Category Archives: Judge Dredd

Great start to the week

Judge Dredd

Over the weekend there was a “virtual con” on a boardgaming Facebook group that I belong to to to replace the void left by no UKGE this year (for the obvious reasons).

As part of that “virtual con” various publishers and stores ran competitions or promotions for the duration. Osprey Games publisher of Wildlands (and it’s expansions) plus the Judge Dredd themed version ran a competition to celebrate the release of the Dark Judges expansion for the Judge Dredd version. To enter all you had to do was leave a comment (which I did) and then a winner would be chosen at random.

This morning in the spare five minutes I had between finishing the weekly shop at our local Morrison’s and going into the B&M next door that opened its doors at 9am, I checked my email.

Strange a person I had never heard off wanted to connect on Messenger. I looked in the Facebook app and it was showing that the person had responded to a comment I had made. Curious. What had I said that the person would want to message me directly?

I looked at the Facebook post and my comment. Oh! I had won!

So you can guess I was quickly onto Messenger and replying to the guy with my address and thanking them.

Pretty excited about winning this. It’s something I would have eventually bought.

I own the original Wildlands and Undead expansion (which I did enjoy playing). I’d decided to hold out on getting the map pack and the adventurers expansion because I didn’t want to invest in the original knowing that the Judge Dredd one was being released. And at the time it was unclear if the two would be compatible. And if I had to choose I’m team JD every time.

After Judge Dredd Helter Skelter was released it wasn’t long before a pdf was released that allowed you to combine the two versions (You can pick up the official rules that allow you to use the original Wildlands with Helter Skelter HERE.)

Now with the new expansion the Dark Judges are added to the game along with solo rules.

As you can imagine I’m pretty excited about winning the game and expansion. Which may be here before the weekend. So keep an eye out for pictures of a happy me at the end of the week.

A couple more to watch to inspire Strontium Dog RPG games

Judge Dredd, RPG, Strontium Dog

I’m totally ashamed of myself.

How in the previous post did I forget to mention these two?

They are Westerns through and through. Two series that I love. Both watched more than once. And will be watched again and again.

So I find it hard to explain how I forgot to mention them. Old age. Failing memory.

Just go watch these two even if you aren’t planning on playing a Strontium Dog RPG session. They are that good!

Some inspiration for a Strontium Dog adventure/campaign

Judge Dredd, RPG, Strontium Dog, W.O.I.N.

I like doing lists. I’ve done one or two in the past about sources of inspiration for other RPGs. So with the Strontium Dog rules dropping digitally for the Judge Dredd and Worlds of 2000 A.D. system I thought I’d do one for that.

Strontium Dog can be looked on as a “sci-fi Spaghetti Western” crossed with “interstellar bounty hunting“.

Let’s get my disclaimer out of the way. This is by no means a comprehensive list. Just stuff that came to mind at the time of writing.

There is only one natural place to start and that’s the source material, the original comic strip. You can still pick up the collected reprints for a reasonable price. A good place to get the reading order is the wiki page.

I’m a western fan, and there are a lot (understatement) of films out there to call upon. So I’m recommending some of my favourites that I think are relevant.

First up are the two Trinity movies that I love starring Terence Hill and Bud Spencer.

When you are talking westerns you can’t miss out Clint Eastwood, especially his spaghetti western roles. However I’m recommending some of his other efforts that I feel are more fitting. And yes Pale Rider is a remake of High Plains Drifter.

These next two are most definitely classics, but look at what happens at the end for the gun fighter. An interesting idea to explore within an RPG.

I love these next ones. Definitely worth “borrowing” the plot lines for an adventure or two.

Battle Beyond the Stars is basically The Magnificent Seven in space. It’s a little cheesy and generic, but still worth a watch. Killjoys and Firefly are mentioned as sources of inspiration with in the Strontium Dog rules. So had to throw them in. Although Killjoys only spends at best a couple of seasons actually bounty hunting.

I hope these suggestions have helped, remind you of something I’ve missed.

Strontium Dog RPG now available to pre-order

Judge Dredd, news, RPG, Strontium Dog, W.O.I.N.

It seems to be the week for pre-ordering RPG related stuff. Yesterday EN Publishing made it possible to pre-order the hardcover version of the Strontium Dog RPG rules from their website, along with being able to purchase the pdf version straight away.

If you pre-ordere the physical version you automatically get the pdf version as well free.

Not a bad deal. And one I took advantage of. So I now have the pdf version of the rules to read at my leasure, knowing that some point at the end of August I will get the hardcover posted to me.

The publisher also put up this morning on their Patreon page for patreons a short Strontium Dog adventure as well. Flicking through this adventure very quickly it is designed to be playable whilst going through the character creation process. Which is an intriguing twist to character creation. Plus there is a combat mission for the Strontium Dog Miniatures Game from Warlord Games. I’m sure at some point in the near future this will turn up on the publishers web store for non-patreons to buy it.

The one thing they need to do between now and the actual physical publish date is add to the resources section Strontium Dog related resources, such as character sheets, and some pre-gen characters.

We’ll look at sources of inspiration for adventures in another post. Probably the same one that I briefly look at the rules.

Muties incoming

Judge Dredd, RPG, Strontium Dog, W.O.I.N.

If you listened to the latest episode (that’s number 97) of Morrus’ Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk you will be rather excited with the news that the pdf for the Strontium Dog rpg is possibly dropping pretty soon. Potentially around the 7th of May if we are really lucky.

I do like the WOIN system used by the Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000 A.D. So I’m pretty excited to see how they bring this great character and being a strontium dog to life.

I hope that Strontium Dog also gets the same level of support that Judge Dredd has campaign book wise.

The three campaign books for Judge Dredd so far follow major story arcs from the long and rich history of the comic strip. Naturally they have started off with the earliest ones first, and going forward in chronological order.

What I like about these campaign books is that they expand the world of Judge Dredd, new exploits, careers, weapons etc. The usual stuff that you’d expect, themed around the story arc being covered by the campaign.

Along side the campaign that follows the story arc (which are Judge focused naturally) you get short adventures based around a handful of stories from the issues that followed that arc. Plus a campaign themed around the story arc for perps and citizens.

Although the Cursed Earth breaks that formula a little focusing more on hooks etc that can be used instead of short adventures.

So having these campaign books as a guide I’d love if EN Publishing did something similar for Strontium Dog, even if it gathers two or three arcs together.

In the meantime I’m digging out my collected Strontium Dog books and rereading them.

The Day The Law Died Comes To Judge Dredd RPG

Judge Dredd, news, RPG, W.O.I.N.

One of the things I think that EN Publishing are doing right for their Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000 A.D. RPG are the campaign settings they publish.

So far we have had The Robot Wars, Luna-1, and The Cursed Earth. Each covers a major storyline from the early days of the comic strip.

Stories I grew up reading in the pages of 2000 A.D. Stories that I have many fond memories of, and dare I say it love?

I really like that EN Publishing are enabling players of their system to recreate these classic stories.

Naturally after The Cursed Earth there is only one storyline you can do next. That storyline is the one that started right at the end of The Cursed Earth with the return of Judge Dredd to Mega City One, The Day The Law Died.

And that is exactly what EN Publishing announced yesterday on their Facebook page for the system.

The story has many memorable moments and characters, such as Fergie, Judge Fish, Judge Cal, the Kleggs and the Klegg hounds.

After this campaign what next? Well I’m assuming we will get The Judge Child, followed by Block Wars/The Apocalypse War. Plus we have the Dark Judges to squeeze in as well.

Plus we still have the much anticipated Strontium Dog rule book to look forward to later in the year also. Which I’m hoping will also get the same treatment campaign wise, with campaigns covering major storylines.

Show the content!

Judge Dredd, rant, RPG

One of my criticisms of the Genesys RPG is the lack of official modules/adventures/scenarios for players to buy.

I appreciate that FFG made available their scenarios that they used at cons for the Terrinoth and Android books. I also appreciate that the Genesys RPG is a generic system that is intended for players to use to build their own.

But I can’t help feeling that with more support on the pick up and play front from FFG that the system might be more popular. That and cheaper dice.

I’m starting to feel that way with the Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000 A.D. RPG.

My counting may be out on this but there is now four short scenarios for the Judge Dredd RPG if you sign up for the publishers Patreon. One of those is the scenario the publisher uses at cons.

This is great. Don’t get me wrong. But I think they should be easier to find and promoted better.

I’m not a fan of the publishers website for Judge Dredd or the WOIN system. The design is a bit dated.

Giving them a higher visibility makes the game look better supported than it is. And to be fair I think the support is pretty good for the game.

Not everyone wants or uses Patreon. Wider availability and promotion gives the impression that the game is alive and not going away any time soon.

Yes Judge Dredd has three great campaign books available based on classic story arcs. Plus it has more in the pipeline, plus the rules for Strontium Dog and Rogue Trooper on the horizon.

Considering the appeal of the Judge Dredd licence is not only to gamers but to those outside the hobby. Having the scenarios hidden on Patreon is not helping promote the game.

Not every player wants to create their own adventures. Look how popular the campaign books are for D&D and other systems. Some want to purchase an adventure and run it.

I know there is fan stuff for both on DriveThruRPG, and both systems support and promote fan created content.

But once again not everyone is plugged into that ecosystem. I look on DriveThruRPG and Patreon as something hardcore gamers use. That casual or non gamer moving in probably doesn’t know or care about them. They look on Amazon or their FLGS shelves usually.

I’m not saying give these adventures away for free. Well except the one used at cons. But making them more easily available and easier to find would help the growth of the game.

A Tweaked Random Chase Terrain and Obstacles for Judge Dredd RPG.

Judge Dredd, RPG

Those with a long memory will remember reading an idea I had for a taster scenario for the Judge Dredd Worlds of 2000 A.D. RPG.

Something similar in idea to the Tomb of the Delian Order dungeon that Matt Colville created for the start of his series encouraging people to become/try being a DM.

Since then there has been an official adventure Monkey Business released that the publisher uses at cons etc as a taster.

The scenario that has been kicking around in my noggin is for a party of judges out on patrol, all stationed in watching bays over looking the same bit of Mega City One. The image I have of the judges is similar to the one drawn in the opening panel of the classic Judge Dredd story The Graveyard Shift Part 1 (see image below taken off the Internet).

While at their watch bays the judges notice a vehicle driving erratically, swerving in and out of traffic at speed. They give chase.

In the core rule book there is a section of running chases. Which are basically extended opposed tasks. Within the rules for running chases is a table for Random Chase Terrain and Obstacles that uses 2d6, and has columns for vehicle and foot chases in different environments.

For my scenario these tables are perfectly usable, if the GM has the core rule book. However I wanted to tweak them. This is not me saying my tables are better. They are not. They are different, slightly. I’ve kept the majority of the obstacles and changed one or two. Plus for my scenario two of the environments are not needed. So I removed them.

Part of the goal of the scenario is to primarily give that taste of playing Judge Dredd. But to also offer a variety of different play styles and mechanics. And that is where this chase comes in.

The judges capture the driver of the vehicle and interrogate them. This is when the judges find out that the driver is being blackmailed to commit a crime to free their family who are being held hostage back at their flat.

The judges naturally have to sentence the driver. But then go to the block that the driver lives to free the family.

I need to write this up, with the above table. But at least the hard bit of the table has been done!

A big decision for your Judge Dredd campaign

Judge Dredd, RPG

I think one of the most important decisions a GM has to make when planning their campaign set in the Worlds of 2000 A.D., and particularly Judge Dredd and Mega City One is when to set the campaign.

The when is a really big decision. It determines what has happened to the city, whether characters are alive or dead, etc.

For instance when deciding when to set your campaign in the history of Meg City One did you want your characters to be able to bump into Judge Dredd? If the answer is no you are probably best setting your campaign in the early days of Mega City Ones history and the Judges before Dredd was created.

The alternative is to pick one of the many times that the legend was not in Mega City One, such as when he was on Luna 1 or in the Cursed Earth. Although the drawback is he does return to the City. Which is fine if you are running a short campaign.

Or you can just do the obvious and pick any point in the city history and have the party not meet him. But for me the temptation would always be there to call upon the legend. Personally I’d chose the early history of the city because of the interesting story arcs that could be used. That could eventually cumulate into the development of the clones that produce Joe and Rico.

Let’s assume that you want Judge Dredd to be around, and the possibility of your players bumping into him. You now have forty years of Judge Dredd stories to inspire you.

But when do you set your campaign? Which of the major story arcs to you want your players to experience? Each of the main arcs have had an impact on the city in some way. The ones I grew up with were The Robot Wars, The Cursed Earth, The Day the Law Died, The Judge Child, and The Apocalypse War.

It’s very easy to have your party taking party in these events as they happen. For instance while Dredd is off on Luna 1 justice still needs to be kept in Mega City 1. Maybe the criminals are feeling a little bolder while Dredd is off planet. Or your party are doing hit and run raids on Soviet judges during The Apocalypse War.

Naturally another thing to consider is which of the classic adversaries you want to have your party face off against. This will also determine when the campaign is set. Mainly because eventually the adversary ends up dead. The Angel gang is an amazing adversary for a party. But they died at the end of The Judge Child. Fink Angel died after The Apocalypse War. So this is something that needs to be considered. Unless you decide to play the what if? scenario. Such as what if the Angel Gang didn’t die?

EN Publishing has three source books now for the Worlds of 2000 A.D. WOIN system.

Which as you can see cover early classic story arcs. But definitely worth getting.

There is an excellent timeline here. The wiki page also has a cool list of major stories.

Don’t forget that there have been three earlier rpgs based on Dredd. There have been some great adventures for them, and really useful source books.

And finally there are the reprints in the Complete Case Files, of which there are over thirty volumes. You can usually pick these up for less that a tenner second hand from Amazon. Plus if you are after just one story arc there will also be a good chance there is a single graphic novel collecting the issues into a single volume.

I suppose the main point is that there is a wealth of material out there to support you in your campaign no matter when you decide to set your campaign in the history of Mega City One.