I'm finally writing RPG material again! Plus PocketQuest!

 After a long drought thanks to the pandemic & work, I've finally gotten the itch to write RPG material again. I think leaving my old job, and how my current job has been less stressful so far, has been a blessing. While I'm still adjusting to working different times (up real early in the AM now, as opposed to being up all night), I'm sleeping somewhat better than I did the past 9 months. My health is much better too, and I'm definitely doing better on both an emotional and mental level.

I've been checking out some games on itch.io, and that led me to a few SRD's for some systems. A few of those peaked my interest, and I've got a couple of ideas I hope to work on in the future. I also hope to get back to some projects I had started prior to the pandemic I never finished.

First off though, I'm taking up the challenge of writing an rpg for Drivethrurpg's PocketQuest. It's like the game design jams itch runs. The idea is to write a game (original or with a system you can use that isn't one of the major ones, like D&D, etc) with a page limit of 20 (not counting front/back covers, if those don't contain rules text).

The theme is Summer Camp, which is a challenge for me. My only exposure to Summer Camp is the movie Meatballs and various horror movies. So making a game to match this theme wasn't easy. I finally settled on an idea to go the route of kids investigating weird happenings at the lake/town where the camp they are attending is located. Once  I got the idea, I needed a system. Enter Breathless. Breathless is a short, fairly narrative rpg from Fari RPG's. They have their SRD posted to the web here, or you can pick it up on itch here.

I also joined their Discord, where I've gotten a lot of help bringing my idea to life. The SRD is a little barebones, but that's not a bad thing. It gives people the chance to modify it to their liking, and each version can stand out a bit more with whatever the author adds to the base rules.

I've got my version of the rules done, which includes some "gasps", which are what specific rules add-ons that are available with attribution to use. Now to just write out some adventures, and stat our some creatures, etc, and I will be finished. I've got 2 adventure ideas fairly well fleshed out, and 2 more idea sparks to work on after that. It also helps that I have plenty of stock art to use. All those sales that Fat Goblin Games did were a godsend in terms of how much stock art I've acquired. 

Anyway, back to work. I'll make another post linking to Drivethru once it is available.

In the meantime, here's a look at the cover I whipped up:

So, I wrote some micro-fiction......

 Some time after my last blog post about 2 years back, I got inspired to write some micro-fiction. I've written a series of interconnected stories revolving around The Messenger, an entity who appears in people's dreams, informing them that the person they are dreaming about when he appears won't be seen by them again. Once the person wakes up, they discover that person has died. I had posted the first story on the blog previously, but that one has changed from what I originally wrote.

The first four pieces are written creppypasta style, but the rest are more in the vein of weird fiction. The Messenger has ties to the Cthulhu Mythos, but that's only hinted at until one of the last pieces.

I whipped up a cover using a free cover piece on some site, and published it for free on Wattapad. If anyone would like to read it, it's available to read here.

Here's the cover:

I am working on some other material. I've got some Superhero vs Mythos stories, some Mythos-tinged dark/pulp fantasy, and one about another entity called The Bleeding Child. Not sure if I will publish those on Wattapad also, or try my hand at going through Amazon. Stay Tuned!

Adversaries: The Dirty Dozen out!

Adversaries: The Dirty Dozen was released for BASH about a week or so ago. I'm pretty happy with it. It's the longest product I've released, clocking in at 40 pages (the last one was 30). Sales are slow but steady.

I worked out a discount offer for backers of the Awesome Powers Suites kickstarter. Hopefully Chris will contact backers with the discount code in the near future. I did that because some of the villains in Dirty Dozen use material from various volumes of Awesome Powers, and I thought backers might be interested in that. It's also a thank you to people for supporting such an awesome game from another fan of the system (ie me!)

With two big releases out, I'm taking a semi-break before planning my next project. Since my last blog post, I've seen Shazam! and the animated Justice League vs The Fatal Five, both of which I thought were pretty good. Als watched Black Lightning Season 2, which I didn't like as much as season 1. It was good, but just seemed to cram in way too much.

I'm psyched for Avengers: Endgame next weekend. I can't wait to see that.

In the meantime, I'm working on my annual Supers! demo for Free RPG Day this year. Called Home Invasion!, it features a version of the Fantastic Four dealing with a group of villains invading the Baxter Building. Given they've never fought any of these villains before, why are they attacking the FF in their home turf? That just leads into the real threat. Here's the cover I whipped up for it:

The cool thing is between this and the other game being run by Quinn (who many of you know as Ortrail on various forums), we have a prize for our players: Walt from Hazard gave Quinn a copy of the core rules to give away this year. I'm hoping we have full tables again this year.

I'm also planning a one shot of All Flesh Must Be Eaten. Titled "Rest home of the Walking Dead", it will feature four retirees caught up in the start of a zombie apocalypse at their retirement home, and their efforts to survive. Took some inspiration from a 2012 British horror-comedy called Cockneys vs Zombies, which featured a few retirees stuck in their home in the East End while zombies are all around them. Hopefully it will be fun.

So that's it for now; hopefully I'll be back in a month or so with a new post

Time to BASH!

Adversaries: Mercenaries, Spies &... for G-core has been out a few days now. I've been really busy the past 4 days or so. Overtime at work, going to see Gabriel Iglesias perform live, then catching up on rest yesterday (as I'd been averaging 3-4 hours a sleep the 3 days prior).

I'm now sitting down to plan out what is next on the SS schedule. First up is going to be my long planned next release for BASH. Titled Adversaries: The Dirty Dozen, it will feature 12 villains. There will be updated versions of Binary & Indar from Adversaries 0, as well as updated versions of The Triad (including new art by Juan Paolo). This project would not have been possible without the help of Ben Norman (aka Mr. Jupiter), who converted the characters to BASH for me. The only one he didn't do was Post Haste, whose creator did the stats.
Here's a look at the cover:

For those who've purchased my products for Supers!, you likely recognize these bad guys. Most of them have never been released for BASH, so it's about time I did so. I will likely convert this to G-Core eventually as well (and hopefully convert Mercenaries, Spies &.... to BASH).

Norbert Franz from Spectrum Games is going to adapt Mercenaries, Spies &... for Capes, Cowls & Villains Foul, and I approached Mike Lafferty of Fainting Goat Games about possibly releasing it for ICONS (I might approach him about a FATE version as well, but ICONS is what I initially approached him about).

On the Supers! front, I have two partially written projects (Adversaries: Pulsar, and Astounding Space Adventures: Conquest) I need to complete. I had also started another Underbelly Extra, and I need to get back to that as well. I also have a couple of releases in The Golden Age line planned, and will need figure out those down the road as well. I do have some newer ideas for both Adversaries and Astounding Space Adventures as well, so I haven't set a schedule for anything. The focus right now is getting Dirty Dozen for BASH written, then go from there.

So looks like 2019 should be a good year for Soultaker Studios. I thank everyone for their support so far, and look forward to putting out more material for you all to hopefully enjoy!

Five months later.....

So it's been 5 months since my last blog post. Been busy with life and such. I've done a few releases since then (2 new Adversaries, and a new Halloween Horrors, all for Supers!). As always, you can find my stuff on my Drivethrurpg.com page.

My current project that's close to completion is a compilation of 3 of my Adversaries releases for G-Core. All 3 of them featured supers for hire in one for or another. I'm putting the finishing touches on it now, so hopefully it will be out by the end of January, if not sooner. Here's a peek at the cover:

Not sure what I will be working on next. I really need to start on the Adversaries adaption, since Ben Norman all ready did all the stat conversions. I'm debating on whether or not to use the Triad cover for it, or just do one like this, with the characters all on the cover in a composite image. I'll likely phase out the BASH version of Adversaries 0 when I release that, as Binary, Indar and Roughhouse (the villain from one of the story seeds) will be part of that book. So we'll see after I get this one out the door.

I also have some work done on something for DWD Studios FrontierSpace rpg that I need to get back to. Again, we'll see how that goes. 

That's all for now folks!

The Messenger, a Creepypasta

A friend recently told me that she's seen a strange man in 1930's style pinstripe suit in her dreams a few times. Each time he's appeared, he told her someone was going to die. I became fascinated with this figure she's seen. I tried to get more information from her, but she didn't seem to want to talk about it.

Taking the basic information she gave me, I added my own touches, and created The Messenger. He appears in your dreams, and tells you that you won't be seeing someone ever again. After you wake up, you learn that person has died. As grief overtakes you, The Messenger appears in real life, and touches you. You feel weak after ward, like he took a part of you with him. He might appear a few times to you as you lose people close to you, or he may never appear again. As you'll see in this first story, he doesn't seem that malevolent. That seemingly changes in later stories, or does it?

So here is my first attempt at writing a Creepypasta. Hope you like it.

The Messenger

By Gerry Saracco

I'm standing in my father's room.

I hear the rain outside.

I feel a presence behind me, but am afraid to turn around.

A male voice says "I'm sorry". It sounds distorted and full of static.

"Why?" I ask, still afraid to turn around.

"Because your father won't be coming home"

I shake my head; I don't believe him.

"How do you know?" My mouth feels dry as I force the words out.

"Because I'm the messenger"

Heart pounding in my chest, I turn to face the man. He's wearing a white suit with black pinstripes, with matching gloves, shoes and a fedora. His body wavers in and out, like a glitch in a film. 

He has no face. I open my mouth to scream....

The sound of my cell phone buzzing under the pillow wakes me. It's my sister. Hands trembling, I answer.

"The hospital called; dad's gone"

The phone slips from my hand, and falls to the floor. I get up, and walk into the bathroom. I hear my sister's voice faintly over the phone.

"Derek? Are you there? Hello?"

I turn the light on, then the faucet. Body trembling, I splash water on my face. I gaze at myself in the mirror. The lights flicker as I splash more water on my face. I look up again, and he's behind me. I feel his hand on my shoulder. Terrified, I turn to face him, but no one is there. 

I feel weak; I barely make it back to the bed. Ignoring my phone, I fall onto the mattress, and drift off again. 

I hope he's not still waiting for me in my dreams......

New products coming this month

So Aldo Regalado, one of the co-authors of Supers! Revised, recently ran a kickstarter for his Superverse setting. 

To help him out, I offered to write some new Adversaries releases that backers would get free if the campaign funded, and then as stretch goals were met. Sadly, the campaign didn't fund. Since these were going to get general release after backers got their copies, they are both on track to be released this month. Following in the vein of Adversaries #1, both of these releases feature four antagonists who are more mercenary in nature. Not all of them are necessarily evil, but most of them tend to be considered bad guys.

I'm working on compiling all twelve villains into one compilation for G-Core Prime to release after the Supers! versions are out. Here's a peek at the cover:

Look for it sometime later this month, and expect the first of the two Supers! versions to drop on Drivethru/RPGNow sometime this coming weekend