Secret Jackalope 2022 - Doomed and Saved, out on the Ice.
As well as being paired to write a response to a Secret Jackalope prompt, someone else was paired with mine: Mechanics/subsystems for isolation/loneliness, incorporating fantasy/horror/sci-fi inflected Third Man Factor/Syndrome.
This is/was Wyatt over at TBD: Tabletop, Books, and Dinner, who came up with some mechanics for manifesting and being aided by the Third Man - the presence sometimes reported by wanderers in the cold wastes and lofty places. Well worth a look. Thanks, Wyatt.
And below Wyatt's notification to me on the OSR Discord was this gem from the Foreign Planets blog (also a Secret Jackalope response) - Doomed Expeditions to Dread Hyperborea. Those cold wastes and lofty places I mentioned? They're one of my favourite settings, especially when you mix in an (un)healthy dose of fantasy, horror and sci fi.
(Also check out the likely discontinued Black City Project over at Dreams in the Lich House - it's from years back, but it was a more recent discovery for me)
The Erotic Art of Slaughterhouses.
I clicked through in the context of BX, giallo and survival horror, and was pretty happy with what I found. A new to 2022 blog, last updated in March.
I'm recommending this content with full awareness of possible non-neutral reaction to their Cool Shit From Other People - it's up to you to decide how powerful Hitler's jumper is.
Anyway.
Iconic Clothing & Pocket Contents:
Two d50's worth of stuff for characters in giallo/survival horror games with the clothing and the random junk giving clues to your abilities/identity/situation. I like these like I like the uniform patches in Mothership.
With expansion up to 100 in the comments.
XP for BX/CoC hybrid:
A good alternative to the blood-and-gold method of BX, with no points for killing but some for encountering new monsters and saving people.
There is a legacy of XP=GP in that you'll get the worth of any eldritch artefacts you recover.
Some reference to Lovecraft's stories for illustration.
Improvised Weapons & an Improvised System:
d50 (expanded to 100 in the comments) things you can try and fight back with when trapped in the mansion with the murderous and mysterious.
Includes 'Sliding Door'. Everything has a 1-4 on d6 chance of breaking when used for violence.
Plus the bare bones of a BX/LotFP hack for amnesiacs trapped in a mansion. Character special abilities boiled down to a bonus on related rolls, based on simple tags eg. Track Star, Camping Enthusiast.
Personally, I would relate these to the Iconic Clothing and Pocket Contents you roll up at the start and - as you're amnesiacs - you don't have to decide on your tags at chargen. Being the master of unlocking in advance is all very well, only to be faced with nothing but broken-down doors and barricades.
Inspiration and Links.
A slush pile posting at Archons March On. This is the latest in a series and is dense with ideas and inspiration.
There are a number of people out there in the blogosphere doing these. Good. Be generous with your ideas, because maybe you don't have the time to deal with them and someone else might come up with something better than you imagined/exactly what you were dreaming of. The OSR blogosphere is a rich resource and you should tap it often. Cite and thank your sources when and where you can, and don't get too hung up on someone else already having had your ideas.
Also in this vein, check out Seed of Worlds for Slush Piles and TTRPG blog link compilations. They also post the r/osr blogroll every Sunday (within reason), which is always good to check in on.
New Blog - Iconoclastic Flow.
Contributors to a new collaborative blog just peeping out of the interpipes like sapient mercury: Max of Weird and Wonderful Worlds, Semiurge of Archons March On (already linked above), Spwack of Slight Adjustments, Sibylla of Devil Devil Devil, and Sofinho of Alone in the Labyrinth, Jones Smith of Was It Likely? and some more I'm less familiar with.
Nowt to do with me, chum, but I like a lot of their stuff, so it's probably worth keeping an eye on.
Always good to see a round up of what is good out there - every time I find something new. Thanks!
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