Let's Talk About Cha'alt

A Look Into Venger Satanis' Weird World.

Pictured: Cha’alt Hardcovers. Cha’alt, Cha’alt: Fuchsia Malaise & Cha’alt: Chartreuse Shadows.

Let’s face it, these days, the mainstay of Tabletop RPGs, it can be pretty grim-looking when you’re sitting at a table only to find that it’s populated with people you just weren’t expecting to be sitting with. When Improvisational Theatre and Rule of Cool dominates everything and the rules matter so little that you see plenty of people with cool gear, their respective books and no one’s even cracking one open. I want you to think back to the time I detailed how Rulings Over Rules actually worked? Yeah, this is that in the extreme. It’s a game that just isn’t as advertised. You came in with an expectation. You’ve read your rule book, you followed character creation to the letter and your expectations have been subverted. Yeah, not a great feeling.

That being said, gamers like us tend to really be truly adventurous. We like different rule systems, different takes on existing rule systems and, if you’re anything like me, the lighter the rules, the better. This is where the good news comes in. I’ve talked about Crimson Dragon Slayer d20 and told you it’s a 19-page PDF, downloadable absolutely free. Great news! Venger Satanis (the author) tells you this is “D&D In Arcade Mode” and that’s not an inaccurate description. While D&D’s basic rules (also free) is nearly 200 pages and the Player’s Handbook being 320 or so pages, why not break with the brand and go with something that simplifies it to it’s very core?

I won’t cover CDS d20 in detail because it’s free, it’s 19 pages and you can easily check it out for yourself. If you want, you can try this with your group and see how it truly simplifies game play and allows more agency for both players and the GM. Fact is, I’ll stick by this stance, the ability to run a system as rules-lite as this will build up even the most inexperienced as a tried and true game master in no time. You’ll find that your rulings will be more fair and impartial and then your notes for upcoming sessions will improve.

What we’re here today to talk about is none other than Cha’alt and, to say, it’s a weird world…that’s an understatement. By the way, the photo is not a stock photo, they’re mine. I bought them based off the strength of the PDFs which blew me away. This was an entirely new world, something I’d never seen before. It contained everything but the kitchen sink and I couldn’t stop enjoying it. I found myself cringing at some parts, laughing at others and being absolutely fascinated by most of it. If you’re looking at the books and becoming intimidated, don’t. If you’ve downloaded CDS d20, you already have all the rules. These books contain most of the lore, factions, characters, elements and the world for you to play with. If this sounds like a familiar form of play, it’s because, this is how some games are played these days. It really puts the GM back into the driver’s seat and, if a player wants to do something weird, out there and crazy, then there’s no reason for you to say yes but there’s also no reason to say no. The decision-making is all up to you.

The Planet called Cha’alt is in a state of Post-Apocalypse. It’s a world in ruin with most of it being desert and this apocalypse came because the societies initially worshipped eldritch gods that went into hibernation. From there, the societies, respectively developed and flourished only to have forgotten about those gods. Upon waking, they see what’s happened and that they’ve been forgotten and they weren’t happy about it. Their awakening and reminder came as a destructive force causing Cha’alt’s ruin and now, the societies are uneven, some are doing better than others and there are factions messing around with magics, tech and, at the center of it all is The Black Pyramid. Things for adventurers can be harsh, the climate unforgiving, what with lack of water, resources and radiation that still are present. Some factions have the gods, tech and magics completely backwards. Also, in it’s state of post-apocalypse, there are people in the world that have devolved, not just in the evolutionary sense but in terms of mental, physical and even prurient degeneracy. It’s not a game for children, however, with a more mature crowd, this could be something fun to play around in.

That’s the point I want to put across, it’s a game for a more mature audience. Sane, rational, mature audiences, not for children.

Venger himself has even stated that no two tables will ever run the same. In the end, Cha’alt is whatever you decide to make it. Though the books contain the setting information (and there’s a ton of it for you to have fun with) Venger’s stance on the game is what I’ve always also said “Your Table, Your Rules.” I also recommend checking out Venger’s explanation of the cosmology of Cha’alt for more because it’s full of useful information.

The quality of the books, well, that’s another matter entirely.

When was the last time you ordered an RPG book and, after thumbing through it, looking it over and marveling over it have you ever thought to yourself that it’s a book you could pass down? Well, all three of these books will absolutely have you thinking just that. All three of these books are very very good quality and won’t be having pages or signatures just coming out within the first 11 uses. Even if you were to lose the dust jackets, these are not the average print-on-demand type books, these were built to last and the covers are beautiful, each in their own way. Also, ordering them directly through Venger ensures that each one comes signed and numbered and with a small personal illustration and I don’t think any two are the same. The pages are beautiful and the paper is great.

Not only are the Cha’alt books great but this is a fully-supported game that continues to be supported. Venger has released a great deal of supplements for Cha’alt. This game has supplements like The Good Syma’arian, Cha’alt GPT, Character Sheets, The Violet-Haunted Crypt and many others that you can pick up for free or for very very little. There are also other supplements written by Paddy of Paddy’s Parlor Games The Boy From Mezteha’as & The Skeevateer, Lordmatteus has released Into The Great Sunken Library and also The Skeevers of Turner Town and also The Red Room called Epic which mixes Wretched Space with Venger’s own Alpha Blue. Cha’alt is open to third-party creation and, that, to me is a huge plus because it also gives you other perspectives on the world itself and allows you to move through the world while seeing it in a different light.

One thing that is new are the Cha’alt X-Cards. This is one supplement I really want to talk about because, what it does is, rather than stop gameplay in it’s tracks, it empowers the player to enhance the game by informing the GM which way they’d love the game to go. If the players feel like it should lean more into the gonzo aspect of things, then that card gets tapped (or stimulated as Venger calls it) and the GM can then add even more gonzo elements as needed, same with the Post-Apocalypse, Eldritch Horror, etc, so on and so forth. I’m going to admit some apprehension when I first heard Venger talking about creating these because they’ve been largely known to stop games and erase elements of the game that a player feels a bit traumatized over. Personally, I do not like snakes. Stems from a childhood encounter with a rattlesnake that nearly got me but I don’t require the GM to take snakes out of a game when a Snake Cult is in full swing, attempting to unleash a Great Serpent being into their world. Some will and anytime that X-Card is tapped, that’s a significant section of the game world that gets Thanos Snapped away and it’s also prone to abuse. Venger has not done that and these are more of a game enhancement rather than a game-stopper. You can print your own or contact Venger himself for some custom Cha’alt X-Cards. For laminated Paper cards, the price is $15 and for wood stock cards, it’s $25. Best believe I ordered some because, for me, it’s great practice to let the game take even stranger directions just to see what elements my players like more. Even more fun with the cards, randomize! Turn the cards over and lay them evenly across from each other. Each time the player taps a card at random, then the face of the card can be revealed and then you can really take the fun up to eleven. I mean the volume, not the character. Now I just got an idea for an NPC but I digress.

If you want to use the PDFs as a “Try before you buy” then I recommend that as a course, however, if you order the physical books, the PDFs are included in the price. It’s a great deal on a great game.

So who is this game for? Like I said, mature, sane, rational adults who love fantasy, post-apocalypse, gonzo, sleazy (doesn’t have to be just sexually sleazy but could also be in business deals, double-crosses, manipulative personalities, etc.) and fun worlds. Think Dark Sun dictated by H.P. Lovecraft to Hunter S. Thompson on mescaline with a touch of Edgar Rice Burroughs all filtered through the lens of Frank Herbert. If weird is your jam, you will not be disappointed in the least. It’s full of pop-culture references and, to me, if you like characters like Deadpool, you’re probably going to love Cha’alt.

While you’re here, check out the notes for Venger’s upcoming Cha’alt Campaign, I think you’ll see just how much fun can be had with this game and pop-culture references…

If you like rules-lite games that are fully supported with material you can use well into whatever the gods allow as perpetuity, this is the game you should try next.

I think the best way to close out this particular spotlight is with one quote that still resonates as true to this day.

“When The Going Gets Weird, The Weird Turn Pro.”

-Hunter S. Thompson.