Platinum Hits

Over the years I've created several digital products that I sell on DriveThruRPG and I was browsing those today and discovered that four of them are Platinum Best Sellers meaning I have sold over 1,000 units of each. 

Cross Planes Game Studio is very much the definition of vanity publishing and I'm extremely grateful to everyone who has purchased these products. I'm not sure what is next for me but I'm thinking about something for the Cepheus Engine or the Quantum Engine.

For those curious the Class Hack 1st Edition, the Race Hack 1st Edition, the Class Hack 2nd Edition, and the Race Hack 2nd edition are the products that are Platinum. I guess if I were a better businessperson I'd make more products for the Black Hack.

Pocket Dark Sun: Defiling

In Pocket Barbarian all actions are resolved in the same way: Roll 2d6 add the relevant Skill and if the total is a 6 or less you Fail, on a 7 to 9 you gain a Partial Success, and on a 10 or higher you gain a Full Success. 

When casting spells you may choose to Defile by using the energy of all living beings within 10' of you, whether animals or plants, to ensure a successful casting. You choose to Defile before casting a spell and it is treated as a Full Success, however you gain a Wound and all living beings within 10' are Stunned.

Pocket Dark Sun using Pocket Barbarian & Pocket Mutant

A few years ago, I discovered Stellagama Publishing's Quantum Engine and I fell pretty hard for it. This eventually led me to the full Cepheus Engine/Traveller system and I've really been enjoying it at least as much. A few weeks ago, Stellagam released Pocket Barbarian, which is a further streamlining of the Quantum Engine for Sword and Sorcery. Last week, they released Pocket Mutant and I found out today the first Pocket game was Solar Winds. All three games remind me of a clever fusing of QE, Shadowdark, and Savage Worlds. They take the best parts of those games and make them sing.

On top of enjoying these Pocket games I've been contemplating Dark Sun and Pocket Barbarian and Pocket Mutant has given me some ideas for running it.

Pocket Barbarian's skills will be the baseline but instead of giving each PC psionic gifts I'm going to have them roll mutations as "Wild Talents".

The first character I rolled up is a Hunter named Gundar Spann

Archetype: Hunter

Combat 2; Knowledge 1; Physical 1; Social 0; Sorcery 0; Stealth 1; 

Wounds: 3

Wild Talent: You can take over a creature with your mind for 1d6 rounds.

Weapons: Long Bow; Axe; Dagger (attack roll has Disadvantage)

I might get a chance to run it Friday. We will see.

DeRo for Dragonbane

 

"Clothed in rags and dirt, hung all over with hand weapons, their hair long and matted, were the strangest, most disgusting creatures I had ever seen in my life. They were dwarfs, some of them white-haired, from the Gods know what hidden hole in Mu's endless warren of caverns."

- Richard Sharpe Shaver, I Remember Lemuria!

DeRo (Degranged Robot) for Dragonbane

Movement: 10  Damage Bonus STR: +D6    HP: 15

Typical Armor: Endoskeleton (4) WP: 8

Skills: Awareness 10, Evade 11, 

Abilities: Fearless

Typical Weapons: Mace (Skill level 11, damage 2d4)

State of the Planes May 2026

Gaming wise things are a bit slow for me, but I really don't mind. Our Wednesday 5E game lost some players and is in limbo, my D&D Camp game for kids is now in the hands of the players who are taking turns being the Dungeon Master, my Friday 5E game has been the victim of numerous scheduling issues, and my Saturday Hexenburg game became the victim of being too busy at work to carve out a couple hours to run it.

Having the extra time has been a bit of a blessing though since things are so busy at work. Running a family business is never easy but the last two years have been tough. Tariffs affected us pretty heavily because 98% of comics are printed in Canada and we have seen sales slump since gas has started climbing. I've been doing this for 27 years though and there is always some kind of crisis so you just try to manage it as best you can. 

With the extra time I've been diving heavily into Traveller and various Cepheus Engine games and settings. I've also been watching lots of Sci-Fi: For All Mankind, Foundation, The Expanse, Alien: Earth, and Space 1999. In fact, I had never watched Space 1999 before and I'm four episodes in. It's darker than I expected.

I've also been brainstorming two Sectors for a Traveller Sandbox per this excellent post by the sagacious Robert Conley.

Rob Schwalb has finished the Dungeon of the Damned for Shadow of the Demon Lord and I'm really contemplating running it when its my turn to run on Fridays.

I've found time to go through Palladium's reissue and remastering of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness RPG and I'm going to do something with it soonish.

And I'm super excited by the forthcoming Book of Magic for Dragonbane and Free League's announcement that they now have access to the Elric license (Goodman Games has access to it too).

Bundle Holding launches Traveller Week with the Traveller Update & Traveller Imperial Navy

Slowly, over the last few years I've fallen in love with Traveller/Cepheus Engine/Quantum Engine games. The journey started when I discovered Barbarians of Lemuria which used 2d6 like Traveller and "skills" are treated as professions. It felt, to me, like Simon took inspiration from Traveller with its four year professional terms. That is purely speculation on my part.

Next I discovered Stellgama Publishing and Zozer Games which both have dozens of cool and clever sets of rules and settings powered by variations of the Cepheus Engine.

Finally, Mongoose announced that a Traveller powered version of Dark Conspiracy, a game I never to got to play but really fell in love with, would be crowdfunding this summer.

So I've dove in.

And I was amazed that Bundle of Holding is having Traveller Week in the lead up to May 1, 2026 AKA Traveller Day.

Today kicks off with a resurrection of December's Traveller Update and the debut of Traveller Imperial Navy. Three more bundles will be revealed as the week unfolds.

I've been looking for a straight-forward skill system for years and Traveller really grabs me. It's clean and easy to teach but can support other systems for the various genres I want to emulate. I really can't recommend it enough.

Mighty Thewsday: Conan's Bull of Anu for Sword of Cepheus 2E

 

Gugalanna, The Bull of Anu for Sword of Cepheus

900kg, Humanoid, summoned killer, #App: 1, Treasure: n/a

STR 20 (+4), DEX 14 (+2), END 17(+3), INT 8 (+0), 

EDU 6 (+0), SOC 11(+0); Stamina/Lifeblood 20/40

Athletics 2, Battle 2, Melee Combat 3, Scout 1, Survival 1

Fists/Horns (3d6+4 with STR bonus); Armor 6; 

Speed 15m/action; Morale n/a

Giant red bull-god who must kill a victim when summoned before he may return to the heavens.