Tuesday, October 25, 2022

AI Generated OSR Gamebook Covers.

 

I'm sure most people are aware there are AI engines out there that will create "original" works of art the picture here was created with the following text prompt:   

Gamebook Cover for indie OSR tabletop roleplaying game. Indie publishing. Old School Roleplaying. Game Book.


The settings were all pretty much minimal and the results not bad at all from 6 or 7 feet away.  The closer you look the worse they look BUT the AI art generators are producing better and better results. What impresses me are the compositions and general layouts. How the AI deals with text is always "interesting".

AI generated art horrifies and delights me as it is a tool with a lot of promise and is clearly evolving but it creates a "threat" to artists and originality. A skilled artist can surely do better than what was generated here but I worry for a day when there are very few professional artists and a graphic designer becomes someone who just fiddles with entering data into an AI image generator.

Thursday, October 20, 2022

1d30 Random Post-Apocalyptic Shacks.

 A random selection of 30 randomly shacks to dress up the wastelands of a postapocalyptic setting.


1.  A large teepee. Inside are Doc Smith lives here and maintains a makeshift clinic. Stashed here is Antique Musket.

2.  An old work-site manager's shelter. With A rabbit hutch. Stashed here is Inline Musket.

3.  A tipped-over porta-john, clearly in recent use due to the not quite dry run-off. Leads to A one-room vintage camper.

4.  A ancient wooden barn. With A plot of dirt charitably described as a garden. Inside are Remnants of a military regiment have holed up here for a while.

5.  A slightly new hand-written sign 'Danger Minefield'. Leads to A cheap prefab cottage. With An old empty in-ground pool. Inside are A happy Puritan family.

6.  A recently repaired greenhouse with steamy windows. Leads to A log cabin. With Rows of stacked firewood. Inside are A trio of happy hippies. Stashed here is Butcher's block with over a half a dozen sharp knives.

7.  A line of heads set on 2 meter long wooden spikes. Leads to A concrete walled bunker. Inside are A pair of runaway tweens that nobody is really trying to find. Stashed here is An intact Auto-Doc. No power.

8.  Over an acre of fairly well-tended garden plot. Leads to A repurposed grain-silo. With A few well-maintained fruit trees stand here. Inside are Remnants of a military regiment have holed up here for a while. Stashed here is A large baroque machine. Inspection shows it to be the workings of a damaged mind. Some parts still good salvage.

9.  A half-buried Earth-lodge with a plastic tarp roof. With A haphazard tire barrier. Inside are An infant in a crib.... It's a traaaap! Stashed here is Functional alcohol still.

10.  A semi-permanent butchering station with chains, tackle, buckets, and benches. Leads to A branch hut covered in plastic-sheeting. With A sturdy tire-wall. Stashed here is Functional DVD player.

11.  A pair of impaled corpses, one sporting a sign reading 'THEEEF'. Leads to A log cabin. With A watchtower big enough for 3 maybe 4 people. Inside are A honeypot trap with bandits lurking nearby. Stashed here is Inline Musket.

12.  An ancient shipping container. Inside are A limbless person tied to a board, the other occupants are out. Stashed here is Functional BetaMax.

13.  An exposed basement covered in plastic tarp. Inside are Doc Smith lives here and maintains a makeshift clinic. Stashed here is A murderous Auto-Doc.

14.  A concrete walled bunker. Stashed here is Functional alcohol still.

15.  A big box of moldy boxes and empty jars with a weather sign reading 'Take what you need, leave what you can spare.' Leads to A tarp roof and packing crate wall to one side of a wheel-less conversion van. With A cleaned and swept hard-topped lot. Inside are A corpse in a bed. Stashed here is Antique Musket.

16.  A fairly fresh latrine trench. Leads to An old work-site manager's shelter. With A watchtower big enough for 3 maybe 4 people. Inside are A pair of runaway tweens that nobody is really trying to find. Stashed here is 0.5 kg of trade powder. (low grade black-powder)

17.  A pair of big plastic barrels that look to have been recently dug up out of an adjacent hole. Leads to A converted chicken-coup. Stashed here is A large baroque machine, A functional but unpowered teleport-chamber.

18.  A poorly plowed and unplanted field. Leads to An old work-site manager's shelter. With A large picnic-table with the tattered remnants of a feast. Inside are A family of Wreckers looking for a new Maw for Paw. Stashed here is Electric Dehydrator.

19.  A line of bodies in a trench dug in the past few days. Spent casings litter the ground. Leads to A half-buried Earth-lodge with a plastic tarp roof. Inside is A lost child. Stashed here is Inline Musket.

20.  A fairly fresh latrine trench. Leads to A repurposed grain-silo. With A plot of dirt charitably described as a garden. Inside are A crazy old coot taking a bath.

21.  A multi-chambered family tent. With An obvious minefield. Inside are A family of frail squatters.

22.  An old bus stop with debris pilled all along it's wall to block the view. With A pig pen. Inside are A pair of lumberjacks gathering wood for a larger community not too far away.

23.  An exposed and recently emptied tin of sardines laying in a shallow recently dug hole. Leads to An exposed basement covered in plastic tarp. With A ratty garden. Inside are an old fashioned nuclear family. Stashed here is Electric Chainsaw.

24.  A fairly recent corpse half buried in a small pit next to a trail. Leads to A pool-house. Stashed here is Electric Chainsaw.

25.  A big box of moldy boxes and empty jars with a weather sign reading 'Take what you need, leave what you can spare.' Leads to A tarp roof and packing crate wall to one side of a wheel-less conversion van. Inside are A family of cannibals recently surprised by a Cyber Commando. Stashed here is Portable Microwave.

26.  A semi-permanent butchering station with chains, tackle, buckets, and benches. Leads to A debris hut. With Rows of stacked firewood. Inside are A concealed entrance to a multi-level apocalypse bunker. Stashed here is Several dozen Ready-Logs.

27.  A poorly plowed and unplanted field. Leads to A cheap pre-fab cottage. With A circle of shallow trenches lined with filth coated stakes.

28.  A recently repaired greenhouse with steamy windows. Leads to A pavilion tent. With A haphazard tire barrier. Stashed here is 0.5 kg of trade powder. (low grade black-powder)

29.  A pool-house. Inside are An old fashioned nuclear family. Stashed here is Pounds of smoked meat.

30.  An open plot full of little wire stakes planted in the ground with tattered orange ribbons tied to them. Leads to A burnt out old house with a debris hut built against the only remaining wall. With A dog house. Inside are A pack of dogs and their 5 year old feral-queen.

Saturday, October 15, 2022

MENACE

Menaxe

 A variant to morale and fear for old-school fantasy adventure games,


Menace:  How fierce and horrible a monster appears to be.  Reality and genre fiction is full of horrible menacing monsters that make all but the most stalwart or foolhardy shake in their boots. Fear effects and fear attacks have been with the games for years but oddly limiting. Here is a take on spreading the fear.

Dealing with Menace.

NPCs are forced to make morale checks when facing monsters with menace scores. This check must be made when the Monster makes it's presence known or NPCs could possibly act against or expose themself to the wrath of the Menacing Monster.

 Should this check fail consult the NPC Menace Reaction Table.


NPC MENACE REACTION TABLE

Menace 

morale 11 to 14 15 to 17 18 to 20 21+

-----              --------        --------          -------- ------

10 or more D/F F/B F/C B/W

6 to 9 F/B F/C B/W C/P

5 or less C/T W/T R/T P/T


#1- fail/ #2 fail with a roll of doubles. Letter matches the first level of the reactions listed here.

Desperate-    +2 to attack but defenses ARE AT -2.

Forlorn- all defenses are at -2, no benefits to attacks.

Balk- Can't advance this round.

Cower- Can't advance, if pressed must check again at -2, can reroll next round as normal. Actually +2 to defense and saves while cowering.

Withdraw- moves at least half a move away, if pressed must check again at -4

Retreat-      must move away, will be able to defend self but all actions at -2 until away from foe for 3 or more rounds or until rallied

Panic-     must move away, will be able to defend itself but is -4 until away from foe for 3 minutes or                     more minutes until rallied.

Terrified-    must move away, will not be able to defend itself. Will retreat for 30 minutes or go deep into hiding if possible. May not be rallied in under 10 minutes.

PC MENACE REACTION TABLE (PC's do not have to check against menace if they have 3 or more levels above the monster's HD)

PC's make a Menace save. On a roll of 1d20+WISbonus+1/2 level.

If the Menace roll is beat they are unaffected and act as normal.

If the roll is equal to the Menace score the character is Forlorn

If the roll fails the character will Cower.

     If the roll fails by 10 or more the character will Panic.


Assigning a Menace score:

Take the Monster's HD and add it's 2d6 Morale score. If they have a particular reputation for ferocity increase this by 3. If they have a fear attack or special ability add 5. This is the Menace score. If the score is 10 or less ignore the score it doesn't create Menace worthy of distinction, standard Morale rules apply. If the creature is known to be timid or friendly it will not have a menace score. Adjust to taste of course.


Rallying the Troops!

PCs, Military Commanders, and Nobles can attempt to rally others to gird themselves vs the threat or to halt retreats. Resolve this as a reaction roll.