A Sneak Peak Into My "Gaming Projects" Notebook

Many of you who know me or have hung out with me have no doubt seen me toting around my little black notebook (pictured here). I have carried this notebook -- or one like it -- for years. I have it with me at work, at events, in my car, and resting on the table next to me as I hammer out this post. Inside my "Gaming Projects" notebook is a collection of notes, scripts, ideas, and works-in-progress for a variety of games and systems.

Today, I went through my notebook and did a bit of organizing. I thought it'd be a fun "glimpse" for you if I were to make a quick listing of things and projects currently in the works.

(Don't ask me to expound on anything here, nor ask me what my timeline is for any of these. I work on them as the mood hits, and release them when they're done. But here's some stuff you can look forward to one day in the future.)

(CW = Cryptworld; TM = Timemaster; MF = Mutant Future; DCC = Dungeon Crawl Classics; HOPE = Our Last Best Hope; Fiasco = Fiasco; Anything is "quotes" is the working title of a scenario/adventure in the works)

CW - "Speed Demon" - Driverless vehicle terrorizes small town
CW - "Final Voyage of the Golden Dawn" - Abandoned ship found floating off shore.
CW - "Last Call/Wasted" - Zombies attack a remote tavern. Players are barflies.
CW - "The CW Atlas" - Worldwide locations of supernatural interest.
CW - "Expiration Date" - PCs cheat Death. He's not happy about it.
CW - "The Coldcreek Conspiracy" - Based on a Cryptworld adventure-writing exercise.
CW - "Kid Stuff" - Adults in a neighborhood disappear. Creepy kids terrorize the area.
CW - "Maul Be Home for Christmas" - A department store Santa is found murdered after hours in a locked-down mall.
CW - "Lost Vegas" - Unexplained murders in a Vegas casino.
CW - "Untitled Solo CW Adventure" - A one-person solo adventure to learn the system.
CW - "The Century of the Dead" - A village of the undead reappears for 24 hours every 100 years (Brigadoon-inspired).
CW - "Deadfall" - Collyer Brothers-inspired trap-laden house -- and something lurks within.
CW - Helltown, Ohio
CW/ROT - "Knights of the Living Dead"
CW - THINGS to stat uup: Drauger; Computer Virus; Worm That Walks; Succubus/Incubus; Tsukumogami; Bog Mummy/Salt Mummy/Ice Mummy; Pollo Maligro; Zombeak
TM - Jenny Everywhere
TM - "An Apple A Day" -- Millions of deaths due to the lack of a single piece of fruit.
TM - "Postage Due/The Day The Sky Fell" - Compilation of TM adventures I've written.
MF - "Dead In The Water" - Written; just needs to be assembled and distributed.
MF - "World of Korgoth of Barbaria supplement"
CAH - "Transylmania"
CAH - "SPY U"
DCC - "The Scourge From Beyond Infinity"
DCC - "Escape From Vulture Gully"
HOPE - "Virus"
FIASCO - "Small Town Ink"

[Cartoon Action Hour] "Thundarr-esque" Wasteland 2010 Sourcebook Now Available!

One of my favorite RPGs is Spectrum Games' Cartoon Action Hour -- the 1980s action cartoon RPG. And, of course, my favorite 1980s action cartoon is Thundarr the Barbarian. So I was thrilled when one of CAH's Kickstarter stretch goals was released this weekend -- the sourcebook for CAH's "ode to Thundarr" Wasteland 2010!

"A group of bold adventurers travels across a dangerous post-apocalyptic landscape, carrying out missions for the Utopian League, an organization of scientists, civic leaders, and scholars who seeks to rebuild society. Can the heroes make a difference in a world filled with sorcery, strange civilizations, mutated creatures, and other hazards?"

I'm getting a big kick out of this series book (as well as all of the other series for CAH) because I now have a setting to introduce Snydorr, The Wasteland Warrior!

October's Con On The Cob Features New Games Of Cryptworld and Cartoon Action Hour!

Getting my gaming schedule in place for this October's Con on the Cob, Northern Ohio's four day celebration of games, art, freaks, and fun. The Con will be held October 16-19 in Hudson, Ohio.

This year, I'll be representing Goblinoid Games / Pacesetter Ltd in the Vendor's Hall! Labyrinth Lord and Mutant Future games and supplements will be well-represented, of course. And for those who want to get reacquainted with the Pacesetter RPG line -- or those who have always wanted to check it out -- stop on by and I'll run you through a quick one-on-one scenario to show you how the system works.  Cryptworld, Rotworld, Timemaster, Majus -- they'll all be on hand! (Plus lots of other games, supplements, swag, and niftiness!)

Due to my time being taken up by the Vendor's Hall, my gaming time will be somewhat limited. However, I will be running two new games written for the event. The first is a new Cryptworld adventure written specifically for the con.

Death In The Dust

Cryptworld

Thursday: 8 pm--Midnight

In 1901, the gold-mining boomtown of Weaver, Arizona, was suddenly abandoned by its citizens after a series of unexplained disappearances, and the town was left to crumble in the desert sands. Recently, however, tourists are flocking to the former ghost town, which has been revitalized as a historical attraction. Is history about to repeat itself?

And one of my new obsessions is the new edition of Cartoon Action Hour that captures the feel of those 1980s action cartoons we used to love. (And the action figures they spawned!) I have a new "series" for the game I'm launching at Con on the Cob that I'm pretty excited by. My elevator pitch would be: "What if the kids from the D&D Animated Cartoon found themselves in the world of Ravenloft rather than the Forgotten Realms?"

Cartoon Action Hour: Season 3

Transylmania Ep. 1: “Arrival in Darkbourne”

Friday, 8 am--Noon

Six teens are transported to the haunted lands of Darkbourne, a world where monsters, ghouls, and nightmares are real! Rescued by the kindly librarian Dan Helsing, they become the Mighty Monster Fighters: chosen by fate to defeat the evil Count Vladula and his monstrous minions! If they want to get back home, the teens must bring hope back to the realm of TRANSYLMANIA! It’s 1980’s cartoon action!

Any other free time I can find, I'm gonna try to get on the other side of the table and chuck some dice. In fact, I'm arriving on Wednesday -- a day early -- specifically to play in the "unofficial" pick-up games that occur. (And maybe a few drunken games of Drinking Quest if my KS package arrives in time!) Looking forward to seeing everyone this fall!

[Cartoon Action Hour] Help Me Decide Which Series To Run!

Well, I'm scheduled to attend both Ohio's Con on the Cob in October and Michigan's U-Con in November. My time will be limited as I'll be manning the Gobinoid Games/Pacesetter LTD booth in the Dealer's Hall at both cons. (Be sure to stop by and say "Hey!")

I'll be running games of Cryptworld at both conventions late at night after the hall closes, as it's become my go-to horror genre game to run at cons. (Details to come...) I only have enough time remaining to run one early morning session at each con. Of course, my ever-popular Thundarr the Barbarian game is a crowd-pleaser, but honestly, I'd like to run something different this season. But I also love running a cartoon-based game in the wee morning hours. The players always arrive a bit groggy, but a few hours of animated Saturday morning mayhem is better than a double-espresso. But if not Thundarr, then what to run this season? Then it hit me:

The newly-released Cartoon Action Hour: Season 3 would be a perfect system to run an early morning 80s animated action game with! I love the system, which is simple, streamlined, perfect for con-run games, and lends itself perfectly for the kind of over-the-top 'toon action I like to play.

Now then, I have ideas for two cartoon "series" I'd like to run, but I'm honestly torn as to which one to launch at Con on the Cob this October. So I'll leave it up to you folks. So grab a bowl of Cap'n Crunch, plop down in front of the console Zenith TV set, and consider the promos for these two new 80s cartoon series airing this fall!

On a dare, six teens entered the creepy mansion at the edge of town. But when they left the next morning, they found they had been transported to a haunted land filled with monsters, ghouls, and nightmarish creatures! Taking refuge in the village at the foot of Mount Dread, the lost youth met the kindly librarian "Dan Helsing," who explained to them that they are the Mighty Monster Fighters: chosen by fate to defeat the evil Count Vladula and his monstrous minions! If they hope to find a way back home, the teens must bring hope and light back to the realm of...

Students who attend Sterling Preparatory for Youth University learn about more than mathematics, geography, and science. They also learn about martial arts, disguise and infiltration, and saving the world from the forces of evil! These teens are secretly being trained to be the world's next great super-secret agents under the watchful eye of Headmaster Sterling (AKA retired super-agent "Mr. S"). Students are tasked with fighting the forces of H.O.R.N.E.T. -- a sinister band of evil agents who wish to take over the world. The only thing standing in their way are the kids who attend...

So those are the concepts. Vote in the comments as to which cartoon series "pitch" you like best. I plan to hammer out both and release them for folks to run their own games, but I need to get some feedback as to which one sounds more "1980s cartoon action awesome"! That's the one that'll premiere at Con on the Cob and U-Con!

Cartoon Action Hour Season 3 Released: Meet Snydorr, The Wasteland Wanderer!

One of my favorite RPGs of recent years is Cartoon Action Hour. As a fan of 80s retro-toons like Inhumanoids, GI Joe, Thundercats, and -- of course -- Thundarr the Barbarian, this RPG seems to "get it." I played with both Seasons 1 and 2 of the system, and was thrilled when I found out earlier this year that Spectrum Games had started a Kickstarter for an updated Season 3. I immediately jumped in as a higher-level backer. And today, Cartoon Action Hour Season 3 was released to the masses!

I'm thumbing through the new rules, and they once again nailed it. The character sheet is the back of an action figure box, for Pete's sake! I'll discuss the game at length later when I've had a chance to digest it all, but if you're a fan of retro-toons and have wanted to play in the worlds of Visionaries, The Masters of the Universe, Transformers, or M.A.S.K., you will want to check this out.

Oh, and about that "higher-level backer" reward I received? I was able to have myself drawn up for the rulebook and statted up as a character from an 80s retro-toon! And, of course, I chose a post-apocalyptic universe for my setting. So, here he is, straight from the cartoon world of "Wasteland 2010" (an upcoming post-apocalyptic CAH sourcebook): Meet Snydorr, The Wasteland Warrior!