Black Dog Of Doom

Tars Tarkas of Mars - Gamebook

2012-02-09T12:44:00.000-08:00

Swashbuckling Adventure on Mars!

Before John Carter ever got to Mars there was another hero, another man destined for greatness on the red soil of that planet.

Tars Tarkas the green martian who with sword, dagger and radium rifle fought his way from the very cradle to manhood, rising to become the leader of his tribe.

In this exciting adventure book, you get to play the part of Tars Tarkas with your every choice deciding his fate.

Will he defeat his enemies?
Will he overcome his obstacles?
Will he find John Carter?
Only you can decide!

This is a full length game book with over 400 entries, it contains lots of challenges and combats. It's available in the following locations and formats...

Kindle : ePUB : Hardcopy

Death Bringers

2011-08-19T04:49:00.000-07:00

Death Bringers is a series of twenty pre-programmed combat missions for "3:16 Carnage amongst the Stars"

Each mission centres around destroying all life on an alien world. ALL THREATS TO THE CONTINUANCE OF PARADISE ON EARTH MUST BE ELIMINATED.

Each planet presents a unique challenge with different world wide conditions and a new life form to be eliminated with extreme prejudice.

Each plantary mission contains 3-8 seperate combat encounters building a progressing story as the play moves from encounter to encounter.

Available to purchase from RPGNow.com
Or you can get the dead-tree edition from LuLu

Target! Bearing 093 degrees!

2011-07-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

My latest game offering is Target! Bearing 093 degrees! which is a solitaire submarine game. You control a submarine on a mission to sink enemy shipping. As the captain of this vessel you have to husband your torpedoes, fuel and deck0gun ammunition in order to sink the maximum amount of enemy shipping.

Each turn you have to search for a target, check out what kind of protective escort it has and decide on a method of attack. Each stage is a decision and committing to the wrong sort of target means you might risk being sunk or worse yet, returning home with a trivial tonnage of sunk enemy shipping.

The game is Print and Play, meaning you download a file and print out the game components yourself. It's been deliberately created in black and white with a minimum of expensive ink usage. It plays in about 10-20 minutes and makes a nice filler.

Buy the game online at Wargame Vault

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Fate of Cthulhu

2011-04-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of the Chaosium RPG "Call of Cthulhu" for years. But of late, I've fallen in love with RPGs that fit more into the story-telling genre. One of these is the generic system called FATE, by Fred Hicks and Rob Donoghue. The FATE system is a free PDF download ( link in the document below ) so it's worth taking a look!

So I've combined the two and written a short document on how to switch your play from Call of Cthulhu to FATE. So if you're looking to inject a little horror and madness into your FATE/Fudge gaming check this out.

Modern(ish) Armor Rules

2011-03-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

These rules came about after deciding to buy some Ultra Modern 1/285th scale models of modern tanks. I couldn't find any simple quick play rules so after referring to Gulf war anecdotes and of course Janes recognition guides I came up with these. They are simple to use and rely on the common D6. Suggestions for additional simple straight forward rule additions are gratefully accepted. (These rules were previously published by Wargrid.)

Anglo-Zulu wargame rules

2011-03-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I was inspired to refight (in miniature of course) the battle of Rorkes Drift, the fight featured in the film 1964 film Zulu.

I crafted the terrain, the buildings, painted the miniatures and produced a set of rules to play by. The rules below are the final result. These rules have been used at least five times to refight this battle without a complaint, so I think they are pretty solid. Try them out and let me know what you think .

Scenario - Valor & Victory - Hill Assault

2011-01-30T13:42:00.000-08:00

This is a scenario for the free to download WWII hex and counter boardgame Valor and Victory.

British Paratroopers have set up a hill top strong point and put out an O.P. From this hilltop they can observe the terrain for miles around. The German command have decided that this situation can not be allowed to continue. The strongpoint must go!

You can download my original version from my Skydrive
You can download a much better looking version of the scenario from BoardGameGeek, but you'll have to log in to see it.

OSRIC Dungeon - The Basement Beneath the Inn

2010-10-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

OSRIC is a free Role Playing Game based on the early editions of Dungeons and Dragons. You can download OSRIC for free from Knights & Knaves.

Below is the first dungeon I designed for play with OSRIC. Download and enjoy!

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike-Noncommercial 3.0 License

Mecha Duel

2010-10-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

Mecha Duel is a card game for two to four players where each player takes control of a giant Mecha and rides it into the glory of battle. No greater honour can be earned than by standing over the smoking remains of an enemies burnt out Mecha!

This card game has modeled both the tactics and the manoeuvre of combat between giant Mecha. Each turn you will have the opportunity to blast your opponents with lasers, cannon, rockets or any of the other extensive range of weapons. You'll also have the opportunity to play defences allowing you to carry out battlefield repairs , power up shields and duck behind cover.

Mecha battle card game for two to four players that is played in about 30 minutes. You can play as individuals or in teams, or even a three against one special combat. It's simple enought for the young to play and has enough variety and tactics for the older gamer as well.

Buy the game at LuLu!

This game is copyright Felbrigg Herriot and James Hartman (c) 2008/2009.

Battle of the River Plate

2010-10-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

Historical Notes

The Admiral Graf Spee had been at sea at the start of the Second World War in September 1939 and had sunk several merchantmen in the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean without loss of life due to her captain's policy of taking all crews on board before sinking the victim.

The Royal Navy assembled forces to search for the surface raider. Force G, the South American Cruiser Squadron, comprised the heavy cruiser HMS Exeter (8,400 tonnes, six 8-inch (203 mm) guns) and two Leander-class light cruisers (both 7,000 tons, eight 6-inch (152 mm) guns) — HMS Ajax and HMS Achilles. The force was commanded by Commodore Henry Harwood from Ajax, which was captained by Charles Woodhouse. Achilles was of the New Zealand Division (precursor to the Royal New Zealand Navy) and captained by Edward Parry. Exeter was captained by F. S. Bell. A County-class heavy cruiser, HMS Cumberland (10,000 tons, eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns), was self-refitting in the Falkland Islands at the time but available at short notice.

Harwood suspected that the raider would try to strike next at the merchant shipping off the River Plate estuary between Uruguay and Argentina. He ordered his squadron to steam towards the position 32 degrees South, 47 degrees West. Harwood chose this position, according to his despatch, due to its being the most congested part of the shipping routes in the area, and therefore the point where a raider could do the most damage to enemy shipping.

The three cruisers were convened off the estuary on 12 December and conducted manoeuvres. Harwood's combat policy of three cruisers versus one pocket battleship was to attack at once day or night. By day the ships would attack as two units, Exeter separate from Ajax and Achilles. By night the ships would remain in company in open order. By attacking from two sides, Harwood hoped to give his lighter ships a chance of overcoming the German advantage of greater range and heavier broadside by dividing the enemy's fire.

The Battle

On 13 December the ships sighted each other and closed. Admiral Graf Spee, despite having correctly identified Exeter, initially suspected that the two light cruisers were smaller destroyers and that the British ships were protecting a merchant convoy, the destruction of which would be a major prize. Since Admiral Graf Spee's reconnaissance aircraft was out of service, Langsdorf relied on lookouts for this information. He decided to engage despite having received a broadly accurate report from the German naval staff on 4 December outlining British activity in the River Plate area. This report included information that Ajax, Achilles, Exeter and Cumberland were patrolling the South American coast. Langsdorf realized too late that he was facing three cruisers. Falling back on the immediate acceleration of Admiral Graf Spee's diesel engines, he closed at 24 knots in the hope of engaging the steam-driven British ships before they could work up from cruising speed to full power.

The British executed their battle plan: Exeter turned to the north-west whilst Ajax and Achilles, operating together, turned to the north-east. Admiral Graf Spee opened fire on Exeter at 19,000 yards with her six 11-inch (280 mm) guns at 06:18. Exeter opened fire at 06:20, Achilles at 06:21, Exeter's aft guns at 06:22 and Ajax at 06:23. From her opening salvo, Admiral Graf Spee's gunfire proved rather accurate, her third salvo straddling Exeter At 06:23 an 11-inch (280 mm) shell burst just short of Exeter, abreast the middle of the ship. Splinters from this shell killed the torpedo tubes' crews, damaged the ship's communications, riddled the ship's funnels and searchlights and wrecked the ship's Walrus aircraft just as it was to be launched for gunnery spotting. Three minutes later Exeter suffered a direct hit. This shell struck her B-turret, putting it and its two guns out of action. Shrapnel swept the bridge, killing or wounding all bridge personnel except the captain and two others. Captain Bell's communications were wrecked. Communications from the aft conning position were also destroyed, and the ship had to be steered via a chain of messengers for the rest of the battle.

Meanwhile Ajax and Achilles had closed to 13,000 yards and started making in front of the Admiral Graf Spee, causing Admiral Graf Spee to split her main armament at 06:30, and otherwise using her 5.9-inch (150 mm) guns against them. At 06:32 Exeter fired two torpedoes from her starboard tubes but both missed. At 06:37 Ajax launched her spotter aircraft from its catapult. At 06:38 Exeter turned so that she could fire her port torpedoes, and received two more direct hits from 11-inch shells. One hit A-turret and put it out of action, the other entered the hull and started fires. At this point Exeter was severely damaged, having only Y-turret in action, a seven degree list, was being flooded and being steered with the use of her small boat's compass. In return, one of Exeter's 8-inch shell penetrated two decks then exploded in Graf Spee’s funnel area — destroying her raw fuel processing system and leaving her with just 16 hours fuel, insufficient to allow her to return home. The ship was doomed but this was kept secret for 60 years.

At approximately 06:36, Admiral Graf Spee hauled around from an easterly course, now behind Ajax and Achilles, toward the northwest and laid smoke. This position brought Langsdorf roughly parallel to Exeter. By 06:50 Exeter listed heavily to starboard, taking water forward. Nevertheless, she still steamed at full speed and fired with her one remaining turret. Forty minutes later, water splashed in by an 11-inch near-miss short-circuited Exeter's electrical system for that turret. Captain Bell was forced to break off action. This would have been the opportunity to finish off Exeter. Instead, the combined fire of Ajax and Achilles drew Langsdorf's attention as both ships closed.

At 06:56, Ajax and Achilles turned to starboard to bring all their guns to bear, causing at 07:10 Admiral Graf Spee to turn away and lay a smokescreen. At 07:10 the two light cruisers turned to reduce the range from 8 miles (13 km), even though this meant only their forward guns could fire. At 07:16 Admiral Graf Spee turned to port and headed straight for the heavily damaged Exeter, but fire from Ajax and Achilles forced the Graf Spee at 07:20 to turn and fire her 11-inch guns at them, who turned to starboard to bring all their guns to bear. Ajax turned to starboard at 07:24 and fired her torpedoes at a range of 4.5 miles (7 km), causing Admiral Graf Spee to turn away under a smokescreen. At 07:25 Ajax was hit by an 11-inch shell that put X-turret out of action and jammed Y-turret, causing some casualties. By 07:40, Ajax and Achilles were running low on resources and the British decided to change tactics, moving to the east under a smokescreen. Harwood decided to shadow Admiral Graf Spee and try to attack at night when he could attack with torpedoes and better utilise his advantage of speed and manoeuvrability while minimising his deficiencies in armour. Ajax was again hit by an 11-inch shell that destroyed her mast and caused some casualties. Admiral Graf Spee continued on a south-westward course.

The Pursuit

The battle now turned into a pursuit. The British and New Zealand cruisers split up keeping about 15 miles (24 km) from Admiral Graf Spee. Ajax kept to the German's port and Achilles to the starboard. At 09:15 Ajax recovered her aircraft. At 09:46 Harwood signalled to Cumberland for reinforcements and the Admiralty also ordered ships within 3,000 miles (5,000 km) to proceed to the River Plate. At 10:05 Achilles had overestimated the Graf Spee's speed and came into range of German guns. Admiral Graf Spee turned and fired two three-gun salvoes with her foreguns. Achilles turned away under a smokescreen. The shadowing continued for the rest of the day until 19:15, when Admiral Graf Spee turned and opened fire on Ajax, who turned away under a smokescreen.

It was now clear that Admiral Graf Spee was entering the River Plate. As the estuary had sandbanks, Harwood ordered Achilles to shadow Admiral Graf Spee while Ajax would cover any attempt to double back through a different channel. The sun set at 20:48 with the Admiral Graf Spee silhouetted against the sun. Achilles had again closed the range and Admiral Graf Spee opened fire, while Achilles turned away. During the battle, a total of 108 men had been killed on the two sides, including 36 on Admiral Graf Spee.

Admiral Graf Spee entered Montevideo in neutral Uruguay, dropping anchor at about 00:10 on 14 December. This was a political error, as Uruguay, while neutral, had benefited from significant British influence during its development and favoured the Allies. The British Hospital, for example (where the wounded from the battle were taken) was the leading hospital in Montevideo. Had the Admiral Graf Spee left port at this time, the damaged Ajax and the Achilles would have been the only Commonwealth warships it would have encountered in the area.

In Montevideo, the 13th Hague Convention came into play. Under Article 2, "...belligerent war-ships are not permitted to remain in the ports, roadsteads, or territorial waters of the said Power for more than twenty-four hours...", modified by Article 14 "A belligerent war-ship may not prolong its stay in a neutral port beyond the permissible time except on account of damage..." British diplomats duly pressed for the speedy departure of the Graf Spee. Also relevant was Article 16, of which part reads, "A belligerent war-ship may not leave a neutral port or roadstead until twenty-four hours after the departure of a merchant ship flying the flag of its adversary."

The Germans released 61 captive British merchant seamen who had been on board. Langsdorff then asked the Uruguayan government for two weeks to make repairs. Initially, the British diplomats in Uruguay, principally Eugen Millington-Drake, tried to have Admiral Graf Spee forced to leave port immediately. After consultation with London, which was aware that there were no significant British naval forces in the area, they continued to openly demand that the Graf Spee leave. At the same time, they secretly arranged for British and French merchant ships to sail from Montevideo at intervals of 24 hours, whether they had originally intended to or not, thus invoking Article 16. This kept the Graf Spee in port and allowed more time for British forces to reach the area.

At the same time, efforts were made by the British to feed false intelligence to the Germans that an overwhelming British force was being assembled, including the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and the battlecruiser HMS Renown, when in fact only the heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland was nearby. Cumberland, one of the earlier County class, was only a little more powerful than Exeter, with two more 8-inch (203 mm) guns; she was no match alone for Admiral Graf Spee, whose 11-inch guns had longer range and fired much heavier shells. Cumberland arrived at 22:00 on 14 December after steaming at full speed for 36 hours from the Falkland Islands. Overwhelming British forces (HMS Renown, Ark Royal, Shropshire, Dorsetshire and Neptune) were en route, but would not assemble until December 19. For the time being, the total force comprised the undamaged Cumberland and damaged Ajax and Achilles. To reinforce the propaganda effect, these ships, which were waiting just outside the three mile limit, were ordered to make smoke, which could be clearly seen from the Montevideo waterfront.

The Germans, however, were entirely deceived, and expected to face a far superior force on leaving the River Plate. The Graf Spee had also used two-thirds of her 11" ammunition and only had enough left for approximately a further 20 minutes of firing, which was hardly enough to fight her way out of Montevideo, let alone get back to Germany. Intense negotiations were undertaken. While the ship was prevented from leaving the harbour, Captain Langsdorff consulted with his command in Germany. He received orders that permitted various options, but not internment in Uruguay. Ultimately he chose to scuttle his ship in the River Plate estuary (December 17) to avoid unnecessary loss of life for no military advantage, a decision that is said to have infuriated Hitler. The crew of Admiral Graf Spee was taken to Buenos Aires, where Captain Langsdorff subsequently committed suicide on 19 December. He was buried there with full military honours and several British officers attended. Many of the crew members were reported to have moved to Montevideo with the help of local people of German origin. The German dead were buried in the "Cementerio del Norte" in Montevideo.

The Card Game

	Support the game at LuLu There is no difference between the file here and the one on LuLu, but a purchase at LuLu encourages me to produce more games.
This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.

Varg Bid

2010-10-09T13:11:00.000-07:00

Varg Bid is a card game using the "Decktet" cards that are available for free on the web. You can download and print these cards for free, completely legally, they are given away.

The game requires a minimum of table space and can be played in about 30 minutes.

To play the game you'll need to download the cards and download the rules linked to below.


This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike-Noncommercial 3.0 License

Hamster Combat

2010-10-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

Little known amongst Humans is that Hamsters in the wild indulge in mortal and violent combat. Many schools of Hamster Martial arts have evolved. This clan like school system has lead to an annual competition between the schools where the best student of each school is placed into a deadly combat until only one remains.

Despite the domestication of Hamsters the combat school competition continues with Hamsters from all over the world taking part.

This card game represents this annual competition with each player taking the part of a Combat Hamster.

The Game

This is a game for 2 - 4 players aged 8+ and after printing out the game all you need to supply are four markers or stones per player! It's FREE, why not give it a try?


This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.

Free Trader

2010-09-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

"Free Trader" is a solitaire game with a theme of trading between planets trying to make the first four payments on your recently bought space ship.

Inspired by the "Traveller" RPG and the 80s computer game "Elite" you will explore the planets of the galaxy looking for and making the most of trading opportunities.

But the void between the planets is not safe. You'll find it inhabited by Pirates willing to attack you and take your burnt out spaceship as salvage. So you'll need to upgrade your ships defences while struggeling to meet the payments.

With the huge cost of defenses and ship upgrades will you be tempted to risk carrying illegal cargos? If you risk it, you'll have to watch out for the Interstella Police who patrol the unfriendly space above the skies of many planets.

Free Trader, is free! Download it by selecting one of the versions and art sets shown below. However if you want to encourage further free releases please consider purchasing the game by following the LuLu link at the bottom of the page. There is no difference between the Basic Set here and the one on LuLu.

Listen to an Audio Trailer for the game.

Version	Basic Set	Alternate Art set by TGov	Alternate Art set by Linael
Version 2 : This version is slightly harder than version 1.		Planets, Cards and Playmat	Planet Cards & Event Cards ( You'll also need to download the basic set so you can print the Playmat.)
Version 1 : This version is slightly easier than version 2		Complete Game	Planet Cards & Event Cards ( You'll also need to download the basic set so you can print the Playmat.)

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.
Support the game by purchasing a copy at LuLu.

Here's a how to play video:

Check out the games page at BoardGameGeek where people have developed multiple variants of the game too.

Conquer the Galaxy

2010-09-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

Conquer the Galaxy is a card driven/action point wargame/boardgame for two players, where each tries to win control of the Galaxy using Armies, Fleets, Maneuver and Politics.

It's Red vs Blue on a Galactic scale, with multiple ways to win in knife edge.victories. Balance your political prowess with military might to take over, control and dominate the Galaxy.

Purchase the game from LuLu

Sink the Bismarck

2010-09-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

The German battleship Bismarck is one of the most famous warships of the Second World War. The lead ship of her class and named after the 19th century German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Bismarck displaced more than 50,000 tons fully loaded and was the largest warship then commissioned. Her chief claim to fame came from the Battle of the Denmark Strait in May 1941 during which the battlecruiser HMS Hood, flagship of the Home Fleet and pride of the Royal Navy, was sunk within several minutes. In response, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued the order to "Sink the Bismarck", spurring a relentless pursuit by the Royal Navy.

Two days later, with safer waters almost in reach, Fleet Air Arm aircraft torpedoed Bismarck and jammed her rudder, allowing heavy British units to catch up with her. In the ensuing battle on the morning of 27 May 1941, Bismarck was heavily attacked for nearly three hours before sinking.

The Boardgame

In this board game you become the controller of the Anti Aircraft batteries on board the Bismarck, desperately attempting to keep the attacking British Swordfish torpedo planes at bay.

This is a solitaire game and after printing out the game all you need to supply are four standard dice and a pencil! It's FREE, why not give it a try?

The game is written up in a PDF and stored on my Sky Drive, why not download it?

Dog Races

2010-09-19T06:26:00.000-07:00

Dog Races is an easy to play family friendly card game. Players compete to score the most points on a series of Dog Races and play cards to help their selected dog and win and other cards to slow down their opponents dogs.

This game is free to download from my Sky Drive, just to the right.

If you want to support the designer of this game, please consider purchasing a copy of the game from LuLu. The game is exactly the same over there but a purchase through them does me more good than a simple donation. Thankyou. :)

Cthulhu Boardgame

2010-09-19T06:13:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the stark and dark horror of the Cthulhu Mythos I put together this little boardgame that has a Cthulhu Mythosy feel.

The game is written into a simple to print PDF that you can get from my Sky Drive.

Stronghold type game playtest kit

2010-09-19T05:59:00.000-07:00

Introduction

I'm a fan of the computer game "Stronghold". Inspired by that game I wanted to create a board game that could capture that games spirit while combining it with the fun social aspects of a board game.

This Kit

This page presents the playtest kit for my first attempt at the game. Let me make this clear, THIS IS NOT A FINISHED GAME. This is a playtest kit. It's for people to take and print out just so they can try out the rules and machanics therein. To this end the rules in the kits are in a draft format and all printable items use a minimum of color, additionally there is no decent artwork only simple line drawings in a representative style.

Feedback

By placing this file on the internet I hope to encourage people with a similar interest in the game to download, print and try out the game. I have included an email address in the playtest kit file, please let me know what you think of the way the game works ( or doesn't! )

This kit is written into a PDF file which is stored on my Sky Drive

Scenario - Memoir '44 - Defence of Calais

2010-09-19T03:22:00.000-07:00

This is a scenario for the excellent Days of Wonder boardgame Memoir 44.

What has become known as the "Dunkirk campaign" was not merely a retreat and defence at Dunkirk. It was in fact a series of defences of coastal ports. One of the important defensive actions was that in Calais. Many British troops were evacuated from the docks while other staunch defenders both British and French held back the Axis Forces.

the scenario is written up in a PDF and stored on my Sky Drive

Scenario - Valor & Victory - Messenger Ambush

2010-09-19T03:18:00.000-07:00

This is a scenario for the excellent and free war game Valor and Victory.

A German patrol is returning to the village with information that must be transmitted to Battalion HQ, the patrol must reach the radio set up in the village. Little do the Germans realise, that a U.S. Ambush has been set up within the perimeter of the village itself. This is a very small scenario for learning puposes.

The scenario is written up as a PDF and stored onmy Sky Drive

Scenario - Memoir '44 - Battle of the Five Armies

2010-09-19T03:09:00.000-07:00

This is a scenario for the excellent Days of Wonder boardgame Memoir 44.

Although Memoir 44 is a serious game about combat during WWII, I decided to merge fantasy and history in this scenario.

The Battle of the Five Armies is the large Battle fought at the end of the fantasy book "The Hobbit" written J.R.R. Tolkien. This Memoir '44 scenario pays honour to that novel by presenting a 5 medal battle based on the terrain described in the book.

The scenario is written up as a PDF and stored on my Sky Drive

Scenario - Valor & Victory - Recon Patrol

2010-09-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

This is a scenario for the excellent and free war game Valor and Victory.

A British reconnaissance force advances up a road to determine if it would be suitable for a quick advance by the main force. The Germans are dug in up ahead and the reconnaissance must determine if it should be bypassed or pushed through.

The scenario is written up in a PDF and stored on my Sky Drive.

Scenario - Valor & Victory - Take the Bridge

2010-09-19T02:55:00.000-07:00

This is a scenario for the excellent and free war game Valor and Victory.

A small German garrison well in the rear of front lines is stationed at the bridge on the canal charged with protecting it. The officer in charge has left a very light guard in the field fortifications on either side of the bridge while the majority of the force sleep in the nearby dwellings.

This scenario is written up as a PDF and stored on my Sky Drive.

Scenario - Valor & Victory - Leading Edge

2010-09-19T02:48:00.000-07:00

This is a scenario for the excellent and free war game Valor and Victory.

The British have planned a raid against the German held Belgium coast. “The first wave will approach the beach in dingies, assault up the beach and take control of the beach defences. Subsequent waves will advance through the first wave who will remain in position to protect the main forces line of communication.”

The scenario is written up in a PDF file and stored on my Sky Drive

Solo Dungeon Bash

2010-09-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

This game is for anyone who is on their own and fancying a Dungeon Bash. All you need are these rules, a piece of paper ( preferably of the graph variety ), a pen and a bunch of six sided dice.

The dungeon is made up of a grid of squares, 9 squares wide and 10 rows deep. You'll start at the entrance square and begin investigating the rooms finding treasure or monsters

If you're clever and brave enough ( and maybe just a bit lucky too ) you'll get to the end space beyond level 10 and defeat the big bad!

I've put a PDF containing the game onto my Sky Drive and you can download it from there.

24th Nov 2010 Update

I've been sent this cool DOS-like Java implementation of Solo Dungeon Bash by " D'Aluisio-Guerrieri Josh" which he put together while learning Java. It reminds me of the old fashioned text adventures which were all we had back in the late 80's. I've played it through a couple of times and got a kick out it!

Disclaimer : I didn't write this software so can't tell you how it'll behave.

Download from the 'ole Skydrive

7th jun 2011 Update

Wow! Another computer version has been created, this one you can play in your browser.

Disclaimer : I didn't write this software so can't tell you how it'll behave.

100 Call of Cthulhu Characters

2010-09-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

Here are 100 characters for you to pick from. You might think that there are a lot of unexpected weapon related skills. I could rationalise that, but I wont. That's for you to do when you create a character background. My players have taken some of these characters and simply shunted unwanted weapon skills onto other hobbies. It's quick and simple to do so. ( e.g. SMG 20% moved to Fishing 20% )

Here's a sample :

Jacob Franko : Body Guard
STR:10 CON:5 DEX:11 SIZ:14 INT:12 POW:6 APP:11 EDU:11 SAN:30
Idea:60 Knowledge:55 Luck:30 Magic Points:6 Hit Points:9 Damage Bonus:+0
Occupation Skills ; Fist:75 Grapple:50 Disguise:6 Hand Gun:45 Spot Hidden:45 Dodge:52 Ride:25 Drive Auto:35
Hobby Skills ; Archaeology:6 Astronomy:6 Bargain:10 Biology:16 Chemistry:6 Craft:10 Credit Rating:20 Electrical Repair:15 Hide:15 Library Use:10 Locksmith:6 Operate Hvy Mch.:6 Own Language:60 Persuade:20 Physics:11 Pilot:6 Psychology:10 Throw:30 Track:15 SMG:20 Italian:6

The rest of the 100 are in a PDF file which I've stored on my Sky Drive:

NPC Character Names

2010-09-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

This page provides a tool that allows you to generate a quick list of Character or NPC names for any Role Playing Game.

Keepers/DMs may find this useful for generating NPC's.

This tool uses random choices, so every time you click on the "Generate" button you will get a differn't set of results. If you dont like the first result then click the button again.

Cthulhu and the River of Doubt

2010-09-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

What have we here? This book is designed for the Role Player with a historic Horror bent, specifically for “Call of Cthulhu” but can be read anyone.

The bulk of the book is made up of the entire text of “Through the Brazilian Wilderness” written by President Theodore Roosevelt. His writing describes a journey taken by himself and acquaintances in 1913, through the steamy jungles of Brazil travelling down the uncharted River of Doubt. This was no pleasure cruise. This journey was an exploring adventure of toil, fear, danger and murder. The jungle that surrounded them for months contained dangerous animals and threatening indigenous people, the water even held man eating fish.

Footnotes appear throughout detailing elements and suggestions for turning this epic journey into a Role Playing campaign. An appendix at the end suggests some character profiles for the main protagonists.

The Roosevelt-Rondon expedition is the perfect historical source for a role playing campaign.
Buy / Preview the book at Lulu.com as PDF or Perfect-Bound Book.
Kindle version available at Amazon

Pick-a-Phobia-o-matic

2010-09-18T09:14:00.000-07:00

The classic role playing game "Call of Cthulhu" often has reason for its characters to insane to one degree or another, and these insanities are expressed as phobias. Here we present an automatic random generator for selecting phobias for your insane characters. Click the button below to select a phobia.

When you've picked your madness, why not take a look at the other roleplaying features here.

The phobias presented in this list are a subset of the full list found at PhobiaList.com, please vistit that site to see the full list.

Music to Role Play to...

2010-09-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

If your like me you like a to have music playing in the background while roleplaying. This music should be able to set the mood for your game and at the same time not be so distracting that it impacts on your game play.
When I'm looking for Roleplay music I want "mood", I want "setting", I want "feel".

Some of this music is upbeat some of it dark and moody, some of it hardly music at all as it merges into ambient setting pieces.I listen to a lot of the free and legal music I find on the internet and select tracks that will fit my requirements for roleplaying mood music.

Below is a starting list for you of some particularly good tracks that I've found. Remember I'm only listing music that is both Free and Legal for you to download. The music can be used and copied by you for your private use. Check the web pages linked to for specific useage rules.
I plan to keep adding to this list as I find more tracks and albums, so check in every month or so.

Alba 1 by So Simple

Tension superficial A minimilistic electronic tune combined with beat and noise
Beam A sad minimal tune combined with occasional drum beats
Urgent star (Supernova)An interseting almost rain like melody with a beat, a slow tune.
There are more tracks on this album that I hope to review soon.

Ambient Collective: Dark

Part 1 A mood piece, babeling alien voices, overtures, stalking chords threatening, then a long journey
Part 2 A mood piece, echos. Machine noise in the distance. A voice just out of hearing?
Part 3 A mood piece, whines and mysterious knocks in a deep place, reverberations

AMBIENT\DARK AMBIENT by M1911A1

After Chernobil A mood piece, not so much music as inspiring and scene setting sound, as creepy as the name suggests.
AnxietyA mood piece, overtures, muffled speaking, piano tinkles, metal rending, excellent creepiness!
Proxima RS8000 A mood piece, deep base piping, a lament or an ode that asks questions, and turns into a heart pumping fear.
Shambels of eternityAn ambient noise experience, waves of tortured metal sounds moving from ear to ear, bird crys, squealing brakes in a tunnel.

Raga Jalfrezi by Zal Krishna

Raga Jalfrezi A great piece for sessions set in foreign lands. A definite indian feel to to it with tune thats way out and engaging all at once.

Fadeout by Sefiros

Re-Entry A great opening theme for a game. has a haunting see saw sound that builds to a rush at the end.
Dougan A beat that hints at breathing with a string melody that haunts the piece.
TitanOpens with a distorted sounds and builds in a beat, it makes a slow dance beat uncomfortable.

Music for Horror Movies by Ann Hell

You're Different and that's Bad A short piece that changes pace and mood, from an average beat track to an aspirational outro. Lyrics
The Survival Guide Hints of an ominous thing to come, and has a sci fi feel to it, a nice rhythm. Radio intercepts.
Crushed and Smashed Upbeat and dark. An unanswered phone and sub vocal lyrics combined with an "alarm" beat makes this track fairly intense.
Never Trust a Scarecrow A laid back, almost swing track that hints at explosions, and says "investigator on the prowl to me. Baby crying and upbeat later segment.
Whispering Walls A fast beat gives you the impression that this might go well with a chase. Occasional lyrics and screams.
The Man who slaughtered Baby J An almost upbeat track yet still dark, but with a hint of the B52's. Contains low audio level lyrics and a chainsaw.
Nightmare of Assymetry This is a fairly light, possibly humourus theme for a stalker.

1896 by Ann Hell

The Stars Inside A gothic feel with a rather nice rain effect.

Traveller Party - ready to play

2010-09-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

If you're a fan of the Traveller RPG you may find this page of use. The following is a list of characters that can be used to form a party of adventurers.

Drake Qualland

Drake was drafted into the Navy at 18 and immediately found his feet. He stayed in for two terms gaining a commision during the first and a promotion during the second. Even though the military life suited him, the next prospected term did not. The powers that be, had advised him that during his next term he would be seconded to the Navy accademy, and the idea of teaching snotty kids was something he could not face.

Mustering out benefits : 50000cr, High Passage

STR

: 8

DEX

: 8

END

: 6

INT

: 7

EDU

: 6

SOC

: A

Sensors

: 1

Language, Vargr

: 2

Carousing

: 2

Instruction

: 1

Watercraft

: 1

Vac Suit

: 2

Grav craft

: 1

Computer

: 1

Equestrian

: 1

Sike Rangerson

Sike was a troubled child he never fitted in with others. The high tech highly populated vacuum homeworld left him with no personal space. As soon as his mandatory schooling was complete he leapt into the Scout service, yearning for solitude and freedom. Unfortunately while out in the big dark he discovered he didn't really enjoy his own company, he needed people. After just a single term, he left the service

Mustering out benefits : Low Passage

STR

: A

DEX

: 7

END

: 7

INT

: 7

EDU

: 6

SOC

: 4

Grav craft

: 1

Recon

: 1

Astrogation

: 1

Gunnery

: 1

Athletics

: 1

Engineering

: 1

Computer

: 1

Rave Eeale

Rave was recruited by "the Agency" straight from school, picked up by the services scouts. Commissioned during his first term, the management saw that he would be progressing quickly up the promotion scale. Unfortunately, it was not to be. He had just established a ring of informants and started working them, when a gang of cut throats jumped him. He was seriously injured and ended up being discharged due to the time his injuries would take to heal.

Mustering out benefits : 2000cr, Forensics Kit

STR

: 8

DEX

: 9

END

: B

INT

: 6

EDU

: 6

SOC

: 8

Grav craft

: 1

Camouflage

: 1

Vac suit

: 1

Gunnery

: 1

Law

: 1

Admin

: 1

Perception

: 1

Streetwise

: 1

Triander Colone

Triander was fortunate enough to be born into the house of Colone, an extremely rich and well placed family on a world of high political intrigue. As soon as Triander came of age he was immediately "called out" in a duel. The cause of the challenge was political not personal, and set the tone for Trianders adult years. At the age of 32 Triander had had-enough and decided to leave the home world and instead get away from intrigue and violence.

Mustering out benefits : 50000cr, T.A.S., Yacht

STR

: 9

DEX

: 6

END

: 9

INT

: 9

EDU

: 7

SOC

: B

Computer

: 1

Grav craft

: 1

Diplomacy

: 1

Fast Talk

: 1

Fencing

: 5

Leadership

: 1

Equestrian

: 1

Instruction

: 1

Blade

: 1

Acting

: 1

Language, Vargr

: 1

Gambling

: 1

Robot Warfare

2010-09-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

I had a bunch of 3" plastic Robots that needed a framework of rules in order to have a BATTLE!( Yeah I wanted to play something simple and fun with No1. son.

Fortunately for me, I also own a couple of sets of Heroscape which gives me a bunch of plastic terrain hexes to play on, so all I needed was a set of rules. Scouring the net revealed many many sets of sci fi rules and of course there was also Battletech, not all of these were far too complex.

The end result was that I threw together my Robot Wars ruleset. It's really simple and will make the hardened Grarnard cringe, but it worked great with my son and thats what I wanted.

I have stuffed the rules into a PDF file and stored this on my Sky Drive, thanks Microsoft!

WWII Ship Wargame Rules

2010-09-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

A while ago during a boring time I thought up the idea of making wargame models out of some spare wood I had lying around. The image on the left was the first I made. made from 3/4" planking, some dowel and of course glue is a model of HMS Hood, a two foot long model.

Having made a model or two I switched into wargamer mode and started looking around for a set of rules suitable for playing with these big models on the back lawn. I didn't find any, so ended up writing my own set. In these rules the big guns can reach up to 20 feet!

Although I could manage the rules the statistics of the various ships was way beyond my research capabilities! That was soon solved by Rich Satore who kindly allowed me to "rip off" his ship stats from his rules set Sea Krieg. The Sea Krieg rules are for table top play and are quite excellent.

However for my rules, I've put them into a PDF and stored them on my Sky Drive. Thanks Microsoft.

Vietnam Skirmish Rules

2010-09-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

This is a set of wargame rules for playing a middling size skirmish set in the American/Vietnam war. The rules were written for use with 20mm metal minis and have been used in that role a number of times.

As well as the figures and terrain, you will also need to supply some standard dice, a measuring stick, lots of tiddley winks and some crunched up balls of paper!

The rules feature the use of supressing fire which will pin all but the bravest of warriors. In game terms, supressing fire reduces the ability of the supressed to interfere with your plans.

Also included are some rules for handling vehicles and artillery fire, although these features are not expected be the focus of the game. In play each player will easily be able to handle 20-30 figures.

The rules are in a PDF file and stored on my Sky Drive, thanks Microsoft!

Brigade Commander

2010-09-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

The inspiration and model for this rules set has come from two very fine existing published rules sets.

The first “De Bellis Antiquitatis“ is a simple yet wonderful quick-play focused mode that models warfare in the ancient world.

The second set “Chef de Battailon” is an exceedingly detailed set of Napoleonic rules with each commander controling a single battalion. In this set, the player is constantly faced by the nightmare of moving troops around terrain while under fire.

Both sets are excellent at what they do, but as the main designer of these rules I wanted the detail of “Chef” and the speed of “De Bellis”. Much play testing and tinkering has resulted in the set of rules you now hold.

The rules are written up in a PDF which is stored on my windows Sky Drive ( Thankyou Microsoft! )

Image Splitter

2010-09-18T06:25:00.000-07:00

This is a simple little program for manipulating an image. It does just two things.

It resizes and image and allows you to cut it up into pieces ( separate image files ).

You specify how you want to scale the image either up or down, and by how much. Then you specify how big you want you each part of the cut up image to be.

I've used this for all kinds of things. For example, enlarging a photo, then splitting that large image into A4 size sections that are easy to print.

The game is written using Microsofts C# language using their free development platform "C# Express".

The file is stored on my Sky Drive (Thanks Microsoft! )

Damaris Blocks

2010-09-18T06:04:00.000-07:00

Damaris Blocks is a very simple Puzzle Game, written to amuse my family. You have to try and clear blocks from the screen.

You can only clear a block if its made up of two or more squares. When you clear a block, those above drop down. The blocks also move to the right when columns are emptied. Beware you dont end up with marooned blocks!

Bigger blocks score more points, single blocks left at the end cost you lives. It's not frantic and there is no time pressure.

The game is written using Microsofts C# language using their free development platform "C# Express".

The file is stored on my Sky Drive (Thanks Microsoft! )