#Erick Wujcik

[oldschoolfrp]

You want one? They're really good (James Dombrowski art from Mutants of the Yucatan, Erick Wujcik's supplement for After the Bomb, Palladium Books, 1990; as reprinted in Palladium's ad in Dragon 159, July 1990)

#James Dombrowski #After the Bomb #TMNT & Other Strangeness #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness #Erick Wujcik #anthropomorphic animals #mutants #anteater #armadillo #ants #postapocalyptic #postapocalypse #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #Palladium Books #1990s #game ad

[prokopetz]

I was looking at your post about ttrpgs without randomizers and was thinking about what elements could determine success and failure because I am not experienced with any.

One I thought of is players having a pool of basically success points that they use to do cool stuff. The gm gives out more success points when bad stuff happens to the players and the cycle continues but I can’t be the first person to think of a mechanic like this.

My question is, do you know on any ttrpgs that use a mechanic like this?

(With reference to this post here).

Yes, the approach you describe is a common one in randomiser-less tabletop RPGs. Examples of the type include Avery Alder's Dream Askew (later adapted as the No Dice, No Masters/Belonging Outside Belonging system and subsequently featured in many other games), Minerva McJanda et al.'s Godsend, Ryo Kamiya's Golden Sky Stories, Jason Durall's Lords of Gossamer and Shadow (and, to a lesser extent, the game that inspired it, Erick Wujcik's Amber Diceless), Dr. Jenna Moran's Nobilis (and other games by the same author), and Colin Fredericks' Sufficiently Advanced (from 2nd Edition onward).

#gaming #tabletop roleplaying #tabletop rpgs #tabletop rpg recommendations #game design

[vintagerpg]

This is Heroic Worlds (1991), by Lawrence Schick (of White Plume Mountain fame).

There are a bunch of books from the ‘80s and ‘90s that attempt to catalog and review RPGs and they kind of boggle my mind (the same is true for the similar genre of print paperback tip guides for videogame). Even having lived in the pre-internet era, I don’t understand the rationale for these books from a publishing perspective. Which is not to say I don’t adore Heroic Worlds. I do! It just seems…improbable.

The book essentially amounts to an index of every RPG product produced from 1974 to 1990. It feels a tiny bit like an Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (another publication I’ve always been baffled by), except without the prices (though there is a small section on collecting — the advice still rings true today, primarily: be patient!). The listings are interrupted periodically with short essays by a rogues gallery of RPG designers: Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Greg Stafford, Steve Jackson, Jennell Jaquays, Michael Stackpole, Ken St. Andre, Tom Moldvay, Ken Rolston, Sandy Petersen, Erick Wujcik, B. Dennis Sustare, N. Robin Crossby and Greg Gordon. That is a pretty all-star cast of characters talking about tabletop game design!

The main attraction for me, though, is Schick’s commentary. Nearly all of the listings are accompanied by very brief appraisals; they give Robert Christgau’s album reviews a run for their terseness. Schick has a dry wit that creeps into the capsule reviews that soon becomes addictive. And there is just something wonderful about having a period of time captured so exhaustively in a single volume. I don’t think EVERYTHING ever published through 1990 is in the index, but Schick sure makes the book feel like it does. I refer to it constantly for my Instagram posts, it was a constant companion when writing my own book and honestly, it deserves a lot of blame for the size and scope of my collection. Damn you, Schick!

(Repost from April 30, 2020; revised)

#rpg #d&d #dungeons & dragons #tabletop rpg #roleplaying game #ttrpg #Lawrence Schick #Heroic Worlds

[manfrommars2049]

After the Bomb, Erick Wujcik. Palladium, 1986. Cover: Peter Laird. via CoolSciFiCovers

#CoolSciFiCovers #Mavmaramis

[tilthedayidice]

Do you have any ttrpg recs??

Personally have only played DnD, I’d like to try more so here’s a list of some I find interesting!! Here’s a link to a bunch that I may or may not have listed as well!!! I hope something catches your eye!!!!

Included will be the name of the TTRPG, their Wikipedia description, and a like to their site!!

Pathfinder:  The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that was published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing. The first edition extends and modifies the System Reference Document (SRD) based on the revised 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) published by Wizards of the Coast under the Open Game License (OGL) and is intended to be backward-compatible with that edition. The first major revision of the ruleset, Pathfinder 2nd Edition, was released in August 2019.

Star Wars the Role Playing Game: (couldn’t find the official site so here’s a link to one of the books!!) a  role-playing game set in the Star Wars universe, written and published by West End Games (WEG) between 1987 and 1999. The game system was slightly modified and rereleased in 2004 as D6 Space, which used a generic space opera setting. An unrelated Star Wars RPG was published by Wizards of the Coast from 2000 to 2010. Since 2012 the official Star Wars role-playing game is another unrelated game, published by Fantasy Flight Games.

Vampire the Masquerade:  a tabletop role-playing game (tabletop RPG) created by Mark Rein-Hagen and released in 1991 by White Wolf Publishing as the first of several Storyteller System games for its World of Darkness setting line. It is set in a fictionalized "gothic-punk" version of the modern world, where players assume the roles of vampires, who are referred to as "Kindred", and deal with their night-to-night struggles against their own bestial natures, vampire hunters and each other.

Warhammer:  a tabletop miniature wargame with a medieval fantasy theme that simulates battles between armies from different factions. The game was created by Rick Priestley and sold by the Games Workshop company.

RuneQuest:  a fantasy Tabletop role-playing game originally designed by Steve Perrin, Ray Turney, Steve Henderson, and Warren James, and set in Greg Stafford's mythical world of Glorantha. It was first published in 1978 by The Chaosium. Beginning in 1984, its publication passed between a number of companies; Avalon Hill, Mongoose, The Design Mechanism, finally returning to Chaosium in 2016.[2]RuneQuest is notable for its system, designed around percentile dice and with an early implementation of skill rules, which became the basis of numerous other games. There have been several editions of the game.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness:  ( I couldn’t find the site so here’s a link to an article about it!!) a role-playing game based on Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book. It was written by Erick Wujcik. It introduced the short comic Don't Judge a Book... on pages 47 to 54.

#ask #ttrpg tecommendations #ttrpg

[tmntladies]

April’s Character Bio and Stats from the TMNT Roleplaying series from Palladium Books. Illustrated by Kevin Eastman/Peter Laird, featured in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangness by Erick Wujcik.

APRIL O’NEIL

Real Name: April O’Neil Alignment: Principled Attributes: I.Q.: 19, M.E.: 11, M.A.: 13, P.S.: 13, P.P.: 14, P.E.: 11, P.B.: 14, Spd.: 13 Age: 27 Sex: Female Weight: 115lbs Height: 5ft 8in Hit Points: 17 S.D.C.: 6 Disposition: Cheerful, friendly and concerned about people, hard working. Powers: None Psionics: None Level of Experience: 1st Level Level of Education: Master’s Degree Scholastic Bonus: +36% Occupation: Computer Programmer Scholastic Skills: Biology- 70% Chemistry- 75% Computer Operation- 95% Computer Programming- 75% Intelligence- 76% Photography- 85% Paramedic- 85% Writing (Journalism)- 68% Weapon Proficiencies: None Physical Skills/Training: Hand to Hand: Basic General Athletics Swimming: Basic Running Secondary Skills: Art (Carpentry)- 46% Cook- 65% Dance- 45% Pilot Automobile- 98% Pilot Small Truck- 98% Basic Electronics- 45% Study, Antiques- 92% Study, History- 85% COMBAT SKILLS: Attacks Per Melee: 2 Bonuses: No Bonuses to Strike/Parry/Dodge/Damage; +2 to Roll with Punch or Fall. Personal Profile: April is a very intelligent young woman. As a teenager she was a dedicated computer “hacker.” The skills she gained then were later translated into her career as computer programmer, specializing in robotics software. This is how she came to be associated with Dr. Baxter Stockman and his “Mouser” project.

  April also has an interest in antiques and junk, with the emphasis on the junk. The brownstone that she lives in has a junk store called “Second Time Around” on the first floor. This is the one her father used to own before he had his stroke. Now April operates the store part-time. The Mutant Turtles are now living in the building with her.

  Except for taking a few self-defense courses, April has no special fighting skill. She is in good shape though and runs and does aerobics regularly. Special Weapons: None Criminal Record: None

Renet’s Bio—> *

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #mirage tmnt #april o'neil #books #edits #admin posts

[nerdtrekdotcom]

The Long Walk: Life on the Grand Stair (DICELESS)

The Long Walk: Life on the Grand Stair (DICELESS) This HUGE tome for Lords of Gossamer & Shadow (Abbreviated LoGaS below for brevity’s sake) clocks in at 205 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page dev and playtester thanks, 1 page dedication to Steven D. Russell (Rest in peace, you’re missed, man…), 1 page ToC, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 199 pages of content, so let’s take a…

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#3PP #Adam Easterday #Christopher “Kit” Kindred #Cliff Winnig #David A McCreless #Diceless #Erick Wujcik&039;s Diceless Roleplaiyng-system #J.P. Brannan #Joel Saul #John Lee #LoGaS #Lords of Gossamer and Shadow #Perry Grosshans #Rite publishing #Selene O’Rourke #Thierry De Gagne

[a-woman-apart]

That time that Advanced DnD rules helped me to conceptualize the motives of a Toxic Person in my life, Pt. 1

“Neutral evil characters are primarily concerned with themselves and their own advancement. They have no particular objection to working with others or, for that matter, going it on their own. Their only interest is in getting ahead. If there is a quick and easy way to gain a profit, whether it be legal, questionable, or obviously illegal, they take advantage of it. Although neutral evil characters do not have the every-man-for-himself attitude of chaotic characters, they have no qualms about betraying their friends and companions for personal gain. They typically base their allegiance on power and money, which makes them quite receptive to bribes. (2)

The neutral evil is an unscrupulous, self-serving character who is only out for himself. Power, glory, wealth, position, and anything that will make his life more comfortable is his goal. It matters not who gets caught in the middle, as long as he comes out smelling like a rose. This person will lie, cheat, and kill anyone to attain his personal goals. (3)

These characters willingly cooperate with anyone who will further their own ends. They often seek the easy road to fame and fortune, with little concern for the people they trample along the way. They value strength and ability alone. If the neutral evil can use laws to weaken those who stand in the way of his success, he will use them. If he must resort to breaking the law, he will. He has no preference for either method. The only important thing is that he gets what he wants. Laws are tools to use against people, as well as their own sense of honor.”

(2) Cook, David "Zeb," et al. Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, 2nd Edition Player's Handbook. TSR: 1989.

(3) Wujcik, Erick. Ninjas and Superspies. Palladium Books: 1994.

#evil woman #yes I am this petty #surviving gaslighting #know a narcissist #narcissists as evil alignments #if the boot fits

[patatedestenebres]

Ambre, le jeu de rôle sans... !

Ambre, le jeu de rôle sans… !

Je profite d’une première journée découverte autour de ce fantastique univers, écrit par Roger Zelazny pour donner mon avis sur le jeu de rôles. Adapté par Erick Wujcik et surtout illustré par la talentueuse Florence Magnin, le gros bouquin est, passé la couverture rutilante… Moche à l’extrême! Les illustrations en noir et blanc sont vraiment laides et ne permettent pas d’entrer dans les…

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[oldschoolfrp]

Shadow Knight, Michael Kucharski cover painting, supplement for the Amber Diceless Role-Playing game edited by Erick Wujcik, Phage Press, 1993

#Shadow Knight #Amber Diceless Role-Playing #Michael Kucharski #Erick Wujcik #Amber #Amber Diceless #Phage Press #wizard #mage #tarot #magic #magic duel #statue #fire #altar #1990s #Roger Zelazny

[tokka]

💀🐢🐗💀 -->> #PixelDan E. reviews one of the little guys I helped incept!! ~ t #TMNT #DreamBeavers #DarkBeaver

#Erick Wujcik #Kevin Simbeida #TMNT #teenage mutant ninja turtles #Dream Beavers #Dark Beaver #Playmates Toys #Pixel Dan #figures #toys #Terror Bears #Palladium #Tokka #terribl2z.com #nickelodeon

[vintagerpg]

I don’t really get Mutants Down Under (1988), like on the level of “Why does this exist?” I am happy it does, because it is probably my favorite in the line, but I don’t understand the series of creative and editorial decisions that made this the third book in the After the Bomb line. This is true of a lot of Palladium publications, though.

I like Australian animals and I think it is hilarious to make them anthropomorphic and give them guns. I am never not gonna be tickled by that. Anyway, in the post-apocalypse, Australian humans and animals live together peacefully, thanks to the Dreamtime (for what its worth, the portrayal of Aboriginal culture in the game is a mix of admiring and exotifying, which doesn’t seem great but could be a whole lot worse. I don’t have the knowledge to evaluate it beyond this. Feel free to educate me). Trouble comes from the north, where militarized humans and water buffalo mutants from Jakarta are launching an invasion.

The Jakartans have weird bio-weapons. There are also lots of airships (like, with balloons) in the book, with a lengthy section on air combat.

But mainly, for me, its about the koalas with guns. Kevin Eastman’s cover it pretty good, but it is James Lawson’s often comically stocky interiors that really sell the whole marsupial warrior thing for me.

Vaguely related: I’ll probably never have another chance to bring this up, but do any of y’all remember the cartoon film Dot and the Kangaroo? It was weirdly inescapable for a moment of my childhood, surprisingly melancholy in my memory of it (though I’ve not seen it in decades) and the bit about the Bunyip spooked the hell out of me.

#RPG #TTRPG #Tabletop RPG #Roleplaying Game #D&D #dungeons & dragons #Palladium #teenage mutant ninja turtles #TMNT #After the Bomb #Erick Wujcik #Kevin Eastman #James Lawson #Mutants Down Under

[pressstart2begin]

GenCon 2014 has come and gone.

Do not insult Marie Claude Bourbonnais’s cooking…ever

It was my 14th GenCon. My first was in 1999. I attended every single year except in 2007, which was the last GenCon Gary Gygax attended. Yeah… but on the bright side, 2015 will be my fifteenth GenCon! So yay for that. I plan on having a good time there. But then again, I always have fun at GenCon. There’s so much to do and see…and so many giveaways. Free dice. Free RPGs. Free games….

Free televisions….

If you haven’t had a chance to attend, I’ll try to take you through the highlights…. as well as some of the lowlights… of GenCon this year.

The Highlights

 The GenCon Experience

It’s gamer paradise. No. It’s nerd paradise. You name it, they have it. Card games. Board games. Tabletop RPGs. LARPing. Video games. Anime. Movies. Comic books. Cosplaying. Dancing. Singing. Concerts. Contests (film, cosplay, etc). Tournaments. Art shows. Auctions. Demos. Weapons. Costumes to purchase(steam punk, etc).  Jewelry.  Combat.

Purple SWAT teddy-bears with assault rifles

GenCon is a celebration of what it means to be a nerd in the modern day. There’s no other… or better… way to look at it than that. It’s a celebration.

GenCon really is gaming paradise at its finest. When I went this year, it was like the outside world disappeared. Nothing at all mattered to me outside of GenCon. While it wasn’t as if I was in an isolated community… it was as if I was taken into a world of myth and fantasy, where the only limitations was my own vast imagination. For those who love GenCon, you know exactly what I mean. For those who haven’t been to GenCon, you really, really need to go.

Go play a game. There’s an all-night Ravenloft game played every year.. I think it’s been run for the past ten years, maybe twenty. It’s a heck of a lot of fun. Or go to Hickman’s Killer Breakfast. Or play in the Magic the Gathering Tournament. Or play some Dungeons and Dragons. Or Vampire the Masquerade (or whatever it is called these days). Or check out Pathfinder. That’s a very creative worldsetting that’s also a loving tribute to the original Dungeons and Dragons… Or play Settlers of Catan (Wood for Sheep? I got me some Wood for Sheep!). Or man… the list goes on and on and on. There’s nothing like the GenCon experience. Nothing.

Nero Live Action Dungeon

You have to try this.. you really do.

The two brave warriors were killed three seconds later by a horde of SWAT teddy bears

They give you weapons and armor to wear. Yep. Armor. I got a chance to wear chain mail armor while wielding two swords. And you better believe that I fought for my life. The dungeon is anywhere between 4 – 6 rooms, depending on the year. Each room has monsters to fight:  Beholders, Undead, Necromancers, Plants, Dire wolves, and so… so much more.

It gives a pretty good proximity of what it is like for your characters when they get into combat. The dungeon itself takes approximately a half-hour to forty minutes to fight through. Can you imagine that? Well, I don’t have to imagine it.

I went through it.

Adult Fun

There’s so much to do that it is mind-boggling. But it is not just for kids. There are things there that are specifically for adults. I’ll go through three of them. Cosplay Deviants hosts events there, ranging from a game-show atmosphere (with stripping) to renting out a nightclub for a night full of dancing and fun. I…. may have… had the chance to attend the game-show and might have seen some of this first-hand. While I cannot confirm or deny that I was there, I’ll just say that… ANIME DUBBING IS FUNNY AS HELL! The event is all about having goofy, sexy fun.

D20 Burlesque put on a mind-blowing performance…. if I was there, I could go on and on about it… and I probably wasn’t there….. that I’d officially admit… but unofficially, the performances were equal part geeky and classy. A couple in particular stands out. First off, there was a choose your own adventure style show, where the crowd got to decide what the dancer would remove. The performer was very clearly having a great time with it, since she followed our… errr… the crowd’s directions. There was also a performance which paid homage to the game Duck Hunt. It started with a simulation of the game, followed by the dancer doing a fairly sensual dance while wearing a duck-bill. Oh… oh.. and the intermission performance was so good, it was scary. They even had a male go out to dance. This guy freakin’ owned the stage. Honestly all the performers did. They were all comfortable with their geekiness and sexiness, and weren’t afraid to show it. And I’d know all this if I was there… which I ‘officially’ wasn’t.

Third.. bondage. Not saying any more than that… well.. except… it was cool…

Fun With Friends

At the end, we play games to have fun with our friends.  And GenCon was the perfect place to have fun with them…

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It’s all about having fun, you know?  Enjoy these pictures of me and my friends just having fun!

The Lowlights

I’ll be brief. Outside of the usual con issues (the smell, crowds), this year’s GenCon had a report of a woman being slipped a date-rape drug. She turned out fine and all the appropriate officials are launching full investigations. I’m very impressed with how responsible GenCon and the hosting company was to something like this. I can only hope the person is caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It’s always one jackass who ruins things for everyone…

There were some complains that the artists presented exactly the same artwork this year as they did in previous years.. aka – nothing new. While I was very impressed with their work, others wanted to see something new…

I saw a lot of art and jewelry that was new….

I don’t know… maybe I didn’t pay close attention in previous years, but every single booth and artist seemed to have something that I haven’t seen in previous years.

Hell Yes, I’m Going Next Year

People started booking hotel rooms for next year’s GenCon on the last day of this year’s GenCon. Some people put down $3,000 for their rooms, just to make sure they would have them. That’s a hell of a lot of money. But you know, I get it. Yes, GenCon really is that awesome. If I had $3,000 to spare, I would gladly pay it.

I still remember going to GenCon for the first time in 1999. I wanted to meet Erick Wujcik, the creator of my favorite RPG called Amber. I also wanted to meet Kevin Siembieda, creator of Rifts… one of my all time favorites. They were like living legends to me.. and when I met them, they surpassed everything I could have hoped for. Kevin Siembieda has such an infectious love for RPing…. I would swear he never stops smiling. Ever. He loves gaming and appreciates the fans of his product. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if he danced down the aisles of GenCon. He had that spirit back in 1999, and he has it all the way in 2014.

My picture with Kevin Siembieda. I get my picture taken with him every year I go. I wonder if he knows….

And Erick… man… he passed away a few years ago. But man… he had this quirky way of… gah… I don’t really know how to put it. Erick had his own way of seeing the world. And when you were with him, you wanted to see the world through his eyes. He saw magic everywhere. While I sort of disagreed with his gaming style (he saw gaming as a PC versus GM paradigm), I could not help but admire how he took that style and made it into a game that I still play to this day.

I love going to GenCon. As long as it does not change…. I think I’ll always love going to GenCon. It is the best four days in gaming for a reason.

GenCon 2014: Wrap-Up GenCon 2014 has come and gone. It was my 14th GenCon. My first was in 1999. I attended every single year except in 2007, which was the last GenCon Gary Gygax attended.

#Amber #Cosplay Deviants #D20 Burlesque #Erick Wujcik #GenCon #GenCon 2014 #Kevin Siembieda #Marie Claude Bourbonnais #Press Start To Begin #Rifts

[oldschoolfrp]

“Kilroy was here” — In space no one can hear your clone scream (Jim Holloway, Clones in Space, a Paranoia misadventure by Erick Wujcik, West End Games, 1986)

#Paranoia #Jim Holloway #Alien #Aliens #alien egg #sci fi #gaming humor #Erick Wujcik #gigeresque #Clones in Space #WEG #West End Games #Giger #HR Giger #alien eggs #eggs #egg

[vintagerpg]

OK, so, After the Bomb is the post-apocalyptic setting from Palladium that uses Erick Wujcik’s mutation system from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles RPG, without totally being a TMNT game (it was a way to have some of the TMNT material they were producing not be contingent on the TMNT license, even though TMNT comic artists contributed quite a bit of art to the line). The main rules detailed the violent struggle between mutant animals and humanity on the East Coast of the US. Road Hogs (1986) details what is going on over on the West Coast.

Here, the human Americorps are the good guys and the bad guys are a reaving army of mutant bikers. Its Mad Max, but with anthropomorphic animals, basically. There are lots of new mutant types, including aquatic animals (whales?) and a lengthy section on vehicles that includes rules for combat and building new rides.    

I can’t honestly judge the new rules because I only have the slightest grasp on the old ones – Palladium’s approach has always baffled me. I will say that Road Hogs never captured my imagination like some of the other books in the line did. Despite how appealing the core idea is when you hear it, there is just not enough material fleshing out the world. It doesn’t come close to measuring up to your hopes.

I like the art though. You can’t go wrong with an Eastman cover. Walter Storozuk’s interiors are fun, sticking to the established vibe of the TMNT books while also not sacrificing his personal style. Love that octopus guy.

#RPG #TTRPG #Tabletop RPG #Roleplaying Game #D&D #dungeons & dragons #Palladium #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #TMNT #After the Bomb #Erick Wujcik #Road Hogs #Kevin Eastman #Walter Storozuk

[oldschoolfrp]

Mutants Down Under, Kevin Eastman cover painting for Erick Wujcik’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles RPG sourcebook, Palladium, 1988

#TMNT #Kevin Eastman #Mutants Down Under #Erick Wujcik #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and other strangeness #postapocalypse #postapocalyptic #palladium books #mutant #mutants #kangaroo #koala