Experimental Speed Metal Dungeon

Plus Extra Lives Audience RPG with Live Music & Joe Posnanski

Goodman Games recently announced a printed version of Ziggurat of the Mega-Maiden by 2 Old Guys Games. This heavy metal inspired adventure for Dungeon Crawl Classics was written by Christopher Rick and is described as an experimental speed metal dungeon.

Here is a full description, packed with Iron Maiden references:

This is a what now? An experimental Speed Metal Dungeon? Yes, yes, it is. The idea emerged while listening to, shockingly, heavy metal. Specifically, Iron Maiden and Megadeth, hence the title and content. So, what’s it all about?

The PCs have been on the path of The Cult of the Mega-Maiden. The Cult seeks to bring the Demon Seed of Deth to the Iron Ziggurat of the Mega-Maiden. There they hope to perform the Ultimate Ritual and fulfill the Prophecy. This will break open the Demon Seed and bring the Wrathchild into the world with the Mega-Maiden acting as surrogate mother. We begin in medias res, in the middle of the plot. This gives Judges various options to drop this into an existing campaign with some minor set up, make this the culmination of previous adventures, or just run this as a speedy one-shot.

**You don’t need to be a fan of heavy metal to have fun with this!**

The PCs stand at the foot of the Iron Ziggurat of the Mega-Maiden and it is 2 minutes to midnight. They have 20 rounds to get to the top or the ritual will be completed and the Wrathchild will gain entrance to the world bringing death and destruction of unimaginable proportions.

You can order the printed version from the Goodman Games online store. Electronic versions are available from the 2 Old Guys Games website and DriveThruRPG.

Extra Lives - Audience RPG with Live Music

I have seen some press for Extra Lives, “the world’s first Audience RPG,” which is currently touring New Zealand and Australia. This Otago Daily Times article calls the show an “innovative fusion of live-audience RPG (role playing game) and retro video game music.” The performances are scored by a live band as shown in this trailer video:

It appears to be the brainchild of guitarist Michael Kohl, whose website includes a longer description of the project:

Extra Lives is the world’s first Audience RPG: a fully narrated choose-your-own-adventure game where you are the main character. Plunge into an exciting story with visuals, music, footage and sound effects drawn from the legendary console games of the ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000 and a live score provided by the lovable nerds of Extra Lives. This immersive feast for the imagination will transport you back to your childhood whether you grew up playing video games or not!

At several key junctures the audience must vote on how the character will proceed, leading to special story branches. With multiple endings and over 30 different possible variations depending on in-game choices, each 45-to-60 minute experience is unique! Every story is handpicked for the season, event or theme at hand, and can even be tailor- made for a custom approach.

Sounds fun! If you’re interested, keep an eye on the Extra Lives tour calendar.

Joe Posnanski

Forgive me for a short side quest into sports. In addition to music and role playing games, sports were the third essential pastime of my childhood and adolescence. My friends and I would play snow football before coming inside to warm up with a hot drink and an excursion into the latest D&D module. We would go to the park to play pickup basketball before making full squads of Champions superhero characters. We would play whiffle ball followed by another futile attempt at getting a Rolemaster campaign going. I remember a winter of playing Gangbusters where each session was usually preceded by a game of street hockey.

We even were able to combine our love of sports and tabletop gaming by playing seasons of various sports simulation games like APBA Baseball and Statis Pro Basketball.

Music was a constant companion for both sports and gaming. We would bring a boombox with cassettes from our current favorite bands while playing outside. Back in the house, we would put an appropriate record on the turntable to set the atmosphere for an RPG session.

My love for music and tabletop games increased as I aged, but my relationship with sports became more strained over time. I still love to play sports, at least to the extent that my old body lets me. But I’ve learned that I’m a mentally healthier person if I don’t passionately root for the local sports the way I once did. I’m more productive because I limit how much of my free time I spend following/watching professional and college sports.

All of this is to set up that I recently attended a book talk and signing by Joe Posnanski. Joe is an award-winning writer who primarily focuses on sports, and his JoeBlogs newsletter is the exception to my sports fan detoxification commitment. I am a paid subscriber, and he is such a good writer that I read all his posts regardless of topic. He also co-hosts a hilarious podcast with television comedy writer/showrunner Michael Schur. He was promoting his latest book Why We Love Football, and following his talk we had an enjoyable chat about Critical Hit Parader. Joe is kind, patient, and a good sport as you can see from the following inscription:

If you’re not into sports but want to experience Joe’s long form writing, check out his book The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini.