The Thrice-Whipped Ass

Not sure why I picked up it up, but recently grabbed The Thrice-Whipped Ass pdf on DriveThruRPG. Don Stroud wrote and did the layout for this short (4 page) drop-in mini adventure/plot. Adam B. Forman did the one illustration for the product and it's quite striking, which might be why I grabbed it. It's written for Ruination Pilgrimage, a game I know nothing about, but can be easily adapted to any fantasy game.

 

The Thrice-Whipped Ass is a tavern which has recently been the site of eldritch combat. The owners recently discovered a strange youth with no memory. Needing money the owners have started a fight club in their basement using the surprisingly strong youth. There are random charts to figure out why the party is there and one with clues and hooks.

No matter what happens, the players will eventually have to face the demon empowering the youth. For demon stats, use whatever is appropriate to your characters' level. No matter what plan I go with (I have a few paths I'm thinking about in the game I'll be starting soon), I'll be dropping the Thrice-Whipped Ass into my game.

There Must Always Be Nine

The Coven of the Nine is a third-party folk horror adventure for D&D 2024. I randomly came across it on Etsy and it immediately caught my eye. The art is evocative and kind of reminds me of tattoo art. The premise is right up my alley as well. A coven of nine hags has infiltrated a fishing village. The party is sent in after another group of adventurers goes missing while investigating. The adventure was written and contains illustrations by Will Humberstone and Luke Stuart. I absolutely love the art! It reminds me of old school sailor tattoo art. I also appreciate the color choices for the book. While the pages are white, the rest of the book is black, red, and shades of blue-green. It just gives everything a hag vibe. The color is used effectively in text too. Proper nouns, monsters, and magic items are introduced bolded and in red. This makes them harder to miss.

The adventure is broken down into three parts. The first takes place in the fishing village of Oshorio. In addition to the history of the region (which is tied to the adventure), we’re given a nice town map with 18 locations. Pretty much all locations have some lightly fleshed out npc’s attached to them (with a quote for good measure).

After investigating the town, the party will make their way to the second part of the adventure, Rotwood Bog. This appropriately named location is filled with all kind of nasty creepy crawlies. There are a few encounters (with maps) and encounter tables listed.

The final part of the adventure takes place in the lair of the hags. Like the lairs of certain legendary hags, it initially appears as an unassuming hut, but its much more than that. The lair is located on the remains of a huge tree with ties to the Shadowfell. There are a variety of encounters that can take place here, even including some puzzles.

The book ends with a lunch of crunch. There are many new monsters to torment your party with (mostly hags and corrupted fauna). Several new magic items are presented to help and hinder adventurers. Finally there is a really helpful glossary of important names and places for the adventure. 

The Coven of the Nine is a great mix of action, exploration, and intrigue. It’s dripping with insidious folk horror. Plus, it’s just a gorgeous book. If you play 5e (specifically 5.5) and love folk horror, this one is worth your time and money.

The Coven of Nine - A TTRPG Adventure - Etsy

Just A Stupid Dungeon Review

It's been a while since I've done a Lamentations of the Flame Princess review. A few weeks ago I picked up a couple new adventures at Time Warp Cards & Comics. Here's a spoiler filled review of one of them.

This one was written by James Raggi, the creator of Lamentations of the Flame Princess. The man can create great dungeons. The original Death Frost Doom was fantastic (even if it's a "nega-dungeon"). I think Tower of the Stargazer is a great first level dungeon (even if it can kill players right off the bat). Just A Stupid Dungeon isn't a good  though. To be fair, the adventure lives up to its name. You can't say you weren't warned.https://punverse.blogspot.com/2014/10/death-frost-doom-redux.html

The hook is pretty simple. There's a door in the side of a hill and no one really knows what's behind it. Related to the hook are stats for villagers and local kids. Raggi has stated that the reason for all the NPC stats and treasure listed in Keep On The Borderlands are because the players are meant to take it over. This doesn't bode well for the peasants. 

There are 10-11 rooms in the dungeon which have been stretched out to 24 encounters. There are a variety of funhouse style rooms, but they're pretty weird. Other than the peasants, the only other protentional combat encounter are rats... lots of rats. The dungeon ends with a world changing event, that involves world wide slumber. The ramifications are massive, but even more so if you've already ran something like Death Frost Doom in your game. Raggi's known to be miserly with treasure. Just A Stupid Dungeon has a bit more than usual and its pretty unique. 

If you couldn't tell I think this one is a pass. I don't regret buying it because I grabbed it on clearance, but had I paid full retail for this one, I wouldn't be happy.

Amazing Adventures in the Public Domain Issue #1

Y'all know I taking things from the public domain. I've used Public Domain Super Heroes wiki quite a bit on here, particularly with my New Punverse and Punch A Nazi posts. 

Today I received my pdf for Amazing Adventures in the Public Domain #1. Before I dive into I just want to say that the Kevin Maguire Justice League tribute cover is inspired! Written by Matt Bevilacqua and illustrated by Gino Vasconcelos, this book is a toolkit for Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. Inspired by comics and books from Alan Moore, Philip Jose Farmer, and Warren Ellis, you play a champion pulled from time by Merlin to fight for justice and truth.

The game differs from standard DCC in a few ways. While typical DCC games start with 0-level funnels in which a group of peasants try to survive, in Amazing Adventures in the Public Domain characters play as specific figures of legend.  These heroes are:

• The Terror (The Black Terror)
• The Ghost (Phantom Lady)
• Dorothy Gale
• Achilles
• The Golden Phantasm (Ōgon Bat)
• Santa Claus
• Stardust, the Super Wizard (for an alternate take on Stardust check out Leopard Women of Venus).

While some of these make sense, some are weird choices to me. Ghost, the Black Terror, the Golden Bat, and Stardust all seem quite appropriate. Dorothy Gale and Santa make sense thematically, but don't fit the supers vibe of the others. I'm not complaining, I just would have liked to have seen public domain comic characters. This is a personal preference thing, and honestly its deviating a bit from what Matt set out to make. Now lets take a look at how these figures are presented.

Each of characters is roughly 5th level (all start with a certain amount of HP or 5 hit dice). They also have really good stats and some powerful abilities. However, they don't gain levels or have classes like typical DCC characters. Instead when they advance they can choose from different options (new abilities, stat adjustments, more HP). Each entry also has a related random table (a staple of DCC) and NPC stats for the character. This is a novel approach to DCC and allows the characters to feel superheroic, even from the start. Even in super-centric DCC games like Comic Crawl Classics and Evolved: Super Heroic Time Travel Roleplaying Game starting characters tend to be quite fragile. I really dig the way characters are presented, and I think I'm going to make my own heroes in this style in future posts. I might combine this with some of my other features like Chasing the (Savage) Dragon and Punch a Nazi Week.

There are a few other crunchy bits for players. Merlin is presented as a DCC wizard patron (with three patron spells). Usage Die from The Black Hack has borrowed as well as rote magic from DCC Dying Earth. Due to the time and space aspect of the setting, firearms are present. Matt recommends Crawl Zine #8, which imo is the go-to gun rules for DCC RPG. Damage die various firearms are included.

In addition to the heroic legends and rules, the book includes a short adventure, Shadow Over Kansas. This one is brilliant. A jumping off point to an Amazing Adventures in the Public Domain campaign, the players are sent to early 1900's Kansas by Merlin to stop villainous wizards from taking a young child destined for greatness from the young couple meant to find him. The wizards in question are Joseph Curwen and Murder Legendre! The adventure includes a festival, a nefarious super computer, and a variety of foes. A bon-vivant with connections to Cenobites-with-the-serial-numbers-filed-off, also makes an appearance! I (shamelessly) believe my Brightburn stats would be perfect to use for the destined child if the villains are successful. 

Finally the zine ends with a crossword puzzle, word search, and ads. The advertisements I get, but the puzzles are a little odd to me. 

If you can't tell I adore this one. I can't wait to get my physical copy and use it. As I've mentioned, this one would be great to to use with Comic Crawl Classics, Evolved, and my upcoming Crisis In Infinite Zines #1. Not sure when physical copies will be available to the public, but you can get the pdf on DriveThruRPG by following this link.

Update 2/17/2026

Upon reading the book another time I noticed a few things that need clarified or added. Dorothy Gale and the Ghost are missing NPC stats. Also there is no mention of which Crit Table each legend uses. I've messaged the author about these issues.

Satanic Panic

If you want a zine relevant to gaming in the 80's, I highly recommend picking up Satanic Panic from Bloat Games/Bloat Zines. Written and layed out by Mr. Bloat himself, the zine addresses (as the cover says) "why parents in the 1980's lost their fuckin' minds over D&D." The zine is predominantly black and white, though red is used to highlight things and it makes it pop. Christopher Torres and Phil Stone's art is featured throughout the zine. This one is metal and aesthetically pleasing. Although its professionally printed, it has a great punk/metal/DIY vibe.

This one is personal. As he mentions in the zine, Eric's life was made a living hell by ignorant religious folks because of the things he loved as a kid. This is really shown in his scathing takedown of Pat Robertson. I also appreciate Eric discussing the origins of the hysteria and highlights what fueled it. I had no idea that it started in Canada or the full story of person Mazes & Monsters was "based on," Dallas Egbert. Eric's a smart and insightful dude and I appreciated reading his thoughts on things. 

This zine is a hybrid of Bloat zines. In addition to discussion of the topic, it also includes game stats for a few systems and random tables (because random tables):

• d66 Reasons Your Mom Thinks You Are A Satanist
• Ratt Pobertson (5e and Shadowdark) - a craven goblin liar definitely not inspired by a hate-spewing religious leader mentioned earlier.
• Garzax (Demon) with Cultists (OSE) - demon lord of gluttony and his followers
• d12 Raise Your Horns For Satan (the devil's music)
• d12 Occult Inspired Movies
• d66 Games Like Old School D&D
• Satanic Cult Members and Cult Leader Necromancer (SURVIVE THIS!!) - ready to use cult stats for use with Dark Places & Demogorgons and SURVIVE THIS!! games

You can order Satanic Panic from the Bloat Games shop. Don't worry, the zine is only 13 bucks, despite the listed price.

The Isle of the Amazons

Written by Eric Bloat, Michelle Lee, and Jeff Scifert, The Isle of the Amazons brings DC's Paradise Island to your DCC game. Elencia is an island protected by Athena and (until recently) cut off from man's world. You can add it to any DCC game. In my games I'm going to use it as a stand-in for Themyscira so I can add Amazons to my DCC supers game. The sourcebook includes details about the Amazons, their society, and their home. 

All Amazons share certain traits. Rather than including them with each individual class they are presented before the new classes. These Amazon classes are:

• Amazon Aristocrat - masters of diplomacy with commanding voices
• Amazon Disciple of the High Priestess - clerics of Athena (who's given more information later in the book)
• Amazon Guard - warriors with specialized fighting techniques
• Amazon Muse - artists, crafters, and bards of Amazon society
• Amazon Psion -psychics, you will need Mind Games to use this one
• Amazon Sorceress - basically standard DCC wizards with Amazon racial traits
• Amazon Sugia - secretive assassins that serve their queen and act much like chaotic DCC thieves

As far as crunchy bits, the book has several new additions to your game. An alien patron secretly dwells in on the island. Additionally classic amazon equipment (including lassos) and magic items inspired by legends are statted out. Being mistresses of the saddle, we're presented with equestrian deeds. There are several new monsters presented too, including the legendary Sea-Witch. Major players on the island are highlighted and statted out as well. Finally there are Amazonian background and pregens. 

As I said in the beginning, this is a great addition to just about any DCC game, especially a superheroic one. You can grab the pdf here.

Update: Several of the ideas and abilities for this book were originally created by Bob Brinkman for the Sanctum Secorum podcast.

Gremlins Invade 5e

You have less than 48 hours left to back Bloat Games,
Goblins - Anarchy in the RPG. I've had the privilege of reading the final pdf and it's phenomenal. You can read my review here. The project has expanded since the project launched. Do to feedback, two more goblin zines have been added as add-ons (with an all-in option). 

The first is Space Goblins - Anarchy in Space. While I don't know much about it, I'm guessing it will be great for 5e supers and Spelljammer games. The second additional zine focuses on a type of fey closely related to goblins, gremlins. While the final version of the zine isn't finished, Eric let me look at the manuscript. The zine will have the same format as Goblins - Anarchy in the RPG. 

Josh gives us Gremlin species trait. Being nocturnal, gremlins hate light. Like real world legends, they have an aura that hinders machinery and technology. This is attributed to them being the embodiment of chaos and destruction. Like the film versions of gremlins, each has it's own special condition to multiply and vulnerability. Being chaotic, these are determined with a random chart. Additionally, like the vampires of The Lost Boys, when exposed to sunlight and killed each gremlin goes out in a random way (again determined by a chart).

We're presented with several different gremlin variants (as well as the standard variety). Counting the "common" variety there are 7 different variety of gremlins. There are varied and included bat-winged, undead, and mechanical ones. Being creatures of chaos, they can also mutate and their is an extensive chart with new abilities and features for Happchance Gremlins. Think of these gremlins and the mutated ones from the second film. Finally we get a CN gremlin wizard npc that can be friend or foe. 

I don't think I've ever included gremlins in my game, but after reading this I want to. I like that Josh combined the stories of gremlins from WWII fighter pilots with the film versions. This is a worthy add-on to the campaign and personally I went all-in. Seriously if you haven't backed this project, I highly recommend you do so. And remember you have less than two days left to do so.

Bree-Yark!

Goblins: Anarchy in the RPG is an upcoming Kickstarter from my friends at Bloat Games. It's written for 5e and while I don't see any direct mention of it, it looks like it's done in the current 2024 version. Update: After talking to author, Josh Palmer, I can confirm it was written in the 2024 format. 

Before I get into the content, I want to talk about the design. The background of each page is black with white-bordered pink text boxes. The text itself is either black or white. While I'm sure some may find this jarring, it really makes the zine pop. Along with the name, it gives the book a great punk aesthetic. Most of the art is stock art, but its really good stock art.

Goblins tend to be used as low level fodder for games, which is cool, but they can be so much more. This zine is a toolkit to get you the most goblin bang for your goblin bucks. Most of the books content is unique goblin npc's and different variation and mutant goblins. Additionally, Josh has create species traits in case a player wants to create a goblin PC.

Something I appreciate the NPC's is there's a good mix of alignments represented. My favorite, Golloc Gloomgash is a Robinhood-esque master thief. There's also a goblin cult leader who made me chuckle. He also seems like the kind of villain I'd want to include. There are seven unique goblins to cause chaos in your game. Mixed in with those heroes and villains are fourteen goblin variations. These show how goblins can adapt to any variety of environments and also include a few goblins organizations. There's even a centaur-like goblin! The background of each includes great flavor for your games. There are also a few fun subtables. "Bree-Yark!"isn't the only goblin phrase you're going to want to include. 

I don't know if it was intentional or not, but this book pairs nicely with the latest Starter Set. Even if your players have entered the Caves of Chaos in the past, you can introduce a new experience by incorporating these goblins into the tribes. I think my first D&D 2024 campaign will start with the Keep and that's my plan.

If you love goblins this zine is for you! Even if you don't like them and find them boring, I think this one will change your mind. Don't be a ebbalsmeg and back it when it launches in the next week or so.

Cthulhu By Torchlight

Cthulhu by Torchlight is a D&D Beyond exclusive toolkit for D&D 2024 by the masters of mythos gaming, Chaosium. The book includes an introduction to the Cthulhu Mythos and has seven chapters. 

Chapter 1 introduces passions and dreadful insights. Characters in horror stories often make decisions that make little logical sense. That's because they are driven by their passions. These are beliefs that shape their actions. With the new rules you can draw upon those to gain bonus. A dreadful insight is essentially a passion that you discover about yourself and can ultimately lead to destruction. Player's can create their own passions and dreadful insight or use the ones provided.

Chapter 2 includes a new backgrounds (with new tools) and and five new origin feats. Mythos Investigators have seen through the veil and been changed by their exposure to the Mythos. I like all of these feats and honestly they can work for anyone, but are particularly appropriate (and useful) for Mythos Investigators. 

Chapter 3 includes a new subclass for all the base classes:

• Path of the Spell Scorned (Barbarian) - Touched by magic, these barbarians gain the ability to fight back against otherworldly and spellcasting foes
• College of Drama (Bard) - These bards are adept at playing roles and can even impart their acting abilities onto others, making them excellent infiltrators
• Apocalypse Domain (Cleric) - Clerics that tap into the energy of ending and demise, they are often considered heretics by the other faiths
• Circle of the Symbiote (Druid) - These druids see plant life just as valuable as animal life and allow a plant to symbiotically grow and become a part of them
• Hero (Fighter) - Heroes are needed to face the horrors of the world and these fighters do so while inspiring others
• Warrior of Cosmic Balance (Monk) - The aesthetics  are guardians of the mortal realm and specialize in fighting back extraplanar horrors
• Oath of the Guardian (Paladin) - Noble warriors that are empowered by their oaths to protect the common folk. 
• Trail Warden (Ranger) - Wilderness warriors that pledge to lead others into the wilderness and make sure they make it out alive
• Shadow Stalker (Rogue) - Feeling a call to the void, these rogues allow true darkness into their hearts, granting amazing stealth abilities
• Hunger Darker (Sorcerer) - Born with innate magic, these sorcerers have an arcane hunger that seeks to claw its way out 
• Exalted Assembly of the Feline Court (Warlock) - These warlocks have struck a bargain the cats of the Dreamlands, which seek to protect mortals from Mythos threats.
• Bibliomancy (Wizard) - Instead of just seeing symbols and words as a means to the ends, these wizards believe they are the true building blocks of the multiverse. 

Chapter 4 introduces new Mythos spells. Anyone familiar with the Mythos will recognize many of these spell names. An aspect I like about these spells is the new optional rule. When casting a Mythos spell it's possible that they acquire the "Power at Any Cost" passion, which influences them to gain more Mythos knowledge and magic. 

Chapter 5 discusses how to run Mythos adventures. Their are foes divided into level based tier lists. Some of these monsters are from the Monster Manual while others are statted later in this book. The chapter does an excellent job of presenting what a typical mythos adventure is like and the elements that are common. This includes interesting twists and how to use 5e's rules thematically.

Chapter 6 presents Mythos tomes. These are special magic items tied to loathsome Mythos entities. Five infamous ones are detailed, including The King In Yellow and the Necronomicon. The chapter ends with a discussion on using these tomes in your game.

Chapter 7 details 20 different iconic mythos monsters (technically more if you count the variants). These range from the lowly Rat-Thing to Great Cthulhu himself. As you might expect, some of these creatures are incredibly deadly, even to mighty 5e characters. There's also a discussion of how existing MM monsters can be used as Mythos creatures. One final thing about this chapter I like is that exposure to these creatures can cause players to gain Mythos monster specific insights. This is a nice way to show how these monstrosities warp a mortal's mind.

I wish this was a physical book, but I still think it's fantastic. If you're a horror fan (especially of things Lovecraftian) and use D&D Beyond I highly recommend this one. 

Better, Faster, Harder Review

Better, Faster, Harder is a 0-level funnel for Evolved: Super Heroic Time Travel Roleplaying Game.

The players are Evo allies/advocates that are kidnapped and awaken in a chronal wasteland. They must explore their surroundings and do their best to equip themselves and prepare for a fight. Then it becomes a dash to get to their kidnapper's lab before their surroundings collapse and they are lost in the time stream forever. Once they make it to the lab they have to fight an anti-Evo robot. The adventure can lead several directions. The characters can stay in the future or find a way back to their own time. 

There's a nice variety in this adventure. Scavenging, fighting, and player ingenuity are all important. There are also plenty of opportunities to exposure to chronal energy, likely powering the characters. One of my favorite encounters involves a cosplaying doggo, Dr. Mange. If he survives he can become a character's sidekick. Since sidekicks gain levels you can have your own Krypto (or some other super dog). However, if you want him to just be an extremely capable dog without powers, you should check out The Canine 2.0. 

This adventure is an awesome origin story for your Evolved characters. It's exciting, original, and has a caped dog. Honestly you can't ask for much more.

Get It Here:

• PDF
• Print
• Print (All 4 Evolved Adventures)

DP&D 100 Adventure Hooks

Dark Places & Demogorgons: Ultimate Edition 100 Adventure Hooks is a treasure trove of adventures for your DP&D and other SURVIVE THIS!! games. The hooks are presented in classic SURVIVE THIS!! style. They are one page a piece and feature a few paragraphs of the pertinent info. This is followed by a selection of relevant stats, charts, and art for each. If a location is mentioned in the hook, its something related to DP&D's default setting Jeffersontown, but can easily be set in other locations. 

One of the strengths is the sheer variety of adventure hooks. It's not all Stranger Things style sci-fi or horror stuff either, there are some mundane but still fun hooks too. These adventure hooks can help keep your games grounded and remind players that they are still playing kids. 

Here are a few of my favorite hooks:

• Zbrork's Head - the kids find a robot head that asks them to reassemble his body so he can leave the planet, while doing this robotic scavenger hunt they must avoid a shady federal agent
• Don't Let Her In - the teens are visited by a strange girl, who may or may not actually be a ghost
• Asylum Contest - the kids seek to spend the entire night in the "haunted asylum" to win bragging rights and a prize, the adventure has no supernatural elements, which makes it a nice red herring adventure
• Cul De Sac Kumite - obsessed with martial arts movies, local teens have created a fighting tournament.
• Falling From Heaven - an angel crashes to Earth during a sleepover and the kids need to help him thwart the plans of a demon
• Nuts McGruder - an intelligent giant squirrel and his horde of squirrels seek to protect the area from pollution
• Pond Scum - inspired by a Creepshow 2 segment I still find scary, the teens find an out of the way swimming spot inhabited by a killer ooze 

If you play Dark Places & Demogorgons this is a must have. Even if you run another "kids on bikes" style game, there's some useful stuff here. If you want to pick this one up, you can use the links below:

PDF Link

Print and PDF Link

POD

Dark Place & Demogorgons Ultimate Edition

Been planning this review for a while, but considering the teaser for Stranger Things Season 5 dropped a few days ago I think the timing for it is great.  The Ultimate Edition of Dark Places & Demogorgons is a gorgeous full size hardcover (not the digest size of the original). It takes the original DP&D SURVIVE THIS!! core book, adds a lot of great new content, new art (which is fantastic), and cleans up/clarifies the original. While most of this content has appeared in various Bloat Games releases, it's awesome having all of it in one (gorgeous) spot. I won't go into the rules of the game because I discussed them in my original review, which can be found here.

Most of the classes from the original book are here, as well as some new ones. I appreciate that they classes are just listed in alphabetical order instead of in archetypes. Teen Heart Throb and Bully are dropped. However the following classes are now a part of the core rules: Final Girl, Horror Connoisseur, Most Excellent Dude (or Dudette), Party Animal, Performer, and Snoop.  Additionally the optional Psion classes are now just the Psion (and the original class archetypes are Psion powers along with several additional powers). The original DP&D supplements included a few different magic using classes. Like the Psion this has been simplified and now there is simply a Mystic class.

 

While the original core book included some information about Jeffersontown, it's greatly expanded in the Ultimate Edition. While not as extensive as the Jeffersontown Setting Guide, there is nearly 60 pages of setting material here. I really appreciate the rumors for each of the locations. These are all excellent adventure hooks. Speaking of adventure hooks there are thirty two more fleshed out ones included in the book. Many of these have appeared in previous DP&D releases, but it's fantastic having them all in one location. 

Whether you already own Dark Places & Demogorgons or not, this is a fantastic book to pick up. It has everything you need and then some. It's also fully compatible and fits thematically with Camp Blood, These Campers are Different, and Greasers & Ghouls (which is also set in Jeffersontown and is essentially a prequel game). It's also compatible with The Dead West, Bloody Appalachia, and Beware the Locals, though those games are much more adult in nature.

You can get the pdf here and print copies from the Bloat Games store.

These Campers Are Different!

These Campers Are Different is the companion book to Camp Blood. Like other "Bloody Horror Universe" books it features an awesome cover by Peter Frain. The killer is reminiscent of Samhain, one of my favorite Ghostbusters' villains. Phil Stone and Christopher Torres do all the interior art.

With a few small exceptions characters in Camp Blood are normal kids, teens, and young adults. The focus of this book changes that.  Instead of just playing a regular mortal you can be a human, a lineage human, or a doppleganger. There is a short discussion on Empowered characters and a new random background chart for them.

I don't feel like there needs to be much explanation about humans. Y'all know the spiel. Dopplegangers are a lot like their D&D counterparts except they don't have telepathy. Lineage humans are a varied bunch. You're human and something else, whether this be from genetics, curse, or experimentation. You create a character as normal but you have some new abilities and bonuses based on your lineage. You gain new abilities (and potentially drawbacks) at levels 3, 5, and 7. At 10th level you must decide if you embrace your human side or your other. If you stay human, you lose the non-skill boons granted by your inhuman heritage but gain other  attribute bonuses. You can also reject your humanity and become a full fledged member of your bloodline. The following lineages appear in the book:

• Angel
• Bigfoot
• Chupbacabra
• Demon
• Extraterrestrial: Grays
• Fairy
• Goatman
• Medusa
• Merman
• Mothman
• Vampire
• Were-beast.

There's a nice mix here and they'd fit into most SURVIVE THIS!! games. Goatman is particularly appropriate for Dark Places & Demogorgons given the setting. To be honest, I would have been disappointed had it not been included as an option. My other favorite is Merman which could be used to make a character who's family is from Innsmouth.

Five new empowered classes are presented. These are updates of classes from previous SURVIVE THIS!! books. There is a mix of sci-fi and supernatural. The classes are:

• Alien in Disguise
• Psion
• Dark Witch
• Earth Witch
• Light Witch

Most of the spells and psion abilities presented are features in Dark Places & Demogorgons Ultimate Edition so they are pretty familiar to SURVIVE THIS!! regulars.. There are two brand new Psion powers: Nature Manipulation and Phantasmogan. I really like the fear based Phantasmagon power and it would be great for a villainous camper. There are some quick rules for gaining a familiar and creating potions. Additionally. we're given a few pages of potions.

Finally the book gives us four new adventure hooks for Camp Blood. The Lost Cabin is an Evil Dead style scenario. Nature Trail To Hell is a reusable adventure hook that is randomly generated every time. Night of the Living Brats is The Fog but with zombie kids and teens. The Tower Lookout at Mt. Boone ads a bit of Firestarter or the Hawkins National Laboratory to your game via a couple young psions on the run.

The page count for These Campers Are Different! is lighter compared to other SURVIVE THIS!! titles (even expansions), but it still contains excellent supplementary material. Despite the overlap, I think it's an excellent expansion for Dark Places & Demogorgons in particular. Grab your hardcover here today.

Welcome Campers, Time To Die!

Intro and Overview

Camp Blood is the second part of Bloat Games bloody grindhouse trilogy. Like the first, Bloody Appalachia, it's a stand alone game but fully compatible with other SURVIVE THIS!! games. If you've played  any SURVIVE THIS!! game, Camp Blood is a game you know how to play. You have familiar attributes, class, and roll a d20 and add your modifiers.  

Character Creation

Some SURVIVE THIS!! games allow for inhuman and supernatural characters. Characters in a (core) Camp Blood game are human. They are also assumed to be campers and/or counselors in training. I feel this alters the vibe from Bloody Appalachia and almost puts it more in line with Dark Places & Demogorgons. There are several classes to choose from. Most of them are self explanatory but I do feel like pointing out some interesting aspects of a few:

• Athlete 
• Badger Scout
• Camp Archer
• City Kid - because they "keep it real" they have resistance to magic and psionics
• Counselor in Training - there's a lot of variety with this one because you get to pick specialties
• Cryptid Enthusiast 
• Farm Kid 
• Lascivious Teen - regain HP after sex, but also attract the attention of monsters by doing so
• Naturalist - this is the healer class
• Party Animal
• Prankster - this class pulls agro and has the ability to get away
• Snob - Who knew entitlement was a benefit?
• Survivor
• Underdog - this class is cool because it gets reward for failing, this is an awesome idea
• Whiz Kid - this class gain a robot buddy that can upgraded as the level up
• Woodsman

There's definitely overlap with several of these classes, but its still a great selection overall. Again, all of these make a lot of sense in a DP&D game. Skills and equipment are pretty much the same as standard supernatural ST games.

Rules For Play

This section includes standard ST rules. This is the general how to play section. It looks like the one for Bloody Appalachia.

Game Master Section

While there is a specific camp discussed later, there's a cool chart that lets you come up with the type of camp the game will take place at. This can affect character creation. There are also 12 adventure hooks. They are presented like adventure hooks/story seeds in other ST books. There's a nice variety of threats and ideas here. There are some legendary creatures, fey, revenants, and cults. There's also a small bestiary of camp creatures. If you need more, you should check out the Ultimate Edition of the DP&D Cryptid Manual.

Camp Red Ivy (aka Camp Blood) is given some detail. It's layout, information about the surrounding area, and staff are all presented. While you can (and should) add more to the staff and community, there are several npcs with related stats. Additionally campers and counselors at Camp Blood can earn badges, which grant one-time benefits for certain achievements. This is a great and thematic way to reward players. The book ends with several random chart to help GM's flesh out their camp and some recommended viewing. 

Final Thoughts

Camp Blood is a great thematic SURVIVE THIS!! game.  The femme Jason homage by Peter Frain is phenomenal. It goes great with the Bloody Appalachia  and Bloody University (currently on Kickstarter) covers. There are a few really brutal art pieces by Christopher Torres and Phil Stone that fit with the grindhouse vibe of the bloody horror line. However, I feel Camp Blood is more of a stand alone Dark Places & Demogorgons setting book. Don't get me wrong, the game is bloody and dangerous, but with a youth centric focus, it just gives me different vibes. I love the book, it's just a bit more tame than I expected (and there's nothing wrong with that). If DP&D is a kids and younger teen game and Bloody Appalachia is for adults then this one falls somewhere in between. You can play it as safe or dark as you'd like. Whether you want Ernest Goes To Camp or The Burning, you can do it with this book. 

Order your physical copy from the Bloat Games store or grab the pdf on DriveThruRPG

Evolved - Part VI (Final Thoughts)

This one will be shorter than the previous parts. 

Part I - Overview

Part II - Classes and Evolved

Part III - Doing Stuff

Part IV - Judge Material

Part V - Setting

While I've enjoyed previous comic related DCC content, Evolved: Super Heroic Time Travel Roleplaying Game is the DCC supers game I've been wanting since I posted my Rocket Raccoon stats back in 2014. Jeffrey and the Bloat Games crew really made something special with this one. 

While the 69.99 price tag may be on the higher end, I assure you that it's well worth it. If you weren't a backer you should definitely snag your copy when it becomes available to the public on 6/11/25.

I also own all four Evolved adventures and you can expect short overviews of them soon.

Evolved - Part V (The World of Evolved)

I really don't want to spoil things, so I won't get too specific in my discussion of the setting. In a lot of ways the setting of Evolved is much like our world. Civilizations rose and fell and mankind progressed. Things diverged when time travel was discovered in 2019. Chronal anomalies appeared in isolated places. Energy from these anomalies either killed or mutated those that came into contact with them, creating the Evolved. These anomalies allowed for travel to the dystopian future of 2051. The year 2026 and 2051 are the two eras of the game because time travel always takes individuals to 2051. That being said people and creatures from other times and alternate dimensions can be found in both times because of chronal anomalies. 

2051 is a dangerous world. The Evolved war shattered the world we know. Some familiar countries still exist, but many other smaller nations have been formed from the remnants. For example, while the United States of America still exists, it's only made up of the stats in south and some of the Midwest. Many states formed new nations that were either Evolved or human supremist. While the focus is on the U.S.A., other parts of the world are given some mention.

If you want to to know how the dark future happens, there's a nice timeline of events presented.

As I mentioned in my overview, Evolved channels and is a great tribute to the time traveling X-Men stories of the 80's and 90's. There are some definite serial numbers filed off Marvel content in this book. Here is some of it:

Metahumans not fully trusted by normal people ✅

Human supremacist organizations ✅

Metahuman supremacist organizations✅

Dark future caused by conflict between them ✅

Underground dwelling metahumans shunned by society ✅

Giant metahuman hunting robots (with different models) ✅

Militant alien empire with sites set on Earth ✅

Shapeshifting aliens that war with above empire ✅

Large headed aliens that like to watch ✅

Heroes in Evolved are essentially the X-Men (or one of their related teams), fighting for acceptance of their people and a better world. Of course, you can go the other route and have a group that is more akin to the Brotherhood of Mutants. Character will work in both times for a better world, or at least one where their side is the victor.

Evolved - Part IV (Judge Material)

In Evolved (and all other Crawl Classics games) the gamemaster is referred to as the judge. 

While it's not used throughout the beginning of the Judge section directly addresses the reader in a fun way. The villainous authors address us, their "duly subservient henchmen," the judges. We're given a multitude of excellent advice in various sidebars. The key points I like are let the dice do what they will and "let the rules bend to you, not the other way around." Many gm's (myself included) coddle players and will roll in secret. Make the stakes bigger by doing everything in the open. And don't just give abilities and such, let the players quest for them. It's so much fulfilling to earn something by doing, instead of just gaining levels.

Luck is an important part of Crawl Classics and it's use and the consequences of it are given a few pages. Since luck allows players to modify their actions, understanding it is important. We're also presented with some examples of how it can change, including the "Parker Luck" concept. As someone that loves to play characters that are unlucky for the sake of drama, this is a genre appropriate addition that I absolutely love! Evolved also uses Fortune Token which is similar to luck but can be used to affect others. This idea was cribbed from DCC Dying Earth.

Since Time Travel is in the subtitle of the game, you won't be surprised that there's advice and rules for it. It can be an overwhelming idea, but there is some good advice for making it impactful, including how to not get overwhelmed.

Those of you that know me, know that my all time favorite comic character is Dick Grayson and because of that I have a soft spot for sidekicks. They get their own (one page) chapter and honestly I could see using these rules in any of the Crawl Classics games. Essentially sidekicks are 0-level followers. There are benefits and drawbacks of having one. They are lucky and remind me of DCC halflings. However, if they die they their mentor permanently loses luck and if they are mistreated, players can no longer take a sidekick and all other sidekicks with treat them coldly or even hostile. Sidekicks gain experience (at a slower rate than players) can can gain class levels if they survive.

You won't have any issues populating your Evolved game because the authors went all in with npcs and monsters. We're presented with heroes and villains from both of the games eras. Don't want to focus on those and want to make your own? The game has you covered. There are pages of random charts that allow you to generate npcs, particularly villains, and flesh them out. There is also a random chart that let you modify stats blocks with special properties. A robust bestiary is included. This includes aliens and outsiders (which I'll go more into when I talk about the setting), creatures and people from different eras, and time warped creatures from the future. Honestly this section is pretty useful for any Crawl Classsics game. 

If you're an Evolved judge you don't need to worry. The authors have your back and present you with all the tools an advice you'll need. In my next post I'll talk about the setting of Evolved more.

Evolved - Part III (Doing Stuff)

From Iron Man's armor to Batman's utility belt, gear is an important part of comic books. That's why there is quite a bit of space devoted to equipment, gadgets, and vehicles. Unlike classic DCC (with its gold based economy), characters in Evolved use a system called Wealth. This means you don't have to track every penny of your character's money. No need to go through everything, but characters have access to a plethora of weapons, gear, and vehicles to help them fight. An interesting addition to the equipment charts is a listing of which time (2026, 2051) the items are available. Armor in Evolved is simplified. Instead of several different armor material types (such as plate. leather, etc.), armor is more broadly defined (light, powered, etc.). It can also be modified. The equipment chapter also includes a nice little Superhero Trope sidebar. The vehicle section includes ground vehicles, ships, and even mechs. Mechs are an interesting addition, because while they are vehicles, they're given monster stats.

At its core, Evolved combat is the same as DCC. This means that it's like most D&D derived games, but with numerous Fumble and Crit Tables. There are four different fumble tables which correspond to different weapon types. There are five different class related crit tables. There are also firearms and grenade/explosive versions of these tables. There are several foe related crit tables. Tables like these are one of my favorite parts of DCC and its derivative. 

Evolved contains robust vehicle rules. If you are familiar with the Umerican Survival Guide, they'll look pretty familiar. Again, like most games with DCC dna, there are several random charts to roll one for vehicular crits and wipeouts. And like the critical fumbles, the wipeouts are divided into types. Even in modern games, I don't use vehicles often. I feel like, in general, vehicle rules are clunky or ill-defined. That's not the case in Evolved. While there are a lot of charts and things, the rules for vehicles fall in line with the rules for everything else.

DCC Warriors are known for the Mighty Deeds of Arms. Instead of a static to hit bonus, you roll a die and proclaim that you're doing something cool with the attack. Again, this is one of those aspects that makes me love DCC. It's not just swinging your sword. Concept is dynamic. Two of the Evolved classes  can do their own Mighty Deeds. There are a few examples presented. This is extremely helpful for groups, though players are encouraged to come up with their own Mighty Deeds. Of the samples my favorite is an iconic X-Men maneuver, the Fastball Special. 

The section on combat ends with a collection of useful rules for conditions and complications in the game. Essentially it's a handy catch all for miscellaneous things that will need rules for in the course of a campaign. 

While I originally wanted to feature the rest of the games rules that I hadn't touched on in this post, I decided to break things up. My next Evolved post will focus on Judge rules and content. 

Evolved - Part II (Classes and Evolved Abilities)

Evolved: Super Heroic Time Travel Roleplaying Game says it's "Powered By DCC" but you might wonder what that means. It means when you break it down, the core mechanics are the same. The layout and presentation is also very familiar. I touched on this in Part I.

Games start in typical fashion. Each player rolls up several 0-level characters and goes through a funnel adventure. During the adventure characters will be exposed to chronal energies, likely unlocking their Evolved Abilities (powers). The survivors will choose from one of eight Evolved classes or two non-powered classes. Additionally players will then create level 6 characters that represent their characters in the dark future of 2051. This is a really cool design feature. Sadly a lot of players never see mid and higher levels of play because of character death or games fizzling out. It's not the case with Evolved.

The following 10 classes are available to characters.

Evolved

• 
  Cerebral Adept - Evolved that focused on mental abilities (Marvel Girl, Grifter)
• Metamorph - Evolved that can change their bodies (and occasionally others)
• Movement Monarch - Evolved with powers related to movement and speed (Angel, Flash)
• Overhauler - Evolved that are mechanical masters (Iron Man, Mr. Terrific)  
• Regulator - Evolved manipulators of targets physical nature, such as transferring wounds and conditions (Sersi, Isis)
• Scrapper - Evolved that are masters of close combat, like DCC Warriors they do Mighty Deeds of Prowess (Wolverine, Deathstroke)
• Thunderstroke - Evolved that can fire blasts at foes (Human Torch, Black Lightning)
• Warder - Evolved vanguards that know how to take a hit, another class that can perform Mighty Deeds of Prowess (Colossus, Bane)

Non-Evolved (adapted from Star Crawl)

• Scoundrel - like DCC thieves these characters get by with skills and luck (Black Widow, Catwoman)
• Soldier - hardened warriors and military leaders (Nick Fury, Rick Flag)

I won't go into much detail about how the non-Evolved classes work. This is a superhero game so we're going to focus on the super. All Evolved have access to Evolved Abilities as well as a few different class powers/features. There are a total of 126 abilities which are divided into 11 different Ability Sets.  Each power is either Active or Passive. Evolved Abilities look a lot like standard DCC spells and work functionally the same. Also like spells, they take up a large portion of the book. A big difference between Evolved Abilities and is that abilities have ranked results. Each Evolved class ranks the Ability Sets. Rank 1 have lower DC's. The DC increases as the Rank rating increases. You roll for Active Abilities results every time you use them. A majority of the time you only roll once for Passive Abilities (though there are opportunities to reroll). Failed results can lead to an effect known as Siphoning which causes detrimental effects. Additionally critical failures can lead to characters gaining Faults, which mutate characters and are similar to DCC Corruption. Evolved can't Spellburn like DCC wizards, but have Chronoburn which is used in similar ways. Characters can also burn temporary look to modify their Evolved Abilities with Exploits.

With 126 different Evolved Abilities, you won't be surprised to find that all of your bases are covered. As characters are adventure, level up, and are exposed to more chronal energy their Evolved Abilities will change. They can grow or decrease in power. Additionally it's possible to lose access to an Evolved Ability. I like the impact this has on characters. 

Next time we'll look at Equipment, Combat, Sidekicks, and other crunchy bits I haven't really touched on.

Evolved - Part I (Overview)

Over the next few days I want to talk about Bloat Games new DCC-powered supers game, Evolved: Super Heroic Time Travel Roleplaying Game. Currently only Kickstarter backers have their hands on copies. Everyone else can pick it up on the street date, 6/11/25. 

The game is 480+ pages and the physical copy is a hardcover very comparable to the hardcover DCC core book. Honestly production and layout wise, you could easily guess this is a Goodman Game release, rather than a third party DCC game. Retail price is 69.99, which is definitely pricier than previous DCC comic book inspired material I've reviewed (Comic Crawl Classics and Gunzo! True Vigilante #1). However, you might guess from the page count that it's packed with material.  

Interior artwork will look familiar to fans of Bloat Games. Several pieces from Phil Stone and Runehammer that have  appeared in previous comic-inspired releases can be found. Additionally Christopher Torres is a regular artist featured in Bloat Games material and his artwork can be found throughout the book. The writing has been done by Jeff Scifert, Josh Palmer, and Eric Bloat, with Jeff being the chief designer. Jeff has previously done some DCC conversions of Bloat Games video game with the serial numbers filed off monster books.

Crunch wise this is what you will probably expect out of DCC. There are funky dice, classes, 0-level characters,  and wild fumble and critical tables that are varied by class and weapon type. There are some changes from the core rules too, but if you've played DCC or MCC, you won't have problems catching on. I'll dive more into the rules and what you get soon.

Fluff wise this 80's/90's X-Men with a healthy dose of time travel and Rifts. Most characters will be Evolved, beings granted power by exposure to chronal energy. Basically they are Marvel's mutants. There are two timelines featured. Low level play will mostly take place in the near future of 2026. High level play takes place in 2051, a dystopian world where various factions vie for power (or to simply survive). Additionally because of the unstable nature of time travel, people and creatures from any time (or world) could show up. Like the rules, I'll do a bigger dive into the setting in another post.

I think this game is amazing and I'm really excited to talk about it and tell y'all why you should pick it up.