Ray Bradbury: 1920 - 2012

Famed science fiction-fantasy author Ray Bradbury has passed away at the age 91. I purchased three paperbacks of his novels 30 years ago -- Fahrenheit 451; The Martian Chronicles; The Illustrated Man. Those same three dog-eared copies have followed me throughout my life, and have been brought down and reread hundreds of times. Two of his short stories, in fact, shaped my love of two distinct literary genres.  A Sound of Thunder shaped my love of time travel -- and its inherent dangers. And There Will Come Soft Rains is a melancholy post-apocalyptic slice of life. Thanks Ray for being the first author who sparked that inkling of inspiration in me.

Starships & Spacemen 2E IndieGoGo Now Underway

Goblinoid Games has announced a new IndieGoGo project to fund the second edition of their flagship galactic space RPG Starships & Spacemen. And here's the part of the blurb that has me veeeery interested:

This second edition of the classic game is compatible with Labyrinth Lord and Mutant Future.

With this announcement, the Goblinoid Universe cross-expands beyond fantasy and post-apocalypse, "boldly going" into the world of space exploration. So now your "final frontiersmen" can visit a world populated by both wizards and mutants!

But only if funded, so stop by IndieGoGo and toss some support behind the project!

Steve Jackson's Munchkin Apocalypse Coming Fall 2012

For those folks who are fans of Steve Jackson Games' Munchkin card games, prepare for the upcoming End Of The World! Coming in Fall 2012...

More info to come as we approach the release date!

Savage Menagerie: Pfrzt

No. Enc.: 1d4
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 60' (20')
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: 1
Damage: Special
Save: L2
Morale: None
Hoard Class: None

The bane of androids and robots is the energy-draining entity known as a Pfrzt (pronounced "fritz"). A Pfrzt looks like a basketball-sized floating orb, bluish-black in color, crackling with energy over its surface. It could be mistaken for ball lightning at a distance. The Pfrzt was developed in Ancient Days as a way to safely absorb and discharge massive amounts of dangerous energy, for example, from a malfunctioning reactor or rogue combat AI.  In the Mutant Future, these energy absorbers float aimlessly across the wastelands, homing in on the strongest energy signatures it can detect.

When it encounters something with a strong energy signature (vehicles, generators, and 'bots are a favored target), the Pfrzt will approach the target, attempting to make contact with it. If a Pfrzt successfully makes contact, it will instantly drain a device of all of its power. A vehicle's power cell will be emptied, or a power generator will cease to function. If an android or similar artificial life form makes contact with a Pfrzt, it should make a save versus Energy Attacks. If unsuccessful, the android will take 3d6 hit points of damage (as its power is drained away). A successful save results in half-damage. A Pfrzt will ignore all organic lifeforms, as the energy produced by a biological lifeform is too small to be recognized.

Attacking a Pfrzt is also difficult, as it takes no damage from energy-based weapon attacks, simply absorbing the energy. The only way a Pfrzt can be injured is by unpowered and/or hand-held melee weapons. However, because of the nature of a Pfrzt, it discharges 3d6 hit points of electrical damage from its energy-retaining cell structure when struck. Non-conductive weapons made of wood or plastic, or ranged "slug-throwing" weapons such as pistols and rifles are the only ways to avoid this discharge.

A Pfrzt will consider its mission as "complete" once it has absorbed 50 points of energy. Because it is single-minded of purpose once it has homed onto a target, the best way to deal with it is to somehow "feed" it via energy weapon discharges or by tossing charged power cells and batteries at it until it has taken in its fill of power.

Mutations: energy absorption (electric), energy-retaining cell structure