News Regarding The Entropy Effect

The long-anticipated modern era, reality-bending SF/Horror RPG 'Entropy Effect' was originally scheduled for 2017 but was held put on Hiatus due to unforeseen health issues experienced by one of the authors and the family bereavement we suffered.

In late 2018 we took the decision to extensively re-write the combat system, a change that would speed combat up and minimise the need for players to do mental arithmetic.  Gone is the 'The amount you hit by effects your Stopping Power'. The result is, we believe, a much better, more streamlined combat system  Of course, as is the way with game design, this change had knock on effects and M R McGowan and I have had to rewrite most of the game.  Again the result is a vast improvement on what we already thought was a good game.  Now, it is even better!

While we were re-writing the game any way we decided to expand it a little too.  Adding rules for interrogation, new psychic abilities and new creatures to torment your players with.  What is more, we are adding one of the playtest scenario's to the rules system, along with a sample character, Frank Stafford, who you can see being designed in the examples of character creation across the section.

The playtests for this launch on Tuesday and, all being well, we hope to finally bring this fantastic, dark, evocative game to you in 2019.

In addition to the rules, we will be releasing a quickstart version of the game with sample scenrio.  This will include four pre-generated characters and just enough of the core mechnics o let you play the scenario 'Sharp Teeth PRetty Teeth'.  It will be released before the core rules which in turn will include the adventure 'Talbot's Syndrome' - the follow up to Sharp Teeth Pretty Teeth.

Further adventures for 'The Entropy Effect' will be released through the year.

You can read more about 'The Entropy Effect' here soon.

Scenario Ideas and Colonial Rescue

Of late, this blog has begun to resemble a marketing stream as the number of 'New Product Out No1!"' posts have overtaken the other content. That was never my intent when I created Whispers from the Other Verse and I apologise for the shift in focus. In my defence as a one-person operation, it is sometimes difficult to keep up with everything that you want to write and create. Paid content (i.e. the product I create and sell like the RPGs, scenarios and GM's maps) has been taking up the overwhelming majority of my work time of late but I very much would like to shift the focus of this blog back to being something a bit more exciting. Some free content and opinion pieces for readers. That's what I set this blog up to be in the first place and that is very much what I would like it to be again.

With that in mind, I am going to start posting some adventure ideas on this blog - along with other content. I am not going to tie myself down to a specific schedule just yet but I will be releasing several posts over the next few months which are ideas for GMs.

Some of these adventure outlines will be system agnostic - designed with no RPG rules systems in mind. Others will be set in the worlds of our games. Many of them are inspired by our GM's maps range but you don't need to use the corresponding product form that ranges if you would prefer to design the floor plan yourself. I will, however, put a link in each one to the product I based it on for those who would like to use it.

So, without further ado, here is the first of that adventure outlines, I hope you enjoy it.

Colonial Rescue

Genre: SF

Setting: A surface colony on an extraterrestrial body (A planet or moon).

Corresponding GM's Map Product: GM's Map #29 Modular Luna Station

You do not need to use our Modular Lunar station map if you prefer to use a map of your own devising or one that you already own by another designer. However, if you would like to use the map that inspired this idea you can find GM's Map #29 Modular Lunar Station for sale as a PDF and at a very reasonable price on RPGNow 

Suitable Rules: SF or Generic system

Outline

A civilian outpost on an extraterrestrial body has been hit by a disaster. The impact of a large meteorite or crashed space vessel has damaged the colony structure and may have caused local systemic or geological activity (Quakes or avalanches) which have further endangered the survivors. These survivors are now trapped in a badly damaged colony structure on a moon or a planet with a hostile atmosphere. They have been broadcasting a distress signal and need to be evacuated before their life support runs out of or the superstructure in the rest of the colony fails.

The PCs

Although the PCs could easily be any space-faring characters you wish, from traders to smugglers or a salvage operation who have picked up the distress signal and are responding to it in order to rescue the colonist, this scenario is particularly suited to PCs who are part of a dedicated rescue service. 

If you decide to go with the idea of the PCs belonging to a dedicated rescue service, they will be well equipped and skilled in dealing with the kind of threats that a rescue in space might throw at them, they are likely to be unskilled in combat of any form. This can either be used as a one-off, standalone session or it might form part of a long-term episodic campaign in which the party are members of an outer space rescue team.

Hazards

This scenario lends itself well to some interesting environmental hazards such as fire, collapsing structures, toxic atmospheres and live electrical wires that have been damaged and come detached at one end. Compartments might also be flooding as the base's water supplies (or worse still, sewage tanks!) have been damaged and are causing a back wash into compartments in the colony.

Obstacles

In addition to having to deal with hazards – which pose a direct threat to the PCs themselves, the rescuers will face obstacles to success.
These include things like having to give medical treatment to injured colonists who may need to be stabilized before they can be moved, gaining entrance to the structure if its airlocks and docking hatches have been damaged, restoring power and so on. Characters may have to find ways to reach survivors who have become trapped in modules that have become isolated from the main base due to connecting modules having been destroyed or damaged. Flooding may cause an obstacle as well as a hazard. The rescuers may have to cut their way into modules without de-pressurising them. Casualties may be trapped under rubble or collapsed machinery. The applicabilities are wide and varied and the GM is encouraged to have fun with it. Have doors buckled so they won't open, power outages may force the rescuers to find imaginative ways to get into or out of compartments or may have other interesting effects.

Unusual Aspects

This scenario is designed to have absolutely no combat in it what so ever. The tension and conflict arise from the environmental dangers and the obstacles. For added tension, add a time limit (In game time) so the PCs are aware they are up against the clock.

Atmosphere and feel

The GM should try and build tension during play. The rescue is a delicate operation that must be completed before more of the survivors die. The PCs will face danger to themselves but will also have to contend with obstacles that obstruct the rescue. They should have to come up with plans on how to rescue the various pockets of survivors and how to overcome those obstacles in their way. As time goes on more survivors will be lost, or at least the players should feel that is a real risk. They will face no tradition conflict but should feel their lives are in danger at several points in play.

The feel you are aiming for is that of a disaster movie where the players should feel that one mistake on their part could cost a life – ether that of one of their team or of some survivors they are here to rescue.

Update and News.

Two items of news for you all today.

The first is an update on Ekanath, my cat.  Thanks to everyone who bought products in the Ekanath benefit sale or donated money to his blog or GoFundMe page.  Ekanath is a lot better than he was but is still poorly.  He is an inpatient at the vets for the second week now (Moving into a 3rd on Monday) where they are draining his chest daily.  Although he has responded well to the antibiotics there is still fluid in his chest and until they can reduce that to almost zero they do not want to discharge him home again.  We are all terribly worried about him.

Secondly,
Customers who are on our DriveThruRPG, RPGNow or WargamesVault mailing lists usually receive an email update whenever we release a new product.  Currently, there is an issue with the OBS mailing system which handles these emails and no one is receiving them.  Similarly, we are not receiving sales notifications or any other notifications we would usually receive through these sites.

This has had quite an impact on us as a small indie company.  90% of our sales come from previous customers responding to these emails.  We will continue to update customers about new releases here, but if you usually rely on getting an email via one of the above-mentioned sites (or any other One Book Shelf operated site) then please keep an eye on this blog for updates until this issue is resolved.

If you send us a question via any of our product pages on any of those sites we will not be informed about it via email and hence will probably not know.  Please email any questions directly to us at gethsemanegames@gmail.com

We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Up The Junction!

The latest release in our system agostic village line is out now!

Have you ever been halfway through a campaign and had to take an enforced break as your players decided to take a detour into a village that's just a name on a map in your adventure?

Well, no more trying to think up and map an entire village – we have designed Graban Drop Villages with exactly this situation in mind!

Simply grab one of our range of villages, drag it over, and drop it into your campaign notes! A ready-made village, with buildings, NPCs and even scenario ideas, all ready to be used. Just bolt on your gaming system, stat anyone you think might need it, and you're ready to go.

The Graban Drop Villages range is system neutral, designed to be used with whatever rules system you use.

Junction is the third in our Graban Drop series and depicts a small town that has grown up around a key junction of two major roads.  The town began as an inn but over the years other businesses that serve the many travellers on the road grew up around it, followed by a small community that is mostly self-sufficient.

Sometimes considered godless by the more devout communities of the region, Junction has no dedicated place of worship of its own but they certainly know how to throw a party!  With live music, dancing and storytelling at the Crown and Cross Swords most nights.  Still, it is far from the haven of debauchery some would have you believe, rather it is a surprising source of culture from a world-class cheese to a renowned regional poet and sporting one of the more highly trained volunteer militias.  Junction has its own customs and traditions as well as being a great place to learn about the potential for adventure for miles around.

Mysterious hatches in farmers' fields, strange stone carvings that no one has deciphered and one or two dark secrets of its own, whether you are a merchant or an adventurer sooner or later you will find yourself up the Junction.

This product includes a coloured map of the village, an extensive Key, dozens of colourful characters, rumours, news, adventure ideas and a wealth of information on life in and around the village.  Just download it, read the text and drop it into your campaign.  The systemless supplement can be used with any RPG.

You can find this product   HERE  This product is being offered at the introductory price of £1.80 for a limited time.

STOP right there, Dragon DROP villages have just landed, ROLL on over to http://www.rpgnow.com/browse.php?discount=9b3355be72 To get the first one for just $1, but hurry!  the offer only lasts until December the 15th. 

Have you ever been halfway through a campaign and had to take an enforced break as your players decided to take a detour into a village that's just a name on a map in your adventure?

Or do you need a village as a base for your adventuring party, or just as a backdrop for them to visit?

Well, no more trying to think up and map an entire village – we have designed Dragon Drop Villages with exactly this situation in mind!

Simply take one of our range of villages, drag it over, and drop it in to your campaign notes! A ready-made village, with buildings, NPCs and even scenario ideas, all ready to be used. Just bolt on your gaming system, stat anyone you think might need it, and you're ready to go.

The village is described in detail, with each building on the beautiful full-colour map given its own entry.  Who lives there, what they do, their personality and how they related to the other villagers.  Not Only that but the economy, rumours and lie in the village are all explained and we include a section of adventure ideas as well.

Our first village is a small but important one, with a population of approximately 20 families, a tavern, smith, and a pawn shop which is ideal for adventurers looking to sell the strange items they have accumulated. All mapped out with full GM notes, the Farmer's Market Town is surrounded by crofts and farms and provides a regular market for the farmers to sell their produce, craftspeople and the forces of law and order in the shape of the Burgomaster, Sheriff and Bailiff.

Use THIS LINK  before December 15th to get Dragon Drop Village #1: Farmer's Market Town for just $1 

The Dragon Drop Villages range is system neutral, designed to be used with whatever rules system you use.

Missed the $1 sale?  Don't worry, you can still buy Farmer's Market Town for just $2 for another week before it goe's up to its full price.  Just use THIS LINK to go directly to the products page on RPG.Now

End of the Year - End of the World PDF Sale!

It's the end of the year as we know it and I feel fine!
And so should fans of the Post-Apocalyptic genre because Gethsemane Games is offering a 50% reduction on our 'Pandora's Wake' RPG and 'Pandora's Fury!' Tabletop miniatures battle lines at RPGNow and DrivethruRPGas well as a range of maps that we have specially selected for GMs of Post-Apocalyptic games, compatible with any system!

Pandora's Wake and Pandoras Fury! are mutually compatible, letting you convert your character from the RPG to the miniatures wargame and back again.  What is more, we are also offering the first novel in the Pandora's Wake: The Nomad Chronicles at the same 50% discount in both epuband PDF formats.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/151816/Pandoras-Wake

The Pandora Event ripped holes in the very fabric of our reality. Holes that let The Other-Verse in, a nightmarish world beyond our own, filled with deadly flora and fauna.

Deadly bacteria and viruses that we had no defence against brought human civilization to its knees. As plagues swept away two-thirds of the human race, the alien life-forms of the Other-Verse began to emerge through the cracks in the walls of our reality, ever expanding, out competing native, terrestrial life, hunting Earth's own biosphere to the brink of extinction. Turning our world into a hellish copy of the Other-Verse itself. Such is the world into which your characters will step, to struggle for survival against carnivorous plant life and predatory alien creatures as well as desperate gangs of raiders and bandits, competing for the scarce resources that have been left behind in... Pandora's Wake.

A Post Apocalyptic RPG from Gethsemane Game

Now just £3 until the end of the sale!

 http://www.rpgnow.com/product/189657/Pandoras-Fury

Pandora's fury is a tabletop miniatures game designed to let you play out skirmishes and battles in a Post Apocalyptic landscape. 

Set in the same world as our RPG "Pandora's Wake" the game lets you fight skirmishes and battles with any miniatures and in any scale.

After the 'Pandora Event,' an alien world known to us as 'The Other-Verse' has ripped holes in the skin of our reality, holes through which deadly diseases, carnivorous plants and killer monsters have swept across Earth and destroyed mankind's civilisations.

In 'Pandora's Fury' you can play gangs of survivors battling for resources or simply fighting to survive or you can play swarms of creatures from 'The Other Verse' as they sweep across the landscape, destroying all they encounter.

Includes rules to convert your 'Pandora's Wake' RPG characters to the Pandora's Fury miniatures rules.

The world is ending.

Not in a single, catastrophic moment, but slowly and painfully, screaming out its dying agonies in prolonged death-throes that may last a generation. It is dying,  murdered by another world, a malevolent world, a world that devours all it touches and makes it like itself, a world the survivors of our world have dubbed “The OtherVerse”.

In Pandora's Fury! the players will create groups of survivors who are struggling to stay alive in a post-apocalyptic world that is being overrun by the incursion of the Other-Verse and its hostile flora and fauna, which are slowly and inexorably turning our world into a copy of their own.  Survivors must battle these hostile elements of an alien world, gather supplies and deal with other bands of survivors, some hostile, and some not, to try and survive in a world gone mad.

Just £2.50 in the Sale, that's 50% off!

 http://www.rpgnow.com/product/193652/Pandoras-Wake-Nomad-Chronicles-1?cPath=5782_26237

In the not too distant future, the Pandora Event ripped a hole in the walls of our universe. The nightmare that it revealed, we call 'The Other-Verse'. A parallel dimension of carnivorous plants, vicious monsters and deadly diseases.

Central Europe is in Chaos, with millions dead and the UN forces in disarray, struggling to hold back the hellish creatures of the Other-Verse.

In Switzerland, a small band of survivors run for their lives, but when they become infected with alien fungal spores, they are left only one choice. To survive they must reach the closest hospital in Bex and convince the survivors there to use their precious medical supplies to save strangers.

What they find when they reach the hospital is worse than they ever imagined.

Pandora's Wake: The Nomad Chronicles is a Post Apocalyptic tale of struggle and survival. A blend of action, survival horror and the courage of the human spirit laced with a dry gallows humour.

A sample from Ch: 4

“It's getting closer!” Mathias cursed as the forest echoed with the roars of the creatures, “We aren't going to make it!”
“Damn you, don't leave me!” Magda screamed. Fear gripped the injured civil engineer. Whatever was out there was close now, and she knew it would be on them in a matter of minutes.
“We won't!” Mathias insisted although he was ashamed to admit that it had crossed his mind. Only for a second, but it had, and he hated himself for it. He had visions of having to explain what had happened to the others, to Knut and to his namesake, Father Mathias. In the next instant, he made a promise to himself. He would die here with Magda if he had to, but he wouldn’t leave her behind. Even if she hated him, he couldn't let her be taken by whatever horror of the Other-Verse thundered through the wooded slopes towards them."

Now only £1.25 in the 'End of the Year = End of the World Sale'.

Also in the sale are several of our GM's maps products which I have selected as particularly useful to GM's planning a Post-Apocalyptic game!  Pop over to our GM's maps range and have a look!

http://www.rpgnow.com/browse/pub/3429/Gethsemane-Games/subcategory/5782_27272/GMs-Maps

All the best for the End of the World!

New Release GM's Map 34 'Victorian Members Club'

 An exciting new release in our GM's Maps range, 'Traditional Members Club'.  Popularised in the Victorian period the first clubs actually appeared in London in the Georgian period and many still exist today.  

The first Gentlemen's clubs were established in the upmarket west end of London. These clubs were open only to the aristocracy and the Landed gentry. With names like 'Whites' and 'Boodles' they took on some of the roles of coffee houses.

 As the 19thcentury progressed there was something of an explosion in the number of traditional members clubs. 

 Clubs like 'The Reform Club' (Membership of which was restricted to those who pledged to support the 1832 reform act and thus included both peers of the realm and gentlemen of middle-class status) and the purely fictional Diogenes club of which the equally fictitious Sherlock Holmes was a member sprang up all over. By the 1880s London alone had over 400 such members clubs catering only to men and only to those of the middle and upper classes. By now clubs were appearing all over the world form the USA to India.

With the expansion of the numbers of clubs came an expansion in their services as well. These 'Reform clubs' offered middle-class men all the comforts of an aristocratic home. Gambling and coffee were still offered as was an extensive staff employed by the club for the comfort of the members, but many of these new clubs also offered accommodation for members who wished to stay the night (or several nights). At this time some of the older clubs also began to offer overnight accommodation, although this was by no means adopted by all of the original clubs.

By the 21st century, several of the remaining clubs had lifted the embargo on Women joining and so opened up to a wider range of members.

From Sherlock Holmes to Phileas Fogg and Hercule Poirot some of the greatest fictional characters have been members of such clubs, and now your PCs or their Antagonists can too!

Find this product Here

There are a wide number of ways to use the Traditional Gentlemen's Club in your RPG campaigns and we encourage you to let your own imagination run wild. We do have a few suggestions for you but don't feel these are the only possibilities. A usual we would love to hear from anyone who has a unique or unusual idea for how to use the map in their scenarios.

The club may provide a home base for the PCs. The club can be used in much the same way as the stereotypical 'Meet at the Inn' introduction often used in fantasy scenarios, where the PCs are all members of the club and it is this membership that draws them together to begin their joint adventure or investigation. Perhaps a fellow member is in trouble and the PCs represent other members who 'Refuse to let a chap down, especially when he is a member of our club, by George!'.
Perhaps the club itself wants to find some valuable treasure or solve some mystery and the party are members who have stepped up tot he challenge. Members of the club may be patrons or sponsors of the party and may set them a task which leads to their adventures. Of course, some of the clubs resources, such as the library may well be placed at the parties disposal.

A late night discussion in the par may fire the imagination of party members who determine to undertake some great tasks, such as circumnavigating the globe, or perhaps other members lay a wager that the party are not able to complete some challenge or other.

The club may also be the sight of a haunting or the scene of some mystery (a murder or theft, perhaps) that the party determine (or are retained) to investigate.

Alternatively, of course, it may be the PCs antagonists who are members of the club. Perhaps the party are inspired to steal something from the clubs vault or some work of art upon the walls of the drawing room or standing in the coffee room.

They may be planning to confront some arch nemesis who rarely leaves the confines of his club, or they may need to read some rare tome that the club has in its library but will not let them see. Perhaps the rumours of occult rituals or disturbing activities in the club are not just gossip and it is up to the party to put a stop to it.

GM's Map 32 'Cathedral' Launched

The latest addition to our 'GM's Map' range is now on sale on RPGNow.

The Cathedral, a stone edifice of incredible beauty and design, the pinnacle of the stone mason's art and centre of a diocese.  In historical games, the Cathedral may be the sight of some mystery that the PCs are determined to solve, the murder of a bishop or member of the congregation, perhaps?  Or is some clue to an ancient riddle or blasphemous secret hidden in its architecture, vaults or statuary?

A perfect venue for both Gothic and Eldritch horror.  Perhaps the Cathedral is haunted by some ghost or entity that is growing increasingly malevolent or which knows some secret the PCs must convince it to reveal to them. Eldritch horrors may lurk within the vaulted halls or be trapped beneath the consecrated floors, scheming to escape and wreak their vengeance on humanity.

Used in a fantasy setting the Cathedral is a great place for friend and foe alike.  Perhaps the PCs need to seek out one of the clerics in the cathedral to recruit them to their party or ask them for help or perhaps the cathedral is the home of some malevolent sect that the party are sworn to bring down.  A necromancer may have already seized control of the building, or be trying to do so, in order to summon back the dead interred in the crypts beneath to add to a growing army of the dead.

Even in a post-apocalyptic world, the cathedral may still stand, a rallying point for desperate survivors or the home of a nefarious apocalypse cult that seeks to enslave those who dwell nearby or spread its message in a new post-apocalyptic crusade.

In this product, you will find floor plans of the cathedral itself, its towers and lofts and the crypts beneath for you to work into your games however you see fit.

Comming soon to the range: 'Medieval Manor House'

GM's Map #31: Secret Underground Laboratory Out Now!

Available from RPGNow

What sinister experiments are taking place in the secret laboratories deep beneath the ground?

What secrets lurk there that could save or damn mankind?

This map pack details a 4-storey secret laboratory complex with security, accommodation and several labs in which various nefarious experiments can take place.

Or perhaps the laboratories are humanities last best hope to stave off global disaster?

Whatever is going on down there, one thing is for certain, someone else wants to know about it.

Since the enlightenment humanity has had a love hate relationship with science. It has driven our culture and our development, expanded our knowledge, extended our lie expectancy, eradicated certain diseases, improved our ability to fight other diseases. It has given us modes of transport and communication that have effectively shrunk our world. The knowledge we have gained has revolutionized every aspect of our lives. Yet, from the early days many have also viewed it with suspicion. From those who saw it as a challenge to religion or a blasphemy against god to the Luddites who saw the rise of industrialization as a threat to their livelihood. Much of our science fiction, even from the early days of the genre, has warned of the dangers of meddling in things we do not entirely understand or which may be dangerous and mysterious. Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' (which itself is in part inspired by a far older story, as evidenced by its subtitle 'A modern Prometheus') is a famous example but our literature is littered with examples. The American sci-fi of he 50s cautioned us against robotics and atomic physics (just listen to old episodes of classic radio drama such as X Minus one or Dimension X for examples).

Our horror and post-apocalyptic literature are also littered with examples of the science run amok theme.

It isn't all negative, of course, in superhero literature scientists are often the villains but are also often the heroes or the cause of how a hero comes to be. In many SF or disaster tales, it is a band of plucky scientists working around the clock in a secret laboratory that are often depicted as humanities only hope of survival.

With these things in mind, the potential for a secret laboratory complex in RPGs is staggering.

The PCs may represent the secessionist, trying desperately to hold back some global disaster or simply trying to escape the facility as some menacing alien dimension rips its way into our world it the theoretical physics laboratory (one for the 'Pandora's Wake' players among you, perhaps?).

They may be a band of covert operations specialists tasked with raiding the laboratory and learning its secrets for a rival government or corporation.

Perhaps they are escapees who had been held here, destined for a ghastly fate as experimental subjects?

Let your imagination run riot.

If you come up with a particularly interesting idea for how to use this map, we would love to hear about it! You can email us at gethsemanegames@gmail.com and let us know. If you give us permission, we might even publish the idea on our blog 'Whispers from the Other-Verse', giving you the credit of course.

GM's Map Halloween Special Launched

Map making can be time-consuming and sometimes frustrating for GMs, especially GMs with limited time to begin with. In our new 'GM's Maps' range, we will be providing a range of pre-made maps for you to use in your games.

Mist swirls about the skeletal trees as the two figures creep towards the darkened house on midnight lane. The cold seeps into their bones as each one goads the other on,
“You scared bro?”
“Me? N... no, it's just a house. They are only stories, what's to be afraid of?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Just stories,”
From the attic window, a pale face watched the two students approach. Long dead eyes glared at the two young men.
“Oh yes!” it hissed, “Just stories. The truth is much worse!”

Our Halloween special is an American Colonial style house ripe for the haunting by whatever ghosts, ghouls or ghastly creatures you care to summon up.

Publisher's Licence

Publishers wishing to use this map in their own products may do so subject to the following restrictions;

You may use the map in your own adventures or supplements provided you add your own content.

This map may not be resold as part of a product that is intended primarily as a map or collection of maps.

If you use this map please credit the author B F Irving and Gethsemane Games and include the line “Map created with Campaign Cartographer 3 by Profantasy Software”

FREEBIE: Small Local Community Centre Map

This is a small map I have been wanting to do for some time, it's a little too small for one of our 'GM's Maps' products so I thought I'd do it anyway and give it away free to readers of the blog.

Enjoy, and feel free to email me at gethsemanegames@gmail.com with any unusual or interesting uses you come up with for it, I'd love to hear about it.

The 20^th and 21^st century saw a rise in the number of 'Community Centre's'–community or charity run establishments providing activities and social events, information and support for members of the local community. While some community centres are in purpose-built buildings, many others take over buildings that originally had other purposes such as churches or libraries, or are incorporated into civic buildings like town halls.

The one presented here is a small community centre intended to support a village or small town and is based upon the St. Stephens Community Centre in the village where the author lives. This community centre, like so many others, is in a former church which was taken over and repurposed once the congregation dwindled and the Diocese decommissioned it as a church.

Key

1/. Property boundary wall

2/. Steps and ramp to main entrance

3/. Ramp to fire escape

4/. Entrance Vestibule

5/. Kitchenette

6/. Women's WC

7/. Men's WC

8/. Admin Office

9/. Storage

10/. Easy Aces WC

11/. Board/meeting room on what used to be the stage. The door between here and area 12 opens several feet above the floor of area #12

12/. Main hall. There is a door to the board/meeting room which is several feet above the floor of this room. Beneath that is a hatch leading to the understate area which is used for storage and occupies an area beneath area #11

13/. Folding doors which can be used to turn the main hall into two chambers. The doors are sound insulated.

14/. Main Hall

15/. Computer suite

16/. Enclosed yard

17/. Boiler room

18/. Storage

A Bit of Light(?) Relief

NEW RELEASE! GMs Maps: 23 Victorian Work House

The latest of our GM's maps range 'Map 23: 18th or 19th Century Work House' is now available on RPG.now!

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/215797/GMs-Maps-23-Work-House?src=newest

Map-making can be time-consuming and sometimes frustrating for GMs, especially GMs with limited time to begin with. In our new 'GM's Maps' range, we will be providing a range of pre-made maps for you to use in your games.

The maps will be provided in PNG, JPEG and PDF file format, unnumbered for you to number and populate with fiendish traps and monsters as you see fit.

re sinister experiments away from prying eyes?

Workhouses were a fact of life in several countries during the 18th and 19th centuries the poor, the sick and the orphaned would often find themselves in the loveless, cold embrace of such an institution. Miserable places in which paupers and orphans would be put to work in exchange for basic accommodation and food.

Even in these lowly conditions, the inmates could not escape the rigid class structures so common in Victorian Britain and they would be divided into first and second class paupers, those deemed of 'Good character' and those deemed of bad.

With histories such as these, workhouses would make ideal places for hauntings in horror RPGs. However, imaginative GMs may come up with all sorts of ways to use such buildings. Perhaps the PCs are condemned to live in such an establishment, or perhaps they are investigating some crime committed there. Gangs of criminals may even be hiding out in such a building or, in more recent times perhaps the building is no longer the workhouse it once was but has been converted to another use?

Historically old workhouse buildings have been converted to hospitals, schools, museums, residential apartments, shop units and even civic buildings. Some were even converted into hotels.

Converted Workhouses were remodelled to various degrees to suit their new purposes.

Publishers wishing to use this map in their own products may do so subject to the following restrictions;

You may use the map in your own adventures or supplements provided you add your own content.

This map may not be resold as part of a product that is intended primarily as a map or collection of maps.

If you use this map please credit the author B F Irving and Gethsemane Games and include the line “Map created with Campaign Cartographer 2 by Profantasy Software”

(Haunts and Horrors) NEW RELEASE! The Ahriman Tablets

NEW RELEASE: The Ahriman Tablets


Set in Egypt in the 1870's 'The Ahriman Tablets' can be either a stand-alone adventure or an interesting follow up to 'The Curse of Amun Menetnashte'.

A curious find among the trade goods of the Bazaar set's the party on an arduous journey into the Kharga Oasis region of Egypt in search of a long lost temple. Thought to be a Zoroastrian fire temple dating back to the Persian occupation of Egypt, the temple hides a dark and sinister secret.

To reach their goal the party must face the hazards of the desert, both real and preternatural as a malevolent force seeks to deter them from uncovering the ancient hidden truths locked within the sand-choked ruins. Pitted against the creatures of desert folklore, the harsh conditions of the Karga Oasis and their own self-doubt the expedition's tribulations have only just begun for once they find the ancient site their excavations are troubled by yet more mysterious occurrences. The dark spirits that have lain forgotten beneath the desert sands have awoken and regarded the expedition with malevolence as they seek to keep the interlopers from learning the truth of this place.

A scenario for moderately experienced to experienced characters, designed for Haunts and Horrors but easily converted to any investigative horror RPG. Also, includes some new creatures a new preternatural ability and some new rules for your H&H campaigns.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/215460/The-Ahriman-Tablets?src=newest

(Haunts and Horrors) New Preternatural Ability: Psychokinesis

Psychokinesis

Psychokinesis (New) Range 10 meters, Area of Effect, 2 Meters, Duration 1 Min per point of the users WIP, Initiative Penalty Nil

The ability of psychokinesis enables the user to influence physical items without physically contacting them. A form of Telekinesis it allows a creature to turn handles, operate machines or open doors as if it was physically touching them even when it is not. The ability can be used to operate machinery, pick locks and so forth.

New Release: GM's Map #22: Undersea Lab Complex

The latest in our GM's Maps range is the Undersea Lab Complex!

A perfect place to ride out the apocalypse, a death trap where aquatic monsters have your PCs cornered or a place for an elite team to grab a rival corporation's latest scientific developments. That's for you to decide!

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/214388/GMs-Maps-22-Undersea-Lab-Complex?cPath=5782_27272

(Haunts and Horrors) New Creature! Adjule

Adjules

Type: Independent Things

Among the Tuareg people of the Sahara Desert region in North Africa there are legends of strange canine beings. These creatures, variously known to the Arabs and the Tuareg nomads as Adjules or occasional Kelb-el-khela.

Adjules hunt in packs and are believed by some to have the ability to sew discord among local populations in order to make prey easier to hunt. Some students of folklore insist Adjules do not hunt humans, while others disagree.

Adjules are extremely rare and tend to be found in and around the Sahara desert especially near Mauritania, the majority of sightings are dismissed as African Wild Dogs, and they do bear a striking resemblance to them form a distance. When seen up close however the creature's unatural nature becomes more common. The patterns on an Adjules fur seem to shift slightly and disconcertingly as one watches while its eyes seem to be windows into dark and terrifying realms beyond our reality.

STR; 25-35

SIZ; 10-35

AGL; 20-50

PER; 30-50

LUC; 25-40

WIP; 30-45

Attacks: Bite 60% or more KPA 18 Worrying

Armour: None

Preternatural Abilities

Emotional Projection Range;- line of sight Area of effect;- 1 person Duration;- 1 minute per point of the users WIP Initiative penalty;- -3 IL

Psychic Drain Psychic Drain Range;- 3 meters Area of effect;- 1 person Duration;- Instant. Initiative penalty;- -2IL

Translocation Range;- 1 meter per point of the users WIP Area of effect;- Self Duration;- Instant Initiative penalty;-N/A

Other Abilities

Adjules can regenerate, recovering 1d10 lost HP each round. Also once each round the most severe wound they have will reduce by one step. This can result in broken or destroyed limbs functioning again.

This ability stops once they Adjule is dead.

Adjules are susceptible to magic and psychic attack as well as normal weapons and injuries. They do not suffer from extremes of cold or heat.

(Haunts and Horrors) New Creature! Angra Mainyu

Today we have a new creature for your Haunts and Horrors game.  It is the first of a series of creatures from the folklore of the middle east, in this case, Persia.  The Angra Mainyu will be appearing in our upcoming H+H Scenario 'The Ahriman Tablets', due for release later this year.

Angra Mainyu

Angra Mainyu are dark spirits of destruction from the Zoroastrian tradition. The oldest Avestan writings seem to use the term as an alternative name for the destructive Deity Ahriman, the Zoroastrian equivalent of Christianity's Satan. Later writings begin to write of Angra Mainyu in the plural, as a range of demonic spirits in the service of Ahriman and his female counterpart Az.

These demons can be formed in various ways, some are the ghostly remains of Usij. Strictly speaking the Deava's in service of Ahriman and Az are a form of Angra Mainyu, but in game terms, the Deava's are the vastly more powerful spirits of destruction while the term Angra Mainyu is used for the lower level demonic and ghostly beings that serve Ahriman.

Due to the fact that there are several ways for an Angra Mainyu to come into being, their attributes and power can vary greatly between one individual and the next, which is reflected in the following profile.

STR: n/a

SIZ: n/a

AGL: n/a

PER: 20-70

LUCK: 20-60

WIP: 10-80

Preternatural Abilities

Different Angra Mainyu have different preternatural powers but what follows is a list of the more common ones. How many preternatural powers any given Angra Mainyu has also seems to vary wildly from 2 to 10.

Curse, Chill, Darken, Drain Strength, Dream Speak, Fright, Inflict Wound, Manipulate Object, Phantom Sound, Phantom Sound, Physic Drain, Pestilence, Plague, Possession, Silence, Strike Blind, Strike Deaf, Strike Mute, Suggestion, Warp.

Angra Mainyu tend to prefer powers that reflect destruction and darkness over all others and cannot use powers that would create something real. Thus they can not use 'The Writing on the Wall' or similar powers, as it would create something ('Writing'). The only exception is the creation of illusions.

Other Abilities

Angra Mainyu can remain invisible in dark places, even when some light is present they may remain invisible so long as there are deep, dark shadows deep enough that a human in dark clothing would be permitted a stealth roll to avoid detection. In sunlight or when trapped directly in a beam of light – or when viewed via 'Mind's Eye' or similar powers, the creatures appear as dark shadows of vaguely human form as if clad in tattered rags. They lack legs and their eyes seem to be pools of even deeper darkness.

Some Angra Mainyu may retain the ability to practice magic.

Destroying Angra Mainyu

These spirits can be driven back to whatever hell spawned them via an Exorcism, although they will use everything at their disposal to prevent themselves from being exorcised.

Sometimes the creatures are 'Bound' to unholy altars or artefacts which are concentrated to Ahriman or Az. When this is the case no exorcism will succeed until the item is found and its consecration to the dark gods is undone. This can be done by blessing it or re-consecrating it to another deity (Usually Ahura Mazda in the Zoroastrian tradition but in truth any deity that isn't tied to Ahriman will suffice just as well).

Other Notes

Angra Mainyu should be considered to belong to the classification 'Demons', even when they were created from the spirits of dead Usij.