Monday 5 September 2011

Mutant Post from Metamorphosis Alpha

Mark was very kind to post on Google+: a first mutant perspective of his 1st sojourn through the duralloy decks and plasti-steel streets of the Colony Star Ship "CSS SEGURELLIA"; damaged by an alien radiation field, lost in time & space with genome plague IV culling the remaining inhabitants...

Ulek Xek (Mark)  - Yesterday 01:52 - Limited
Metamorphosis Alpha - The Steven O'Flux Experiment
    Having purchased Gamma World the day it was originally released, I have always wanted to play Metamorphosis Alpha.  That was 1978. Today in 2011 I finally played in my first official game of MA.
'429' a Genetically Altered?
       Mutant Lionoid awoke from its long dream and encountered a world of of wonder and danger. There he met Den and Harris, a pair of humans free from any taint, who had just crawled from their tubes. The unlucky Al another human, was instantly turned to white dust upon opening a drawer. Wide berth was then given to Al's section of the room. Hungry and confused the surviving trio gathered clothes, weapons and supplies as they set out to recover their past. A fight with a mongreloid set to feast upon 429, was pacified and restrained. Using long lost technology a working lift was uncovered. 429 was pleased to once again hear the God Voice of Denver Manilow the thought teacher and his Musak in the moving room. Minutes later the team entered a huge complex of massive buildings, with an artificial sky that blinked and sputtered with a pixelated and oddly colored sun. Seeking refuge from a band of bellicose beastmen and food, they hid in a nearby building and barricaded themselves within. An security protocol was activated and a machine man arrived to confront the strangers. 429 hid as he could sense danger. Den and Harris spoke with the security droid and warned it of the threat from the beastmen. They were scolded for moving the hotel's furniture without permission as the machine transformed into a living weapon and zipped off to deal with the beast menace. The sounds of battle and screams were heard in the distance as the team thought about their next move.
      Good fun.

Sunday 4 September 2011

Metamorphosis Alpha in Google+ Hangout

Yesterday Night ( less than an hour ago, as I write this ) I had the great privilege of running a group of great players (Mark, Greg & Peter) through the original first edition rpg 'Metamorphosis Alpha' (MA) set in a massive Colony Star Ship  (CSS). That alone would of made it really cool, MA being the brainchild of the amazing Mr James Ward ( TSR / Gamma World / AD&D ) and having awesome players that worked together as a group; that seemed to really buy into the unknown/dangerous/future game world I was creating.

    The coolest thing was we were playing in an Google Plus(G+) Hangout; the latest new social network beta test. Hangouts are really cool for gaming (or just talkin' crap and shootin' the shit); they include video, sound & mic and work with as many as 6+ people (video off for better stability). This was my third or fourth time playing a game in Google+ and first time running a game as Gamemaster (Shipmaster?) in G+ in the last month and I am really diggin' it. (high five Google!)

    It was also my first time running MA, all the prep work I did was to read character generation, and Mr Ward's alternate MA opening "The Awakening" then I created a map(below) of the sleep cocoons (stasis pods) and adjoining rooms and chambers.
My Original rough sketch of the Sleeper Cocoons Chambers & sub-rooms
We also used a neat little web white-board app call Twiddla (http://www.twiddla.com/) for maps, simple dice rolls (4d6, d20 ...) & chat. Twiddla is free for casual use with some limitations (mainly saving stuff). Works great for drawing rough maps & quick sketches. (high five twiddla too!)
Twiddla Image drawn during game by Me
Twiddla pic by player
Give them a try, you won't be sorry!

 [ PS: This blog post is not meant to be an endorsement of any product just a personal opinion of a satisfied user. ]

Friday 2 September 2011

BLOG-O-DUNGEON (aka Lotto of Death)


Greetings Rune-Seekers,

So you may be wondering what the Dungeon staircase and background grid is for, right?

Whenever I get a new member to my blog I will be rolling on the Random dungeon generation from the first edition Dungeon Masters Guide (Appendix A, pg. 169-173) and adding a tile or two to the background grid!

In honor of my first Rune-Seeker; "Timeshadows"


My first (d20) roll on 'TABLE I.: PERIODIC CHECK' is a 19;
                                   Trick/Trap(VII), Passage continues 30'.


Rolling (d20) on 'TABLE VII.: TRICK/TRAP' got an 8;
                            Pit, 10' deep with spikes, 3 in 6 to fall in!


Roll (1d6) for "Timeshadows" ! .... 4 ... yeah! ... your safe.

Well thats good I'v lost so many Rascals that way. ;0)
Halls & Walls

Room & Fills
Room Tiles
Shapes & Fillers



These Tiles were made by me when I was a teenager back in the early 80's





I used them with lead miniatures, of which, I had less than a score(20).




I don't Know where I got the Idea for them could of been an ad in the Dragon or saw some such tiles in 'Fandom' my FLGS in Ottawa.
They were all drawn freehand on graph paper and inked afterwards.
I'm dusting them off for use on the blog 30 plus years later!


Thursday 1 September 2011

Family Fun at FANeXpo 2011

Evangelina with Batgirl & Robin FANeXpo-11
I went to FANeXpo in Toronto with my family and had a real blast with the kids.











The costumes were quite impressive this year and crossed all genres; anime, comic, horror, sci-fi and of course steampunk! My daughter and son had a great time posing for photos with many of their favourite pop-culture icons. Thankyou, all; that took the time to pose with my little rascals and let us take pictures of your awesome coolness.