TRAILER: All star cast for KONG: SKULL ISLAND!

More than 12 years after his last appearance in theaters, KING KONG will return to the silver screen in KONG: Skull Island in 2017!

I'm actually a fan of the 2005 Peter Jackson film, set in the 1920s (like the original it pays homage to). It has some exciting sequences with all manner of monsters. And the battle atop the Empire State Building takes the original concept to an unprecedented level. But it's also slow as shit, especially in the beginning.

KONG: Skull Island, from the producers of the latest Godzilla effort, looks AH-MA-ZING, by comparison with it's Apocalypse Now-meets-monster-movie approach to the story.

Set during the Vietnam war, a group of soldiers is tasked with mapping an uncharted and mysterious island in the South Pacific (the eponymous scrap of land from the title). The best way to do this? Drop bombs on it! I love movies that just lean in to their ridiculous premises. :-)

Kong, of course, is not happy about that:

But the best part? An all star cast--many of them from the Marvel family of films:

• Brie Larson - Captain Marvel
• Tom Hiddleston - Loki (Thor, Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok)
• Sam Jackson - Nick Fury (Like, so many Marvel movies!)
• John C. Reilly - Nova Corpsman Rhomann Dey (Guardians of the Galaxy)

Yep, it has Steve Brule in it! And by the looks of it, he's the island "expert" laying down, uh..."rules" for survival, if you will excuse the reference.

The only one not from the Marvel movie-verse is John Goodman, who plays the seedy, money man who gets the group into trouble in the first place.

Rumor has it Kong will meet up with his frenemy Godzilla on the big screen sometime in the next few years. I. AM. THERE.

What's Gameable?

In short: ALL OF IT. Looks like plenty of fodder for an Isle of Dread type of adventure or maybe a prelude to Apes Victorious? Either way--the trailer alone has enough game inspiration for an adventure hook, as it is. I'm sure the full film is chocked full of more monster mayhem than you can throw a helicopter at!

So if you're doing a mini-campaign set mid-century (read: 60s-70s) I think you've got a bunch of options:

• Wartime mapping/recon mission (soldier heavy party with lots of incendiaries/explosives)
• Big game hunt turned disastrous (non-professionals,no explosives, but armed with stun guns, gas grenades, tranq darts, nets, cages, etc.) 
• Petroleum excavation crew (Heavy on science and exploration, few weapons) 
• National Geographic documentary crew  (cameras and machetes only!)
• Or a mix of any of the above

And you've got a great set up for NPCs and possibly foes:

• Lost tribe of humans who worship/fear the island fauna
• Stranded "guide" looking to get off the island
• Greedy entrepreneur looking to make a buck
• Mercs/henchmen, looking out for their boss
• Foolhardy scientist/journalist who gets too close
• Skeptical/grizzled colonel who's trying to keep his troops alive

IF your party escapes, you can a second leg where the kaiju bring the fight back to mankind on his home turf, a la one of my absolute favorites in recent years: Godzilla Half Century War.

That's a full-on military campaign, but it's MUCH more hard-scrabble for the humans than any of Godzilla's movies. We're talkin' street-level skirmishes against a kaiju--lots of fun! Oh and definitely check that comic out, the art is incredibly detailed and inspirational!

UPDATE: Eric over at Swords & Stitchery did a full write-up on running a Skull Island adventure!

• IMDB listing
• Official site

I have something in Expanded Petty Gods!

There is no escape from the Goddess of Space Junk and Derelict Hope!

So THIS is pretty damn exciting! I submitted an entry to Expanded Petty Gods, overseen by the multi-talented Richard LeBlanc of New Big Dragon Games. Actually, I was a big baby about not getting into the previous efforts (I missed deadlines due to dumbness) and he relented!

Enslaved robo-space hornet is minion to Detriax

Either way, I'm extremely proud to be a part of this OSR community effort to bring some fun, homebrew content to game tables.

My entry is (naturally) on the scifi side: Detriax, a space goddess that consumes (and even creates) space wreckage and heartbroken star sailors. Imagine Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean mashed up with the Unicron or Galactus. She's got a few minions as well. Here's some of the fantastic illustrations for the entry.

FUN FACT: One type of Detriax's minions--a relative of the space hornet pictured here--appeared in an early Rad Astra home campaign. This art represents the first public depiction of a Rad Astra denizen. 



Scrap bots and an enslaved organic

She'll get a few tweaks, especially in the way of stats (which I'd left more or less as "unknowns" back when I wrote it). But in general, I think this whole project is shaping up to be something really special for GMs. It's already clocking in at more than 380 pages!! 

UPDATED: New image of Detriax's scrap bot minions as well as an enslaved organic!

#EPGLIVES!

Here's my homebrew Space Opera idea starters...

Sometimes when I'm racking my brain, trying to come up with adventure ideas, it helps to think about the basic elements of space opera--or at least, the elements that I believe are the biggest dramatic story turn-ons. So if I get stuck, I remind myself to start small and build upon bare bones. Here are the minimal elements that I try to work with.

FOUR

Players. Yeah, we do just fine with three or even two, but four is a magic number because real group dynamics come into play. No longer is it the dynamic duo or trio, it's a fully realized team. It's much easier to diversify skills with at least four participants (besides the GM).

Even if fewer players actually show up, I try to write each game with four different classes and skill sets in mind. Let the players figure out who does what, but give them some purpose by challenging them on four fronts.

THREE

I go by the acronym A.R.M., which stands for alien, robot, monster. That could mean there's one of each or three of the same--or some combination thereof. Doesn't matter if they're friend or foe, but weirder is always better.

These creatures don't need to be instrumental to the plot, they can be encountered incidentally or as foreshadowing for a later adventure. But space opera is nothing if not exotic, so this is where I can turn up the dial on "fantastic beasts."

Hopefully every game has at least one thing they've not encountered before or at least has a unique spin on an old trope.

TWO

At least two destinations are required--could be planets, space stations, etc. But space travel needs a Point A and Point B to be interesting. Doesn't matter what those two places are, but preferably they require travel in a spacecraft of some sort. I always have at least one scene/encounter in space. ALWAYS.

I tend to ping pong my players between highly contrasted worlds (high tech vs. primitive, utopian vs. lawless, paradise vs. unbreathable hellscape, etc.). 

ONE

A Big Bad Wolf! There's gotta' be at least one scheming maniac, super-powered warlord, evil space wizard, etc. This usually helps to not only give a climactic battle, but to flesh out some of the plot with motives and minions (henchmen/bounty hunters, etc.) that might be encountered by the PCs, as well as other story-centric elements that creatures in the A.R.M. category aren't always intended to exploit.

Honorable Mention:

At least one thing that's totally out of my control. For one game I gave the PCs a mutagen stim, with a random table of possible mutations. They were encouraged only to hold on to it until the last half of the game. It surpassed all expectations as they really went for it with roleplay and it became the best part of that game.

What about you?

Again, these are just the starting positions, but they generally get me off to the races brainstorming. What are your must-haves for your games?

Gelatinous Cubes: Let's review!

I was pleasantly surprised by the interest and nice comments about the Cosmic Dungeon Project! While I've done a fair amount of research on the topic of gelatinous cubes, it always helps to do a review.

Let's dive into the cube!

As expected, the entry for g. cubes has changed though the years, through various manuals, and under various editors. It's primary function has always been the same--to clean and clear dungeons of "living" matter. A quick excerpt from the Gospel of Gygax (Official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual, 1979, p. 43):

The gelatinous cube is one of the scavengers not uncommon in dungeons. Its cubic form is ideal for cleaning all living organisms, as well as carrion from the floor and walls of underground passageways. Certain very large cubes are taller so as to be able to garner masses and the like from ceilings as well.  

Gelatinous cubes are nearly transparent and are difficult to see (thus surprise on 1-3). As these monsters travel about they sweep up metallic and other items which are "indigestible" to them.

....

If a gelatinous cube touches (hits) an opponent, a saving throw verses paralyzation must be made, or the creature touches is anesthetize for 5-20 melee rounds. The cube then surrounds the victim, secretes digestive fluids, and digests a meal. Damage caused to opponents is due to the digestive secretions. 

It goes on to say that while they can be hit with all forms of weapons, fire is really your best bet. Cold has no effect (except failing a saving throw, which only serves to slow them down). Several other energy and magical attacks have no effect, including electricity, fear, holds, paralyzation, polymorph spells and attempts to put it to sleep. I would think that a giant specimen in space would need to be much hardier to survive radiation and extreme temperature swings.

Page 178 of the Dungeons & Dragons Game Rules Cyclopedia (1991) states that a cube is in fact, "10' x 10' x 10' and surprises 1-4 on a d6." So it became quite the crafty, ninja cube in the ensuing years. The Cyclopedia gives a few other particulars, but says that it "...will continue attacking creatures until it dies or they do..." making special note of it's blind ruthlessness. 

This entry is also notable in that it mentions how a cube reproduces:

The lair of these strange monsters may contain 1d4 cubes (each with treasure type V, but usually no additional treasure). The lair will not have any "young" gelatinous cubes; adults split into two fully grown cubes. 

The notion that gelatinous cubes reproduced asexually has been around for years. Somehow though I'd had the misconception that they sloughed off material that became an independent entity. When I began work on this project, I'd decided that the Giant Gelatinous Space Cube should calve--like an arctic ice shelf, shedding icebergs. 

But the official explanation of the entire individual cube cleaving--much like a single celled organism--is quite evocative. If that's to be the case, then I'd like to think that the stuff inside swirls around a bit before it divides. Whatever the visual might be, the end result is two separate fresh cubes, not just one parent and one offspring. 

A likely side effect would be that any previous map of a giant space cube that was charted while trapped inside, would be rendered worthless. Contents would change position. Not sure if that's something I'll incorporate or not, time will tell. Maybe there can be more than one variety with different properties? Hmmm....

And then there's the not-so-small matter of what substances can and cannot be digested. You better believe that's going to be a dial that gets played with. Organics get digested first, but certain organisms might be resistant. Metals and rock would of course take longer, but some might be mostly immune aside from some corrosive effects.

Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself! ;-)

A Cosmic Dungeon Project - Introduction

The adventurers wake aboard their spaceship. Interior illumination winks and flickers. Then, outboard lights.The stale waft of century old air hangs for a moment before the life support system comes fully online. A greasy blur obscures the windows of the spaceship, veiling all vistas of the starfield outside.

Soon, the crew is fully revived. The ship's command module is unable to interpret sensor readings. Without star positioning data, the navigation computer cannot calculate a current location. Worse, the ship is completely immobile. Thrusters fail to pitch the ship forward--or in any direction. Instead a terrible shimmy rocks all aboard. A rumbling warble of steal echos.

It's not going anywhere for a long, long time.

Sensors finally begin to pick up shapes in fixed positions around the vessel. Some nearby, some many kilometers away. None of them exhibit the usual "drift" that derelict vessels or debris would indicate. If the ship is unmovable, then perhaps they can make their way to one of the many abandoned craft? Or...the thousands of satellites both natural and constructed ("That's odd," the captain thinks), or...ancient ruins?

Some sort of temple from a forgotten time seems to have been plucked from the ground--while still embedded in it's earthen bed. A massive kaiju skeleton lies wrought in opisthotonus. The silvery head of a massive Celestial One stares vacantly, still helmet clad. Space junk from every era of humanity's time amidst the stars, surrounds the assemblage of strange objects. The sensors can't be right--can they?

It's up to our heroes to find out. They embark on a daring escape, taking only what they--and a few robot companions--can carry, unaware of the perils to come or the danger that fills the space around them.

The party could spend months traveling from one stop to the next, oblivious that the volume that they, and the other detected objects occupy... are already consumed. They were prey while they slept in suspension aboard their spaceship.

Outside that oddly blurred window, the spread of debris in this particular patch of inky black night fits neatly into a 300 by 300 by 300 kilometer behemoth. A monster of unfathomably cosmic indifference and perpetually unsated appetite. It roams space on an endless quest for no other purpose but to feed. It is all at once a wandering monster and migratory megadungeon.

Eons old, it is the most feared predator in any galaxy, it is the...

TRAILER: Latest Godzilla gives HUGE plot point!

HOLY F@#$! The new trailer for Godzilla reveals a previously unreleased plot detail. A BIG ONE. Monster movie fans will immediately get what's going--and it changes the big G's role in the film.

This feels like a spoiler to me, so fair warning to you--though, this just makes me want to see it even MORE!



If you watch it and comment below, spoilers be damned!

TRAILER 2: Bryan Cranston is not a fan of Godzilla

The new trailer for Godzilla drops some dramatic plot hints--quite a unique take actually. I appreciate the nod to the original 1954 film. Still no word on whether we'll see a kaiju showdown, but there's enough intrigue injected into this promo that it almost looks unnecessary. When Walter White and Kick Ass take on the Big G come May 16, count me in!

TRAILERS! Jupiter Ascending! Godzilla! Spider-Man!

JUPITER ASCENDING (Film)

Here's a heapin' helpin' of the latest sci-fi trailers to hit the web. First up is a new space opera by Matrix-makers, the Wachowski's!



Jupiter Ascending opens on July 25, 2014.

NO MAN'S SKY (Video Game)

Next is another space-opera-y trailer for an immersive video game called No Man's Sky from Hello Games. Not only do the graphics look gorgeous--they're all in-game shots.


Apparently NMS was made by only four developers and no one had even heard of it until it's trailer debuted at VGX (formerly known as Spike TV's Video Game Awards) a few days ago. Can't seem to track down a release date yet, but it's being developed for PC, XBox, and PS4.

The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (Film)

Here's the one for Spider-Man 2 (the re-boot). The visuals are pretty incredible. Hopefully the story is better than the first one.



Spidey returns to screens May 2, 2014.

GODZILLA (Film)

And for the grand finale, Warner Bros has FINALLY released a trailer after the one that was leaked, then pulled offline a few months back, for the Big G himself: GODZILLA!


Gozilla is set to stomp theaters May 16, 2014.

Enjoy!

Monster: Shoggoth variations

Here's a little Halloween present, a la Causey Variant-style:

SPACE SHOGGOTH 

One of the hardiest varieties of the gibbering horrors, these creatures have endured the rigorous vacuum of space long enough to evolve a sort of exoskeletal rind. Once they've made planetfall or boarded a space station they gather up their mass into into crude limb formations to hunt prey with lumbering, clumsy locomotion or futilely reaching out with flacid tendrils. No one is exactly sure why they would do this, since shoggoths are much faster and more effective killing machines in a quasi-liquid state, but the result is definitely unsettling to potential victims. Regardless, they are difficult to exterminate--even with rapid laser fire--due to their incredible powers of recovery.


WERE-SHOGGOTH



It's tough to pin down where the "were" begins and ends because too often these nasties are caught between transformation. The lycanthropic virus that causes were-shoggothancy can affect a variety of species (e.g. canine, human, etc.) but determining the original form is often left to DNA confirmation after the beast has been dispatched. Fire seems to work. Lots of it. Yes, use that.


PIZZA SHOGGOTH

 

Also called "Deep Dish Shoggoth" are slathering, oozing mounds of cheese, red sauce, and spongy pizza dough. They are just as happy to be eaten as they are to devour prey. Probably why there's not many of them around, save for a few who opted to become crime lords and surround themselves with Italian robo-guards. Come to think of it, that never worked out for them either.  

 

Note: Sh!t Shoggoth was also contemplated, but was deemed too stomach-turning by our astrobiologists. Feel free to list in the comments any shoggoth varieties you've encountered!

THE BIG G IS BACK!

May 16th, 2014, cannot come soon enough!

Via io9

UPDATE: Sorry folks, looks like Warners has yanked the Godzilla clip. Once an official one pops up, I'll revise this post. Until then, here's a little something to tide you over:

Detriax: Goddess of Space Junk and Derelict Hope!

Detriax in her current form.

Name: DETRIAX: Goddess of Space Junk and Derelict Hope
Symbol: An angular, vampiric-looking skull
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 50*
Armor Class: Undetermined**
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 100 (10HD)
Attacks: Special (see below)
Damage: Special (see below)
Save: Undetermined
Morale: Undetermined
Hoard Class: Undetermined
XP: Undetermined

*Detriax only appears in the vacuum of space. Treat her movement as you would a space vessel's.
**Hadn't figured these out by the time the deadline passed (see note at bottom).

DETRIAX is a cosmic being that causes ships passing near her to fall derelict by way of cosmic mishap (1d6):

• 1-2: Engine failure - all stop
• 3-4: Siren song - all PCs roll WIS or PRE save, any failure succumbs to mind control for 1d6 rounds, whereby she compels servant to sabotage ship
• 5: Shields lowered or weapons malfunction during a hostile encounter
• 6: Sensor readings indicate allies are foes so as to initiate combat

She sends her minions to collect the remains of the lost, the lonely, and the defeated. All space debris she encounters is scanned, stored in her immense memory, and then processed as fuel. Power sources are affixed to her own energy supply and suckled until they expire.

Detriax will subsist on natural sources, but she relishes anything made by sentient life forms--thriving on their psionically imbued presence. She's a collector of information and material forms. Her hunger is unrelenting.

She also likes to instigate a battle whenever possible, in hopes that the resulting conflict will cause precious detritus to spill into the spaceways.

Size and Appearance: At present time, Detriax is approximately the size of the Martian moon Deimos. She appears as a head, without body, demonic, metallic, and angry. Fanged, with vacant eyes that belie only her internal engines of cosmic energy, she is a horror to behold. 

POWERS

Gravitational Grasp: Detriax calls many an interstellar sailor to her "bay" --a gravitational well that she's able to manipulate, like the unseen tentacles of seaborne kraken. She can consume any matter, though larger--denser meals (asteroids, brown dwarf stars, etc.) take time. This can be a boon for those unlucky enough to fall in her grasp--making good on her distraction.

Song of Detriax: All those who encounter her must roll a save vs. fear or be driven mad with despair. All those who fail are fated to soil themselves as they are compelled to steer their ships toward her through a sort of psionic intimidation/torture. Only those who pray for mercy and strike her bargain for clemency (see below) will survive. They must first, convince her they have something worthwhile to trade. The song is effective for only 1d4 rounds, but by then she's sent her minions to either eliminate or permanently enslave her prey using cybernetic implants.

Swallow Whole: Detriax can swallow entire starships and most space-based platforms and outposts with a single gulp. Her internal furnace digests all. But not before she consumes all knowledge about her prey using her...

Penance Scan:  Through an onslaught of sensor scans, Detriax is able to "consume all data" of her prey, recording every physical aspect, biologic metric, and even psionic imprint to her main neurocore. She considers this interrogation necessary to fulfilling her purpose for finding and killing the marauders who wronged her mortal master (see below) and thereby no one has ever evaded her probe. In a turn of terrible fortune, the channel is often opened two ways--analogous to a feedback loop--and the victims will experience a wave of data overload that could render them insane if they aren't able to make a save vs. psychic calamity (a catastrophic attack on their sanity). Those that fail become her minions, their only hope of being restored is a complete brain work up at a local starbase with advanced medical and psychological services.

MINIONS

Scrap Bots: Detriax commands a variety of hastily-birthed junk robots from her scrapyards. These miniature bots are rarely more than a meter tall, but they are Host in number. They belch all manner of electronic blurps and bleeps as they peel apart lost ships and space stations with cruel efficiency, using all manner of gruesome tools attached their forelimbs.

All scrap bots have poor vision with a -1 to hit unless they are less than 1 meter away from their target. They move, however, with increased speed(Move 6) and Agility (15).

Limb tool/weapon (1d20)
Damage in parentheses. Roll first limb, select the second (without repeating). Appear in swarms of 1d20+2 or more (keep this table handy and just number them with two different limbs as listed). They appear in a variety of shapes and functions, from spiderlings with two of the appendages being tools/weapons, to twisted goblin-esque/humanoid forms. In every group of 20, one individual will have a third limb protruding from its chest, the rest will each have two in the normal configuration.

1. Saw (buzz or chain) (1d8 cutting)
2. Hydraulic spike (1d8 puncturing, 6 inches deep)
3. Electromagnet (Damages unshielded computer systems or captures metal)
4. Gas grenade (1d6+1 rounds)
5. Laser torch (2d6, single beam lasts for 1d4 rounds)
6. Bio-syringe (sedative for 1d6+1 rounds or poison doing 2d6 damage)
7. Pincer claw (1d4+1 puncture/crushing)
8. Spiked masher (1d6+1)
9. Sonic grenade (renders hearing targets incapacitated for 1d4 rounds, range 20 meters)
10. Harpoon gun (50 meter line, 1d6 damage in addition to capture)
11. Corkscrew drill (1d8+1)
12. Ionizing fork (3d6, 1 shot only - overloads electrical systems or stuns for 1d6 rounds, touch only)
13. Humanoid hand (grasping/crushing, 1d8)
14. Bolo cable (fires unattached cable, meant to immobilize target)
15. Corrosive acid (3d6, 1 shot, range: 10 meters)
16. Liquid nitrogen capsule (1 capsules, freezes on impact, 5d6 unless thawed in med pod)
17. Carbon filament-tipped can opener (2d6+2; takes 1 round to open human-sized doorway)
18. Morning star mace (2d6, crushing)
19. Meat hook (1d6)
20. Flamethrower (2d6+2, range 5 meters)

Note: Enslaved organic minions (i.e., humanoids,) will have two limbs added to their shoulders, on top of their natural ones. Select using the above weapons chart. They will also have tactical sensors (infrared) and a battery pack installed. Humanoids are faster than normal humans (Move 6) and gain a +2 in Agility. Robotic minions are reprogrammed to be her slaves an are given just one extra limb from the above table.

Space Hornets
Detriax is also known to control hives of  garbage-truck-sized space hornets through some sort of parasitic nanobody. The hornets work for their queen, who in turn, is a puppet of Detriax's own incredible greed and avarice. Space hornets build vast hexanest arrays out of whatever space junk--or enemies--they find. Insectoid races seem to suit her ends well, for they often amass armies of workers and her terrific ruthlessness of purpose has made her an attractive deity for them. She will often enlsave a nearby nest and use it up (without replenishment) until the supply of hornets expires, leaving the empty husk of the hive itself to be consumed.

Space Fleet
Detriax also has amassed a personal armada of derelict ships with barebones systems (propulsion, weapons, and operated by remote communication, but no onboard life support). They are stripped down skeletal forms with minimal armor that function basically as large drones. The ships launch from her mouth if she determines a threat to her personal safety. Approximately 2d10 ships are ready to launch at any given time.

Ancient Origins

In the beginning...

It's said that Detriax was once a vizier to a great space sultan, providing consul and strategy by way of her cosmic magic. When her highness' daughter was kidnapped by marauders he threw Detriax out an airlock as punishment for failing to foresee the tragedy--but her magic preserved her spirit long enough for her to accumulate a secondary form out of floating debris. Swearing to do right by her former master, she began to salvage whatever flotsam and jetsam drew near her.

Her physical form grew--as did her hunger and avarice. In time, she went mad in her search for the princess, never realizing that centuries had passed and the lost princess an her sultan father are now long dead. In her ravings, Detriax wavers between calm tones and an electronic squelch (little more than gibberish). She sees all who pass into her grasp are would-be conspirators against her beloved sultan, and therefore are considered hostile.  

Serving Detriax
Praying to Detriax will gain her favor only if something material is given up. To be spared from her judgement, the prey must fall under her service. It's not unheard of for Detriax to barter for information with her victims. She may let them go if she sees reason enough for them to continue as long as she's gaining important intelligence herself. She will reject any claim that the sultan is dead though--so penitent victims should avoid such falsehoods while she's taking audience.

All recorded encounters with Detriax--those with survivors--include reports that the victims were prostrate when deals were made. Impertinence of any kind will result in subjugation. Her goal is to continue building herself larger and more powerful through her space finds, in her quest to seek revenge on her long lost sultan.

Inspiration: Sinistar, Ghost Rider, Unicron, Space Witch from Voltron, V'Ger, The Borg, Unicron from Transformers, Vera from Superman 3. PRE is an attribute in X-plorers RPG setting, assume it's analagous to WIS (Wisdom) in D&D rules.

NOTE: This entry was what I intended to submit to the Petty Gods project as both a god entry and her minions.

This is your chance to KILL ALL MONSTERS!

Imagine the Earth is ripped asunder by giant monsters and mankind has gone into hiding. They've conquered us...but in time, we fight back using giant robots! You may be thinking this sounds like that awesome looking movie trailer for Pacific Rim--but I'm actually talking about KILL ALL MONSTERS! A web comic by my pal Michael May (writer) and Jason Copeland (illustrator). KAM has been around a while (I've written about KAM previously). Now Michael and Jason are wrapping up a Kickstarter campaign to bring the (first volume) electronic version into your hands via dead tree!

Here's a synopsis:

Kill All Monsters is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which the giant monsters have already won. Civilization has largely been destroyed and humanity has been driven underground to survive as best they can. Rising from the ashes of this defeat however is a trio of giant robots, piloted by a diverse group of soldiers dedicated to killing the monsters. ALL of them.

In Volume 1: Ruins of Paris, the Kill Team travels to Europe for the first time to investigate rumors of another group of monster fighters. What they find are more giants than they've ever faced before and a devastating secret that will affect the entire war.

It couldn't be better timed now that we've all got rock'em sock'em kaiju action on our minds. There's less than a day left, so I wouldn't wait if you want to get your hands on a copy of the book or some awesome swag. $5 gets you a PDF, $20 and you'll also get the print edition. The first episode has the good guys destroying defending Paris!

Kickstart KILL ALL MONSTERS!

GIANT ROBOTS FIGHTING GIANT MONSTERS!

 TAKE MY MONEY!!!

Fleischer Superman toons now online!

They've been in the public domain for years (and consequently in dozens of DVD compliations) but Warner Bros. has uploaded the classic Superman cartoons from Fleischer Studios.

In my totally unprofessional opinion, these are among the very best early animations of ol' Supes, bringing together the best of the early rotoscope animation style with the classic wonder of the Golden Age. There's no time-defying Kryptonian to wind back the clock by circling the Earth here--just a guy leaping tall buildings in a single bound (okay, he does fly a bit). Oh, and tearing the shiznit out of some robots!

I've stuck with a properly themed sci-fi episode, Mechanical Monsters, which later went on to inspire some even BIGGER automatons in movies like the Iron Giant and Sky Captain: World of Tomorrow.

Check out the full list of the Fleischer toons at Cartoon Brew.

Incidently, Hydra Miniatures has some excellent "warbots" that look like good stand-ins for Iron-Sky-Fleisher-bots!

COMING SOON: Insect brains in robots!

Holy F#$%! This is insane and yet REALLY happening: researchers are working on putting honey bee brains into robotic insect bodies! How long before some madman puts his own brain into a giant robotic exoskeleton? Does nobody think these things through?

Apparently they did, in fact, as the purpose is a bit more altruistic. From io9:

The researchers hope a robotic insect could supplement or replace the shrinking population of honey bees that pollinate essential plant life.

Now, while this might sound like some kind of outlandish futurist joke, there are some serious players — and money — involved. Called the "Green Brain Project," it was recently given £1 million (USD $1,614,700) by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), as well as hardware donations from the NVIDIA corporation.

and...

The Green Brain Project could further our understanding of both artificial intelligence and the neuroscientific underpinnings of animal cognition. But also, along with the National Science Foundation-funded Robobees project (led by Harvard University), the advent of an artificial pollinator could provide a solution (either temporarily or permanently) to the problem of dwindling honey bee populations — an organism that's currently dealing with the devastating effects of colony collapse disorder. In fact, the artificial honey bee may be the first of many robots we introduce into the environment to make up for the current era of widespread extinctions.

BUT STILL. How long until we're fighting off GIANT SPACE HORNETS?

OUR LASERS ARE VASTLY UNDERPOWERED FOR THIS KIND OF THREAT!

Full article.

Aliens: Space Strigoi

Consider this FREE and OPEN content for X-plorers or whatever sci-fi game you prefer. ;)

Space strigoi are particularly devious, shapeshifting space vampires that leech lifeforce from other sentient beings. They are phasic in nature and feed off the psionic energy of their victims. They resemble hideous, fluorescent-skinned goblins that can disguise themselves  as attractive humans (1d6 rounds), near-humans (1d10 rounds), a variety of small, pet-like animals (1d4 rounds) in order to lure their prey closer. They need a round to rest in native form between adapted forms.

Space strigoi have redundant anatomy--two pulmonary systems, two two metabolic systems, and several neural nodes throughout their body to enhance brain and coordination functions--making them quite difficult to kill. This unique physiology allows them long life of several millennia.

In order to be completely put down they must be disintegrated whole. Dismembering will only trigger regeneration and piss them off.

Stats:
AC 18
HD 3d12+2
THB -1
ATT (see below)
ST 17
MV 5
XP 500

Psionic Leech
Space strigoi will sap the lifeforce from their prey via psionic attack. They must be within 1 area in order to siphon the life energy of a given target at a rate of 1d4 HP plus 2 PRE per round. Drained victims will become empty husks that will revive in 1d8 rounds and rise as hungry strigoi at half the hit dice of their "parent".

Molecular Rearrangement
Strigoi can reorganize their own bodily mass to shapechange into any creature they have personally touched. Often they choose the guise of an attractive humanoid or a cuddly or wounded pet. Their ability to alter their molecular makeup also allows them to "phase" through solid matter (e.g., a ship's bulkhead), though this takes extreme concentration and can only perform the feat twice per day.

Regeneration is another ability gained by controlling their own matter. They appear ageless even in their native form and may regrow limbs and even a head with brain in 1d12 rounds.

Detect Lifeforce
They have an innate ability to locate sentient beings or creatures of sufficient psionic energy from which to feed. This is automatic and they will likely target those closest or most vulnerable.

Psionic Invisibility

They may make themselves "invisible" to those around them by way of a mental block. For this reason they often do not appear in person except to their immediate victim, but can be captured as a non-identifiable florescent blur by electronic recording devices. 

Psionic Grasp
Strigoi can lure their prey through psionic manipulation resembling seduction. Victims will obey the vampire so long as they fail a Presence (PRE) or comparable attribute save with a -1 handicap to their roll.

Goblin Form - Claws & Fangs
In their native form they can bite and scratch with 1d6+1 and 2d4 damage respectively.

Rumors from the Reaches (for GMs)

• Space strigoi will try to set up a lair in an uninhabited corner of a spaceship, space station, or other stellar craft. They will often lure victims to the lair and hold them prisoner through Psionic Grasp for later feedings. 
• Space strigoi who are not completely vaporized should be flushed into space through an airlock to prevent them from regeneration and claiming more lives.
• Space strigoi are highly intelligent and have in-depth knowledge of spacecraft mechanics and technology. They will often disable propulsion, communications, and emergency escape systems to prevent a pool of potential victims from escaping.
• Space strigoi can enter a hibernation phase and persist for eons in interstellar space until found by unsuspecting travelers. 
• Space tramps, smugglers, and cowboys are prone to tell tall tales of strigoi encounters, but are also more likely to be superstitious and hang all manner of emblems and graffiti strange written characters on their vessels to ward off the dreaded space vamps.

Sources

• Wikipedia article as inspiration
• OSR inspiration

Luke Skywalker is a Psionic Monster

This is a great Twillight Zone meets Star Wars mash-up. It'd be an interesting take on a psionic character or monster, yes?

Video: Every Harryhausen Monster

...in chronological order. Set to Tito Puento's drums:



Via Boing Boing

UPDATE: Here's another definitive list of Ray's monster gallery.

Webcomic: KILL ALL MONSTERS!

What if Godzilla's family came over for dinner and never left? What would happen to humanity if they'd won the planet and we took runner-up in the food chain? Why we'd build giant robots to take the planet back! This is the premise of KILL ALL MONSTERS! a recently launched web comic set on a post-apocalyptic Earth, after the kaiju have divided and conquered us puny humans.

The creative team is made up of Twin Cities comic writer Michael May (who I've had the pleasure of meeting several times) and Jason Copland (art) and Ed Brisson (lettering).

From May's blog:

In Kill All Monsters! the giants have already won. It's a post-apocalyptic setting in which the world has been completely overrun by giant monsters. Pockets of humanity are hiding and surviving as best they can, but no one's found an effective way to defeat the beasts...until now. Operating out of a hidden temple deep in the jungle, the African Defense Force has created a small until of giant mechs, operated by an international team of the best pilots humanity has to offer. The story begins with the unit's first trip out of their home continent as they try to assess some of the damage done to Europe. What they learn there is even more terrifying than they imagined.

In keeping with the post-apoc genre, KAM is more than just big baddies trading punches. May also promises "...mutant animal-people, barbarians, and secret societies of mad scientists...". As a lover of massive collateral carnage and content in the gamma strain, this is right up my alley--especially since I've been on a Gamma World tear for a while now. It's exactly the kind of stuff that gets my Megathrusters going!

While it's got plenty of panel-breaking action, the base storyline about the human characters is solid and well plotted. It's great to see a really fun idea well executed. The online version publishes a page-at-a-time format employed by many web series, but printed copies aren't far behind. This is pure inspiration for a game, but I can't help but think it'd make for an even more spectacular MOVIE! I particularly love the way the landscape is used as more than just a backdrop...

I can dream can't I?

Linkage

• KILL ALL MONSTERS! web comic
• KAM blog 

Galactic Outfitters Sale! Megafauna Wetwire Package

The MEGAFUN MEGAFAUNA™ Wetwire Package is a new item for X-plorers RPG 

Take the Triceratops by the the Horns with the MEGAFUN MEGAFAUNA™ Wetwire Package!
Have you landed on a hostile world teeming with ginormous pests? Did you go back in time and end up snout-to-snout with hungry dinosaurian lifeforms? Looking for a cost-effective solution to execute colonial construction projects? Then let us help you get the upper femur on your competition!

The MegaFun Megafauna™ package is perfect for:

• Perimeter patrols and homeland security!
• Territorial disputes!
• Mobile artillery!
• Terraforming and outpost construction!
• Public transportation!
• Gladitorial events! (May be illegal in some sectors)
• Parades and birthday parties! (May also be illegal in some sectors)
• And much, much more!

The package includes:

• 1 neuronal wetwire kit to plug directly into creature's central nervous system*
• 1 "brain box" control console, supports fiber optic patch cables and sports a stylish, yet durable, titanium casing
• 1 veterinarian-grade plasma torch*
• 250 gallons of Synapsegel™ to cover cybernetic contact points and improve conductivity performance
• 48 pack of synaptic gold-plated connectors to be used at contact junctions, 360 degree swivel-motorized action
• 1 set, jumper cables
• 2 ocular particle beam emitters
• 2 hip mounted concussion missile pods (3 missiles per pod)
• 6 veterinarian dental and nail files (various sizes) 
• 4 pack XXXXL gauge hide-puncture syringe
• 340 gallons of Xanax™

*Users manuals and power supplies sold separately

STATS (UPDATED)

Two weapon types come standard with the package, but literally any other weapon that can be attached to a vehicle can be mounted to the MegaFun MegaFauna™ Wetwire assembly using the synaptic connectors.   

Ocular Particle Beam
Damage: Can be set to fire two 2d6+2 blasts/round or four 1d6 +1 pulses/round)
Range: dual shots 250, four pulse blasts 100
Separate cost/baseline trade-in value: 150 CR for both eye sockets

Hip-mounted Concussion Missiles
Damage: One missile from each hip can be fired per round (2 total/per round) target takes 2d6 +2 damage on knockback at close range/1d6 knockback at long range; rolls save vs. stun on any hit
Range: close range - up to 150, long 150-350
Separate cost/baseline trade-in value: 75 CR each

Bonuses: See creature template for any natural bonuses or abilities
Total Package Cost: 8,000 credits, accessories and add-ons sold separately
Special conditions: Ocular beams can only fire when target has been sited and cannot select independent targets. Hip missiles may use be fired independently. Megafauna must be fed and cared for as any other animal. You'll need to do research to find out how much food your animal consumes. Re-animated animals cannot digest food without a bio-metabolic converter kit and all systems will fail in 2d4 rounds without sustenance.

And what would you expect to pay for this incredible offer? 20,000 CR? 25,000 CR? How about the barrel-busting price of only 8,000 CR! But wait, there's MORE:

EXCLUSIVE Limited Offer!!
Order your wetwire kit in the next 30 minutes and we'll thrown in the Megafauna Reanimation Kit for another 1,000 CR! Beasts once downed by plasma bolts and stinger missiles no longer need lay useless in a burned out crater. Try the ECO-FRIENDLY solution. Why waste a perfectly good giant corpse when you can REDUCE, REUSE,  and RE-ANIMATE! This is normally a 2,500 CR value but we're extending this special opportunity to customers who contact us via interstellar comm buoy today!

The Re-animation Kit includes:

• 2 skull shovels
• 1 wet vac (12 gallon)
• 1 single-occupant cranium control cockpit (ask about our two and four-seater upgrades!)
• 1 spool of high-tension steel cabling (2" diameter, 33 meters length)
• 20 Saur-o-servos™ for musculature replacement
• 50 gallons of Baxter's Bone Solvent™
• 1 bio-metabollic converter kit
• 500 feet of fiber optic cable
• 1 ocular sensor module (upgrades for two or more available)
• 20 tons of premium megafauna nutrition supplements
• We'll even throw in your choice of a dozer shovel or backhoe!

Get those beasts moving again--there's no reason your carrion need go to waste when you can make your own zoological zombie workforce! Ask us about our discount counterweights and pulley systems, available for bulk discounts.

Decorate and Annihilate!
You've shown your neighbors you mean business--now show them your FUN side! Put the F-U-N in your megafauna project and create your own custom designs, or maybe you just want to show that special pet how much they mean to you. Outfit your pals with these great accessories:
BeDazzler!
Gravity Spray Gun!
Holiday Lights!
Siren Light!

Customers who bought this items, also purchased:

• Supersurge™ Vehicle Battery Pack
• Venom Class 4 Tachyon Missile blister pack
• Halibustin™ Heavy Armor Upgrade Kit
• Catapillar™ Tractor Treads (various sizes)
• Ortho-rest Comfort Labs™ Single-person Seat

This item is provided in accordance with SSA.2436 guidelines regulating spacefaring settlement and defense. Re-animating giant lizards, mega mammals, or other over-sized animals may cause electrical failure, insurrection, and death. Check all connections and do not under any circumstances taunt a wetwired animal, living or deceased, as this may void warranty. MegaFun MegaFauna™ Wetwire Package should never be used on humanoids as this will also cause unexpected effects and possibly fatality thereby voiding all guarantees. In the event that these products are recalled by the manufacturer for any reason, reseller will be held blameless and impervious to re-animated dinosaur reprisals from buyer. Amalgamated Consumer Mercantile Exchange Company is indemnified in such cases.