[map] UPF: Station 57

United Planetary Federation Station 57 is a asteroid-based remote viewing station. Established twenty-five years ago to keep a wary eye on Extra-Frontier Space, specifically Sathar controlled regions of Black Space. At times the small facility has housed Special Operations Tactics Squads of the Frontier Expeditionary Force as a base of operations.

The station is currently administered by Admiral Adamanteli. Such a high ranking UPF officer being posted to such a small facility has raised more than a few eyebrows within the rank and file. There are numerous hints that Station 57 is being used for secretive and dangerous missions deep in Sathar space. None of these rumors have been founded on fact and the UPF and the Admiral have remained tight-lipped on the operations and/or research being conducted at the facility.

The Doomed City of Bethmoora

The city of Bethmoora and I have had a checked past. I had originally thought of her years ago and given her another name. I did a little bit of work on her before I moved on to other things. I even ran a few game sessions set in her. Then I totally forgot about her.

 Last fall I picked her up again, fleshed her out some and came up with her new name. I even did up a one shot mini-zine and sent it out to a few unlucky folks. Well, I have stepped out of the GMs chair for a bit and I am thinking of running another game. Of course I start thinking of where to set the game and Bethmoora immediately comes to mind.

 The city of Bethmoora is called the Doomed City because everyone knows someday it will no longer exist. You see, it clings to the edge of a massive pit 5,000 feet across at it's widest point. How far down you ask? No one knows, the bottom is shrouded in smoke/fog and constantly moving shadows that weave in and out of recognizable shapes.

Thousands of men-at-arms and brave explorers have entered the pit and never returned. Some have, and they returned with wonders that made them famous, powerful and rich. This of course, draws more to her gaping mouth.

There is a thin trail that winds downward into the pit or you can pay one of the elevators to lower you to certain levels. Be careful how far you go, the dangers are ever more vile, twisted and hungry the deeper into the pit you venture. There are numerous locales set in the pit from the Gold Mines of Mograd to the twisting tunnels of the Hall of the Svirfneblin to the deadly homes of the kobold mines.

 Not only are their dangers below, but the city itself is a sweltering pot of vile scum the likes most will never see. Due to the sheer number of transient people that travel through the city one can never be sure who they will come across or if they are friend or foe. Open practice of magic is forbidden (though few follow this 'law'), the law being put into effect after a large portion of the city collapsed during a magical battle. Today a large wedge-shaped gap runs the middle of the city, remnants of that fateful battle.

The Shallow Crypt of Sohm

Another snow day today and I just could not get in the mood to work on the big project I am in the middle of. So I bought Conan the Barbarian on Google Play and watched it. As always, good stuff. Arnold is Conan to me, I grew up on the film and not the books.

 Then the wife came home and watched the news. I hate the news, always bad news, negative and gloomy. So I sat at my desk and drew another map. So here you go, you guys benefit with another map. Thanks to +Jon Marr for the name!

Blue...

Black & white...

And some texture...

The Tomb of Galandrixil - fixed

I posted this map a bit ago and, as +Erik Tenkar pointed out, I put an "S" on there. Tonight I finally got around to fixing it so it was correctly labeled.

The. Is. Only. One. Land.     ;-)

Simple, not boring OR Matt rambles before bed....

I am merely passing along words of wisdom here. My friend +James Spahn wrote up something yesterday that eloquently says something I have felt and tried to express in the past, only he does it much better than I. Go ahead and read it, I'll wait.

http://halflingsluck.blogspot.com/2015/03/simple-not-boring.html

The bit that hits it out of the ballpark is this little gem:

The thing that bothers me the most about this guy is the fact that he feels like he needs rules to make a unique character. A heavy armored knight and a light-footed swashbuckler can both be fighters. An arcane scholar from a magic college and a tribal witch doctor can both be wizards. The lack of rules can be a huge strength in making a unique character - but this guy just seems to see the classes as cookie cutter.

This is why I love the OSR and especially games like S&W:WhiteBox and Pits & Perils. You can say you are a fighter but then play the character as a ranger, a pirate, a barbarian, a paladin, a knight, a lord....hell, the options are limited by one tiny thing. Your IMAGINATION. 

Why do you feel you need a rule that allows you to do some special feat? You want to track that goblin tribe that raided the quaint little town? Ask the GM. A good GM will say "Give me a check" or "Explain to me what you are doing" or even "Sure, you can follow them, are you going alone?" A bad GM (we have all seen them right?) will say NO, you do not have that ability, you are a fighter, not a ranger. Fuck him, go find another game.

Not convinced? 

I was chatting with James, he's a likable guy and right now the *Godfather of WhiteBox* right now, so that makes him my-favorite-guy at the moment. He says this:

I cast "Mount" in the middle of a bar brawl, which summoned a donkey for an hour. An angry Donkey in the middle of a bar brawl is a great equalizer.

Ever think of doing that? Taking a completely non-combat spell and turning it into likely the most powerful tool his party had at the moment. It might have turned the table for his group. I would certainly give him an Awesome Point for that. You see, the rules might have simply said "Summons a domestic animal for x number of hours" but James did something here, something the rules cannot teach you, and something that makes role-playing far better than video games in my book - he used his brain. His simple little wizard, helpless with his measly mount spell, was able to become a major force in this encounter because he used his brain. He did not rely on a feat or power to turn the tide of the situation. Or tell him what he could and could not do.

I can see you are still thinking about that feat you get at 3rd level, try this little bit of inspired role-playing:

Cast light on some rube warrior's sword, "I have enchanted your blade. Should you draw blood from my friends or I with that blade, the light shall flicker and burn you until your eyes burst from your skull in a tiny shower of sparks."

Where in the rules does it even suggest this? Where in the rules does it tell a GM how to handle this? It does not. Not one bit of ounce of the rules explain how to handle this. This is called CREATIVITY.

Try it. You just mind find that simple character you wrote down is a doorway to possibilities unhindered by a set of feats that tell you exactly what you can do.

Bloodnut Pass unleashed!

It's alive! I just dropped my first adventure for the wonderful Pits & Perils RPG. You can check it out here:
http://www.rpgnow.com/product/145354/Bloodnut-Pass

Be warned, this one is nasty, gritty, bloody and contains foul language, a terrible piece of indie-inspired cartography, and some explicit subject matter. Don't let the kids read this one!

If you have never heard of Pits & Perils, you can check it out here:
http://www.rpgnow.com/product/121442/Pits--Perils