Calamity Jane via RisusRPG

The following is a character for Risus: The Anything RPG created in response to an #RPGaDay 2019 prompt. It was originally posted on Twitter and compiled in Applied Phantasticality.

#RPGaDay2019 25. "Calamity":

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Calamity Jane

Gunslingin', Cross-Dressin' Cavalry Scout (4)
Frontier Hell-Raiser with a Heart of Gold (3)
Singin' and Dancin' Fool (3)

Lucky Shots: O O O

Hook: Hopelessly in love with Wild Bill Hickok.

WWPHITM: Doris Day

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This version of Calamity Jane was made possible with the rules of Risus: The Anything RPG, available for free here.

WWPHITM stands for "Who Would Play Him/Her In The Movie" and is borrowed from QAGS, available for purchase here.

Noble Sir Hugh's Not-So-Noble Band

The following is a roster of characters for Risus: The Anything RPG created in response to an #RPGaDay 2019 prompt. It was originally posted on Twitter and compiled on Applied Phantasticality.

Enter Noble Sir Hugh's not-so-noble band stage right...


#RPGaDay2019 20. asks, "[What is] Noble [in life?]"
Answer: Noble Sir Hugh the Noble. And so are his comrades three.

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Sir Hugh ("The Noble")

Knight Errant (4)
Uplifter of Spirits and Imbiber of Same (3)
Occasional Gambler (2)

Lucky Shots: O O O O O O

Hook: Thinks warnings are jokes.

WWPHITM: Michael York

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Cyril Hamm ("The Mad")

Troubador (3)
Humor Innovator (2)
Escape Artist (3)
Aspiring Alchemist (2)

Lucky Shots: O O O

Hook: Easily distracted by anything related to alchemy or comedy.

WWPHITM: Gene Wilder

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Anonymous Plumm

Trouvere (3)
Court Jester (2)
Friend to All Animals (3)
Acrobat (2)

Lucky Shots: O O O

Hook: Will never harm an animal, and may sometimes take contradictory advice from them.

WWPHITM: Marty Feldman

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Elspeth Shelley

Herb-Gathering, Curse-Throwing Young Crone (4)
Probably a Witch (3)
Brewer of Mead and Other Things (2)
Teller of Fortunes and Detector of Lies (1)

Lucky Shots: O O O

Hook: Wanted by "the authorities."

WWPHITM: Madeline Kahn

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Noble Sir Hugh's Not-So-Noble Band was made possible with the rules of Risus: The Anything RPG, available for free here.

WWPHITM stands for "Who Would Play Him/Her In The Movie" and is borrowed from QAGS, available for purchase here.

The Aquabats Super Unofficial Super RPG Part 1: The Aquabats

The Aquabats have a VERY IMPORTANT KICKSTARTER PROJECT to #BringBackTheAquabats. You, too, can join the Legion of Righteous Comrades and help The Aquabats help the children help the world. You can also relive their adventures and more through the magic of Risus: The Anything RPG, a free game created by S. John Ross and subverted by me to produce something I am calling "The Aquabats Super Unofficial Super RPG." Starring The Aquabats.

Part 1

The Aquabats

On a mission to fight evil and destroy boredom!

The MC Bat Commander

Crime-Fighting Lead Singer of The Aquabats (3)
Fearless Leader and Chief Strategist (3)
All Around Swell Guy (3)
Battle Dancer (1)

Sidekick: Battletram, The Aquabats' Mobile Headquarters (3)

Hook: Insecure about his lack of superpowers.

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Jimmy the Robot

Crime-Fighting Keyboardist of The Aquabats (3)
Team Scientist and Pillar of Logic (2)
Superpower: Is a Robot [3]

Hook: Confused by human emotions.

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Crash McLarson

Crime-Fighting Bassist of The Aquabats (3)
Arguably a Big Strong Overgrown Baby (2)
Superpower: Becomes a Giant When Experiencing Stress [3]

Hook: Cowardly.

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Ricky Fitness

Crime-Fighting Drummer of The Aquabats (3)
Handsome Healthy Lifestyle Role Model (2)
Superpower: Is Super Fast [3]

Hook: Distracted by feminine wiles.

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EagleBones Falconhawk

Crime-Fighting Guitarist of The Aquabats (3)
Spiritual Visionary with the Gift of Second Sight (3)
Superpower: Laser-Shooting Electric Guitar (3)

Sidekick: "The Dude," an invisible spirit bird of prey, female (6)

Hook: Cocky. Sometimes a little too cocky.

AQUABATS! LET'S GO!

The Discretionary Ghost Die

The notorious Ghost Die of the Ghostbusters role-playing game is a wondrous thing. It is, perhaps, the earliest known example of a "wild die," meaning a die that is rolled with another die or a dice pool to introduce the chance that a result may be drastically influenced in a harmful or helpful way. From the Ghostbuster's point of view, the Ghost Die is never helpful. It complicates success, it exacerbates failure, and it rewards foes.

As I've mentioned previously, coming up with entertaining consequences every time a Ghost is rolled can be taxing on one's imagination and may even slow down the game. When rolling a Ghost becomes a nuisance rather than a novelty, it's time to reassess the role of the roll, if you will.

My solution is the discretionary Ghost Die. Don't include it in every roll. Roll the Ghost Die only when a ghost or any other supernatural phenomenon is involved. When Ghostbusters are knocking on the door of the spirit realm, that's when it's time to let the Ghost Die build tension. As per the rules, when a ghost rolls a Ghost, it benefits the ghost. When a Ghostbuster rolls a Ghost, it still benefits the ghost, regardless of whether the Ghostbuster's roll is a success or failure.

Furthermore, don't treat it as a D6. The discretionary Ghost Die is only rolled when the paranormal is encountered, so treat all faces except the Ghost as blank. It's an extra die used as a special effect — it is not part of the dice pool.

The best part is that the Ghostmaster only needs to worry about the ramifications of rolling a Ghost when there's a ghost to make it easy.

RPGaDAY 2017: Day 02

2. What is an RPG [game, world, or adventure] you would like to see published?

My first instinct is to say a reprint of the original Ghostbusters role-playing game, preferably with an accompanying booklet that condenses the rules (and offers a binary randomizer option similar to that used in Prince Valiant) and higher quality equipment cards (with an emphasis on durability).

Otherwise, I would like to see a Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, or Barbarella game based on the Prince Valiant rules system.

A Fudge or Sherpa conversion of Timeship would also be welcome (especially if I am hired to convert it).

[For more information on #RPGaDAY (or #RPGaDAY2017 specifically), read this. Other installments from my own participation may be found here.]

A Month of Tales from the Loop

Keith Garrett of The Adventures of Keith Garrett is devoting a month to writing about the Tales from the Loop role-playing game (available from Free League Publishing and Modiphius Entertainment). The game, based on the art of Simon Stålenhag, uses a d6 dice pool system that might be of interest to Decidedly Six-Sided readers.

The article series begins here.

Role-Playing Approaches with Risus

Brent P. Newhall describes the incredible versatility of Risus: The Anything RPG in two short articles:

• "My Go-To RPG for Any Genre"
  
• "How to Run Practically Any RPG Concept with Risus"
  

Garrett Goes Ghostbusting

Keith Garrett of The Adventures of Keith Garrett has completed his "31 Days of Ghostbusters" (also known as July). An homage to Ghostbusters in its various incarnations (including the Ghostbusters role-playing game), it's well worth investigating.

Binary Dice Meet Simplified Dice Pools

Not long ago I wrote about the virtues of simplifying dice pools for the Ghostbusters role-playing game in the manner of All for Me Grog (here and here). In a simplified dice pool, all that matters is that the randomizer gives one of two possible results: evens or odds on a die, heads or tails on a coin. Counting dice with even numbers is significantly quicker than adding all the numbers in a standard dice pool system, and substituting binary dice for ordinary six-siders makes it even quicker. Binary dice can have any number of sides, although I recommend the six-sided variety as they are the easiest to roll in large numbers and represent the perfect polyhedron (as far as this Web log is concerned). Binary dice, as the name suggests, give two possible results: 1 and 0. Roll your dice pool, count the dice that show "1," and ignore the dice that show "0." That's all there is to it. It's the fastest way to roll.

(Availability can be a problem. Koplow manufactures six-sided binary dice, and there is or has been at least one Kickstarter project involving the manufacture of other polyhedral binary dice, but binary dice of any kind are difficult to find in stores. Online stores specializing in educational supplies are an option, and some game retailers sell them occasionally on certain well-known online markets.)

Extendable Random Hit Location Generator

Most of my random hit location needs are met by Hit Location Tables for All Occasions. I like to keep rules simple and memorable. Sometimes, however, I need greater detail from a hit location table, which is why I keep the Extendable Random Hit Location Generator in reserve. (This was previously posted as Random Hit Location Generator: d6 Version in Applied Phantasticality and in Fudgery.net.)