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BLUEHACK™

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Now with interior art!

If you know about The White Hack, The Rad Hack, and The Black Hack, you know where this is headed. BLUEHACK™ is a traditional tabletop role-playing game, played with paper, pencils and dice – it uses the Holmes Basic edition of that Original 1970s Fantasy Roleplaying Game as an inspiration, but it aims to create a distinct, streamlined flavour all of its own.

As with all hacks, this is a living document - if you have any ideas, requests, suggestions (or if you spot any errata!), please let me know!

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Reviews (2)
Discussions (14)
Customer avatar
Shane Travis H July 04, 2023 12:19 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hi, I've tried to get in touch with the author of Bluehack and Blueholme, but all their websites and social media appear to be defunct. My question is: I'm publishing a campaign setting for which I'd like to include Blueholme and/or Bluehack stats -- and I wonder if there are Bluehack Compatible and Blueholme Compatible logos. (Or if we may make such logos ourselves!) Please contact me at twelvefoldworks@pm.me
Customer avatar
Marc K May 01, 2022 8:43 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hi. Looking at the Shield spell it says 2AP/Level with no duration. A 10th Level wizard would have 20AP. Should this be something more like +2AP for 12 rounds?
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Customer avatar
Michael T May 01, 2022 9:01 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
You're right, duration should be 1 turn. There will be an update at some point (when I get around to putting together the PoD option for DTRPG).
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Customer avatar
Charles B May 29, 2022 1:02 am UTC
PURCHASER
I'm still looking forward to that update too Michael . I'm still playing Bluehack. :)
Customer avatar
Charles B July 16, 2019 2:00 am UTC
PURCHASER
Hey Michael, I spotted a few typos I think:

Unarmed damage for Cleric, Fighter/Mage, and Magician isn't shown. It's easiest enough to figure it out but just wanted to let you know. And also Magician starting HP says 1d6+6. Should it be a d4+4?
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Customer avatar
Michael T July 16, 2019 12:56 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Thanks for the heads-up, Charles - update coming soon.
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Customer avatar
Charles B July 21, 2019 7:49 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Hey Michael,

Just received the update. Thanks a ton. Looks like you made a few changes? Anyways had a question concerning Powerful Opponents and Monster HD when attacking/defending:

Under the Powerful Opponents section it states that for every Monster HD above a characters HD to add +1 to all attack/defend rolls. The example shown mentions an HD 3 character fighting an HD 5 monster in which the character would add a +2 to his attack/defend rolls. Okay check!

Now on page 3 under attacking, defending, and damage it states "When someone attacks your character, you must make a STR roll versus a melee attack and a DEX roll versus a ranged attack to avoid taking damage, ADDING THE OPPONENT’S HD TO THE ROLL."

So my question is do you only add a modifier to the attack/defend rolls when the monster is of a higher HD or all the time? Does that make sense? If it's all the time then shouldn't the example under the Powerful Opponents be a +7 instead of just...See more
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Customer avatar
Charles B August 03, 2019 1:18 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Michael, please see my previous post. Is a monsters HD ALWAYS added to combat rolls or only when it's either higher or lower than the character level?
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Customer avatar
Michael T August 03, 2019 2:48 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Hi Charles, p.3 should be corrected - "adding the creature's HD to the roll" should be deleted. I will try to update this soon.
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Customer avatar
Charles B September 06, 2019 5:18 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Michael,

Have you made the update yet?
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Customer avatar
Charles B December 09, 2020 12:35 am UTC
PURCHASER
Michael are you doing another update?
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Customer avatar
Michael T December 09, 2020 2:02 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Hi Charles, it will be a little while before I get a chance to update this as I am in the midst of moving to another country.
Customer avatar
Charles B February 22, 2019 6:33 am UTC
PURCHASER
Hi there Michael,

Had a few questions:

1. What other weapons besides daggers are considered light weapons? I would clarify that.
2. Does the vial of Holy Water have a usage die.
3. If say a Magician casts a spell and fails his INT roll, does the spell fail to go off as well?
4. When casting a spell with an asterisk you would roll twice correct?
5. Any custom character sheets?
6. How would traps work?
7. Fighter/Mages and Magicians can't touch iron to cast spells. What does that mean exactly?

Thanks!
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Customer avatar
Michael T February 22, 2019 1:17 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Hi Charles!

1. Only daggers are light weapons (that's why it says i.e., not e.g. - word count is hell in 24-page games!).
2. No, magic items like potions have only one use.
3. No, the spell still goes off (same for clerics and WIS).
4. Yes, a separate roll is made to affect an unwilling target.
5. I wish. Some day!
6. Make an appropriate stat roll to avoid, e.g. DEX to avoid an arrow trap, INT to spot a trip wire before setting it off.
7. They cannot cast spells while in physical contact with iron. I interpret this as also applying to almost-contact, such as wearing iron armour or bearing a sheathed iron sword - but the latter is my interpretation, you could be literal and only count direct skin contact.

Hope that helps!
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Customer avatar
Charles B February 23, 2019 2:04 am UTC
PURCHASER
Thanks Michael,

I love this tight little rule system. Great work man.

1. Back to traps, what kind of damage would various traps do? Or is that just something I should decide myself?
2. I know in your Blueholme rules only humans can be thieves. In Bluehack you allow elves, dwarves, and halflings to be thieves as well. Is that your intention? Thanks...yet again! :)
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Customer avatar
Michael T February 23, 2019 11:34 am UTC
PUBLISHER
1. Yep, that's up to you. I have two approaches - for the "usual" things like pit traps and arrows I go by the commonly-used damages (1d6 per 10' fallen for pits, 1d6 for weapons), other times I use the Hit Dice/ Attack Damage tables for an appropriate roll.
2. Au contraire! In BLUEHOLME™, any species can be any class or combination of classes, subject to the referee. But BLUEHOLME™ is an extrapolation of Holmes Basic plus Dr Holmes's other writings, whereas BLUEHACK™ sticks much more closely to just the Blue Book itself (e.g. in terms of monsters).
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Customer avatar
Charles B February 23, 2019 4:20 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Oh okay. Was this changed in the Journeymanne Rules? I'm reading the Prentice Rules right now and it says that Halflings and Dwarves HAVE to choose the Fighter class. And only humans can be thieves. Anyways that restriction would definitely make humans get more play time so to speak. :)
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Customer avatar
Michael T February 24, 2019 2:45 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Yes, you're right, the Journeymanne Rules introduce a free choice of species, classes, and combination classes for characters. The Prentice Rules keep things simple.
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Customer avatar
Charles B February 25, 2019 3:13 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Sweet! Thanks for the clarification. I do think you should keep that restriction in Bluehack. As it stands now there's no reason to ever pick a human unless you're playing a Cleric or fail to meet the stat requirements. Or maybe allow humans to 'advance' in level after 1 session and other races after 2 sessions. That's the only aspect of the game that seems off to me. But that's just my opinion. :) Also under Elf it states rolling an INT test to find secret doors. Is that intended or should it be WIS? Thanks again for answering my comments and questions. I totally dig this little system. Cheers!
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Customer avatar
Michael T February 25, 2019 4:05 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Elves do use INT, not WIS, for their secret door check. They're logical like that. Dwarves are totally not.

Yeah, demi-humans are mechanically better ... but then, they were in the original games, too, yet most people still played humans (level limits were not much of a disincentive, because who ever got up past 10th level). Go figure. I didn't want to add an artificial bonus for humans, so there it is. Also, in my world nobody trusts dwarves around gold (justifiably so), elves hate foreign food, and what exactly are halflings, anyway? ;-)
Customer avatar
Steven W November 04, 2018 11:55 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Do you plan on a revised version based on the second edition of the Black Hack?
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Customer avatar
Michael T November 09, 2018 12:50 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Not at the moment, Steven. I am happy with the minimalist version for now, and there are too many other (adventure-shaped) projects in the pipeline.
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Customer avatar
Steven W November 09, 2018 8:20 pm UTC
PURCHASER
No problem, I understand.

Bluehack™ is certainly a good take on the Black Hack.
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Customer avatar
Michael T November 09, 2018 8:35 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Thanks for the vote of confidence!
Customer avatar
Timothy L July 16, 2018 5:04 pm UTC
PURCHASER
(1) When increasing class stats, e.g., Dex or Wis for thief, should the 'or' be read as inclusive or exclusive? For example, does one roll twice for Dex and Wis when increasing level as a thief or does one pick only one of the two?
(2) When rolling twice for increasing a class stat, does one increase it by two points if one exceeds the current stat twice, e.g., if I begin with a 12 in Dex and roll a 15 and then a 17, is my new Dex 13 or 14?
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Customer avatar
Michael T July 31, 2018 1:08 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
(1) In the thief example, you could roll twice for Dex, twice for Con, or once for each. Only fighters get to roll twice for each stat (Str and Dex).

(2) It's up to you - I roll once, and if the stat goes up, I make the second roll against the new, increased stat. But it's not specified, so you could roll both d20 at the same time and raise the stat by 2 points if both rolls succeed against the original stat.
Customer avatar
Charles B June 26, 2018 2:16 am UTC
PURCHASER
Wonderful product. I left a message on your website as well but I figured I would also leave one here just in case. Had a few questions:

1. Under the attacking, defending, and taking damage section of page 3 it says when defending to add the monsters HD to the roll? Is this die roll in addition to any dice rolled for Powerful Enemies?
2. Under the Cleric, Fighter/Magic User, and Magician class it shows attack damage reduction for halflings. I assume it's a typo but just wanted to clarify that halflings can't be any of those classes?
3. Can a level 1 Magician continue to cast her only level 1 spell over and over as long as she doesn't fail her INT roll?
4. Lastly is Wisdom or Dexterity rolled to determine surprise?

Thanks so much
Reply
Customer avatar
Michael T July 09, 2018 9:23 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Hi Charles, here goes:

1. Yep, they are cumulative. Adding the monster's HD is equivalent to characters' attack bonuses and thus unconnected to the opponent's relative power, while the Powerful Opponents rule is there to reflect the latter.

2. That's old errata, you'll notice it's gone from the current edition.

3. That's right.

4. Depends on the situation - sometimes one or more sides would be automatically surprised, such as by a group of adventurers teleporting into a room without warning. If there is a chance for one side to avoid surprise, such as when one side is trying to sneak up on the other, the player rolls DEX or WIS - DEX if the character is doing the sneaking, or WIS to notice the opponents sneaking up.

Hope that helps!
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Customer avatar
Charles B February 04, 2019 1:28 am UTC
PURCHASER
Late reply...lol. Regarding question 2 my pdf still lists the Halfling in parenthesis.
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Customer avatar
Michael T February 10, 2019 8:14 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Thanks for letting me know! For some reason the new file didn't upload last time. Hopefully this has now been cured and all those roguish halfling mages have had to hand in their magic licences!
Customer avatar
Jeremy H May 27, 2018 10:50 am UTC
PURCHASER
I love this one. It's definitely my favorite version of The Black Hack derivatives. I also love McAusland art. However, seeing 90% of the character art being the kickbutt fight fight fight female seems a bit of an over-representation. Great product all the same, but the meme is wearing thin.
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Customer avatar
Michael T July 09, 2018 9:12 am UTC
PUBLISHER
I admit, the kickbutt fight-fight-fight female on the "Fighter" page is intentional (<cough>morganironwolf</cough>). As are the two ladies on the "Thief" page (<cough>duchessandcandela</cough>), although they're more steal-deceive-run than fight-fight-fight. As for the rest, I have to blame Will McAusland! And my reluctance to tell artists exactly what to draw ... ;-)
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Customer avatar
Jeremy H July 10, 2018 2:59 am UTC
PURCHASER
LOL. Okay. Okay. But, how about some *more* McAusland art that is representative of at least two genders. Where's the inclusivity? LOL. Seriously though, great product. Doesn't William have some stock art packs you could pick up? In my opinion, his work in the original Labyrinth Lord, Low Fantasy Gaming, Ambition and Avarice, etc. are all definitive pieces in the OSR tapestry. You can't go wrong with more of his work in your book. :^)
Customer avatar
Dwight F March 29, 2018 6:27 am UTC
PURCHASER
Great product.

Question: Is the Magic Missile an automatic hit?

Races: At first glance it seems Elves and Dwarves have an advantage over Humans.
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Customer avatar
Michael T March 31, 2018 10:04 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Magic missile always requires s roll to hit (Jim!), at least in my games. In your game, it's up to you - that's the fallback position whenever rules are not specific. Mechanically, demi-humans tend to outperform humans. Again, how you run with that in your game is your choice. Are humans dominant and demi-humans shunned or discriminated against? Or are humans just weaker and downtrodden?
Customer avatar
James N December 09, 2017 4:28 am UTC
PURCHASER
Michael, I love this! Two questions.
1 - Why in the world did you use that odd illustration for the cover? Please fix! Ha ha!
2 - Any chance of a POD?
Thanks.
Reply
Customer avatar
Michael T December 09, 2017 4:43 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Thanks, James, I'm glad you like it! In answer to your questions:

1 - The troll's head on the cover is a reference to the J. Eric Holmes short story of the same name published in issue #31 of The Dragon, done in the style of the TBH severed hand.

2 - Coming in 2018 when I get some art. ;-)
Customer avatar
Chad K October 23, 2017 7:44 pm UTC
Is there a Red hack? Based on the basic red set by Moldvay .
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Customer avatar
Michael T October 29, 2017 11:37 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
There was a Red Hack in development, but I'm not sure it ever made it into publication. I'm not sure whether anyone ever made a Moldvay Hack (which could be red based on the book cover, or magenta based on the box). However, there is a Basic Hack, which is based on the 1983 "Red Box" version of the world's most popular role-playing game.
Customer avatar
Jeremy H April 10, 2017 2:47 am UTC
PURCHASER
Hi! This is one of my favorite hacks. I prefer the way you handled armor in this one. Would you consider adding other races? Or possibly some guidelines on using monsters as characters? I believe in the Holmes edition they mentioned monstrous PCs but offered no guidelines. Great little game as is though. :^)
Reply
Customer avatar
Michael T April 10, 2017 3:11 am UTC
PUBLISHER
Thanks, Jeremy, I'm glad you like it!

In fact, I am running a Kickstarter for the BLUEHOLME™ Journeymanne Rules at the moment, which covers levels 1-20. Journeymanne includes rules to let players create characters of any species (like dreenoi, for example), as well as rules for creating combination classes like "fighting mage" or "fighting clerical thief". You might want to check it out, because the prices are lower than they will be when Journeymanne is released to the public.

I will be looking into further material for BLUEHACK™ after the Kickstarter, too. :-)
Customer avatar
Luca C December 06, 2016 2:28 pm UTC
PURCHASER
After a first reading , I really like it; but I already had some questions; why some creatures have no hit dice (blank space) like the Manticora for ex.?
And how many HPs creatures have...there's nothing written about it and it makes impossible to start playing.
Reply
Customer avatar
Michael T December 06, 2016 3:07 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Well-spotted! Version 1.3 coming up.
Reply
Customer avatar
Luca C December 06, 2016 7:55 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Thank you so much for your super fast reply and the nice news ^_^ !!!
Customer avatar
September 11, 2016 1:32 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Michael: Thanks for doing a TBH product...a suggestion and also a typo found...1. Under Armour Points, I would suggest clarifying that section as to does every hit taken reduce the damage, or is it only the first hit in combat and requires a rest period like the original TBH?..it's not really clear as written.
2. Fighter page: You have Start HP as 1d10 +4 and Halfling 1d8+4, then under HP per level/Resting: 1d12 and 1d10...I believe the HP per level/Resting should be 1d10 and 1d8 instead.
Reply
Customer avatar
Michael T September 11, 2016 3:07 pm UTC
PUBLISHER
Thanks for those comments. Yes, the fighter thing is a typo. Armour Points are a little different from TBH - lower values but no usage die, so the AP are subtracted from every attack. I'll see about clarifying that in version 1.2!
Reply
Customer avatar
September 11, 2016 6:16 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Thanks for the clarification Michael...enjoying it so far!
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24
Publisher Stock #
DD1001
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This title was added to our catalog on September 10, 2016.