Rated-B

Castle Rat - Wizard

2025-12-19T09:30:00.002-06:00

Pyrexia - Wrath

2025-12-01T09:30:00.002-06:00

The Flats II: The Black Hat Book Now On-Sale (Black Friday, 2025)

2025-11-25T11:28:00.006-06:00

The sequel, or really second-half, of The Flats is on-sale now at DriveThruRPG. This sequel details the enemies of PCs and New Residents alike, including Trollkin, Naga, Ratlings, and more. It further details Thrull Ulroog and the Bloodtooth Orc Clan, as well as the (allegedly) Goblinoid-run UltraWorx zaibatsu; introduces several new Martial Arts styles, magic items, spells, and colleges; and much more.

As I've noted before, I plan to support The Flats for the immediate future, and have at least one adventure/mini-campaign in mind for which The Flats II: The Black Hat Book will be necessary. As usual, this sequel was written using a lot of the HERO line, so there may be other books needed for play. Dark Champions, Ninja HERO, even Horror HERO was used in the development of this setting. While not strictly necessary, these books will greatly enhance your game.

Part of my purpose in dividing the book in two was to keep it affordable; I really tried hard to keep this volume under $5.00, but original art and labor costs drove it just above that. Now is your chance to get it at around the actual, intended price for a limited time. It makes a great Christmas gift for the Champions fan in your life!

NOTE: The book as it stands right now has some errors that the revision fixes. I have decided to wait until after the sale to update the files so that everyone who has purchased it, or does purchase it, gets the updated file and no one gets lost in the shuffle.

© The Weirding, 2025

RIP Ace Frehley

2025-11-07T09:30:00.008-06:00

I stopped doing memorials and tributes a long time ago due to my age, but this one was special because KISS was so important to my childhood. Take that FWIW, but I felt bad that his passing was overshadowed by the holidays and wanted to be sure to remember it.

On a positive note, I read that Peter Criss is releasing his first new album in 18 years. It will be available on Bandcamp (at least), if I read correctly.

Ecology of Vampires in Sunnydale (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Roleplaying Game)

2025-10-20T03:00:00.184-05:00

I was looking in all the wrong books for more information on vampires in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Roleplaying Game (Buffy) because my copy of Monster Smackdown (MS) was out of place on the bookshelf. It contains some really great, in-depth information on vampires’ behavior in Chapter Two (Die Young, Live Forever, pp. 14-33) that I used to write the following Ecology of Vampires in Sunnydale.

I am also using the Angel Roleplaying Game (Angel) and Ghosts of Albion (Ghosts) as the corebooks. My take on vampires differs slightly from the one presented in Monster Smackdown and the Buffyverse canon.

Bear in mind that I disallow Charmed One, Slayer, and Promised One (Army of Darkness, p. 39), et.al., because I do not allow “Central Character” Qualities. Unless everyone in the group takes the Quality, at least one PC will be favored over the others, and that does not make for a fair, balanced, or fun game for everyone at the table. If everyone agrees to take the Quality, then I might allow it, but that’s a theoretical. I do allow Slayer-in-Training (Slayer’s Handbook, p. 32). Either way, my campaign fits the “Vampire Hunters” definition given in Monster Smackdown (pp. 32-33) - which is what I am going for. Angel Investigations does exist, but is in Los Angeles.

I am using Influence from the Abomination Codex, p. 25. The Influence Skill (Buffy, p. 55) has been renamed Charm. I have previously published a skill tree of specializations (1-pt. - Military Monster Squad Initiative Handbook PDF, p. 25), which you can find on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Roleplaying Game Page in the sidebar. I also use both Brawling (WitchCraft PDF, p. 96) and Magic Bolt (Abomination Codex, p. 27), in addition to Kung-Fu and Sports (Throw).

Finally, I eliminated the Perception stat, as having both it and Notice is redundant. Notice+INT is your Perception (PCN) score. Vampires get Perception bonuses to several senses, so this may be important (although I don’t believe it is directly applicable to the following). This does not change the points totals for Character Types (Angel, p. 22).

Overview

While the existence of bite dens (MS, pp. 23-24) remains something everyone wishes to keep under wraps, the existence of vampires is known to be more than mere rumor - at least by 80% of the Sunnydale populace. Some people refer to this as “Sunnydale’s Open Secret.” This percentage decreases by 5% for every 100 miles away from the Hellmouth one gets. The knowledge of the existence of Slayers, and even other demons, is nowhere near as high.

Only 1 in 10 people know of Slayers, the Watchers, or anything associated with either; only 2 in 10 know of the existence of other (non-vampire) demons; and only 2 in 10 know of the existence of other Supernatural types, such as Witches, Ghosts, and Werewolves.

This does not mean that people who are far from the Hellmouth are unfamiliar with the concepts of these Supernatural critters, nor even that they do not believe in them. Were they to definitively learn of these creatures’ existence, they might not be surprised, but they are less likely to know that they exist than someone from Sunnydale. Few people are familiar with Slayers or Watchers, or their Lore, even in Sunnydale.

Part of the reason that so few people know about the existence of other demons is that vampires are prolific throughout the region, and other demons are not. One has to go farther toward Los Angeles to encounter a more diverse roster of demons regularly; Sunnydale is primarily a vampire’s playground, and is given a wide berth by many of the other demonic races due to that. Vampires are antisocial by nature, so they don’t get along with much of anyone from any race - not just humans. They barely tolerate one another.

Sunnydale’s large vampire population attracts vampire groupies, wannabes, and bite junkies, who then attract more vampires in a circular ecology the Vampire Lords encourage and exploit. The Hellmouth also produces even more vampires (and other demons), effectively doubling the Vampire Lords’ feeding and recruitment pools.

The Vampire Lords

These Vampire Lords (Ghosts, p. 191) have combined their Influence (Abomination Codex PDF, p. 25) into an organization known as The High Council of Vampires, aka the Vampire Covenant, as it known by vampires. They employ their Minions (Angel, p. 191) and the occasional Vampire Mercenary (BtVS Director’s Screen, p. 52) to enforce their edicts across the vampiric arm of the Supernatural Underworld. But the Vampire Lords know their place; their Influence does not extend far into other demonic domains.

The Vampire Lords’ armies are tended to by their Lieutenants (Angel, p. 192), who also provide vital information and act as counsel. At least one representative from a non-vampiric demon race sits on the High Council for Vampires, and a few more have honorary positions. The Council is said to have brokered deals with local police and clergy that have eased living conditions for the Sunnydale Undead, but this might just be a rumor.

The Council has mandated that there be no Siring unless permission is explicitly sought and given. Also, that Sires are responsible for their sirelings and their actions for the first decade of the sirelings’ unlife (-1 Obligation). Although they vie for a more peaceful environment with so many Hunters and Slayers patrolling the region, they do not wish to limit the more savage vampires’ hunting practices - something the Council remains split over how to handle - so there is no edict in place regarding any sort of masquerade like one finds in Vampire: The Masquerade. Opponents of such a thing argue that vampires are already masquerading by hiding their Game Face and not openly slaughtering humans on the street.

The Vampire Council also wants to secure and enforce their territory, including Sunnydale’s cemeteries (Welcome to Sunnydale, p. 39), the docks, and the bus depot. In particular, they are seeking more support for the protection of Supernaturals who frequent these areas from the “rogue” (the Council’s term) Hunters, Untrained Slayers (Tea & Crossbows, pp. 33-34), and Slayers-in-Training that are flooding the region. But the vampires who disagree with the Council’s objectives feel oppressed by their enforcement, and so prefer to take their chances.

One of the reasons for this recent push toward organization is the fallout from the 1990s, when vampires ran roughshod over the town but for the intervention of the Slayer and her allies. As the populace of Sunnydale became more aware of the threat they faced, they began taking stronger precautions. Garlic strands across porches and doors started appearing as a quirky decorating trend, its real purpose obscured. Large silver crosses on necklaces and inset in rings became a popular fashion trend that persists to this day (MS, p. 21; Angel, p. 189). And, after the Slayer disappeared, Vampire Hunters became common.

The Council is an attempt to mitigate the damage, and build a better life for both vampires and humans in Sunnydale. But, whether this is a clever ploy or an earnest attempt is unknown. What the Covenant discusses is not known to the general rabble of Supernaturals or even vampires, specifically - many of whom do not support the Council. The majority only hear about the edicts and mandates as they are handed down. Even the identities of the Vampire Lords that sit on the Council are lost on many, though they may know their names in another context, as most of the existing Vampire Lords are well-known throughout the Supernatural Underworld.

Although the Covenant cares nothing for working with organizations like the Watchers’ Council, the High Council of Witches is another matter - just for one example. And, as the rumors suggest, they remain open to working with local police, clergy, and emergency workers to ensure everyone’s protection and safe passage on the streets of Sunnydale. How they go about doing this is likely to be less than professional, but the Council guarantees that it will be done out of sight.

The Council has also promised to curb the practice of bite dens. They understand the community’s concerns over disease and associated criminal activity, and have their own concerns about unwanted deaths and sirings. They will not end the practice entirely, even if they say they will, but they will follow-through on promises of reform and enforcement. They claim that this will require the cooperation of the police, and possibly local leaders.

Vampire Lords are not encountered randomly, nor on the street. In addition to the security The Council provides them, they also have their own private forces comprising Minions, Lieutenants, and Mercenaries. Vampire Lords include The Master (MS, p. 119-123; Lawyers, Gods, & Money, p. 126) and Dracula (LG&M, pp. 126-127; MS, pp. 90-92). Darla may also be a Vampire Lord, though she operates out of Los Angeles (Buffy, p. 172).

The Rabble

The majority of the vampires in and around Sunnydale are not associated with the Council, or anyone else. Sires abandon their sirelings shortly after Turning them. Even those that abide by the Council’s edicts tend to disassociate from their sireling after the first few years of mandatory Siring. Familial-type units may emerge - such as with Drusilla, Angelus, and Spike - but they are uncommon. Tribal clans are equally rare, due to vampires’ Antisocial Impulses and the high value placed on individualism. In many ways, the vampire of the Buffyverse is the ultimate symbol of ever-youthful rebellion, which makes organizing difficult for them. This is one of the reasons so many cooperative attempts to take down the Slayer fail, and so few are launched.

To be sure, vampires like to congregate. They also cooperate to achieve short-term goals. They do not tend to form long-lasting organizations, with a few exceptions (such as those noted in Monster Smackdown). Small hunting parties, and gangs of d10 vampires (as Granite Gang Members - BtVS Director’s Screen, pg. 19), are about the most organized units an Investigator should expect to encounter. These gangs may include one or more Demon Gangstas (Angel, p. 80) in addition to vampires, but this is even rarer (3 in 10 chance).

Welcome to Sunnydale provides a good list of Lairs around the area (pg. 39), but they are not vampire-specific. Directors are encouraged to develop more, as well as place a few bite dens on the map (in run-down areas), featuring vampire NPCs of their own creation or those found in the books. Bear in mind that most Buffyverse vampires prefer to hunt and live alone, or perhaps in pairs. Hunting parties, while uncommon in general, are more common amongst newly-awakened vampires but their members do not necessarily nest together. Vampires of the Buffyverse are largely solitary critters that prefer to congregate, then separate.

All vampires have the abilities detailed in the Buffy and Angel corebooks (Buffy pp. 167-169; Angel, pp. 48, 186-190), and many have Supernatural abilities as detailed in Angel, pp. 49-60 and other books (notably, Ghosts of Albion). Some, like Dracula, also possess Sorcery (Buffy, p. 49, Magic Box) or Innate Magic (Ghosts, p. 48), and have access to spells. These spells should be determined before play begins, although a few spell slots can be left blank to be filled-in later.

Vampires lead lives of extravagance whenever possible but, just like humans, they are limited by their Resources and opportunities, as well as their skills sets and natural ability. Vampires' enhanced Perception is responsible for their heightened emotional states, such as their perpetual bloodlust, as well as their heightened sensations. This compels vampires to seek out ever-increasing levels of physical gratification which results in extreme and reckless behavior. Unfortunately, drugs have no effect on vamps, so they tend to eat their feelings.

Vampires receive at least as much pleasure from feeding as the vessel being fed upon, and likely more. For this reason, all vampires have a -5 Addiction to Blood (Angel, p. 29). They must feed at least once per day (1 full CON point, or about 2-3 LP) or suffer a -1 to WILL. This becomes an additional -1 CON after one week without fresh, human blood (Ghosts, p. 189). This fresh blood cannot be from animals, but may come from certain other races (such as Demons or maybe Trolls).

Most vampires are extremely vain. Although they do what they can, signs of death belie their attempts to disguise their state of unlife. Many bear the stench of death, attract clouds of flies, have a pallor of death, or worse. Vamps spend a lot of time and effort trying to hide these problems, though few go as far as those who learn Semblance of Life (WitchCraft PDF, p. 280). Most affect parfums, lotions, and even smoking habits to combat the odor, and wigs and make-up to fight the appearance of death. See also, Beautician (WitchCraft PDF, p. 95-96) - aka, Wildcard: Fashion (Buffy, p. 94).

Vampires do not receive a ST against beheadings; the Vampire Death Chart on Ghosts of Albion, p.190, is incorrect in that regard.

Random Encounter
1-5 Brand New Vamp (Buffy, p. 169)
6-8 Vampire Minion (Angel, p. 191)
9-0 Vampire Veteran (Angel, p. 191)

Again, Vampire Lords are never randomly encountered. They are incredibly powerful, and hidden behind several layers of security.

Vampires in History

Rumor, superstition, and a warped view of history are common amongst street-level vampires. While vampires as a whole have their own version of events that tends to outstrip what humans know of history, many vampires live a cloistered unlife. Their personal experiences and knowledge of these events often overshadow the reality of how those events unfolded, and their egos do the rest.

For example, it is said among vampires that it was a vamp who killed Duke Ferdinand and set-off World War I, and that the assassination story was a cover-up. It doesn’t really matter if it’s true or not, as it has spread far and wide among vampires over the decades. But, even if there is truth to it, the larger historical events of WWI are more important than the details of vampires somehow being involved. Furthermore, few members of any other race have ever heard this version of events; it is only known to vampires, so its influence and recognition by others is extremely limited.

However, this presumed historical importance is a source of great pride to many vampires. To some, it proves that they shepherd humans in a healthy, symbiotic relationship; to others, it proves vampires’ superiority and mastery over the herd called Mankind. Either way, many hold to this often twisted and myopic view of history, with vampires at the forefront of it all yet never credited for their contributions.

This insertion of vampires into important historical events may be emblematic of a greater need for recognition or belonging, but the fact that vampires have played a far greater role in our history a lot more often, and for a lot longer, than humans realize is inarguable. It is said that vampires predate Mankind, though what they fed upon is unknown. Perhaps history is as the vampires say... but looking for one who would know it is not suggested.

Vampires are also often used as a metaphor for counterculture, so all of this makes perfect sense from any perspective. Their own culture and history is intertwined with that of Mankind’s, which sometimes makes the prouder of the species act-out in defiance. Combine this with a serious bloodlust and you have some truly dangerous vampire “activists” on the streets of Sunnydale, demanding respect and literally thirsting for blood. Among these may be the next Vampire Lord, but most are just street-level demagogues often acting in bad faith.

Still, as noted in Monster Smackdown (p. 30), vampires have their own holidays, beliefs, and society. Vampires even recognize different astrological signs. Although their society intermingles with larger demon society, as well as that of humans’, it is separate from both and remains hidden from them. This bothers these civic-minded vampires.

Networking

As noted, vampires do not get along with one another, nor with other races; they are antisocial to a fault. They may form small nests with familial-like ties, but these do not last more than a few decades at most. Usually, the nest is run out of town or hunted to extinction, and the members lose touch while on the run. Larger clans like the kind you see in Vampire: The Masquerade are not possible due to the rebellious nature of vampires in the Buffyverse. The High Council of Vampires is as close to a Masquerade-type clan as any organization has ever come, and a good number of vamps do not support it - instead feeling oppressed by its decrees and enforcement.

Not every vampire knows every other vampire - even if they did, the turnover rate is pretty high in and around Sunnydale, even without a dedicated Slayer. Every vampire knows the Vampire Lords of the region, though; their Status and Renown precede them. The general vampire of Sunnydale is also aware of the High Council of Vampires, which they call the Vampire Covenant. Many do hang-out together, and vampires appear to be social creatures despite their individualistic tendencies. Dedicated vampire bars, separate from dedicated demon bars, dot the landscape (particularly in Los Angeles and Las Vegas), for example, and slave markets exist literally underground in the sewer tunnels and necropolises of wealthier cemeteries.

By and large, which vampires know one another is the same as it is for humans: It depends largely on geography and where they lair, as well as any personal relationships they have with one another (Angel, p. 32) - especially those they may have had in life. Vampires are often solitary or nest in couples; larger clans are rare, and families of five or more are basically non-existent. Anti-Covenant sentiment continues growing, which may culminate in a second or even third Council of Vampires that will butt heads with the original, but these competing Councils won’t last. How long the first Vampire Covenant lasts remains to be seen, and is likely to come down to how heavy-handed the enforcement is.

Supernatural (Vampire) Type characters can have Influence and Contacts like any other [N]PC, and may know the PCs, and/or other Supernatural Types, before play begins. They are technically just as likely to know another Supernatural Type as they are to know another vampire, especially Ghosts and Demons. These are the two Supernaturals vampires are most likely to encounter outside of their own kind.

Aside from the sympathizers, vampires do not hang around humans. Even those who believe the two can live in harmony keep their distance. Humans are thought to betray their masters, and be unpredictable. Vampires also tend to hate humans, and do not see them as equals.

Those who do not hate them still stay away, as other vampires might see their association as weakness or discriminate against them for their beliefs. One could say that only those vampires with souls associate with humans - and those are rare, indeed.

Keep in mind that it’s silly-easy to become a vampire in Sunnydale and L.A., so take precautions.

Anti-Vamp Measures

“No normal untrained human is going to survive a fight with a vampire.” - MS, p. 33.

Some private police forces have Special Forces specifically trained and outfitted to handle vampire-related emergencies. Their team members are outfitted with crossbows, holy water flasks (5B dmg., AoE splash as grenade), Kevlar armor (10[5] AP), d10 stakes, and vampire detection goggles (Slayer’s Handbook, p. 39). Some of the pricier, and generally shadier, ones (1 in 10) have vehicles with mounted Portable Sun Lamps (SH, p. 38) and carry daylight grenades (Military Monster Squad Initiative Handbook, p. 47) instead of holy water flasks.

These forces vary in size depending on the assumed threat of the situation, but most teams consist of five men (and women), flexing to a maximum of 12 members who occasionally train together. All members of the team have 1+ Tactics.

Team Composition
1-4 Initiative Commando Tough Guy (Buffy, p. 159)
5-6 Former Initiative Agent (Buffy, p. 62)
7-0 Former LAPD (Angel, p. 179)
+1 Captain (MMSIH, p. 30)

So far, the public police (Buffy, p. 159) have no such anti-demon forces. They mock the private security companies’ Supernatural forces with monikers like "Monster Squad" and "The X-Files," but the majority would prefer to have something similar, if they could answer honestly. Several take precautions of their own, from wearing reinforced Kevlar scarves (keep in mind that Sunnydale is in California) and silver cross necklaces, to carrying water guns filled with holy water. At least they have tasers, although only 1 in 10 knows that they are effective on demons (including vampires).

All police forces are trained not to deal with nor answer questions related to vampires or demons, in general. They have become adept at avoiding the conversation and changing the subject. They do not sneer at those who inquire about the Supernatural, but they do not discuss official police investigations with the general public, either.

Private police forces offer security only; they do not employ detectives or private investigators, nor do they engage in investigations. If these are necessary, the security team usually instructs the victims to call the police. This is often where the PCs get involved.

The Initiative

Contrary to popular belief, The Initiative is still active throughout the area, albeit in a decentralized and unorganized fashion. The program, originally thought to be a disaster, was actually successful in seeding Sunnydale’s security forces with Former Initiative Agents (Buffy, pg. 62). Even more have pursued careers as freelance security and Hunters outside of the normal private sector structure. The military believes most would return to active duty if asked, because they maintain good contacts with these agents in the field.

They do not operate in the open as The Initiative, and most have left the military since serving as agents, but they all received the same training and most have experiences with the Supernatural, so many keep in touch with one another and may even operate as a unit for a private police force or hang-out at the same bar, etc. Homegrown, offshoot operations of The Initiative may have taken root, especially among members of the Military community (Angel, p. 32), and they may be training others to fight HSTs.

Like Slayers and vampires, the hatred between Supernaturals and Initiative Agents is palpable. Neither would willingly agree to work with the other for any reason, although situations like Riley’s being compromised (both by falling in love with Buffy then later becoming a bite junkie) can clearly happen. Similar situations include not knowing that the other is a former agent or Supernatural Type; being forced to transport, or being in pursuit of, the Supernatural Type without harming it; and the like. These situations can be played as comedies of errors or something darker - the TV show usually played them for both. Creative solutions can allow these sworn enemies to [be forced to] work together for at least one-shot adventures, if not longer.

Former Initiative Agents carry holy water flasks and prefer electrical weapons (5B damage - MMSIH, p. 40-41), in addition to any weapons they carry for their profession. Some carry high-powered water guns filled with holy water, wear garlic strands as necklaces, and carry silver crosses. All know that demons exist, particularly vampires, and most have hands-on experience with them (usually from their time in The Initiative).

A neighborhood needs to have at least Resources (Well-Off) to afford a private police force. Those with mounted weaponry and other extreme gadgets require the neighborhood to have Resources (Wealthy) or greater. Neighborhoods with fewer Resources are served by public police.

Several of the private security forces with their own anti-demon special response teams are represented by Wolfram & Hart (LG&M - Ch. 3, Wolfram & Hart; Angel, p. 170, 207-211).

Happy Halloween! 🎃

© The Weirding, 2025

The Flats: Life on the Margins On-Sale (Halloween, 2025)

2025-10-16T15:50:00.002-05:00

The first entry into my dark future, urban fantasy campaign setting for HERO is on sale for Halloween (2025). The Flats: Life on the Margins details a world torn asunder by a rift to The Other Time, dominated by zaibatsu, and overrun with Ratlings and other refugees. This wave of refugees includes Elfs and Dwarfs, Trolls and Orcs, Ratlings and Goblins, and many more - all provided in The Flats and The Flats II: The Black Hat Book.

There are also new spells, a new magic college, new Kung-Fu styles, new professions like the Cybermancer, new items, and much more. In addition to all of this is a Black Market system which helps determine what characters can find on the streets; an Events system to randomly determine local and worldly events for months and years to come; and stats and information on how to create, establish, and run your own campaign in The Flats.

For a limited time, The Flats: Life on the Margins is available for a discount price on DriveThruRPG. I will continue supporting this line of products in the future. Be sure to check it out, and thanks!

© The Weirding, 2025

Buffy the Vampire Slayer vs. Vampire the Masquerade

2025-10-07T12:05:00.009-05:00

"Vampires are a sub-variety of demon... not angsty, tormented creatures. Anne Rice fans are bound to be disappointed."
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer Roleplaying Game, p.185

I sunk $25 into the Vampire: The Masquerade 5^th-Ed. Humble Bundle with the express intention of using it to beef-up my Buffy game. I already have a nice collection of VtM 1^st-Ed. books, but I always forget about them because I am no Anne Rice fan. I like the system, and I have nothing against the mechanics, but the lore is overwhelming and suffocates everything else. And the way it is written kills the whole, and I hate to use this word, vibe.

Shadowrun is like this, too. Both of them read like a bad website: Just endless hype, jargon, and buzzwords strung together into semi-coherent sentences. When you. Use broken sentences. To increase. The impact of the wording. Doing it a lot. Lessens. The impact! And? It's hard to read. Just stop doing it.

Anyone who's seen the TV show knows that Buffyspeak can be hard to parse, too. However, it is not as omnipresent in the Buffy RPG as it is in VtM. In fact, Eden did a good job of keeping the mechanics cleanly written and free of Buffyspeak, or any other conceit. What Buffyspeak there is is smoothly incorporated into the mechanics - such as with the Qualities, Jock and Nerd. VtM hails from an era when mechanics and lore were kept separate, and I can't fault it that. I still tend to prefer games that are like this.

You can see this design in many TTRPG from the era, including Call of Cthulhu. Games like Shadowrun and Cyberpunk broke that mold by incorporating their lore into their core mechanics, intertwining them in the writing, and other games followed suit. In most of these other instances, the system mechanics are presented upfront, and the campaign materials are deeper in the book. VtM set the standard for this when they started releasing their sourcebooks: The corebook contained the mechanics and the sourcebooks were the campaign materials that rarely contained any mechanics, and everybody was happy (especially White Wolf).

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Roleplaying Game premiered in 2002, when VtM's first-run was still going pretty strong, but I'll always associate both Vampire and Shadowrun with the 1990s. More than anything, it's the "in-your-face" writing, but both of those games did premiere in or around 1990. I have a lot of criticisms of Buffy RPG - the most important one being that it's not really a game without the Angel RPG - but the writing is pretty good. The only problem I have with it is that it buries mechanics in the text, so finding rules can be challenging (though it has a really good index), but the overall competency and tone of the text is fine.

Vampire constantly interrupts itself with "testimonials" from NPCs you don't know and don't give a shit about. And I can say it like that, because VtM 5e is in love with curse words. That makes it very "adult" (using swear words tells children that you are Old Enough). On another note, using an NPC for lore dumps is twice as boring in print as it is at the table. But, at least they lost that Timothy Bradstreet projector art - that shit used to drive me up a wall! Between the two, and all the sentence fragments, Vampire 1e is so overwrought that it's literally laughable, and basically unintelligible in parts.

But the real reason I forget that Vampire was ever a thing is because it's 100% fashion over function: All style. The reason I don't fault it the way I do Shadowrun is because Vampire does have some substance - like I say, I like the system. It was one of the first dice pool systems (along with the aforementioned), but their system actually works. Not a fan of dice pools, Vampire handles them about as well as I've ever seen. The system for 1e and 5e are the same if not very similar, at least from what I recall of 1e.

So, despite the fact that it was a good deal, I thought it a decent investment. I can't publish anything I come up with for Buffy, but I guess I could feasibly publish it under Vampire. I can publish my Buffy content here, but it doesn't do it justice because of the limitations of a blog. It screws-up tables, smushes charts, and completely destroys the formatting. But, more than anything, I feel that Buffy the Vampire Slayer's vampires are wan and hollow, and I'd love a little more detail and organization that VtM may provide, so it's an investment in my gaming if nothing else.

I plan on sharing at least some of what I come up with here, but my purpose is to develop the vampire population of Sunnydale into something more than a faceless mob. I don't want moody Goth vamps ennuiing up the place, and I realize that Buffy vamps don't get along well enough to organize and coordinate so they're unlikely to form clans, but they have to be more than just Act One cannon fodder.

I also realize that Buffy, the TV show, was more Monster-of-the-Week than vampire slaying, and Cinematic UniSystem supports that to the hilt, but with more Fae and Spirit critters than horror beasts. Angel provides all the vampire building information you'll ever need for Cinematic UniSystem, but I'm not making a full-fledged vampire NPC for every encounter. And the books detail how vampires in the Buffyverse operate mechanically, just not much about how they behave. I want less YA angst and a lot more scares.

I mean, the name of the game is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I want my vamps to really have some teeth! So, I'm thinking that the majority of the vampires in and around the Hellmouth are analogous to the Anarchs, while the elders are more akin to the Camarilla - although neither is a 1:1 comparison. Both Anarch and Camarilla came with the Humble Bundle, so I have access to both.

I also answered the biggest question: Does the population know that vampires exist? Buffy was awarded a trophy by the school for saving them so many times, and the Scooby Gang openly discusses vampires as though they're just a feature of the landscape, but it's terribly inconsistent.

Anyway, I haven't gotten that far into the VtM 5e materials because they're difficult to read, but I think I can lift a few ideas from the materials I got from the Humble Bundle and make my Buffy vamps real, unliving entities in my campaign. It's still a WIP, but I'll publish more on vampires in Sunnydale later this month.

© The Weirding, 2025

Happy Halloween Season!

2025-10-04T09:30:00.057-05:00

Well, I told you there would be more Buffy the Vampire Slayer Roleplaying Game along the way and it's coming this month, as I pulled out the books to adapt some Vampire: The Masquerade material to my chosen forever system for this sort of fare (Cinematic UniSystem). Don't hold me to it because I'm already swamped, so it might be a little late for Halloween proper, but it's coming this here Fall season for sure because I'm in the middle of designing it now.

I got the latest Humble Bundle featuring World of Darkness games, including Vampire, Hunter: The Reckoning, and Werewolf: The Apocalypse. I already have a lot of the 1^st-ed. Vampire and Werewolf books in print from the 1990s, but I constantly forget about them because I never played Masquerade all that much. I have some good memories of it, I've always liked the system, and I even got to playtest the LARP shortly before it went on sale back in the late '80s or early '90s at a local con in Memphis, TN, but my main groups played AD&D and Cyberpunk 2013-2020, and did not read Anne Rice books.

Buffy has a bad habit of being limited by the TV series, and that's across the boards. It really would have been a better game had they not had to deal with branding, and hewing so closely to the TV show. To these ends, the vampires (all of the Supernatural Types, actually) are either complex NPCs or faceless, thoughtless mobs for the Slayers to trounce - there's really no in-between. Either way, you have all these undead perpetually living and feeding in the same general area, but they have no organization or seemingly even knowledge of one another's existence. (At least most of the time; when it was convenient to the plot, this changed.)

Angel (the TV show) did a much better job of establishing, and playing with, the larger cast of demons and handling their relationships, both to and with one another. Oddly, Angel's demons were mostly from multiple dimensions and had no real connection to one another, while the overwhelming majority of Buffy's were vampires. So, it's just bad writing from the show that got carried over into the game.

My goal here is to establish some reason for vampires to exist other than to feed, which is about as deep as most of them go on the show; figure out what it is that they do other than feed; establish some sort of factional divisions amongst the throngs of vampires clogging the Hellmouth; and generally give vampires a little more character. For this, I am using Anarch and Camarilla from 5^th-Ed., as well as looking at all of the aforementioned WoD games. I don't plan on using this information wholesale, as I don't think it will fit like that - unless maybe I wanted to put together a PC party of vampires (Angel has build-your-own vampire rules), but I don't.

I'm not looking to expand minor vamps into full-fledged VtM characters, just get some ideas of what I can add to set them apart from one another so they at least come across as possibly frightening. When played as presented in Angel, vampires are terrifying and extremely capable, but Slayers as presented can still wipe the floor with them pretty quickly (especially Veteran Slayers). I don't just want to add some HP to them and call it a day; I want the vampires in my BtVS RPG to have some real teeth - and some real legs. As it stands, they're designed to either die right out of the grave, or are destined to be the next Big Bad.

Anyway, I'll try to get that up by Halloween.

© The Weirding, 2025

The Flats II: The Black Hat Book

2025-09-10T21:45:00.006-05:00

Originally slated to detail more about the COMgrid Underground and Gridder World, The Flats II: The Black Hat Book became its own thing. Although more disjointed than The Flats: Life on the Margins (the first in the series, and necessary to use The Flats II), the sections naturally lead from one to the next, detailing the darker side of life on the margins.

The Flats can be plopped into any existing campaign, or used as the basis for entirely new ones. With a nod to classics like Champions and Shadowrun, it takes us into a brand new urban fantasy realm dominated by dark alleyways and bright, flickering, neon lights. With a few, clear-cut certainties in a world of gray morality, PCs are increasingly being called upon to fight back the evil humanoids detailed in this book.

The Flats II: The Black Hat Book looks at Deep Elfs, Naga, Orcs, and Trollkin, as well as other evil humanoid races; introduces new spells and items, including an entirely new magical college; details Thrull Ulroog and the Orcish Horde (with Mass Combat statistics); and so much more. Although aimed at the GM, players will find plenty to think about, as well as adventure hooks.

Now that all reads like copy because it basically is, but I had a blast writing this sequel. It really does finish-off The Flats as introduced in Life on the Margins, opening up new chapters for exploration. I wrote it around the same time as the first installment, then continued editing it for months before release. I'm still learning my way around word processing, but I'm really pleased with how this came out. I give that a few months at this rate (and that's a good thing!)...

Because I wrote it, I can't give a fair assessment of it, but I did put a lot of time and effort into getting things right, especially from a layout perspective. You could technically only buy this book if you wanted to create your own urban fantasy environment and just needed the stats for the active races and species, but both books are recommended. I really went into some depth in areas that I feel many similar products neglect.

I do not get any money for blogging here. Even though it isn't about money, it kind of is when I'm spending this much time doing anything that isn't working or cleaning my house, so I just moved my ideas into a different format and now charge a bit for them. I'm really having a good time doing this, and really appreciate the support I've received.

Know that I will continue supporting this product for some time, although I do not have an ETA on this next entry into the series right now. Stay tuned for more information, and pick up your copy of The Flats II: The Black Hat Book today!

* There were some formatting errors in the book and I will be updating it soon to correct them. There was also a copy & paste tragedy in the Magic section. Terribly sorry, but these have since been corrected and I will re-upload soon.

© The Weirding, 2025

Marketing Discussion

2025-08-20T09:30:00.031-05:00

So, I broke The Flats down into a series of books because

It became so large that it got unwieldy.
It became so large that it was going to be too expensive.
It became so large that it was hard to navigate.
It became so large that it just made sense to somehow separate at least some of the information from the corebook.

I knew going in that this was going to be a sprawling mess of disheveled notes, overwritten entries, and high concept ideas - some of which might not land. So I did everything I could think of to both bring my vision to digital print while making it as accessible to as many gaming groups as possible. I also wanted it to be modular, so you could plunk it down in your existing campaign without much problem, so breaking it into smaller parts fit that mold, too.

The sequel is much stronger than the main entry, but even though I didn't really expect that since they were largely written at the same time, it makes sense that I would learn a few things from the first one. In fact, that's another reason I broke them into separate entries: To make a few mistakes early-on where it matters less.

Now that the heavy-lifting is done and the corebook is out there, I can delve into all the fascinating details that make mine a setting worth using. Not only is it the only one like it available, it's actually pretty good. I use it myself when I play HERO urban fantasy; it is literally my campaign setting.

My goal is to bring a lot of related products to market to support The Flats as best I can, even after I have moved on to other content, which I plan to do after a suitable time. I would love to bring some of my ideas to other systems, where I think they better fit the material. Some of these include Chill, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Call of Cthulhu, and even some D&D.

In the 1980s and 90s, the cartoons were advertisements for the toy lines on which they were based, such as was the case with Dungeons & Dragons. In some cases, such as The Smurfs, the cartoon came first but I don't think that was the norm. Despite the amount of sci-fantasy, Dungeontubers, and cartoons I watch, I don't see many commercials targeting my interest in these subjects. Were I to create a marketing campaign for The Flats, I really wouldn't even know where to place it.

Nowadays, it seems the majority of new players come from video games (not that it's a bad thing). The direct pipeline between print media and motion pictures, and TTRPG just doesn't seem to exist anymore - and certainly does not exist to the extent that it once did.

Apparently, D&D has already licensed the name to a streaming channel or is otherwise trying to establish a Dungeons & Dragons brand streaming presence. This may have been around for a while, but I just discovered it. It has what you would likely put on there if you ran it: Some liveplay shows and the 1980s cartoon, but it also has a cooking show and who knows what else (like I said, I just found it). I figured this was a direction they were going at some point, regardless, and it beats slot machines.

Although that appears to be all there is right now, a trivia game show would be nice. As would a curated movie selection. I wouldn't fault them showing some fare like Xena or Legend of the Seeker, even though they aren't specific to D&D the way licensed/branded shows will be. And a revival of that cartoon show would be amazing. Either way, I've decided to give it a few days to see what I think of it. It may be on Pluto, but I came across it on Prime Live.

Crossovers and Conventions

2025-08-08T13:40:00.003-05:00

I got lucky and sold a few of these books, then reinvested them into two Humble Bundles that were too good to pass-up. I don't get a lot of responses here, but I wanted to ask:

What is the crossover between the comics and tabletop roleplaying game hobbies' fandoms these days?

I know, growing up in the 1980s and '90s, we had a blast at conventions, that were more generalized in nature. There was a movie room showing genre favorites 24/7, as well as something like Star Trek or Mystery Science Theater 3000 going on the TV in the entropy suite. There were also dealers of VHS anime, which was one of the few places you could find classics like Akira and Vampire Hunter D.

There were Tournament Games (elite caps because they rewarded players prizes), and plenty of open rooms for pick-up games. The last really great con I attended was held the same year Magic: The Gathering was released, but they did not have any scheduled games for it that year. The guests were writers and artists (lots of artists) of the pop-culture we were eagerly devouring, and they usually shared one or two tables.

Now, I know there are ComiCons and specific gaming conventions, but is there still a crossover in the creatives being presented? Is there a comic book dealer presence at GenCon, for example?

I would really like to attend a convention again, and I don't know which one it would be. So, I'm opening-up the floor to hear what others have to say (technically, the floor is always open)!

© The Weirding, 2025

Updates and Reviews

2025-07-19T02:14:00.001-05:00

I am working on the sequel to The Flats: Life on the Margins, and so I am super-busy. However, the TV is on in the background and I have been revisiting some old favorites, such as Dead Like Me. I've also been checking out some suggested TV and movies that I otherwise missed, such as Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Gargoyles, and I'll likely breakdown and give Stranger Things another go.

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs is of particular interest, since I think it was a comic book that got licensed into a RPG by GDW, and apparently there was even a cartoon on CBS that I somehow either missed or just never knew anything about. It's actually aimed at YA, so it is much easier to parse than some of the fare to which I have been subjected. But, more seriously, I've enjoyed almost everything I've been watching... even if I haven't been actively watching it (I'm busy!).

I bought the $40 Humble Bundle with all of the TTRPG. It was no impulse buy, I assure you; $40 ain't shit to some people, but i fretted over the deal until the last minute then finally took the plunge. It has a lot of filler content, but there are some real gems in there too, like Basic Roleplaying, The Call of Cthulhu Keeper's Guide, Dragonbane, and much more. It may set me back some, but I don't think it will. I've amassed quite the Call of Cthulhu collection here as of late, mostly just by happenstance.

I guess that speaks well of Chaosium's involvement with the community and so forth, though; they've been in all the sales and bundles lately.

I got the Malleus Monstrorum on sale the other day, the Keeper's Guide in the Humble Bundle, and I had the 7th-Ed. Call of Cthulhu book to begin with - probably from another bundle! That should be all I need to run a rousing game of CoC, but I haven't done that since it was in the 4th-Ed. (which is what all my books are from, except for the 3rd-Ed. boxed set).

I cannot wait to dig-in to everything I spent my hard-earned money on this week, but I thought I should update no one in particular as to the goings-on about the house. It's a boring existence to some, but I have a fertile imagination I keep feeding.

© The Weirding, 2025

The Flats: Life on the Margins (for Champions 4th-Ed.)

2025-06-20T09:00:00.019-05:00

Life on the Margins

I guess that, since I wrote the book, this is kind of a sponsored post, but hear me out:

The Flats is my Shadowrun by way of HERO attempt, redeveloped to better reflect a more realistic portrayal of the world and environment. To be certain, the results bear little resemblance to either game. The Flats is developed for Champions 4th-Ed.

It is a full campaign setting for modern day urban fantasy games. Magic is mundane at the beginning, but spells can be extremely potent. Likewise, starting characters are unlikely to be able to afford much cybertech, but they can save-up and buy all they want until they go cyberpsycho and have to be put down.

You can play an Elfen Cybermancer, a Dwarfen mercenary, a Troll Street Samurai, and so much more. The Flats exists outside any major city, so it should be easy to drop into existing campaigns, though the rules provide the random tables and guidelines you need to create an entirely new campaign set directly in The Flats. In fact, you can be anything you want since you can stack as many packages as you can afford (but you can only have one racial package).

All rules and rules changes are optional, but help to set the tone and atmosphere of day to day survival on the mean streets. More humanoids pour over from The Other Time daily and no one knows how to stop it. It is only now that the Goblin Horde has begun attacking truck shipments and lone travelers that anyone seems to care.

I not only have several supplements planned for the series, I am already halfway through the sequel, which contains all the baddies and the lore surrounding them. Time permitting, I am also available to actually run the game!

Although The Flats works with nothing more than the Champions core book, you really need Dark Champions, CyberHERO, and a few other supplements to get the most out of it. Power gamers and collectors rejoice! This is a Wild Heroic setting with Average Magic, widely available cybertech, and no dearth of fantasy races.

Follow the link above to check it out!

To celebrate Free RPG Day, be sure to visit the website for a free PDF covering creating and maintaining cities in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and UniSystem Roleplaying Games. You can also find a link to The Weirding in the sidebar. Happy gaming!

© The Weirding, 2025

Heartbreakers and Hopeful Idiots

2025-06-16T09:30:00.004-05:00

To be clear, I am the hopeful idiot here:

I am preparing to release what they call a "heartbreaker" of a RPG supplement. They call it that because I spent too much time and effort on it to get a reasonable return, and it's unlikely to sell many copies... at least, that's the likelihood. But, I'm just silly enough to hope that it all turns out alright.

I had to change the name to avoid confusion with another supplement for a different game, but that was no big deal. I used LibreOffice to do everything and had no problems with it on the last, smaller, project so I'm once again hoping that's the case this go-round.

The Flats is a modern-day, high urban fantasy setting for Champions 4th-Ed. It works best with CyberHERO, Dark Champions, and Urban Fantasy Hero, but it works well without those (and other) supplements I utilized while writing it. Everything you need is in the one book, although I have several, related projects planned.

I also managed to get at least a semblance of the site back up and running. You can find a link to it in the sideboard. I replaced my mechanical keyboard with a much more sensitive one. I rewatched the entire series of Monk and it got really repetitive there at the end. I remember it being light and fun at the time, but that was watching it weekly; the later seasons really don't stand up well when you binge it.

I found all of the episodes of Mission Hill, a now mostly forgotten Adult Swim cartoon from likely the late '90s or early '00s. I wasn't a huge fan of it when it was on, but I do remember it. It isn't that bad, but it's rarely that good. I guess it's okay... that it goes unremembered.

I'm really excited about my heartbreaker project, but I don't know that I'm prepared for the likely failure. It would seem so anticlimactic! The setting draws from existing materials and provides a great backdrop for Dark Champions and superhero campaigns, alike. I'll tell you more about it once it's released.

© The Weirding, 2025

Life as Usual and a Book

2025-05-15T22:06:00.001-05:00

So, I've been watching Supernatural after I had to take a break from the Buffyverse for a minute. I'm mostly listening to it, and even though TV writing can be clunky, it still works. I have yet to watch Daredevil, though I've heard mixed things. I understand there were some production changes or something midway through the run that were quite jarring to at least the viewers whose comments I read.

I'm basically living on hot green tea and frozen foods at this point. I know that's not healthy, but it is surprisingly tasty.

I am writing an honest-to-God, full-fledged, in-actuality (PDF) book, y'all! It's bonafide. I will be too, if I ever get it done and out there. I already published one but it was more to test the market and get a handle on the system. It was actually part of a discussion in a Discord channel that I didn't get to have before the conversation moved on, and I thought it was important. A handful of others may have thought the same, and I thank them. Anyway, I'll try to keep everyone informed as to that.

I'm back to playing Sims 4 again. And now also Sims 3 again again again. A wild horse came out of nowhere on my first day playing. I forgot they did that. I'll be playing more Sims 3, even though it doesn't like my computer (or vice-versa).

That's it. That's all I'm doing. I haven't had anything to report, so I haven't had much to say. But I do have a book coming out soon, so please look out for that. It is an urban fantasy campaign setting for Champions. Sorry, this keyboard sticks.

© The Weirding, 2025

Godzilla vs. L.A.

2025-04-30T11:46:00.003-05:00

Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock

2025-04-25T09:00:00.003-05:00

Godzilla #1 (2025)

2025-04-24T09:00:00.008-05:00

As I understand it, it's Godzilla's 70th anniversary. But I may have misread that. We're getting a lot of Godzilla, either way.

© The Weirding, 2025

FCBD Ultimate Universe

2025-04-23T09:00:00.002-05:00

Reading Update

2025-04-22T09:00:00.020-05:00

So I haven't been doing anything but reading and there isn't a lot to report. Well, I did get something published on DriveThru, but it isn't anything much. Just something small to learn the system and figure out what I'm doing. I'll provide a link to the whole store once I get more going on over there.

A friend came over and started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer from episode 1 just on a whim. She said she blamed me, but it just came up on streaming and she figured why not. I am actually starting to get excited for the reboot.

If you play Starfinder or have thought about it, Demiplane has two classes available for free playtesting through May 30^th - the technomancer and mechanic. I made a Cosmere character but haven't had any opportunity to play, and the Cyberpunk character sheets were released a few weeks back.

Okay, this post literally has no substance but what can I tell you? I'm super-busy trying to read this stuff and, aside from that, there really isn't much to report. I still haven't watched Daredevil. I have about a dozen different things on my plate at the moment... and that doesn't include all the stuff I have to read.

Days of Endless Adventure (2025)

2025-04-21T09:00:00.008-05:00

I can't tell you what this is, other than a book. It is a D&D tie-in, although to what I have no idea.

© The Weirding, 2025

Red Fang - Arrows

2025-04-18T06:00:00.006-05:00

I don't just love Red Fang, I love their videos, too.

So It Isn't Shadowrun

2025-04-17T09:00:00.012-05:00

So, what I came up with is not Shadowrun. I deleted some races and options, moved some things around, and reassessed. And, it's still not Shadowrun.

I like what I came up with, I really do - in fact, that's what I plan on playing - but it isn't Shadowrun. Shadowrun got buried somewhere along the way. So I found someone else's Shadowrun to Hero adpatation and am starting over. Not from scratch but from whatever this guy came up with.

After a cursory glance, he did a thorough job. And he entitled his efforts the same thing I was going to call this, were I to give it a name (the obvious choice, I think). I won't mention it because I don't know the legality of the product. It looks self-published and I only have the PDF.

Anyway, that's where I stand. I'll have more to say on both but now I have to be away long enough to read this thing. I'm not throwing out what I came up with for Shadowrun; I'm going to merge the two as I see fit, but I am going to lean on what has already been done. I'm sure it's more replete and accurate than what I was doing.

I'm not looking to get into any trouble; my decision to do this is purely for personal purposes. I plan to play Shadowrun under the Hero system, one way or another - whether that be online or solo - and give it a fair shot. The only thing I recall not enjoying about it was the system, which is why I decided to do this.

© The Weirding, 2025

Shadowrun Timeline

2025-04-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

There's too much to it for me to say definitely one way or the other, but I'm likely dropping the Shadowrun timeline - not entirely, but overall. I certainly don't need that much detail or information on what reads like other peoples' campaign notes. I'm lifting the most important events from Shadowrun's (literal) daily timeline and adding those to the annual CyberSpace timeline.

I realize this timeline is key to the game according to many players, but it was a product of its time - and I was there, so I can say this definitively. The Soviet Union had just fallen, the Internet as we know it was barely underway (you were a "computer nerd" if you had an e-mail address in 1993), the Satanic Panic was nearing the end of its lifecycle but still in-swing, the Super Nintendo may not have even been released yet... either way, I remember the time and a lot of the events and situations surrounding it.

Shadowrun was based on these real-world events and emergent political ideologies, and that was one of its draws: The idea that this sort of thing (minus the most fantastic elements) might really happen any day now! Even the term, "Awakening," was a deeper, sociopolitical statement on current affairs, which Shadowrun did not really take, put in their game in a fashion, then extrapolate from; Shadowrun more or less just plopped them in the game and worked around them. That is to say that the day's current events and politics were central to the game which had a political statement to make, and that didn't work for me then and doesn't work for me now.

I love incorporating politics into my games, and they are often based (somewhat) on real-world events and ideologies, so I do not fear doing so, I just don't particularly care for how Shadowrun did it. And I'd be remiss if I didn't note that today's overheated political climate is unlikely to produce the same results as Shadowrun did in 1992 or '93; I want to play the game, not live it!

I know the timeline is important to the game as a whole, and that many fans find it sacrosanct (as does FASA), but CyberSpace's timeline extends into the period in which my campaign is set (the late 2090s) and Shadowrun's does not. As the name suggests, CyberSpace also extends beyond the planet and Shadowrun is far more concerned with terrestrial activity. I know that there is interplanetary activity in Shadowrun too, but I just plain like the way CyberSpace did it better.

Laser weapons are the standard of the day in our Shadowrun by Hero campaign, not noisy, antiquated hand-cannons, and is, on the surface, a far less fractured world than that of Shadowrun. I am keeping the campaign map, though, so all is not lost, superfans!

The over-reliance on governmental and real-world politics propelled my decision: Shadowrun overlays real-world politics into its timeline, where CyberSpace extrapolated from real-world politics and situations, changed the main players from governments and governmental operatives (soldiers and politicians) into megacorporations, super-mercs, and CEOs. And I prefer that approach, which is more in-line with the cyberpunk genre and more in-line with my preferred method of gaming.

© The Weirding, 2025

Shadowrun - Cybernetics, Magic, Allergies, and Side Effects

2025-04-15T03:00:00.182-05:00

I don't think any of this post will make sense to even Shadowrun fans; if you do not know the Hero System, this post is probably just gibberish. But I needed to make it to organize my own thoughts, and hopefully get some input.

So far, literally everything has the Limitation: Side Effects - at least almost all Magic and Cybernetics, which is more than half of the game! This is consistent throughout Shadowrun, Cyberpunk, CyberHERO, and Fantasy Hero (and its Companions), but I don't like it:

1. This is one of the first things that designers and users would seek to hammer-out. So, by this point (many decades after they were introduced), there should be a lot fewer side effects than there were with earlier versions, whether it be of a spell or article of cybertech.

2. Some of this comes off as hystrionic attempts at game balance where it really wasn't needed.

3. In Hero, specifically, it seems like they included it to lower Real Cost more than anything. It fits sometimes, and it is exactly right other times, but it's mostly just included with everything even when it doesn't fit.

4. Side Effects leads to a lot more math between Phases, which adds to the complexity of keeping up with everything. I want something more elegant and easier to follow, even if this is as simple (though also time-consuming) as Increased END, which doesn't necessarily make sense for a lot of cybernetics but could work for netrunning.

5. Since even the lowest version involves 30 Active Points, I'd really rather avoid Side Effects whenever possible! I can't imagine why anyone would choose a version, make, or model with Side Effects if they could afford the difference and had the choice.

One of the issues I'm thinking through is that it is consistent throughout all of these somewhat disparate sources, but all are from the same era (1989-1992 or so). "Side Effects" were one of the first things that were smoothed-out of modern technology, and today's Internet is (despite its problems) faster and more stable, relying far less on the end-user's knowledge of computers or computing (or electrical or fiber-optic) capacity. So I feel justified in making such a sweeping change, I just don't know the best, and most direct, way of going about it yet.

Here's my "creative" solution to Side Effects, Cyberpsychosis, and Cybernetics (better known as a rough draft):

Berserk on Burnout - Common, 11, 14- (-15)
Psych. Lim. Cyberpsychosis - Common, Strong (-15)

Magic and Cybernetics are handled separately, but there are going to be a lot of similarities - especially in the Wireless Age. At this point, Side Effects is one of those and I wanted to eliminate it but I am going with this write-up for cybernetics.