venger.Satanis@yahoo.com

A print version will also be available on DriveThruRPG soon, but their printer is slower and more finicky.

Even though I've been doing this awhile, I'm still very much the underdog, the outsider, the little guy going door to door asking gamers to take a chance on gonzo space smut.

This is currently the best kept secret of the DIY/OSR scene.  Aside from the Kickstarter backers who originally funded it and are now beginning to enjoy their rewards, almost no one knows about Universal Exploits.  So, please mention it when you can, blog about it, review it, help me get the word out!

Thanks,

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

Universal Exploits PDF is live!

Only three months ago, I launched the Kickstarter for Universal Exploits, the 2nd sourcebook for my sleazy sci-fi RPG Alpha Blue (1st sourcebook was Girls Gone Rogue).

It successfully funded awhile ago.  Now, the first exploitation fruits can be tasted and enjoyed!  Here it is (PDF only, until I can check out the proof) on DriveThruRPG.

As I've mentioned before, the time/energy I have for RPGs (running and writing) is dwindling.  My wife will be giving birth to twins this fall.  I hope to be active again a year from now, but we'll see.

That's why I wanted to go all-out with this book.  107 pages (8.5" x 11") worth of supplementary material, every nook and cranny stuffed to the gills with game-able content and gorgeous artwork (some of it NSFW).

Approximately 90% of Universal Exploits is system neutral.  Use it with your White Star, Machinations of the Space Princess, Traveller, Stars Without Number, Star Wars, Star Trek, Starfinder, Rifts, Thousand Suns, X-plorers, Starships & Spacemen, Encounter Critical, Metamorphosis Alpha, Warhammer 40K, and countless other sci-fi and space opera RPGs that could use a little gonzo grindhouse.

VS

Alpha Blue: Making a Character

The following are three video tutorials.  Each one goes into detail about Alpha Blue's system, setting, and character creation...

If you have any questions, please ask!

VS

Spacers with Candy

Earlier today was yet another session of Alpha Blue, probably the last one for awhile.  It was also crucially important because it gave me a chance to work through and playtest a lot of new ideas.  After all, Universal Exploits is just around the corner.

Four players, one was totally new to the game.  I think having fewer players (usually, I have anywhere from 7 to 11) made the adventure more cohesive and gave the player-characters more action.  So, it felt really good.  Here's a rundown of the PCs...

Captain Shumoxx Plibb (and Frank) - Human psychic and interior designer.  Last adventure, he acquired a cybernetic right hand named Frank who's a total badass and talks like Liam Neeson in the movie Taken.

Gebek - human gambler and assassin; there's a full-scale manhunt for him.  His outfit is a tan and sunburst orange type of space pajamas with bell bottoms, made out of satin.  He's dumb, but strong and sneaky.

Zhora - is the token alien.  Steve rolled on the first alien table and got "thought form."  To Steve's credit, he played the thought form idea to the hilt, suggesting weird stuff ("Is he a meme?") and going along with a lot of awesome and asinine suggestions made by myself and his fellow players ("Can't you just put it in your thought pockets?" and "How much money do you think you have?".

Zhora is not only female, but a lesbian; also a mercenary.  When images of her come to mind, she's wearing a skintight silver and sky-blue leather jumpsuit.

Azaxyr - human scientist and mutant with the following mutant powers: he smells like roses, can redirect pain to others, and has built up a mental fortress over the years.

There was so much going on in this session, that I can't relay all of it - even though I took notes.  But I can say that it was one of the best Alpha Blue games I've run.  It was so good, that if it were possible, I'd quit my job to run Alpha Blue full time throughout the world.  Maybe some day...

Plus, I got to use so many random tables.  Literally, every 5 - 10 minutes I was rolling on some wacky table or another... by choice.  Not every GM likes to be surprised constantly by what happens next in his game, but I do.

Anyways, I'm going to fire off a plethora of bullet points that will give you a sense of what transpired.

• The characters barely knew each other, but they were all at a party together on the brothel space station known as Alpha Blue.  Shumoxx was the only PC with a starship, so he was looking for a new crew.  Captain Shumoxx overheard a humanoid fungus talk about an upcoming job to several spacers who were all booked up with gigs of their own.  
• The PCs decided to join forces and become shipmates aboard Shumoxx's sunfish.  Before they could begin, the fungoid named Kaplan explained that everyone had to sign a contract, making them sub-contractors of a spacer-for-hire limited liability corporation known as Universal Exploits.
• Azaxyr wanted to try this alien's cigar.  (Un)fortunately for him, it was laced with lucky charms.  He was seeing colorful marshmallow shapes and searching for his own personal pot of gold for the rest of the evening.
  
• Gebek loves to gamble.  Sadly, he's terrible at it, and has to pay back his massive gambling debts through assassinations.  Rolling at a disadvantage, he got a 1d6 dice pool while sitting down at a smuggler's quarry game.  He rolled a "6", thought he had the equivalent of Ace-high when really he had a royal flush.  Gebek won 200 credits, quit the game to spend his winnings on a very special cocktail - a martian watermelon a la mode drowning in I can't believe it's not space tequila.
• Zhora found another thought form female who was watching a vid-screen of Buck Rogers.  Turns out, she was a prostitute.  Zhora negotiated half the 100 credit payment up-front and the rest after.  They had some form of thought-sex, she paid in full, reluctantly, and received 4 temporary Health points. 
• Everyone was eavesdropping on a member of the Mauve Council willing to pay 25,000 credits to impregnate this woman named Candy with triplets.  No one knew why, but several more watermelons full of space tequila were purchased and consumed by PCs and NPCs alike.  
• Candy agreed and everyone went back to the councilor's suite.  Candy got undressed, laid on the floor with her eyes closed and told the councilor to just get it over with so she could get her money.  She was going to spend it on butt implants.  The councilor was suffering from "watermelon dick" and couldn't perform.
  
• Gebek was going to get paid to assassinate the councilor, so he started firing and rolled three "1"s.  He ended up shooting Zhora while the councilor and his aid fled the scene.  Gebek went after the councilor and Shumoxx went after the aid.  Shumoxx rolled 2d6 on his attack and also got all "1"s.  His vortex equalizer hit Gebek instead.  After exchanging shots for a couple rounds, both councilor and aid were dead.
• Meanwhile, Zhora had lesbian sex (again) with Candy.  He acquired 4 more temporary Health.  Rolling on the d100 table for random women encountered, turns out Candy was eerily similar to Zhora.  Same taste in clothes, vid-screen shows, food for thought, etc.  And she was a pilot! 
• The next morning, Azaxyr, using his charm, stopped Federation security from engaging Gebek, which could have ended in several PC deaths.  
• The PCs read the mission briefing provided by their Universal Exploits sponsor.  They were to pick up a humanoid on some nearby desert planet and escort him to the space station Revan 111, where everyone has a past.
• Just as they spotted their eventual passenger, another starship was about to fire on him.  The PC's ship fired on the enemy starship first.  Yes!  This was ship-to-ship combat.  I'd only used that table in Girls Gone Rogue once before, so I was excited about trying it out a second time.  It was a terrific battle.  The enemy ship sustained damage, but mostly the opposing captain, who was getting oral sex during the engagement, kept getting his space penis chewed due to all the turbulence.  Eventually, his member was completely bitten off.  While the PC's ship sustained damage, the enemy ship was all but destroyed and the crew dead.  
• McSpanner was there to make repairs on the PC's ship while Shumoxx and company talked with their new and temporary companion.  His name was Gaius Bantha.  He dismissed conventional science for something called "laser science".  On a cocktail napkin, he worked out a design for something having to do with laser-sharks and a laser ball for space kittens.
• Meanwhile, Azaxyr retrieved a therapy-bot built from an old VCR and vintage porn VHS tapes. Fast Forward 5 joined the crew.
  
  
• Despite his ridiculous theories, the PCs escorted Gaius to Revan 111.  It wasn't until the PCs said goodbye to Gaius that they got a call from their Universal Exploits sponsor, Kaplan.  Apparently, the mission was supposed to be - don't allow Gaius Bantha to reach Revan.  The PCs negotiated a few more credits and geared up.  Gebek, fearing discovery (being a wanted man and all) wore an avocado-green and paisley headscarf.  Shumoxx donned his turtleneck chevron cheetah print heavy tactical armor.
• They deduced that Gaius had gone to the purple section devoted to weird science.  Standing in their way was a religious ceremony performed by 17 gelatinous blobs.  The PCs fought the laser investors (also fungoids and Kaplan's brother-in-law) Gaius had lined up.  
• It was a pitched battle within the space bar/cantina map designed by +MonkeyBlood Design.  Gaius started to run away but couldn't get far because Azaxyr used his redirect pain ability to transfer his discomfort at being blasted over and over again to Gaius.  It took several rounds, but the PCs were winning.  There were only a couple opponents left when I rolled 2d6 against Shumoxx Plib.  I rolled a "6" on the initial attack roll and so rolled 3d6 damage.  All "6"s!  So, I rolled the exploding damage again.  Two more "6"s!  After all the rolling had stopped, that laser blast had done about 42 points of damage.  Despite his armor, Shumoxx was toast.  He rolled 2d6 on his saving throw and came up with a "3" - one last heroic act before dying.  Shumoxx set his vortex equalizer to self-destruct.  It took the last two enemies out.
• Azaxyr scraped what was left of Shumoxx onto a glass slide for later cloning and removed Gaius' "laser brain" so he could place it in a roomba cleaning-bot.  The credits, minus Universal Exploits' 10% commission, were transferred into the PC's bank account.  

So, those were some of the highlights.  Although, as any gamer knows, you really have to be there to feel just how powerful a game is - the spectacle, the laughs, the emotion, the adrenaline, the boobs... only so much can be conveyed via blog post.

I hope that in the next week and a half, you'll help support the latest Alpha Blue sourcebook, Universal Exploits.  

VS