Studded Leather: Post Apocalyptic ODND

A Clockwork Orange meets Lord of the Rings

My younger days were spent on the things I loved:

Art, listening to punk music, and playing Dungeons and Dragons.

Probably not a super unique combination, based on plenty of people I knew then and have met since those halcyon days throwing dice with other mohawked kids around a table in my favorite Crass or Misfits tee.

Studded Leather is sort of my love letter to old school roleplaying games, punk rock and 1980’s post apocalyptic moves and comics…

It takes an ODND chassis and slaps on the the spikes and studs - the name itself is a tongue in cheek reference to Chainmail, the original combat supplement used then (and now) by many players of the OG game put out back in 1974…incidentally the same year the New York Dolls dropped the proto-punk “Too Much Too Soon” and Velvet Underground put out “1969.”

The format is familiar by now to my followers - a hand drawn zine of analog art, but this time combined with the powers of two co-conspirators, Outer Church, who takes on some of the art and inking work, and Grimtomb Designs, who will handle the digital layout.

Both also happen to be regular players at my table who have been running characters in my current Studded Leather campaign.

The elevator pitch: A highly advanced fantasy world blasted and blighted by an unknown “event” that reduced technology back to the pseudo-medieval (except…there’s guns…kind of!), and forced humans into the monolithic ruins of ancient concrete cities under the jackboot of a new feudal system.

The players are “punks” - tough as nails scrappers who damn the man and dungeon delve in the same session, collecting remnants of the old world from the wreckage of the new one and holding onto hope for a better way of life and a free future.

4 new classes are presented:

The Enforcer - Studded Leather’s “fighting man/woman” class, the Enforcer enjoys all armor and weapons, rolls his HD at an advantage, can soak some attacks using his shield, and gains extra attacks as he levels.

The ‘Slinger - The Slinger clans have protected the secret of gunpowder and lead, and protect it at any cost, hiring out to settle gang wars and noble vendettas for anyone who can pay the price. Slingers are the only character who wields a “piece,” a revolver type weapon with semi-reliable DIY ammo they have to craft in small number.

Their abilities involve making deadly and devastating aimed shots that have a damage multiplier like backstab.

The Skelm - A “specialist” class, your typical rogue, except they have an uncanny knack to find remnants of the old world on lucky rolls in some areas, and get to roll their backstab multiplier on any melee critical hit as well.

The Artifex - Wizards of poorly understood technology from the before time, the Artifex is a builder, a tinkerer, and his spells are tied to physical objects that he researches and builds in his workshop or on the go with what he can carry. His thirst for knowledge takes him into the ruins and deep places to find coveted technical manuals, and books that survived the great burning.

The first issue of Studded Leather kicks off with a 4 page comic to “show” rather than “tell” the reader what this setting is all about - here’s a look at one of those pages:

It provides info and tables for running a game in Steelgrave, the main human settlement, complete with encounters, points of interest, events, gangs, and graffiti…

Not to mention how to handle the PCs inevitable run-ins with the Organized Reponse Corps:

O.R.C. - the pig-headed law enforcers brought in from the Wastes by the nobility to enforce their brutal understanding of justice.

Factions, a fully keyed 11x17 map of Steelgrave’s city center, adventure hooks, and much more, this first issue will be chock full of usable stuff for your gaming sessions.

For Issue 2 and 3 we have plans to expand on the dungeons of Undercity, the factions of Steelgrave, and the wilderness surrounding it (for which we are using the original “Outdoor Survival” board game map in keeping with the oh-so-cool vibe of the original game).

I’m excited to get this out there, and will likely be putting this together in print format as Castle Grief’s first (!!!) Kickstarter.

Thanks for looking, and keep your blades sharp.

- Castle Grief

PS: Please help me build up my following on X and Instagram as I post art and updates there regularly and am trying to find some pals!!

x.com/castlegrief

instagram.com/castlegrief