Heroes of Terra Kickstarter Up

Well, I have to admit I doubted this day would ever come, but on this occasion I'm happy to be proven wrong - Jeremy Puckett and Blackwing Productions* have posted the Kickstarter for Heroes of Terra: The Mushroom War. I've mentioned this Super Mario-inspired Savage Worlds setting a time or two before, as previous versions of it were released. Most are still available at the DriveThru link posted above, and the newest is the Heroes of Terra Jumpstart*, which like the full book brings the setting in line with the newest edition of Savage Worlds (If you were a backer of the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition, you should already have the Jumpstart wherever you're keeping the rewards from that campaign).

This Kickstarter is fairly straightforward, with PDF and POD options as well as some premium content-creation tiers. The stretch goals are all additional content, but I would say the target date is far enough out to not make the campaign too successful. Nothing that would require additional shipping is also a good sign.

Anyway, I'm eager to see what this version of the Mushroom Kingdom ends up looking like, and maybe even put a game there someday. I note with particular interest that the premise explicitly mentions the possibility of visitors from the "real" world, which would make the material easily integrated into a game of, say, international monster hunters . . .

Not your typical Yoshi.

*All DriveThruRPG links are, as always, affiliate links that earn me a little money if you use them.

The Circlet of Fungal Power

A new magic item for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea.

The Circlet of Fungal Power presents itself as a typical golden crown with a velvet lining colored purple with white spots. If worn, it transforms the wearer into an Amazon warrior woman with the following attributes:

Height: 6'2, Weight: 170
STR: 9, DEX: 17, CON: 11, INT: 11, WIS: 11, CHA: 18

All other characteristics, including class, remain the same. Upon removing the crown the wearer reverts to his previous appearance and attributes, but there is a cumulative 1% chance the wearer must make a Save Vs. Transformation or have one attribute (rolled on a d6) permanently altered. The accumulated chance resets with each save, but the seventh failure results in the wearer completely transforming into Amazon form (as per the Polymorph Other spell), in addition to gaining the firm conviction that they are the heir to the throne of a far-off kingdom of intelligent toadstool people.

Inspired, of course, by this. I'm not even sorry.

Good News, Bad News

Bad news first: the Savage Mushroom Kingdom netbook I mentioned a couple years ago has gone dark. The good news is the reason for this, namely that the author - Jeremy Puckett of Blackwing Productions - has secured the necessary permissions to make his Land of Terra an official Savage Setting. There is, I understand, a Kickstarter planned for later this year, but in the meanwhile the rough draft of the Heroes of Terra Player's Guide - very similar to the old netbook - is now on DriveThru. It's even the Deal of the Day for the next few hours, but I'd say it's worth buying even at full price (a mere $5).

Also available are two short adventures, The Plumber's Dilemma and Down the Tubes, both priced as PWYW. They're well worth a look to see how the occasionally goofy Mushroom Kingdom setting elements - the second one alludes to Karting! - get translated. With all the elements thus presented, the full setting book is shaping up to be quite good indeed.

Monstrous Mushroom Kingdom Monday - The Finale

Art by JoshSummana

C'mon, was this really going to end any other way?

Bowser, the King Koopa: A massively over-sized Koopa warrior, Bowser claims kingship over the Mushroom Kingdom, and controls a vast army of Koopas, Goombas, and other creatures to make the claim stick. He's also not above kidnapping the family of the previous rulers to magnify his claim.

Art by Davidleonluis

Encountered: 1
Alignment: Evil
Size: Large
Movement: 30
Dexterity: 7
Armor Class: 3 (16)
Hit Dice: 8
Attacks: 3 (bite/claw/jump)
Damage: 2d8/1d6/1d20
Saving Throw: 13
Morale: 7
Experience Points: 1000
Treasure Class: Y
Special: Once per turn, Bowser can breathe a Fireball as an 8th-level magician.

Monstrous Mushroom Kingdom Monday - Part The Third

In addition to the standard flora and fauna of the Mushroom Kingdom, there are a great many artificial creatures that pose a threat to any wandering adventurers. Oftentimes their origin is unknown, and any intelligence they might have possessed has long been worn away by time.

Chain Chomp: A dense, metal ball with a toothy mouth at the end of a chain, which is typically secured to a wall or post. Often used as guardians, and therefore found just outside structures of strategic or financial importance.

Art by darkly-shaded-shadow

Encountered: 1-2
Alignment: Chaotic
Size: Small
Movement: 0 (See Special)
Dexterity: 10
Armor Class: 3 (16)
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d8
Saving Throw: 15
Morale: 13
Experience Points: 35
Treasure Class: M
Special: After three rounds, roll a d6 each round. On a 1, the chain breaks and the Chain Chomp gains MV 60.

Bob-omb: A metallic ball on mechanical legs, which it uses to walk up to its target before exploding. The turn before the explosion, it throws several harmless sparks from its top.

Art by Deimos-Remus

Encountered: 1 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Size: Small
Movement: 40
Dexterity: 8
Armor Class: 3 (16)
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1 (explode)
Damage: 3d6
Saving Throw: 16
Morale: 10
Experience Points: 24
Treasure Class: M
Special: If the Bob-omb is reduced to 0HP before setting itself off, it explodes for 2d6 damage to whatever struck the killing blow.

Thwomp: An enormous, spiky block of living stone that camouflages itself against stone ceilings, then drops on the unwary.

Art by BrendanCorris

Encountered: 1 (1d4)
Alignment: Chaotic
Size: Large
Movement: 10
Dexterity: 9
Armor Class: 5 (14)
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: 1 (smash)
Damage: 1d12
Saving Throw: 15
Morale: 11
Experience Points: 75
Treasure Class: M

Monstrous Mushroom Kingdom Monday - Part II

Nearly as ubiquitous in the Mushroom Kingdom as Koopas and Goombas are the Piranha Plants. These carnivorous plants range in size from the height of a man to the height of a tree, and while (usually) immobile can reach a surprising distance. Each individual plant consists of one toothy pod on a stalk, although groups of Piranha Plants have been found growing in tangled clumps.

Art by RottaC

Encountered: 1 (1d4)
Alignment: Chaotic
Size: Medium/Large
Movement: 0
Dexterity: 7
Armor Class: 8 (11)
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d6
Saving Throw: 16
Morale: 12
Experience Points: 24
Treasure Class: M
Special: Once per turn, the Piranha Plant can shoot a Fireball as a 3rd-level magician.

The Return of Monstrous Monday - Mushroom Kingdom Edition

Some of you may recall that last year about this time there was a big blogfest organized by Tim Brannan to post a bunch of monsters on October 29, as well as on the Mondays leading up to that date. Well, Tim's too busy to host a sequel this year, but when I came up with the idea to do Mushroom Kingdom Monsters I couldn't pass it up.

Art Via AdamsPinto

The genesis of this idea was a thread on RPG.Net titled "Hyboria + Mushroom Kingdom = IT WON'T GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"  True to the title, the idea has stuck with me ever since, occasionally inflamed by finding a neat piece of artwork to go with it. All sorts of different rulesets and play-styles have been suggested - there's a particularly nice Savage Worlds netbook by Jeremy Puckett that plays things fairly straight, for example - but the mode that most interests me is the slightly gritty, D&Dified sword-and-sorcery take on it. What, after all, is the difference between Mario and John Carter except that one landed on Barsoom and the other in the Mushroom Kingdom?

OK, that might be a bit of a stretch. Still, the setting has the idea of extra-dimensional visitors built right into it, and they might as well be a motley band of fighters, barbarians, and wizards as a family of ethnic handymen. Either way, they're going to need something to fight, which brings us back to Monstrous Mondays. Each Monday this month I plan to stat up a few iconic Mushroom Kingdom Monsters for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperboria, that being the particular flavor of OSR I think fits this take on the setting best.

To begin, then, we'll start with the Goomba and the Koopa - not very impressive individually, to be sure, but a hoard of them is perhaps a different matter.

Goomba: An intelligent, ambulatory fungus at home in many environments, from deep caverns to scorching deserts.

Art Via D-MAC

Encountered: 1d4 (1d6+3)
Alignment: Neutral
Size: Small
Move ment: 10
Dexterity: 5
Armor Class: 10 (9)
Hit Dice: 1
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d6
Saving Throw: 16
Morale: 11
Experience Points: 10
Treasure Class: M
Special: 1-in-12 chance per encounter that one Goomba will be piloting a Goomba Shoe (see below).

Koopa: This humanoid turtle is often found serving as the main trooper in the armies of the King Koopa.

Encountered: 1d4 (1d8)
Alignment: Neutral
Size: Medium
Movement: 30 (Swim 20)
Dexterity: 9
Armor Class: 6 (13)
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 2 (bite/claw)
Damage: 1d6/2d4
Saving Throw: 16
Morale: 8
Experience Points: 20
Treasure Class: M
Special: When reduced to 50% Hit Points, the Koopa must pass a morale check or retreat into his shell for 2d6 rounds. Once killed, the Koopa's shell can be fashioned into a suit of AC 7 (12) armor or an AC -1 (+1) shield.

Goomba Shoe: This strange device of unknown origin resembles nothing so much as a giant green boot with a windup key. If piloted by a Small or Medium creature, it provides an AC of 8 (11) and a 1d8 Jumping attack within their standard movement range. All known examples were originally discovered being piloted by Goombas - where they got them from remains a mystery.