In Which The Warlock Invades the Wasted West...

One of the great things about the Dayton area isn't just the numerous gamer population or the 4 friendly-local-game-stores in our vicinity.  We also have a great series of stores to support the gaming addiction that aren't just specialized in minis, dice, and games...

Welcome to the Wasted West!

In fact, it's at one of those stores that I managed to find a real set of treasures!  In amongst the shelves at Half Price Books, I managed to pick up a copy of Solid! The d20 Blaxploitation Role-Playing Game, as well as a copy of Deadlands: Hell on Earth, the 'sequel' to the original Deadlands game.  "Oooh!" said I.  What a relic!

With both of these, I headed to the checkout counter happy as could be, as you might imagine, but I was somewhat unprepared for exactly what I picked up.


While I had been somewhat down on Hell on Earth for its seemingly odd continuation of the Deadlands metaplot, I've got to say:  the mechanics and sheer uniqueness of the classic version more than make up for this!  Just when you'd think that you can't do much more with a "Mad Max"-esque, post-apocalyptic setting, just add some Hell on Earth!  So many possibilities, like my favorite, the Doompriests--believers in mutation and radioactivity as paths to power.  With powers like "Atomic Blast" and "Nuke", how could you go wrong? 

One of the big draws that Deadlands has for me is the unique magic system that each class has. Where, in a game like D&D, most magic-users felt the same--pick X spells of Y level; you have those memorized until you sleep next--Deadlands bucked that trend. Hucksters cast spells by playing poker against otherworldly demons, Shamen had to appease the Spirits by performing tribal medicine rites, while Blessed simply prayed for an answer. 

But the real key comes in how different a Doompriest feels from any other arcane backround, even a Syker, though they use the same arcane resource:  Strain.  Where a Doompriest excels in combat, surviving in radioactive wastes, and in powering items and the like, the Syker's focus lies more--and fittingly so--on espionage, getting powers of disguise and subterfuge rather than straight-up damage.  A New Templar, similarly, gets subtle 'divine gifts' that aren't even activated like the other powers.  They're simply "always on", providing that extra divine edge to a Templar's abilities that push him into victory.  Each arcane background has a different feel and focus, which makes them really unique and fun to play.
 

From the upcoming "Deadlands" comic book...

I find myself in a unique position right now, as Pinnacle Entertainment has already announced a "Reloaded" version of Hell on Earth, meant to use the generic Savage Worlds ruleset as a core mechanic.  While I liked the newest incarnation of Deadlands: Reloaded, I do feel that some of the arcane backgrounds are a little too similar.  Hucksters are fine, still using the poker-based mechanic, but the Martial Artist, the New Scientist, and the Shaman all use power points in some manner, and have quite a few commonalities in their available powers.
At one point, in "Follow the Walkin' Man", I had 5 characters with arcane backgrounds--a Huckster, two Blessed (a priest and a Voodoo houngan), a Martial Artist, and a New Scientist.  Aside from the Huckster, there was little difference in the powers being slung about, which led to an almost "generic" feel. 

Luckily, I had some really quality players in that game--the PlatinumChick, Will the ManMan, Chris the III, and DigitalKat, among others--that added their own descriptors and made the game really take shape.  Plus, it seems like with Pinnacle's upcoming 1880 Smith and Robards' Catalog, there'll be some changes made to the Weird Science rules, making them a little more separated from the other backgrounds.

I really hope that Pinnacle, as they move forward into Hell on Earth, keeps the individual nature of the arcane characters.  Seeing the high quality of the Deadlands products so far, I have little doubt that they're going to do their best, so it'll be interesting to see what comes next from them!

In Which The Warlock Rolls Well...But Not Well Enough...

As with the last few years, the Wittenberg Feast of Steve went off without a hitch.  The Feast of Steve, you non-Witt gamers out there, is our yearly celebration of the guild mascot, Steve the Badger, during which we have a great spaghetti dinner and then distribute posters for WittCon around campus.

Solid!  The d20 Blaxploitation Experience

However, in honor of Black History Month, the Enigmatic Mr. Ebbs decided to run a special one shot to coincide with the event.  In the spirit of his infamous LARP, "Whatever Happened to Clevon Washington?" we broke out a copy of Solid:  the d20 Blaxploitation Experience.  This, above all else, was an exercise in political INcorrectness.

Based on the d20 Modern rules, Solid! attempts to emulate the blaxploitation films of the 70s, like Three the Hard Way, Super Fly, and the immortal Shaft.  With prestige classes like "Hustler", "Foxy Lady" and "Private Dick", the mechanics emulate the genre pretty well, all told.  But, the game doesn't really take flight unless you've got the right players.

Enter CincinnAdam.  Playing a Preacher-Man named Brother Ezekiel Johnson, he hammed it up, promising hellfire and .45 shells for any "damned sinner that dared harm the sheep of his flock."  But it didn't stop there, no sir!  Evil-Parallel-Universe-Andy took on the role of Hung Solo, a Street Hustler eager to find out what had happened to his streetwalkin' ladies.



Look out, Shaft!
Jack Boot's on the case!



And yours truly?  I took up the role of a Private Dick:  Jack "Steele Toe" Boot, a trainee on the force, taking over for Will the ManMan's retiring "Black Bart". 

The scenario was a simple one.  Find out what's been happening to a series of missing people in River City's hood, and figure out what exactly The Man--Mr. Biggs Masterson--has to do with it.  After putting the squeeze on one of Jack Boot's snitches, we found our way to one of The Man's warehouses, which was heavily guarded.  After putting the stomp on the guards, we got in somewhat over our heads, fighting against a horrid foe that turned out to be none other than the Son of Blackula!

After duking it out with Son of Blackula for a time, the villain attempted to make an escape.  Brother Ezekiel, who had fallen in the clash, lay on the ground unconscious with his gem-studded gold cross scattered on the floor.  Thinking fast, Jo-Mama Waffle picked it up, tossing it to Jack Boot just as Son of Blackula was about to slip out the far door...


That's right, sucker!  You better run!

 ...with my Black Die of Doom in hand--my player-killing, bubble-near-the-18 d20 in hand--I asked to make a ranged attack with it, throwing the cross like a knife.  EEE agreed, and I tossed the die with nonchalance.

Natural 20!

The table erupted with glee.  EEE had me toss 2d10, then double it for damage, as the cross caught Son of Blackula right in the back.  Unfortunately for me, my d10s were nowhere near as a hot as my d20.  With a 2 and a 4, the crit turned into naught but a grazing blow, and Son of Blackula escaped into the night.

Such is life, as a gamer.  Sometimes the dice love you.  Sometimes, they just won't...