The Cat's Out of The Bag

Well, well, well...

Look what the Cat dragged in. 

Footprints in the Night (夜の足跡 - Yoru no Ashiato) is a Japanese Tabletop Roleplaying Game published by Kadokawa Shoten. It was written by Toichiro Kawashima and produced by Adventure Planning Bureau. Cover and numerous interior illustrations by Kujo. The game was released on January 20, 2023.

It probably comes as no surprise given my blog's name and mascot that I am more of a Dog person than a Cat person but I do love Cats. A number of friends of mine are definitely of the Feline Fan persuasion and it was with them in mind that I decided to take a look at this TRPG. In doing so, I discovered a game I find rather intriguing. 

Unlike a decent number of JTRPG titles that I've covered on my blog in recent months, this one isn't a doujinshi or fan-made product. In fact, it isn't even an 'indie' game. Kadokawa is arguably the largest publishing company in Japan and one of the top RPG producers.

Don't hate me 'cause I'm beautiful.

Footprints in the Night is considered a 'mainstream' release, or at least as mainstream as a TRPG product in Japan can be that isn't Call of Cthulhu or Sword World. I understand its popularity falls somewhere between a well-received independent title and a 'cult favorite'. Nonetheless, I was able to find a number of reviews, blog posts, and even actual play videoes without difficulty and I'm just an English speaking American with curiously using Google.

The premise is simple; the players play Cats and as we all know, Cats rule the world. As such, they have taken it upon themselves to protect the Day World of Humanity from the Night World of Spirits and the Supernatural, which usually manifest in the form of The Yona, otherworldly, paranormal beings often out to make trouble. Cats are uniquely capable of moving between the worlds of Day and Night and they use this advantage to thwart the Yona during the Cats' Night Patrols. 

Official Character Sheet. Currently working on a translation. 

Player Character Cats (also known as PCs or 'Player Cats') fall into three categories: Domestic, Stray, and Lost.

A Domestic Cat is one that has a home with one or more Humans who take care of its needs, though the Cat believes it is the one that ensures the well-being of their Humans. Stray Cats may see them as pampered and even weaker than themselves but 'Pet' Cats understand the world of Humans better than the Strays do.

Domestic Cat

Stray Cats live out in the world on their own without the assistance of Human Beings. There are of course some people in the neighborhood who will leave out food and water. On occasion these individuals will give the Cats some attention and affection. Strays that partake in this sort of hospitality are sometimes called 'Community Cats'. Stray Cats are a hardy bunch and are quite adept at surviving under difficult circumstances.

Stray Cat

The final category is a little peculiar. There are certain Cats that aren't really cats at all. Some are stuffed animals, others are 2D illustrations and still others are small figurines. These Lost Cats are magical in nature, a special sort of 'Night Magic' that only Cats are privy to. Interestingly, the term 'Lost' has another connotation in the game and the although the two may be connected, they are quite different. More on that some other time. 

 

Lost Cat

Cats are governed by their Moods: Feelings that dictate their actions on a given night. Sometimes you can use your Mood to your advantage, other times you need to fight against it to accomplish things. The use of an in-game currency called Motivation allows you to counteract your Mood, as well as initiate certain special abilities.

Mood Chart. Randomly roll 3 Moods at the start of the session to see show your PC is feeling that night.

It's more Cat nature and instinct then conscious decision.

A group of Cats (a PC 'party') is known as a Gathering. Cats generally patrol Territories, which in an urban environment is likely an apartment complex or city square. It could also be an entire small town depending on your campaign setting.

During the Cats' late night patrols, the Cat's follow certain Rules of Cat culture. They are:

No. 1: Claiming Territory

No. 2: Protect Humans

No. 3: Protect your Dignity

No. 4: Indulge in your Sense of Adventure!

No. 5: Be vigilant at night.

No. 6: Don't worry about the little things

Honestly, I love this. (WARNING: Mini-Rant Coming...) Number 4 is an in-game reason to not be such an overly cautious coward, which I find to be common these days among those who've been raised on adversarial, OSR games of yore. Nothing bores me more. This is reinforced by Number 6, 'Don't worry about the little things'. Sure, details matter in many cases but don't get so bogged down in them you can't take walk down the street without Batman levels of prep. Cats don't. 

Stray Cat Strut

 

Like many Japanese TRPGs, Footprints in the Night utilizes a very specific scenario structure. 

Session flow (as it is often called) proceeds as follows: 

Introduction Phase: Describe the trigger for the incident or night's activities.

Night Patrol Phase: Investigate the incident and interact with NPC(s).

Event Phase: An important event occurs in the scenario.

Combat Phase: Help someone or drive away the enemy.

Conclusion Phase: Assess the outcome of the incident and any effects it has on the future.

As someone whose games are very free form, the Japanese approach to scenario design is both fascinating and somewhat off-putting. At the same time, it does help me make sure I have a general idea of what should, or at least could, occur during a given session. It is an aspect of my beloved JTRPGs I struggle with but also...like?

I am still going through the game and the translation process isn't a quick or easy thing for me. It'll take a little while until I have a fully playable version of it. There are definitely other elements of the game I'd love to go into now, such as Taboo Words and Nyarrative, how Death works in the game, and much more but I think I will take a Cat Nap (see what I did there?) and cover more once I'm a little further along in my English Adaption as it were. 

For now I'm out of here like a Cat in a room full of rocking chairs...

AD

Barking Meowing Alien?

Pair of Fives

As should be pretty clear by now, my blogging is really slow this Summer.

It's already mid-August and I've made only 3 posts before this one. My schedule this month has gotten in the way of a lot of things but especially my 'Cities' blog project. I still intend to continue it but it may bleed over into September. *Sigh*

To shake off the disappointment I'm feeling over my own progress [or lack thereof], I thought I'd throw my two credits in on a thing two of my favorite bloggers have done, list of our First Five Tabletop Roleplaying Games.

It began with Lord Blacksteel of The Tower of Zenopus and infected Kelvin of Aiee! Run From Kelvin's Brainsplurge! and now I've caught it. No amount of Vitamin C or Chicken Soup is going to get rid of it until I join in as well...

I'm going to list My First Five RPGs based on my imperfect memory, obsessive notes, and questions to my long time gaming buddies. The years noted aren't when the games were published but rather when [I believe] I played/run them.

While D&D was definitely first, what was second is a little unclear to me. The rest should be roughly in order. Again, check out the years.

Dungeons and Dragons (August 25th, 1977)

Gamma World / Metamorphosis Alpha (1979-1980) I think.

Boot Hill (1980-81) I think.

Traveller (1980-81) Definitely after Boot Hill. 

Gangbusters (1981)

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 1st Ed. (1981) I think.

Sometimes I think I ran Boot Hill before I played Gamma World, other times I remember it the other way around. I do recall that the first time I played Gamma World, the GM (my friend Richard T.) also owned Metamorphosis Alpha and incorporated some elements of the latter game into his Gamma World adventure.

I also included Advanced D&D 1st Edition which, though it could arguably be lumped into the D&D I had already played, is important to mention because it was here that I started being turned off to Dungeons and Dragons as a whole. I absolutely loved AD&D at the time but the more I played other games after it, the more I noticed its flaws until I realized it just wasn't what I wanted to spend my time and money on. . 

Now, since I'm me and I gotta be different, I'm adding a bonus feature:

The Five RPGs That Currently Interest Me The Most!

Thing is, I posted a collection of games presently on my mind here, just 20 days ago (roughly). This isn't going to be the same list. What's the different? Well...

The previous list was focused on games I'm in the mood to run for which I already have ideas. These five RPGs here are ones that have me thinking about games and gaming in general. They have me considering how and why I play and run games the way I do. They interest me for their potential but not necessarily for ideas I currently have. 

Hmm. On closer inspection, many of these titles are the same as those. Heh. *Sweat Drop*

ALIEN

A game I love but rarely get to play, except when I modify it to run something like Ghostbusters or Red Dwarf. It is a game in which a goal was targeted and clearly achieved; they needed a game with a mechanic that would simulate the Human tendencey to screw up when they panic. They nailed it and did so in a fun, exciting, and unpredictable way (thanks to the randomization of dice results). This game has given me a new perspective on something I've always felt but never saw as clearly as I do here - rules don't have to be complex to be effective. They just need to do what they were intended to do. 

Meteor City SFRPG Star Rainy Days

I really like this game for its ability to capture a particular feel and maintain that atmosphere throughout the book. It's humorous, a little melancholy, kind, and potentially heartbreaking. It's got that cozy, slice-of-life element that I long to include in my games again. I'm searching this game for the secrets of its ability to create that vibe. Plus, what's not to love about a game that promotes world-buidling on both a small and galactic scale?

Smurfs

What can I say, I just SMURFING LOVE this game! It's a rare gem in that it's not overwritten, it has a sense of humor and self-awareness, yes doesn't try to deconstruct or modernize the subject. This is the Smurfs. It is what it says it is. Aside from how much fun I'm having with it, it inspires me to stay true to concept and being authentic about what I want and intend to do.

Star Trek Adventures 

Though it has more rules than it needs (I feel I have about 90% of the TRPGs in existance), it just works and it works so well at allowing me to do what I want to do: Create exciting and intriguing Star Trek scenarios. It allows for world-building, character exploration, and space battles (with a few homemade tweaks) and all the while feels like a Star Trek TV series. It reminds me to seek a balance between the narrative and the rules. 

Tokyo Ghost Research

What can a system be? What do you want it to do? TGR made me question those things and I like the answers I came up with. This game really put control of the outcome of rolls into the hands of the player. No action they take is boring. You don't have to sit through miss after miss before you hit ineffectively. You do what you wanted to, or you do it with consequence, or you the player can decide you failed and then you're compensated by the rules. Brilliant and sublime.

Anyway, that's all I got for you. My brain is a little fried from...just life in general.

Worry not though, more to come.

AD

Barking Alien

Having A Blue Fit

This is it! The near-Grand Finale of our mini-campaign, The Smurfs and The Palace of The Silver Princess, a super smurfy adventure based on the classic Dungeons and Dragons module 'B3', run using the Smurfs Roleplaying Game by Maestro Media.

That is to say, this post recaps the final session but it is not the final recap.

I'll explain...

I had planned to make just one more post - this one you're reading now - about this game, recapping our last session before doing an 'After Action Report' follow-up but there is just TOO MUCH STUFF! A lot happened and it become quite lengthy in the re-telling.

This last 'episode' was our second longest session at 5 hours and it was abso-smurfly chock full of smurfy action, humor, lore, and romance! No, you read that right. I decided about two-thirds of the way through this post that there had to be an additional entry, a Session Five, Part 3 to get it all down.

Even so, this is a smurfing big post! ENJOY! 

Before we get started, let's get to know party once more. You can meet them here. 

For a recap of the entire story thus far, check out:

Something Burrowed, Something Blue - Session One, Part 1

Singing The Blues - Session One, Part 2

Blue Green Red - Session Two, Part 1

Cry Blue Murder - Session Two, Part 2

Tangled Up in Blue - Session Three

Blue Blazes - Session Four, Part 1

The Thin Blue Line - Session Five, Part 1

On to the adventure...

Session Five, Part 2

Having drank Smurfcornflower's Growth Potion, Brash Smurf and Smurfhoneysuckle stood face-to-face with a very surprised Ogre. His confusion turned quickly to anger as he raised his massive club and swung it in an attempt to hit both Smurfs.

Brash instinctively ducked and moved to close the distance between them. Honeysuckle saw his move, guessed what he was doing, and followed suit. With a bit of Effort on their part, the Smurfs managed to completely avoid the blow. 

Then, in unison, the two towering blue heroes punched Suffertooth right in the smurf! The Ogre stumbled backward, caught off guard by the pair's coordinated strike!

Meanwhile, Apathy, Cornflower, and Suave searched the room for the Sword of Arik. "These sorts of things tend to stand out, no?", asked Suave over his shoulder to the rest. They continued looking, silently returning nods of agreement. 

SMASH! Brash was hit hard by Suffertooth's club, sending him into a rack of weapons that fell onto him. [Brash had used Smurf Power but got a Critical Failure. This resulted in him being hit , hurt, and now the Storyteller had a Thorn to use to activate Suffertooth's special Advantage!]. The Ogre advanced on the prone Brash Smurf and prepared to strike him with Ogre Strength!

Using Effort and a Smurfberry, Smurfhoneysuckle grabbed a shield off the wall and tried to use it to protect Brash. She succeeded but the Ogre's punch sent her flying! She crashed into a shelf of helmets and other armor pieces. She was likewise hurt and could feel the Growth Potion wearing off. Brash felt it too, even as he struggled to his feet. 

Cornflower was getting worried. Her friends were getting beat up even though enhanced by her potion. Was it not good enough? Had she not make it well? Was she actually bad at the one thing she thought she was good at? Smurfcornflower became visibly panicked.

Suddenly, though gently, someone took her hands in theirs and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "Who? Ah...Apathy?", she said blushing a deeper blue. 

"Don't worry. They'll be OK. We'll be OK. It's all going to work out fine", Apathy said in his usual nonchalant manner but somehow warmer, kinder, yet more determined, and more personal between the two of them. She took a deep a breath and released it slowly and audibly. She gave a goofy shy smile and Apathy returned it.

Suffertooth and the two Smurfs, who were now about the size of Goeblins, continued to have at each other, wearing down all combatants. Desperate to buy time for the other Smurfs to find the Sword of Arik, and make a decisive attack against the Ogre, Brash Smurf and Smurfhoneysuckle decided to combine their actions into a single strike. In a way, this was counter to both of their natures; Brash was willing to follow Honeysuckle's plan and Honeysuckle was willing to cooperate with Brash instead of competing with him. 

Big roleplay moment! Short, sweet, moving, and heroic!

The plan was to have Brash launch himself at Suffertooth [He had the higher Brawn] while Honeysuckle sprinted to move behind the Ogre's leg to aid in tripping him [Honeysuckle is doing a Helping Action and so adds +3 to Brash's 7 Brawn. Additionally each spent 1 Brawn Effort, putting both of them really low. Maybe 1 Brawn Effort remaining for each. Finally, Brash activated Smurf Power again, this time award by the Storyteller specially because of Brandon and Heather's roleplaying here. This was a big one.].  

Brash ran at the Ogre like a charging tiger, such that Suffertooth didn't even notice Honeysuckle coming around on his right. Brash leaped into the air and slammed into Suffertooth's stomach. With Brash only a little larger than a Growler (See Session One, Part 2), this wouldn't normally enough to topple him but that is exactly what happened as Honeysuckle was crouched behind his right ankle. [SMURF POWER CRITICAL SUCCESS!]. The Ogre went crashing through displays of flails, maces, and morning stars of all sorts and did not get back up. Suffertooth was down for the count. 

Meanwhile, Apathy, Cornflower, and Suave had climbed up onto a table near the North Wall where Apathy had noticed something interesting. He saw a dim red glowing coming from inside the wall somehow. When they all reached the top of the table, Suave spotted a book and directed the others over to it. 

"The Key to Winning at War?", said Suave reading the title aloud. "Seems a foolish proposition if you ask me."

Apathy's eyes popped wide open for a moment and then he said, "The Key! Who has the Key?" It turned out Brash had given it to Suave right before he and Honeysuckle started engaging the Ogre. 

Apathy took the Magic Key and said clearly, loudly, and with convinction, "The Key to Winning at War is not to participate. No one wins in war." Suddenly the sound of stone grinding and sliding could be heard and as the group looked up, the brinks of the castle wall moved away magically, revealing a hidden chamber with dark metal brackets upon which was mounted The Sword of Arik!

"Well, that was easier than expected", said Suave Smurf with a sigh of relief.

The rest if the party stared burning daggers at him.

"Relatively speaking, of course", he added with a nervous chuckle. 

Suddenly, the entire palace shook like an it had been hit by an earthquake. This was followed by a series of rhythmic tremors and the occasionally seemingly random boom of something big and heavy hitting a wall here and a floor there. The Smurfs were completely smurfed, having no idea what this could be. They decided to try and remove the Sword of Arik from it's hiding place as quickly as possible. 

Just as they were managing to draw it out, the door to the room essentially exploded, a thousand shards and splinters of burning wood bursting towards them! They dropped the Sword to the desk and dove for cover. Unfortunately, the Sword fell from the desk and hit the stone floor, tiny pieces of it having broken off. As Apathy, Cornflower, and Suave climbed down to meet with Brash and Honeysuckle, the head and neck of a pale, almost albino looking dragon came through the door. Cornflower immediately reached for a Potion. Brash and Honeysuckle scooped up the broken bits that had come off the Sword of Arik as fast as they could. 

That's when the dragon sniffed the air, looked towards the fallen Sword and breathed a jet of powerful flames right at it! Brilliant fire tore through the room, focused on the Sword of Arik but melting all metal into slag and setting wood and leather ablaze! The Sword's handle all but disintegrated, though the blade was still intact and only appearing charred.

But what of the Smurfs?

After what seemed a terrible stretch of time, the Dragon's breath ceased and it pulled itself back into the halfway. That was the thunderous noises they'd heard! A Dragon walking through the halls of the Palace! It must be Fellbane, the ally and mount of Sir Ellis. betrothed of the Argenta, Silver Princess. The horribly beautiful and majestic creature continued on its way down the hall, leaving the room is utter ruin. 

The Smurfs! What about the Smurfs!?!

Tune in for the truly last recap post to find out! The end of our Dungeons and Dragons meets the Smurfs fairy tale is right around the bend...

AD

Barking Alien

City Guide to BLAST CITY

Welcome to the Barking Alien City Guide to Original TRPG Cities created by yours truly. Over the course of the month of August I hope to get out at least five posts depicting fictional cities I've created throughout my HOLY-CRAP-IT'S-BEEN-48-FREAKIN'-YEARS of gaming. 

Enjoy.

BLAST CITY

Blast City, New York, United States of America, North America

Earth / Sol III

Origin/History: Early in the 21st century an alien starship crashed into New York State's Lower Bay. The vessel was prototype, bringing with it over three thousand Sentient Extraterrestrial refugees. These aliens were on the run from a marauding species known as the Dreggetti.

Begging the people of Earth for help, as the Dreggetti Empire were destined to catch up with the refugees within a year, these beings offered Humanity advanced technology, incredible scientific knowledge, and - wait for it - superpowers. The aliens had invented a formula that could give Humans, and only Humans, extranormal abilities (although some of the alien species that arrived on Earth had some special traits naturally). 

Humanity agreed to ally with their galactic charges and a year later their combined forces were ready for any threat. With Super Soldiers, Space Fighters, Force Fields, and Particle Cannons, a United Earth and their alien allies waited for the Dreggeddi's arrival. 

And it never came.

Not a year later, not five years later, and not ten.  

Forward to today and the starship has been converted into a city - Blast City! Home to nearly a million people, Human and Alien alike, the city stands as arguably the most important and vibrant in the entire Sol System. A center of scientific and technological development, cultural exploration, and economic change, everyone wants to visit, if not live, in Blast City. 

Demographics: There are virtually one million permanent residents of Blast City. An additional 100,000 people live outside the city but commute to work on a daily basis. Thanks to improvements in infrastructure and transportation, someone living in Manhattan can expect less than an hour commute on average while still complaining about the traffic. 

Approximately 60% of the city's population, about 600,000 people, are Humans. Of those Humans, perhaps .05% or 300 people, are SuperHuman, possessing extranormal abilities. Generally this is limited to active Superheroes and students attending Hero Classes at Blast City High School and Blast City University but also includes Scientists, Engineers, and other civic/civilian jobs cleared for Superpower use.

The remaining 400,000 occupants of Blast City are extraterrestrial in origin. Most arrived along with the starship, though some were born on Earth after the landing/crash. Other aliens arrived later on slower spaceships. The alien population is made up of 30 different species. Some are fairly numerous, like the Uchunekojin, while others are remarkably few in number like the Googlimooglians.  

Weather: Essentially the same as the greater New York City area but a little more severe given that Blast City is basically an island in New York Harbor. That said, the citizens of Blast City don't really notice it as Weather Control technology prevents extreme climate situations from bothering anybody. Unless this technology is damaged or hindered in some way, conditions of intense heat and humidity, cold, high winds, rain and flooding simply do not occur. 

Infrastructure: Thanks to the advanced scientific and technological knowledge of the city's denizens, upkeep and maintenance of the Blast City's utilities, streets, and the like are expertly and excellently handled. Blast City's plumbing is particularly effecient. 

Transportation throughout the city is accomplished by a few municipal conveyances: The Magnetic Levitation Monorail (colloquially referred to as the Mag-Rail), a Subway system, and City Buses. In addition, there are Taxis, Uber, and other car services, many of which have grav-cars. Ferry service is available between Blast City and several locations on the mainland. 

In addition, there are some interesting elements atypical of most metropoles. Blast City has four large and six smaller Force Field generators that can be activated to protect the city from everything from a Tsunami to directed Particle Beams! Along with the Central Power Plant in the center of Blast City, a number of Auxiliary Batteries are scattered throughout the inner workings of island that help prevent power failures and black outs. They can also be used to super-charge the city's power grid for...well...see below. 

Highlights and Points of Interest:

You've probably noticed that the city, which was formally a starship, looks very much like a giant humanoid robot. That is because it is. The original starship was capable of transforming from interstellar craft to mecha in hopes of being able to fight the Dreggetti so others could escape. When converting the starship into a livable city, the engineers found it easier to work on the structure and systems with the vessel in robot mode. 

Rumor has it, the city and still fully transform and stand up but this has yet to be confirmed. 

A) Blast City University - The prestigious BCU is THE center for higher learning - College Bachelor's Degrees, Master's Degrees, and Doctoral Degrees available - in a wide variety of majors. The major of the students are graduates of Blast City High School. They have a major rivalry with Titan Prep based on Saturn's moon Titan. 

B) Supernova Stadium and Entertainment Arena - A massive stadium/arena with a retractable roof,modifiable and movable terrain, great sound systems, and an unparalleled holographic light show capacity. It is used to hold all sorts of events, from home games of the Blast City Blazers Boogie Ball Team to Rock & Roll concerts. It also has the ability to convert into an Emergency Shelter and descend underground if the city is under attack or suffers some other catastrophe. 

C) Galaxy Patrol Central - Precinct One - Headquarters and Command Post of Blast City's Finest, the Galaxy Patrol. The name is a holdover from the organization the alien refugee's used to police their region of space prior to the Dreggetti invasion that forced them to escaped to Earth.

At present, the Galaxy Patrol doesn't actually 'patrol the galaxy'. I mean, c'mon. They do protect the citizens of the Sol System, enforce the law on its various inhabited planets, moons, and asteroids, investigate interplanetary crimes, and most important of all, regulate the unauthorized use of supernormal abilities.

A much put upon sub-division functions as Truant Officers who make sure the students of Blast City High School don't do anything crazy.  

D) Blast City High School - [The main focus of most of the campaigns I've run using this setting] the heart and soul of Blast City are the students and facility of Blast City High. While it is a free, public school, an entry examination is required to get it. Students take fundamental class in English, Literature, History, Science, Art, etc., as well as elective esoteric courses such as Applied Mad Science, Combat Geometry, and Lollygagging Throught Life 101. 

Gym classes include Superpower Use Training for members of the student body with extranormal Human or alien abilities. In addition, BCH boasts the best High School Boogie Ball Team in the Sol System! Go Starbirds! The school has a particularly intense rivalry with Mars High of Utopia Planitia. 

Many BCH students go on to attend Blast CIty University and get jobs in such exciting careers as Superhero, Space Explorer, or 5th Dimensonal Accountant. 

E) Sol Institute of Super Science - Some of greatest and most unpredictable minds in the fields of Quantum Physics, Extra-Dimensional Travel, Exobiology, and Hyperspatial Engineering work at SISS, researching and developing the innovative answers to tomorrow's question today!

F) Offworld Amusement Park - Featuring innovative rides and plenty of food vendors, the Offworld Amusement Park is a favorite destination of kids of all ages in Blast City and beyond. While much of Blast City caters towards helping alien assimilate to Earth culture, the Offworld Amusement Park celebrates the interests and tastes of extraterrestrials and the Humans who want to learn more about them.

The park is split into five major sections, each based on a different planet, with the food, rides, and attractions within based on the culture and/or ecosystems of those worlds. Every section contains 2-3 elements from other worlds as well and there are plans to expand to include more 'worlds' in the future.

Rides utilize advanced Environmental Control and Artifical Gravity to create unusual experiences such as the Tubular Floom, the Climb & Dive, and Bumper Pods. Food options include variations on Earth fare like Zlogburgers and Gorpogo Ice Cream (a little pricey - Gorpogo's are very difficult to milk) to classic alien dishes like Zlent Pucks and Fried Nanite Fritters (a favorite of Cyborgs). 

Ticket prices are reasonable with discounts for young children, students, families, and there are three-day packages available! The first twenty-five visitors each day get a free picture with park mascot and popular cartoon character 'Offworld Ollie'! 

G) Stellar Nightinggale Hospital - This medical facility focuses on special surgeries, rare alien diseases, and advanced medical research. The experimental cybernetics inside of Blast City High School student Miquel 'Mecha' Herrera were made here [and the operation performed on him to install them were done here as well]. It is named for a medical supply ship that arrived sometime after the initial starship's landing, having been damaged by a Dreggetti attack. The building is constructed out of the vessel's hull. 

H) ReEntry Island - The first place and last place you see when entering or leaving Blast City is ReEntry Island, constructed from the remains of an advanced Scout Probe. In addition to serving as a 'Chamber of Commerce' information site and toll booth (no toll for permenant residents of Blast City), ReEntry Island also functions as a security check point. The central tower on the island is equipped with extremely advanced communication and sensor gear second only to Blast City Central Control (in the robot 'head'). 

Blast City Like a Local:

The most notable neighborhoods of the city are Upper Thorax (the robot's chest) which is the business and commercial district, North Brachium (upper right arm) which is mostly upper and upper-middle class families, South Brachium (upper left arm) where middle class families and lots of single people live, Lower Pelvis (the robot's stomach to groin region) is a mix of commerical and residental and also includes Blast City High School, and the tough parts of town - North and South Talus (the robot's ankle to lower shins). Watch yourself around these areas! While they have great bars and nightclubs and a thriving art and music community, a lot of dicey characters hang out there at night.  

The sport of Boogie Ball is all the rage in Blast City and throughout the Sol System. It is an amalgam of a alien game and a number of Earth sports. The home team are the Blast City Blazers and they have won the Sol System Championship for the past 5 years in a row! Blast City University boasts the BCU Shooting Stars, while Blast City High School has the Starbirds - Go Starbirds! The game is played by two teams of 7 facing off against each other to get a flying ball into a goal using what looks like a cross between a radar dish and a lacrosse stick. Each player rides a hover board across the field, which consists of a large (preferably olympic size) swimming pool. It's a rough and very fast moving sport that most closely resembles Earth lacrosse and hockey. Kinda sorta.

If you're in town, catch a game!

 

Blast City's popular fast food chain WinkyDink's, often called Winky D's by natives, has over a dozen locations throughout the 'Big Blaster'. The best one, according to a survey of students attending Blast City High, is located a few blocks Southeast of the school in the area known as Lower Pelvis. Get the Big Winky Deluxe if you're really hungry! It's sooo worth it.

North and South Talus, especially South Talus, has underground Superpowered and Supernatural Fight Clubs! Some serious and dangerous customers can be found there and that's just the attendees! You should see the combatants! Yikes!

Teenagers from Outer Space and Blast CIty Blues

I created Blast City in 1987 as the backdrop for my first TFOS campaign, which I titled 'Blast City Blues'. Inspired by Macross City from the classic Japanese Anime 'Super Dimensional Fortress Macross' (which arrived here as R-word: The Macross Saga), I noted to myself that the city in Macross is built around the transformable starship/robot. What I wanted to do was go one step further and have the city BE the transformable starship/robot and vice versa. 

Over the course of dozens of sessions and a few later campaigns, the city was fleshed out in great detail. The image up top shows many areas and features from my games that I didn't detail here because if I did this post would be alot longer than it already is and its already really long. Gomen nasai. 

To describe every NPC, location, and the ever expanding milieu of Blast City and its universe could easily take up an RPG sourcebook product. Maybe some day.

Well that's the first entry in my City Guide series. Did you like it? Hate it? Something I could do to make it better? Is there a feature of City gaming you think I should include? Please let me know in the comments. 

See you soon,

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Barking Alien

Saving Throw Versus Magic

Fantasy RPGs. Man, people just love these things don't they?

The majority of people in our hobby have fallen under their spell but it seems I have some sort of innate magic resistance. The [D&D-esque] Fantasy genre often falls flat for me and RPGs that facilitate play in that genre are games I generally find unappealing. That doesn't mean I never enjoy playing Fantasy games. It's simply rare and often the result of an excellent GM and/or a game that provides a very different experience from the more classic and typical approaches. 

As I read JB's 'Dear JB' series over at B/X Blackrazor for example, I am ever so thankful to the Great Nonexisto that I don't play D&D in any of its forms. The angst! The drama! The complete waste of time that could be filled with people trying to entertain each other and run something, anything, a lot more fun and a lot less stressful. 

On the flip side, acting as my own devil's advocate, I am absolutely and honestly in love with some of the Fantasy Anime we've gotten from Japan of late. Delicious in Dungeon/Dungeon Meshi, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, and Goblin Slayer are some of my favorite Anime/Manga/Light Novels of all time. Yes, Of All Time! 

But...but...aren't they just D&D?

They are...and they very much are not. At least they aren't D&D or its ilk as I've usually experienced them.

Now then...

In the past month or so I have had the chance to sample two very different Fantasy TRPGs, Daggerheart and Mythic Bastionland. I am in a short campaign of the former, having played the third or fourth session this past weekend, while I played in a one-shot of the latter last week. I want to discuss these games but let me be clear, this isn't a review per se. I am not going to go into great detail regarding the rule mechanics of these games but rather I've going to give you an overview of my feelings/opinions on each. There will be a little discussion of system but not much. There are a lot of other blogs and Youtube videos that can explain the rules much better than I can and I highly recommend taking a lot if you're interested. 

I'm going to start with Mythic Bastionland as my feelings on it are less complicated. It's a very interesting game, clearly inspired by Pendragon far more than anything with a traditional dungeon or dragon. That doesn't mean there aren't dragons, quite the opposite. Our GM ran it as a hexcrawl, with the PCs learning something in each hex that lead us towards a confrontation with a 'Myth', a terrible chimerical beast terrorizing the countryside. The approach created a narrative [or the impression of a narrative actually] which made the monster feel like more than mere combat encounter. 

The PCs are Knights with low level high fantasy magical power and a fantastical theme. I was the Halo Knight, able to cause a light I am carrying (such as a torch or a lantern) to flare so brightly that it illuminates the entire hex and causes damage to 'those that live in darkness'. The heavily thematic name and ability gives the character a distinctive feel and immerses one in the 'setting' fairly quickly. 

It's one drawback is its Combat System. It's interesting, it works, but wow it takes some getting used to. My group found it to be a tad counter-intuitive.

You don't roll to hit as you are assumed to hit automatically. You roll damage, actually everyone attacking the same target rolls damage against said target but if someone is attacking a different opponent then they roll damage against that enemy. The highest damage rolled becomes the true damage while the other rolls allow the attackers to use Gambits. These are effects such as Impairing a weapon, Dismounting a rider, or even adding +1 to the overall damage done.

Ah, yeah its a little strange. Not too hard to get used to it after a while but definitely takes some time for it to stop feeling peculiar.

I liked our session but I'm not sure I would want to run or play in a campaign of it. Maybe if I got a deeper feel for the setting and with expanded world-building applied I'd feel differently. I would definitely try it again. 

Now on to Daggerheart...

This is going to be filled with contradictions so please bare with me. I like Daggerheart. I find it a better D&D. It moves faster, is a bit less complex, has a lot of cool things PCs can do right from the start, and is generally pretty intuitive. Generally. 

At the same time, the game can seem kind of bland at times, combat feels same-y after a while, and some mechanics rarely come into play. This maybe because of the particular campaign we're in but my Slyborn Goblin Wizard is basically a Wizard. Being a Goblin and Slyborn (born among the criminal underbelly of a city) doesn't really come up much. 

Also, the narrative approach taken here (as in a number of other modern games) gets a little tiresome. Whether you succeed or fail you are asked, 'what did that look like' or 'tell me how you hit/missed the target'. If I go into a game of this on the sleepy side I'm fighting to stay awake by the end of a session [and I have insomnia!]. Oddly, the game has a binary pass/fail situation unlike many of current generation RPGs. 

The thing that makes the game stand out is the Hope and Fear mechanic. You roll 2D12 and look at the two dice as distinct entities; one is your Hope Die and one your Fear die. Whichever rolled the higher number determines whether you rolled with Fear or with Hope. Hope is an in-game currency you can use to improve your roll, activate certain abilities, and the like. Fear goes to the GM, enabling them to steal the spotlight for the villains and activate special villain powers or whathaveyou.

It's a neat system and it works well but again, not sure how a long term campaign would play. Do I like it? Yes. Does it WOW me? Not really. It's a mighty fine Mulligan Stew but IMHO it isn't some Michelin Star winning dish. It's a very, very well done version of a thing I usually don't care for. 

While we're on the subject of Fantasy RPGs...

After three decades and two and half editions, the Japanese Tabletop RPG Sword World is coming to the US translated into English. No, really! I'm serious. It seems legit this time. A company called Mugen Gaming is bringing it over. This was only announced recently so I don't have much more info than the fact that its in the works. I have heard from sources on the Japanese side that the English version will be Sword World 2.5 Deluxe, the most recently updated edition Group SNE has released. Stay tuned. 

Free League Publishing, who won 'Fan Favorite Publisher' at the 2025 Ennie Awards at Gen Con this past week, is translating and putting out an Italian TRPG called Twilight Sword, strongly influenced and inspired by video games such as Legend of Zelda and Ni no Kuni. I'm curious, I do like Free League quite a lot but I am not holding my breath that it'll be all that different from other Fantasy RPG options. I'm intrigued but not 'chomping at the bit' as it were.

Oh woe is me! If only there were one Fantasy RPG that I truly loved! A game with simple, flexible, fun mechanics, a humorous and magical setting that nonetheless handles action well, and inspires in me one adventure idea after another. 

If only...wait...

Just got smurfed the digital copy of the complete Smurfs RPG core rulebook.

*Happy Sigh*

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Barking Alien