Microlite Purest Essence

This Christmas I am going to run my nephews thru a dungeon!  They are 13 & 11, so I've been looking thru my gigantic file of retro clones, looking for something that will get us into the game quick, with light mechanics.  I've often gone back to this wonderful pdf, "Microlite Purest Essence", because its beautiful, and so straight forward.  I'm currently in the process of drawing up a little dungeon map and writing out a few NPC's and story goals/plot lines for them.  The idea is to get them in the dungeon as quickly as possible and fight some monsters. 

I had read an article a little while ago about a person who's child had autism, and they had started playing some D&D, in the end it worked out quite well for the little guy. 

Here's the article - "How Dungeons & Dragons saved my autistic son". 

One of my nephews is autistic, from reading the article I see a lot of similarity's between him and the author's son.

I think they are going to enjoy it thoroughly.    It will be of course theater of the mind.  The thing I really dig about Microlite Purest Essence is its so easy to house rule. 

Swords & Sorcery Apocalyptic Prophecy's

52 Swords & Sorcery Apocalyptic Prophecy's

Use a deck of cards and have the PC's randomly pull one card from the deck, when meeting with a Seer or a Fortune Teller.

Smoke rises from the incense burning in the room.  The small tent is decorated in kitchy occult symbols and strange wall hangings.  Across from you is a beautiful Elven fortune teller. You ask, "What will become of this land? What part will I play?'.  You try to follow her eyes as she stares longingly into her swirling crystal ball.  She clears her throat, "The future has yet to be written, but you will play a part in the future of this world.  It could be that you play a part in its destruction".  She pauses, and fumbles in a small pouch that is tied to her waist.  She pulls out an old deck of cards, the sides crumbled and bent.  Motioning for you to pull from the deck, she smiles and winks at you.....




spades

1.    The barrier between worlds has grown weaker.  
(Ace of Spades)

2.    The Lizard King will arrive again.  
(King of Spades)

3.    The dead will walk.  
(Queen Of Spades)

4.    The Gods have turned their attention to other matters.  (Jack of Spades)

5.    In order to restore balance, one must sacrifice something they believe in.  
(10 of Spades)

6.    The death of the king will bring about great change.  
(9 of Spades).

7.    The armies of darkness will invade the forgotten lands. 
(8 of Spades)

8.    All forms of Magic will fail.  
(7 of Spades)

9.    A Evil God will be re born in humanoid form.  
(6 of Spades).

10.  Comets will fall from the sky causing untold destruction. 
(5 of Spades).

11.  The forests will wither and die.  
(4 of Spades).  

12.  A total solar eclipse will last forever.  
(3 of Spades)  

13.  Winter is coming, and it will last for 5 years.  
(2 of Spades).

Diamonds

14.  The pig half man will rule the skies.  
(Ace of Diamonds)

15.   When the desert of the dead becomes a forest, ancient lizards will walk the earth again. (King of Diamonds)

16.  The world will pass very close by the sun, whole continents will burn. 
 (Queen of Diamonds)

17.  A vampire coven will arise, they will dominate all corners of the political landscape. 
(Jack of Diamonds)

18.  A intra-dimensional door will open, spilling forth an Alien race.  
 (10 of Diamonds)

19.  You will receive a vision of a maiden being tortured.  By killing her the Torturer will bring about the beginning of the end of the world.  
(9 of Diamonds)

20.  A sign will appear in the jungle, it will point to an ancient evil tablet. 
(8 of Diamonds)

21.  Travelers from a different time will appear out of thin air.  
(7 of Diamonds) 

22.  A plague will envelope the lands, causing crippling injuries to all races.  
(6 of Diamonds) 

23.  The world will remain the same, nothing will happen.  This card does not tell the truth.  
(5 of Diamonds) 

24.   It is whispered that soon we will call the tune, and the piper will lead us to reason. 
(4 of Diamonds) 

25.  Poison gas will be released from huge fissures in the earth, causing everyone to laugh hysterically.  
(3 of Diamonds) 

26.  The automatons will become self aware. 
(2 of Diamonds)

Clubs

27.  Fire & Ash will fall from the sky, rivers will boil.  
(Ace of Clubs)

28.  Men from the sky will come, their great ships will fail.  
(King of Clubs)

29.  A large labyrinth will appear out of nowhere, within the center is a gate to another world.  
(Queen of Clubs)

30.  Land will flood, the tides will rise, and the world will become a vast sea.  
(Jack of Clubs)

31.  Chickens will mutate into giant bloodthirsty birds, chasing villagers out of their fields.   
(10 of Clubs)

32.  No Dragons will be born this year, or ever again.  
(9 of Clubs)

33.  A evil sorcerers guild will start experimenting on people, causing a virus to be created.  The virus will spread causing mass chaos.  
(8 of Clubs)

34.  All natural resources will depleted by the end of this year.  
(7 of Clubs)

35.  An Evil cult intending to create peace has installed puppet doppelgangers into any position of power.  
(6 of Clubs)

36.  An Ancient race will re-appear upon the lands.  
(5 of Clubs)

37.  A un-wise mage will release a hoard of demons.  
(4 of Clubs)

38.  A city will burn, its refugees will call another God, although he will be unworthy. 
 (3 of Clubs)

39.  A pestilence of ancient insects will kill crops.  A great famine will occur.  
(2 of Clubs) 

hearts

40.  The traveler will come and wreak havoc, in the form that you choose. 
(Ace of Hearts) 

41.  Hurricane & earthquakes will mark the great collapse. 
(King of Hearts) 

42.  He who by his tongue will seduce a great troop, his fame will increase towards the eastern realms.  
(Queen of Hearts) 

43.  A rider on a pale horse will appear on the horizon, he will bring about the death of all.  
(Jack of Hearts)

44.  Sound will be amplified and gravity will be increased as the sun sets on a early spring evening.   (10 of Hearts)

45.  Help! I'm stuck in a Apocalyptic Card Prophecy making factory.  
(9 of Hearts) 

46.  The world will become the battlefield of the Gods.  
(8 of Hearts) 

47.  The one who pulls the sword will be named King, and unto him his family will die miserable deaths.  
(7 of Hearts)

48.  A strange aura will be emitted from the earth, causing the population to deform.  You can neither smell or see it.   
(6 of Hearts) 

49.  You cannot live while it survives. 
(5 Of Hearts)

50.  Ale shipments will be tainted with the color purple, it will kill tens of thousands. 
 (4 of Hearts)

51.  Sea creatures will fall from the sky.   
(3 of Hearts)

52.  A great ruler will be resurrected, war will follow. 
 (2 of Hearts)

2 things

I swear I get most of my thinking done while walking to work in the morning.  Problem is its always something new, and not always things that I should be working on.

I digress.... 2 things.









1.  I am immensely excited about this link
- http://www.hyperborea.tv/uploads/4/4/6/6/44662451/asshrandom-adv-gen.pdf

in combination with all the awesome tables that +Eric Fabiaschi keeps posting over at http://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.ca/

So much so that I've probably rolled up about 6 or more adventure ideas from it.  Filling in the story line after you do the initial rolls is quite easy.  To put something like this out in a module format however, it would be very railroadey.  Atleast as far as the story goes.  Think TSR modules from the 90's basically.  (Sword Of The Dales, etc).  That said it could be a LOT of fun to put out a bunch of adventures together, that had a overall plot line.  Maybe something similar to +Tim Shorts "Starter Adventures"  http://gothridgemanorgames.blogspot.ca/2014/12/starter-adventures.html
(Note Starter Adventures is not railroadey, what I mean is a nice compilation).

Starter Adventures

As far as rules, I've been wanting to dip my toes in the mini6 rules, so this might be a cool idea for that.  As well from what I gather "Barbarians of Lemuria" is similar in concept to mini6.

Barbarians Of Lemuria

2.  I've been working on the next adventure after the 5e starter set.  Tying up the character backgrounds is going to be interesting.  Partially because I've already sort of fallen in love with these characters and I want to see what is going to happen.

Here's the run down of the backgrounds.

Vespers - A  Tiefling Paladin, who basically ran away from Candlekeep after a very large fire that claimed a lot of people close to him.  he blames himself for the not helping enough during the troubled time.  He follows lathander, and basically beats himself up on a regular basis (emotionally that is).

Varis - Varis is a warlock, who has made a deal with a Maralith, in front of the rest of the PCs! Including the very good aligned Vespers.

 Jen's Character - A wizard, who's mentor died before he found an ancient red dragon, he wanted to treat with.  Her quest is for knowledge, specifically to find this dragon.

Kurts Character - a common human thief, however his parents were murdered, the murder stole one of the 2 dice that his father used to use for gambling.  The dice were very specific, a home made set, none other in the world like it.

Now as you can see there's some tension already.  Varis has been tasked by the Maralith to find 4 pieces of stone that go together in a tablet, what they are for she has not said.  Vespers countiues to do what's right, including making sure a kid got home safe after showing the entrance to the red brands hideout. 

What I've been working on is tying all of this together, so there's these little threads that weave in and out of all the storylines.  As people have said "D&D 5th edition is their second favorite edition", and it really is mine as well.  There's a special place in my heart for OSR, and specifically BlueHolme & Basic Fantasy, but I can't help but love the backgrounds and how this all makes my brain work in over drive.

Obviously I'm not going to go into much more detail than this, as some of my players read this blog.

The untamed lands campaign

An idea that's been rolling around in my brain.  The PC's have been sent off by the local ruling council to make a trip to a recently unknown continent.  They have received a reasonable amount of provisions & equipment.  The promise of 2000 GP's per PC has been agreed upon, when they PC's return with a map outlining the continent.  They have been given a magical map, that fill in locations that they explore, once it is complete they are to make their way back to the mainland.

At this time there is one small settlement on the coast of the unknown land.  The PC's are travelling there by boat.  The captain has been charged with dropping the PC's off safely at the small settlement and then abruptly leaving them to fend for themselves.

Standing on the bow of the boat, the PC's are overlooking the coastline,  they can see smoke rising from the settlement.

All hell breaks loose when they arrive.

Vault of the Faceless Giants!

Why do these Giants have no faces?????  I have no idea! Which is why I'm going to grab the beta of this right now. 

I really like the idea of putting a module up for free like this, firstly as a playtest, and to gain a bit of interested on the overall. 

PLEASE NOTE: This adventure is being released for free in its current beta form. Once the final art and adventure material have been added, it will then go to its regular price. Those who download it for free as part of this beta release will get the final updated version for free as well, even after it goes to its regular price!  

INTRODUCTION

The tiny jungle village of Phoumi Sramol has fallen victim, they believe, to the evil hand of the demon lord Rahb. 

Many generations ago, a temple set in the side of a cliff a few miles northwest of the village acted as the center of worship for evil adherents of Rahb. Livestock would die, villagers would be kidnapped, plagues would befall the area. It was believed this was all done in service of bringing Rahb into the physical world (the Material Plane) from his Abyssal home (an island fortress known as Lanku).

Suddenly, however, all of the evil and suspicious activity around the temple stopped. 

Legend holds that it was the great adventurer Somnang whose hand stopped the evil, but no one is really sure.

Now, generations later, an occurrence in the village has the locals questioning whether or not the evil is returning. 

A local woman named Kanya claims her baby was snatched from her hands in the middle of the night by followers of Rahb, dressed in loin cloths, their faces painted to resemble the many-faced demon. 

Many of the villagers deny the temple’s relationship to the missing child. Maybe they are naive; maybe they are just fearful of the truth. Regardless, they suggest instead the woman “lost” the baby in the jungle and a tiger ate it; they purport she is simply unwilling to admit her absentmindedness (something for which she is well known by the locals).

If the woman is telling the truth, however, then there is much to be feared, and the story bears investigating—not just for the sake of the woman and the community, but for the sake of a world where this kind of evil can exist.

This module includes several encounters that use mechanics and content from Old School Adventures™ Accessory PX1: Basic Psionics Handbook. Additionally, many of the encounters will be made more enjoyable by having a character of the mystic class in the party. If you do not plan to use the material from the Basic Psionics Handbook, some of the encounters may require modifications in order to facilitate playability. 

You can grab a copy at rpgnow.com 

This is a handy idea! - Cities & Towns PWYW

Cities & Towns by Dan Coleman Productions.

Inside are 3 fantasy settlements, each with a complete description, index of NPCs, and adventure hooks appropriate for the area. Use them as a town the party encounters along the road, a base of operations, or turn them into something of your own.

Each location comes with high resolution map for your use.

Just looking at the preview, the maps are great!  and all of the town & its inhabitants are well plotted out and written.  Go and grab it! its Pay what you want. 

Get it.  

Thunderrift Campaign Setting

Awhile back I noticed a post on G+ regarding Thunderrift for the Mystara setting.  It peaked my interested.  First off the original map looks super bad assed.

From wikipedia: 
Thunder Rift is a setting created in the 1990s for the "basic" D&D product line. The setting, an alternative to the Known World/Mystara (the standard D&D setting), was conceived as a starting point for beginning game groups and to be gradually expanded by the DM. The Thunder Rift worked as a self-contained setting, but could be inserted in any existing game world as well.

Looking at the map I realize how genius this actually is.  A totally self contained world, in which you can pretty much decide everything that goes on in it.  I have been trying to think of a way of incorporating various old school modules (new ones & old favorites) into a fantasy world, that will feel very "put together".  Obviously I could just grab a copy of the greyhawk campaign to fit in the old school modules.  Alternatively I could just start creating my own hex world and fit all of these modules that I want to run into it.  However here's a map!  Melnir could easily be the village of Homlett.  The Keep Of The Black Knight, could easily be the Keep On The Borderlands, actually it would be absolutely perfect starting point as its as south as it gets! 

The campaign is slowly starting to take place: 

- I'd like to use the Norse Gods for the pantheon.
- I'd like to use as much old school modules as possible.
- As far as races go, the usual suspects as well I'd like to include all the extra races from 5e (like the dragonborn.
-  I want the feel to be very Swords & Sorcery, not a lot of civilization, just small pockets.  Crazy barbarian raiders, wild eyed magic users, slavers
-  A bit of it will have a oriental adventures feel as well.  I haven't quite decided on this, but the Monk, Assassin & Paladin classes could easily be switcheroo'd to Shaolin Monk, Ninja & Samurai respectively. 
-  Because the world is limited this will allow the hero's to go from hero's of the village, to saviour's of the world.  (The whole 5e leveling up thing).  

The great thing about Thunder Rift & Mystara, is that there's a giant community online that continues to populate the world with adventures, races and ideas.
Thunder Rift - http://www.pandius.com/thndrift.html
Mystara - http://www.pandius.com/

And a wonderful post about starting a campaign within the Thunder Rift using 5e - http://www.pandius.com/tr5ecamp.html

What I'd like to find is a copy of the map used in the above post.
Just looking at it I've starting getting ideas here and there.  Pretty much anytime I look at a map I started slowly writing things in my head.  

Anyways, the whole point of this blog post is to basically say, there's lots of wonderful resources out there that you can use and modify for your own purposes.  Which is pretty much what DIY is all about isn't it?

EDIT:

I really want some Rakasha within the module, I'm missing them! 

Also check out http://5egrognard.blogspot.ca/
for some good ideas on playing 5e old school.

It's your turn Johua! - Interview with Genius Loci Games

What?! Gah! *Runs and hides under a table*

1.  How did you get your start roleplaying? What system did you use?

I've had an interest since I was a little kid in the 80s. The cartoon series of Dungeons & Dragons was one of my favorites growing up and I caught every episode during the first order run. So the name was already there in my mind from an early age. In middle school a few friends played outside of school given that I went to a Catholic School and D&D was for the devil. So I missed my shot there. I finally started playing in AIT in 1999 with a TSR box set that I picked up at the Ft. Leonard Wood PX during weekend pass. I don't know what edition it was, just that it was gold, and there was a dagger with a dragon relief in a pile of trash in the small dungeon the box set came with.

2.  How and when did you discover OSR?

That is difficult to answer. I think the best way to put it is that I accidentally fell into it. I was actually looking for some of White Wolf'sSwords & Sorcery OGL stuff and being that I was working third shift at the time and was doing this search after pulling a double (so 2200 – 1400) I typed in Swords & Wizardry instead. I found the 3rd printing of Matt's Core edition and was in love. I didn't go to sleep that day and just read the pdf over and over, glorying in the system. I think I sent the pdf to Staples that day to print (didn't know about lulu yet). Since then I have tried and played with a lot of OSR game systems but S&W Core (especially 3rd printing) is still my go to.

3.  Tell me about Genius Loci Games, How did it start?

I think 4 years ago I was starting to collect my ideas for a Celtic themed setting that I was haphazardly running for my daughter and her friends down on digital paper. I had no idea if I was doing right, no idea if I was following the “rules as written” for S&W or any of that stuff so I decided to submit to the mythmere forums one of the race-as-classes I made for my daughter's game; The Cat-Sith (This would later reappear as the Chesh in New Class Options).

Unfortunately, I think the forums were down that day so I ended going to this new fangled thing I had barely heard of called Google+ and the Swords & Wizardry Fan Discussion Page. People liked the Chesh, gave me some awesome feedback and I kind of just joined the community.  

A few weeks later Erik Tenkar started doing his 30 days of content block, and me not knowing anything else though this was normal, so I started a blog to showcase my original content. Genius Loci Games was born. As a “studio” it came actually from you. I think you were showing off your ideas for the 20131-page dungeon contest and I was like “I can do that!” and … I couldn't, no way I could get it to one page. So I did it in two, released it to RPGnow as the first Two-Page Adventure (The Nest).

4.  Tell me about your latest release “The Bards Of Ur”?

 “The Bards of Ur” is a 5e adventure that is a lot of fun, it is a race against time to stop a death metal Bard Troupe from unleashing a chained demon lord into the mortal plane and then dragging it down into the Nine Hells.. But not before eating most of the population. There's werewolves, ghosts, nobles names Dread … it was a hell of a lot of fun to write, and was really a venting process in a way for me. I always try to be the upbeat, “show them wonder” adventure writer, and all to often it feels like I'm the weird guy in the room for having that mentality so I just went nuts, blasted some folk metal and cut loose.

EDITORS NOTE:  F**K YAH!" 

4.  What are you currently playing?

 I am currently playing Mane Tales which is an original system game for my daughters about magical ponies learning about friendship hides nail file and that has been a joy. Watching my four-year-old pick up on tabletop gaming and start to do more than roll dice and move around a board has been … well, again a joy. I am also running a 5e game on Fantasy Grounds twice a month, having just taken over for the previous DM who ran the game for over a year. 

5.   If you could campaign in any world which would it be? 

Oh man, that's a tough a tough one! Do I have to choose just one? While I love the Forgotten Realms I feel its played out, so that one is out. I would love a shot at Mystara, Savage World's Pinebox, Tx/East Texas University, TheLost Lands, and so many others … more than I think anyone could hope to play in a fulfilling way in a lifetime.

6.  How is your Patreon going?

The Patreon is going pretty good. I have 14 extremely dedicated patrons who have stuck with me through thick and thin, and who are very supportive of both the process and the styles of adventures I produce. Right now I'm averaging 3 to 4 a month with a good mix of short to long adventure (so 2 to 12 pages). I hope to one day reach the final goal, which would allow me to put my kids in a drop off day care for a few hours a week so I could get some dedicated writing time in, but that isn't something I pushing hard at.

7.  Tell me about the “Adventures In Basq” Module?

Adventures in Basq was and may be the only Kickstarter I will ever do. It is a massive Sandpark adventure that takes place in the southern reaches of the Usarm Setting and holds a lot of the lore answers to the setting as a whole. The text is pretty massive, not Barakus or Rappan Aku massive but its big. At last page count it was sitting at 55 pages without art, layout, or any of the fancy stuff with a 10pt boring font. 

While there is a lot of detail I also left a lot up to the Referee as well, one of my main design philosophies is that the Referee is god and that his or her will should take the forefront. So I may give a summary for an area that is two paragraphs long and some suggestions but beyond that every instance of that area will be different from Referee to Referee. That however, isn't always the case, the dungeons, the various factions, and so on are pretty well detailed, but things not in the immediate area of the setting (i.e. the Rift Bridge, The Salt Pillers, The Great Seas, etc) are only thinly described.

8.  You’ve released an adventure using the Mini6 rules from anti paladin games, how do you find writing for that system?

Two actually, Paranormal Investigators & Exterminators, and Good-byeAmerican P.I.E.. I love mini-six, it is by far my second favorite system and I wish there was more support for it. Designing for it can be tricky because of how the combat system is but as a whole it is fun and quick and I can't wait to get my hands into it again.

EDITORS NOTE:  Here's a link to Mini6 by antipaladin games - http://www.antipaladingames.com/p/mini-six.html

9.  What is one of your favorite adventures other than something that you’ve released?

Your TheLizardmen of Illzathatch jumps to mind immediately, I also love Grimesgate by Matt Finch and have used as the Rosetta stone in a lot of my early adventures.  Going back in time the 3.5 Ravenloft adventure "Expedition to Castle Ravenloft" will always hold a special place for me as it was my first adventure, as will the "Mask of Death" because of its association with my favorite movie "Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising".

10.  Your modules contain some amazing art & cartography, who are these awesome artists?

Frank Turfler is my go to guy. The man is a genius with both a pencil and mouse and I work with him as much as I can. He is the primary artist for “Adventures in Basq”, and has done covers and interiors in a lot of my work. Many of my Patreon adventures piggy back off of his Patreon map releases, trying to show case the different uses for his maps. I also have a great working relationship with Glynn Seal of Monkeyblood design who is the cartographer for “Adventures in Basq” and who designed the new logo for GeniusLoci Games. Glynn is amazing … and is very patient. Seriously the man should be canonized. I also have worked with the super awesome Eric Quigley who did the cover for “Adventures in Basq” and is on the short list should I ever have the money to hire him again. Finally there is Danny Prescott who has done some work for “Adventures in Basq” including the city shot of Basq itself. He does really good work and doesn't get near enough credit.

11.  When you get a chance to play a character, what type of PC do you like to play?

Erik is going to think I'm copying off of him but I typically play a Dwarven Cleric when the system allows for it and the roll isn't already taken. Otherwise I play a Dread Pirate Roberts style ranged fighter who typically annoys most of the groups I've played with … so I stick to the dwarf.

12.  What are you most excited about in the RPG scene currently?

A lot actually. I am really excited for the upcoming unity version of Fantasy Grounds. While I love in person gaming and I don't think anything can ever truly emulate it, I feel with how our society is changing VTTs are the future, and FG is, in my opinion, the best of them. There is also a really fun dark sci-fi adventure coming out that I had the privilege to play test that has me excited, because it is going to blow some minds. Outside of that there is the obvious “Stuff from Frog Gods” that I was actually able to afford this time around.

13.   Hockey Or Football? And bonus question Italian or Asian cuisine?

Well, you're going to kill me but neither; I'm a baseball fan. As for food, the last name is De Santo so of course I like Asian.

14.  What are the plans for Genuis Loci Games this year?  Anything in the works?

The main goal right now is to get “Adventures in Basq” out the door. After that my primary focus is on finishing the development of Mane Tales and Eldritch (A Modern Paranormal take on S&W Core) and releasing them to the wider world in one form or another. Unfortunately I may end up shopping those around instead of releasing them myself, as the price of putting out a Grade A professional product is beyond me, and I am still very doubtful of doing another kickstarter.

Thank you, Shane!  It was an honor and a half!

I can't help myself - layout screenshot

As many of you know, +Thaumiel Nerub and I are currently working on a module/adventure.  We are currently furiously writing and drawing dungeons,etc.  I had a bit of free time this afternoon and decided to play around with layout ideas.  This is what I have so far.

Map Monday

Yesterday while tracking some vocals, and guitars I spent a bit of time working on a map.  Actually I quite like doing that, as when you are recording your obviously paying attention to the groove, timing, pitch etc.  However you don't have a lot to do with your hands.  Yesterday was a good 8 hours session so I was starting to suffer from a bit of ear fatigue as well.  This somehow helped actually!  

Note:  I must find some actual graph paper for doing these types of one off maps. 

Hamster Racing!

Note:  I'm not suggesting racing real life hamsters, this is RPG related.

During our initial session of the 5e starter set, I asked the players how they knew each other, where did they first meet.

My Wife decided that they met at hamster racing.  I'm guessing it was a illegal underground operation.  Whatever the case, one of the players was cheating, the other called him on it and a fight ensued.  They've been sorta friends and adventuring ever since.

Here are the rules for Hamster racing!  First everyone including NPC's picks one hamster.  Everyone rolls a 1d6.  There are 15 rounds, or whoever gets to 15 first wins.  That's the gist!  When betting its not okay to blow on someones forehead, it is also considered bad taste to dye your hamster a different colour (although it depends on where exactly you are in the world).  Remember to grab some pennies and use em as tokens for the pot.  Each penny should equal either 5 GP's or 5 SP's depending on the game your playing.

G.I. Joe + 5e = probably easy

Just came back from Comic Con, which always reminds me of when I was 12 playing with G.I Joes.  Partially because the wonderful vendors have all of the awesome stuff that I wasn't able to buy when I was a kid, still in the damn box! And of course random Cobra Commanders, Snake Eyes & Baroness's walking around.  Of course I wore my Cobra shirt to the Con.  (Note next year I maybe dressing up as a Mandalorian Meric, but that's a story for another day).

And I digress, as with most things, I find my brain automatically going to RPG's, pretty much whenever I'm in a new creative situation.  Within the latest DMG there are rules for future tech weapons.  Which I have and am still considering running a future world/mars, possibly post apocalyptic one off  kind of adventure.

That said, those rules for future tech would fit perfectly into a G.I. Joe style game.  Of course there are also rules for Wujen (or however that's spelt), basically Oriental weapons.  That combined with the rules for Assassins (Thieves) you can pretty much create Ninja's easy peasy.

What I'm trying to figure out is the different character classes within a game like this.

Obviously you have Ninja's which are a huge part of the G.I. Joe folklore, there's even a Samurai character which would also be easy to figure (some kind of fighter, possibly with a cleric type background, or maybe a paladin?).  Then you've got your Jarhead types, straight up fighters, or barbarians type class.  You got your techy guys (hmmm a twist on a wizard perhaps?).  Espionage (well Ninja again, or thief per se).

Then I gotta write a bunch of rules for aerial combat, and overland tank combat.  I think I'd like to drill down to adventures involving the PC's breaking into a bad guy type base to stop some horrible crap they've thought of to end the world.  The background (GM waves hand) is the field battles.  Obviously I'd start the adventure with the PC's dropping behind enemy lines into a swamp possibly from parachutes.

Could be cool?  Do able? possibly!

- 12 year old nerd.