Tag: Role Playing Games

Comic Books, Doctor Who, Role Playing Games, Star Trek

Two Trek tastes that go great together

Written by TardisCaptain October 6, 2021September 8, 2023

Modiphius and IDW Publishing working together.

In the “I wasn’t expecting this news today” department, Modiphius released a supplement for their Star Trek Adventures roleplaying game. The IDW Year Five Tie In detailing the events from the Star Trek comic series, Star Trek: Year Five by IDW Publishing.

What makes this product so unique is that it’s based off of another Star Trek licensed publication instead of from a television series or movie. This is something that I’ve been wanting to see for quite some time with a Star Trek roleplaying game. There have been comics based off of a video game (Star Trek: Elite Force) and a novel based off of the MMORPG, Star Trek Online (Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many) but nothing with RPGs so far. Since IDW has been publishing Star Trek comics for over ten years, I hope that this is the start of a long line of products. IDW has had a successful series of Next Generation comics based off of Mirror Universe characters. There was an interesting Romulan series dealing with internal politics. The Kelvin timeline was greatly expanded with several comic series. Basically there are too many storylines to list here, most of them very enjoyable.

Having been inspired by the fan created, Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space Expanded Universe series, I was planning to write up my own series of Star Trek Expanded Universe publications (not for sale since I don’t want to violate any rights of the IP holders). Since Modiphius has released one IDW supplement (and hopefully more), I’ll avoid stepping on any toes by creating homebrew stats from non-IDW sources.

I’ve really been fired up by today’s release. I had to buy the book immediately from DriveThruRPG. It uses some of the wonderful artwork from the comics (a bonus which helped I’m certain). There are three new playable races. The I’qosa (a new race introduced in the comics), the Iotians (yea, the Piece of the Action guys) and the Tholians. We get the stats for one new Starfleet vessel as well as ships from the Tholians and I’qosa. Some of the character write ups includes Harry Mudd, Surak, Gary Seven and Isis, all of which were represented all over the Year Five series. There are also two new factions that the gamemasters can use in their campaigns.

While there was a lot packed into the 26 pages. I was really hoping for a racial write-up for the Centaurans (A Federation race featured in the series). There were also several possible NPCs such as the various candidates for UFP president that could have been written up as well. Hopefully there will be a supplement to the supplement.

One set of ships that I doubt we’ll see stats for are the original FASA Starfleet ships that made it into the artwork of Star Trek: Year Five. There were several ships that were clearly inspired by the Federation Starship Recognition Manual. FASA Star Trek references have shown up in quite a few episodes and other licensed works.

Once again, thumbs up to Fred Love and the team at Modiphius for releasing this great supplement for Star Trek Adventures. Don’t make me pull out the “Please Sir, can I have some more” meme when it comes to works like this.

UPDATE: After I posted this entry, I went into my local comic store and picked up my hold on my monthly visit. This included the last issue of Star Trek: Year Five. At the back of the comic book was an advertisement for this product. This issue was releasd on the same day as the announcement from Modiphius.

Collecting, Reviews, Role Playing Games

I look at dice purchased from Dollar Tree

Written by TardisCaptain October 5, 2021September 16, 2024

Dollar Store dice — How do you say “Critical Fumble” in French?

I follow several twitter accounts that cover the subject of Role Playing Games and I noticed a trend over the past month. Gamers buying the cheap sets of RPG dice from the local dollar stores and then posting photos of them. It was a cute trend that allowed the collectors of the shiny math rocks to show off their latest acquisitions. As photos of dealers tables from gaming cons have shown up online (mostly to display the older books that were for sale) fans noticed that the dollar store dice had been picked up by vendors and added to their booth with a mild markup (usually $3-5 for a set).

Before this trend had started, I noticed that my local Dollar Tree had a bunch of dice for sale. Like most items you pick up at the dollar store, you are not going for quality. Of the three packages they had at the time, I noticed that one package had two D8 dice instead of two D10s that you normally find in a dice set. So I chuckled and passed on getting a set. The dice sets that I’ve usually picked up from the local gaming stores come in containers that allow you to open them up before purchase. I like giving a few test rolls before purchase to get the “feel” for the dice. Since these dice were sealed in a package, I had no way to test the dice beforehand.

When I realized that the trend was gaining steam, I decided to go grab a set for myself. Not because I wanted to follow the trend, but because I wanted to give a review for the blog. New gamers may want to buy a set for themselves at a lower cost. Other gamers had posted that they were buying the cheap sets to give to potential gamers showing interest in the game. Or perhaps you discovered that you had left your dice bag at home while at the con and you wanted a quick set to play with for the day.

As you can see from the image above, the dice were packaged for English and French speaking markets. According to the limited information on the back (see image below), the set was made in China but imported for the US market by a company called Grenbrier International. Canadian markets had this product imported by DTSC Imports. A quick Google search revealed that this was the parent company that operated the various Dollar Tree locations across the US and Canada.

Lot’s of white space, but that saves on ink costs.

When I decided to do a review of the set, I decided to compare them against another set I had in my collection from Chessex. Primarily because it was the only set I still had the original container for with the detail sheet inside.

One of the things I noticed is that the choking hazard warning had different ages listed. The Chessex recommended over the ages of eight while the Dollar Tree dice recommended over the age of four. Personally I’d probably feel more comfortable with any players closer to the age of nine than four. The Dollar Tree dice were made in China while the Chessex set came from Denmark. I had actually never paid attention to the country on my Chessex dice until now, but the Denmark dice sounds kinda kewl.

From the various social media posts that I’ve seen, the Dollar Tree set only comes in the satin brown color. If anyone has seen any other colors besides that one, let me know. As you can see, the sizes are about the same. I didn’t notice any difference from the different angles. I did notice a difference in weight. When you hold a D20 from one set in one hand and the other in the opposite hand, the Chessex dice were heavier. While taking the photos I noticed that the number locations were slightly different. The D4 seemed to be the only die matching the number location. I figured this was due to the lack of options in the smaller die. I pulled out several other die from my dice bag and noticed this trend continued with different die depending upon the source. I wonder if this is a copyright issue? Most of the D20s had the “20” opposite of the “1”, but some of the D12s had a “5” opposite of the “12”. This was another item I had never really thought about until now. As long as the dice continued to give me good rolls, I continued to use them.

I can see how the Dollar Tree set could be a good intro set for game masters wanting to give sets away to new players. The lack of a storage container would hopefully encourage the new players to obtain a dice bag of some sort. The dice make the right rolling sound when played on a hard surface. I had thought about doing the 100 roll test and seeing how many of each number comes up for the blog. But I started having flashback to the oddball math questions that came up in school so I elected not to take this route.

So I’ll be tossing the package in the recycle bin and slipping these new dice into the dice bag. Hopefully someday I’ll get a chance to participate in a game around a table with friends soon so I can actually see these dice in action. But before I decided to put the dice away, I wanted to take one more picture with a D4 from the Dollar Tree set, another D4 from the Chessex set and one of my original D4s that came with a boxed game many years ago just for an off the wall comparison.

UPDATE: I’ve been informed by a reader that there were other colors besides satin brown. So you may find different colors at your local stores.

Horror, Role Playing Games

Character sheets from past games: Vampire The Masquerade

Written by TardisCaptain October 3, 2021October 3, 2021

With it being October, I thought I’d post a character sheet from my Book of Characters that is appropriate to Halloween and horror. The same group at Comics Utah that I played DC Superheroes, Doctor Who and Cyberpunk with also delved into a campaign for Vampire The Masquerade. For this game I created a human investigative reporter, Arthur Squire.

Arthur Squire was a reporter following up on strange stories he had heard about regarding an underground society. This society ended up being a clan of vampires. The equipment hand written on the back included camera, a special sleeping bag (I don’t recall why it was special), a camcorder, a cassette recorder and ear phones. If I recall correctly Squire had the habit of dropping listening bugs. Squire had planted one on a vampire that had hired him to track down someone.

This character never became a vampire. I don’t recall wanting him to become a vampire. I know that some of the other players wanted to be embraced. A few years later I participated in a few LARP games with a local Camarilla fan club. But I found paper and dice RPGs more enjoyable.

I’ll be getting more character sheets scanned and posted soon.

Role Playing Games

#RPGaDay2021 After Action Report

Written by TardisCaptain September 1, 2021September 1, 2025

So the #RPGaDAY2021 challenge is over and I was able to complete all thirty one days. So what did I think of this challenge?

I went back and re-read my entries, and there are a few that I’m quite proud of. I had the feeling of excitement when I put the post together. I couldn’t wait to share the link on MeWe, Twitter, Facebook and the RPG.net forums. Here are some of my “Best Of” entries.

Day 2: Map: I knew I had a lot of favorite maps from different RPGs. But I didn’t want to list all of them. So I went through my books and decided on the one that I had enjoyed the most.

Day 4: Weapon: I had just watched a documentary talking about how dangerous the medieval sling was. I had to write something up about it.

Day 15: Supplement: I talked about some of my favorite RPG supplements. I actually got some good feedback on this one.

Day 17: Nemesis: I did my first homebrew for Star Trek Adventures.

Day 25: Box: I show some of the damaged boxes that I have of older RPGs. I had a few people who wanted to hear about my efforts to repair the boxes in future blog posts.

There were a few others that I’m also quite proud of, but I think that the above entries are the best of the bunch.

There were several suggestions on the list that just made me scratch my head. When I first put together the spreadsheet to try to plan out the month, there was a lot of blank spots. I almost didn’t participate. But seeing the other blog writers posting their entries on various social media platforms encouraged me to jump into the pool. I’m glad that I did. I think it was a good challenge for me. Being my first year, I don’t know how this list of suggestions compares to past years. Right now I’m about 60-40 on doing this again next year. I didn’t hate it, but it could have been better.

I am still working on some ideas for the blog. Just before I found out about this challenge, I was putting together a personal challenge of my own with Secret Agents and Espionage games. I’m still thinking about putting this together, but instead of being a theme for a month, I may spread it out on a certain date. Secret Agent Saturdays or some general idea.

I want to thank those who took the time to read my posts. If you have any comments for me, feel free to send them to Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com (I’m still trying to set up a feedback section for the blog entries that won’t be spambait). I would also like to thank the organizers for putting this challenge together and the other participants. Reading about some of their entries (after I had done mine) was quite interesting.

Be seeing you.

Role Playing Games

#RPGaDay2021 Day 31: Thank

Written by TardisCaptain August 31, 2021April 24, 2022

Day 31: Thank

I think I did my thanks post yesterday now that I think about it. Perhaps I should have used yesterday’s entry as a “What would you have selected” topic. Oh well, too late now.

So I’d like to thank those of you who have read through my ramblings. Not only for the past month with the #RPGaDAY2021 challenge, but ever since I started this blog last year. Some of you have emailed me or responded on social media. I love getting the responses letting me know that someone has been reading my blog.

I would especially like to thank those of you who have followed the links to DriveThruRPG and ordered games. They do send me a little kickback for you guys doing that. I was able to order a game or two that I plan to review on this website. So far, no one has donated to the Ko-Fi link located on the sidebar. But I also don’t know if I’m using it properly. I’m certain that a regular schedule of original posts would help with that.

I would like to also thank the organizers of the #RPGaDAY2021 challenge. This has been an interesting experience. I wonder what other participants have thought now that it is over?

Final Thoughts:

I’ll be posting an after action report tomorrow.

Role Playing Games

#RPGaDay2021 Day 30: Mention

Written by TardisCaptain August 30, 2021April 24, 2022

Day 30: Mention

There are a few people I’d like to mention.

My wife: I am so grateful that she is a geek and a gamer to boot. She loves anime and sci-fi. I still remember the day she demanded that I build her a computer.

My kids: They have also turned into geeks of their own interest. At least one has been playing D&D 5e with friends. (Proud Papa)

My Star Trek family: Not only have we had a chance to play various Star Trek role playing games, but we’ve RPGed in other systems as well.

Game designers: Thank you for your creativity and your efforts. I hope that someday I’ll be able to share my creativity with other players.

Final Thoughts:

Fumbling over the finish line.

Dune, Dungeons and Dragons, Role Playing Games, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Star Wars

#RPGaDay2021 Day 29: System

Written by TardisCaptain August 29, 2021April 24, 2022

Day 29: System

So when it comes to selecting a role playing system to play, which is better? Learning something new or going with a system you are already familiar with that has been adapted for the universe you want to play in?

For me, it’s sixes. Recently I had the option to play in an online game and the game master gave us the option of a D20 system (Starfinder) or something else. I don’t even really recall what the second option was because I was more worried about trying to learn how to use the online virtual table top application (another post for another day). While I was happy for the easy of the D20 system, I also discovered that Starfinder (and I later found out that Pathfinder was the same way) was just a little too crunchy for me. It seems like it has taken the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 book and added way to many additional rules to the system.

On the other hand, the D20 based Star Wars RPG released in the early 2000’s didn’t really attract me at the time. I’m a big Star Wars fan, but I remember thinking that “Seeing Luke and company with D&D stats just seemed off.” I don’t know if it’s because of all the D6 Star Wars games that I had played, or that I just didn’t have the money at the time to buy another set of books. So I never got into the game at the time it was being published. If someone were to invite me to a game now, I’d take them up on the offer.

There are generic systems out there. I had played GURPS back in the early 90’s. It seemed ok at the time, but a lot of math. So it’s not one of my first choices. I just received Dune: Adventures in the Imperium for a birthday gift which is a 2d20 system like Star Trek Adventures. It’s been interesting to see the tweaks between the two rulebooks. (again another blog post will go into further details on this) The D6 system that was used in the WEG Star Wars system has been ported over to a series of generic RPG books. I could see myself using the D6 system for a classic Battlestar Galactica game.

I haven’t even scratched the surface on which systems have stood out to me or failed to grab my attention. There are just way to many out there. But I have tried a few. When I was going through my three-ringed binder of old characters, I noticed I had sheets for some games that I don’t even remember playing. I must not have been very impressed with the system if I can’t remember them now.

Final Thoughts:

All of the remaining dates in the challenge only have one suggestion for each day. It almost seemed like the list just sputtered out of ideas.

Role Playing Games, Science Fiction

#RPGaDay2021 Day 28: Solo

Written by TardisCaptain August 28, 2021April 24, 2022

Day 28: Solo

I had previously posted about finding an old three-ringed binder full of past role playing game characters that I had been using in various games. I even posted a previous character on Day 3 of the #RPGaDAY2021 challenge. When I had created the spreadsheet in July with all of the terms for the challenge, I had an immediate typed in an entry for this day. I would post my Solo (think cyberneticaly enhanced soldier/fighter/mercenary) character from a past Cyberpunk game. So here is Edgerunner.

This was our gaming group’s first attempt in the cyperpunk genre. We had previously played Doctor Who, Star Wars, Vampire The Masquerade and DC Superheroes. One of the moments that I remember from the game was our attempt to escort a semi-truck full of valuable stuff from one city to another. The bad guys had launched a shoulder fired missile at the truck. In one of those “once-in-a-lifetime” rolls, I actually rolled high enough that my shot caused the missile to detonate by shooting at it. This was the group that was primarily gaming at the old Comics Utah stores when they were still around. I had a lot of fun with this group.

Final Thoughts:

It’s probably a good thing that the suggestions for this date was “Solo”. I really couldn’t have thought of anything for the other options. “Dream” could have come up with something. “Open” and “Delve” was very, very vague.

Role Playing Games, Star Trek

#RPGaDay2021 Day 27: Group

Written by TardisCaptain August 27, 2021April 24, 2022

Day 27: Group

Getting together with a group of friends is the biggest reason I play role playing games. These games are a social activity. Those who show up early can chat about how things are going before the game starts. A good game usually results in members of the group talking with each other between sessions.

I recall one campaign with the FASA Star Trek Role Playing Game where the session had ended on a cliffhanger. We were trapped on a starship with several enemy torpedoes heading directly towards us. This was in the days before texting and emails. So phone call by phone call the different players called each other with different ideas of what we could do. Which idea was the best? Which idea would actually work? There was a problem and we were going to solve it.

When it came time for the next session, the GM picked up from where we left off. As the torpedoes hit, the power suddenly went out on the ship. A voice called out “OK, open it up” and the simulator wall holding the viewscreen slid open a la Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. An instructor walked through checking off a box on a clipboard stating “Well you messed that one up, didn’t you?” We don’t know if the GM planned to make this a simulation or it was his idea to get himself out of a painted corner. I just remember that one player screamed. The GM quickly gulped and ran out the door. When he dodged the player chasing him and ran back in to the house, he had discovered that we had a belt converted into a hangman’s noose. While we were upset about our ideas being thrown out the window, we were not really going to hang him… or were we?

I’ve made many different friends in different gaming groups. Some of them I haven’t talked to in years. Others I am still in contact with today. One lives so close I could hit his house with a well thrown rock. It is still my opinion that gaming in person with the group was much better than gaming over an online platform. Yes, the online options have allowed games to continue while we work our way through recent challenges. But I want to see the body language expressing secret messages via glances, I want to hear the groans as I let loose a joke (If I could make the DM laugh during a session he’d give me extra experience points), I want to hear about how my friends are doing.

Having re-read a lot of my gaming books or checking out new systems I want to get a group of friends together just to try a system. While we may not make a campaign out of the game, we would at least try out the system and see if it worked. I just wish that we could actually get together. Not just health wise, but trying to arrange scheduled (the same old story). But we would to it together as a group.

Final Thoughts:

I had a hard time with this set of suggestions. “Fraction”? It was my understand that there would be no math. “Kindle”? I guess I could have talked about reading books on a kindle. “Practice” You want me to blog about practice?

Dungeons and Dragons, Role Playing Games

#RPGaDay2021 Day 26: Origin

Written by TardisCaptain August 26, 2021April 24, 2022

Day 26: Origin

Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink, he would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark.
Dr. Evil- Austin Powers (1997)

When creating an origin for a character, how much backstory is too much backstory? I believe that should depend upon what level you are starting that character out with. If a character is starting out at first level, then the backstory shouldn’t be more than a few sentences. Perhaps a half-a-page at the most. Where did you grow up at and why did you take off for your life of adventure? Is there anyone from your past that is notable? Not a ton of detail, but at least one or two ideas for the GM to use in the game if needed.

If the character has a higher level when starting, then yes create a longer backstory. I’ve heard of players who have written up an 18-page backstory for a peasant that is out seeking his fortune. That much detail may be too much for the GM to read and why would a newbie character be that detailed.

I’ve heard from some players that they have enjoyed making up the origin of their character as they play the game. A creative process between party members and game master. Sometimes these could turn out to be the most interesting stories of all.

I did have one Dungeon Master who had me give him a series of 10-20 random dice rolls before starting a campaign. From those dice rolls he sent back information on my character. Are one or both parents still alive? Any siblings? Occupation of family members (or my character) before he left for adventure. I need to see where he got that table from so I can use it in future games. I recall early characters seemed to be orphaned loners (thus the bad guy, i.e. GM, couldn’t use the family against the character later in the game. Unless you murdered your family like Elric the Kinslayer, they would probably still be around.

I’ve always thought that session zero was a perfect opportunity to talk about the origin of characters as they are being rolled up. This could also explain how the party members came to be together. If someone wrote up a reasonable backstory, I could see myself giving that player experience points for the effort.

Final Thoughts:

These last minute decisions on entries are becoming easier. I’m not certain why. I couldn’t think of anything for “Theory”. “Play” seemed very generic and could go almost anywhere. Every time I thought about “Renew”, I kept thinking of Logan’s Run.