Mutant: Mechatron is Back in Print!

 Not only is Mutant: Mechatron back in print at a normal price at Free League Publishing, but a new book in the Mutant: Year Zero series is announced as well titled Mutant; Year Zero - Ad Astra. Mutants in space! 

It is possible that you are in the same camp I am and know why this is a moment for celebration, but if not, then know this tale: Several years ago in the before-times of the pandemic Mutant: Year Zero arrived on the scene with much surprise, and I was fortunate enough to grab it with all the cool bells and whistles back when Modiphius was distributing. Over time Modiphius and Free League parted ways (though recently that has changed again), and Free League books became tough to find, especially if you didn't back the Kickstarter. In short order I missed all three sequels (Genlab Alpha, Elysium and Mechatron). Last year one of the reasons I resumed collecting and then deep-diving into Free League books was due to a happy accident when my wife and I uncovered a trove of a gaming shop in Florida that had more gaming tomes than I had seen in years. Years! Among the many books I snagged there were all the books I was missing for the Mutant Year Zero lineup except one: Mechatron. Heck I even got the card deck....just not the book. 

It turned out it had a really limited print run for the Kickstarter and had never been reprinted. Mechatron was going for $400+ on Ebay auctions for the only three copies available anywhere (and I bet those sellers are wishing they had lowered the price just a bit now). I secured the PDF easily enough, but using the PDF is just not practical for me, I'm an old Gen X gamer, and my embrace of electronic books does not comport well with gaming tomes, it's just a problem with our generational model...we need that book in our hands to make the magic happen, plain and simple. 

So with this new announcement Free League has at last course corrected and is steering the Mutant Year Zero brand back on track. Celebration time! I have ordered my copy, time to wait patiently for it to arrive. 

Free League Publishing - Swedish Gaming on the Brain (Vaesen, Mutant: Year Zero, Alien and Forbidden Lands)

A few games on my "backlog" list I published what feels like ages ago -- since my last blog post I have both contracted and recovered from the latest variant of COVID (my first time! Thankfully I was on my fifth vaccine shot), and among the list is Vaesen, which after I dug it out of the backlog I have been reading quite a bit of. It's not nearly as grim and existential as, say, Call of Cthulhu, but it is an ambient and moody universe with lots of gothic potential. I am thinking hard of what I can do with it.

When I was in Florida earlier this year I stopped by a great game store and snagged most (but not all) of the Mutant: Year Zero lineup, with only some modules and Mechatron missing (a book which Ebay asserts only one copy was ever printed so be ready to pay hundreds of dollars for it--yeesh). Luckily every book in the Mutant series is a stand-alone take on a segment of the post-apocalyptic world, and the core book is pretty much "Gamma World, using the Free League rules." Genlab Alpha is for animal mutants, and Elysium is a rather interesting take on the idea of pure strain humans and the M:YZ idea of vaults....pre-cataclysm colonies beneath the earth who weathered out the bad times, but are in turn slowly depleting their resources and creating gruesome level of social strain on their internal social controls. Interesting stuff.

That's all to say that in addition to reading up on Vaesen I am prepping to run Mutant; Year Zero soon. Probably after the current Saturday Call of Cthulhu arc concludes and my co-GM runs the next arc of his Pathfinder 2E campaign, but it seems like a no-brainer to me. We had a lot of fun with my guest Gamma World games, but as seems to happen so often these days, I really do like a bit more meat to my game systems, and the old school stuff is fun for a palette cleanser, but no longer sustains for long term campaigns. Mutant: Year Zero appears to be just the fix I need.

Alien RPG is also still looming, and I also dragged Forbidden Lands out of storage, having all but forgotten I had been collecting it, too. Forbidden Lands looks genuinely interesting, but the problem with any fantasy game system is that I am so invested in my own worlds and pursuing their stories that I just haven't quite pieced together how I would cobble together my own style of campaign from what Forbidden Lands has to offer. The game straight up tells you in the opening chapter that it knows some GMs will use it for their own thing, but the rest of the game proceeds to provide you with such a setting integrated take that it is hard for me to imagine how to extract it in a useful way; made tougher by the fact that its own setting is sufficiently intriguing. What I am trying to do is reconcile my "desire to run my own fantasy world my way" with the book's cool built in setting and style, and see if I can somehow mesh the two. I worry if I simply try to run it straight that I will become disaffected with it and lose interest, but on the other hand I am trying to think of it more like how I run Call of Cthulhu, which is itself fully immersed in the mythos, but is my own specific take on modern day horror with a specific blend of features distinct to my take on what the mythos would look like in the 21st century, borrowing as I see fit from Delta Green, ufology, modern notions of the paranormal, and a reimagining of those things which made more sense in the 1920's and 30's but maybe less so now (example: K'n-Yan is not a giant cavernous realm below Oklahoma, but is an other dimensional space through which certain ancient portals found in Oklahoma can take you; Pluto may not be the actual Yuggoth, but it definitely is a staging ground for the mi-go; tcho-tcho are not a deviant asiatic humanoid species but are genetically modified subjects who's experimental history is ancient and cross-continental; stuff like that). 

If I can do that: take the cool stuff in Forbidden Lands and then transplant it to something I can make my own, I think I can figure out how to use it. Because I do like the system, and I like how it structures a distinct exploration style of gameplay, and I would really like to try that out. 

Free League also distributes (though did not write) Death in Space which I am still thinking about. I feel like I am too much into the "science" part of science fiction to fully appreciate Death in Space, which is a sort of eschatological space-fantasy treatment with the feel of grim SF wrapped around it. It has some core conceits I just don't like, in other words. You don't need all that stuff to make a good SF horror game, as Mothership proves again and again. 

Meanwhile, back in the reality of "what I can actually run and find players for," D&D high level begins, hypothetically, tomorrow! Live! I hope I am not jinxing it (again) by saying this on the blog, as every other time I have triumphantly announced the return to live it ends up getting interrupted by work or illness, so fingers crossed.....

Gaming in July - A Weird and Unexpected Resurgence of D&D 5E and Lots of Time as a Player

 I haven't posted in quite a while, failing my (very mild) commitment to blog more often! I suspect the days of blogs are certainly dimmed, if not over, as vlogs become all the rage, but I just can't bring myself to even entertain the idea, I feel hideously unphotogenic, let alone "video material." 

For July, it looks like my post-vacation fugue turned from "what game will grab my interest?" into "Dungeons & Dragon 5E kind of does all I want for this particular genre of gaming." Part of this is no doubt due to the fact that I am only running one actual live game right now....and when  only have to focus as a GM on a single campaign, I find myself more creatively energized, less spent, and genuinely interested. As a result the campaign has been chugging along with lots of weirdness as I try to see what my players decide to do with their wayward characters.

I haven't abandoned other game prospects, though. I have a campaign for Call of Cthulhu in the works that takes the PCs back to a weird northwest set in 1812, to follow up on a strange campaign twist that happened in another modern day CoC campaign I ran back in 2018. We've been waiting for follow up on this one for years now, so good to get to it again.

I have also been slowly (very slowly) prepping campaign ideas for Mutant Year Zero and Savage Worlds Pathfinder. The latter languishes a bit due to my persistent desire to keep doing D&D 5E but maybe we'll jump in to it soon, I dunno. My Saturday game was postponed while my cohort in GMing for that night stepped up to plate and has been running the Extinction Curse (I think that's it) Adventure path for Pathfinder 2nd Edition. It's been fun to play, but I have been amused by the fact that I now think Pathfinder 2E is actually easier to GM than it is to play....and also more rewarding. As a player I am having fun, but the game's needless layers of complexity in character design are palpable when compared to D&D 5E, Savage Worlds, or even GURPS if I am being honest.

As a player I am also in a live game of Dungeon Crawl Classics a buddy of mine is running (the randomness of it all is a lot of fun, very core and basic but makes for fast-paced and entertaining gaming), Friday night Gaslight Cthulhu which will soon be rotated with a family-focused Dungeon Crawl Classics game my wife is trying to put together (I am interested to see how this goes, her interpretation of therewith!) and sooner or later we will get another Mothership game going, I imagine. Maybe.....I have some SF ideas I am experimenting with....which leads in to:

I'm still working on campaign ideas and stuff for GURPS, too. I don't know when or where I will spring these ideas, or on what hapless group, but I have a strong vision for the historical Egyptian campaign now, along with a fair amount of detail on a prospective exploration-based GURPS Space campaign. 

Death Bat's Twenty Questions on Choosing the Right SF RPG for Your Game

Answering these twenty questions might help establish what SF game is right for you! I'm making suggestions based on games currently in print or easy to get. There are quite a few I like that are impossible to find anymore without combing ebay and old bookstores, so I will leave most of those off this list.

Q: I want a hard SF game which pays attention to real physics and near-future scientific probabilities.

A: You need GURPS Space 4th Edition, for sure. You can also pull this off with Traveller (MGT 2E) with a bit of work and the right source material. If you don't mind horror in the mix then also try Shadows Over Sol. 

Q: I want a toolkit system that lets me build the unique SF vision I want.

A: You need Star Hero, GURPS Space, or the Savage Worlds Sci Fi Toolkit. You could also pull this off with Basic Roleplaying with a bit more work (it's got all the rules, just no specific "SF setting toolkit" book supplement).

Q: I want Science Fiction with Horror.

A: You need Cold & Dark (Aliens meets Event Horizon and Dead Space), or Shadows over Sol, which manages non-mythosesque horror. If you don't mind Cthulhu in the mix, you will want to look at Void Core or it's Traveller version, Cthonian Stars. Call of Cthulhu also has sourcebooks on horror in space, such as Jupiter Rising. 

Q: I want transhumanist science fiction.

A: You need GURPS Transhuman Space, or Eclipse Phase, or Exilium for sure. You can also accomplish transhumanism with certain FATE Core Products or just a bit of creative effort.

Q: I want evocative space opera SF with a retro seventies vibe.

A: Classic Traveller is still in print at several locations, in different editions. You might also like Strange Stars, which comes in both OSR and FATE flavors. You should also look at the reprinted Star Frontiers and the newer FrontierSpace. Also, White Star and Stars Without Number. There's always the latest edition of Star Wars RPG, but for the closest to that seventies vibe look for the soon to be reprinted special edition of West End Game's original D6 System Star Wars RPG. FInally, check out Retrostar, the definitive game of 70's sci fi.

Q: I want lots of space fantasy in my games.

A: Depending on your interpretation of space fantasy, Star Wars RPG may fit the bill. Then there's Starfinder, which is about as "you got your D&D in my SF RPG" as you can get. Space: 1889 does this with a Victorian Steampunk flair, too. Several setting published for FATE Core are definitively space fantasy as well. Shadowrun fits this genre, but without the space part.

Q: I want soft SF and lots of it. I want blasters and FTL drives that don't require lots of pseudo-scientific explanations, or if they provide such it's all just flavor.

A: Then the Star Wars RPG or Star Trek Adventures RPG is definitely for you. Traveller does this, and so does White Star. Stars Without Number fits this bill to a tee. Making these universes is easy enough in Star Hero, and GURPS Space can do it too, if you ignore all the complex math in the book for realistic ships. I think River of Stars would fit well here, too. Hyperlanes is  D&D 5E hack that does this well.

Q: I want a game that takes the singularity and the threat of ASI seriously.

A: If you want this then the closest you're gonna find right now is Eclipse Phase and Exilium. I don't know of any other game out there right now that treats this subject with the seriousness singularity apocalypticists like Elon Musk have bestowed on it.

Q: I want Cyberpunk in my game. Either pure Cyberpunk or just fully supported cyberware.

A: Traveller MGT 2E has augmentations. GURPS and Hero System both provide the tools to build the stuff. Cyberpunk 2020 and it's 3rd edition sequel that we don't talk about are 100% about this. Shadowrun does this, but with elves. Savage Worlds SF Companion provides tools for this sort of setting, but also have Interface 2.0 which is a full Cyberpunk setting (also available for other systems, I believe, including FATE). Most of the good old days Cyberpunk is currently out of print or hard to find, unfortunately.

Q: I want to create a game that feels like Flash Gordon.

A: You want White Star or Strange Stars, and after that think about Star Hero, too. GURPS could do it, if you use lots of the cinematic rules options. I imagine you could derive this sort of setting from Starfinder or Hyperlanes, too. Retrostar would also work.

Q: I really like Guardians of the Galaxy, and want a game that supports that sort of universe.

A: Get Mutants & Masterminds with the Universe Sourcebook expansion, or Hero System's Champions lineup for their universe. If you just want simple rules and the feel of superheroes in space but not the baggage, maybe try a hybrid of the Guardians RPG from Night Owl Workshop and White Star. Hyperlanes also purports to be inspired by the movies, but lacks the sort of powers you'd need without blending in core 5E magic.

Q: I want Military SF, and lots of it.

A: Traveller is your baby then. GURPS Space can do this too on the more complicated end, and for simpler you should think about Colonial Troopers RPG (Night Owl Workshop) with a Starship Troopers vibe, or Star Wars Age of Rebellion RPG with a hard focus on the war aspect of the Star Wars universe. 

Q: I want an evocative rule set and universe to explore that is unique, or close to it.

A: I suggest Coriolis from Modiphius, which is as evocative as you can get and is described as "Arabian Nights in Space." Fragged Empire, too, with the caveat that I had a hard time getting in to the rules for that one but loved the setting. Also, Exilium, which is D6 System powered and a beautiful setting of transhumanist ascended being forced to live among the biologicals again for heinous crimes.

Q: What about Post Apocalypse?

A: Then Mutant Epoch, Mutant Future, Mutant: Year Zero and GURPS Wastelands series have you covered. Post-Apocalyptic Hero for Hero System is also a very fun book to own. There's also a spin-off post-apoc game for Stars Without Number called Other Dust that lets you play on post-apoc worlds in the SWN universe. There is a 4th edition of Morrow Project floating around, too.

Q: I want a game that is really well illustrated and helps inspire me as a result.

A: Coriolis is beautiful. The old Alternity RPG from WotC is out of print but was a hallmark in good graphic design. Starfinder is indisputably pretty. Cold & Dark is evocative for its setting (hell, any Modiphius book, such as Star Trek, is amazing). Traveller MGT 2E is actually very well illustrated, such that every piece of equipment in the Central Supply Catalog has a full color illustration (it's utilitarian, but looks good). 

Q: I want a game that evokes old school (OSR) sensibilities.

A: Then you can choose from White Star and Stars Without Number. Strange Stars provides a sourcebook conversion for use with SWN. Colonial Troopers RPG also fits the bill.  Or just find a copy of Classic Traveller.

Q: I want a game that gives me the best and easiest range of toolkit options as a GM to make games quickly and efficiently, no muss and no fuss.

A: Then you really just need Traveller (MGT 2E), but I'll suggest that FrontierSpace is designed to do this as well, and quite well. Mutant: Year Zero is designed to provide lots of out-of-the book utilities for the harried GM (if you don't mind post-apoc). White Star's Deluxe edition is a shoe-in for this as well. Of all of these, the one I like the most because it is both a quick toolkit and also gives you the most flexibility in universe design is Savage World SciFi Toolkit. The only problem it has is an issue of granularity.....Savage Worlds doesn't need as much fine detail for what it does as, say, Traveller.

Q: I don't mind the crunch; I'll take a complicated toolkit system, too.

A: Then enjoy GURPS Space or Star Hero, they've got it in spades! 

Q: Of all these games which one do you think would keep me covered for the next decade of gaming, or longer?

A: Traveller is proven to do this for a lot of people. I'd venture to say FrontierSpace manages to be robust enough for lengthy multi-year gameplay right off the bat. GURPS Space and Star Hero are both capable of indefinite campaigning with no shortage of future potential. Savage Worlds, too.

Q: I want a BRP driven SF game.

A: Mythras has good SF potential, as demonstrated in The Mythras Imperative and a couple modules, but like BRP it suffers from a lack of direct sourcebook support. Two 3PP have put out D100-based SF games: River of Heaven is a setting-specific book but pretty well designed. M-Space is more generic (slightly) but also lacks a lof of crunchy tech detail that most SF games need. BRP itself has some now harder to find monographs with SF themes, and while you can technically build SF from the gold core rules it has no direct sourcebook support. Call of Cthulhu has three sourebooks I know of with SF content in them that can help world-build a mythos future.

Bonus Question! (Because I just asked this one to myself):

Q: I want SF which evokes the kind of aesthetic set by video games like Halo, Destiny and Gears of War; military, but with an emphasis on the powered armor guys.

A: Right now, the idea is that games which support elaborate armor details and also lots of illustrations are what help here. The systems that do this best currently are Traveller MGT 2E, Savage Worlds SF Toolkit (lots of armor details, not as many illustrations, but I've actually used it for this kind of campaign a lot), Mutants & Masterminds 3E (the power armor archetype, but thematically maybe not ideal for this genre), and of course GURPS and Hero System if you're willing to do a lot of work (I'm not, not anymore). Starfinder gets a nod because it has tons of armor, with mod options, but the armor level method is kind of strange and YMMV on how you like it. Plus, you can't do hard SF with it without cutting out like 60% of the game.




If you don't see a favorite mentioned....odds are I don't know about it, or have never owned and read it...sorry!

What's Out and What's Hot: Mythras, Genlab Alpha, more Fifth Edition Fantasy and Fantasy Age Bestiary

Stuff just keeps rolling in! Here's some of the more exciting finds recently....

Mythras Core Rules

Mythras arrived in the mail today. I am basking in its impressiveness and especially enjoying the slick, easy-to-use, easy-to-read and easy-to-reference layout. It's not all that different, really, from RQ6....but a slight reformatting and better use of space works wonders for the books' utility, which is amazing. The book remains focused on fantasy and historical gaming, with the rules to simulate any realistic setting in which the verisimilitude isn't just for flavor, it's baked in to the mechanics.

If you haven't ordered a copy yet now is the time; check it out here. If you're into Runequest but not keen on Glorantha, then know that your bus has arrived, time to get on. If you're into all of it, then no excuses....this is a very comprehensive one-stop rule book for realistic fantasy gaming.

Fifth Edition Fantasy 

Goodman Games has been releasing lots of new adventures for D&D 5E, and the latest three present a level 5, level 8 and level 10 adventure module. Named The Castle in the Sky, The Fallen Temple and the Eye of the Leviathan, each of these modules brings classic Goodman Games style dungeon delving to D&D's latest edition, and are worth checking out. There are ten modules now in the Fifth Edition Fantasy lineup.

Genlab Alpha

The first big supplement for Mutant Year Zero (from Modiphius) is a cool exposition on playing funny animal characters...er..mutant animals in the Mutant Year Zero universe. It's an interesting expansion and is loaded with detail for fans of the core system. I admit, I've had a hard time really getting in to the MYZ system, and deep down inside wish Goblinoid Games could make a version of Mutant Future that played like MF but had the layout and art style of MYZ....but this book will be worth checking out for any weird apocalypse fan.

Fantasy Age Bestiary

It's out in print at long last from Green Ronin, and worth your consideration if you happen to be a fan of the Fantasy Age game system. It adds a hundred+ new monsters with lots of detail to make them interesting, and manages to provide an interesting roster that does not feel like another D&D Monster Manual rehash; these creatures feel distinct, and would contribute to a world of unique nature, as well as contributing to the distinct feel of the Fantasy Age system and its implied universes. I have plans to run Fantasy Age again, soon, although they need one more expansion book to really provide the range of character generation options my players crave in order for them to embrace the system.

Mutant Genlab Alpha Kickstarter -- HOOOOOOOOPSSSSSS!!!!!

Just LOOK AT THIS PICTURE!!!

I have to back it. I wasn't going to (I do love Mutant Year Zero, want to run it) but I'm really trying to A: not back Kickstarters and B: not devote ALL of my money to Modiphius even though they are making that hard not to do.

But....HOOPS. Or the Mutant Year Zero equivalent. I am powerless.

70 hours left! I'm in for the Tribe Elder level, hoping that Zone Compendium print edition unlock goal is reached. saving money instead and making a new househld rule to stop backing Kickstarters, but I really hope this one succeeds and that all the stretch goals are available at retail in the future.

13th Age - now with a monthly subscription; also, Mutant Year Zero arrives

ENworld talks about it here, but apparently Rob Heinsoo and co. will be doing a monthly 4000+ word subscription service for 13th Age content. Interesting idea....I've seen these concepts crop up in the past (Dungeon-a-day, for example, or the endless array of 'zines and content-delivery services that can be found on rpgnow) but no idea if it will have legs or not; prior examples of this subscription approach usually didn't have a game with a lot of clout and a real following behind it, though....13th Age has both.

 Personally I'll wait for the PDF and print compendium, but the idea of a monthly service delivering 13th Age content is tempting.

In unrelated news, my copy of Mutant Year Zero, along with dice, cards and map showed up this weekend. Beautiful book, much more to discuss about this one soon....some quick observations so far though: very high production quality, sturdy tome, cards are utilitarian but useful, map is great but not essential (reprints the images from the interior cover of the book), and dice are cool. It was passed around at my Saturday group and generated much interest.

Six Role Playing Games to Look Forward to in 2015

Having survived Xmas, let us all rejoice in some of the awesome games coming up in 2015!

First up, a game I am eager to check out once it's been stripped of other people's settings...

6. Monte Cook's Cypher System

Cypher System currently powers The Strange and Numenara, two games that look fascinating if you're in to fiddling with other people's specific settings and preconceptions. I am intrigued at the idea of a stripped-down version of the rules that lets me do what I want with it.

Next, one which I am quite excited to see even if I am leery as to whether or not I'll adopt it immediately, is....

5. Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition

Coming in a "Player's Guide" and "Keeper's Guide" (I think the Keeper's Guide has the whole game), this is the first siginifcant revision to the CoC game system in its history, with the mechanics ditching the 3-18 stat block for core stats in favor of an entirely percentile system. This is likely to annoy the old fans while being a smoothing of the process for new one....if you, like me, have ever had to explain the concept of attributes in CoC and BRP and how they relate to the statistics rolls then the idea of merging the two won't seem so far fetched. Either way, I look forward to seeing what it all looks like, while crossing my fingers that there aren't too many intrusive new mechanics or systems designed to "fix" the pass/fail skill check "problem" like Trail of Cthulhu in favor of a less exciting point pool mechanic.

CoC 7th edition has the PDF out....I haven't snagged it yet, sort of holding out for the print edition first, but that doesn't mean you can't take the plunge.

Next we have....

4. Fantasy Hero Complete

I've raved about this already, but needless to say its a redux of the Hero System 6th Edition rules with a hard focus on fantasy gaming. Hero System may yet be something I can get played at my game tables with a focused book like this! Here's to crossing my fingers for a Star Hero Complete next.

Next we have the long past due but eagerly anticipated....

3. Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls

Ken St. Andre, Liz Danforth, Bear Peters, Rick Loomis and Steve Crompton are all among the fabled caretakers of Tunels & Trolls, and they've been working for better than a year now on producing a definitive edition of the game. It's taken a lot longer than anticipated, at least partially because the scope of the book moved from a "best of reprint" to a "totally revised edition with so many bells and whistles you'll go deaf" but the drafts released so far look amazing. I really, really hope this game comes out soon.

After that we have....

2. The End of the World RPG

Fantasy Flight Games just keeps on giving, this time with the first of four planned End of the World RPGs, #1 being on the Zombie Apocalypse. Future books will focus on the Wrath of the Gods, Alien Invasions and the robot apocalypse. This may fill a void left by Eden Studios more or less falling off the radar in recent years.

What could be more exciting than that? How about my top pick for 2015, one which I am already looking at the PDF for as my wife bought me the special edition package in print for an Xmas present (gotta read it fast before Santa finds me on the naughty list!). It is...

1. Mutant Year Zero

Modiphius has reprinted this updated and revised version of a classic Swedish title I had only heard about until now. The book looks to me to be the definitive word on post-apocalypse gaming, with a excellent middle ground established between Gamma World, Aftermath and Fallout. I will likely be writing a lot more about this one soon!