Tayxis: Soundtrack

Taking a page from +Jack Shear 's playbook, I've created a soundtrack for Tayxis.  You may think you know Tayxin music, but you don't.  Is there some country in here?  Sure, but this ain't no Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks poppy bullshit.  This music is one part rotgut, two parts rattlesnake venom.  It's, in the words of Waylon Jennings, lonesome, on'ry and mean.  So break out your whiskey, kick off your boots, roll yourself a cigarillo and enjoy.

Here is the soundtrack.

Also, because it's on 8tracks, and they're weird about playlists, I'm posting it here.  I'm also providing links to their websites, in case you're interested in hearing more.

This Is Desperation - Those Poor Bastards
Anhelo - Sons of Perdition
The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash
The Day the End Finally Came - William Elliott Whitmore
Snake Song - Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
Hero - Federale
Big Iron - Marty Robbins
Fire on Peshtigo - O'Death
Fireworks Factory - Hellwood
Dark In My Heart - The Coffinshakers
After Dark - Tito & Tarantula
The Ride - David Allen Coe
Theme for Ennio Morricone - Murder By Death
Paris, Texas - Ry Cooder
Sandstorm - Francesco Angelo Lavagnino
The Trail - Christian Williams
I'm a Ramblin' Man - Waylon Jennings
The Bottle Let Me Down - Merle Haggard
Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie - Johnny Cash
This Land is Cursed - Sons of Perdition

Tayxis: A Map of Tayxis

I'm starting to put together my map of Tayxis.  It's still a bit bare, and I'll have to fill more in as I go along, but I've got the basic gist of it, I think.  More to come on this.

Tayxis: Technology

Star Trek - The Answer To Every Question

Tayxis is a large and varied land, and there is no better way to express this than its uneasy relationship with
technology.  Different areas of Tayxis have different capacity levels for technology, so while an item may work in one area, it might not in a second, and definitely wouldn't in a third.  Many rural parts of Tayxis have never progressed beyond the technology available at its conception.  These areas have been left behind by those that live in the cities, and many who live in these outlying areas say that they are better off for it.

An area's Capacity Rating is related to it's distance from a city.  The bigger the city, the higher the capacity rating.  A Capacity Rating (referred to henceforth as CR) of 5 is the highest rating possible, and represents modern day technology - cell phones, electric cars, etc.   For each CR less than 5, assume a technological level equivalent to 40 years less, so CR 4 would be equivalent to the 1970s, CR 3 would be the 1930s, CR 2 would be the 1890s, and CR 1 would be around 1850.  Every time has it's own CR score, and the likelihood of that item malfunctioning is equal to 20% for every point of difference between the item's CR and the area's CR.

So while you can use a smartphone every time in a CR 5 city, by the time you get out into the Prairie, the chances of that smartphone working will have dropped to 20%.  Note that this penalty only works one way - a flintlock pistol will work in an area with any CR, for instance.

When beginning a session, the GM should determine the CR of the beginning area, and track it as the characters move throughout Tayxis.  Use the map below, found in a larger size here, to track their movements.  The three least populous colors would be CR 1, with every two after increasing the CR by 1, and 2500 and up indicating CR 5.

                                                   

By JimIrwin (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

The Official Theme Song of From the Ashes

You all know about Deltron 3030, right?  If you don't you should. Del the Funky Homosapien, Dan the Automator and Kid Koala formed like Voltron back in 2000 and put out one of the greatest space opera hip-hop albums of all time, fusing the best of video games, anime and Sun Ra into their eponymous debut album.

If you don't know, now you know.

13 years later, they're back, and they've brought some buddies - the new album, Event 2, features everyone from comedian David Cross to Zack De La Rocha; from the girl who played Ramona Flowers in the Scott Pilgrim movie to Joseph Gordon-Levitt, fer crissakes.

But, more to the point, they have a song which I am adopting as the official song of this blog, and this game.  Enjoy.

Gamma World... Is Here! Hornetpocalypse Edition

In case you haven't heard, Giant Hornets are on the rampage in China!

37 people have been hospitalized and over 1600 attacks have been reported.  As you can see from the pictures to the right, the wounds are pretty horrific.
And the worst part?  They could be headed to your neighborhood next (scary newscaster voice)

If you live in England.

If you live in France?

They could already be in your neighborhood (scary newscaster voice).

Apparently a couple escaped china in a crate of pottery and are slowly taking over France, even as we speak.

How long before they turn their baleful, multifaceted gaze upon America?

Stay tuned to find out!

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2442384/Swarms-deadly-hornets-kill-42-people-injure-1-600-China.html

                                     

I'd Be Late To My Own Funeral

I just realized that I made my first post on this blog two years and two days ago.

I definitely have not been a prolific poster of late, having only averaged six posts a month this year, but I feel like I'm getting back in stride after a rough beginning of the year.  I've collected a good amount of art for From the Ashes, and although I'm struggling to fit the last few pieces of the puzzle into place, it should be coming soonish.

Yeah, I know, heard that before, so in the time-honored tradition of deadline-challenged creative types, I'll just say that it'll be done when it's done.

In the meantime, when I get stuck, I've been having a blast working up stuff for Tayxis, and my brain seems to be responding.  Instead of detracting from my work on FtA, it seems to be supplementing, even augmenting it.  I may end up going back and redoing all the stat work and setting it in another system, but in the meantime, 2e is comfortable to me, and I don't want to break my flow to go and see what I should be doing according to a ruleset.  Time for that later.

In case any of you aren't aware, Pulp Mill Press will be releasing an anthology of short stories entitled Libram Mysterium with a, you guessed it, pulp fantasy theme.  I submitted a story I'd been kicking around for awhile, and was lucky enough to make the cut.  Based on what I've seen of other submissions, I'll be in good company.  So keep an eye out, they're shooting for a winter-ish release date.  You should get a copy, because if there's enough interest, they intend to do more.

Anyhow, here's to another, hopefully more productive, year!

Thanks for reading!

Tayxis: Bestiary

Some of the beasts that haunt the wilds of Tayxis:

Barbed Wire Golem: No. Appearing: 1d6 AC 2; MV 14; HP 30; Dmg 1d6; Special; Str 14 Con 13 Dex 16 Int 3 Wis 3 Cha 3; Alignment Neutral; THAC0 14; Entangle - Anyone struck successfully by a Barbed Wire Golem will take 1d6 points of automatic damage each round until a successful Dexterity check is passed.
Description: Called into being by dark arts, these unnatural creatures typically serve as servants or guards.  Unintelligent, they serve only the whims of their masters.

Harmadillo: No. Appearing: 2d4 AC 2; MV 12; HP 10; Dmg 1d6 (claw);1d6 (claw) 1d4 (bite); Special; Str 10 Con 15 Dex 12 Int 8 Wis 3 Cha 3; Alignment Neutral; THAC0 14; Disease - Anyone struck by a Harmadillo must pass a Constitution check or contract a wasting disease.  Unless treated, the victim will lose one physical stat point per month (Roll 1d6 - 1,2 - Str 3,4 - Con 5,6 - Dex)
Description: Extremely belligerent and highly territorial, many a Tayxin has perished after stumbling into a Harmadillo den.  Their tough shells make them highly resistant to damage, and their propensity for infecting humans with disease are cause enough for most to steer well clear.

Terrorantula: No. Appearing: 1 AC 3; MV 24; HP 65; Dmg 1d8(x8); 1d4(x2)+ special; Str 18 Con 16 Dex 6 Int 6 Wis 5 Cha 3; Alignment Neutral; THAC0 13; Poison - Anyone struck by the mandibles of the Terrorantula must pass a Constitution check or they are poisoned, suffering 1d6 hp the first round, 1d4 the second, 1d3 the third, and 1 hp the fourth.  A successful Con check at any time halts the poison's progress.
Description: Tayxins are extremely thankful that these beasts are as rare as they are.  None can say where they come from, they simply emerge from the desert.  Massive in size, they lay waste to entire towns and leave devastation in their wake.

Spider Wolf (Mother): No. Appearing: 1 AC 5; MV 8; HP 25; Dmg 1d6(x2); 1d3+Special; Str 11 Con 13 Dex 15 Int 8 Wis 4 Cha 3; Alignment Neutral; THAC0 16; Poison - Anyone struck by the bite of the Spider Wolf must make a Constitution check at a -2 or be paralyzed for 1d8 rounds.  Note that if this occurs, the Spider Wolf will attempt to abandon combat and drag the prey off into a nearby hole.  See below for details.
Spider Wolf (Babies): No Appearing: 3d20 AC 9; MV 16; HP 3; Dmg 1; Str 6 Con 6 Dex 6 Int 3 Wis 3 Cha 3; Alignment Neutral; THAC0 19
Description: Few creatures are as despised and feared as the Spider Wolf.  An evolved cousin of the Wolf Spider, the Spider Wolf's reproductive habits justify that fear.  Their poison is a paralytic, and they will use it on unsuspecting humans as they enter their fertility cycle.  After laying several thousand eggs in the still-living body, the Spider Wolf will web the unfortunate to its back, and carry it around until they hatch.  Obviously, the victim does not survive this process.