Alpha Blue: Character Sheets

 

The release of Alpha Blue Quickie we got an amazing deluxe character sheet designed by James V. West.

Though, they were provided in high resolution images and thanks to the help of The Great Mr. Gone of World of Darkness fame, I was able to place them into a PDF format. 

• One Page Landscape Side by Side Version
• Two Page Portrait Version 

 

Review: Open Legend

 

This is one of those role playing games that when the Kickstarter  came out I was really excited about the premise as I have always been on the search for an open ended, do whatever you want, play in any setting, and within any genre game for sometime. I could not participate in the KS at the time and I followed it for a little while but the game ended up falling off my radar. It caught my attention again about a month ago when it was mentioned off handed in a forum post with the explanation of what it does. This sparked my interest again and I dove into learning about it and reading the game. 

I know there was some issues with the Kickstarter stretch goals not being finished after the Core Book and the Campaign setting were released, but the original author did the right thing and sold the company to Jonathan "Great Moustache" Potter. Great Moustache and friends has really done a great job at finishing the core books and pushing out the rest of the Kickstarter rewards. The Great Moustache and company have really worked hard on this endeavor to do right by the fans and have created a supportive and responsive community. To date, two of the five stretch goals have been completed and sent out. I have been told that there are future plans for content after all the Stretch Goals are completed. 

Disclaimer: I acquired the physical/pdf combos at a discounted price for review purposes.

Presentation: The core book clocks in at a 140 pages of full color on heavy glossy paper encased in a hardback. The book itself is a joy to flip through and look at. In addition, the layout is a very clean two column style with appropriate headers and all of that. It reads like a game book and it is easy to read from cover to cover. This book has the same high quality construction and layout as many other books from bigger companies that are double the cost. You get a lot of bang for your buck with the physical copy. 

Character Creation: Creation of Characters follow these steps;

1. Describe Your Character: Choose a heroic name, a race (if applicable), two exceptional physical traits, two defining social traits, and a secret. All these options are fluff to help your background.
2. Select Attributes: There are three physical, four mental, three social, and eight extraordinary attributes. Scores in these are bought with a point buy system of 40 points and each rank has its own cost. Though, three different spreads are given for quicker character creation, Specialized (5, 4, 3, 2, 2, 2), Well-Rounded (4, 4, 3, 3, 3, 1, 1), and Jack of All Trades (3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1). The extraordinary attributes cover magical, supernatural, mystical, etc. abilities and powers. 
3. Record Defenses, Hit Points, and Speed: Toughness (10 + Fortitude + Will) protects you from attacks that test your endurance, bodily health, sturdiness, and survivability. For example, foes attempting to poison you, drain your life force, or stun you will target your toughness. Guard (10 + Agility + Might + Armor) protects you from attacks that can either be dodged, deflected, or directly withstood via raw physical power. Your enemies would need to overcome your guard in order to hit you with a grenade, shoot you with an arrow, or smash you with a maul. Resolve (10 + Presence + Will) represents your character’s ability to resist mental domination and stand brave in the face of danger. Enemies who wish to charm you, deceive you with illusions, or frighten you must target your resolve. Hit Points (2 X [Fortitude + Presence + Will] + 10) (or HP) are an abstract measure of how well you can ignore pain, avoid deadly blows, and maintain a presence on the battlefield in spite of wounds or exhaustion. If they reach zero, you fall unconscious and are at risk of death. Speed indicates how far your character can move using a single move action (see Chapter 7: Combat). Your base speed is 30 feet. Other effects, such as banes, boons, and feats may cause your speed to increase or decrease.
4. Purchase Feats: At 1st level, you have 6 feat points to spend. Any leftover feat points may be saved for the future.
5. Choose Starting Equipment: In a typical game of Open Legend, your character will start with the gear they need for the basic adventuring life. The GM, however, may decide that the campaign starts under special circumstances (such as the entire party caged in a slave convoy) that might dictate otherwise.
6. Choose Perks and Flaws: Can choose up to two Perks and Two Flaws. Each Perk must have a Flaw chosen.  

There is a 7th step that is tell your story and have fun. Though, here is some advice in this step that I think is well placed that I am going to quote;

"Relax. Open Legend gives you a chance to step out of everyday life for a few hours and into a fantastical world where you can perform heroic deeds. Pour the Mountain Dew or grab a beer, order some takeout or pop open the pretzels—but whatever you do, shake the dice like your character’s life depends on it and have fun. If you’re playing a dwarf, maybe pull out your best Scottish accent. If your character’s a witch, squint your eyes and speak in riddles. If you’re no expert thespian, think of other ways to add to the fun: play adventurous music on your phone, illustrate the party’s escapades, and so on."

"Respect the GM. If you’ve never GM’d before, you might not realize all the work that goes into it. More likely than not, your GM worked for hours to put their campaign together and prep for this session. Go with their storyline, overlook any accidental inconsistencies, and don’t cause a ruckus just for the sake of causing a ruckus. If there’s a dispute over the rules, accept the GM’s final ruling and agree to look it up later for the sake of keeping the game going."

"Respect the other Players. Different people play roleplaying games for different reasons. Some enjoy the tactical, chess-like combat encounters. Others just want to tell an epic story. Still others are born actors, reveling in every conversation with every character. Whatever it is that you enjoy about playing Open Legend, just remember that not everyone else at the table may enjoy the same aspects. The GM is there to help every character shine, but you can help by not hogging the spotlight and by encouraging the other players to have fun, whatever that means for them." 

Resolution: The core mechanic is handled by the Action roll, which is 1d20 + Attribute Dice (the attribute rating gives you dice to roll with the d20) vs. Target Number (10/15/20/25/30). It is also important to note that all dice explode! Yep, even that d20. 

Another foundational idea that is baked into the core mechanic is absolute failure is not an option. This is to make sure that the story continues and does not come to a screeching halt when no one can find the clue or pass whatever check is needed. Outside of the character succeeding by meeting or exceeding the Challenge Rating, the characters can either succeed with a twist (there are examples and advice for this in Chapter 2) or the character fails but the story still moves on (there are examples and advice for this in Chapter 2). 

When violent combat breaks out, it follows these steps:

1. Determine Surprise: This is handled by the fiction. 
2. Roll for Initiative: Make an Agility Roll and place individuals in order. If there is a tie, whoever has the higher agility. If there is still a tie, determine randomly. 
3. Taking Your Turn: Everyone has one major action (make a damaging attack, make a Bane attack, invoke a Boon, Assist an Ally, take an extra move action), and one move action. Or, they can take one focused action which grants Advantage 1 on the roll. Everyone can make an unlimited number of minor actions (such as make an opportunity attack, sustain a Boon, draw or sheath a weapon, retrieve an item stored on your person, make a perception roll, make a learning roll to recall important information, open a door/chest/drawer/etc.)
4. Determine Defense [Targeted]: Guard protects against attacks that can be dodged, deflected, or avoided by taking cover, such as a ball of flame, magical wall of blades, or a laser beam. Toughness is used to defend against attacks that require bodily endurance, health, or sturdiness, such as poison and necrotic energy. Resolve guards against mental assaults and deceptions, such as attacks from a phantasmal beast or damage caused by an illusory pit.
5. Calculate Damage: Any attack that inflicts damage is calculated by subtracting the targets defense by the total attack roll. 

In combat, the core mechanic works a little differently in determining keeping the action moving. Though, nothing is stopping the GM from saying a miss is a miss, etc. 

If the Action Roll equals or succeeds then the player succeeds. If the action roll is less then the challenge rating then the GM and the PC can both choose one of these options: Deal 3 damage, inflict 1 Bane of power less then less than or equal to 3, or Move 10' without attacks of opportunity. With these modified rules, a player’s failed attack roll means that the player may not get what they were aiming for, but they get something. And it comes at a cost because the GM also gets to choose an effect. Remember, also, that the rules for interpreting a failed roll only apply to PCs. For the GM, a success is a success and a failure is a failure (See chapter 2 for more details).

There are also advice with using Success with a Twist in Combat but some options are;

• Put a character in danger
• Expend a resource
• Make an enemy or lose a friend
• Overlook an important detail
• Waste time
• Attract attention
• Find something you weren’t looking for

 Crunch: I will address some additional crunch below:

• Open Ended Attributes: Basically, players (and the GM) make the attributes fit the fiction. There are usually no hard rules for this attribute for that or this. It is whatever makes sense and fits the fiction. Only ways to inflict damage have more rigid rules but still, 9 out of 18 can inflict damage.  
• Banes: These are various status effects, falling prone, or ongoing damage that is inflicted on others. Bane Attacks are defended by the usual defenses. 
• Boons: Boons are supernatural like affects that can affect others or the casting character. These are accomplished by a Task Roll vs. a difficulty determined by the Boons power level. 
• Feats: You get feat points at character creation and when you level up. Characters start with 6 feat points and gain 3 per level. Some feats can be taken multiple times and range in cost from 1 to 3 points per level. All the feats add to the characters abilities and only one is a tactical feat that has to do with movement. 
• Perks/Flaws: These help flesh out the character and characters can have a maximum of two perks and two flaws. Each perk must be followed with a flaw. 
• Resist Bane: Costs a move action, roll a single unmodified d20 and on a 10+ the character ends the banes effects. After three failed Resist Banes attempts, the Bane automatically ends. 
  
• Wealth: Instead of having a currency that requires constant addition and subtraction there is a wealth level system. All gear, equipment, cost of living, etc. has a corresponding wealth level. If the characters wealth level exceeds or matches the items wealth level, they are able to acquire it without a problem. If the item is higher then their wealth level, then they can still acquire the item or service but their personal wealth level is reduced by the difference. During play, characters wealth level can fluctuate by spending (liquidating assets) or acquiring wealth. 
• Extraordinary Items: These are magical or very advance items that can be acquired in more complicated ways through the story besides just shopping or they can be made by a character with the appropriate feat. These items have an higher then usual Wealth level as well. 
• Lethal Damage: From special sources, lethal damage reduces max HP and heals a slower rate. 
  
• Death: When characters are reduced to zero or below hit points they are unconscious/out of the fight/etc. They can only be killed by a purposeful final blow. 
  

Final Thoughts: Reading through character creation and realizing that it is very open ended to a point where even decided how attributes can interact with the world are really up to the fiction was a lot of fun and I spent a lot of time trying out different character concepts and seeing if I could find a roadblock somewhere. So far, I have not been able to find one during character creation. 

I found it also refreshing that the core mechanic is really simple and has built in verbiage so the game does not come to a screeching halt because of a failed roll. The expanded combat rules also make combat a lot more interesting outside of hit/miss/hit/miss. Now there is no one saying that you cannot run combat that way. 

There are two things that take getting used to. One of them is the open ended of the use of attributes and skills. What you can do with them is really defined by the fiction and what the GM will allow. The second thing is that because all dice explode, it is possible for a character to get taken out in one what it (though this is also very possible for the opponents as well). This is by design and there are various ruled baked in to help support this (like the final blow, special rules for a boss fight, healing happens quickly, etc.). 

Now, there are a few things I would have like to have seen or done differently. 

1. Due to the open endedness of the attribute and skills, I would like to have seen a lot more examples of uses in the core book as there are sometimes interactions that are not clear. 
2. This is really an issue of semantics but the use of the word feat, use of feet for measurement, and some calculations at character creation really makes the game seem more tactical then it is. Once you get passed character creation you realize the game is very story driven and they is a very small tactical element to it (unless the GM wants to play this angle up). I think the use of different language and more abstraction for movement and distance would have gone a long way of eliminating this impression. 
3. I am not a fan of the calculation for HP, this calculation more so then all of the others really had me making sure I was putting skills in various places to boost my total HP. HP only increases by stat increase so this furthers the MAD feel. I would have rather seen a flat HP total (around 25-30 covers the upper ends). 
4. I really wish there would have been more direction involving when to roll and what type of situations require a roll. If a new player reads through the book without seeing some live plays or interacting with the wider community it gives the the idea that the player must roll for every activation of a boon, etc. Even in a non stressful situation or on a willing target. This is wrong as rolls are only required for dramatic effect and in stressful situations where failure or success at a cost would be interesting. 
   
5. Depending on the situation, there could be a high stack of Advantages or disadvantages. Though, diminishing returns happen after three on both ends so it stops really being an issue of adding dice after three. In my experience and in a lot of live plays I have seen, most people stop at Advantage or Disadvantage 3. Though, due to this it is important the players know what advantages they have from their abilities and other sources and it is important that the GM use bonus advantage/disadvantage in consistent ways. If not, it can really bog down a round or the game (and pull from immersion) adding up advantages and subtracting disadvantages.
   

This is one of the truest classless, open ended, multi-genre, creative problem solving games I have ever seen. It does not even require thirty different setting books for various genres. One of the best things about this game is the community is amazing and very welcoming. This includes the man, "The Great Moustache" himself. Plus, Open Legend also has some great community designed resources and future plans once the original KS stuff is finished. 

• Open Legend Store
• Discord 
• Free Intro Adventure
• Character Sheet 
• Example Characters (All Genres)
  
• D&D Conversion Guide 
• OL Community License
• Core Website 
• Heromuster (Online tools for creaating characters, NPCs, Items, etc.) An amazing resource! 

Here are some ongoing live games;

• Bomb Squad
• Unlawful Disorder: A Twist of Fate 
• City of the Gods
• D.R.E.A.M. 

 

Detroit Suck City: Episode 14

 

 

 

The crew spends a few days resting, healing, and just enjoying the environment of the Undercity. The hospitality of the crew's hosts allowed them to be the most well fed and rested they have been since they can remember. A good number of the crew entertained their vices while 9s spent time with Ren as Kamanji hangs out with the green faerie.

The fateful morning finally came when it was time for business and as they are discussing the job with Azarel and Mr. Doyle, Kruder walks in with a very large crate full of gear and says, "suit up". The crew finds that all of their requests for gear were met and as they are still picking through it Kruder reminds them that when they are done, head down the tunnel to the end of the tracks.

The crew soon finds themselves at the end of the tunnel with Kruder and a few other Undercity guards as they roll out an old beat up truck that has been modified to ride on the rails. As the crew starts loading up their supplies, one of the tunnel walls explode outward and multiple bug like creatures emerge from it charging at the crew and friends. Kruder yells, "the bugs are back" and unloads with his shotguns. During this time, one of the bug creatures takes a bite out of Huey and 9s retaliates with a claw swipe that sends pieces of the bug flying off in the distance. The bugs continue their assault as one of them takes out the driver of the truck and another one snaps one of Kruder's legs but as he is falling, he unloads another volley of shotgun blasts and swings madly with his lead pipes. Huey then teleports to Kruder to try to help him out and give him cover. 

Kamanji pushes the dead driver over and slams the truck in reverse are starts backing up quickly but not quick enough as two bugs jump onto the truck - one going throughthe drivers side and the other in the bed with 9s. Kamanji takes a claw to the face as 9s gives the one in the bed of the truck a lesson in personal space. During this time, Kruder blows another bug a apart with some well places shotgun blasts as two more bugs come through the hole and Parrot takes this opportunity to mental blast one of them. 9s is able to dispatch his unwanted guest as Huey steps into the tunnel and fires his crossbow at the bug still trying to get in through the driver side and connects which causes a shriek from the bug as it looses its grip and falls out of the truck in a twitching heap.Parrot takes a shot and misses at the bugs still coming out of the tunnel. As Kamanji slams on the brakes and puts the truck in drive to run over the bugs he can see in the tunnel the doors behind Kruder open up and two Undercity guards emerge with large flame throwers and light up the bugs and the hole they are coming from. When 9s and Kamanji returns with the truck Kruder lets the crew know to get into the truck and head - they have this under control. 

The crew rides the truck to the end of the tunnel and finds themselves in front of a large concrete staircase. The crew climbs the staircase that eventually opens up into a big warehouse with a heavy reinforced door and Kamanji knocks on the door. A voice from the side asks for a password and 9s explains who they are and who sent them. The door opens quickly after that and the crew is shown around in what appears to be a mechanics ship with various vehicles in different states of repair. One of these vehicles was a supped up, armored, dune buggy with tires bigger then some of the crew. The crew then inquires if that is what they are getting and the workers just laugh and explain that is the bosses and they do not even have the keys. The workers then lead the crew over to the hovering mini van and one of the workers slap one of the panels and says, "she doesn't look like much but she will do .5 past light speed". The reference fell on deaf ears as the crew rolls their eyes and begrudgingly starts to load up. 9s then notices a hover bike and bribes the workers to let him have it. Once packed up, the crew heads out into the Burn. 

Just another day in Detroit Suck City...

Fear of the Rules that are Lite

It has come to my attention that rules lite games make people weary and it has been frustrating for me. I have had many conversations with people trying to pitch a game like Sword and Backpack, Swords and Six-Siders, Supercrew, Blood of Pangea, or other games on or around that crunch level. The most common response is something along the lines of "I get it, but I am not sure if there is enough there for structure".  I am not sure what type of structure they think is missing; character creation? check,  resolution mechanic? check, and obstacles for them to overcome? check.

So, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about this from different angles and I have come up with three conclusions as why people in general have an aversion when you talk about a game with a 32 page rule book instead of a 300+ rule book. 

1. Spoiled and Lazy:  These two create a symbiotic relationship, one feeds into the other and vice versa. By spoiled I mean a lot of the modern games and rule books have a rule for everything and hyper detailed character creation. So, there is actual minimal effort that needs to be put into character thought, actions, and background as there is a rule for that. These type of rules take away the player agency and make the game harder to manage on both ends of the table. So, being spoiled by the rules leads into people being lazy. Why actually put effort into role play when you can roll a skill to see if you get that discount or not at the store (etc.)? Why expand on your backgrounds (outside of the description in the book) so you can pursue your characters own agenda in game? Or give the GM story hook to use? Or put effort into exploring a dark and dangerous place as your character has never been there before (instead of relying on perception checks, etc.)? This type of laziness happens on both sides of the table as the GM does not have to make calls at the table or decide if there is need to a roll or what the roll should be. 
2. High Trust vs. Low Trust and Lack of Said Trust: A lot of people have had bad experiences playing games on both sides of the table. Sometimes this results from abrasive personalities at the table, people treating it has a video game and feel the need to win, and just people trying to exploit every rule or lack thereof that is possible. Due to these experiences (most commonly in public settings or cons) people feel the need to lean towards low trust games for built in protection. This means that these are games that require little or no trust in the players because the system is well-tuned enough to prevent the worst player abuse and well-phrased in order to minimize the need of GM calls. Thus, the system actually minimizes the degree to which players and GM have to be on the same page about what the story is about or what is possible within the story. There is a clear and stable framework within which everybody can work (such games often restrict the creative freedom of players and GM's). Due to this, players avoid high trust games. By high trust, I mean games that require a lot of trust between GM and player, so that nobody abuses the system, that everybody is on the same page and knows what is expected from and within the story. These games require much more establishing of a "common ground" and constant re-evaluation of this common ground. They allow for a much more open and flexible play, but can "break" more easily if there are miscommunication or problem players. People with this mind set makes me want to break out a doll and tell them to show me where the bad GM or player touched you. This has also created a odd war akin to edition wars where people line up on each side and act their opinion or preferred style of play is the only right way. I think the trust are edition wars are both redonkulous and people need to chill out, but I digress.
   
3. Newer is Better: There is this common idea that new is better, things have evolved form the old ways for a reason. and 300-600+ rules books are the norm. I think today's gaming environment we have seen massive movements where the mindset is going back to more of the rules light style. Even mainstream games like Dungeons and Dragons have come along way and the current iteration of 5th edition has been a really good evolution all the way around. I am not saying there are not more tactical focused games like Pathfinder that are still being produced and have their own fans and are thriving. It is just the idea that newer is better creates a mental block and I think this is especially true for older games or have been there throughout the ages. 

I think that it comes down to the Player's Responsibility and if they want to be entertained then they can go play a bored game. Maybe I am just being an old grognard but I have been around the block more then a few times and I would rather role play then roll play. 

I guess I wish more people would just relax, try something new or old, participate, get into character, put input into the world, and let the immersion happen. 

You cannot tell me that waiting got for the GM to look up a rule, the players looking up spells or characters abilities, or adding up modifiers before they decide what to do (in and out of combat) helps with the flow of the game or supports immersion. 

This has been another episode of What Really Grinds my Gears...

Review: Alpha Blue

 Where's it slacking, frack face? The name's Amaranthia. You like what you see? Yeah, I can tell... or did you just pop a couple of blue dreamers?

There's a few things you should know about Alpha Blue, assuming you're planning on staying a few parsecs. You are, right? Otherwise, how are we supposed to get acquainted? That's good. So, this space station doesn't stay as stationary as you would probably imagine. Don't get me wrong, we're not trekking all over the universe like a battle cruiser... but Alpha Blue? She moves. One day-cycle we're orbiting that planet populated entirely by sexy gum-chewing twins, the next we're moving out of the neutral zone - which has just shifted boundaries by a few light years because of some intergalactic incident.

You also gotta know who to trust. Pretty much no one. The  girls are out to screw you out of your blue bucks - literally; the guys usually have allegiance to a large and dangerous group of space-hombres. As for the aliens... who even knows what crazy shit is on their three brains?

Me? No, I'm not a satisfier. However, I never turn down quick credits... especially when they're as cute as you. I see you eyeing up my new arm. She's a rental. Almost got it paid off. Just one more job for my boss - he's the one smoking over there in the corner booth. That's right. I'm not just a pretty face. I also jack people up with a blaster. Hey, maybe you could come with? Gars Amax likes to hire new blood. Wait right there, I'll go ask him.

So, this is a game I was aware of but it fell off my radar for awhile. It was not until I was reading about rules light science fiction/space opera games that the mechanics of Alpha Blue was mentioned and the game jumped back on my radar. I have been wanting to take a break from fantasy and I jumped on the opportunity to get my hands on something where the system focuses on narrative. 

Disclaimer: I was provided a physical copy for this review. 

Presentation: In a 112 pages you get full color covers and a very organized two column layout. The interior is full of black and white art with tables galore. Who does not like random tables? There are tables for careers, for creating your own alien species, mutations, cybernetics, personality traits, etc. They are all full of flavor of not boring at all. Non of the tables feel pointless or space fillers. The art is also black and white and has an old school theme - something that you can find in old copies of Heavy Metal, 1st editions of Gamma World, Star Frontiers, etc. There is a range of style of sharp pen lines to a softer pencil look. The art really fits the theme of the game. It really makes the aliens and cybernetics look interesting. There is also some amount of NSFW art inside the pages which depicts bare breasts, butts, and both sexes in skimpy outfits but there is no shown genitals. 

 

 

Character Creation: Character creation follows the steps below;

1. Determine Occupations: You get two rolls (or choices) on the scoundrel and the respectable career table split up anyway you want. Can choose two rolls or choices on one table, etc. If you have an option on the scoundrel table then you roll on the scoundrel sub-table which determines the level of interest the law as on your activities. If you choose to use the Something Special table, to create an alien, or to play a mutant (roll or choose three aspects on the mutation table) you only get one choice on the career options instead of two. The reasoning is because humans need to be more versatile to complete against all of the crazy stuff out there. 
2. Determine Starting Finances: Each roll on the Scoundrel Career table provides you with 2d6x100 blue bucks but you only get 1d6x100 blue bucks on Respectable Career table. 
3. If your an Alien: You roll once once on the Alien Form Table, roll once on the Alien Size table, and roll once on the Alienism table - which is basically out of this world quirks and what not. Also, you need to roll a 1d6 as your alien has a 1 in 6 chance of not being able to survive in normal "Earth" like atmosphere. 
4. Prior Experiences: There are three tables labled A, B, and C. A requires a 1d6 roll, B a 1d8 roll, and C requires a 1d12 roll. These tables are designed to give a character a little more background and examples of how gonzo the universe can be. 
5. Fashion: Can choose to roll or use the fashion tables or make up what your character is wearing.
6. Weapon of Choice: Your first weapon is free, the rest you need to buy yourself.  
7. Astrology/Known Associates/Nature of Relationships: These are tables to continue to round out your character. Lots of fun. 
8. Determine Sex Stuff: There are more tables for this but it is basically deciding what your character is into. 
9. Record Health: All characters start with 25hp.

This is one of the few systems where character creation should be done in reverse order. Go through the character creation process and then determine your backstory and reasons for being. I also really like how the mutations and creating an alien are very alien. It is definitely not a universe filled with bipedal humanoid creatures with different face ridges or colors of skin. 

 

 

Resolution: Alpha Blue using a house system called VSd6 and it uses a base roll of 2d6 to determine success or failure and the degrees in-between. If you have advantage you roll 3d6 and if you have disadvantage you roll 1d6. The highest result on a single dice is counted;

• 1 - Critical Failure ("No, and..." Something bad happens)
• 2 - Failure ("No")
• 3 - Mostly Failure ("No, but..." Something good happens)
• 4 - Partial Success ("Yes, but.." Something mildly bad happens)
• 5 - Success ("Yes")
• 6 - Critical Success ("Yes, and..." Something even better happens)
  

That is it. The players careers allow them to roll on career related (non combat) activities with advantage and if the players are able to convince the GM about something in their background would let them roll with advantage then that could work too. It very narrative driven which I like. There are also some caveats for ship weapons, crazy alien gizmos, and horrors from beyond space and time rolling 4d6/5d6.

Combat is handled in a slightly modified way;

1. Initiative: In smaller groups initiative is handled by whoever speaks up first then in follows what makes sense in the narrative. For larger groups or if you need something more organized, go in order of seating. 
2. Roll for Attack: Roll using the core mechanic. There is no defense roll or to hit roll and tactics/situations in combat determines if the roll is made at advantage or disadvantage. The effectiveness and if the attack hits is determined by the attackers roll - 1 is a critical failure, 2 and 3 are failures, 4 the player rolls 1d6 for damage, 5 the player rolls 2d6 for damage, 6 the player rolls 3d6 for damage, double six 4d6, triple six 5d6, and quadruple six the player rolls 6d6 for damage. REMEMBER - ALL DAMAGE DICE EXPLODE!
3. Determine Damage: Subtract armor rating from total damage and apply remaining damage to HP total. Most NPCS will have the stand 25hp while mooks will be taken down in one hit and more powerful opponents will have more HP. 

Crunch: Outside of the core mechanic, there are only a few additional crunch items that need to be addressed:

• Saving Throw: If something happens that could end your character their is a d6 table to be rolled on. Good luck!
• Stealing the Spot Light: Once per session, each player (and the GM) has the ability to "Steal the Spotlight". The player announces their attention to Steal the Spotlight and goes ham describing the crazy thing the character is going to pull off. This effectively doubles the characters dice pool for that action. 
• Indulging in the Characters Preferences: If a character takes advantage of all Alpha Blue has to offer in conjunction with their preferences, then they get a bonus "Stealing the Spotlight" option for the next session. They do not carry over and if the session ends with a character having two Stealing the Spotlights, they start the next session with one.
• Indulging in Pleasure: If a character decides to have physical encounters out of scene, they gain d6 bonus HP for the next day. 
• Armor: Armor has a rating from 1 to 4 and reduces damage by that amount. 
  
• Healing: Characters can heal 1d6 without medical help and 2d6 with medical help once per day. After an 8 hour rest they regain their full HP. 
  
• Character Death: If a character is reduced to beyond their level in negative HP they have a 2 in 6 chance of being able to be saved by cybernetic or other synthetic parts. 
• Leveling up: Each time a character levels up, they gain 5 hp. Level up is generally up to the GM but a simply XP system could be used. 

 

Final Thoughts: This is a really well put together game and it catches the crazy gonzo Heavy Metal vibe. I am sure the sex stuff is going to be the point on most people's mind when reading this review and the reality of sex and how a good check of Alpha Blue is dedicated to the universes greatest whore house is part if the setting. Though, it is presented in a tongue and cheek, campy, gonzo way where the group can give it as much or as little focus as possible (it is actually pretty funny and not as in your face as I thought it was going to be). It is not designed or meant for people to enact their deepest fantasies in Matrix slow motion - there are other avenues for that, like seriously.

At its heart, the station of Alpha Blue is a combo of Babylon 5, Jabba's Palace, Mos Eisley's, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and Deep Space 9. About a 1/4 or a little more of the station is devoted to the Universes best whore house where the Satisfier's (think of Inara from Fire Fly - the whole Companion system) work and other people who are less skilled. The station also hosts about 30-40 other sections that have their own descriptions. In addition to these sections, there is 20+ pages devoted to "Everything you want to know about Alpha Blue but were to Afraid to Ask". This goes into detail about the operations, the Capt., the Computer and its systems, etc. Alpha Blue is described as the Wild West - Alpha Blue itself has its own Security, though their are section appointed Sheriffs,

The book also expands on the setting for the rest of the Universe. There are over 10 pages that talk about space phenomena and another couple pages that talk about different major factions such as The Federation, The Draconian Empire, The Krylon Protectorate, The Interstellar Caliphate, Brain Bugs, The Mega-Corporation Conglomerate, and Clerics of the 7th Age. There is also the Knights in White Satin, Knights in Black Satin, and Knights in Blue Satin which follow "the way" and are commonly known as Zedi. 

One of my favorite things about Alpha Blue is the adventure generator. It can lead to all kinds of crazy shenanigans in addition to a lot of inspiration. 

Some of the character creation is is mixed in with the core rules section but the core rules come before character creation so it is not that big of a deal. I do also wish there was a PDF of a more printer friendly character sheet without the grey scale and not just a jpeg. 

You can find it here:

• Drivethrurpg (must be logged in)
• Amazon 

There is a lot of supplements for it as well and the Alpha Blue Quikie adds in a new and improved character sheet and two layouts for star ships. These character sheets I greatly prefer but they are in 300dpi images and not a user friendly PDF. Though I am working on fixing that.

 

The final piece of advice I would give about Alpha Blue is do not let the 80s gonzo, tongue in cheek sleaze be the deciding factor of picking up this game or not. It is an amazing game with an amazing system even if you completely ignore the sleaze altogether.

 

Detroit Suck City: Episode 13

 

As the crew finds safety in their tank they start to relax and discuss their options. They decide that it is definitely to hot for Kamanja and the related people who were the upstarts in the Killbox to be seen out and about. It was also discussed and decided that first thing in the morning they need to finish up their supplies and get the hell out of dodge. 

During the night as the crew tries to get some rest, Kamanja  and 9s here a tapping and a scratching on the outside of their tank. They peer outside of the windows and to their surprise they see a large mutated possum. As they start to tell the possum to scram the possum explains in a commanding whisper that  they are in danger as the crew have made quit a ruckus and pissed off a lot of people, especially with that stunt at the Killbox. The possum starts to laugh in a raspy whisper and goes on to explain that he personally thought the riot was genius and those tight wads that run this place needs their cage rattled once in awhile. The possum finally introduces himself as Tonic and says they all need to come with him. 9s and Kamanja goes about waking the rest of the crew up and explains to situation. The crew nods an agrees that this is probably in their best interest but they are smart enough to expect a trap. 

Tonic leads them through a maze of back alleys and through various train cars as the crew realizes they are starting to head underground. Tonic leads them to a hidden latter that leads directly underground and explains that someone in the Undercity wants to talk to them and actually needs their help, and Tonic reiterates that is not safe for the crew on the surface and they have closed the city. There is no traffic going in or going out. The crew continues to follow Tonic through a maze of old sewage tunnels (with all of the smells that go with it) and they eventually come to a large reinforced metal door. Tonic gives the door a pattern of knocks and a pattern of knocks is rapped in response. The large metal door opens and the crew finds themselves in a large cavern that is full of nefarious looking rift raft which all gave the crew a once over before most of them returned to what they were doing before the interruption. 

Tonic continues to leads them onward and they find themselves inside a very deep buried base of connected rail cars and Tonic opens one of the doors and the see a room filled with tables, a bar, and there are various people sitting on the tables and the bar. The crew is offered food and drink and Kamanji takes a shot of a green liquor that the bartender explained makes people see things. 

As the crew eats and drinks their fill while Kamanji fist bumsp a green faerie Tonic gets their attention and explains to them that it is time for them to meet the boss and get down to business as it were as Tonic points to the far end of the room that is separated by a heavy red velvet curtain. Tonic pulls the curtain aside and waves them over. The crew is greeted with a large round table that hosts a large rodent with no eyes and meter long antlers that introduces himself as Azarel (the boss), a well dressed man in a bowler hat that just nods as Azarel introduces him as Mr. Doyle, ans behind those two stands a very large four armed toad that is armed with shotguns and lead pipes that introduces himself as Kruder, Captain of the Undercity. The crew is then offered a seat by Azarel and they sit.

Azarel, The Boss

Kruder ,Captain of the Undercity

Mr. Doyle, Azarel's Trusted Friend 

Azarel welcomes the crew and starts right off explaining how it is not safe for them on the surface right now as their various stunts has put a lot of heat on them and the city has been locked down. During this time Azarel turns to Mr. Doyle and appears to have a one sided conversation with them as Mr. Doyle never speaks. As the crew watches this conversation with curiosity a man opens the curtain and enters the private area that is dressed in a crimson cloak and black armor with the mark of the city guard on it. Azarel turns to this new comer and says, "Ah, Capt. Drasticos glad you could join us". Azarel sighs and explains to the crew that he will Drasticos explain the situation and why he needs the crews help as the crew has obviously proved to be very capable, even in the most dire of situations. 

Capt. Drastico expains how one of his trusted operatives has gone freelance and is doing business and causing trouble where he shouldn't be. The operative is known as Ficas and has been smuggling anti radiation tabs into the city for his own gain. Drasticos continues to explain that this needs to stop as it is hurting the common people and that he found evidence that Trey, the Mayor of Rail City has been dealing directly with the  leaders of the Star Children.  The crew then learns that their task is to go into the burn and find Ficas who we want brought in alive at all costs (but dead is better then letting him escape).  Azarel then picks up the conversation and tells the crew that the Star Children has multiple heads and each head needs to be destroyed for the menace of the Star Children to be stopped. The crew then realized that they have met the heads of the Star Children snake before - it was the people that were throwing torc grenades at them and flying drunk in a yellow hover car.

 

 During this conversation some of the guards open the curtains and the drop a person who has been chained up to the ground. Azarel turns to the person who worked his way up to his knees and says, "You disappoint me Lisam, I had a lot of faith in you". As Lisam tries to stutter out a defense his body goes rigid, Lisam makes a gargling sound, and then drops to the floor, dead. Azarel nods to the guards and they silently pick up Lisam's body and makes their exit. 

Azarel apologies for the interruption and continues talking to the crew. The crew learns that Pike is Trey's brother and they run the entire corrupted operation. Azarel also explains that their person that was on the screen in the lab and in the Killbox is known as Bel Starks and is a construct like 9s.  Bel Starks runs the cryolab and how the crew can be tracked by their electronics. The crew then hands over all of their communication devices they have lifted off the Star Children to Kruder who then smashes them to pieces with his bare hands. 

Azarel sighs and says it has been a long night and this has been enough talk. I will provide you all with rooms, food, medical care, and even companionship if you wish. Azarel then waves the crew off with his paw and Tonic motions them to follow as Tonic leads them all to some rooms and says, "Get some rest, there is a lot to do still".

Just another day in Detroit Suck City...

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PLAYER THOUGHTS: This was a great session full of a lot of roleplay and a lot of information. We all learned how interconnected a lot of our encounters have been and we all started to piece together the bigger picture. For me, one of the biggest surprised I learned how Pike was in the thick of mess at the very top and how the band Kiss (Yep, exactly) are the leaders of the Star Children and how each variant we have faced as tattoos that match the individual members. Definitely looking forward to more shenanigans and story.