Dave Kizzia of Monkey Fun Studios

I have been singing the praises of Spirit of 77 since I started this blog about a month ago. I recently interviewed Dave Kizzia, co writer of the game on a podcast I co-host called Word Bros. I figured since there is a bit of cross over, you might want to take a look. If you've ever wanted to write your own game or have an interest in the process, give this a watch.

How Did Your Games Go This Weekend?

How did the rolls treat you this weekend? Did you pass all of your skill checks? Were you able to defeat all of your blood thirsty enemies? Have you started your Starfinder campaign? I would love to hear all about your games!

As for my weekend, Our 4th edition party was betrayed by a clan of Zain-Kin (ape men) to a powerful dragon that rules a lost city. A good old fashioned "sense motive" check might've helped...But no! 4th edition only has something called "insight." Insight??!? The hell does that mean? Thanks for nothing, 4th edition.

Tonight, we head back to Sea Side City for some further adventures in our Spirit of 77 campaign. Looking forward to all that madness!

So Many Games So Little Time

As for this very instant, I am currently playing in three games. I've compiled a list. See below.

4th Edition D&D
Pathfinder
Spirit of 77.

I'm planning to add a Stafinder game (or two) to this already crowded list. Some of you may be reading this thinking "Three games isn't that many! What is this dude talking about!" Factor in I am a stay at home father of two, a good husband, a professional comic book writer, a podcaster and now the author of this blog...What I'm saying is my time is I got a lot of stuff going on, but I want to play more games!I want to play ALL THE GAMES! These titles I find especially interesting!

Hollow Earth Expeditions: All the old school pulp action in on game! Sign me up. Hollow Earth was one of the books I presented to the Pathfinder group. We ended up going with Spirit of 77, which if you've read previous posts is a wonderful game. That being said, I'd being lying if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed in the group's choice. I LOVE the pulp genre. The character classes are ripped from the pages of King Solomon's Mines, The Lost World and A Princess of Mars. The settings presented for adventuring  range from the bustling concrete jungle of New York City to the actual uncharted jungles of Central and South America. I played a mod at GenCon and I was hooked.

Tales From the Loop: Speaking of mods at GenCon, I also spent a bit of time in the world presented in Tales from the Loop and I was impressed. Think Stand by Me meets District 9 but with robots. TFtL follows a group of pre-teen 80's kids exploring the strangeness of their town, which happens to reside in the shadow of a large particle accelerator. Pre-teens and large experimental science, what could go wrong?


Star Trek Adventures: I admit. I am a huge Star Trek fan. So much so I even gave The Orville a shot. Being a kid of the late 80's early 90's, my favorite era of Trek is TNG and DS9. This game lives and breathes in the Berman/Braga Trek universe. Want to play a Bajoran tactical officer fighting off the Dominion? Or maybe a Klingon security officer chasing a Ferengi arms dealer? Than this is the game for you. And me! Let me play too!

There you have it. My wish list of games. Tell me, what games are out there that you want to play but just can't seem to find the time?

A Starfinder Poem.

Two word.
Space Minotaur.
Let's make it happen.

My First Starfinder Character Build

I've been pouring over the content of the Starfinder book for almost a month now. I can't say I've read the book cover to cover yet, there is just too much info to digest but man is it a good read. The effort and execution is pretty flawless. Game play seems simplified and streamlined. I dig the lore and the history Pazio has created. Now it's my turn to add to their creation. It's time to roll my first character.

The first decision I made was my character would not kill. Why? Well, I thought it would be a fun challenge to roll play. How would this type of character be received by the party? How would he/she deal with an especially cruel or bloodthirsty PC? I would deal damage but I would be non-lethal. I pictured he/she carrying a stun weapon (ranged) and a whip used to disarm enemies. A whip! IN SPACE! How cool is that! I pictured either a young and naive explorer who is more interested in knowledge than dealing death or a grizzled old warrior that has seen enough death to last a thousand lifetimes.

I knew I wanted to play a Ysoki. I liked the idea of play a loud, fast talking rat folk. I pictured Joe Pesci's Leo Getz from Lethal Weapon.  The next two choices came a little slower. I normally play magic users but for some unexplained reason neither of the magical classes spoke to me. I was however drawn to the operative class. I liked the amount of skill points offered (8+INT MOD) and the different builds provided. I could play a quick witted thief, or a cunning spy or a thrill seeking explorer out for glory. In Starfinder, a player must pick a theme for their character.  I think this is a nice touch because it gives the player a chance to breath life and creativity into their PC. I chose a spacefarer because I liked the +1 CON bonus and I felt the build fit nicely with the explorer operative.

And there you have it! My first Starfinder PC is a Ysoki/Spacefarer/Operative that refuses to kill due to a higher moral code. This should be fun. Next week, I will share the nuts and bolts ( ability scores, weapons and feats) with you guys. 

 If you are reading this, please tell me all about your first Starfinder character.  Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend.  

Advice for a First Time GM

Since I've returned to table top RPG's I've played all sorts of rolls: Tank, magic user, healer, Dorito eater. Yet the one role I have yet to fill is perhaps the most important one. The Game master.

Yep. I've never GMed a game. Not once. I've offered my services only to be rebuffed by more experienced GMs. I feel I am a quality backseat GM. Meaning I will freely and often offer my story ideas and plot twists to my GM or anyone else willing to listen. I've toyed with the idea, writing campaign outlines only to stop midstream, gripped by fear and failure!

Now after all that I think I am ready to take the plunge. I have offered my services as a GM to our Starfinder game. I am a little nervous. There is the afore mentioned fear which is compounded by Gming an entirely new system . That being said, I am working on my story. I have a solid outline, a few important NPCs and a even a few rounds of combat. I've even bought the Absalom Station mod as a way to get my feet wet with the new system.  But what if I suck? What if the players hate the game? What if i don't know all the rules? or I buy the wrong GM screen?!?! 

Someone help! I am looking for advice. Is there like a GM book camp I can attend? Maybe a support group for first timers? I'd be willing. I could bring snacks.  Anyway, feel free to share your knowledge! Thanks!

#TBT My favorite PC

First off, I want to welcome and thank all of you for checking out the blog. I have been humbled by the amount of likes and shares on social media. I hope you continue to check out my little corner of the RPG universe.

Recently I was catching up with a dear friend. Our conversation eventually game around to the 4th edition D&D game we played in together for almost seven years. Yep, you read that correctly. I played 4th edition and I LOVED IT! Granted the game was wonky in spots, trying to keep up with all of the pluses and minuses that came up in combat was damn near impossible. Despite the cumbersome rules our GM crafted an adventurous world for our PCs.

Personally, I enjoyed this campaign because it was the birthplace of my most memorable PC, a minotaur barbarian named Dutch (after Arnold Schwarzenegger's character from Predator and yes, I did the Arnold voice in character, albeit poorly.) Dutch was the definition of a savage, raging, blood thirsty barbarian. The young warrior got his party into many unnecessary combat encounters due to his quick temper and bad attitude. It was an amazing roll to play. I enjoyed it to the fullest.

Unfortunately, Dutch didn't survive. He met his end in a long and drawn out combat secession.  Dutch was going toe to toe with another warrior. The blows exchanged that day were mighty. Both warriors fought bravely for their Gods but on this day Dutch was the stronger combatant. The powerful barbarian gained the upper hand in the battle due to his "blood rage, " meaning he dealt more damage when blooded. After that battle, the party's cleric ask Dutch if he could attend to his wounds. Dutch, very much the bullheaded minotaur declined. He gained more satisfaction from the extra damage he dealt then from a few measly HP. Dutch ran off to engage another but was cut down by the blade of the vicious pit fighter.

I was sad when Dutch came face to face with his god, Bane. However, I was at ease with his death. It's never fun to lose a PC but Dutch's bloody death was very much in the spirit of the character. At the end of the day, that's all that matter.

Now, this post can't be all about me. I would like you guys to tell me about your most memorable PC. Also, if you enjoy what you are reading, follow and share. Thanks!  

Page Twelve and the Creative Player

As I was prepping for my latest installment of Heavy Gigs in Sea Side City, our Spirit of 77 podcast, I scoured through the rule book looking for helpful info.

Anton, our DJ (GM) had put my character, the ex-pro wrestler turned PI Buddy White in a no win situation. In a bit of quality story telling by Anton, the repercussions of Buddy's actions in the first secession were coming to haunt him at the end of the second. See, what had happened was, Buddy broke into a hotel room to investigate a potential client for Miss Sweetwell (the disco owner, arms dealer Buddy works for.) During the B&E, an old woman pulled a pistol on ol' Buddy, who was trying desperately to talk his way out of this heated situation. His chatter only enraged the old woman, mainly because she knew he was bs'ing her, so this old lady fired a warning shot at Buddy. So, in a moment of panic, Buddy White, with all the might of his six foot 4 inch 246 pound frame hit this old broad in the face, crumpling her old bones to a pile of dust. Buddy quickly fled from the scene. Fast forward to the end of secession two, that same old woman and a gang of goons show up ambushing Buddy and his pals. I needed a way out and I needed one quick. This is where the players guide comes in.

Spirit of 77 is not your average roleplaying game. The writers tell the players that the book is only a base of rules and if those rules they have constructed hamper the fun don't use them.Wow! this, as a creative player is great. The writers are actively encouraging the players to play their game their way! The rules also tells the players to help the DJ set the mood of the scene by adding props, scenery, characters and other items that could move the game along. I found this nugget of salvation on page twelve! Good old page 12! This was my way out! Using page twelve as a guide and bit of my own creativity, I envisioned a window cleaning scaffolding high  atop the building on the street where the old woman's car pulled up. In my minds eye, I'll have Buddy pull his trusty .38 and file a shot that will cut through the rope sending the scaffolding crashing down on the cars below, giving Buddy and his pals a window to escape,in a move Jim Rockford would be proud of. Did my idea work? You will have to listen to the third episode of "Heavy Gigs in Sea Side City" to find out.

The point is, it is nice to see the creators of the game give  the players room to be creative by not letting the rules of the game hamper the fun. Because at the end of the day, RPGs should be fun, right?

Dead Suns Incident at Absalom Station Chat

Wait! Oh, yes wait a minute Mister Postman! That's right mama, I got my Starfinder Dead Suns mod today. Well, technically I got it yesterday but I didn't have a chance to sit down and write a brag post about getting it. I am pumped! Obviously! I am posting about it!

I bought the mod because I've decided to GM a game and figured this would be the quickest and easiest way to get the players accustomed to the new system. Well that and I've never GM'ed a game before. Hold on, let's put a pin in that last statement (I will post about being a first time GM later in the month) and focus on the mod.


The adventure is pretty straight forward. A ghost ship pulling a mysterious asteroid has parked itself right outside of  Absalom Station. Its the PC's job to answer all the questions that normally come with an empty ship towing a rock. The mod also features a few new monsters/aliens, which serves as a nice preview until the Alien Archive hits the streets in October.

My fav of the new aliens/monsters is the Bone Trooper. What is a Bone Trooper you ask? Well, let me tell ya! Using space magic and technological experiments powerful space magic folks have been able to reanimate the dead. Some of these creatures are mindless, boring boobs easily controlled by their creators. While other, these Bone Troopers preserve their intellects, memories and personalities! That's right! Walking, talking space skeletons with all of their meatbag persona. We're talking space Skeletor, BABY!!! I think I found my PC race, that's of my GM is cool with it. There are a few stats for the creature and with a little reverse engineering and some input from the GM I should be able to make a first level BT for my homebrew game.