Cryptic Cartography

Hey Hitters! Just a quick note to let you know I have a companion blog for my maps and cartography work. Its hugely inspired by Dyson Logos' work at Dysons Dodecahedron.

It's called Cryptic Cartography. enjoy. Its a simple format. All maps and illustrations all the time!

Here's some mandatory Dungeon Geomorphs. Cavern Style!

Banner is what its all about.

So I updated the banner with the 4 Old School Games that I love the most, then the 4 newest games that love as well. And since 3 of the 4 new ones are based on old ones, I can't lose. But seriously. I have loved every minute of playing Labrynth Lord and Mutant Future. Icons we have just strated on characters and background. Stars Without Number is the new wildcard. We shall see how it goes.

But since I am in full on painting miniatures mode right now, I don't know how many RPG games I will be enjoying in the near future.

A NEW BEGINNING

I have been more than neglectful of this blog. I started it a while back, when I was roleplaying a bunch, on top of wargamming. I am still wargamming an awful lot. But I'll be perfectly honest, my first love has always been roleplaying. It's what got me started in all of these hobbies, and its's what let me put down my plastic model kits and start having friends when I was a kid.

So I thought it was time for a reboot. No more A-Z challenge non-sense(although I had  acouple of good posts in there). I'm gonna treat this blog like my own person notepad for ideas for the games you see in the tabs.

My philosophy is sandbox play all the way. I am a professed Old Schooler, as you can tell by my banner, but I also love the retro clones, and some new, truly great games. Oh and there have been many in between as well. Too many to mention, really. So come by, take a look, steal an idea, leave a comment. Its a sandbox. enjoy it.

Lead Addict.

J is for Jump Pack

J is for Jump Pack!

Jump Packs are favorite of mine. I have loved them since the first days of seeing them used on Lost in Space! On TV. So what about them?

Well if you want to use them, what are they? Have they developed enough into a military tool. It it still a full rig and platform, or are you full rocketeer/iron man mode. Militarized and a staple of the civilian market.

My preference is the latter. I have always seen full peer armored soldiers in jump packs zooming over tortured landscapes to capture the objective ahead of the ground pounders.

So this fits a space opera game. Now simply decide on size and weight of the system. Does it take a fully armored and etched out suit to use one? Can it just be strapped to you back or your boots? How is it controlled? How would an adventurer use it, and of course fire a weapon from it?

The jet pack could add some nice technology quests, escort missions or full out combat missions with jet packs as a main player in the adventure. So use them. You characters will love soaring through the air.

I is for Interpreter!

I is for Interpreter!

It's a universally accepted fixture of sci fi, the ability to communicate fluently with alien, foreign and even terrestrial races and nations with losing nothing in the translation. Think about how big a thing this is. That every nation, race and life form that has a formal language can communicate with each other.Ethnologue list approximately 6800 languages right now on earth. It anticipates in the next century, approximately 3000 languages will go extinct. So even at about 4000 languages, can you imagine the kind of catlogueing, diagramming and computing that would need to be made to actully create an artificial interpreter.

now extrapolate that to a sci fi universe where instant and perfect communications occurs across the universe. We're not talking about on a planetary level where the dialects or or even sounds may be able to be made by the same life form. We're talking across systems and races and species. It's the stuff of space opera that only hard science could solve.

So this gives rise to a few options: a common trade language is adopted to be spoken by the major nations and races; a digital translator is wired into us, our clothes our watches, something, to have a mechanical way to translate instantaneously; a communication gap exists, how do get over it.

All three allow you a way to shape your world and communication in it. Think about how many wars would be started about bad communication. Or no communication. Or the differences between species trying to communicate(lips, mouths, teeth, face and eyes).

The typical space opera option is the common language. Easy, simple, no heavy lifting with hard science necessary. Star Trek and Star Wars mode.

Translating gear opens up more options for conflict, missed communication, and faulty tech. All creating plot seeds and a chance for adventure.

And finally, a communication gap exists. Alien races struggle to communicate without causing an incident. You want to land on that undocumented planet and start rousting the locals and you have no way of communicating? Better bring a lot of body bags for the away team.

You may not think about it, in your next space opera campaign or game, think about how language, communication, and the interpretation of language can create drama, tension and interest for the adventurers

H is for Halcyon Drive

H is for Halcyon Drive!

The Halcyon drive was the key that unlocked the Stars to Humanity. Based upon the research of Dr. Rudolfo Samuelsen, the Halcyon Drive was developed by the Tanhausser Corporation after a research accident caused Dr. Samuelsen, his entire research staff, and his laboratory to vaporize, without an explosion. Dr Samuelsen's research was not lost however, and was quickly bought up by the Tanhausser Corporation, which had enormous resources devoted to propulsion, communications, and the emerging study of psionics and psionic individuals. Tanhausser's research on Ozminium samples retreived from a near body asteroid completed the final bits of the puzzle, providing the enormous energy required to power the drive system.

The Halcyon Drive was born on the backs of Dr. Samuelsen's ground breaking work and is standard in all current FTL capable ships.

G is for Gyrojet!

To me, Gyrojet pistols and rifles are as much a part of sci-fi rpg's as Lasers and FTL travel. A gyro jet pistol/rifle is basically a personal hand held rapid firing rocket launcher. It fires large caliber shells, propelled by an internal rocket motor that exhausts through 4ports on the bottom of the shell. The ports exhaust the thrust putting a gyroscopic spin on the shell, stabilizing it for flight. If a micro processor is in the shell, the shell could be guided as well.

Gyrojet weapons were actually created in the 1960's. A picture of the real pistol is above. The classic Star Frontiers Gyrojet pistol is shown above as well.

Because of the enlarged shell size, many different warheads could be put in a Gyrojet shell. Use the following chart for random determination of round type:

01-35 Dumb-regular explosive
36-40 Guided-regular explosive
41-50 Dumb -armor piercing
51-53Guided-armor piercing
54-56 Dumb-incendiary
57-59 Guided-incendiary
60-62 Dumb-tracker
63-65 Guided-tracker
66-68 Guided-Personal EMP
69-71 Dumb-tranquilizer
72-74 Guided-tranquilizer
75-77 Dumb-poison
78-80 Guided-poison
81-85 Dumb-overload
86-90 Guided-overload
91-95 Dumb-super explosive
96-99 Guided-super explosive
100 Guided-mini-nuke

Definitions:
Dumb-no internal guidance. Aimed rounds.
Guided/Smart-internal guidance. Fire and forget.
Explosive-standard explosive round
Armor Piercing-standard AP round
Incendiary-tracer/fire starter rounds. Phosphorus.
Tracker-gps tracking round. No damage.
Personal EMP-knock out round for electronics on target.
Tranquilizer-knock out drug round
Poison-sick/kill round from poison.
Overload-electrical stun round
Super explosive-super dense and powerful explosive round, usually for busting doors,buildings
Mini-nuke-super rare mini nuclear explosive round

So, when you need a special round or just some rare ammo to buy at the gun shop, think of adding some variety to your Gyrojet ammo.