Library Update (6) - Christmas Haul

In Poland, we have Christmas Eve, when we sit with our families eating sumptuous supper and find presents under the Christmas tree. This is a magical time for all of us and in the light of the whole year 2020, it is something calming, that we can meet with our family around the table in good health. This is a privilege which not everybody has. So we gather and celebrate and thanks for that. After that time there is a moment for presents. This year I found many things that make me smile on my face. 

Cthulhu Gloom! At last!

Nightmare Tales from H.P. Blavatsky

The Comming Race by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Songs of a Dead Dreamer by Thomas Ligotti 

...and 10 adventures for one Keeper and one Player for Call of Cthulhu!

I must say I've got one problem. Big problem. I do not know what to start reading first. And this is a problem I can live with! Hope You only have such problems!

Marry Christmas Everyone!

Library Update (5)

 So last time I wrote the library update world was saner than now. Since the last update I received and bought many books, maybe I will cover them in the next instalment of the library update, for now, I would like to show You something special. I found it today in my mailbox. 

Another Blasphemous Tome from Good Friends of Jackson Elias! What a wonderful reading ahead of me! 

RPG Update (16)

Well, well, well... For the first time ever, my session counter is showing me 100 sessions since the start of this year. This is the first time in my gaming history, that I achieve such a big number. I've got big plans for this year. First I wanted to play in Cyberpunk 2020 for the whole year, but the first lockdown created a vacuum I filled with the session so after the first 4 months of this year I've got enough. For the next two months, I run a couple of Delta Green adventures and played in some, then I've got three beautiful months with Call of Cthulhu in a 1920s setting before I and my group went back to Cyberpunk 2020 again to celebrate this very special for this game year. I've also started playing in some solo RPG that I counted also for this matter, some Viewscream and some Dungeon and Dragons. I've also started the elephant in the room - Horror on the Orient Express. So the year isn't over yet, I've got 100 sessions under my belt and I know it will take another world-spanning disaster to recreate that number. Or maybe not? Don't get me wrong, I hate what happened, not happy about it. But it changes so many things in Our lives. Maybe it changes our hobby also? Maybe online RPGs are the future from now on? It is a more convenient way of playing for some people. I miss the meatspace games, the face to face roleplaying. But for now, we cannot do this. So we play online. For the foreseen future. 100! Wow! One friggin hundred sessions! Maybe for some of You, this is nothing unusual, but for me, this is an achievement, that I never thought I achieve. That's it for now. I'm now prepping the Venezia chapter of Horror on The Orient Express. The in the coming weeks of 2020 I will end my story arc of Cyberpunk - Bielitz City 2020 and then... We will see! Stay strong! Stay safe!

RPG Update (15)

So, I looked at my RPG notebook, where I archive all my sessions, and what I see since my last blog post? We continued our Horror on the Orient Express campaign. This time in Milan. So the PCs had a hard time navigating the labirynthesuqe La Scala building. It all ends in a big fight on Centro di Milano. It was a very stisfaing game. For me, it was some sort of crossing the rubicon. Mainly because my first experience with Horror on the Orient Express as a player comes to an abrupt end just on the stage of La Scala more than twenty years ago. The second was after a year and I was a Keeper of that campaign. Sadly after a steady start, my group dissolve during the summer holidays. We never finish it. And this time we also ended up in Milan. So now. For the third time, we go there, but for the first time, my players went further and now are on the train to Venice. So excited for this new chapter!

During that time I also run one adventure in two sessions of my own corner of Cyberpunk 2020 world. It is time, that everyone is waiting for a computer game, but for us, that game is on for 20 years now! We build this city - Bielitz 2020 from scratch and it is so big now, so rich with stories! For this generation of Player Characters, our older PCs are almost like mystical gods or heroes. It is nice to build something like that together with a group of dedicated players. 

Today I prep for next week's HotOE Venice session. In the afternoon I will check my notes about Cyberpunk, and waiting for the time, that we will once again play face to face. Stay safe out there!

RPG Update (14)

 Since my last post on this blog, we played some amazing games. So let me tell You what we were doing since the 16th of November.

Our Cyberpunk campaign is going in an insane direction. We played in three sessions and the level of madness is going up every time we virtually meet to play. The whole saga of Bielitz City is going strong. In real life, we started creating Bielitz City as a game world some time in 2004 or 2005. Since then we got a couple of story arcs building on the predecessor, which create a cohesive storyline. Some of our oldest Player Characters are now powerful NPCs, some events are part of the history of this city told with hush voices in pubs and bars around the town. The in-game timeline we started in November 2019 (of course we started with that date! everyone knows why! Vangelis music rolling in) and now we are almost a year later with many events that take place at the same time, but with different PCs. So we started playing in Cyberpunk 2020 years earlier when the year 2020 was an abstract for us and now we are playing in here and now. I decided to stay with it retro-future look but it filtered by our cityscapes and some people we knew from way back when. The story continues and cannot wait to obtain Cyberpunk Red, the Polish edition will be published in the second half of 2021. Then maybe we move to a new system or maybe not.  Without deep dive into the rulebook, can't say anything. Hope they upgrade the netrunning mechanics. 

(This is how I felt when I got one netrunner in my group and had to use netrunnig rules)

(This is how it should netrunnig looks like)

Another system we have enjoyed last week was a throwback to the early 2000s. One of my players finds during some clean up an old starter boxed set of D&D 3 ed. So after I little persuasion, he DM for us first micro-adventure. It was fun, fast, and generic as hell! We've got so much fun. Especially we do not play in fantasy systems very often. So it was a nice change of pace for us. Maybe next week we will see another installment of adventures in fantasyland!

(Anybody remembers this little guy?)

At last, we meet up for another session of Horror on the Orient Express. This time the action was set in the train between Lozanna and Milan. Big reveals from two of the PCs about their true identity were the highpoint of this session. Other players were shocked - their characters don't know anything yet. But they don't know what I prepared for them! Ah yes! The lovely secrets! 

(The train is on schedule)

So as You can see we are making good progress on all fronts. Cannot wait to see what the future brings. Stay safe out there!

RPG Update (13)

 The crazy year 2020 is coming to an end. But we not stopping with RPGs! Last two weeks I've run 4 Cyberpunk adventures in an arc that somehow created itself from loosely notes.  Bielitz City is a neverending place of dark bargains and murders. So my players are sailing in this sea of madness, creating their own fate in a way undreamed of their GM - me. When some of us waiting for Cyberpunk 2077 to arrive our group spends 42 hours in our own Cyberpunk world and counting! Only since 2020 starts. With publishing the new Cyberpunk Red rulebook, some new flames will ignite for Our tabletop gaming. Have a great week and stay safe!

RPG Update (12)

Since my last post, We played many games. But unfortunately, I've got new work hours and they are killing my desire to write something here. Today is the first day with relatively more free time.  So I've jumped back to this space.

First of all, we played in 5 sessions of Our Cyberpunk corner of the Earth - Bielitz City 2020. This is Our most successful campaign. We've got always a minimum of 3 players. But mostly 4 or even 5. The story is my own and its pacing is slow but steady.  Cannot wait for the
next session!

Since the last post, we played in 2 sessions of Horror on the Orient Express. Players in this pulp campaign just exit dreaming Lozanne and now are going to board the train. Next stop Mediolan! Cannot wait to play the next session also. Almost 20 years ago this was the last stop for the earlier group. 

For Hell-o-ween, as we called it, we played in Viewscream RPG. This time with 6 players, but one of them was a ghost. The scenario was for five players but we modified it a little bit. It was spooky to the end, but all the players were happy after the session.

Depending on when the lockdown occurs in my country we will see what happens next. Stay safe, stay strong everybody!

RPG Update (11)

 As I said last time we started to play in Cyberpunk 2020 in Our own Bielitz City setting. We played in Our first session a couple of days ago. It was great fun. I've run this little adventure for one of my very first players. So it was double fun for me. We will play in the second part of this adventure in the coming week. Can't wait for that game!

There is another game on the horizon, but for now, I cannot say when we will play.

100!

If the blogger site is right, this is Our 100 post! Wow! 100 already! Hurray! It is a special occasion, very special to be honest because I never thought that I will be so determined. Also, I never thought that I will have so many things to write about for every one of these 100 posts! Thank You to everyone who visits this blog!

In other news, I recently (just last week) ended my three months set of Call of Cthulhu roleplaying. I ended my Three Kings mini-campaign with one group. It was a bloody massacre in castle Karlstein. Yep, they survive but barely.

Another closing moment was when I run the second part of  Picture in a Silver Frame from John Hook. This great scenario is a good closing adventure for many reasons, but for me is also good goodbye (for a time being), with developments form this game, in the future one and only Player Character will be something new in my Call of Cthulhu games. I will not spoil it here. You have to trust me on this. 

(I know that my scenario should be named Picture in a Golden Frame)

Now I'm planning another three months of playing. This time it will be Cyberpunk 2020. The year is appropriate, so how can I not to prey on it? So for the next three months, it will be all neon, cybernetics, retro-future (We are playing using old rules), and of course synthwave music. Yeah, Choombas!

In Our boardgame front, we just recently buy Cthulhu - Death May Die, and it is a monster of a game in any meaning of this word. It is big, it is deadly, and hard to win. Just like a game with Cthulhu in the title should be. Here are pictures from unboxing.

The second and the final purchase is DOOM The  Board Game. First time in a long, long time we bought game where there is PvP mechanics. So this will be the only place and I say the only where will be a doomestic violence in Our home.  

One thing that is making me shiver is the number of minis to paint...

So that's it for now. 100 posts from now. Wonder in what We will be playing. But for now. Stay safe!

RPG Update (10)

 It is almost a month and a half since I wrote something here. During that time I spend three weeks renovating my new flat, then I stared new work and my child started her first class. It was a tumultuous time. With not so much free time for me. But I've managed to squeeze some time for RPGs.

Achtung! Cthulhu continued with one session, during that game they move from the resistance base to the forest where they look for Father Andrzej. Cannot wait for the next time we will play, maybe next week. There is a chance for a big finale. 

My Horror on the Orient Express campaign started nicely. I'm shocked by the pace of this game. Players are so good and foresight that the manage to move in extra pace from London to Paris and now they are leaving Paris. They manage to not delve in any additional stuff but they run straight to the most important events. It is pleasure to run this game. On the blog front, I will start Our page in the second half of this month.

I've got a chance to run two additional adventures for two different players. Two scenarios from John Hooks extras from the last Age of Cthulhu Kickstarter. They are superb scenarios.

After I wrote this up I thinking that it wasn't so bad after all. But back to normalcy is even better.

RPG Update (9)

Last week's second session was the first part of Act 2 from Three Kings.  Do not know why, but it turns out more in the vein of Inglorious Bastards then anything else. Even if I wanted to make it more gritty and down two earth, actions of my players created this kind of over the top, pulp, bloody episode. It was much fun, but for our next session, I need to take them somewhere much darker. So maybe it was necessary to give them something lighter in tone? Cannot wait to unleash on them the true horror of Castle Karlstein!

RPG Update (8)

Another week comes with another nice game of classic Call of Cthulhu. This time two of my players decided to delve into Arkham secrets. For the first time since one of my friends gave me Miskatonic University sourcebook - many, many years ago, I've rediscovered little adventure on the back of the book, called "A little knowledge". It is a simple scenario, but different in some points from other adventures in this haunted town. It is easy to do prep and heavy on the roleplaying aspect of the game. Inside You can find references to two H.P.L. stories and during the game, I made another one. It was a fun little adventure for one session, but You could easily make it longer. Below I show You NPC portraits from this adventure.

RPG Update (8)

On 16 of this month, I've got a pleasure to run a little adventure for one of my players. It was the second scenario from John Hook's Kickstarter for Age of Cthulhu IX.  It was first published but I choose not to use it as the first adventure in our new little campaign based on Arkham and area near this haunted town. 

Spoilers for Pickpocket by John Hook

My friends PC - Dr. Ruppert Price is healing from the recent encounter with Cat from Saturn (scenario The Silent Clowder). But after coming back to work he has more clients than ever before. After very long and stressful day, he goes to Anthon's Restaurant. After good supper, he chooses to walk home, and on the street, he became a victim of a pickpocket. Following this little urchin to an abandoned factory he catches him and sees that is something wrong. The boy is worried about his older brother, who went missing in nearby sewage. Dr. Price decides to help little boy...

This adventure may end up in many ways. One of them can even generate another adventure, but this time in Valley of Pnath in Dreamlands! Unfortunately, my friend didn't go that way. So we stick to good old Arkham. But in this case, I can use all of my Arkham materials, like maps and big old supplement by Keith Herber! It was a good little game...

These are those two little urchins...

RPG Update (7)

So yesterday I've run the first act of Three King's adventure for Achtung! Cthulhu. It was fun and ended in a good cliffhanger, so my players will be waiting for the next session eagerly. For some Achtung! Cthulhu fun I have waited a couple of years, but now, with a group that likes military history, only time is a limit!

Spoilers for Three Kings below!

The first act was short and sweet. They meet up in Section D headquarters, where they meet with their boss and with the representative of Czech Military Intelligence. After this briefing PCs went to pack for the mission. Then they went to a military airport, they got into the plane and fly over the Karlstein area. Then they parachute themselves off the plane and land in the woody area without any trouble.

After night first encounter with Heer soldiers, they hide deeper in the woods and wait till morning. But early in the morning, they heard something. It was a group of Heer soldiers with some prisoners. The situation was dire for these prisoners, so our group had to decide to stay undetected or let these innocent people die. They choose to throw a hand grenade into soldiers. The grenade went off! This was the end of the first session.

Do not why, but this adventure reminded me Wolfenstein games, especially Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Wolfenstein from 2009 and of course the granddaddy of all FFPs - Wolfenstein 3D. Maybe somewhere they meet some other agent? Called B.J.?

RPG Update (6)

After almost three months of nonstop playing we got ourselves a week off. After that, I run the last part of "The Last Equation" for one of my groups and for another solo player recreated "Bestow" by Ross Payton of RPPR fame. It was a cool farewell for the Delta Green universe for some time. To keep with my schedule of playing in one game for three months in a year. Why You ask? The answer is simple - not to become bored with one world we play at. With some exceptions of course (Masks of Nyarlathotep!). So we decided we should play some classic Cthulhu. We didn't play in the Classic Period in a long, long time. So...

For one player I've run "The Silent Clowder" by John Hook. This scenario was a part of the Age of Cthulhu IX Kickstarter, but I never use it anywhere. But after this episode... What can I say? It was a glorious comeback to Arkham. We used first time maps of this haunted city from 7th edition Kickstarter. We had a great time. Looking forward to running another of these scenarios, I've got three more and then maybe Monophobia?

For two players who are more military-oriented, I dig up an Achtung! Cthulhu scenario Three Kings - so we are starting next week with this adventure. Hope to have some WWII action finally! One other scenario in that period I've ever run was The Colony for Delta Green. So I'm very excited about this game.

What about Heroes of Rura-Tonga? I've got to postponed it to next year probably. I will create other handouts for this campaign, but for now, I've got to concentrate on another endeavor. After some talks with one of my first players and my wife, we decided to recreate a campaign we played some twenty-one or two years ago! We never close this campaign, but after so much time we are ready to start it anew. So my experience from creating so much fun handouts for Heroes will be put in good use starting prepping for Horror on the Orient Express. I will use one and only Polish translation of this campaign from more than 20 years ago. Real Life commitments create opportunities to play in it only once a month. So the bigger and surely better last edition is not for us, with all these addon scenarios. But we are playing in a classical period wardrobe. With that in mind, we decided to create another blog dedicated to this topic. It will be in English and Polish language. Hope we can drive from London to Istambul with our friends. We will see!

RPG Update (5)

I cannot tell when all this time went. Almost two weeks since my last post! Strange. where did this time go? Not all this time was lost. We played in four sessions. Two last week and two yesterday and day before that. What we played in? Delta Green.
First, my wife runs adventure in Montana with hotel in middle of nowhere and group of archeologists. They stumbled on something they shouldn't. The enemy was something a long time buried and recently discovered. And the sound that it created... This scary sounds...
Then I run for one player on the first session Lost Equation. This all-time favorite is solid and fun. I've run it in the mindset of police procedural, so it was a slow-burner.
Another session run by my wife was a little gem of adventure circling around Jackson Pollock painting:
Number 1A

It nearly crippled three agents, burn down motel, and end in a shootout, but it was very fun.
Lastly, I continued Last Equation but this time another agent join the Opera. I cannot wait for what will happen next week!

P.S. I'm still creating handouts for Heroes of Rura-Tonga, but it comes very slowly. I hope it will be worth the work and wait.

RPG Update (4)

Today we celebrate releasing of new RPG game from Cthulhu Reborn! This time it is an apocalyptic version of Cthulhu! I've already buy quickstart rules and started to read them. Cheers to mister Engelhardt!

It is based on a Misery Engine from folks at Arc Dream and their Delta Green books. So it is right in my alley - yesterday I've played in Bestow from Ross Payton and day before yesterday I've run Controlcopy from Dennis Detwiller.  Because this is a new run for my players I've created new intro for our games. Using some free backgrounds from roll20 and music from Kevin Macleod, I've asked my players to send me photos of their agents. This is what came from this stuff. Enjoy!

RPG Update (3)

Everyone who plays RPG games at one point or another of his/her life tries to create their own mechanic/game system. I'm not different in that way. Once a year or even less I open a folder with my house rules and starting modding them and changing. My mechanics are called Nicety RPG. It is rules light, very light and I'm using it for a one-shot here and there. In our last communication with one of my first game buddies, we start tinkering about Noir game. Something not connected with Cthulhu Mythos or Pulp Ethos just straight Noir drama. After watching classics like Big Sleep and Maltese Falcon and digging up my own book about a hard-boiled detective - Dan Chandler, I've decided to make another iteration of my game engine. With one eye on Dirty World by Greg Stoltze and other on the quick and fast learning curve of my engine, I created a one-page system called P.I. RPG.
We will see next weekend how it works with first (and I think only one) playtest. Maybe I will use an adventure generator at the end of Dirty World book or come up with something solely mine, but it will be fun little sidestep from my typical gaming.

Here You got my character sheets.

And here is Dan Chandler in all his drunken glory...

P.S. Next week I will show You my new Heroes of Rura-Tonga developments.

RPG Update (2)

After almost 4 months of playing almost exclusively Cyberpunk 2020 in our own setting, we felt a little tired. Maybe because PC became so powerful, maybe because for the last two and a half months I run 2 adventures per week. Creating new and exciting scenarios in such a time slot is not possible for extended periods of time. So I've decided to change the system and setting to more gritty and realistic. After the fun and lighthearted Cyberpunk, my vector was one - Delta Green. So yesterday I run my first session in maybe year or so of that game. My players are a mixed bag of old-time players of conspiracy games and newcomers, so I have to choose adventures wisely. I've always liked the ones write by Ross Payton of RPPR fame, so I decided to run his super shotgun scenario Under New Management. The game was fun but nervous for my players. This is a good scenario for starting characters. I highly recommending it!

Heroes of Rura-Tonga (6)

Last week we were changing flats. So there was pure chaos for more than a week. To this day I cannot find some stuff. But the Rura-Tonga box is safe and sound. With not much time on my hand, I decided to create something little but fun and useful. Let me say some backstory for this particular piece of handouts.
During our very first Pulp Egypt game sole PC in the mids of battle with two alive statues, reminded himself that he knows two spells. One simple Voor Sign, but the other named Create the Barrier of Naach-Tith was a powerful defensive spell, that saved him and others around him, many times. This was one of the things that Mike learned while fighting with minions of Nyarlathotep. I've run Masks with Pulp Cthulhu mechanics so I decided that PC can and will probably learn some spells. So in that first tomb, we stop the action and started looking for these two spells in The Grand Grimoire of Cthulhu Mythos Magic and in Call of Cthulhu Rulebook and in my old edition of Masks of Nyarlathotep. So this time I said nevermore! I took the spells from the book and printed them o one side and on the other, I created a quasi-old page that can contain the text of the spell. So it will be in possession of my wife's character. Every time she will use one of them, she just takes it and read it. Consequently, with other spells I will do the same. A simple method for not leaf through rulebooks during a game. How do You like it?

Frontpage with quasi original pictograms.

Second page with the real mechanics of things.

RPG Update (1)

So... This week was most entertaining since this all started. We played in two sessions of Cyberpunk 2020, one session of Viescream RPG, and one session of classic Call of Cthulhu. I might say, that first time in a long, long time I'm pleased with such wealth and tempo of games. but for the sake of quality and fun in them, I will limit them to just two, max three in one week. Another way is that someone will take a Keeper/Referee mantle for one session from me. But for the next couple of days, I will rest and plot other adventures in our imaginary worlds.

Heroes of Rura-Tonga (5)

After last week's big maps insanity, this time using so much free time (for making old paper), little MSPaint foo I created the little maps. Those of interior places from adventures. With these maps, I only changed names from English to Polish for ease of reference. I must say before I show You anything (I didn't do this last time - sorry) - these maps may contain spoilers, so if You know, that You will play in one of the scenarios from the Rura-Tonga line, do not look at them, because they can tell some adventure hints.


For all the others interesting in my little handicraft:

Here is all the content I create for this campaign (for now)

: