Cody Pondsmith's QnA for Shadow Scar | Answering Questions from the Disc...

Deal of the Day Carbon 2185

 As usual I'm always happy to push more games that fall into the cyberpunk genre. So of course I'm going to point out that the deal of the day over on DrivethruRPG is the 5e powered game Carbon 2185. Currently you can pick up the pdf for just 10 bucks. Get it while the price is cheap. 

Advanced Fighting Fantasy Deluxe sale

 Over on DrivethruRPG the Advanced Fighting Fantasy Deluxe Edition is now on sale. Now this is one of the best rules light fantasy games that I've ever had the pleasure of playing and running. The rules are based off of the old Fighting Fantasy books like The Warlock of Firetop Mountain and the Sorcery! series. I highly recommend this one folks. 

Deal of the Day - Gemknight

 Over on DrivethruRPG the current deal of the day is the magical girl style ttrpg called "Gemknight". Using the TinyD6 system and coming it at 80 percent off it's only 3 bucks. Now that's a steal! But it's only for 24 hours so you need to grab it quick. 

GURPS now On Demand

 

In case you haven't heard Steve Jackson Games is taking a new direction with the physical copies of GURPS fourth edition. They are now going to be available 'On Demand' via Amazon. I believe that basically means print to order. Not only that you will be to get each of the core books in four different formats based on softback or hardback and black/white or color. Check out the links below to see their listings on Amazon.

GURPS Basic Set: Characters

Black/White Soft Cover

Black/White Hard Cover

Color Soft Cover

Color Hard Cover

GURPS Basic Set: Campaigns 

Black/White Soft Cover

Black/White Hard Cover

Color Soft Cover

Color Hard Cover

This is very interesting to note since most companies are going POD via DrivethruRPG (SJG already has many GURPS products there in pdf and POD already) so going with Amazon I believe they are hoping for more broad market appeal. So maybe this will breathe some new life into the GURPS line, or maybe not. Time will tell

What Happened to Bubblegum Crisis?

One of my favorite anime's back in the day. Always wondered why it never really got finished. Now we know. 

Jaded Gamer Diary - The bad folks

 

Having now worked in a game shop for a few years I have a whole new understanding of the dynamic of the people who go there to play. Not all of it good. Most of it is, lots of great people, some enjoyable folks and plenty of opinions on the games but then there are those who make me shake my head.

The GM that nobody wants to play under. Got a couple of these. They are the ones who think they are gods gift to the gaming world. The experts, the know it all, the wanna be elite. Not to mention abusive and a bully most of the time. Always bragging about how epic their games and never leaving the counter as they vomit forth this self congratulatory monologue. 

Of course their groups consist of another type of gamer.

The Players that nobody wants in their group. Several of these as well. These are the ultra creeps who leer at every woman who walks into the place, the hygiene challenged, also some abusive bullies who focus on tormenting their fellow players. Oh and the fucking experts when it comes to how to play the game. The guys you don't call chuds because that would be insulting to the chuds. You may also find a few GM's that nobody wants looking to play in some games as well. But, to no surprise, they are also Players that nobody wants.

Also lets now forget about the Self Injectors. They see a group playing a game and they immediately walk up and start talking. Usually telling them how to do it better while interrupting the group nonstop. Almost always leads to them asking if they can have a seat at the table to play. Acts insulted when you tell them to fuck off because you're playing a damn game.

I've experienced these in the past. But damn I get a front row seat now.

Little Fears: Sanitarium

 

Woke up this morning with an idea for a new Little Fears campaign. Haven't thought about that game for a long while. Just been busy doing other things and taking a break from running horror. However the idea I have is a bit different than what I usually do. So I bounced it off my wife to see what she thought and she really liked it. 

So as I continue to flesh this out I will be making a few posts on the details. Well not to much into the details as I want to keep some things secret. 

The setting will take place in a large old style orphanage which is connected, via old school steam tunnels, to a very large abandoned sanatirium. Will be using the original first edition Little Fears rules (which you can find here) and will need a few props. Mainly a good large sized map of the sanitorium, a notebook that will be used by the 'kids' to keep track of information and a set of old keys. 

Also the player group will be limited to six at a time. If, or should I say when, your character dies or is removed from the setting in someway that player leaves the room for the night. There will be a waiting list of people who want to play so when your character is gone you go to the bottom of the list. The next person in line gets called up for the next game. Last time I ran Little Fears I had almost twenty people wanting to play and I ran three different campaigns at the same time. Hoping this outing turns out as popular.

Hoping to maybe get this going in two to three months from now. 

NIMONA | Full Film | Netflix on YouTube for free!

The entire movie on the Netflix YouTube channel. For free. No ads. Hell yeah. Metal. 

Cyberpunk RED on Humble Bundle

Right now you can pick up a really damn good deal over on Humble Bundle. Getting the entire line of Cyberpunk RED books in pdf, including one that hasn't been released outside of the bundle yet. Along with a nice little selection of Cyberpunk 2020 pdfs as well. If you were looking to get into the RED then now is your chance to do so at a steep discount. 

Check out the Humble Cyberpunk RED Bundle.

See you in the streets choomba. 

Bullet Dice from Steve Jackson Games

 

Got to play around with a set of the 'Bullet Dice' from Steve Jackson Games. They come six to a package and each one is a six sider generating the numbers using a hexagon shaped end. Very noticeable on the table and quite fitting for my Cyberpunk 2020 and RED games. Now while I've seen a lot of the more snub nosed bullet shaped dice over the last year or two these are more of the longer rifle round style. Which I think is a much better visual appeal at the table. 

For size comparison that's a one inch grid they are laying on top of in the picture. So they'll need a little more room to roll than their normal polyhedron cousins. They are numbered in pips from one to six, although in the picture I rolled pretty craptacular and didn't get anything over a three. These are also plastic which is different than most of the other bullet shaped dice that I mentioned earlier. But for me that's a plus, I prefer the feel of rolling plastic dice, but that's a personal preference. 

These will probably be added to my collection and pulled out when it's time to roll damage from firearms. You can pick them up your FLGS (mine is Aesop's Treasury) or you can also grab a set over on Amazon pretty cheaply as well. 

Happy shopping and may all your bullets find their marks.

Dungeons and Dragons 2024 release dates

 

Well release dates for this years Dungeons and Dragons releases have started finally coming out. But not all of them are verified. The first two, which are most likely set in stone, are for the following which have appeared on the Wizards WPN page:

Vecna: Eve of Ruin on May 21^st

The Making of Original D&D: 1970 – 1977 on June 18^th

After that there are some folks sharing some dates supposedly from a newsletter sent out to some people. Not sure who exactly gets those newsletters or why though. But here are the other release dates for new products.

Quests from the Infinite Staircase on July 16^th

Players Handbook “revised version” on September 17th

Dungeon Masters Guide “revised version” on November 12^th

Monster Manual “revised version” on February 18, 2025

Now what is strange about these release dates is one thing. GenCon. Normally they do a big release there and it’s during the first week of August. So one would think they would release the Players Handbook at that venue at least. Unless they are moving away from convention based big releases or they may just have a preview there. Not entirely sure.. 

But then again maybe these release dates are not settled on yet. Especially since they haven’t given a day of release for the PHB just the month. UPDATED: there is a release day for the PHB

Cyberpunk RED Datascreen PDF super cheap

 Well R.Talsorian Games is working on getting a good printer to do the reprint of the Datascreen for Cyberpunk RED. But it may be a while off and it's currently sold out on their site and at distributors. I work at a game shop, we've been trying to get some for a while now, no distributor has any. So while we wait for a hardcopy to come along they are making the digital version super cheap over on DrivethruRPG. Right now and up until the new printing comes out it is only a single solitary dollar to get the pdf. Now that's a deal. Click on the image below to go grab a copy. 

Cyberpunk Timeline: 2020-2045

Cyberpunk RED - Break stuff

 

Over on the R.Talsorian website they have a new free DLC up for Cyberpunk RED. This time it's all about your gear breaking down and getting it repaired. Because in the future everything is disposable. 

You can find the page RIGHT HERE.

Don't forget to check out all their other free material for RED that they have up as well. 

Fantasy City Aesthetic

 I always liked the look of fantasy cities that a lot of European fantasy games use. Especially Warhammer Fantasy. That cramped feel, multiple story building, and just a lot more creative than just a few single story buildings laid out all neatly by a grid. 

For example this one from "Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Building of the Reikland". 

Very much worth the 3.99 price tag if you ask me. 

I mean this look is much more appealing to me. Sparks the imagination more. Someday I need to run a city based fantasy game again using Advanced Fighting Fantasy, which has become my go too choice for rules light fantasy gaming. But who knows when I'll get the time.

However the pdf of this book shall be looked at whenever I do get around to it.

Promise You Won't Freak Out | Nimona | Netflix

Nimona, the movie Disney tried to bury only to be picked up and saved by Netflix, is nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Picture. 

Metal.

Dungeons and Dragons 2024 releases

 

Working at a game shop I try to stay caught up on new releases and what is coming out. Of course the most asked about property is still Dungeons and Dragons. Now while we've seen a list of what they are planning on releasing in 2024 there is nothing about when in 2024 any of the books are coming out. Even the WPN network page that Wizards has set up so shops can keep up to date has nothing slated for release after the much delayed Deck of Many Things. But here's the list we can find.

Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth – 2024

Vecna: Eve of Ruin – 2024

2024 Player’s Handbook – 2024

The Making of Original Dungeons and Dragons: 1970-1976 – 2024

Quests from the Infinite Staircase – 2024

I'm assuming this is the order in which they are going to be released but even that is unknown. As for dates, well the only safe thing I can assume is that the 2024 Player's Handbook will be a GenCon release with DnD Beyond getting it a few days early. 

I am also going to assume that more hard dates will be released at GAMA if not a little before. 

Now why isn't there any mention of the new version of the DM's Guide and Monster Manual? This is a good question and I have two theories. 

One: They are going to stagger the release of the books with the other two coming next year. Since they are claiming that the new editions/versions/whatever will be compatible with 5e spacing out the dates shouldn't be an issue. This could be used as a meter to see what players and GM's think they need in the a new DM's Guide and MM plus give them more time to work on them since they fired several folks.

Two: The one I would almost bet money on. This isn't the new edition/5.5/One/whatever of the Player's Handbook. As we all know, at least those who buy or sell the books, the price for regular print DnD books has gone up recently. This 2024 version is just a little update, maybe some new art or cover, but with the new price point on it. We all know that Player's Handbooks outsell all the others hands down so it would make sense that it is on the verge of selling out of the last print run. So Wizards of Hasbro not wanting to miss out on charging more are upping the price on the new printing. With the actual new edition still being off in the distance as they struggle with an audience that is getting fed up with everything.

All that being said I'm not a DnD fan. I don't buy anything they put out. HOWEVER the Making of Original Dungeons and Dragons book is certainly catching my interest. There have already been so many different project trying to detail out that era I'm wondering if there is anything new to be said about it. But the history of the hobby part of me sure wants to find out. 

Now about those other releases:

Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth revives the classic first-edition adventure, Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. It’s a single-session dungeon-crawl that’ll evoke the feeling of an adventure module from 50 years ago – complete with a tournament scoring system to see how well you fared. 

This doesn't sound like a full fledged hardback book. Could they maybe be testing the water with smaller adventure modules like the days of old?

Vecna: Eve of Ruin We’ve known for a while that a Vecna 5e adventure was on the way, and it’s been confirmed in the form of Vecna: Eve of Ruin. This is a rare campaign – not just because it features all sorts of iconic D&D characters, but because it actually goes up to level 20.

Quests from the Infinite Staircase updates a range of old-school D&D adventures, much like Tales from the Yawning Portal did previously. Several elements apparently tie these individual adventures together, one of which is a cosmic being who’s “completely new to the D&D canon”, according to Wizards.

Those last two sound like standard hardback releases. One and done. 

DARK DUNGEONS Full Trailer (Ultra HD)

I backed the Kickstarter for this oh so long ago and have the DVD. About time to  have another viewing party one night. It's freaking amazing. 

Humanity's Last Line of Defense - The Black Wall | Cyberpunk 2077 Lore

The Man Who Destroyed the Internet: Rache Bartmoss | Cyberpunk Lore

Squad Names Three

 

After a two and a half year complete stop I have finally managed to get something new up over on DrivethruRPG. It's been a while yeah, after catching Covid and going on a ventilator for a bit my brain got real fuzzy. Took me several months before I could really talk without having to stop every sentence or two just to remember what word I was wanting to use. But with my job and finally gaming on a very regular basis the brain fog cleared up. Then it was just getting down and actually doing it. So starting off the New Year with new stuff. 

Another installment of 100 various squad names for military, cyberpunk or scifi games. Works really good for Sla Industries as well. Best thing is that it's really cheap, only 75 cents. 

You can PICK IT UP HERE if you want.

Or get it bundled with all three volumes OVER ON ITCH. 

Hopefully this will be a slow start to me getting more stuff up there. Got a lot of ideas but it's kind of hard to get it down in a way that I like. 

List of artists Midjourney scraped

 

Well it appears that things aren't going well for the Midjourney AI art generator folks right at the moment. They've been made to release a list of artists and sources they trained their AI with. 

You can find that list RIGHT THERE.

So many folks on there. Elmore, Easley, Brom, Frazetta, Kirby, Steranko, Foglio... the list just goes on and on. They even went and used Studio Ghibli imagery, stuff from video game companies, just anywhere they wanted. Don't see Midjourney being around for much longer as the lawsuits are probably going to start getting really heavy here soon.