December 28th, 2017
For Our Fans! Here it is – Santa Claus Vs. The Space Invaders – our first free print-n-play pdf release for Shuffling Horror! Get ready for a rip-roaring, sci-fi, holiday blockbuster as the Alien Warlord hatches an evil plot to kidnap Santa to ruin Christmas in Roswell. All normal Shuffling Horror rules are followed, however, a new “Capture” mechanic is introduced to bring a dramatic element of worry for the players! This holiday-themed pack features eight new characters and six new items – and just in time for your year-end holiday gaming blitz.
This free bonus pack is our way of thanking our friends and fans for all the support they gave us this year. As an indie game company, each and every fan matters to us. You are helping to spread the word on our wacky-n-quirky games and that means the world to us!
If you enjoy this pack, we want to hear from you – send us your post game results and pics!
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December 24th, 2017
The HO-HO-Horror, Part 1
Just after Thanksgiving, I ran a ROSWELL 51 game at a local shop, Highlander Games in Boonton, NJ. Four new players gathered around the Shuffling Horror Shuffle Board that night. It was also post-Black Friday and the store was fully ready for the merry march to year-end. Christmas tunes played in the background. I believe “Have A Holly Jolly Christmas” was playing when I began shuffling the movie deck. As I often do during the start of the game, I began to set the plot in motion, and made a joke about it being Christmas in Roswell, 1951. That wasn’t Santa’s sleigh overhead in the desert night sky!
There was something magical about that mental image, accompanied with the light background music, that suddenly clicked. It may have been the novelty of the whole atmosphere that night, huddled around the game table, in the back corner of the Highlander’s game room. It was, for certain, the first time I set the game against a Christmas background (I usually set it around July 4th, to coincide with the historic Roswell UFO crash date).
As we played, more holiday jokes crept in to further the plot. By the time the night was through, the main concept of SANTA CLAUS VS. THE SPACE INVADERS was dancing like sugar plums round in my head. The next few days, I began messing around with various characters that would be fun for players. Of course, we would have to have Santa and Mrs. Claus. As I had just watched the holiday classic “March of the Wooden Soldiers” the week before, a Toy Soldier entered the mix, too (as did some Elfs). I don’t know if it was elf magic, but, before I knew it, I had 8 new characters and 6 new items that would be perfect for a ROSWELL 51 holiday spoof! Something right along the lines of “Santa Claus Conquers The Martians”.
Now, why am I telling you all this?!? Well, I am hoping to release this Christmas week as a free print-n-play pdf on our site. It promises to be a whole bunch of festive B-movie fun for our friends and fans! Here’s the sneak peek at the cover…
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!
(Stay tuned here and on our facebook page for the release announcement!)
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December 20th, 2017
The annual rolling of the trove begins! From December 20 – 31, we’ll be making daily rolls on our magical Table I: Trove Table Generator (d%). This post will be updated with those results. As with prior year results, these items can be claimed by any player who joins us for a WEGS convention game. What wonders will stuff our stockings this year?!?
On the first day of WEGS-mas my GM rolled for me…
Ring of Invuln, +8% INV%
Realm: Neutral. The wearer gains an automatic invulnerability bonus (no Move penalty applies). The ring also has 8 charges per day that can be spent to gain an instant +20 INV% per charge spent (effect lasts thru next spante).
On the second day of WEGS-mas…
The Great Glaive (Two Handed Weapon)
Realm: Neutral. If wielder rolls their RUG INI score or less, a +1 Damage Die bonus is gained. 2 SQR Range (one diagonal allowed).
On the third day of WEGS-mas… We hit a ROLL TWICE ON THE ARMOUR TABLE bonus!
Helmet, Medium +2 Armour Points
Chainmal, Full Metal Jacket +16 Armour Points
On the fourth day of WEGS-mas… We hit a ROLL TWICE ON THE WEAPONS TABLE bonus! Every weapon on this table gains a TABLE II: STRENGTH BONUS roll (an INI Roll that grants a strength bonus, from +1 (Common) to +6 (Exceptionally Rare). You must roll a 32 for that latter bonus. We rolled a 30 though for the scepter below for a +5 WS bonus.
Longsword, +2 WS
Scepter, +5 WS
On the fifth day of WEGS-mas… we rolled a 95 and hit the MASSIVE TROVE table (range for this is 94-96).
The Skolarum Ring
The power of this ring is dizzying and quite detailed in the notes. What follows is just a summary… Grants +2 SPS. Number of charges per day is equal to the ringbearer’s SPS score (which is heighted due to wearing the ring). Charged effects are: (1) Sense Surge (automatic Sense Magic or Sense Mystic), (2) Ethereality, (3) Vitality (auto heal (d6+4)x10 wounds), (4) Enchanted Immunity (77%). The ring also absorbs any Insanity points the wearer suffers due to spellcasting. Now, this ring also has some quirks (there’s an INI% chance that the ring is insane) and other unpleasant traits. You’ll have to wait for the release of our long-promised Trove book to find out all the vicious details…
On the sixth day of WEGS-mas…
Mystic Potion: Fervor
Works just like the spell of the same name, without the need of Sense Mystic. However… the fine print in the book reads: “There is a (d6xd6)% that the potion is tainted”. Via that dice roll, a 10% chance was established… and then I rolled that success. So, then we refer to the Tainted Potion section where the Kreator gets to pick one of the following effects: Trollspittle, Wraithbreath, Delusion, or Berzerker Brain. Full details of these fun effects noted in the book!
On the seventh day of WEGS-mas…
Mystic Skrowl: 5 Spells
A mystic skrowl has d3 spells upon it; there’s a Frozen Roll chance that it contains an additional d3 as well. However, there’s a (d6 x # of spells)% chance that any skrowl is malevolent… The spells on this skrowl are: (1) Blessed Warrior, (3) Cursed Dice, and (1) Sphere of Light. But… is the skrowl malevolent? You’ll have to wait until its use to find out…
On the eighth day of WEGS-mas…
Studded Leather Bracers +4 Armour Points
On the ninth day of WEGS-mas…
Stealth Blade : +1 Dirk (thrusting dagger)
As a Stealth Blade, the wielder uses their Stealth% score for attacks. In addition, if the attack roll is within their Stealth INI Zone, the attacker suffers -20 INV%.
On the tenth day of WEGS-mas… Rolled a 91 for a Massive Trove table roll!
Enchanted Ring (Magic) : Hands of Ice
4 charges per day. Holds 12 spoints. Immediately blast Hands of Ice spell with no spoint cost. Spell is blast at 88% ING and 8 SPS strength. The ring bears the enchantment, not the wearer. Its spoints can be used for spell upkeep or to benefit the wearer’s actions at any time. If drained of all spoints, it can still blast the spell (wearer would then pay upkeep with their own spoints).
On the eleventh day of WEGS-mas…
Leather Breastplate : +4 Armour Points
On the twelfth day of WEGS-mas..
Magic Potion: Flaming Fryball
Works just like the spell of the same name, without the need of Sense Magic. Spell is blast at 88% ING, 8 SPS, and 8 inning duration. (Fine print in the rulebook reads: “There is a (d6xd6)% that the potion is tainted”.)
A very merry WEGS-mas to all – hope to see you ’round the game table in 2018!
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December 14th, 2017
LOOK! IT’S ALIVE! IT’S ALIVE!
It’s finally here for all of our PITTSBURGH 68 fans – the Shuffling Horror Shuffle Board! This deluxe gameboard is included in our newly released ROSWELL 51 game set – but, as we found out at our conventions, some folks just love their zombies!
Visit the Shuffle Board product page and read more about it!
Stock.Is.Limited.
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December 11th, 2017
A new WEGS Old Skool Fantasy blog series has arrived: Fiends and Fodder! This series will reveal mighty dungeon fiends (like dragons and liches), as well as lesser dungeon fodder (like hobgoblins and orks). Each monster will be treated to “advanced style formatting” (you’ll see what we mean when you crack open the pdf) and all certified fresh for WEGS play, too.
Now, we’re not holding back for our first F&F entry. We start with a fiend that goes right for the jugular: the Vorpal Hare. This furry little horror comes in two flavors: terrifying and psygonic. A solitary Psygonic Hare was introduced at Gary Con IX earlier this year. It pretty much was responsible for a TPK…
(Oh, yeah… forgot to mention… this series will also be throwing about WOSF
material that has only ever been whispered about, like trove and psygonics…)
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December 1st, 2017
Friends and fans sent in some of their ROSWELL 51 game recaps. I’m always excited to receive these after-action reports, as it’s fun to see how players get caught up in the story and the game’s cinematic mechanics. Here’s two Roswell reports received this week – thanks for sending these in Joe and Mike!
Roswell Report, Case#112617-1 (Joe M, NJ)
“So, just played Roswell with the kids and they like to create all kinds of back stories and relationships between characters. So, Ricky, the scout, was doing well through Reels 1&2 until he was taken by the aliens (and came back as a Familiar Face). The kids decided that Private Green (WAC) was Ricky’s Mom…when she returned from duty at the base, Ricky was missing. Long story short: Reel 3, Ricky is on the screen, Private Green’s turn. She decides to “Give my boy some peace”…and ROLLS SNAKE EYES!!!!! Headshot! Ends his suffering and alien abduction in absolute dramatic effect! Emotional and dramatic and SO cinematic!!!” << Wow – a classic horror movie moment for sure! Adding backstories and naming characters elevates the game action! >>
Roswell Report, Case#112617-2 (Mike M, IN)
“Got a chance to play some R51 tonight with John, our sister and brother-in-law. I was able to whittle away John’s survivors down, so, that right at the beginning of Reel 3, he joined me as an alien player (which triggered the Turning Point).
Reel 4 was where it all fell apart for the survivors… it came down to my BiL’s Coroner and Robot and my sister’s Scientist. With only a 2 Creepy Pods, Alien Spear and Payback cards showing on screen, all the survivors needed to do was eliminate that 2 Creepy Pods and it was game over… it didn’t happen. I got another round of full attack with my four throngs and eliminated the Scientist (adding to the alien players once it came back around to my sister). John was able to finish off the Coroner thus triggering Last One Standing for the Robot.
Robot’s final action was attempt to attack… not to rest and gain spoints… he was unsuccessful in his attack. Next up, my sister took the 2 Creepy Pods and attempted to get the Head Shot… no luck… then it was back to me. The Robot put up a mighty effort but ultimately fell to the onslaught of my many attacks taking blows that would have felled a lesser mechanical masterpiece … It’s circuits fizzled and fried and it became no more than a monument to man’s attempt to deter the alien invasion. Good game had by all!” << Awesome closing scene, Mike! >>
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