RPG Blog Alliance Feed

[HeroPress] DVD Of The Week: Chronicle (2012)

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:00:04 GMT

And to think I wasn't even going to bother with this, having dismissed it as a found footage rehash of Misfits! Thankfully, as usual, I have been proved totally wrong.

Like the dark British comedy Misfits, Chronicle tells the story of what might happen if everyday adolescents really did develop superhuman powers but that's pretty much where the similarities end.

Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan) invests in a camera to chronicle his life with his sickly mother (Bo Petersen) and abusive, alcoholic father (Michael Kelly) and the first few minutes of the movie are a snapshot of his world, focusing on his school life and friendship with his philosophy-quoting cousin Matt Garetty (Alex Russell).

One evening they drive to an out-of-town rave where Matt and his friend Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan) find a strange hole in the ground out in the woods. The boys delve into the [...]

[Dungeon's Master] Month in Review: May 2012

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:00:04 GMT

May was a busy month at Dungeon's Master. Despite our reduced publishing schedule we still showed great numbers and continue seeing upward trends. Running previews of the new D&D Encounters and Lair Assault certainly helped.

As the Dungeon's Master home game moved into epic tier, so to does the focus of many of our articles. With the inevitable launch of D&D Next in the not-too-distant-future many of us are trying to get some epic play in before we shift to the new edition. With very few other blogs writing about playing in the epic tier we are becoming the place to [...]

[Troll in the Corner] I've been rejected!

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:00:04 GMT

I’ve decided to start writing literature for children. Actually I decided this some time ago, now I’m acting on it. It’s a side project to my side projects.

Of course, with my attempts at writing, and submitting them to people, comes rejection. I’m rather proud of being rejected – because it means that rather than thinking about doing this, I have done it and am trying.

I decided to spice up my rejection letters to give them a bit more oomph. Perhaps if agencies out there did this, there would be less hard feelings?

I believe I may do this for every rejection [...]

[Papers & Pencils] Magical Marvels 7: The Son's Service

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:45:03 GMT

At long last, a return to my ongoing series of weapons which appeared in my Ascendant Crusade campaign. When this series left off in February, I posted about The Glare of Vecna. Prior to that I posted Gravewhisper’s Claw, Wallcraft’s Offerings and Kofek’s Tongue. All of those weapons, and now this one as well, were illustrated by my ladyfriend. You should check out more of her art on her DeviantArt page.

WARNING: This post covers material which is significantly darker than what normally appears on this blog. I’m not kidding, this gets very grim.

The Son’s Service
Artifact Kukri

PHYSICAL ATTACKS

(Kukri)(Attack) +5
(Kukri)(Damage) 1d4 + 5 (Slashing)(18-20/x3)

SPELLS GRANTED

4/Day – As a standard action, the wielder can ‘cut’ a door in the air with the blade, creating a Dimensional Door which allows the wielder to instantly travel up to 30ft.

1/Day – The caster can spend 1 minute scratching a door into a stone surface. When the door is completed, stepping through it will cause the effects of a Plane Shift spell for 1 minute. The plane the wielder wishes to travel to must be whispered to the blade before the creation of the door is begun. Anyone can step through the door, even enemies of the caster, so long as they do so within 1 minute of the door’s completion.

1/Week – If the hilt of the blade is held so the eyes of the skull meet the eyes of a helpless opponent, then the wielder may speak the trigger phrase “Love is weakness.” When this is done, a brief light will flash in the skull’s eyes. The victim’s dearest loved one must then succeed on a DC: 14 fortitude save against death. On a successful save, they still take 3d6 pain-based damage. When this happens, the victim will hear their loved one’s cries of [...]

[Beyond the Pale Gate] BtPG RPG

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:45:03 GMT

OK, I know I said I wouldn't do this, but I'm an idiot. At first I thought this "project" would be a few of my ideas bolted onto someone else's system. It has morphed more into my take on a separate evolutionary branch of Chainmail. That's ok, because it's something I've been trying for years. Now, this thing has a life of its own. So, I've collected what all I have so far into one document.

The only thing, system-wise, missing at this point is combat. I have that, but I'm currently editing it to bring it more [...]

[Troll in the Corner] Reality Makes the Best Fantasy: Heroes

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:30:03 GMT

Heracles as a baby. Killing a snake. Easily makes him one of the Top 5 Most Useful Babies.

A little fiction with your article today! Scroll down past the asterisks if you just want to get to the article.

Kelvin couldn't believe his good fortune. As a child he had grown up hearing the stories of Hewin Bowsnapper and how he had blazed a trail for his people all those years ago into the Southernlands, protecting them once the land was settled. As a boy Kelvin stayed up late on nights his father went to the bar, hoping he would return with [...]

[Arcanos do Vale] Battlestar Galactica - Homenagem visual

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:30:03 GMT

Saudaes cylons viajantes,

continuando com as homenagens visuais vamos agora para o desossante Battlestar, ento cuidado com os
Spoilers!

no sei o que pensar sobre isto.

=P
Gaius why?

Salute!
A interface eh uma bela bost*, mas o windows passa vergonha. #DRADRIS
Num ta facil pa ninguem.
Mass Ress

@alan_myla

[Rolang's Creeping Doom] Last Day for Flame Princess Hardcovers

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:30:03 GMT

Today is the last day for the LotFP crowdfunding drive. This is to fund publication of the player’s rules and the magic book as a single hardcover.

This is my favorite of the retroclones/remixes of the old school rules. And at $30, it’s possibly cheaper and definitely higher quality than what Kinko’s can make from a PDF.

I do hope that eventually Raggi will publish this and the referee book as hardcovers and keep them in print, but I know nothing of the economics of publishing.

Sorry to publish two nags in a row about this, but I want to make sure everyone [...]

[A Rust Monster Ate My Sword] The Gods Have Smiled Upon Me (for a change)

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:00:03 GMT

This post will likely be of no interest to anyone but myself and those close to me, but I feel the need to share, none the less. We have been surprisingly blessed with a new family member:

Getting this car was a complete surprise, since we went looking around with the expectation that we would only be gathering information as to how much more we would need to supplement our measly down payment as we geared up for the task of replacing our ailing '00 Beetle. We never for one second expected that we'd be driving off the [...]

[Games From the Mind of fewilcox] Open Source Rules-light TRPG

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:00:03 GMT

What follows is a rules-light roleplaying game I dreamed up a couple of weeks ago. It has seen no playtesting, and in fact only about a half-dozen people have even seen it before now. I plan to eventually open-source this game as my gift to the roleplaying world, but would like help in testing and refining it first to make sure that everyone can start with a really solid core and build on that.

So, to kick things off, here’s a veryearly alpha release that I hope is fully playable. Please let me know what you think.

And I really mean that. [...]

[Games From the Mind of fewilcox] D&D Next Playtest

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:00:03 GMT

I, like everyone else who signed up, received my playtest info today so now I’m doubly excited. Hopefully we can get a playtest game going at Hillside soon. Maybe Saturday before Pokmon League, or Wednesday before Encounters…

I’d love to do some playtesting on Roll20, but playing digitally is expressly forbidden by the terms of the playtest. 8o(

[Games From the Mind of fewilcox] Roleplaying Accessories

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:00:03 GMT

Over the years I have made several character sheets and other aids for roleplaying games. Here are just a few:

Character Sheets for GURPS 4e and D&D 4e

Every character sheet I’ve ever seen had one major flaw: it was never suitable for every character the game could make. Mages need spell space (or have lots of powers). Fighters have lots of weapons. Gadgeteers have lots of gadgets. And so on. One HackMaster Basicplayer even made customized character sheets for each of the four classes in that book.

That was the last straw for me, so I designed some character sheets for the [...]

[The Signe of the Frothing Mug] Monsters with Reason

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:45:02 GMT

From lingering around other people's games, it has become apparent to me that a lot of times monstrous demihumans are simply aggressors. When they are encountered, they may demand some gold, but more times than not they will attack just for fun. I think that there's something to be said for a good fight now and then, but there's also something to be said about giving your monstrous demihumans (

[Creative Mountain Games] Bond Girls (Women!)

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:30:03 GMT

As we approach the new Bond movie Skyfall coming up later this year, there's an interesting pictorial summary of the many female actors and their roles in James Bond movies over the fifty year span of the franchise on cabletv.com that is worth a look for the Bond fans among us. Check it out here!

[Ancient Scroll] By Fate Enslaved by Robin D. Laws

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:30:03 GMT

StoryCraft is a new section of Ancient Scroll website where we will publish adventure ideas written exclusively for us by famous RPG authors. Robin D. Laws agreed to be the first host of this section. Look for new adventures in StoryCraft every two weeks. Genre: fantasy (dark historical) Springboard: During one period of the Byzantine [...]

[Ancient Scroll] Przez los zniewoleni -- Robin D. Laws

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:30:03 GMT

Gatunek: mroczne historyczne fantasy Wprowadzenie: W czasach imperium bizantyjskiego prawo zezwalao, by rozbitkw znalezionych na brzegu bra w niewol i zmienia ich w niewolnikw. Gdyby tym samym ludziom udao si dotrze, nawet na uszkodzonym, statku do przystani, cieszyliby si wolnoci. Ale zdarzao si, e przez wybryk losu stawali si po prostu niewolnikami. Niewane, kim byli [...]

[Teleleli] from The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:15:03 GMT

Three times Randolph Carter dreamed of the marvelous city, and three times was he snatched away while still he paused on the high terrace above it. All golden and lovely it blazed in the sunset, with walls, temples, colonnades and arched bridges of veined marble, silver-basined fountains of prismatic spray in broad squares and perfumed gardens, and wide streets marching between delicate trees and blossom-laden urns and ivory statues in gleaming rows; while on steep northward slopes climbed tiers of red roofs and old peaked gables harbouring little lanes of grassy cobbles. It was a fever of the gods, a [...]

[Age of Ravens] Build a Better City? Last Thoughts on Citybooks

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:15:03 GMT

NOW LEAVING THE CITY
I've finally finished my reviews of Flying Buffalo's Citybook series (spoiler: I think Citybook VI: Up Town's my favorite.). Going through reminded me how much good play material I'd gotten from those books. In the end that's my scale for a product's success- how well it informs or assists actual play at the table. In the case of the Citybooks, the best led to great adventures. Those entries shared several characteristics: interesting NPCs; a small twist; a basic premise shifted in a novel way; and several suggestions for different directions to take the material. With that [...]

[Gothridge Manor] The Offical Stamp of Approval

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:15:03 GMT

Last weekend, in between crashing my computer and causing electronic mayhem in general, I got a catalog from Staple with a few deals on office stuff. One deal was for a stamper I could customize. Not one to pass up on getting something unnecessary I messed around with the program and go a cool stamper for GM Games.

I think its pretty kick ass even though all it does is place an address on an envelope. But now I am a legit business because this stamper makes me official. So the next time you get an issue of [...]

[GMS Magazine] 101 Combat Feats

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:15:03 GMT

This pdf from Rite Publishingis 32 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages advertisement and 1 page SRD, leaving 27 pages of content for the new feats, so let's check them out!

[Big Ball of No Fun] 5E Friday

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:00:03 GMT

- I've been trying to get a pick-up game for 5E, since I don't want to replace my regular games with the playtest, but so far having no luck in actually running a game of 5E. However, there have been a plethora of 5E reviews, play analysis and other comments on a variety of blogs. With a lot of good analysis two things have struck me... 1) "5E is not innovative." I've seen a few people mention

[The Good Gaming Blog] Folklore Friday: Know Your Legends: Fossegrim

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:00:03 GMT

Today we discuss the fossegrim, a Scandinavian spirit of water, and its interpretation in DND 3.x.

Pictured: Kurt Cobain reincarnated as a water sprite. The [...]

[Worlds in a Handful of Dice] Last Hours at Hand for LotFP IndieGoGo

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:00:03 GMT

As I write this, there are less than 20 hours to go until the end of the LotFP IndieGoGo campaign. The amount raised is now nearly $14,000, and Jim has declared the Kenneth Hite adventure funded! Now is your opportunity to pledge! Perhaps you’ll be lucky and a last-minute rush will get us over the Mentzer line as well…

I’m mildly disappointed that my adventure didn’t get funded and even more disappointed that Richard Pett’s didn’t, but so it goes.

Jim has also announced another series of campaigns in July for even more adventures by a different set of writers, some of [...]

[Keith J Davies -- In My Campaign] RPG Blog Carnival: Fantastic Creations, Final Roundup

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:45:03 GMT

As I mentioned in my last roundup, I didn’t see nearly the traffic for this RPG Blog Carnival: Fantastic Creations that I did for Fantastic Locations.

This surprises me a little, since I would think it would be one of the easier ones to post for — if nothing else, throw in links to magic item posts, and I see a fair number of such posts go up every week.

I think one of the big differences this time around is that I wasn’t posting as much. For my first carnival I had a fairly solid run for a couple weeks, posting [...]

[The Player's Side of the Screen] Crashing the Dungeon

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:15:02 GMT

So, some time back, I promised that I'd follow up on my Identity Crisis post. I'm finally getting around to that, although the idea isn't strictly mine. I owe it to my buddy Scott for pointing out something that I said in the very end: "We've got a dungeon to crash." He then proceeded to spark quite the interesting train of thought, so let's see if I can flesh stuff out a tad.Read more

[War Bear] Sci Fi Role Playing

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:15:02 GMT

Not so much a post but a snippet of news which excited me.

CD Projekt, the company behind The Witcher, is making a new video game based on the Cyberpunk universe!

While this may not be of any interest to a lot of traditional sword and board gamers, I really enjoy the whole cyberpunk scene. For some reason a world dominated by technology with only the sprawling lower class and select few super-rich seems very believable. I loved The Witcher so I'm pumped to see what they do in a Sci Fi setting.
Happy Gaming!

[Game Knight Reviews] Friday Knight News -- Gaming Edition: 1-JUN-2012

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:15:02 GMT

I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record in these things, but June!!?! Where the heck did May go?

But now’s the time when students eye all-day or all-night game sessions as summer break comes into view. I remember those days fondly – losing entire weekends at a friend’s house (thanks to Jayson Minard and his family), or lounging around with no summer classes in college and enjoying mid-day gaming because it didn’t interfere with anything… Ah memories. Now as an adult, there’s always one more crisis to deal with – kids, work, visiting family, yard work… it never [...]

[The Other Side] Mary Pickford Blogathon

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:00:04 GMT

Today I am participating in the Mary Pickford blogathon hosted over at Classic Movies.

http://www.aclassicmovieblog.com/2012/04/mary-pickford-blogathon-announcement.html
Please stop by all the bloggers participating and see what they have to say about this Hollywood Legend.

Today I want to talk about the ONLY Mary Pickford movie I have ever seen. This movie though has had such a profound impact on my gaming and later writing that I would be remiss if I didn't talk about it at least once here.

Sparrows (1926)
I saw this movie back when I was in Junior High School. One of the great [...]

[S#!t Roleplayers Say] Genghis Khan would've approved

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:30:04 GMT

After the first session's adventurous night, Brown and the Deadly Hummingbird went to get drunk. Someone challenged them to a fight, but as luck would have it, managed not to have Brown beaten up.

Meanwhile, Boaty investimagated the Tube tunnels and found someone at a distance who refused to run for help, as well as someone who was hurt or possibly dead. There was a hole in the wall too. All this was duly reported to other policemen to take care off while he went home for the night.

Miss Duckworth got home only to interrupt the oldest child telling the younger two a scary story. At a very strategic moment, involving thunder and lightning. Poor kids, lost sanity points and are now terrified of their governess. If only they knew their daddy was brutally murdered.

Troubled by nightmares, Brown finally woke up and got himself ready [...]

[6d6 Fireball] Massive Discounts on Memberships

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:30:04 GMT

… and pretty big savings on PDFs in our … Birthday / Jubilee Sale I turn 44 this weekend so to celebrate all our PDFs are £4.40, about 50% off the normal price, but the big saving is on 6d6 Online lifetime memberships. Save £106 A lifetime member has access to everything we produce, now [...]

[Teilzeithelden.de] Aktion Abenteuer! --- Die Maizusammenfassung

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:15:04 GMT

Seid Anfang des Jahres haben wir eine Partnerschaft mit Aktion Abenteuer, der grten deutschen Community rund um Phantastik und phantastische Spiele. Dort findet ihr Diskussionen nicht nur -- wenn auch hauptschlich -- um Rollenspiele, sondern auch um alle Aspekte der Phantastik, seien es Spiele, Bcher oder andere Dinge.

Jeden Monat prsentieren wir auf diesem Weg eine Zusammenfassung der bei Aktion Abenteuer erscheinenden Rezensionen, um euch mal einen Blick ber den Tellerrand zu bieten. Die Szene sollte eine groe Familie sein, und auf diesem Weg wollen wir unseren Beitrag dazu leisten.

Im Mai sind folgende Rezensionen erschienen:

Rollenspiele 13Mann

Traveller --- Alien Buch 3: Darrianer
Traveller --- [...]

[Emergence Campaign] The Emperic Masquerader

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:15:04 GMT

The question here was how to do a "Chameleon" style build – along with a few queries about how to match a variant build from a forum over HERE. That's easy enough, so here we have the Emperic Masquerader – also known as the…

Adaptive Copycat
All-Embracing Understudy
Competent Quack
Elusive Mimic
Masterful Chameleon
Mercurial Stand-In
Opportunistic Mountebank
Persona Impressionist
Protean Pretender
Resourceful Impersonator
Splendid Imitator and…
Weathercock Mocker

This character is built around a rather old notion – an individual who's so flexible and generally competent that – when they get into a role – they can effectively stand in for almost anyone. While the notion was most celebrated during the Renaissance, [...]

[Tower of the Archmage] Balticon 46 Mapping (1 of 4)

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:00:03 GMT

If you follow me on Google+, then you've already seen this one:

It's a re-imagining of the hotel's lower level.

[The Wandering Gamist] Resolving ACKS' Quantum Death

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:00:03 GMT

One complaint with ACKS voiced by the Rpgist is the problem of 'quantum death' which results from the way the Mortal Wounds table works. When you're reduced to 0 HP, you wait until you receive treatment to see just how badly injured you are. This means that people may burn Cure spells or actions on someone who's very likely splattered everywhere, which is both a waste of resources and kind of silly. I will be honest in saying that I don't address this part of the problem directly; however, there is a secondary problem, that of description, to which I [...]

[Greywulf's Lair] Playtest 2: Evil Shrines of Moradin!

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:45:02 GMT

Last time we played the first session of the D&D Next Open Playtest (and I liked it). Last night we ran the second session, and y’know what?

I still liked it. Hopefully, my players did too. As ever, there will be Spoilers.

At the start of the session the party are in a room (having just killed three cultists and left one near-catatonic in the corner) with three Zombies in the doorway. The Zombies had just been Turned and were standing there, moaning disappointedly in a way that only disappointed Zombies can.

We gained two more players for this session (putting the total [...]

[Of Dice and Men] U is for Ungoliant

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:30:04 GMT

Dude on the right? Sauron's daddy.One of the creepiest of Tolkien's forces of Evil, Ungoliant was a spirit who took the form of a massive Spider. Her children (like Shelob, the nasty big Spider in Lord of The Rings) roamed the dark places of the land, making nests at devouring all who come into their lairs.

One of the stranger things about Ungoliant is that she did not get the usual eighteen-page backstory that most of Tolkien's creations received - she simply is, and in a world as detailed and recorded as Middle Earth, that's pretty creepy. It's obvious, [...]

[Hack & Slash] On Alchemical Items, Flaming Candles

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 10:15:03 GMT

Exploding CandleBSC:30%(R)gp:1000 gpDC:22TTC:2 daysCC:6CGP::250 gpNWP:-3XP:200 xpD100:+5%Weight:- / 20D6:2 in 6 / 5Difficulty:HardRarityUncommon
Materials:Beeswax (2 drams), Mineral Oil (1 ounce), Silk (2 drams), Rare Earths (1 dram), Hell Hound Teeth/Fire Essence (2 drams)

Description: After burning for 5-12 rounds (1d8+4) these candles explode in a pillar of fire. The flaming cylinder extends 1" (5 feet) out from the candle on all sides doing 6d8 damage. A save versus Breath Weapon (Reflex save DC 18) will allow someone to escape for half damage. When this occurs the candle will be destroyed.
You may trim the wick on this candle [...]

[Die Tafelrunde] Pendragon Fiction im Ausverkauf

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 09:30:04 GMT

Pendragon Fiction zum Schnppchenpreis Als Green Knight Publishing seine Pforten geschlossen hat, hat Paizo die gesamten Bestnde an "Pendragon Fiction" bernommen. Insgesamt dreizehn "Pendragon Fiction"-Bcher von Chaosium und von Green Knight Publishing gibt es bei Paizo fr den Spottpreis von $ 1,00 pro Buch. Dazu kommen die leider nicht unerheblichen Portokosten fr den Versand nach

[Terruizeng] ACKS Terruizengan Campaign Proficiencies list

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 08:45:03 GMT

1st level PCs start with one class, and one general proficiency. After choosing one ability score with a bonus modifier, for each bonus point the character gains an extra proficiency from either their general or class proficiencies lists, or from the following list:

Common General Proficiencies: Naturalism; Tracking; Trapping; Mapping; Navigation; Seafaring; Riding; Engineering; Siege Engineering; Military Strategy; Art; Language(Merchant's cant of Aquendo; Sigils of the Nenites; Torogien Script; Irthosian Chants; Celesian Laws; Kotaruan Cantrips; or Secret Tongue of the Cult of the Veirokin); Performance; and Theology.

General Proficiencies are determined by where you're from or have [...]

[Gnome Stew] Take a Risk, or Take a Pass

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 07:45:04 GMT

If you want to be a great GM you must risk your current game being a failure over and over again.

You need to take risks in order to get rewards. Rewards do not come to the people who do the safe and sure thing. People who do the safe and sure thing get mediocrity at best.

Do you want to run a mediocre game? If you answered yes, stop reading this blog. In fact, stop reading any form of GMing advice whatsoever. If you want to run a mediocre game just keep repeating whatever it is that worked for you once [...]

[tenletter] [South Africa] Pathfinder Society at ICON 2012

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 07:15:04 GMT

ICON is South Africa’s largest annual convention. This year, ICON is 21 and will feature roleplaying, boardgaming, cosplaying, card gaming, video gaming, anime screenings, LARPs, stand up comics, and Pathfinder Society Organised Play.

ICON 2012, Raiders of the Last ICON, runs from 13 July 2012 until 15 July 2012. There will be three PFS slots:

14 July 2012, morning slot

14 July 2012, afternoon slot

15 July 2012, morning slot

The organisers plan to run the following scenarios:

#3-09: The Quest for Perfection---Part I: The Edge of Heaven

#3-11: The Quest for Perfection---Part II: On Hostile Waters

#3-13: The Quest for Perfection---Part III: Defenders of Nesting [...]

[Between Are the Doors] Harrowfaust Rocks

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 07:00:04 GMT

My awesome wife Kristy has made an 8 Track soundtrack for Harrowfaust, of the World Between. Check it out. (She put photos together to make this great album cover too.)

The soundtrack is here. My post on Harrowfaust is here. Jack’s post on Harrowfaust is here. Happy listening!

[Teilzeithelden.de] Angeschaut: Men in Black 3

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 07:00:04 GMT

Zehn Jahre ist es her, dass J und K uns zuletzt vor dem schlimmsten Abschaum des Universums geschtzt haben, sogar 14, seit sie es das erste Mal getan haben. War und ist der erste Teil der Reihe echtes Kultkino, so war der zweite Teil leider relativ schwach. Warum also sollte man sich den dritten Teil der Reihe nach so langer Zeit ansehen? Ganz einfach: Weil er Spa macht!

Die Grundlage der Story (Vorsicht, hier etwa so viel Spoiler, wie auch im Trailer (s.u.) zu finden ist) ist schnell erzhlt: K und J sind immer noch Partner, J redet immer noch viel, [...]

[Cradle Of Rabies] Hands Of Death - Spell

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 06:45:03 GMT
Spell for Lamentation of the Flame Princess, d20, OSR and other fantasy roleplaying games.

Overview

Hands of Death is a powerful spell where caster can literally kill by touch. There is a small change for huge advantage but similarly a small change for disadvantage.

Spell

Picture by Bloodred070 @ Deviant ArtLVL 8 Cleric spell
Caster must learn the spell from the Order of the Death.
When casting the spell caster must touch the target with both hands without interruption for 5 turns.
Target rolls save versus death (what saving roll is best for this) [...]

[Aventuras en la Marca del Este] Reverse Dungeon

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 06:00:04 GMT
Uno de los ms interesantes productos publicados al poco de que tomara Wizards el control de TSR y su juego estrella, D&D, fue este Reverse Dungeon, escrito por Bruce R. Cordell (uno de los actuales desarrolladores de D&D Next) y John D. Rateliff. En l, en lugar de tomar el papel de los sempiternos hroes, seremos los monstruos que aguardan en el dungeon la llegada de estos... vamos!, seremos los malos, cosa que siempre mola. En realidad, Reverse Dungeon no es solo una aventura, son ms bien tres mini campaas bien diversas. En la primera, ms bsica, tomamos el control [...]

[Live from the Dead Air] LASERs and Related Systems

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 06:00:04 GMT
Its been said by people smarter than I, that lasers are a lot like blast-furnaces that happen to release a bit of coherent light. Well, maybe not smarter, but holding engineering degrees at least. But they're probably right about why we haven't used lasers much over the last eighty years as something other than a guidance system. Its like a formula one car - its not all that fuel efficient, and you can't use it on real roads - so why?

Well, because they're good against missiles for one. Missiles became really common on the battlefield - a drone [...]

[Forgotten Runes] Carcosa!?

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 05:30:04 GMT
I have marked this review with the chess symbol for gambit (!?). I picked up Carcosa the new hardback edition up at my local game store. It falls to me being employed and relatively well payed to buy stuff at the store to ensure that our Thursday night table does not given to the Magic players, so I am always on the lookout for small press stuff, the owner knows this and stocks things other than mainstream. I found the writing very inspiring for those interested running weird Lovecraftian game. I am not enough of an affectionatio of the Cthulhu [...]

[Gaming Tonic] What Classes Aren't Necessary in D&D Next, Poll Results

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 05:30:04 GMT

I love to run polls on Gaming Tonic and my last poll had a lot of feedback because the whole D&D Next thing has really increased the traffic. The last poll that I ran was "What Class Can 5th Edition D&D Do Without?" In my most recent interview with Mike Mearls I asked him about having fewer classes in Dungeons & Dragons and instead use another mechanic to represent certain builds. In the interview I reference warlock, but it can apply to a lot of these classes. Still perhaps some gamers just want a certain class to just go away, [...]

[Reality Refracted] Discussion - How Would Your Players Act In The Avengers?

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 05:00:04 GMT
As a fair warning to anyone reading this post, there is likely to be spoilers for The Avengers in this post. If you haven't seen it yet, and don't want it spoiled, then close your browser and head to the movie theater. Trust me, this movie is worth seeing on the big screen.

My question to the rest of you is this: how would your regular play group handle the situations presented in The Avengers?

For me, and perhaps for a lot of people there would likely be some key changes. Namely:

-Hawkeye would likely not have [...]

[The Mule Abides] Megadungeon Mastery II: Rise and Fall of the Great Underground Empire

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 05:00:04 GMT

(Continued from Megadungeon Mastery I: There’s No Place Like Home Base.)

“You are in a maze of… oh, never mind.”
Ah, the Great Underground Empire! What would the dungeons of Zork have been like without Emperor Flathead, the Zorkmid, or Flood Control Dam #5? Just a maze of twisty little passages, all alike. Ditto for Moria without its dwarven halls, or Castle Timeless without its evil wizards and Great Old Ones. A dungeon is more than mere rooms and corridors, monsters and treasures; it’s an environment all its own, with its own character and context.

For now, let’s just look at the big [...]

[About Bruce Heard. D&D, and new stories] The Alphatian Province of Limn (Updated May 31)

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:45:03 GMT

[Wampus Country] Orlando Furioso

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:30:03 GMT
Some inspirational pictures I've come across lately; this is the all-Disney edition. If you can look at these and not want to play any of them, please check the gaping hole where your heart should be; surely you are whimsy-deficient.Tengu are rare in Wampus Country, but they have adapted very well.
This aerophant makes good money as a scout, surveyor, and cartographer.
And now, some ducks.
Pretend this isn't Uncle Scrooge for a moment. Look at this pic as a "Chaotic duck-folk wizard".
Duck-folk with "flying-cloud" mount.
Duck-folk wrangler at a ranch near Massacre Mesa.
No worries, the "aerophant" race-as-class [...]

[Just Add Heroes] New Release Roundup: May 2012

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:18:18 GMT
As May 2012 comes to a close, I thought I'd finish up the month by highlighting the latest release for the ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying Game from Fainting Goat Games, Justice Wheels #2: Auguste Anarch. This is the second offering in the Justice Wheels PDF series and features The Auguste Anarch - a street level clown-themed criminal along with his customized vehicle. Inside you will find full ICONS stats for the Auguste Anarch and his signature ride, as well as suggestions for using him instead as a hero. The PDF also includes standees of the Auguste Anarch and his vehicle for [...]

[Kobold Enterprise] Alternate Attribute Generation

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:15:03 GMT

Just wanted to share a quick alternate method of attribute generation I tried out the other day.

For normal power level characters 2d6+8 in order no swapping.

I could imagine this slightly modified in the following situations:

Low power level: 1d6+8 (+9 if you want everyone to at least be average)

Medium power level: 2d6+8

High powered: 3d6(drop the lowest)+8

For some reason this feels like a familiar way of rolling attributes so I may have read it someplace; but either way it worked out great. The attribute spreads were nice and no one was griping about having less than a 10 in a stat.

What attribute [...]

[Ancient Scroll] Mapa IX: czytana z rki

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:15:03 GMT
Klucz do mapy znajduje si na czyjej doni -- s to linie papilarne -- te z ktrych si wry. Pomys jest do trudny to zrealizowania. Sprbujmy jednak skonstruowa jaki szkic przygody opartej na tym patencie... Po pierwsze powiniene przed przygod poprosi graczy o pokazanie swoich doni i pozwolenie na przerysowanie najwaniejszych linii -- wystarczy zerkn [...]

[Sea of Stars RPG Design Journal] Review -- Shadowrun: Spy Games

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:00:05 GMT

Spy Games is about the divided city of Denver and the conflicts and opportunities such provide for spies and shadowrunners alike. The city, it inhabitants and ways to make money there are detailed. If you like spies or Denver (or both) in the Shadowrun setting, this is the sourcebook for you.

Spy Games: A Seep Shadows Sourcebook for Shadowrun written by Bill Aguiar, Lars Blumenstein, Rusty Childers, Jason M. Hardy, Adam Large, James Meiers, John Schmidt, Brandie Tarvin, Malik Toms, Tobias Wolter, Russell Zimmerman and published by Catalyst Game Labs.

Spy Games is a guide to the divided city of Denver, along [...]

[ROFL Initiative] Play Test

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 03:45:03 GMT
Two words that seem very strange next to each other.

I signed up for Wizards of the Coast's open play test of D&D Next, a.k.a. 5th Edition, the Omni-Pleaser, Retro-trash or Nerd-rage Catalyst #5 (actually only the first alias is used by anyone but me.) Wizards is attempting a noble, if foolhardy/impossible undertaking-to please all factions of a demographic that is as diverse as it is fiercely opinionated.

Well, not only did WOTC release the proverbial Kraken, it asked the beast to sit down, try out the game-in-progress and provide feedback. Their public playtest is open [...]

[Reality Blurs] Bang! Bang!

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 03:45:03 GMT

Today has been a very long day of running around and getting things done in the real world. However, I did not forget about you and I made certain the first ONE SHOT was available for your consumption before I left the MAD LAB. It’s entitled CAT’S EYE, and I assure you you will not be disappointed.

In other news, I have gone to the wilds of BEST BUY, I have seen the AVENGERS avenging, but what blew my mind most of all was riding around with my daughter in her new car all day. That is, my friends, when I [...]

[20ft Radius] Recent Changes to the Site

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 03:30:03 GMT
Hey all. Just a quick post to tell you of a couple of new changes that have appeared on the site. I have decided this season to podcast the recaps of the weekly encounters sessions. I will be podcasting all the sessions of Web of the Spider Queen, season 9 D&D Encounters.

Click the following links to access the podcasts:

Web of the Spider Queen - Week 1, and the Web of the Spider Queen - Sneak Preview.

Secondly, I have added a pre-generated characters from 1st to 3rd levels of the original modules as [...]

[HeroPress] Miss June: Cobie Smulders

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 03:30:03 GMT

Cobie Smulders (from Avengers Assemble and How I Met Your Mother)



[The Wandering Gamist] Journal of Gallivan Stoneshield, Part 1

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 03:15:03 GMT
Fouler things can lurk in dark,
Indeed, than you and I.
So trust not words to make their mark,
When comes your final sigh.

Let all your hopes be stone and steel,
Your dreams all do or die,
And when death comes,
Let all your sons drink one for you and I.

- Callon Silvertongue, "The Adventurer's Creedo"

The Dardantine Razors, we call ourselves. It's a foolish notion, to think we are strong, just because we have a name. We barely know each other, and it takes one traitor to remind us all how [...]

[The Savage AfterWorld] Savage Menagerie: Hummingoat

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 03:00:03 GMT
No. Enc.: 2d20
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 240' (80')
Armor Class: 8
Hit Dice: 1
Attacks: 1 (butt)
Damage: 1d6
Save: L1
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: None

If a mutant suddenly feels as if he's being pelted with large rocks, there's a good chance he's being accosted by a Hummingoat swarm. A Hummingoat is a small (2" long), quick bird that has developed the head of a ram. This Hummingoat's head is topped by two curved stone-like horns, which the Hummingoat uses to attack.

When a Hummingoat feels threatened or intruded upon, it will buzz around the head of [...]

[Mithril and Mages] Quick Thoughts: Welcome to Mortiston, USA

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 02:45:04 GMT

I wrapped up reading Welcome to Mortiston, USA over the lunch hour today. Overall, I was quite pleased with the work.

Mortiston is first and foremost a modern setting supplement. While it is billed as a generic zombie apocalypse setting, the zombie element is not a significant element. If you are looking for detailed zombie apocalypse back story along with the uprising as a focal element, Mortiston will fall short. In fact, game masters can easily ignore all mentions of zombies and just use the locale as a setting [...]

[War Bear] Boss Fights!

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 02:45:04 GMT
I know my posting is sparse, but I console myself in knowing that I haven't been writing about gaming because I've been too busy playing games!
Our "group one" game happened two weeks ago and it was fantastic. Blanklee, Karl and Gertrude have continued their journey toward the Sunderforge, where they hope to destroy a fiendish artifact. They stopped off for a brief moment at a grey elf settlement, where they were to meet an an emissary of the red elves - who was waiting for them. He would escort them through the Weirdwood: the warped and haunted remains of [...]

[The Good Gaming Blog] (Prataferro) The Desprezivel, the Insignificant Host.

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 02:30:04 GMT
"Do not look upon my warriors with praise or blame. They are the insignificant, the iron of the Silver. Instead look upon your own meager [...]

[The Tome Show] Player Engagement and Prep Time (Tome 195)

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 02:30:04 GMT

The award winning blogger the Id DM joins us for this advice episode looking at helping players stay engaged at the table and discussing DM prep time (and where the most effective place to put it is). We also discuss D&D Next news and GenCon!

Be sure to join the Tome Show’s live recordings at GenCon they are:

Tome Advice (guest to be announced) SEM1233024

Gamer to Gamer (with Chris Perkins) SEM1233028

Behind the DM Screen SEM1233180

Sponsors:

Gamerati

Gamerati TV

Continue Magazine

Links:

Michael Mallen (the IdDM): Email | Blog | Twitter

d20 Monkey - Know Your Rolly comic

Sly Flourish’s DM Prep survey results

Download Standard Podcasts

[Occult Moon] Thank you!

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 02:30:04 GMT

Just wanted to give an overall thank you to everyone that helped by donating to The Blood of Morpheus Project. You know who you are and I am greatly indebted to you people.

~Michael Garcia a.k.a. The Crazy GM

[The ArmChair General] The Hatfields

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:45:02 GMT

Here's the final sculpts for Ma, Roxy, Jenny, Cousin Daryl and Cousin Hatfield!

Here's an early version of Neuron. He's a telepathic gray who means to take as many samples as he is able to fit into his probe! Neuron is the leader of the Grays faction.

[Tenkar's Tavern] Bouncing Through the DCC RPG With Reckless Abandon - And Then Distracted by the Art

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:15:03 GMT

Wouldn't You Want THIS As a Framed Print in Your Man-Cave? Cat wrestling time here at the Tavern - which means it's cat vs man on top of the keyboard! I think I've won, for now.

In any case, Game Knight Reviews has been doing a wonderful multipart look at the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. You really should take a look if you've been enjoying my ramblings on the DCC RPG.

One of my biggest surprises is how much I dislike the DCC Beta that came out last summer, yet I love the final result. I'm not sure if my perspective changed, the rules change that much, or if it was a combination of the two. I suspect it was the latter. I'm finding [...]

[...and the sky full of dust] Weeping Chasm draft

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:00:05 GMT

This is a draft of the Weeping Chasmfrom the City of Bones, in a pretty blue. Full colour version is below, for comparison.

The Weeping Chasm, Duotone

The Weeping Colour, in Full Glorious Colour

[Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer] [Let's Study: Degenesis] Part 1 -- The Setting & History of the Apocalypse

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:30:03 GMT

Artwork by Wesley Burt: http://www.wesleyburt.com/

Degenesis is up front and center about being a Primal post apocalyptic setting, and I have to admit that I’m very impressed with what I’ve seen so far. The art and layout are superb, and I’m getting a really interesting Post-Apocalypse meets Sword & Sorcery vibe. Despite the bleak nature and barbaric trappings of the setting, I’m impressed by how hope tends to come back now and then as a recurring theme.

It’s a pretty crappy world to live in, but it doesn’t have to stay that way.

Rocks fall, Everyone Dies.

Degenesis begins the setting chapters with a [...]

[Tolrendor DM's Blog] Waaay off piste...

Thu, 31 May 2012 23:45:03 GMT

Ok, ok, this is clearly not an RPG post. Nevertheless, it concerns another of my passions, and this is my only available outlet at the moment…

An Open Letter to Brendan Rogers, Manager of Liverpool Football Club.

Dear Brendan,

First of all, welcome to the Club! I wish with all my heart that [...]

[The Good Gaming Blog] (D&D Next) To Mike Mearls: Of Madlibs, Moogs, and Modules

Thu, 31 May 2012 23:45:03 GMT
I hate to have to say this, but thank you Mike Mearls for allaying some fears. In a series of interviews with Mearls and his [...]

[Between Are the Doors] OSH Armor Reconfigured

Thu, 31 May 2012 23:15:02 GMT

I’ve been wrestling with how I want to handle Armor Class. I don’t like the all or nothing hit, because the point of armor is not to dodge but to deflect injury. I also don’t like the idea that even a little armor can protect you from most attacks. Still, armor is worthwhile, so I didn’t want to nerf it unduly.

How do I get to a place where armor doesn’t make you invulnerable, but does help? I think I finally cracked it as I lay in bed awake one night last week! This one is easier to display on a [...]

[Between Are the Doors] Western Hack: Guns

Thu, 31 May 2012 23:15:02 GMT

So, here you go. Western firearms for Old School Hack.

Western Hack Guns

I enjoyed looking over Stuart Robertson’s Weird West game, but I don’t think I could play it. I toyed with the idea of revisiting my old Western setting in a rules-lite way, or making a new one that is weirder and whipping up a rule set, or converting Old School Hack to a Western style setting that is totally fictional.

Like I need another conversion project.

So I decided to get it out of my system with a document adding guns to Old School Hack (much of which will still work [...]

[Occult Moon] Captain's Logs from the Sandbox 02: The Broken Omnicrys

Thu, 31 May 2012 23:15:02 GMT

The Omnicryses store psionic teachings and wisdom of the ancient Forerunner race. Most puzzling is the incredibly powerful Broken Omnicrys. It holds the peaceful teachings of one Forerunner faction, combined with the aggressive teachings of the faction that caused their downfall.

Now, an insane Nova Templar stole the Broken Omnicrys, and used it to amplify his psionic powers drastically. Escaping in a stolen smuggling ship, he heads for Karmsworld, a hive in the Beta Hydrae system.

This Captain’s Log, designed for use with any science-fiction roleplaying game, contains story ideas and background information on the Broken Omnicrys, the Mad Templar, [...]

[Between Are the Doors] The Scavenger Masters Grimore (remix)

Thu, 31 May 2012 23:15:02 GMT

The Masters of the Scavenger Lands include Gartheon Nack, Yelkar Truth, and Larmak Fermain. These mysterious robed figures meted justice out among the Vistani and Wastelanders, battling or unleashing monsters as they learned to manipulate the horrific energies gushing out of the Ruinous Scar. The greatest honor was survival; their magic tends to grow more potent as its wielder continues on unkilled.

This magic is most often learned from strange wandering masters, or from hermits deep in the Scavenger Lands, or from scarred mercenary spellcasters who spook the armies they serve.

The Scavenger Masters Grimore

Jack posted on elemental magic of the Scavenger [...]

[Alex Schroeder: RPG] The Last Batch Of Favorites

Thu, 31 May 2012 23:00:04 GMT

I listed my favorite One Page Dungeon Contest 2012 submissions in previous posts. Here are the rest:
Paolo Greco, Dyson Logos & Stonewerks -- Axo's Dungeon
Peter Regan -- The Kobold Coalition
Radulf St. Germain -- The Forgotten Bath House
Rob S. -- Rot Tower
Roger Carbol -- The Tomb of Oddli Stone-Squarer
Roger SG Sorolla -- Old Bastard's Barrens
Shawn Harris -- Down Draft
The Seven-Sided Die -- The Tomb of Nesta the Mischievous
Warren Abox -- Will No One Rid Me of The Troublesome Goblins
Will Doyle -- Tomb of Snowbite Pass
And finally, the list of entries that I felt had potential but didn’t make the cut. These entries got four points according to my scheme.
Matthew Skipper -- The Burning Lair
PJ Cunningham -- Operation Eagle Eye
Ricky Anderson -- Fine Art
Roland Volz -- The Lanisha Crisis
Tags: RPG 1PDC

[Untimately] OD&D Ability Scores

Thu, 31 May 2012 23:00:04 GMT
Ability scores are explained on pages 10, 11, and 12 of Men & Magic. Here is an alternate presentation.

Abilities3456789101112131415161718StrFtr XP-20%-10%
+5%+10%IntM-U XP-20%-10%
+5%+10%Lang.Common + Alignment+1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8WisClr XP-20%-10%
+5%+10%ConHP-1 per HD+1 per HDSurvive40-50%60-90%100%DexMissile-1+1ChaHirelings12345612Loyalty-2-1+1+2+4
I think this table makes the effects of ability scores much clearer without needing to shoehorn them into a common pattern. This table could be printed on character sheets, and then the character attributes could be circled, or highlighted like a bar graph, as shown below.

[Geek Native] May of the Dead

Thu, 31 May 2012 23:00:04 GMT

Once and a while RPG bloggers get together. This get together nmay because there’s a theme in common, a cause in common or just because. Step forward Ian of Going Last. Ian arranged a RPG blogger carnival of undead posts for the month of May. That’s 31 days of RPG blogs posting about the undead, vampires, zombies and other related topics.
Right now, if it’s 2012 then you can check out Going Last’s summary of all this blog action at this page. It’s an excellent summary. Or, of course, you can check out this Geek Native Storify that covers tweets and [...]

[Хроники Геров (Heroes' Chronicles)] Branded!

Thu, 31 May 2012 22:45:03 GMT

[Troll in the Corner] Notes From The Idea Factory: Mysteries

Thu, 31 May 2012 22:15:03 GMT

I love running mysteries. I am not talking about the big overarching, hey look at me I am trying to be lost type of mystery, but rather the good old gum shoe style story. The nice thing is that a story like this can slip easily into any genre, from the tux and tie of a spy story, to the crown and sword of a fantasy campaign. It just takes a bit of costuming, and you can dress a mystery up pretty much any way you like.

Let's take a quick look at how a mystery is different from a dungeon [...]

[Lurking Rhythmically] Porn Tech Support

Thu, 31 May 2012 22:00:04 GMT
Since I missed this week's Wednesday Night Wackiness, enjoy Big Bang Theory's Kunal Nayyar doing tech support for a porn site.

CollegeHumor's Favorite Funny Videos

[G*M*S Magazine] Forsooth!, the Ultimate Shakespeare RPG, Coming in June

Thu, 31 May 2012 21:45:03 GMT
BOSTON, Mass., May 31, 2012 — Hear ye, hear ye! Spoiled Flush Games today announced their first self-published game: Forsooth!, an RPG of Shakespearean proportions. A greatly expanded update of the Game Chef 2011-winning game of the same name, Forsooth! challenges players to improvise one of the bard's greatest lost work for the amusement of [...]

[Tales of the Rambling Bumblers] Zounds! is here!

Thu, 31 May 2012 21:45:03 GMT

I’m thrilled to announce that Zounds! the Fantasy RPG is now available from RPGNow! I feel like this is the best SFX! game yet. It’s certainly the biggest in terms of content.

It’s also the first to have illustrations other than the computer graphics ones that I do… swiped from dead people the world over! (All public domain, that is.)

Check it out!

[Beyond the Pale Gate] BtPG Classes

Thu, 31 May 2012 21:30:03 GMT
Here's some updated class info, including the aforementioned XP charts. The "Fights As/Defends As" columns refer to the character's ability to be an extremely dangerous opponent at higher levels, regardless of equipment. I want to model the notion that a 6th level Might character, for example, is someone you just do not want to fuck with. I'm not sure if this is the best way to do it, but it's the first way I'm going to try.
Obviously, the first attribute increase is to one of the two attributes that are tied to the class. The second, "Any Other" bonus [...]

[Teilzeithelden.de] Die Convention-bersicht Juni 2012

Thu, 31 May 2012 21:00:05 GMT

Weiter geht es mit den Conterminen des Junis, von denen der NordConsicher deutlich heraus sticht.

Wenn ihr noch Termine habt, die ihr hier nicht wiederfindet dann tragt sie am besten im Conkalender ein, die Adresse steht ganz unten.

NordCon 2012
Wann: Freitag, 01/06/2012, 20:00 Uhr bis Sonntag 03/06/2012, 20 Uhr --- Non Stop
Wo: Schule beim Pachthof, Beim Pachthof 15, Hamburg
Weitere Informationen:http://www.nordcon.de/
4. Pen&Paper Nacht
Wann: 01/06/2012, 19 Uhr
Wo: Zu den vier Winden,Hofstedter Str. 94,44809 Bochum
Weitere Informationen:http://www.aktion-abenteuer.de/b/threads/nrw-ruhrgebiet-4-pen-paper-nacht-in-den-zu-den-vier-winden.74581/
DreRoCo Primavera III
Wann: Freitag, 08/06/2012, 18 Uhr, bis Sonntag, 10/06/2012, 18 Uhr --- Non Stop
Wo: Club Traumtnzer, Gret-Palucca-Str. 9, 01069 Dresden
Weitere Informationen:http://dreroco.de/
Bloody Con
Wann: Freitag, [...]

[tenletter] [Pathfinder] Quarterstaff Master

Thu, 31 May 2012 21:00:05 GMT

Some of you may remember my complaints, dating back to 2010, about the lack of weapon options for the 3.X/PFRPG monk (and here and here) Since then, several new releases, especially Ultimate Combat, have introduced a whole host of new options, including support for weapon-based martial arts and new monk weapons. I still think that monk deserves some more love, but I have to admit that Paizo have made some decent strides (perhaps barring the recent flurry debacle). So, let’s see what we can do with some of the newer rules. Can we build an effective and fun quarterstaff-focused martial [...]

[The Bedrock Blog] Unleash the Gods

Thu, 31 May 2012 21:00:05 GMT
This is just an experimental mechanic I devised for my own Servants of Gaius campaign. I like having procedures for dealing with stuff like divine wrath and wanted something that would create interesting results. Putting this out there for people to try if they like it, but this is in no way an official rule. Feel free to give feedback. If we get enough positive responses I may develop this further.
Unleash the gods
The gods are fickle and petty in Servants of Gaius. What pleases Jupiter one day, might anger him the next. Use these optional rules to [...]

[Tenkar's Tavern] Three Years and Counting - The Year of Leather?

Thu, 31 May 2012 20:45:04 GMT

Yep, Tenkar's Tavern hits 3 years of age today (although my first post was in 2008, it was pretty much just to grab the name for the blog). Over 1800 posts. I'm surprised and not the least bit amazed. I don't think I expected to still be doing this after so much time, let alone still enjoy it. I'm still doing it and I'm still enjoying it. ;) So, if this was a wedding the gift would be "leather". What kind of cheap armor is that? I'd want plate, or at the very least chain... heh. Back to our regularly scheduled posting later this evening...

[Beyond the Pale Gate] It Was Just a Joke

Thu, 31 May 2012 20:15:01 GMT
The whole Hordes & Whores thing, that is. Who knows? Maybe one day I will want to collect this and make it available as a more stand-alone deal. It is taking on a life of its own. I've been working on fleshing out the class information some more, including advancement tables. The XP per level is straight from the LBB, which I'm not even sure how balanced that is, considering what I'm doing with the system. I just used it as a starting point. Hopefully it will still track pretty close.

Anyway, like I said, if this thing keeps [...]

[Legend4ry 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons] Legend4ry Items: Ring of Invisibility and an updated Glowing Dagger

Thu, 31 May 2012 20:15:01 GMT
Last post I started a new column idea up regarding magic items. I think that magic items should be iconic and rare in most games. You can't buy them at stores or shops, you find them at the bottom of tombs and on the fingers of your fallen enemies. Magic items are cool, but the typical 4e presentation of magic items with activated powers in the AEDU (at-will, encounter, daily, utility) format that was popularized by 4e just seem off. I want a magic item that does something perpetually, but at a cost. It's a real risk versus reward conundrum, [...]

[Beyond the Pale Gate] Quick Task Resolution for BtPG

Thu, 31 May 2012 20:15:01 GMT
Many of you may remember a quick resolution for the LBBs that I proposed a few weeks ago. That one was based on d10s. Well, in BtPG I am keeping player operations using d6s, so that system needed a slight re-write. I've also included some guidelines for keeping it from getting out of hand.

Quick Task Resolution Many tasks undertaken by adventuring characters may be considered to automatically succeed. It should be relatively obvious, based on class, which tasks fall under this. There will be certain tasks, and instances, where success isn't so sure, and success [...]

[Beyond the Pale Gate] BtPG Classes

Thu, 31 May 2012 20:15:01 GMT

Character ClassesAdventurers are divided into three broad classes, related to how they approach their adventuring careers. The classes are Might, Mien, and Magic.
Adventurers who rely on Mightdepend on physical solutions to overcome most problems. They may well be quite intelligent, eloquent, or agile, but they always deal with their problems in a direct and usually physical manner.
Adventurers of Might could be called Fighting-men, Rangers, Skalds, Samurai, Paladins, Knights, Barbarians, Soldiers, Mercenaries, etc.
Adventurers who rely on Mien survive on their wits and charm. They may be strong or intelligent, but force of arms or scholarly pursuits are [...]

[Crimson Bastards] #026 Terror and Tentacles

Thu, 31 May 2012 20:00:03 GMT

Join us this week for the epic conclusion of the battle against the forces of Yaugrim in Firth. Now that the heroes have finally found the source of the problems can the defeat the terrible creature or will they be devoured by the many-eyed beast? We hope you enjoy this episode. Please leave 5-star reviews on iTunes and like us on FaceBook. Screenshots of the action available at CrimsonBastards.com.

[Crimson Bastards] Diablo III

Thu, 31 May 2012 20:00:03 GMT

If I had to describe Diablo III in a word I would choose “Boring” with very little hesitation. I played the first ten levels and walked away because I completely lacked the desire to keep playing. I think thepainful truth is that Diablo should have been allowed to stay a cool game from more than a decade ago instead of making this monstrosity and ensuring that any fond memories that I had of the franchise aregood and dead. Let's take a look at the timeline. The original Diablo was released by Blizzard on 12/31/1996 and the Hellfire expansion (which was [...]

[Crimson Bastards] Youtube show, TableTop, starring Wil Wheaton review

Thu, 31 May 2012 20:00:03 GMT

The new Youtube channel, Geek & Sundry sports a show called TableTop. In this show Wil Wheaton invites friends and celebrities to play board games with him on camera. Needless to say if you’ve ever played board games you can guess that much hilarity ensues as the games progress.

There are the short interview style clips of each player by themselves chiming in on how they are doing so far and what sorts of strategies they are playing as the camera changes between overhead and side angles of the entire table. It will even skip ahead in a fast forward style [...]

[Lurking Rhythmically] Still Alive

Thu, 31 May 2012 19:30:04 GMT
Crazy, stressful week.

Working on stuff, though. Lots of stuff. Good stuffy stuff.

Posting will resume soon.

[Hereticwerks] Bujilli: Episode 27

Thu, 31 May 2012 19:30:04 GMT
Quick Synopsis
Bujilli survived. The crisis was past, the trauma was behind him, and he was healed, healthy and in charge of himself as never before. Terrible, horrible things writhed painfully, hatefully in the shadows just behind the door, but they were no longer his concern. He had saved a boy's life, such as it was or ever would be again. The child's fate was now in the hands of the hag Hedrard. He had done all that he could. More. Bujilli had salvaged the boy from a grotesque fate. But what sort of a future awaited the child now?

[Land of Nod] Mother Goose is my Dungeon Master!

Thu, 31 May 2012 19:15:03 GMT
I was watching Babes in Toyland the other day (like you do), mostly because the daughter and I had a hankerin' for Laurel and Hardy, and while viewing it, a strange thought popped into my head.

"If Mother Goose wrote D&D, little pigs would be a playable race."

Naturally, one thing led to another ...

--

Mother Goose & Goblins

The basic rules here are B/X D&D (or Labyrinth Lord, if you please). I'm not going to repeat everything in the rules (for now ...), so if I don't mention it, it works like B/X. [...]

[Swords & Stitchery - Old Time Sewing & Table Top Rpg Blog] The Gort From The Day The Earth Stood Still - The Masters Of Justice -For Your Old School Games

Thu, 31 May 2012 19:00:04 GMT
Alignment: Lawful Number appearing :1
Armor Class: 6(13)Hit Dice: 6+4   Attacks: Power Cosmic Ray (1d8 anything hit by this ray is destroyed. Turned to atoms & scattered on the cosmic wind) Saving Throw:11   Special: No force in the [...]

[Rather Gamey] Dungeonspiration: NTRPGCON 2012

Thu, 31 May 2012 18:45:04 GMT
From 2011: A jovial Jim Ward planning to kill EVERYONE IN THE UNIVERSE. Next week, The Boy and I will be on Hajj to the North Texas Role Playing Game Convention. Our long, arduous trek will involve us driving across the city. Yes, indeed, it will be fraught with dangers - especially if the cherry Slurpee machine at the 7-11 on the way is busted.

Last year's Con was very inspiring. I think the highlight for me was when Jim Ward offed my son's character in a game of Metamorphosis Alpha. Eaten by a giant plant in one gulp. I mean, can [...]

[Troll in the Corner] Indie Talks:Logos fly forth as the first show draws near

Thu, 31 May 2012 18:45:04 GMT

In just under a week, the newest member of the Troll in the Corner Network will go live as I launch my audio exploration of Independent game design, publishing and more.

First, I’d ask you to focus your eye(s) on the amazing new logos! Thanks to Jeremy Kostiew for designing and implementing these in under a week!

Indie Talks is a discussion about independent publishing, where we take a look at indie games, the people who write them and the people who play them. We’ll be launching this on Wednesday, June 6th.

In addition to talking to RPG developers, we’ll be branching out [...]

[Really Bad Eggs] Skallywaggs

Thu, 31 May 2012 18:45:04 GMT
This just looks like all kinda fun.

[The Troll Dens] The Mouth of the Gods

Thu, 31 May 2012 18:30:03 GMT

The Hermit
Braelik moved slowly across the courtyard looking about, searching for a sign amongst the many pedestals. They were silent. Atop each pedestal sat a small figurine. Some were made of wood and crudely crafted. Others of stone and precious metals were better made. No matter their nature, all were quiet. The Ahghaust were not speaking to Braelik tonight. The hermit could not recall a time in his whole life when, at the very least, the Maiden of Sacrifice would not speak to him.
Braelik worried. He sat cross legged before a small wooden statue. Little more than child's [...]

[Ancient Scroll] Winners of 1PDC 2012!

Thu, 31 May 2012 17:45:03 GMT
Over 100 works sent this year for One Page Dungeon Contest meant a lot of work for judges. And, as Alex Sschroeder told us, it was most vivid discussion about who should win in the 1PDC history. Subimtted works are amazing. So choosing a winner was a tough job. Anyway – here they are. Go [...]

[JP On Gaming] NeoExodus: Meet the (new) Iconics

Thu, 31 May 2012 17:45:03 GMT

With PaizoCon approaching, I have been working hard to get everything in line. One of the projects I've been working on has been the creation of not one, but two new Iconics for NeoExodus. The two iconics have brand new art from LPJ Design AND miniatures that I built for them. One thing
The first character is Akarma, a Sametian-born Kalisan Witch. She has her owl familiar, Scavenger. One recurring joke I had was to create a Kalisan with the Cannibalize feat (yes, the Kalisans are cannibalistic), and have Profession (cook). I find it so ironic and fun. [...]

[Swords & Stitchery - Old Time Sewing & Table Top Rpg Blog] Blue Eagle Class Pirate Transport For Terminal Space & Your Old School Space Opera

Thu, 31 May 2012 17:45:03 GMT

Blue Eagle Class Pirate Transport Number Appearing :1-3 Hull Type : FR (19 structure points, Piloting skill -9%) Armor: Reactive (46) Reactor: Expanded
Drive Class: A Maneuvering  thrusters: none
Jump Drive: Yes Sensors: military Jamming systems: -30% Armaments:3 heavy recoilless cannons in automated units Ammo: Enough to level a planet Shield generator: no Cargo space: 75 tons Other: 2 external docking ports, battle bridge
After the fall of the old Earth Empire these ship's hulls were mass produced & sold for auction to a number of "private" concerns. These ex military troop transports were heavily modified to the deep reaches of space travel where they prey upon star liners, Outer Rim Territoriality planets, [...]

[Alex Schroeder: RPG] One Page Dungeon Contest Winners Announced

Thu, 31 May 2012 17:30:04 GMT

The winners have been announced! The list of winners on the contest page is also shown below. Feel free to download the PDF with All One Page Dungeon Contest 2012 Winners (32 MB) or share it!
Here they are:
Winning Entry Category Aaron Frost & Mundi King -- Meckwick's Pair O'DiceBest Dungeon Generator Aaron Kavli -- The Return of the Hecate RoseBest Science Fiction Alan Brodie -- Splashdown in Fiend's FenBest Science Fantasy Dale Horstman -- The Monastery at Dor AmonBest Library David Gay -- Water Genie vs. Undead Mermaid GladiatorBest Gonzo Eran Aviram and Aviv Or -- One Last TributeBest Tomb Fco. Javier Barrera -- The River of StarsBest Ruin Gene Sollows -- Holy SwordMost Fun Greengoat -- Devil Gut RockBest Theme Jason "Flynn" Kemp -- Sell-Swords of MarsBest Wilderness Jason Shaffer -- The First CasualtyBest 1st Level Dungeon Jeff Shepherd -- Four BrothersBest Riddles Jerry LeNeave -- A King With No CrownBest Temple Kelvin Green -- A Rough Night at the Dog & BastardBest Relationship Map L. S. F. -- Fungal InfectionBest Fungoid Leslie Furlong -- The Faerie MarketBest Situation Lester Ward -- Seven Spindles and a McGuffinBest Modifiable Map Luka Rejec -- Deep in the Purple WormBest Integration of Art and Story PJ Cunningham -- Operation Eagle EyeBest Espionage Ramsey Hong -- The Cave of Kull CoveBest Cave Roger Carbol -- The Tomb of Oddli Stone-SquarerBest Multiple Factions Roger SG Sorolla -- Old Bastard's BarrensBest New Presentation The Seven-Sided Die -- The Tomb of Nesta the MischievousMost Bountiful Will Doyle -- Tomb of Snowbite PassBest Eye Beams
Tags: RPG 1PDC

[The Mule Abides] Megadungeon Mastery II: Rise and Fall of the Great Underground Empire

Thu, 31 May 2012 17:30:04 GMT

(Continued from Megadungeon Mastery I: There’s No Place Like Home Base.)

“You are in a maze of… oh, never mind.”
Ah, the Great Underground Empire! What would the dungeons of Zork have been like without Emperor Flathead, the Zorkmid, or Flood Control Dam #5? Just a maze of twisty little passages, all alike. Ditto for Moria without its dwarven halls, or Castle Timeless without its evil wizards and Great Old Ones. A dungeon is more than mere rooms and corridors, monsters and treasures; it’s an environment all its own, with its own character and context.

For now, let’s just look at the big [...]

[From the Ashes] Session Report: It's the End of the World As We Know It...

Thu, 31 May 2012 17:15:02 GMT
And so it was that the party finally finished off the Chaos Cave. Steadily escalating earthquakes rattled the group as they forced their way into the center of the dungeon, in search of the Holy Relic of Moradin, the Dwarven God of Dwarves and Beer. There, in the center of the dungeon, they found Gorgosh, a Dark Cleric, summoning swarms of the Undead, and his Death Knight servant. There was a force bubble surrounding the entrance, which all of the party save Glacia and her manservant were able to bypass with no trouble. Wading into the ocean of the Undead, Banebeard, [...]

[Flames Rising] Rachel Rising Vol. 1: The Shadow of Death Review

Thu, 31 May 2012 17:15:02 GMT

Available at Amazon.com

Issue: Rachel Rising Vol. 1: The Shadow of Death
Writer: Terry Moore
Artist: Terry Moore
Publisher: Abstract Studio
Release Date: 2012
Price: $16.99

"Rachel Beck wakes in a shallow grave and claws her way free as a mysterious woman watches from a bluff. With no memory of the night before, Rachel enlists the help of Aunt Johnny, the town mortician, to find her killer. But when repeated attacks send her to the morgue, Rachel's ability to wake from death again and again prove to be a blessing and a curse, and the eerie town of Manson will never [...]

[Sycarion Diversions] Gamer ADD and ACKS Development

Thu, 31 May 2012 16:45:03 GMT

I continue to plug away on my ACKS Psionicist and I’m happy with where things are going. I’ve had positive feedback on the psionic combat system. It feels more streamlined and can handle up to four simultaneous combatants. Wild Talents as Proficiencies works well. Higher level play comes with building Academies. Higher level play also features Rituals. They are similar to ritual spells for mages. Psionicists can create dorjes as psionic item similar to mage scrolls. High level psionicist can also create Astral Constructs (this doesn’t function like crossbreeds, but is an equivalent ability) and generate Thralls (equivalent to a mages that choose to become necromancers).

Thralls are interesting because it grants the psionicist complete control over an individual or creature. A thrall is not mindless, but they cannot act contrary to their master’s wishes. This ability opens up many possibilities for play. For example, a thrall could be a local government official or even the King! A psionicist may decide to make an entire village into thralls. The truly ambitious could make extraplanar creatures into thralls thereby manipulating the politics of the Outer Planes. Outside of politics, though, the use of thralls allows a psionicist to generate an army fairly quickly, especially armies comprised of the typical minions of evil (ogres, orcs, bugbears,etc). Every soldier is not a thrall, but the commanders most certainly would be. In fact, one of the psionic creatures in the bestiary does this quite frequently.

Psionicists themselves can help a party in many different ways. The most easily recognizable way they can assist the party is through their utility. In some ways they function as a mage, albeit with some spells that are just weird by comparison. Some of the psionicists’ powers allow the character to temporarily gain a couple Thief abilities like Open Locks and [...]

[This is My Game] DnDNext -- DeadOrcs Takes a First Glance

Thu, 31 May 2012 16:45:03 GMT

Vacations are awesome.

However, vacations are just a little less awesome when a playtest download you’ve been waiting on since it’s announcement is scheduled to hit the internet on the day you leave on vacation. Of course, I’m speaking of the DnDNext Public Playtest which was released on May 24th, to those that signed up to receive it (you can still sign up to do the Playtest).

I managed to get the documents printed out (which included a player document, a DM document, an adventure module, “Caves of Chaos”, a monster document, and 5 pre-generated character record sheets), but I was unable [...]

[Adventures and Shopping] XDM X-Treme Dungeon Mastery

Thu, 31 May 2012 16:30:03 GMT
I'm going a bit crazy with all of these posts this week. *grin* I've just seen this book on Old School Gamers on Facebook and "had to share".

I think I want a copy just for the title! :D

XDM X-Treme Dungeon Mastery
by Tracy Hickman (Author), Curtis Hickman (Author), Sandra Tayler (Editor), Howard Tayler (Illustrator)

The blerb is giggle-worthy too:
The cure for the common game! Throw off your chains! Too long have your role playing games been held in the bonds of substandard gamemasters, bound in needlessly complicated rules sets, and enslaved [...]

[Classic RPG Realms] An Old School Gamer In A Modern Gaming World

Thu, 31 May 2012 16:30:03 GMT
Some time ago I made this as the subtitle of my blog. I have actually written several entries on just this concept, but I wanted to revisit this today because it has taken a new meaning for me. All things change. And the gaming world has changed as well. It took me a long time to admit that alot of my old school yearnings were bound up in nostalgia--not all of them mind you, but alot of them. It used to offend me when people would make this accusation about my old school rants and desires. And even then I [...]

[The ArmChair General] Hatfields vs Mccoys - Aliens?

Thu, 31 May 2012 16:15:03 GMT

I watched part one of the Hatfields vs McCoys last night. I think it was good but it needed more aliens. I mean a gray could have used telepathy to figure out who owned the pig!

[The Delvers] Sir Ian, Sir Ian, Sir Ian, action.

Thu, 31 May 2012 16:15:03 GMT

I thought Caspar would have the best shot at finishing whathad been started. I chose his spells carefully. I had two 1st level spells and one 2nd level spell.

The sun was setting as the magic-user stepped into the mosaic tiled hall.

Yellow, blue, orange.

Caspar stopped in the room with a three armed gargoyle statue.

He pulled three gems out of his pouch.

Jay: I place one gem in each of the palms.
LL: The gargoyle hands come to life and crush the gems into dust and then open back up to their original position.
Jay: Again with three more gems.

I am not sure [...]

[Intwischa] 2D4 Magic Keys: Unlock the Awesome!

Thu, 31 May 2012 16:15:03 GMT

It's a momentous week in the BryanMD household; we've just moved it into a new home! As such, this week has included some sore muscles and a whole slew of keys: new house, new garage, old house (front door), old house (back door), my car, wife's car, moving truck... And what I'm pretty sure is a key to the mailbox from the apartment we left two moves ago.

Sadly, none of these are magic.

Still, much like Charlie observed in an earlier post, there's something mystical about keys. That satisfying way they click open a door. The security you feel in a [...]

[Ancient Scroll] Wsi spokojna, wsi wesoa

Thu, 31 May 2012 16:00:04 GMT
Akt 1 Przygoda zaczyna si w chwili gdy postacie docieraj do dowolnej, pooonej z dala od uczszczanych szlakw, wioski. Osada jest spora, pola cign si dookoa hektarami, w oddali wida lasy. Jest jaki strumyczek a przy nim nawet myn i jeziorko (bajoro w zasadzie). Ba, jest i kunia, karczma ... no i oczywicie kilkanacie chopskich [...]

[Ancient Scroll] Magiczna zbrojownia Oskara: Kamienny Miecz

Thu, 31 May 2012 16:00:04 GMT
To kim jest Oskar nie ma dla nas w tej chwili znaczenia. Moe jest magiem, tworzcym magiczne przedmioty, moe kolekcjonerem, moe agentem si za, podsuwajcym ludziom bro, mogc sprowadzi ich na manowce. Waniejsze od Oskara, s jednak jego magiczne przedmioty. Oczywicie s magiczne, wic zapewne mog wyglda jak chc. Tu przedstawi Wam w jakiej postaci [...]

[Eloy the Saint BlogCast] Ep14: Podcasting with Ron and Veronica Blessing (Rolling 20s)

Thu, 31 May 2012 16:00:04 GMT

I had an awesome conversation with Ron and Veronica Blessing of The Game’s the Thing, Smiling Jack’s Bar and Grill and the new RoleplayDNA! They know a LOT about podcast, to say the least, so I asked them what it takes to get into podcasting. SO many great tips here. Be sure to get a pen and paper and jot down some of the things they say. One of my favorite interviews, because they kind of take it over and I have to do very little.

Show Notes:

The Game’s the Thing

Smiling Jack’s Bar and Grill

RoleplayDNA

Good Stuff Games (Ron’s New Publishing Company)

Tacticon

[Хроники Геров (Heroes' Chronicles)]

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:45:03 GMT
Tao of D&D.
- - . , .

, . , - , , - ... , , , , . - .

-, [...]

[Geek's Dream Girl] Industry Spotlight: Part I

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:30:03 GMT

While the achievements of the games industry as a whole receives attentive coverage, the individual careers of women in the industry does not. Industry Spotlight is a four part series, profiling multiple women across table-top and video games, offering a candid look at their work and experiences.

Workspace of Brandy Shaul. 2012. Photo provided by Brandy Shaul.

Brandy Shaul is a freelance journalist six years into working the games journalism beat; she currently appears at AOL's Games.com, Gamezebo and Gamer's Intuition. Shaul's draw to games began before she started working in journalism.

"I have been playing video games since before I can remember. [...]

[The City of Bones] City Tour: the Offal Pits & the Fighting Pits

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:30:03 GMT
The Offal Pits That smell, that's the stench of a city packed full with 13,000 people; and that's just those who live here. Double, even triple that, and you come close to the number of people who pass through the city. All the waste they produce, all the food that's not eaten and thrown away, the corpses of those who can't afford a burial; all of it is hauled across the city, and dumped down the pits.
It's a stony splodge of land, full of natural fissures, pits and sinkholes, which lead down to caverns and tunnels that lead to the [...]

[Campaign Mastery] Big Changes For The Little Guy: How to go from Premise to Campaign

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:15:02 GMT

Campaign Mastery was down for a few hours this week due to a configuration issue resulting from a server restore by our host. This manifested as an offer to download a file instead of opening the site. Diagnosing and solving the problem meant that this article couldn’t be finished in time to upload it on Monday as intended. On the other hand, it’s our first downtime at the site since we first went online, over three years ago, so that’s not a bad track record! I just wanted to take a minute to apologize for any inconvenience.

Last Thursday I [...]

[Online Dungeon Master] D&D Encounters Web of the Spider Queen -- Week 2

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:15:02 GMT

Previous Week: Week One

Week Two of the story picks up where Week One left off, in the Old Skull Inn in Shadowdale just after the heroes have fended off a drow invasion. We had five of the same players at the table as last week, and one player who has played D&D 3.5 but who was brand new to 4th Edition:

A goblin hunter named Ferrin

A goblin scout named Squintch

A goblin slayer named Snarl (who doesn't speak but just, well, snarls)

A svirfneblin warpriest named Ziti

A drow mage named Zin

An eladrin wizard named Lloyd (the new player)

If you’ve been reading my blog [...]

[Arcanos do Vale] A Guerra de Sangue

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:00:04 GMT

Saudaes viajantes, um dos elementos mais interessantes para aventuras nos planos exteriores para D&D pr Spell Plague em meu ponto de vista foi A Guerra de Sangue. Desta forma resolvi fazer uma breve explanao sobre a mesma. Espero que apreciem.
A guera de sangue fora (ou , depende da linha de tempo de sua campanha) um antigo conflito entre as terrveis criaturas dos planos inferiores. Os Tanarri representando as foras demonacas do Abismo, o plano maligno do caos. Em sua oposio encontrava-se os leais mas igualmente malignos Baatezus dos nove infernos de Baator. Alem destes Protagonistas, os Yugololoths que so avatares da neutralidade e maldade lutavam [...]

[Teutonic Blogging] D&D Next Playtest: Mixed Emotions

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:00:04 GMT

Last weekend we did a quickstart and played a session of D&D Next. I even made the unlikely choice to play the elven wizard, which was maybe the third time in my over 10 years of rp gaming that I ever played a wizard or sorcerer. And what can I say? I was a great fun! Let me sum up my pros and cons about D&D Next. To give you some context to read this information right: I love to play and gm 4e and I also love to play 3e or Pathfinder, but won't gm it. And I don't [...]

[Die Tafelrunde] Die Tafelrunde reloaded

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:00:04 GMT
Es war sehr lange sehr ruhig in der Tafelrunde. Doch manchmal fordert das reale Leben die gesamte Aufmerksamkeit und lsst wenig Platz fr liebgewonnene kleine Hobbies. In den letzten Tagen habe ich lange darber nachgedacht, wie es mit der Tafelrunde weitergehen soll. Denn es soll weitergehen. Heute erfolgt der Neustart mit einer grundlegenden berarbeitung. Das bisherige Kernstck, die

[The Dread Gazebo] Review: Infernal Contraption 2nd Edition

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:00:04 GMT
Quick, Colorful Mayhem for 2-4 Players
Are you a fan of goblins, or in this case bodgers? Particularly the kind who tinker and build contraptions that typically result in spectacular displays of high voltage electricity, steam, explosions, and sometimes – bodger bits smattered everywhere!? Infernal Contraption is a quick little card game for 2-4 players from Privateer Press that allows you to do just that. All in attempts to build the biggest, baddest contraption to run your opponents out of resources and become the last bodger standing!
Gameplay
The object of the game is pretty simple – don’t run out of cards. The [...]

[Dungeon's Master] D&D Encounters: Web of the Spider Queen (Week 2)

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:30:04 GMT

In the streets of Shadowdale Drow warriors still fought the locals. The party just finished securing the Old Skull Inn and searching the bodies of fallen the Drow. The Bladesinger then felt a magical energy flash through his body and a voice speak to him alone. "This is Elminster, and I'm somewhat busy with these Drow. They no doubt want the Pendant of Ashaba. Go retrieve it from the Twisted Tower."

This week we ran two tables at my FLGS. My table had seven players while the other had six. I'm usually reluctant to run tables with more than six players [...]

[The Signe of the Frothing Mug] Fiction: Beyond the Hedge (part 5)

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:30:04 GMT
If you haven't read the rest of the Barley Hedgeman series, it begins here with Part One, continues here with Part Two and then Part Three, and finally Part Four. Alandrya and Barley took the same road as all the other elves, though they were an afternoon behind them. She was an easy traveling companion; she liked to talk and to laugh and even on occasion to sing and Barley found himself with

[Gestaltar skiten] Tung dag

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:30:04 GMT

Vissa dagar kan knnas tuffare och tyngre n andra.

Inga liknande mnen att visa.

[Gestaltar skiten] Spelledargrepp -- #3 "Slkten r vrst"

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:30:04 GMT
Slkten r vrst heter det.
Hur mycket tittar ni andra som spelar rollspel p relationerna gruppens karaktrer har?

Mnga spelsystem har tagit med familj- och slktgenerering vid skapande av spelarkaraktrer, men lika mnga, om inte fler saknar riktlinjer fr att ge detta ngon form av djup. Den hr texten utgr egentligen ifrn att du/ni som spelare idag inte gr s mycket av slktskap eller relationer. I mnga spel s kan det vara precis tvrtom – att allt kretsar kring de man knner vl. Men det handlar inte det hr om.

Visst, ett trningsslag eller tv kan visa p att ”du” har familj och slktingar, men betyder de verkligen ngot nr spelet vl satt igng?

Fr en del spel r familj, vnner, bekanta och slktingar helt ovidkommande, men det hr handlar om rollspel dr du som spelare eller spelledare vill frdjupa din karaktr och att det kan ges utrymme i spelet.

Spelaren och spelledaren br vara verens om vilken betydelse karaktrens relationer eventuellt kan ha i spel. Det r stentrist som spelare att utveckla bakgrunder som helt frkastas eller aldrig blir relevanta. Om du som spelledare har nskeml eller frbehll r det bst att sga det rakt ut.
Hur gr ni till vga d?
Vlj rtt fokus, spelets [...]

[Gestaltar skiten] Noveller frn Morwhayle -- Omslaget

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:30:04 GMT

Peter Bergting har slngt ur sig massor det senaste ret, allt frn illustrationer till inblandning litterra verk som den egna bokserien Legenden om Morwhayle.
Idag uppdaterade han Facebook-sidan med fljande bild:

Peter Bergtings Morwhayle

Ett omslag som tilltalar mig s pass att jag var tvungen att skrika till hr. Bckerna om Morwhayle r riktade till en yngre publik frst och frmst, men den hr bilden fr det att kittla till i den egna ventyrstarmen, och kanske ven ge historierna uppmrksamhet i en n vidare krets. En ventyrarbild av klassiskt snitt.
Kan inte vara dligt. Snyggt Peter!

Liknande mnen:

Tomten kommer frn Cengwyrdd – tidig julklapp till rollspelare

Vildhjarta vntar – tv ljudklipp frn Drakar och Demoner-filmen

Sgen och Sng frn Trudvang – och hr sen!

[Troll in the Corner] Alderac sets Thunderstone free -- Print and Play the original for nothing but the cost of ink and paper

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:15:03 GMT

I thought everyone out there should know that Thunderstone, the original version, has gone free.Now for the first time, you can download the heroes, monsters, and village cards from the first Thunderstone set, the one that started it all, absolutely free.

You can read the announcement here or skip the niceties and get right into your monster killing and shopping by downloading the cards as PDFs here. You can grab the rules as a PDF from BGG here.

From AEG:

These cards are updated to the Thunderstone Advance standard, and the art has been "remastered" for this print and play edition.

We included the [...]

[The Iron Tavern] Review: Coliseum Morpheuon: Anthology of Dreams

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:15:03 GMT

Editor: David Paul (Anthology)
Publisher: Rite Publishing
Price: Print $9.99/ Kindle $4.99
Tankard Rating: 4/5

Coliseum Morpheuon: Anthology of Dreams is the recently released anthology from Rite Publishing taking place in a mysterious dream world. The book contains eleven short stories based in the world of the Coliseum Morpheuon ruled by Khan of Nightmares. Edited by David Paul and stories from a myriad of writers including Tim Hitchcock, Jonathan McAnulty, Steve Schend, Neil Spicer, and more. The book is 222 pages in length and available in both paperback and a variety of electronic formats.

The stories all take place in the [...]

[Of Dice and Men] T is for Treasure!

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:00:05 GMT
Treasure. Loot. Gold, Silver, Electrum, Copper.

It's one of the things every gamer expects, especially in the fantasy genre (a personal favourite is the boiling down of D&D and its ilk to "killing things and taking their stuff"). Gamers are a simple bunch, really, and what we want is gratification. We want to engage in certain behaviours, and we are a lot happier when we get rewarded for them.

Imagine you were playing in a system where you weren't supposed to kill people. Where, instead of slashing people open and finding candy, you found merely pain and suffering [...]

[Creative Mountain Games] Trekkies and We Know It Video

Thu, 31 May 2012 13:30:04 GMT
A Facebook Friend recently pointed me to a Trekkie video on YouTube spoofing a popular song. Enjoy!

[Loremaster] Are you participating in the D&D Next playtest?

Thu, 31 May 2012 13:30:04 GMT
Simple enough. Are you participating in the D&D Next playtest? You can find and sign up for it here: http://wizards.com/dnd/dndnext.aspx

[Mr. Sharp's Gaming Emporium] Skills: Craft

Thu, 31 May 2012 13:30:04 GMT

I already regret starting this series. It’s really forced me to think about skills and their place in the game. I don’t regret that; I regret trying to put down on digital paper the torrent of thoughts crushing my brain. Trying do do this on schedule means I have to rush; it makes my writing inelegant. I’ll probably revisit all of these at some point. And these are by no means exhaustive; they’re just what I put down at any particular moment in time. Without further whining, we get back to…

Craft (Int)(Full Description on PFSRD)(-C's Post)(-LS's Post)

Craft represents the ability [...]

[Mr. Sharp's Gaming Emporium] Skills: Acrobatics & Bluff

Thu, 31 May 2012 13:30:04 GMT

I was originally hoping to do this in one article, but it seems that reality must beat me about the head and shoulders to get me to understand that I have explosive diarrhea of the word processor. So I have to take a page from the much-admired and much read C- and LS- of Hack & Slash and Papers & Pencils respectively, and break up the skills into articles addressing one or two skills each (likely two). The skills will be addressed in alphabetical order, and if a skill is missing, then it'll be addressed in the clean up in [...]

[Mr. Sharp's Gaming Emporium] Pathfinder XP and Why I Hate It

Thu, 31 May 2012 13:30:04 GMT

Personally, I’ve had no trouble with the Pathfinder XP system in my own campaign (mostly because there is a lot of role-playing in my campaign that allows me to mitigate character advancement), but several DMs, and by several I mean two guys I personally know and an assortment of online compatriots, have trouble keeping the overall party level in line with the pace of the campaign they’re running. This becomes a problem when, as far as plot is concerned, it’s time for the party to face the evil demon lord and they find themselves a few levels shy, resulting in [...]

[Cavaleiros Das Noites Insones] DnDNext - Avaliaes

Thu, 31 May 2012 13:15:02 GMT
Saudações Aventureiros! Vou ser breve, já que muita gente já colocou o que tem tanto no playtest do DnDNext, projeto da Wizards of the Coast para um sucessor do Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition. Fizemos - eu e os #CavaleirosInsones - um playtest rápido, somente avaliando as regras, sem roleplay, para ver o que tem de tanto para uma nova edição, e nossas observações estão logo abaixo, subdivididos em categorias seguindo o esquema proposto por James Mishler em seu próprio blog. Como estamos avaliando um produto Dungeons and Dragons seguindo um padrão proposto pelo próprio, fica até redundante a proposta, mas vamos [...]

[Gothridge Manor] Newbie Blogger Award Winner 5-31-12

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:45:03 GMT

I had to dust this award off. Somewhere in the mix it got shoved back into a closet. I thought it was time to give another Newbie Blogger Award away.

I've been reading this blog for a short time on a regular basis and have enjoyed. He's developing his own RPG, Phoenix (a dangerous virus that strikes many of us), and has several posts about the process. He's got some very entertaining takes on some gaming rules, one of my favorites is Don't Be a Dick. And not least of which he's got spectacular taste in nurses.

[The ArmChair General] Work Continues

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:45:03 GMT

I looked at Attack Dice yesterday. Maybe smaller games is the way to go? Well work continues on Icfbts Reel to Real, the Icfbts miniature line, the fourth installment of When the Navy Walked and a secret card game project!

[Reality Refracted] Marvelous Miami - Half An Apocalypse

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:45:03 GMT
((I swear, I'll figure out how to schedule a post properly and reliably soon...this was set for 12 pm not 12am as intended.))

Did you think I was done talking about the Marvel game? Well, I'm not. Honestly, I haven't been this excited about a game I'm running in a long time. Don't get me wrong, I love all three games I am GMing (L5R, Deathwatch, and now this) but there is just something special here. Maybe it is my love for super hero stories, maybe it is the excitement of trying out a new system, or maybe it [...]

[Grumpy RPG Reviews] Videos: When The Man Comes Around...

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:30:03 GMT
http://grumpycelt.podbean.com/feed

[Loremaster] Designing a community

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:30:03 GMT
I've been distracted by many various projects lately, but I want to revisit an old article idea I had regarding the design of communities for D&D games (villages, cities, countries, etc...) Would anyone be interested in drafting something up for everyone else to use? I'll turn it into an article and slap it on the homepage. You can then gain fame, fortune, and an internet high-five.

The formating was messed up, but you can see what I did with a location called Westlake: http://www.loremaster.org/content.php/252-Westlake

[Game Knight Reviews] RPG Review: Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG from Goodman Games, Part III

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:30:03 GMT

That’s right – I’m back with more from the land of the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game from Goodman Games. And this time, we’re going to focus on two areas that sometimes become totally out of whack in other games. I know we went overboard in both areas with the Moebius Adventures RPG once upon a time and we were not (and still aren’t) alone on that front.

What are they? Skills and items. So let’s start with “Chapter Two: Skills”…
Skills
In Moebius Adventures we had nearly 100 skills split across a ton of areas, with easily 100 (probably 2x that) [...]

[Grumpy RPG Reviews] Iggwilv's Mopey

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:15:03 GMT
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[Grumpy RPG Reviews] Grumpy RPG Reviews: Lost Caverns of Tjocanth

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:15:03 GMT

Episode 62: The Lost Caverns of Tjocanth

Gary Gygax wrote Lost Caverns and the published module came from an earlier tournament module.

The art, design and writing are adequate.

A wilderness crawl in the module is good, a dungeon crawl pedestrian.

Lost Caverns of Tjocanth gets a 10 on a d20 roll.

It lends itself to a Blood Meridian the RPG style of play.

http://grumpycelt.podbean.com/feed

[Grumpy RPG Reviews] Videos: Spelunking for D&D

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:15:03 GMT
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[Geek Native] Cyberpunk tabletop RPG to become computer game

Thu, 31 May 2012 11:30:03 GMT

The Polish games company behind the very popular The Witcher computer RPG announced yesterday that it would be making a new computer game based on the Cyberpunk pen-and-paper RPG from Mike Pondsmith.
Pondsmith founded R. Talsorian Games in 1985 and published Cyberpunk 2013 in 1988. Cyberpunk 2020 came in 1990 and Cyberpunk V3 was published in 2005. Just think; next year is when our timeline catches up with the Cyberpunk vision Pondsmith had in 1988.
It's expected that the CD Projekt Cyberpunk game will share many of the features of The Witcher series. Players are likely to face morally ambiguous choices, influence [...]

[Digital Orc] Cyberpunk: Pen & Pencil to Videogame

Thu, 31 May 2012 11:15:04 GMT

I noticed that my Cyberpunk 2020 posts started getting a dramatic number of increased hits in the last ten hours. After a quick Google search I discovered that recent announcements claim CD Projekt Red is working on a Cyberpunk 2020 video game.

Read the Forbes details HERE.

[Tower of the Archmage] Captain's Logs from the Sandbox 001

Thu, 31 May 2012 11:00:05 GMT
Captain's Logs from the Sandbox is a new series from Occult Moon, the publishers of the Toys from the Sandbox. It is an 8 page PDF that provides quite a bit of info for the price ($1.99).

The basic premise is that a virus has broken out on a remote colony in sparsely populated star system. The PCs are tasked with delivering a cure.

Included in CLftS 001 are the following:
Star system map and data files on the primary planetary bodies
Map of the colony on the nearly inhabitable planet
1 major plot hook
6 [...]

[Stargazer's World] Preview: Never Unprepared

Thu, 31 May 2012 10:45:03 GMT

Whenever someone asks me what system-neutral books I would recommend to any GM I come up with two books: Eureka and Masks, both by Engine Publishing. Today I add a third book to the list: Never Unprepared. Never Unprepared is the third Engine Publishing release and again it's [...]

[The Good Gaming Blog] Things you should Place In your Next Game

Thu, 31 May 2012 10:30:04 GMT
A few interesting concepts to help inspire and insert into your game for that new game feel. No refunds.

I've been spending the last [...]

[Gnome Stew] Finding Probabilities of Odd Die Combos

Thu, 31 May 2012 10:30:04 GMT

Outside of the comment stream, I had a surprising amount of people tell me they found my Overland Encounter Article useful (Three: which is three higher than usual). Universally however, the part of it they mentioned was the final paragraph and illustration:

A brief note on die choice: With a single die, all outcomes are equally likely. The more dice you use, the greater central tendency of your roll, and the rarer the high and low values. Using dice of unequal size on the same roll will create a small "plateau" of probabilities in the center. It's in no way essential [...]

[6d6 Fireball] Embarrassing Photos In Desperate Attempt To Publicise Sale

Thu, 31 May 2012 10:30:04 GMT
You cannot of failed to have noticed how the United Kingdom is having a massive holiday to celebrate my 44th birthday the diamond jubilee of our unelected, parasitic much loved monarch. To celebrate this we are having a massive sale! Its My Birthday … In the arms of my maternal grandmother at my christening. I [...]

[Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer] [D&D Next] Players, Trust Your DMs. DMs, Be Worthy Of That Trust

Thu, 31 May 2012 09:15:03 GMT

Today’s Legends & Lore article from Mike Mearls delves into the DMing Guidelines document in the recently released Playtest Packet, and I have to admit that I’m more than pleased to hear of the approach that they’re coming from with regards to how D&D Next will be handling DMing.

One of the most encouraging lines in the article was this particular choice quote:

“The most interesting parts of D&D, at least in my experience, come into play when a DM must make a ruling rather than follow the rules to the letter. So, here’s our goal: We want to make it easy [...]

[Exchange of Realities] Oh, Right, Humor!

Thu, 31 May 2012 09:00:04 GMT

I learned something new today: game is just plain different when I’ve got a character without a name.

It’s something I’ve sort of known for a while. We’ve had games where the character was thrown together at the last minute, and the less we’ve backstoried, the sillier we’ve gotten. I almost wonder if it’s the point at which the character gets a personality for me that I stop being able to do truly silly; once they’re real, I start thinking about dignity, and there goes the neighborhood. This lot, though---nobody had a name, nobody had a backstory, and nobody cared. We [...]

[HeroPress] Prometheus: Ridley Scott's Vision...

Thu, 31 May 2012 09:00:04 GMT

[The Cobalt Kobold] Revisions to Defenses

Thu, 31 May 2012 07:45:03 GMT
I tried two approaches to Defenses in playtesting, and neither felt right. I've since realized that at least one approach was attempting to be too simulationist. I was trying to design a system that took into effect which weapon group was better at what sort of defense, etc., and in the end I've had to remind myself that Phoenix just isn't that type of game.

My original design goals were to significantly accelerate RPG combat, giving time for either more action or more drama. Drama and gamism are the two focuses. Another game can deal with simulationism, [...]

[Bad DM's The Good, The Bad & The Gamer] Dungeon Command Rulebook Available For Download

Thu, 31 May 2012 07:45:03 GMT
Several months ago, Wizards of the Coast announced that it was developing a new miniatures game for release this summer. The new minis game eventually became Dungeon Command and is scheduled for release two Sundays from today, June 17, 2012. It will be released in faction packs, starting with Sting of Lolth, for the drow forces and their spider minions, and Heart of Cormyr, for the heroes and adventurers of Cormyr (I pre-ordered both packs so expect my reviews on them shortly after release). Further expansion packs are expected to be released in subsequent months, with Tyranny of Goblins in August, consisting of goblin creatures and their allies, and Curse of Undeath in November.

In preparation for the launch of their new minis game, WotC as made the complete rulebook for Dungeon Command freely available to anyone who is interested, not only to D&D Insider members. This will allow [...]

[Greyhawk Adventures 576CY] Character Spotlight - Siam Thanalynn

Thu, 31 May 2012 07:45:03 GMT

Class: Rogue
Level: 3
Race: Human (Suel)
Alignment: Neutral

ABILITY SCORES
STR 12 DEX 19 CON 15 INT 15 WIS 15 CHA 13 CMS 17

BACKGROUND
Siam is a short, petite woman, of Suel extract. Born to the Merchant House of Thanalynn, in Keoland, to Balabar and Rowena Thanalynn, she was the younger child. Her brother, Ferrick, had an army commission purchased for him when Siam was only six and he left home.

Siam's tale truly begins with the death of her mother the following year, to Wasting Sickness as this [...]

[Between Are the Doors] OSH Armor Reconfigured

Thu, 31 May 2012 07:15:03 GMT

I’ve been wrestling with how I want to handle Armor Class. I don’t like the all or nothing hit, because the point of armor is not to dodge but to deflect injury. I also don’t like the idea that even a little armor can protect you from most attacks. Still, armor is worthwhile, so I didn’t want to nerf it unduly.

How do I get to a place where armor doesn’t make you invulnerable, but does help? I think I finally cracked it as I lay in bed awake one night last week! This one is easier to display on a [...]

[Teilzeithelden.de] Informationen durch Musik --- Erfahrungen zum Einsatz von Plot-Liedern im Live-Rollenspiel

Thu, 31 May 2012 07:00:05 GMT

Bei Liverollenspiel-Veranstaltungen gibt es viele Wege, intime an Informationen zu kommen: Dorfbewohner fragen, Bibliotheken studieren, den Schankwirt bestechen, eine Wache unter den Tisch trinken, selbst der eine oder andere Informationshndler soll schon gesichtet worden sein. Eine mgliche Informationsquelle wird leider noch viel zu selten genutzt: Den Barden zuhren.

Was ist eigentlich ein Barde?
Gleich zu Anfang muss ich diese wichtige Kleinigkeit klren. Fr die meisten LARPer sind Barden mehr oder weniger einfach nur die Musiker, die abends in der Taverne aufspielen, um die frhliche Runde mit etwas Musik zu untermalen. Das Zauberwort ist hier leider untermalen", denn in den seltensten Fllen hrt [...]

[The Most Unread Blog on the Internet. Ever.] Half-Dozen Heroes: Solomon Kane

Thu, 31 May 2012 07:00:05 GMT

Got a pretty decent response for the Half-Dozen Heroes for Caladon Falls...and I had my Solomon Kane book sitting right here when it was requested for the follow-up...so here goes!

Everything on this page was created soley using the Savage World of Solomon Kane book.

Thomas Serpentbane was a family man and mediocre farmer until his family was attacked by poisonous snakes one hot summer day. Thomas grabbed his sword, and old family heirloom he had recently inherited, and killed the snakes. The next day, snakes attacked again, and this time Thomas wasn't so quick. Given [...]

[Hack & Slash] On The Thursday Trick, The Rolling Boulder

Thu, 31 May 2012 06:45:03 GMT
Name (Restraints/Hazards)

Trigger: AnyEffects:Never Miss
Onset Delay
Multiple TargetsSave: DexterityDuration:Varies Resets: NoneBypass: None (Avoid)
Disarm
Description: Everyone in the world is familiar with this trap. You're minding your own business when the trap is triggered, and WHAM. There is a giant rolling boulder heading towards you.

A small sized rolling bolder will do 6d8 damage. A man sized bolder with do 10d10 damage. A large boulder will do 20d12 damage. Each round the boulder rolls, add an additional die for momentum. A successful save will cut this damage in half. There will often [...]

[Neuroglyph Games] EN World Review -- Dungeon Crawl Classics by Goodman Games

Thu, 31 May 2012 06:30:03 GMT

Greetings Fellow Gamers, and welcome once again to another installment of my weekly reviews on EN World News. I'm running really late tonight getting this new review done, and I still feel like I could write quite a bit more about the product I'm bringing into the limelight, so to speak.

As I mentioned before, I'm trying to bring all manner of new RPG games and other related products up for review, and this week is definitely not D&D related... but strangely, it's also very much D&D related. And considering that we are into the first week of the D&D Next [...]

[Arcanos do Vale] Eat your brains, I will.

Thu, 31 May 2012 06:15:03 GMT

[Casting Shadows] Serial Setting 2 ~ Week 13

Thu, 31 May 2012 06:15:03 GMT
The Casting Shadows blog’s second Serial Settingappears in weeklyinstallments scheduled for a 6-month run, now starting its fourth. This series is focused on providing basicdetails for heroic pulp adventures for the Ubiquity Roleplaying System as presented in Hollow Earth Expedition. These ideas, set in a fictionalized and mysticized version of the Korean peninsula in 1936, … Read more

[Charisma Bonus] Con Life: Convention Etiquette

Thu, 31 May 2012 06:15:03 GMT

One thing many congoers don’t realize is that although conventions are loose and fun, they still hold a level of etiquette. You know those horror stories you hear, about those people in the gaming room that smell bad, or that one guy that wouldn’t stop chasing down girls for hugs? Yeah, me too, and those are some pretty tame examples. Con etiquette is shared by many, but also ignored by many as well. There are a few eccentricities I’ve noticed about cons that make people seem ruder than they are, when in reality, they don’t realize they’re being rude at all. Even if you’ve been to a con, I highly recommend you read the listing below to get an idea of good vs. bad behavior. Most of these have been pulled from my own experiences, but I did look around on the Internet a bit, and found a handful of [...]

[Aventuras en la Marca del Este] Imaginacin

Thu, 31 May 2012 06:00:04 GMT
Cuando eramos apenas unos zagales, mi hermano y yo fingamos ser intrpidos aventureros, exploradores dispuestos a descubrir tesoros ocultos, reliquias de otrora y artefactos extraos.
Recuerdo mi infancia con cario y nostalgia.
Yo digo quin de vosotros no ha jugado de nio creyndose un arrojado explorador internndose en misteriosa ruinas?, quin de vosotros no se ha maravillado ante la mera visin de mapas antiguos y escritos describiendo lugares remotos y civilizaciones extranjeras?, quin de vosotros no ha soado de nio con descubrir un tesoro o luchar contra el malvado villano que amenaza con destruir el mundo?, quin de vosotros no ha deseado ser un arquelogo, un intrpido astronauta del [...]

[Elthos RPG Blog] Flight from Unicorn Vale

Thu, 31 May 2012 06:00:04 GMT
The Sudden Departure For a few moments the canary fluttered around Hermel's head, whistling a cheerful song, before alighting onto a rung of the ladder. In the smoke and embers that were circulating in the air from the fire above, she seemed to transform into a three inch tall pretty blond girl with gossamer wings. Hermel rubbed his eyes and looked again. She fluttered her wings a few

[Troll in the Corner] Geeks Explicitly #2: Excelsior Avengers

Thu, 31 May 2012 05:00:03 GMT

Geeks Explicitly is here yet again! Co-hosts Drew McCarthy & Jonathan J. Reinhart shoot out another episode for the Troll in the Corner network. Clocking in just over 20 minutes, the show discusses the Avengers movie, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and ethics for superhero creators. Stay for the end of the show to hear the new, temporary, Geeks Explicitly promo followed by the snazzy Wargaming Recon Promo.

Be sure to tell your friends about Geeks Explicitly. You can contact us by e-mailing GeeksExplicitly@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter @GeeksExplicitly, or Like our Facebook page.

Also, listen to us on iTunes!

Many thanks [...]

[Carapace King] Cyborg and Samurai

Thu, 31 May 2012 04:30:04 GMT
I've been neglecting my blog a bit lately due to repeated scrubbing of game night. I've got plenty of content for the party to run through but competing schedules are killing me.

Last week I discovered an incredible film, Mirai Ninja. It's a Japanese action movie from the late 80s, and a heady blend of science fiction, fantasy, and samurai drama. You can watch the entire thing online, come back when you've watched the thing. It's crazy inspirational to me. I've got to stat some of this stuff out for something, I just don't know where to fit robot [...]

[Ancient Scroll] Magiczna zbrojownia Oskara: Zota Glewia

Thu, 31 May 2012 04:30:04 GMT
To kim jest Oskar nie ma dla nas w tej chwili znaczenia. Moe jest magiem, tworzcym magiczne przedmioty, moe kolekcjonerem, moe agentem si za, podsuwajcym ludziom bro, mogc sprowadzi ich na manowce. Waniejsze od Oskara, s jednak jego magiczne przedmioty. Oczywicie s magiczne, wic zapewne mog wyglda jak chc. Tu przedstawi Wam w jakiej postaci [...]

[Arcanos do Vale] O Aqurio do Mrio

Thu, 31 May 2012 04:15:03 GMT
Existem as mais variadas formas de se extravasar a sua nerdice, deixando isso fazer parte da sua vida no apenas nos momentos de lazer, mas tbm da decorao da sua casa, barco pirata ou escritrio, do carro que voc dirige, o fetiche sexual pelas meninas do Saylor Moon ( assim que escreve?) aquilo que voc veste ou come. (to falando de comida seu tarado)

E tem gente que estende isso at os animais de estimao vestindo seus mascotes de Yodas e Darth Vaders ou Zumbs, eu vestia meu papagaio de Carmen Miranda, mas tivemos de com-lo na ultima calmara... [...]

[The JourneymanGM] Live from Origins 2012

Thu, 31 May 2012 04:00:04 GMT

Today was the first day of Origins Game Fair, the second largest gaming convention in the world (after GenCon). This is my third time going to Origins (you can read about my experiences last year with what I ran and what I played parts 1 and 2). I’ve been looking forward to this for quite a while.

Although the convention date has been moved earlier this year (and conflicted with many school schedules), it fortunately didn’t affect me and it seems like we’ve had a good turnout so far. We’ll see how it winds up affecting attendance for the con as [...]

[The Rhetorical Gamer] Humpday Dragon

Thu, 31 May 2012 03:45:03 GMT
I heard this on the radio on the way home from work today and man did it make me maudlin… I started gaming when I was 8 years old with the Moldvay Basic Set and I’m still gaming today. I’ve had love and hate for gaming and almost given it up on several occasions, parting [...]

[The Rhetorical Gamer] Points, Pools, and Purchasing Prowess

Thu, 31 May 2012 03:45:03 GMT
I have a strange relationship with some mechanics. I’ve gone through, as I’m sure most long-time gamers have, stages in my appreciation for different styles of mechanical design. One of those design bits that I am very conflicted about is “Points.” Whether you call them character points, or Fate points, or hero points, or action [...]

[The Rhetorical Gamer] Game Writing: Nose Firmly to Grindstone

Thu, 31 May 2012 03:45:03 GMT
So, the D&D public playtest documents hit yesterday. I read through them a couple of times, went back over them again today and then set them aside. I was hoping to be excited enough to make it worth playing over the long weekend here but rapidly felt like, “nothing to see here, move along” was [...]

[Arcanos do Vale] Avengers x Batman

Thu, 31 May 2012 03:30:04 GMT
Sai fora haule!

[Wampus Country] Breakdown: What Handsome Clocks

Thu, 31 May 2012 03:30:04 GMT
In the 'Breakdown' series, we take an illustration and attempt to Wampus-ify the entire scene.

"Perhaps you misunderstood me, sir. When I said I was capable of riding to exhaustion any small-brained, dung-breath, hump-backed, scaly beast that came across my path, I was surely referrin' to snollygosters, not to your wife."
THE SCENE: A pair of mercenaries interrogate seeming ne'er-do-wells near the river's edge in Frogport.

THE SOLDIERS: The Goodly Company of Reliable Freebooters - also known as Massey's Men - all wear blue-and-red uniforms; most carry cavalry sabres, light lances, and carbines. Earlier this year, after losing [...]

[The Splintered Realm] A Brief Musing on Dungeon Design

Thu, 31 May 2012 02:15:04 GMT
I pulled out my original Keep on the Borderlands and flipped through it for inspiration (read: ideas to mine for the upteenth time) and was struck by how much 'free space' there is in the map. Many rooms are separated by long, winding passageways. I like the breathing room of it... you can have a fight in one part of the dungeon, and there's a chance that no one in the next chamber over hears you, because they are hundreds of feet away around winding hallways.

A wolf or giant spider can wander in and roam around in your [...]

[A Walk in the Dark] David and Goliath

Thu, 31 May 2012 02:15:04 GMT

On Twitter somebody - I don't remember who - said that if a lone fighter went up against a lone goblin it would be "impossible" for a goblin to survive. But the mathematician in me has a hard time with the word "impossible", so I figured I'd actually do the math and figure out what a goblin's odds are.

DISCLAIMER: I have not checked all the math here, but it seems about right. If you find errors, please let me know.

FIGHT!!!

Contestant 1:
A 1st level fighter, as presented in the DnD Next playtest materials
published on May 24th, 2012.

Contestant 2:
A [...]

[The Mule Abides] Ryan Browning, Mackenzie Peck, and Zeb Cook Talk Art and RPGs

Thu, 31 May 2012 02:00:03 GMT

Ryan Browning brings word of a panel on RPGs and arthappening in Baltimore tomorrow:

We’ve got David ‘Zeb’ Cook coming to participate in a discussion about art and virtual + imagined worlds at the Creative Alliance TOMORROW, Thursday the 31st of May at 7PM. David is known for writing a lot of the 2nd Ed D&D material, including the core books. Additionally, he’s credited for being the lead designer of the City of Villains mmo.

Ryan Browning, Wallness, oil on canvas, 30 by 36 inches, 2011

The overall conversation we’re having will also include artists’ talks by myself and MacKenzie Peck, who is [...]

[Tenkar's Tavern] The Thief, The Thief and the Thief in the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG

Thu, 31 May 2012 01:45:03 GMT

Why is it Thief x 3? Because the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG breaks up the Thief Skills not just by level, but also by alignment. Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic. It's an interesting way to specialize the class.

Some quick observations (and a handful of accompanying questions):

I can understand why Chaotic Thieves would be the best at Backstabing, but why why are Neutrals a distant third and Lawfuls a fairly close second? I would have thought those two positions to be reversed.

Why are Neutral by far the best at Forging Documents? That seems more Chaotic to me... or possibly even Lawful (depending on how the documents are being used.

Why do Chaotics suck at Picking Pockets, yet Lawfuls and Neutrals [...]

[Zenopus Archives] A Warehouse in Wisconsin where TSR kept its Archives

Thu, 31 May 2012 01:45:03 GMT
Zarak the Half-Orc (and friends) Halloween costume mentioned in the article
Interesting new Wizards.com article today:

TSR: This Stuff Rocks!
A Confessions of a Full-Time Wizard column by Shelly Mazzanoble
"As it turned out, there was a lot more of this stuff. Apparently it all came from a warehouse in Wisconsin where TSR kept its archives. Recently we had it all sent here and, well, let's just say . . . wow. People, within those walls were miles and miles of D&D memories from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Books, magazines, minis, action figures, and computer and analog [...]

[Underworld Kingdom] Another Terminal Space price discount

Thu, 31 May 2012 01:00:04 GMT

Again, Terminal Space print is available 20% cheaper on Lulu. Buy it - I must get some money to help people (I'm not kidding! :D).
If you don't want to buy it - just help them.

[Wielding a Bohemian Ear Spoon] D&D Next Playtest -- 5th Edition Magic is Special

Thu, 31 May 2012 01:00:04 GMT

At its most basic level, arcane magic comes from forbidden knowledge and is cast by wizards. Divine magic is bestowed from a higher power and channeled by clerics. Specific spell affects, like healing, have always been the purview of one type or the other, with very little exception. Divine magic tends to favor healing, buffing, and resisting or overcoming affects. Arcane magic on the other hand is all about bringing the pain and making things blow up. It is dazzling, powerful, and over the top, while divine magic is subtle — at least until it is time [...]

[Musings of the Grumpy GM] True Flame Weapon - Level 5+ rare

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:45:03 GMT
This is a 4e version of the 3.0/3.5 flaming weapons, with a bit of extra punch. Enjoy!

[Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer] [Let's Study] Degenesis, Primal Punk Roleplaying by Posthuman Studios

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:45:03 GMT

I’ve always had a soft spot for European games every since I was exposed to the Engel Roleplaying Game by Feder&Schwert via the D20 English version translated by White Wolf. There’s something utterly interesting about the layout, art and writing that comes off as exciting and new as compared to the usual tropes of most rpgs.

Thanks to the insistence of Mappy, I picked up Degenesis, originally a German language rpg written by Christian Gnther and Marko Djurdjevic and translated into English by Posthuman Studios, of Eclipse Phase fame. It didn’t take me five minutes from opening the PDF to realize [...]

[Thistle Games] Next

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:15:03 GMT

Last week's enthusiastic welcome for the D&D Next Playtest has -- unsurprisingly -- been a bit more positive than some of the feedback the game is receiving. Having had a chance to carry-out a couple of short playtests, now seems a good time to take a look in more detail.

The [...]

[Dark Dungeon 2nd Edition] A new request... proofreader wanted

Thu, 31 May 2012 00:00:03 GMT
Dear fellow bloggers. I've just finished the illustrated and revised Dark Dungeon starter set for publication, and I'm looking for a native english speaking proofreader. And possibly playtester, if you like - there's a full adventure included.

In exchange for your effort, you'll naturally get my eternal gratitude, honorable mention and the final pdf for free :-)

Here's the current cover (which I also painted, just like all art inside).

[The Other Side] White Dwarf Wednesday #18

Wed, 30 May 2012 23:00:04 GMT
It's April/May 1980. Bon Scott has been replaced with Brian Johnson in AC/DC, Ronnie James Dio is in for Ozzy in Black Sabbath and a photo of the USS Enterprise has replaced fantasy art on the cover of White Dwarf #18.

This is issue is full of big news. First off, though in the form of an ad, we see that TSR Hobbies has arrived and is open for business in the UK. They open their doors on March 31, 1980. Don Turnbull will be in charge.

The next full page ad is one for Tunnels & Trolls. [...]

[Ancient Scroll] Ennie Awards 2012

Wed, 30 May 2012 23:00:04 GMT
Some of You may noticed, that Ancient Scroll is among websites submitted to 2012 Ennie Awards. Some of may say: the guy is crazy! (In fact, I am a little bit ) Some people may ask: why? Well… Many times I said and will repeat: Ancient Scroll webiste was born because of love. Love for [...]

[Reality Blurs] Done and Done and On to the Next One: An Origins Story

Wed, 30 May 2012 22:45:03 GMT

Tomorrow, we’ll be launching our ONE SHOT line for Agents of Oblivion. Why should the guys at Origins get all the fun, right? While they’re off doing their thing, you can get in on some sweet espionage action right away.

We hope you jump in and get this off to a great start. Michael Ysker, referred to as “the New Guy”, has done some really terrific work. So terrific, in fact, we reached out to him to make his stuff official and everything. I assure you, you will NOT be disappointed. Ed Wetterman, our Agents of Oblivion line developer, is very [...]

[Trollish Delver] Peakvale Wednesday: The Denizens of Redwitch Mountain

Wed, 30 May 2012 22:45:03 GMT
Near the mining village of Blackleaf looms Redwitch Mountain, the tallest mountain in Peakvale. Whispers of cannibalistic reptile people are common in the village tavern and some even say that strange people that were once human live in the dark depths of the mountain.

Redwitch Lizardkin
Monster Rating: 10-20
Combat Dice: 2d6+5 to 3d6+10
Special Damage: 1/1
Special Abilities: Scaly Hide - absorbs 1 hit per combat round

These squat scaly creatures choose to fight in numbers using their crude spears to overwhelm any trespassers in their underground lair. They worship the mountain god Theroz, and offer [...]

[Adventures and Shopping] Dungeon layout promo graphic

Wed, 30 May 2012 22:15:03 GMT
Cross-posted to Inked Adventures (on blogger).

I'm fairly proud of this - I have the week off and so far I'm been mainly worrying about tax forms (stress-dull-worry-dull-brain hurts), so I'm pleased that my creative juices have been flowing a little, despite my main computer being a bit broken, and it being unusually hot and humid in the UK atm.

Split cava wine on the keyboard as well tonight... sheesh.

....This is seriously overdue! I realise that there aren't have enough examples of how sections from the (Inked Adventures Modular Dungeon Cut-Up Sections) Basic Pack can [...]

[Worlds in a Handful of Dice] Diana Jones Shortlist Announced

Wed, 30 May 2012 22:15:03 GMT

The shortlist for the coolest of all gaming awards, the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming, has been released, and it’s got me, at least, very excited. For one thing, I’m actually familiar with more than one item on the shortlist. Indeed, I have reviewed two of them on this blog.

I am not familiar with Burning Wheel Gold and I am cynically suspicious of the mechanics in Risk Legacy that require you to destroy parts of the game, but the other three on the list are strong contenders. Crowdfunding services like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo are nothing short of revolutionary, [...]

[The Rhetorical Gamer] Humpday Dragon

Wed, 30 May 2012 21:45:03 GMT
I heard this on the radio on the way home from work today and man did it make me maudlin… I started gaming when I was 8 years old with the Moldvay Basic Set and I’m still gaming today. I’ve had love and hate for gaming and almost given it up on several occasions, parting [...]

[Points of Light] D&D Next: Bladesinger Homebrew

Wed, 30 May 2012 21:45:03 GMT
Not sure how many times we are going to run the playtest before we get new materials, so I cobbled together a 1-3 bladesinger class using the 4th Edition one as a model.

Bladesinger Class Features
Arcane Aegis: While wearing no armor you gain a +2 bonus to Armor Class.
Arcane Arsenal: When wielding some kind of sword (ie, short sword, longsword, scimitar, khopesh, etc), you can use your Intelligence modifier in place of Strength for your attack and damage rolls.
Arcane Magic: You can cast one 1st-level spell per day.
Bladespells: You know the bladespells dancing flames and frost bite. Bladespells are essentially cantrips that can [...]

[19th Level] Fiction Review: I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

Wed, 30 May 2012 21:45:03 GMT
Poor Richard Matheson didn't make the cut for the inspirational reading section of AD&D 1st edition. That said, his short novel I Am Legend casts a wide shadow, creating the zombie apocalypse genre in a novel with nary a zombie in sight. George Romero of zombie fame and Stephen King have both acknowledged his influence.

I Am Legend has produced three film adaptations. The first adaptation was 1964's The Last Man On Earth, starring Vincent Price, a film I've not seen. Reading its wikipedia entry it seems they stayed pretty close to the plotline of the novel. The second was [...]

[Central Arkansas Gaming Community Blog] Home Setting work up

Wed, 30 May 2012 21:30:03 GMT

So I've finally sat down and gotten serious about setting up my own world setting to use at home. I'm basing it off of a combination of the Heresy System that Victoriana runs on, with a few alterations to accommodate the extra features Victoriana doesn't have.

The world setting I have [...]

[Troll in the Corner] The Inquisition: Do I Fit?

Wed, 30 May 2012 21:30:03 GMT

Thanks to flickr user INTVGene! CC BY-SA 2.0

Our inquisitor seems to be all about asking the probing introspective questions nowadays. What’s with that?

I was recently asked (along with my lady-friend) to sit in on an already-in-progress Dungeons and Dragons group. We were asked to play characters who had already been created and fleshed out and were right in the middle of a dungeon crawl, and we had never gamed with any of the other players in the group before, nor with the GM (One of the players is a co-worker of mine). This whole experience cast into relief the experience [...]

[HeroPress] Prometheus Has Landed!

Wed, 30 May 2012 21:15:02 GMT
Got my ticket to see Prometheus (in 2D) on Friday and I'm very excited. More so even than going to see The Avengers because, as awesome as that was, it was a known entity whereas Prometheus - despite its obvious Alien overtones - is pretty much a mystery to me as I've done a good job of avoiding spoilers.

Rachel isn't coming to see Prometheus as it's not her sort of thing - and she's worried that it'll scare the heck out of her! So I'm flying solo.

The following clip is an interview with Logan Marshall-Green about his character, Holloway.

Ridley Scott, director of Alien and Blade Runner, returns to the genre he helped define. With Prometheus, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to [...]

[Alex Schroeder: RPG] Bottomless Pit

Wed, 30 May 2012 20:45:03 GMT

Yesterday’s Labyrinth Lord game took place in the Barrowmaze. The party had tracked Nualia (from Rise of the Runelords vol. 1) to her father Kallic (a necromancer of Set in the Barrowmaze). They had tricked Daksin (the drunken mayor of Kerealia in the Sea of Five Winds region of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy) to get the various factions to fight each other. And since the party had thought of everything, it all turned to bloodshed in room 110, and in the end, they shot the surviving necromancer with some crossbow bolts. So far so good.
As they pursue Nualia, the cleric holding the Cup of Arden (a magic item adapted from the Coils of Set adventure) fell into a pit. Roll... a bottomless pit!
Hm. Quick thinking is required! Here’s what I knew:
one of the other player characters is interested in the dead elven god Arden
the elves are one of the campaign themes
the dead god is obviously in the Astral Sea and his corpse has been settled by githyanki
they are interested in new followers of the dead god, which is why they have been sending this player character dreams and visions (a typical example of how my campaigns are slowly influenced by the interests of player characters)
Ok, so I decide that the bottomless pit connects to the Astral Sea. In the Astral Sea, time passes differently. The body does not age, does not hunger, does not thirst. No problem. I just tell the player that his character is falling and keeps on falling. The other players make long faces. I tell them that the darkness in this pit is limitless. No light and no sound escapes it. Stunned silence. A player character gone because he rolled a 1 or 2 on a d6.
I think this is a cool idea [...]

[Perpetual Geek Machine] Ep #00052: Perpetual Geek Machine Podcast

Wed, 30 May 2012 20:30:04 GMT
We’re almost at the two year anniversary mark for us. This is the last episode for the “second season” of The Machine, not that we really count proper seasons around here. It’s just some metadata embedded in the mp3 file that amuses me. This is going nowhere fast, sorry about that. Hey, we’re looking to [...]

[Really Bad Eggs] Wednesday Wyeth

Wed, 30 May 2012 20:15:04 GMT

Pinch hitting for NC Wyeth this week is Frank Schoonover with his cover for ERB's A Princess of Mars.

[B/X Blackrazor] Super-Duper

Wed, 30 May 2012 20:15:04 GMT
Yesterday I had the day off work AND off "baby duty," and consequently had a chance to get down and finish proofing (first proofing) the new game, CDF. This is an important step in my process (dumb or simplistic as my approach is to this "writing thang")...I need to let the text "cool off" and then I go over it making notes that will become changes, after which I'll give it to a disinterested 3rd party (my wife) to see if it makes sense to her non-gamer brain. I've just been so busy lately I haven't been able to get [...]

[The Mule Abides] Ryan Browning, Mackenzie Peck, and Zeb Cook Talk Art and RPGs

Wed, 30 May 2012 20:00:04 GMT

Ryan Browning brings word of a panel on RPGs and arthappening in Baltimore tomorrow:

We’ve got David ‘Zeb’ Cook coming to participate in a discussion about art and virtual + imagined worlds at the Creative Alliance TOMORROW, Thursday the 31st of May at 7PM. David is known for writing a lot of the 2nd Ed D&D material, including the core books. Additionally, he’s credited for being the lead designer of the City of Villains mmo.

Ryan Browning, Wallness, oil on canvas, 30 by 36 inches, 2011

The overall conversation we’re having will also include artists’ talks by myself and MacKenzie Peck, who is [...]

[The Other Side] Amazing Adventures

Wed, 30 May 2012 19:45:02 GMT
As you know I have recently been turned on to the fantastic Castles & Crusades game by my son.
It is really cool and it really does feel like 1st Ed AD&D.

But does it feel like Gangbusters?

Well my friend Jason Vey aims to find out with his new game out from Troll Lords called Amazing Adventures.
http://www.trolllord.com/cnc/aa_preorder.html

Here is the sales blurb:
Amazing Adventures
Siege Engine Game for the Pulp Era
Product Type/Format & Price: Softcover; 176 pages; $24.99
Written By: Jason Vey
Ordering Info: TLG 7601, ISBN: 978-1-936822-02-7

"Pulp: Hard-boiled detectives, fedora-wearing [...]

[The Dread Gazebo] Save or Die, and other "Bad" Game Design

Wed, 30 May 2012 19:45:02 GMT
Video Game Analogies, Because I’m Dumb
Yesterday a comparison came up regarding old game design ideals and the evolution of these things in general. My immediate thoughts was that if ‘new’ design consists of things like hour long hand-holding tutorials we see in modern video games? Is it when a game is so damn easy the whole thing feels like a tutorial? If that’s the case then I want no part in it. However if it’s something else entirely, then I’m all for keeping an open mind.

Is ‘new’ design having to fail 3 death saving throws along with 5 other constraints [...]

[Rather Gamey] Naming A Champions Superhero Character

Wed, 30 May 2012 19:15:02 GMT
Kaye has been working for, what, a week or two on his super hero. Suddenly this moring we get an email from him. This is the exchange:

Kaye: Quick! Give me some ideas for Superhero names!
Me: Putrid Pete. Engorged Man. Left Eyeball Lad. Lactating Larry.
Kaye: Yeah, I forgot to mention that he does not have the power to lactate. Good try though.
Me: Okay, well, what powers does he have? Or should we just go with the obvious and call him MinMaxMan?
Kaye: Well his powers are super strength, flight and energy projection. And he is not [...]

[Swords & Stitchery - Old Time Sewing & Table Top Rpg Blog] Weird Wednesday Cinema - The Lost Continent -1968

Wed, 30 May 2012 18:30:04 GMT

Back when I was a kid there was one film that haunted me for years. This movie was evocative & had everything that a lost world film should. Monsters, pirates, & Conquistadores as well as lots of violence & action
This would be the Hammer production -
The Lost Continent from 1968

The 1968 movie The Lost Continent was set in a highly fictionalized Sargasso Sea where Spanish galleons, trapped for centuries in seaweed, are found in modern times, along with a society of descendants of Conquistadores and sea monsters.

The film is relentless & never turns down the pressure, bringing [...]

[Arcanos do Vale] Genki Dama Solidria!

Wed, 30 May 2012 18:15:05 GMT
Ateno nobres seguidores desses arcanos!

Estamos conjurando uma magia de ajuda no estilo da Genki Dama do Goku.
Na verdade no somos ns os executores dessa magia solidria e sim o Jornal Muncipio com sede nesse Vale chamado Brusque.

O que vocs devem fazer para auxiliar nossa Genki Dama?
simples, clique no banner abaixo para adentrar o site do jornal. Na pgina principal do mesmo, localize a enquete que fica na parte de baixo. Escolha qualquer instituio que voc queira ajudar e vote.

O importante apenas votar, pois tendo 5.000 votos, o [...]

[Ask the Dungeon Master] Dungeons & Dragons Video

Wed, 30 May 2012 18:15:05 GMT

I didn’t receive any questions this week, so here’s a hilarious video I came across, which is probably really old, but if you haven’t figured it out already, I’m way behind the times.

[Gothridge Manor] Editing Gaming Products Part 5

Wed, 30 May 2012 18:15:05 GMT
I was reading through my editing gaming posts because Guy Fullerton at his Chaotic Henchmen blog has written a series of posts on the subject. But as I was rereading mine there were two very important points I left out.

The At'ta Boy
The importance of telling the writer what you liked in the manuscript. With all those mark ups and psychotic slashing edits, its good to have a "This is great!", "This part made me laugh." or just a smiley face mixed in.

When looking a manuscript after an edit, depending on the writer, they may [...]

[Flames Rising] Exploring The Red House with Kat Sheridan

Wed, 30 May 2012 18:15:05 GMT

We have a new interview with actress and filmmaker Kat Sheridan today. Kat is here to tell us a little about her role in The Red House, an independent horror film.
Tell us a little about your background as an actress.

I’ve been acting since the age of six. For a long time I focused only on stage acting, classical theatre, Shakespeare, Checkov, that sort of thing, but after receiving my B.A. in Performance Arts I decided to try to branch out into the film and TV industry. My first professional acting gig was a promo for a Showtime reality series called [...]

[Occult Moon] The One That Got Away: Greatbridge

Wed, 30 May 2012 18:00:03 GMT

There is a lot going on in Greatbridge, way more than can be covered in a mere ten pages. Here are a few things that we had to leave out. In addition, down the road from here we will have to make another visit to Greatbridge to talk about the Shivering Inn Tavern.

A Bit More Flavor

One of the big problems that faced Greatbridge was getting enough fresh food to keep the townspeople fed. It used to be that it was as common for the people of the town to trade for tomatoes as it was for gold. But since a [...]

[The Other Side] White Dwarf Wednesday...

Wed, 30 May 2012 17:30:04 GMT
Will be a touch delayed.

Have a bunch of things at work I need to do first and the long weekend threw me off.

[KORPG Games] Love is not about accepting the things you like

Wed, 30 May 2012 17:15:03 GMT
I like it, but I don’t like that I like it Love does some wonderful but strange things to a man… I’ve been struggling with something about D&DNext; something I didn’t expect. For starters, I love D&D… but I don’t … Continue reading →

[Reality Refracted] Marvelous Miami - First Session Impressions

Wed, 30 May 2012 17:00:03 GMT
So, on the down side, the thunderstorms my area had last night meant no blog post was ready to go up today at midnight. On the upside, that means you don't have to wait for tomorrow to get my first impressions from the first official session with the Marvel Heroic RPG. Let's dig in, shall we?

The Session In A Nutshell
There is a saying that no plan survives first contact with the enemy, and this fairly nicely sums up what happened with the session last night. Not that things didn't work out, and not that people didn't have [...]

[The Troll Dens] Roman Nose

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:45:03 GMT
Warrior of the Cheyenne, Roman Nose was the embodiment of everything popular culture has attributed to the plains warriors. Roman Nose rode a spirited, beautiful war pony; he decked himself out in a long trailing war bonnet and bore a rifle into battle. He led many war parties against the settlers crossing along the Oregon Trail. Roman Nose was known for his bold attacks and personal bravery. It is said that his presence alone drove his warriors into a frenzy.

Roman Nose dominated the plains wars from 1860-1868. His death was as remarkable as his life. He attacked a [...]

[Digital Orc] HD Tracker

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:45:03 GMT
I'm still working on my Gencon game. The link below is a Hit Die tracker I made. Since the game is built for 5th level characters, the HD range is 1-6 with nine open slots for unique encounters and/or NPCs. I intentionally left the back blank for ease of use during play.

The blank is for a short character name/ordering. Cross out hit points and rewrite to the right as they decline.

You can get a copy of my Hit Die Tracker by clicking HERE.
I've also finished the second draft of my BLASPHEMOUS BREWERY OF PILZ! character sheet. [...]

[Flames Rising] The Resurrectionists Collection Review

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:45:03 GMT

Available at RPGNow.com

The Resurrectionists Collection
White Wolf Publishing
By Will Hindmarch, Christopher Lee Simmons and Eddy Webb
106 pages

The thing about being a Storyteller is you always need more stories for your players. How often you need new material depends on how efficient your players are at having their characters conclude business from night to night. There are plenty of adventures out there, but few are so nicely tailored to dropping into any campaign like those from The Resurrectionists Collection.

The first adventure, “The Resurrectionists”, involves the PCs in plot to resurrect a torpid elder – a scenario that will [...]

[The Mule Abides] Not-so-Weird Tables: Starting Magic User Spells

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:45:03 GMT

Would you trust this guy to give your apprentice magic-user a proper education? (PS: I hear the movie is terrible)
This post on Planet Algol reminded me that my own game’s house rules for starting magic-user spells might be of interest to folks. (They’re derived from the Aquerra starting wizard spell tables, here.)

Note that one way of de-emphasizing the elf’s superiority to the magic-user at first level is to give the elf a single spell randomly rolled on a d12. (This also applies to homebrew hybrid casters like the thief-dabbler.) Watching the elf try to find a use for a spell [...]

[The Mule Abides] Megadungeon Mastery I: There's No Place Like Home Base

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:45:03 GMT

So this is what “urban adventuring” looks like!
I’ve been running adventures in my megadungeon, the Chteau D’Ambreville, for over two years now. In the process, I’ve made many mistakes and learned a number of lessons about why Gygax and his fellow old-school DMs made the decisions they did in setting up their own megadungeons — Blackmoor, Castle Greyhawk, Undermountain and the like. The following series of blog posts will be an attempt to compile those lessons into a usable format.

(While I wouldn’t say that I’ve achieved mastery of the megadungeon format, “Megadungeon Mastery” has some nifty alliteration going for it, [...]

[The Mule Abides] Bob Bledsaw's Birthday

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:45:03 GMT

On this date in 1942, Bob Bledsaw was born. The author of many classic adventures that have shaped and inspired my White Sandbox campaign, Bob is best known as the founder of Judges Guild. Here he is talking about its formation at a Q&A thread at the Necromancer Games site:

Judges Guild was founded by myself and Bill Owen (Llangwellan the Blue) from my campaign. It was he and his friends which contacted me with the oriiginal three book set. They had reached me via Dave Petrowsky, my cousin, and the local gaming club. Bill Owen is renowned for running miniature [...]

[6d6 Fireball] Birmingham Expo -- Didn't We Do Well!

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:45:03 GMT
Last weekend, we took a trip to Birmingham UK for the Gaming Expo, the largest tabletop game show in the country . Unplanned The Expo was not on our original list of cons for this year because of its sized and cost. At a large con it is easy for small publishers to be lost [...]

[Beyond the Pale Gate] HD in H&W

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:30:04 GMT
The many faces of a HDRemember when you started playing D&D and you first came upon the term "level"? D&D gets a lot of mileage out of that term. Character level, spell level, and dungeon level, and those three types of levels are used frequently. Until you learned the particular context associated with each one, it could be confusing.

I am afraid that a similar situation will exist in Hordes & Whores. The term Hit Dice (or HD) is getting a lot of use. Now, being that these are essentially my house rules for kitbashing a variety of subsystems, [...]

[Troll in the Corner] Some new and exciting changes at Troll in the Corner

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:30:04 GMT

Hold on to your hats, because there are going to be a number of cool things happening here at Troll in the Corner! Here’s what I can tell you so far:
Troll in the Corner Network
We’ve been hard at work launching our very own podcasting network, taking our own little corner of iTunes to create some interesting shows!

First to hit the network is Geeks Explicitly – a no holds barred podcast co-hosted byDrew McCarthy & Jonathan J. Reinhart. No geeky subject is off limits and no language is off color enough to stop these guys. Clocking in at a half hour [...]

[The Delvers] Nepenthe

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:30:04 GMT

Outside, Caspar and Melchior had passed the time with a game of dice. Just before noon, they stopped to eat. It was now time for Melchior to enter the Tomb.

It bothered me that I had forgot the initial sequence of stones for the arch. My thief needed to start with some clues.

The thief cautiously walked down the hall, avoiding the marked pit traps. From beginning to end, he carefully examined the mosaic pattern on the floor.

LL: Acererak congratulates you on your powers of observation. So make of this whatever you wish, for you will be mine in the end no [...]

[Ancient Scroll] Magiczna zbrojownia Oskara: Bliniaki

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:15:03 GMT
To kim jest Oskar nie ma dla nas w tej chwili znaczenia. Moe jest magiem, tworzcym magiczne przedmioty, moe kolekcjonerem, moe agentem si za, podsuwajcym ludziom bro, mogc sprowadzi ich na manowce. Waniejsze od Oskara, s jednak jego magiczne przedmioty. Oczywicie s magiczne, wic zapewne mog wyglda jak chc. Tu przedstawi Wam w jakiej postaci [...]

[20ft Radius] Review: Venom in Her Veins - A Forgotten Realms Novel

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:00:04 GMT
You know if you have read this blog often enough, that I am a huge fan of most fantasy novels based in the world of Dungeons & Dragons, whether it be Eberron, Forgotten Realms, plain old D&D and even Dark Sun (still not a fan of the world).

I highly respect the authors who take the time to write these books, all the hours they put into them and the numerous revisions and spelling errors they have to catch before the initial release of these novels.
I thoroughly enjoy most of the novels. They are neither too [...]

[Heroes Against Darkness] Erroneous Errata

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:00:04 GMT
This list includes all of the errata in version 1.0 of Heroes Against Darkness:

Page 6: Method 1: Normal Player Characters should say 'cumulative total of 63'.
Page 57: Ranged Attack Powers does not specific that they require line of sight.
Page 75: Winging Shot damage should be '+ Ranged', not '+ Melee'.
Page 84: Shocking Ray missing range component.
Page 88: Bolster refers to 'Anima' instead of 'anima'.
Page 88: Quake refers to 'Anima' instead of 'anima'.
Page 88: Seize Initiative missing 'from you' at the end of the effect area component.
Page 88: Steady refers to 'Anima' instead of 'anima'.
Page 88: Steady anima cost should be 'X Anima'.
Page 134: 'Giants' is misspelled as 'Gaints'.
Page 157: Minotaur art overlaps text.

Check out Heroes Against Darkness over at the downloads page: Heroes Against Darkness - Game Rules.

[1d8] Basic D&D's B2 vs. D&D Next's B2

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:00:04 GMT
One of the heartening and surprising things to me about D&D Next is how very close the playtest version of its Caves of Chaos holds to the original in The Keep on the Borderlands. I've been doing some detailed comparisons between the two and they are almost identical. Treasure is lower across the board, which is a good thing in my opinion, but the monsters and their numbers are virtually the same. Take a look for yourself at one of the areas:

SPOILERS BELOW

B. Orc Lair

entrance-
Basic - 1 orc
D&D 5e - [...]

[The Geek Life Project] Web Clip Wednesday: Outcast

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:00:04 GMT
The thing about long weekends is that I tend to get behind on my regular schedule of doing things. The good news is that it [...]

[Classic RPG Realms] The Hard Part

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:30:04 GMT
So in case you couldn't tell, I'm checking out Dungeons & Dragons Next. I'm also seriously considering GURPS, especially GURPS Fantasy. And I finally broke down and bought my Hackmaster Players Handbook--awesome btw.

Friends if you're anything like me, finding a gaming home can be a bit difficult to say the least. I'm sure there are those who just call me wishy--washy. And I suppose that adjective fits me to a degree. In this day's world of countless game systems, gamers have tons of options to choose from. There is just about a gaming flavor for every imaginable taste. [...]

[Arcanos do Vale] Playtest D&D Next - Informaes

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:30:04 GMT
Sejam bem vindos, Nobres Aventureiros.

Alguns devem estar se perguntando: Por que ditonos os Arcanos do Vale no falam nada sobre o PlayTest da novo Dungeons & Dragons? Temos sim explicaes!

1) Surpresa! Se fizemos um PodCast sobre o lanamento do D&D Next, o que acham que faremos para o PlayTest?
2) Falta de Tempo: O mal da sociedade capitalista moderna apossa nossas vidas.
3) Ainda no sabemos o que fazer com todas as informaes antigas distribudas na nossa pgina do D&D Next.
4) Para quem ainda no tem o PlayTest em mos, simples demais: acesse [...]

[Greyhawkery] Castle Greyhawk: The Journey Begins

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:30:04 GMT
I'm a bit late in announcing this but page nine of the Castle Greyhawk graphic novel adaptation is now available at our dedicated blog where you can read Scott Casper's additional exposition or if you're new, see the entire story from the beginning.

You can also download the latest episode HERE, courtesy of Maldin's Greyhawk.

Travelling commentary: The trio is moving through Greyhawk City alot in this one. Here's the ground we've covered so far (2nd edition City of Greyhawk version). The stables they start out at is S2 (Slum Quarter), Stairnezh Stables on Assassins' End. This livery and shipping service is owned by Lucious Stairenzh. In addition [...]

[Intwischa] Curveball: Handling Player Absences

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:30:04 GMT

GMs are used to the ultimate futility of trying to plan for in-game player actions. This is a topic I've written about several times. Last week, however, I was reminded that players can be just as unpredictable out of the game.

We were scheduled to play out the final game of what was originally supposed to be a one-shot of Houses of the Blooded. When Charlie tried to text Bryan to find out why he hadn't joined in remotely, he got a response I can't print here without triggering language filters all over the internet. It turned out that he'd had [...]

[Ruminations of a Canadian Geek] Quest for the Magic Candle: Part The Third

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:15:02 GMT

Sorry for the delay: Work and family issues kept my attention for a bit. However, I can now say that discovering that your brother is home safe from hospital, sans brain tumor that has been plaguing him for a year is in fact, the best possible birthday present ever.I’ve also decided, after the trouble I had getting the last post to work, that I’m going to break this up into many small posts. This has the upside of giving me blogging material for a while.

Onto more fun, gaming related topics, I missed this picture last time, showing the very odd [...]

[Held Action] [Skull & Shackles] Bilge Rats and Brawlers

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:15:02 GMT

Last time in Skull & Shackles, Eric (Felix Cailean), Joey (Lady Viola Leona Eudonius), John (Jetsam ibn Abbasid ibn Yunus al-Bhar; Jetsam al-Bhar for short), Tyler (Morley Bishop), with GM Luke, found themselves at the close of their second night aboard the Wormwood. What would the night and days to come hold for the motley assortment of pressganged souls? Whatever may come, it would play out on a big flip chart showing the multiple levels of Wormwood, painstakingly drawn out by Luke.

On the third day out of Port Peril, everyone works industriously at their assigned tasks: sewing sails, manning the [...]

[Ninjabread] Abyssal Slave Orcs

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:15:02 GMT

Miniature Monday – and I’ve just finished painting the studio troop of Abyssal Dwarf Slave Orcs for Mantic Games.

The brief with these was to give them a much paler skin tone to regular Orcs – a mix of Dheneb Stone and Rotting Flesh. I carried through the gold armour like the rest of the army painted by the others at Golem Painting Studio. I did a test model with red clothing, but it looked too much like the Grinch, so I switched it for black. I’m surprised how different the finished unit looks from the regular studio Orcs when they’re [...]

[Ninjabread] Stormtalon

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:15:02 GMT

Cute overload!

I rather like Games Workshop’s new Stormtalon. Single seater Space Marine flyers though will never be as top banana as the Rogue Trader Orgus Flyer. This was from the days when Games Workshop didn’t design vehicle kits, but took them from other manufacturers and stuck Marines on them.

[Ninjabread] Wahankh Croissant

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:15:02 GMT

In unrelated news Beasts of War broke images of Games Workshop’s Necron Night Scythe on Turn 8 last week.

Their source previously appears to be a copy of White Dwarf. But now their source is someone who traces White Dwarf. Interesting. But that wasn’t the reason you should’ve been watching.

Tommie (of Golem Painting Studio notoriety) and I were being interviewed. This it what it looked like…

…or should’ve looked like. There was a weird camera hitch which meant there was only audio. That was a great shame as we’d spent a while organising Transformers and empty beer cans.

[Teutonic Blogging] Visiting the german independent RPG Scene

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:00:04 GMT

Hey everyone. This is Roger. I’m working as a chief editor for the german blog magazine teilzeithelden.de and I’m going to give you a quick walkthrough of the German speaking roleplaying game scene, which means I will take a look at the German and Austrian systems.

This first article today will focus on those systems, which could be labeled as Independent Games. None of them are contracted by any of our bigger publishing companies. In the next few months I will introduce the publishing program of our publishers as well, one after the other.

This list of [...]

[Land of Nod] The Caves of Llosh [Pars Fortuna]

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:00:04 GMT
The Caves of Llosh is a multi-part dungeon for the Pars Fortuna rules, for characters level 1-3 that I decided to publish here, piece by piece. I'm going to start doing the same for Space Princess and the Catacombs of Old Mars soon ... let's see how it goes.

[No Map Yet ... Been busy but wanted to get this ball rolling, and the intro area is pretty straight-forward]
--

Well beyond the city of Viacrux and the Pyroxist Mountains, past the steading of the cyclopeans and to the west of the Titan's Door, lie the Caves [...]

[Armchair Gamer] Gaming Culture: Quoting Cult Favorites

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:00:04 GMT
I didn't really know about this when I started, but I grew into it when I began hanging out with larger intermingled gaming groups at the Recreation Center and at conventions: quoting cult movies. In some cases, I actually started with the quotes and watched the movies. Other times I'd watched the movies already, and remember the quote only when it was brought up. Still other times, I'd have

[...and the sky full of dust] Dynamic Lairs: Ankheg

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:00:04 GMT

“A dynamic lair is a small dungeon or lair, created in advance like a point of interest, which includes 1-3 encounters.” ACKS page 236.

In theAdventurer Conqueror King System,to spice up Wilderness Encounters and add places of interest to the sandbox, the rules suggest you create dynamic lairsthat are encountered whenever a random encounter shows a lair (as per the % Lair of the monster encountered, naturally). So I thought I’d start a series of posts, dealing with dynamic lairs for most (possibly all, we’ll see) of the monsters in the core book.

First up, a lair for the Ankheg.
The Abandoned Farm
A [...]

[Papers & Pencils] The Most Visually Impressive Appendix Ever

Wed, 30 May 2012 14:45:03 GMT

Today (as of this writing), I received my Random Dungeon Generator and Wandering Monster posters from the Blog of Holding Kickstarter campaign. Paul started the project to fund production of the former, and generously required only a $22 donation to have the latter thrown in as well! I got them laminated, and they’re now hanging in a place of honor above my workspace.

If you are unfamiliar, the random dungeon generator (pictured right) was originally created by Gary Gygax, and included in the Dungeon Master’s Guide as appendix A. The generator takes up about 4 pages of the book, and is intended to help GMs create dungeons both in preparation for, and even during, a session of game play. The variety included in the tables is impressive. Numerous types of corridors, room sizes, trap types, treasure and even whether or not a monster is present can be generated with the tables. They can be somewhat difficult to follow, and require a lot of page flipping, but the creation of it is a feat of Gygaxian proportions.

As Paul tells the story, it first occurred to him that the tables could be re-drawn as a flow chart. It then struck him that a dungeon is basically a flow chart with monsters in it. So he set out to represent the random dungeon generator as a dungeon, and it turned out beautifully. It’s extremely simple to follow. I’ve already created a few dungeon levels using it, and aside from having a difficult time finding a table large enough for it, it has been a pleasure to use. The art is top-notch as well. I know many of my readers have a soft-spot for detailed black-and-white art, and I don’t think they’d be disappointed by what Paul has done here. There are little visual treats [...]

[Dungeon's Master] Playing Drow Part 2 -- Know Where You Came From

Wed, 30 May 2012 14:30:02 GMT

One of the toughest parts of role-playing a non-human character is to give that PC a distinct cultural identity. We often play ever character of every race as if they were born and raised in the Human world. For many races this isn't a big deal because their societies will parallel Humans' in many ways. However, Drow are very different from Humans and this should be reflected in the way they are played.

Although your character is an individual and you have the freedom to play him as you see fit, it's important to consider his upbringing and how that has [...]

[Red Ash World Engine] Red Ash Combat Sim WIP

Wed, 30 May 2012 14:30:02 GMT
Combat Sim

Work is well underway for a combat sim. I am setting this up to allow testing of the combat rules and in time will be open for general use once I feel it is stable enough. this should make it a great tool to determine what to expect form a given encounter you want to put your players through. and may lead to an adjustment of experience points awarded for more difficult fights.

It will be simple to start with and will mainly be used to test the rules themselves. This will be done by using the [...]

[This is My Game] Origins -- The Start of it All

Wed, 30 May 2012 14:30:02 GMT

If you weren’t aware, today marks the two-year anniversary of my mad spiral into the gaming hobby. Sure, prior to that, I had played my fair share of D&D, but before Origins 2010, I’d never played a game that didn’t involve a d20 as the primary means of conflict resolution. I was hooked, and now I’m a froo-froo indie game designer!

Seriously, though, Origins is the first game convention that I ever attended, and it will always have a fond place in my heart. I’m at Origins 2012 as I type this, and if I have the means (energy) and the [...]

[Mithril and Mages] Word Search: LBB -- Creatures of Neutrality

Wed, 30 May 2012 14:15:02 GMT

The third entry of the LBB word search series features creatures of neutral alignment.

Download (PDF, 31KB)

[Chivalry and Sorcery] C&S Gladiators – public playtesting

Wed, 30 May 2012 14:00:04 GMT

We did some public playtesting of C&S Gladiators at the UK Game Expo show last weekend.
The good news is that the games played were fun & had great pace to them. It was clear that the choices the player makes in controlling their Gladiators is paramount. Phew! without those attributes it wouldn’t be a very good game I think and I’d have had to go back and do a major reworking of the base assumptions!
Lots of small things came out that needs tweaking, including the Action Point cost of certain actions & the balance between attack & defence. Basically the [...]

[Eloy the Saint BlogCast] The State of Sinister

Wed, 30 May 2012 14:00:04 GMT

Sinister RPG is the newest in the line of games developed for Third Eye Games. For this one, you get to come along for the ride.

First off, thank you so much for all the support and interest I’ve received so far for Sinister. It is a big undertaking and I’m having a blast sharing it as it develops, instead of keeping everything under cover all the time. I thought I’d go ahead and give all of you a quick rundown of where we’re at, the State of Sinister if you will.

We began this journey in August 2011 with the simple [...]

[Inkwell Ideas] Cityographer Sample Maps from 2nd Streetgen Algorithm

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:45:02 GMT

I’ve got a second city street generation algorithm looking good. It creates a more randomly laid out city. (Still have lots of work to do: another algorithm, adding random rivers, a possible harbor, city walls, and a bunch more.) But hopefully everyone can see the potential!

(If you haven't seen the project mentioned before, here's the short summary: Random city generator and editor for role-playing games of multiple genres & systems. Runs on Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. It generates the map based on a few parameters you set (population, tech level, near a river, etc.) and it generates the map, [...]

[Troll in the Corner] Indie Talks: Tales from the Fallen Empire Kickstarter kicks off

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:45:02 GMT

Chapter 13 Press have just launched a new Kickstarter which looks really promising. Tales from the Fallen Empire!

Tales From the Fallen Empire is a post apocalypticswords&sorcerysetting created for use with the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG by Goodman Games. It introduces new classes, an alternate way to handle the 0 level character funnel, setting inspired spells, new optional rules for swords & sorcery play and more. Tighten the straps on your sandals, grab your weapon, and head forth into a land of trouble and turmoil. Adventure awaits those foolhardy to enter the wastelands or for those who fear not the unknown. [...]

[Tales of the Rambling Bumblers] XP for Loot in D&D

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:34:57 GMT

Gaining XP for recovering loot is the cornerstone of level progression in D&D, or at least the early editions. You can remove it, but if you do you’ll have to make other changes to keep the whole thing from collapsing. People deride it as “unrealistic” in the sense that suddenly being given a wad of cash in the real world doesn’t make you any more skilled, or argue that “wealth is its own reward”, but it serves a vital function in the dynamic of the game. In essence XP for loot makes D&D a game about recovering treasure, not fighting [...]

[Tales of the Rambling Bumblers] What's all this, then?

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:34:57 GMT

I’ve moved Tales of the Rambling Bumblers from its long-time home at webamused.com to here, at wordpress.com. So you should probably update your bookmarks. The reasons behind it are mostly a crappy webhost (lypha.com) that seems to get crappier every year, and a bunch of malware attacks that took far too long to clean up thanks to the crappy host’s crappy hosting. It’s not the only hosting service I deal with, so I suppose I could have just moved it over to one of the others, and transferred the domain name, but in the end this is just easier. Webamused [...]

[Tales of the Rambling Bumblers] Super Simple Martial Artist Class for D&D (early editions)

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:34:57 GMT

The Monk is a Fighter, with the following special rules:

AC is 3, unarmored.

Attack is 1d6, unarmed.

May use any object that she can lift as an improvised buckler, for AC 2.

May attack with any object she can lift (1d6 damage); the only advantage to this is not actually having to touch the target (in case it’s on fire or is an ooze or something) and she gets the reach of the object (if you’re using rules for reach). The Martial Artist isn’t subject to the penalties for the size of the object (if you’re using those) as long as she’s not [...]

[The Signe of the Frothing Mug] Planning and Pain

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:30:05 GMT
Character creation can be divided into two general categories when it comes to RPGs. There are those which are planned and crafted by the players from the start, and there are those which are randomly determined by the dice. Of course, this is not a perfect system of division: planned characters don't necessarily remain planned and in some systems can advance organically rather than according to

[Creative Mountain Games] Illustrator Leo Dillon has Passed

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:30:05 GMT
Illustrator Leo Dillon has passed away on My 26th, 2012. More on his career can be read here.

[The Other Side] Mary Pickford this Friday

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:15:02 GMT
This Friday I am participating in the Mary Pickford blogathon hosted over at Classic Movies.

http://www.aclassicmovieblog.com/2012/04/mary-pickford-blogathon-announcement.html
Please stop by all the bloggers participating and see what they have to say about this Hollywood Legend.

Now you might wonder what a silent screen star has to do with RPGs or Horror. Well come back on Friday to find out how at least one of her films had a deep impact on a vast majority of my work.

[Big Ball of No Fun] Silver Gryphon Games Are Good Guys

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:00:04 GMT
This past Friday I was looking at my Drivethrurpg wish list and they were having a "wish list sale". Since the sale was going to end soon (it's already ended) I went ahead and did an order. One of those items was for the print version of Zombacalypse for Savage Worlds by Silver Gryphon Games. Since it was a print version it was not part of the sale but I figured I'd get it anyway. That afternoon

[Farsight Blogger] D&D 3.5/Pathfinder Simple Ship Combat Rules

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:00:04 GMT
I had an email conversation with a friend who wants to run a Pathfinder high seas pirates game but the ship combat was a bit tme consuming and flat. I just quickly wrote up some ideas for him and hopefully these pointers might help with the basics of naval warfare, but can it really be this simple? I guess it depends on how much detail you want.

'Hi Nik - however you want to play it, matey, it's your game. Can you pregen me a fighter as a character, please, as I've not got my rulebook at the mo? Human, put [...]

[Game Knight Reviews] The Gassy Gnoll: Random, Deep, Spacey Thoughts

Wed, 30 May 2012 12:15:03 GMT

That’s right, the Gnoll is going random on your… web page. Blame it on too much sun, not enough sleep, and a dream where gnolls are playing soccer something similar to Michael J. Fox in Teen Wolf. Obviously I picked the wrong week to cut back on caffeine.

SPACEX - F9-Liftoff (SpaceX.com)

With SPACEX not only successfully launching their Dragon spacecraft into orbit and working with the International Space Station to actually attach, it really struck me about how far we’ve come since I discovered space in grade school. I remember when NASA paraded the Space Shuttle Enterprise around the country on [...]

[Geek Native] The UK Games Expo 2012 Award Winners

Wed, 30 May 2012 11:45:04 GMT

The gaming convention UK Games Expo came again to Birmingham this year, running over the the weekend of the 25th to 27th of May. Hosted at the Clarendon the event covers miniature games, card games, board games and RPGs with news, a large trade fair, tournaments and championships. In addition it’s a chance to meet authors and artists.
Next year the UK Games Expo will be moving to the Hilton Bimingham Metropole. That’s a venue this blogger knows well thanks to the Gadget Show Live and I suggest you book your hotel rooms early.
Every year the UK Games Expo issues awards [...]

[Hack & Slash] On Organic Growth

Wed, 30 May 2012 11:30:02 GMT
One assumes that you are ignorant, so you get on the internet to learn more.

If you get on the internet to wallow in the filter bubble, then what conclusion can be objectively drawn from that?

Some people use cards to play poker for money. Other people use them to play group games like spades. Other people use them to play alone.

What would one think of a player of spades, telling the poker player that the way he is using the cards is wrong?

There is no objective truth of cards - it is simply [...]

[Heroes Against Darkness] D&D Next: Difficulty Trends in D&D...

Wed, 30 May 2012 11:30:02 GMT
There's already been a lot of discussion about the advantage/disadvantage mechanics in D&D Next, but here are a few more quick thoughts about this mechanic and the general trend in D&D for each edition to become easier than the last, and easier than any other version of the game (apologies in advance).

First, a quick look at the the impact of the advantage/disadvantage mechanic on the hit probabilities in the game.  At normal difficulties advantage (and disadvantage) are worth the equivalent of +4/+5, and they also double the chance of a critical. It's a very powerful feature.  It looks like anything except for +2/-2 has been replaced with advantage and disadvantage, so players don't have to remember lots of different bonuses or penalties.

One of the main aspects of difficult in RPGs is the chance of hitting your enemy (along with HP differential and number of enemies).  D&D Next continues [...]

[Terruizeng] The Setting

Wed, 30 May 2012 11:15:04 GMT
Cross the malevolent horizon beyond the great sea valleys and shifting mountains of waves to the realm known as Terruizeng, the ocean between worlds. It is a vast oceanic realm of many islands, some thousands of leagues apart existing in the eye of an endless storm raging off the coasts of countless other lands.

* I S L A N D   G R O U P S *
A1 - Toroga Island Thought to be the most ancient land in Terruizeng. A single island marks Terruizeng's westernmost edge. The surface is a storm blasted wasteland of [...]

[Tower of the Archmage] Balticon

Wed, 30 May 2012 11:00:05 GMT
Memorial Day weekend has, for about the last decade, been a big deal in my life because it's the weekend that Balticon, the science fiction & fantasy literature convention is held in Hunt Valley (just north of Baltimore). It's a great con with multiple tracks of programing, great guests, and friends that I only get to see once a year.

This year was no different, except that in addition to the usual literature, art, and science programing that I usually attend, I also spent a little bit of time attending new media panels. One thing I didn't get [...]

[Ennead Games] Dev Blog #2 -- The Number 4

Wed, 30 May 2012 11:00:05 GMT

Forgive the rather confusing title, it will make sense, I promise.

The number 4 is a sacred number to those who in habit Easthalen,for many many reasons. There are 4continents, the gods are arranged around groups of 4 etc.

This is the rule I’m having to keep in mind when working out the details of the game world. This is not a hard and fast rule.

So far there is :

4 Continents (major islands not counted and neither are the minor islands). This will have a major impact on the size of the world. The ratio of land to water is about 50/50, [...]

[Teleleli] from Byzantium: Their ears were uncircumcised

Wed, 30 May 2012 10:45:03 GMT

A tree sprang from his loins, and from its roots flowed the great rivers of the world, and its canopy spread from the Caucasus to the Atlas. In the branches nightingales and parrots cried out. Every leaf was a scimitar. A wind blew up that turned these blades toward the cities that lay beneath the tree; most turned toward Constantinople. That city became the emerald in a ring, and the emir slipped the ring on his finger, and awoke.

Rafil Kroll-Zaidi.

[The Time of Troubles] Message from the Tet in Amphail

Wed, 30 May 2012 10:30:03 GMT
After we arrived in Amphail a few weeks ago, Arsten wasted no time organizing and implementing a new chain of command becoming Lord Alougarr's chief military commander. Having already made a name for himself, Arsten was Alougarr's logical choice.

Arsten, in his first act as commander, lead the Brave Companions in a campaign against the local kobold menace, meeting with warm success: chasing them off rather than killing them all.

Over the days and weeks, Shaman-women from various tribes have began to make pilgrimages to Briar's Moonwell. Tribes who normally battle upon sight, lay down their weapons in respect to Briar. This however, complicates local matters because desperate barbarians have been making attacks on the town's food stores. Food set aside for the winter. This makes it hard to discern peaceful visitors from murderous pretenders.

Briar also warns us of a new powerful fey-creature who is rumored to have settled in the region. Ranchers and hostlers call it 'the Scarecrow', but Briar believes it to be some type of manifestation of Erythnul, the Red-Cap lord of the Slaughter.

I have reached out to the Ready-5-Blades, using them as unwilling accomplices in [...]

[Stargazer's World] Dungeoneering Abroad

Wed, 30 May 2012 09:45:03 GMT

I suppose I can’t take full credit for Michael’s post on German RPGs, but I may have been the match to the powder keg!

I’m American, and a native English speaker. For many years now I’ve been learning German and Japanese. I did not grow up in a multilingual environment, [...]

[The Wandering Gamist] On Mapping

Wed, 30 May 2012 09:30:03 GMT
I think I realized how I handled mapping wrong during last session.

The first mistake was giving Tim graph paper instead of blank printer paper. The second was giving him dimensions of the rooms. These combined let him generate a more-or-less canonically accurate map with high precision.

For some reason, I get the impression that this isn't how things are supposed to work. Like PC maps are supposed to be sketchy and iffy, with creating one being an act of artistic interpretation and reading one being an act of intuition and not a little trepidation. To this end, [...]

[Exchange of Realities] Telling a Story From Multiple Viewpoints

Wed, 30 May 2012 09:00:04 GMT

There are some stories that just can’t be told from one perspective---there’s too much going on, and no way the main character can be there to see all of it. That’s where multiple viewpoints come in---and where things start to get a little complicated.

The first thing to think about is how many viewpoints to use. The advantage to having a lot is that you can cover all sorts of different places, from all sorts of different perspectives or both---but that means making sure you have that many differentiable narrative voices, and you can’t lavish the kind of resources on each [...]

[HeroPress] Wonder Woman Wednesday (Twofer)...

Wed, 30 May 2012 09:00:04 GMT

[Tweet RPG] Hack 'N' Slash Hero: Halfway Recap!

Wed, 30 May 2012 09:00:04 GMT

We've passed the halfway mark in our current adventure, so I thought I'd post a quick recap for the story so far for new players joining the adventure.
Hack 'N' Slash Hero features an elite band of inter-dimensional heroes, the 'Warriors of the Eternal Quest', who are available for hire to save worlds in peril
The realm of Visgarthia has requested their services to save them from being annihilated by their nemesis, the Affliction -- a dark horde of destructive monsters
Our heroes are seeking to obtain the 'Strength of Ages', three special abilities which will enable them to destroy [...]

[Savage Games] On The Proper Handling of Hazardous Materials in Deadlands

Wed, 30 May 2012 08:45:02 GMT

In the Weird West of Deadlands, Savage Worlds gamers ought not to feel limited to trusting only in their six-shooters. I have learned from experience that it is handy to keep a few sticks of dynamite on hand, if a suitably-equipped general store or mining operation can supply these items.

Just this evening, a Player on my team instantly removed 20 of our opponents from view with some lit TNT. We also managed to take out about 12 of the enemy in the last gaming session as well. Running Buffalo can chuck sticks like a champ.

A cautionary note: dynamite is not [...]

[Greywulf's Lair] With a 10 pole and an electrum piece

Wed, 30 May 2012 08:30:04 GMT

People complain about the strangest things.

Take, for example, two gripes from the #dndnext twitter stream. It has been argued (extensively!) that the D&D Next Playtest documents include a 10′ pole and electrum pieces (an ancient form of currency from fallen empires) as a stupid attempt to “win back” the old school crowd. These are archaic elements from D&D’s past and deserve to die.

We shouldn’t, they say, be taken in my these clearly shallow efforts.

Resist and play Pathfinder instead!

Well, actually…………..

Pathfinder has 10′ poles in the equipment list too

Electrum Pieces are in Golarion’s list of currencies as ancient coins that are no [...]

[Gnome Stew] Free 16-page Preview of Never Unprepared: The GM's Guide to Prep

Wed, 30 May 2012 08:15:03 GMT

We’ll be opening preorders for our newest book, Phil Vecchione’s Never Unprepared: The Complete Game Master’s Guide to Session Prep, on June 4th — which means it’s time for our final preview.

Today’s preview is a sample from the near-final PDF (we’re doing one last pass for typos and checking over the index right now):

Download a 16-page preview of Never Unprepared.

This preview includes the table of contents, the introduction, How to Use this Book, part of Chapter 2: The Phases of Prep, Part of Chapter 9: Your Creative Cycle, and part of Chapter 10: Your Personal Prep Templates, as well as [...]

[Gnome Stew] Troy's Crock Pot: 10 Steps To A DIY Map, Part 3

Wed, 30 May 2012 08:00:03 GMT

In this third installment on my series of creating a fantasy-style map for the lands north of my homebrew campaign city of Steffenhold, I find myself on the verge of putting ink on paper --- which is a sort of no turning back now moment.
Part 6: Aren’t you forgetting something?Before adding ink, I better make sure everything is in pencil.
Oh, yeah, I forgot to add the forests, and to dress up other areas of the map.

The thing about fantasy maps is they really are an amalgam of the different kinds of maps we’re used to seeing in the modern world. [...]

[Arcanos do Vale] NERDs + Futebol

Wed, 30 May 2012 07:30:03 GMT
Jedi United x X-Men FC

Agora sim o futebol ficou divertido, cheio de lazers e exploses, super poderes de outro mundo. uma viagem muito louca(Coisa de drogado) cheia dos efeitos Hollywoodianos que mais parecem ter sado da cruza de X-Men com o Universo Jedi, s faltaram o Rum, as vadias e as prostitutas!

Mas isso voc sempre encontra no porto mais prximo.

[Between Are the Doors] Western Hack: Guns

Wed, 30 May 2012 07:30:03 GMT

So, here you go. Western firearms for Old School Hack.

Western Hack Guns

I enjoyed looking over Stuart Robertson’s Weird West game, but I don’t think I could play it. I toyed with the idea of revisiting my old Western setting in a rules-lite way, or making a new one that is weirder and whipping up a rule set, or converting Old School Hack to a Western style setting that is totally fictional.

Like I need another conversion project.

So I decided to get it out of my system with a document adding guns to Old School Hack (much of which will still work [...]

[The Good Gaming Blog] D&D Next: First Thoughts

Wed, 30 May 2012 07:00:06 GMT
So I have been checking out the system with a few friends in on the playtest, running through some options, and seeing what really seems [...]

[Arcanos do Vale] Ao ataque!

Wed, 30 May 2012 06:15:04 GMT

Y Silver!!!!

[Beyond the Pale Gate] A New Name for My New Game

Wed, 30 May 2012 05:45:05 GMT
All of this new Chainmail-based stuff I've been working on is for my own edification. Maybe I'll get a chance to play one day, maybe I won't. It's fun to design and develop it in its own right, so I'll take that from it. I have no interest or intention of trying to release it under any license. I make it available here for comments, thoughts, criticisms (offered constructively), and as my own personal development log. Having said that, anyone that wants to play with them at their table is more than welcome, either whole cloth or piecemeal, as desired.

[Cradle Of Rabies] Grimworld - what it is now

Wed, 30 May 2012 05:30:05 GMT
Over a year ago I started creating my own fantasy setting Grimworld inspired by Zak Sabbat's Vornheim, Discworld, Ravenloft, gothic horror fantasy, mega-dungeons and so on. Later when I got Lamentations of the Flameprincess Grindhouse edition I found out it would also suit my Grimworld. Also I found two great PDF files called Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque Compendium and Flavors of Fear: 13 Weird Fantasy Setting Sketches at Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque blog.
I found out there are enough great settings so instead of creating a new one I decided to write sourcebook with additional rules [...]

[Live from the Dead Air] A Little Place in Germany

Wed, 30 May 2012 05:30:05 GMT
Adolf Galland may have shared a name with a famous warrior, but he was no fighter. If anything, he was a little coward that compromised on just about everything to calm those fears. He didn't live in the port city proper because of the pollution, crime, and crowds - but wouldn't move to a little town because of the medical care available in the metropolis. Out of the fear of being stranded, he had his own car, despite the costs involved, and maintained his own bio-fuel reactor to make sure it would always run. He even joined a gun club [...]

[Reality Blurs] Ink Black and Getting Darker

Wed, 30 May 2012 04:30:03 GMT

Hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend and remember all of those who have fight and died to protect the freedoms we enjoy each and every day. Never forget.

Today, I hit the ground running and despite some annoyances (such as the 97+ temperatures we’re enjoying), I was rather surprisingly productive. We’ve got a new line of adventures rolling out soon in support of Agents of Oblivion. I can’t say exactly when, but I can say I finished the layout for the first one today, and just have to tweak a few things tomorrow. I do know that RPGNow [...]

[Reality Refracted] Post Delayed

Wed, 30 May 2012 04:15:03 GMT
I am writing from my phone. Due to severe power outages the post for Wednesday will be delayed. It should hopefully be up by noon.

[Ancient Scroll] Magiczna zbrojownia Oskara: Biay Sztylet

Wed, 30 May 2012 04:15:03 GMT
To kim jest Oskar nie ma dla nas w tej chwili znaczenia. Moe jest magiem, tworzcym magiczne przedmioty, moe kolekcjonerem, moe agentem si za, podsuwajcym ludziom bro, mogc sprowadzi ich na manowce. Waniejsze od Oskara, s jednak jego magiczne przedmioty. Oczywicie s magiczne, wic zapewne mog wyglda jak chc. Tu przedstawi Wam w jakiej postaci [...]

[Tenkar's Tavern] D&D Heartbreaker

Wed, 30 May 2012 04:00:03 GMT

This is my first post on Tenkar's blog. I am honored that he allowed me to post here. I had something to say and no venue to say it in that would not cause me endless headaches. I hope you enjoy it.

The first version of the D&D Next public playtest has been out now for a week. If you are anything like me, you have been quite amused. If you got the feeling that maybe you have seen the material before, that's because you have. What you saw was a stripped down rebuild of 3rd Edition D&D + exactly four innovations. That's it.

- Advantage / Disadvantage
- Themes / Backgrounds
- Orisons / Cantrips
- Healing Dice [...]

[Sea of Stars RPG Design Journal] Tuesday Magic Item -- Highwayman's Crossbow

Wed, 30 May 2012 03:30:04 GMT

A bolt sped through the air, knocking the heavy crossbow from the hands of the carriage’s guardsman. The driver reined in the horses as the road was blocked by a felled tree. “Stand and deliver!” cried the flashily dressed woman holding a loaded crossbow standing astride the toppled tree.

“No one need be hurt,” she cried. “But you will leave here poorer if you wish to avoid harm.”

Highwayman's Crossbow

These light crossbows are sturdily made and often decorated with trophies taken. The names of their owners is usually carved into the stock.

A Highwayman's Crossbow is a +1 merciful light crossbow that [...]

[Tenkar's Tavern] The Grumpy Dwarf Gets a Sidekick :)

Wed, 30 May 2012 03:15:03 GMT

I have been approached by one of my readers about creating another persona to join the Grumpy Dwarf in his critiques of D&D Next. We talked about what kind of personality he would be crafting and I liked what I heard. So I am proud to introduce to you all: the Biting Halfling

The Biting Halfling has been digging his way through D&D Next materials and he is going to have quite a few rants to share with us in the coming months. His first post is going up tonight in a little while, so stay tuned.

[Ye Olde Blog] The best damned Final Fantasy RPG out there

Wed, 30 May 2012 02:52:57 GMT

I’ve been following this project for over a year now and it looks to finally be done, whatever that means in the rpg world. If you love both Final Fantasy (a shit ton) and table top RPG’s (a fuck ton) as much as I do, check this thing out!

[Boccob's Blessed Blog] Pathfinder Online

Wed, 30 May 2012 02:45:03 GMT

It would seem that Paizo is looking to throw their hat into the MMO ring with Pathfinder Online.They are funding the whole project through Kickstarter.

Check out the video and Kickstarter page here.

I hope they are successful and that it doesnt go the way of City of Heroes, Lord of the Rings Online, DDO, Conan, Star Trek…well you get the idea. MMO’s are a fickle mofo.

[Boccob's Blessed Blog] D&D Next Playtest

Wed, 30 May 2012 02:45:03 GMT

I am still unable to download the playtest from Wizard’s site, but thankfully a friend e-mailed me a copy. Shitty distribution aside, D&D Next is looking pretty cool.

It is almost like dnd basic sans the races acting like classes. Skills are gone, as are feats (well, still here, but in a vastly different form). Each class gets something each (though the play test does not cover character creation). Most everything is an ability check. It seems rp based rather than a miniature game (which should appeal to 1e and 2e players). Things are back to being in feet rather [...]

[Boccob's Blessed Blog] D&D Next Playtest?

Wed, 30 May 2012 02:45:03 GMT

Wizard’s launched the D&D Next playtest yesterday, but the servers promptly crashed and nerd rage abounds.

I have been trying off and on for 24 hours to download the materials without success.

The articles I have read by people that were able to download the 9 pdf packet have been positive.

I guess I’ll keep waiting…

[Tenkar's Tavern] Are You Experienced? Experience Points in Dungeon Crawl Classics

Wed, 30 May 2012 02:15:03 GMT

Poag Rock!

I've been working my way, haphazardly for those of you following at home, though the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG book. To be brutally honest, I didn't much like the DCC Beta that was released last summer, but boy, has my opinion chanced upon actual release. I find that there is a lot to like, even if someone may not desire to run a game of DCC. Tonight, I'm looking at the Experience Points section.
One thing I've never been totally happy with is experience for loot. I understand the need in earlier editions of D&D for the 1 GP = 1 XP rule, but it doesn't mean I like it. Similarly, I'd like a system that doesn't only reward combat and [...]

[Awesome Dice] World Building

Wed, 30 May 2012 02:00:04 GMT

I’ve been spending far more time than I should lately reading about the Pellatarrum setting over at Lurking Rhythmically. It’s a D&D (or Pathfinder) setting that throws off some of the standard fantasy setting tropes — almost all settings are really just variations of a Tolkien-esque western European fantasy world. While Pellatarrum has the familiar fantasy races — dwarves and elves and orcs — so that it’s familiar enough for RPG gamers, the world itself is startling different.

It reminds me in some ways of the feeling I had when reading the Prince of Nothing series (which was a kind of [...]

[d20 Pirates] Interlude--The Jonah

Wed, 30 May 2012 01:30:03 GMT
Okay. I know I've been putting up a lot of short posts recently, but that's how my inspiration's been running of late. Here is another interlude, along with a fortune that I think is pretty cool.

-Nate

Interlude 18: The JonahIt's no secret that sailors are a superstitious lot, believing in all kinds of signs, practices, omens and other such things. Usually this just makes them more colorful characters, habits and tendencies that are entertaining but have little real effect on the world. Occasionally, however, these beliefs [...]

[The Splintered Realm] Character Development

Wed, 30 May 2012 01:30:03 GMT
One of the things I particularly liked about Dark Age of Camelot (back in the day) was how you developed your character. You played levels 1 through 5 as part of a generic template, and then at level 5 selected your class.

I've been following several discussions online about limiting the options for starting players, and allowing characters to grow organically over time. This is exactly what DAOC did. You knew from the get go that you were going to be a 'magician', but you had time (while you were plunking spells at skeletons and badgers) to think [...]

[Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer] [Mummy: the Curse] A Discussion of Arisen Magic

Wed, 30 May 2012 01:15:03 GMT

Now we’re getting into some really interesting conceptual territory here as this week’s M:tC preview centers on the flavor of Arisen Magic. Let’s take a look at what Malcolm has to say about it:

Please let this be artwork from the book

Aura and Viscera

As some of you know, I worked on Mage: The Awakening a whole lot. That game clings to the motifs people associate with classic sorcery: earth, wind, fire, all that kind of thing. Plus subtle bodies, auras, and other things that glow in the night. Draw some Celtic knots and fire up the Loreena McKennitt playlist!

I'm intentionally exaggerating [...]

[Points of Light] Legend & Lore: First Round Overview

Wed, 30 May 2012 01:00:04 GMT
By now you have already downloaded the D&D Next playtest files, browsed through them, and probably even ran the adventure. For those curious as to how the playtest arrived in its initial state, this Legend & Lore article provides a behind-the-scenes glance, including some ideas on making the game more "old-school" or to try out things that they might implement later (like giving the fighter a second theme). There is also some clarification on things that at an initial glance might seem like an error, like why the damage die on for the dwarves' weapons are higher than normal.

[Mithril and Mages] Fifty Cent Sale --- The Crazy GM Benefit Sale

Wed, 30 May 2012 01:00:04 GMT

May is coming to a close. Not to mention I caught at least five fish a day over my five day weekend. As I was catching up with all of my online pursuits, I discovered my friend, Michael Garcia, had run into unexpected medical bills. Michael has helped me out with CSS and layout issues on more than one occasion. I’d grumble. He’d tell me how to fix it. He never blinked. He’d just jump in and do it. So I’m going to return the favor.

From now until [...]

[Legend4ry 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons] Legend4ry Items: the Ring of Magic Missile

Wed, 30 May 2012 00:45:02 GMT
D&D Next has left me with no inspiration. It's true. I've been trying to think of something to write since last week and found that my 4e muse had disappeared. Part of it was surely due to excitement of the (then) upcoming play-test and part of it was surely with life being quite demanding on my end these days. But that's neither here nor there.
There are a lot of things that I want to convert for 4e. I have a lot of my plate! I need to continue to work on my Dyson's Delve conversion as I've only got [...]

[Wampus Country] Scenes from Wampus Country: Many Ways To Go

Wed, 30 May 2012 00:45:02 GMT
The so-called 'Vain Highwayman' has been known to leave his victims alive if they suitably compliment his attire; but do not feign sincerity and praise his boots, for he knows well those boots are shit.The last thing Eldon Bridely saw was a veritable torrent of gnomes, brownies, and atomies of the wood marching toward him with wrathful expressions, just as the one-legged prostitute oracle had foretold all those years ago.Wearing the Hideous Form of the Scorpion, the assassin become visible for a brief moment before laying low the finest limerick-writer civilization had ever known.As eldest son of the chieftain, it [...]

[Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer] [D&D Next] It's Okay To Have Different Kinds of Fun

Wed, 30 May 2012 00:45:02 GMT

We’re better than this… right? Right?

The D&D Next Playtest Packet has been out for a few days now, and already interesting (and heated) discussions are starting to come out. Today, I’m looking at the vocal population of those who decry the state of the basic Fighter as it is currently presented as “Lame” and otherwise terrible.

I’m not here to tell you that you guys are wrong in wanting to get a Fighter than can do all sorts of Wuxia-inspired wire-fu stunts and crazy attacks that can take down hordes like a scythe cutting wheat. In fact, I think that’s pretty [...]

[Grognardling] Playing Around with Non-Standard Races

Tue, 29 May 2012 23:30:03 GMT
So, I was thinking and I'm curious if my taste lines up with anyone else among my readers. Here's a list of some alternate/non-standard races I'd personally be interested in playing in a vanilla/standard D&D campaign. I'm curious whether you'd personally want to play any of them, and what other races I haven't listed you'd be interested in playing.

Races I know I'd be interested in playing:

Centaurs (provided that there wouldn't be issues of fitting into dungeons, at least most of the time)

Insect-Men/Phraints/Formians (provided they had feelings)

Some type of bird-man

Young, low-level but intelligent dragons (I would especially enjoy [...]

[HeroPress] Coming Soon To A Bookshelf Near Me... (UPDATED)

Tue, 29 May 2012 23:30:03 GMT

Volume Five of Fantagraphic's glorious, oversized (10.5" x 14.25" hardcover) reprints of Hal Foster's weekly Prince Valiant strips.

Fully half of this 112-page volume of Hal Foster's epic masterpiece --- again scanned from superb syndicate proofs --- is devoted to the remaining chapters of The Winning of Aleta, a 20-month epic in which Valiant obsessively pursues his bride to be. Not surprisingly this is followed by a sequence called Matrimony, which ends with a newly wed queen adjusting to the luxurious, exciting court life at Camelot.

But Val's marriage does not signal an end to his adventures, quite the contrary. In War in the Forest Val is sent out to spy on encroaching Saxons --- unknowingly aided by Aleta, who, disguised as a small knight (and dubbed "Sir Puny") helps prevent disaster. But the 1946 strips end with Val and Aleta unable to return to Camelot [...]

[Adventures and Shopping] Too much Mythos revelation in sci-fi games? -Eldritch Skies (Battlefield Press)

Tue, 29 May 2012 23:00:04 GMT
My spooky nightime reading at the moment is a perusal of the alternative history background in Eldritch Skies by Battlefield Press -

Versus...?

Eldritch Skies is roleplaying game in it's own right, projecting the Lovecraftian world of horrific monsters into our space travelling future.

I must say I'm finding it hard not to superficially compare this setting to the one in CthulhuTech - which I now know is about as existential as freshly baked muffins in Sunday School (see this post where I claim the opposite). So far I'm finding Eldritch Skies easier to [...]

[G*M*S Magazine] Cubicle 7 Entertainment and Treefrog games announce the Doctor Who card game

Tue, 29 May 2012 23:00:04 GMT
Cubicle 7 Entertainment, an award-winning publisher of role-playing games including Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space and The One Ring, have teamed up with the hugely successful game producer Treefrog Games, to launch The Doctor Who Card Game in August 2012. Based on the BBC's iconic Doctor Who series, and created by award-winning designer [...]

[Dark Dungeon 2nd Edition] Pick #81: Really Ancient Dice...

Tue, 29 May 2012 23:00:04 GMT
Okay, so James already pointed at this one in his Grognardia, but it's worth saying it again. You thought the roleplaying dice looked funny? That they must have magickal origins? They might have. The four-sided die for example is really, really ancient. And I don't mean 1973 with that. I don't even mean it looks like a little pyramid. I do mean the Royal game of Ur. It's a 3600 year old racing game remniscent of backgammon.

On the other hand, maybe it was the first role playing game... ;-)

Just in case you're as amazed as I [...]

[Land of Nod] Gentleman Dog [Mystery Men!]

Tue, 29 May 2012 22:45:03 GMT
Philo was a sophisticated man about town, a bon vivant with a mind like a steel trap. While he spent his days with the smart set, at night he often rubbed shoulders with a rougher element, aiding the New York City police when a crime proved too tough to solve. It was a day trip into Greenwich village, though, that proved his undoing.

A trip to a coffee house in Greenwich led to the discovery of a murder in the backroom, and through his investigations, Philo found himself confronting a rather powerful magician, one Hayden Olivier. Hayden murdered the [...]

[Dragon Age Oracle] Kobold Quarterly Looking for AGE Adventures

Tue, 29 May 2012 22:45:03 GMT

Kobold Quarterly has put out an open call for adventures for the AGE System to be published in the magazine. The info below appeared in a recent Kobold Courier mailing and is official.
AGE Authors Wanted!
Open Design wants to expand its coverage of the AGE System, to include a second adventure in Kobold Quarterly.
Query koboldquarterly@gmail.com (with [KQ AGE Query] in the email header) if you have a 2800-4000-word AGE adventure idea suitable for the magazine. Midgard adventures are welcome! Additionally, Open Design needs designers skilled in converting Pathfinder RPG material to AGE. We have 3 adventures needing such attention. [...]

[Untimately] 5E Playtest Reactions

Tue, 29 May 2012 22:15:03 GMT
I ran the playtest module for my group yesterday evening. There were five players, so all the pregen characters were in play. I didn't bother with any backstory or justification, since we expected to play this as a one-shot. Reaction was almost entirely positive. The player who (I thought) was the biggest 4E fan said he didn't miss anything from Fourth Edition, though he thought it played differently. Everybody enjoyed the advantage and disadvantage mechanic. We got about 2.5 hours of solid game play in (this is about average for us, since we game after work).

Here is some [...]

[The ArmChair General] Somethins in the Sauce - Softcover

Tue, 29 May 2012 22:00:04 GMT

We have softcover copies of the book It Came From Beyond the Still - Somethin's in the Sauce. This book features zombies, cultists and elder gods as well as the Meddling kids! Get one by purchasing it at your local FLGS or by clicking the picture of the It Came From Beyond the Still bookcover to the right!

[The Rhetorical Gamer] Points, Pools, and Purchasing Prowess

Tue, 29 May 2012 22:00:04 GMT
I have a strange relationship with some mechanics. I’ve gone through, as I’m sure most long-time gamers have, stages in my appreciation for different styles of mechanical design. One of those design bits that I am very conflicted about is “Points.” Whether you call them character points, or Fate points, or hero points, or action [...]

[Dungeons and Drawings] Medusa

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:45:03 GMT

The Medusa is a classic creature (of Greek mythology if you don't know, and if you don't know a classic creature like a medusa from mythology what are you doing liking D&D anyway). Too often I feel that these monster women, which in the myths turn people to stone though an overwhelming mystical ugliness, get portrayed in too sexy a way too often. Like, just a scaly hot chick with snakes for hair that turns you to stone because her eyes are magic or something.

In D&D, their petrification powers do come from their eyes (called petrifying gaze), [...]

[Tenkar's Tavern] Putting Some DCC in my ACKS, or Some ACKS in my DCC

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:45:03 GMT

My ACKS campaign resumes this saturday after taking a weekend off. I'm very excited and nervous as all hell. Why? Because I'm running this as sandboxie as I can, and now that the initial story line is complete and the players have established their PCs, I need to make sure the have enough rumors and leads that they can make their own choice. Or they might go off on an unexpected tangent. So, I'm both excited and nervous. I do want to bring some of the DCC attitude to my ACKS campaign. So I'll be spending some creative time thinking up some unique adversaries for them and some background rational for why they are and where they are and how [...]

[Trollish Delver] Mearls makes some old school suggestions for D&D Next

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:30:04 GMT
In his latest Legends & Lore column, Mike Mearls talks about some of the thoughts behind this version of the playtest and why certain aspects were designed that way. He also makes some suggestions for people who want a more old school game.

Those of us who are doing the playtest know about the whole removing themes and backgrounds on the character sheet, but Mearls has offered up a couple of other suggestions to make D&D Next a bit more like AD&D. Obviously this is purely to experiment with the game's modular mechanics, but it would be worth doing.

[Bad DM's The Good, The Bad & The Gamer] D&D Next Chat Summary & Full Transcript

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:30:04 GMT
Earlier today, I took part in the D&D Next online chat with Mike Mearls and Jeremy Crawford. Salient things to me where:

The detailed 4E style of combat resolution will most likely be offered as an optional module that you and your gaming group can choose to incorporate. It will not be part of the core rules.

Wizards at-will abilities may be a bit overpowered right now. Specific reference was made to the auto-hit magic missile. However, their current design philosophy is start powerful and then tone down, if necessary.

The design team is currently working on a combat maneuver system that will form part of the playtest later on.

Some races will have a cultural affinity for certain weapons. This cultural affinity will give them a bigger damage die when using those weapons, like a halfling using a sling has a 1d8 damage die instead [...]

[About Bruce Heard. D&D, and new stories] Just for Kicks

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:30:04 GMT
Mapping with Hexographer
Naturally, this is for reference only, just to see if map edges align correctly. The labels for Limn and Trollhattan still need to be switched around (see Thorfinn's final drafts for that).

[Cavaleiros Das Noites Insones] Games faz bem

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:30:04 GMT
Saudações Aventureiros! Um infográfico bem legal sobre videogames e terapia, feito pelo Frugal Dad, traduzido pelo O Verso do Inverso, e "kibado sem autorização" aqui.

[A Walk in the Dark] The Next Iteration, Part One

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:15:02 GMT

DISCLAIMER: Although I am signed up to the playtest and have the materials, due to lack of availability of a local group and the legal restrictions to playing it online I haven't actually put these rules in to practice. All I can do is analyze what is given and perhaps do some mathematical experimentation. Some of the comments below may play differently when put in to practice.

I guess this counts as my first official "DnD Next" (hereinafter referred to as "5E" for simplicity's sake) post!

Over the past several days I've been cautiously analyzing the materials. You see, I can't actually [...]

[Hack & Slash] On A Change in View

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:15:02 GMT
I used to think D&D was stupid.

The magic was dumb, and the setting was inconsistent, and nothing made any sense.

What happened?

I read The Dying Earth, and other Appendix N works.

It became very very clear.

"In this fashion did Turjan enter his apprenticeship to Pandelume. Day and far into the opalescent Embelyon night he worked under Pandelume's unseen tutelage. He learned the secret of renewed youth, many spells of the ancients, and a strange abstract lore that Pandelume termed "Mathematics."
"Within this instrument," said Pandelume, "resides the Universe. Passive in itself [...]

[The Cobalt Kobold] Phoenix Cyclopaeans

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:15:02 GMT
Thought I was done after Dwarves, Gnomes, Elves, and Humans?

I'm not completely boring.

Cyclopaeans are physically inspired by classical mythology. However, in Phoenix, they are neither giants nor blacksmiths. In the default setting, they live in hostile terrain - usually high mountains - and generally avoid contact with other humanoids. They are a foot taller than comparable humans and a bit heavier. Cyclopaean society tends to be clan based and semi-nomadic, with brute force required for survival.

Cyclopaeans have a special connection with The Rift - which will be described another time.

Mortal [...]

[The Cobalt Kobold] Phoenix Humans

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:15:02 GMT
Oddly enough, humans have been written about in many stories throughout human history.

This might seem to make humans easy to write about - but in fact I find it is the opposite. Humans in the real world have been every archetype, belonged to every culture, and accomplished everything that we have ever known. Unless you're a scientologist, but I figure that's a discussion for a sci-fi RPG.

Four arms, four legs. Is that a Scientology Human?
With many races, I have tried to create active capabilities. With Humans, many of the abilities are more passive - this [...]

[The Cobalt Kobold] Phoenix Elves

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:15:02 GMT
Elves are the classical RPG feminine match to Dwarven masculinity. Thus, Dwarven females have beards, and Elven males are easily confused with Elven females.

Mythologically, Elves and Dwarves have common ancestry, dividing out into separate races somewhere along the way in Norse mythology. Dwarves retained their Elvish proper names for quite some time after the distinction was established.

Elves, in one form or another, have been the subject of many western civilization stories, and modern gaming draws from several of these sources. For instance, their famed proficiency with bows & arrows stretches back to at least the 16th [...]

[that70sgame] New Heroes: Cosmic Girl

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:00:05 GMT
Another New Hero. My player called her Cosmic Girl. She controls ‘cosmic energy’ and shoots rays and stuff. Wow, that’s it. I can’t believe we could play with characters this … Continue reading →

[Wielding a Bohemian Ear Spoon] Dungeons and Dragons -- The Big Changes in the Next Edition Rulebook: How to Play

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:00:05 GMT

Continuing my series of articles on the 5/24/2012 Pre-release open play-test for the Next D&D, this article details the specific major changes found in the new rules. I have played the game and written on the subject of the character classes, now I will turn my attention to rule changes, and try to suss out how they work, the intent behind them, and how they were perceived by our first impression playing the game.

It was surprising how many of the rules themselves felt familiar, almost as if they were taken word for word from the various editions published over [...]

[Really Bad Eggs] Endgame

Tue, 29 May 2012 21:00:05 GMT
The first roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons, creates an implied setting of a lightless dungeons and trackless wastes in which lurk horrible monsters guarding gleaming treasures. However, the original D&D rules paint another picture as well, that of the adventurers not as explorers and treasure-hunters but as lords of their own domains, building a stronghold, hunting down and killing or driving off monsters, attracting settlers, collecting taxes, and investing in their demesne. This became a feature of 'name level' characters in 1e AD&D, who, on the strength of their prowess, attracted various followers as well, frex, men-at-arms to a fighter [...]

[that70sgame] New Heroes -- Solar Flare

Tue, 29 May 2012 20:45:03 GMT
Another New Hero. Again based on art from deviant art, this time by daggerpoint. Someone’s commision, so if its yours, er, let me know! Converted the stats from M+M2e. I … Continue reading →

[Beyond the Pale Gate] Chainmail Character Generation

Tue, 29 May 2012 20:45:03 GMT
Put the dice down, sonAlright, I'm about to commit a few major blasphemies. You've been warned. In this post I will propose generating characters:
Whose stats are bonuses rather than traditional 3-18 stats
Who do not have a Wisdom stat
Who are generated with a point-buy (gasp!)
The first two shouldn't be a huge surprise to anyone that's read my ramblings. The third one, maybe a little surprising. It's definitely not old school, and I'll be the first to admit, I don't really like point-buy. In my opinion it either takes too long as the player tries to hit on the right combination, [...]

[Cavaleiros Das Noites Insones] Matemtica e RPG

Tue, 29 May 2012 20:15:03 GMT
Saudações Aventureiros! Nessa semana comecei a colaborar com o site Paragons, onde ele é referência de artigos a nível nacional. E hoje, estou deixando nos registros insones a postagem que coloquei lá, e o tema proposto pelo artigo. Aguardem mais coisas por essa semana. Fique abaixo com o artigo publicado.
[...]

Hoje venho conversar sobre um assunto que espanta muitos jogadores de sistemas mais matemáticos. Sim, estou falando mesmo da Matemática.

A matemática está encrustada no RPG: se ao rolar um dado e comparar se atingimos um número ou não, isso é matemática pura e simples. Bônus e modificadores são aplicados dependendo do sistema, [...]

[JP On Gaming] Talking Interactive: NeoExodus at PaizoCon 2012

Tue, 29 May 2012 19:45:03 GMT

Yesterday as it was Memorial Day in the US and I got to run a play-test for "A5 Battle of Trovaska", the NeoExodus interactive adventure for PaizoCon. I find it funny to say that because there is no Organized Play campaign for NeoExodus (yet).
I spent every available moment for the past week (but more so on Sunday). And AGAIN, as I'm feverishly writing the adventure guess who pops up in my Skype? That's right, Louis Porter! If you don't know, whenever he shows up with a "can you Skype?" this means that I have to argue with him why [...]

[About Bruce Heard. D&D, and new stories] The Alphatian Province of Stonewall

Tue, 29 May 2012 19:45:03 GMT

[Bad DM's The Good, The Bad & The Gamer] D&D Next Chat Today With Mike Mearls & Jeremy Crawford

Tue, 29 May 2012 19:30:03 GMT
Wizards of the Coast's Mike Mearls and Jeremy Crawford will hold an online chat today to discuss the newly opened D&D Next playtest. The chat will take place from 11:45 to 12:45 PDT, which should be 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. on the East Coast.

For a chance to comment and get your questions answered about D&D Next, or simply to see what the community has to say as well as Mearls and Crawford's responses, go to:

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd%2F4news%2Fdndnextchat2

[Perpetual Geek Machine] About All This 48 FPS Debate...

Tue, 29 May 2012 19:15:03 GMT
I'm sure by now you've read at least some of those reports that popped up about a month ago concerning the negative reaction CinemaCon attendees had towards the 48 FPS footage shown for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit. Now, none of us here have seen any of the footage yet so we obviously can't comment on that. I do know what a show like Breaking Bad looks like on a 120Hz HDTV and to put it frankly, I hated it. With a burning passion. My complaints mimicked those of CinemaCon attendees: Everything looked "fake", there's no other way I can [...]

[The Good Gaming Blog] Tales of the Horn: Tevash

Tue, 29 May 2012 19:00:03 GMT

A board game made for the Tales of the Horn/Legendfall Game providing play and full resolution rules

I love designing games of [...]

[Greyhawk Grognard] Light Posting Ahead

Tue, 29 May 2012 19:00:03 GMT
You're probably going to see a lighter-than-normal posting schedule from me in the next few weeks. I've got three big gaming projects that are all coming due at the same time, and my free time and creative energies are going to be put into them:
Adventures Dark and Deep: A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore. I'm expecting the rest of the artwork to come in June, and then need to set the final version of the book up for the printer. It's supposed to ship in July, and I should have no problem making that date, as long as the [...]

[Held Action] A Dark Gathering 2012

Tue, 29 May 2012 19:00:03 GMT

This past Memorial Day weekend, I went to A Dark Gathering and played a crap-ton of Call of Cthulhu, certainly more than I’ve ever played before in a 48 hour period. A Dark Gathering modeled itself on a troll hoot, a micro-convention of friends who descend upon a conveniently placed hotel to spend the weekend role-playing. In this case, we met about halfway between the furthest flung contingents, putting us just outside Syracuse, New York[1] for a weekend of horror gaming.

There was a rough schedule of who would run what when. Nothing before the afternoon, so there was plenty of [...]

[Swords & Stitchery - Old Time Sewing & Table Top Rpg Blog] Appendix N 1950s Movies For Space & Post Apocalyptic Campaigning

Tue, 29 May 2012 19:00:03 GMT

1950's SciFi Films
Required Viewing...The Day the Earth Stood StillForbidden PlanetThis Island EarthConquest of SpaceWhen Worlds CollideWar of the Worlds (George Pal version)Invaders from Mars (1953 version)It Came From Outer SpaceThe Mysterians

Important Precedent-Setting Historical References...Metropolis (1926)Der Frau im Mond (1929)Things to Come (1936)

Also Ran...Rocket Ship X-MDestination Moon20,000 Leagues Under the SeaTime Machine (1960, George Pal)Earth Versus the Flying Saucers

Solid Entertainment & Vital Viewing But Not SciFi...King KongInvasion of the Body SnatchersThe Beast from 20,000 FathomsCreature from the Black LagoonGodzilla, King of the MonstersIt Came from Beneath the SeasJourney to the Center of the [...]

[Tagsessions] Legacy e01 : Houses of the Blooded

Tue, 29 May 2012 19:00:03 GMT
Legacy - Episode OneMay 2012 - ongoingHouses of the Blooded
Episode One: The Puzzling Party of Lady No

After what seemed like months of mapping out schedules, our first long-term Houses of the Blooded game is finally underway. While I have run John Wick's Houses of the Blooded before as a one shot game, those games were not able to utilize the system's bountiful options to the hilt. This chronicle aims to explore the many facets of Ven life.

The game currently has four players, though only three have fully created their characters. The original idea was that [...]

[Swords & Stitchery - Old Time Sewing & Table Top Rpg Blog] 10 Random Cosmic Space Debris From Interstellar Battles & Cosmic Calamities

Tue, 29 May 2012 18:45:03 GMT

Random Cosmic Space Debris From Interstellar Battles & Cosmic Calamities
1d6 Green glowing asteroids each 1d4 tons. Very radioactive & cancer causing exposure will result in burns unless a successful save vs poison is made.
1d4 piece of silver flesh like material. 1d3 hit points each capable of 1d4 points of damage to exposed flesh.
1d4 pieces of cosmic flesh eating macrobes 3 hit points each 1d3 points of corrosive damage capable of absorbing any humanoid organic life that gets eaten by it. Double hit points for each victim absorbed
Radioactive debris including solar panels, cockpit, & the remains of a pilot dressed in a black [...]

[Troll in the Corner] The Game Mechanic: Building a better metahuman archer

Tue, 29 May 2012 18:45:03 GMT

Not pictured: Bow, arrows, sensible crime-fighting outfit.

The Super Archer is a highly versatile character, usually sporting a technologically advanced bow and a variety of arrows ranging from the devastating to the ridiculous. It can, however, be a righteous pain to properly capture their flexibility and potency while still maintaining some semblance of game balance. After the jump, we’ll be grabbing the Savage Worlds Super Powers Companion and slapping together a proper powerset for this ubiquitous, if not somewhat abstract, archetype.

Step 1: What can you do without Powers?

Sometimes, your character can make do with equipment instead of Powers, which will free [...]

[Enderra] Request for Foreign Language Colony Names

Tue, 29 May 2012 18:30:05 GMT
My science fiction setting currently has 511 assigned colony names, out of a list of 575. On top of that I’ve a tentative list of another 75 or so colony names, and the naming scheme I am using – primarily deities from all sorts of cultures, plus some location, personal and descriptive names – is [...]

[Ye Olde Blog] Redwall meets Middle-Earth (Or, blending anthropomorphic races with generic fantasy races and making it work)

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:45:02 GMT

I grew up with Redwall. Brian Jacques and that series are probably more dear to me than Lord of the Rings or the Drizzt series, which I love to death. That being said, part of me has always wanted to convert the Redwall setting to D&D. Another part of me has wanted to just brew up my own anthropomorphic setting. And of course, I’ve often been partial to straight up fantasy settings.

So, whats a furry minded elf wanna-be to do in the end? Blend it all together. Sounds easy enough to mesh it all, and D&D settings and supplements have [...]

[that70sgame] New Heroes : Amethyst

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:30:02 GMT
Another New Hero. Again based on art from deviant art, again by gb2k. Someone’s commision, so if its yours, er, let me know! EDIT: Apparently there was a DC hero … Continue reading →

[that70sgame] A New Hero : Novagirl

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:30:02 GMT
So i want to try something new. Literally, making new characters. I might do some from scratch, some from the Random generator, convert old MSH/HU/M&M characters, or just take a … Continue reading →

[that70sgame] Jade

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:30:02 GMT
Jade is the daughter of the old, non-corps, Green Lantern Alan Scott and the Villainess Thorn. She is basically a living Lantern and has an odd relationship with the Corps, … Continue reading →

[The Other Side] Willow and Tara Digital Comics

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:15:02 GMT
I don't read the Buffy comics. No desire really, and the world I had created with the RPG was far more interesting to me anyway.
But when Amber Benson and Christopher Golden team up to write a Willow & Tara based comic, well how can I possibly say no?
This month Dark Horse re-released the two (well three, two stories in three books) Willow & Tara comics. Wanna Blessed Be and Wilderness.
You can get them here:
Willow & Tara: Wanna Blessed Be
Willow & Tara: Wilderness
I enjoyed the heck out these and went ahead and bought them again in digital [...]

[The Bedrock Blog] Rome Awaits: Servants of Gaius released in print

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:15:02 GMT
Servants of Gaius is now available in print: Servants of Gaius

Unravel sacred mysteries and explore the empire in this unique alternate Roman history setting where a mad emperor is savior of the world.
As Neptune's armies threaten Rome, Caligula creates a secret order to root them out.
The Servants of Gaius come from all the ranks of the Empire, chosen by the divine emperor himself. In their quest they face dark cults, backstabbing politicians and powerful gods.
A game of intrigue and investigation, Servants of Gaius comes with a complete alternate history setting but is perfect [...]

[Digital Orc] Character Sheets

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:00:03 GMT
I've finished the rough draft of my character sheets for the Gencon Labyrinth Lord game I'm running. Each character sheet is sixteen pages and will be printed booklet style, i.e., two pages per side, folded in half, and stapled along seam. The character sheets include the following:

1: Character Sheet
2: Game Map
3: Grid Paper
4: World Description
5: Character Creation Rules/Information
6: Movement/Combat Rules
7: Original Artwork
8: House Rules
9: Shameless Self-Promotion

For convention play, I try to keep my house rules to a [...]

[Flames Rising] Devil of Dark Wood (Pathfinder) Review

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:00:03 GMT

Available at RPGNow.com

If you go down to the woods today… the surprise will not be teddy bears eating al fresco! Whilst the introduction tells an intriguing and innovative backstory as to who really is there for the GM’s eyes, the characters will first be approached by a worried village mayor who is concerned by the absence of a local hunter who was hired by a shepherd who feared that a bold wolf has been snacking on his sheep…

The village has had other problems, the sage’s house was broken into and books and alchemical equipment stolen. It seems that something [...]

[KORPG Games] Open call for translations: d6-lite

Tue, 29 May 2012 16:30:03 GMT
I love it when people get enjoyment out of things I’ve made. That’s not an incredibly unexpected claim, but none-the-less it’s the truth. Seeing people take the d6-lite system and re-skin it into new genres or translating it into another … Continue reading →

[Ancient Scroll] Magiczna zbrojownia Oskara: Czarny Sztylet

Tue, 29 May 2012 16:30:03 GMT
To kim jest Oskar nie ma dla nas w tej chwili znaczenia. Moe jest magiem, tworzcym magiczne przedmioty, moe kolekcjonerem, moe agentem si za, podsuwajcym ludziom bro, mogc sprowadzi ich na manowce. Waniejsze od Oskara, s jednak jego magiczne przedmioty. Oczywicie s magiczne, wic zapewne mog wyglda jak chc. Tu przedstawi Wam w jakiej postaci [...]

[Intwischa] Useful Information about D&D Next: Links for the Week of May 22

Tue, 29 May 2012 16:30:03 GMT

Some of you may know that D&D Next Playtest material launched this week. Here's some rare snippets of useful commentary I've seen on it.
Math Behind Advantages and Disadvantages
The mechanic that I like best from D&D Next is the Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic. Essentially, if you have an advantage or disadvantage, you roll 2d20, and take the better (or worse).

This is one of those things that tickles my fancy because it is easy to remember and sounds elegant. But as I've been pondering what impact it would actually have, others have been doing the math for me. Turns out, most of the time, [...]

[Worlds in a Handful of Dice] Adventures in Forum Gaming

Tue, 29 May 2012 16:15:02 GMT

I wrapped up my first play-by-post Pathfinder RPG scenario last week. I ran it on our Finnish Pathfinder Society forum, as a sort of an experiment on whether it can be done and to figure out how it works. The module I used was The Frostfur Captives, by Jim Groves. It’s a pretty good module, but that’s not the main point of this text. You may consider it a companion piece to this post from 2008.

First things first: yes, we finished it. Forum games are fragile things and die easily. They don’t require a great deal of time or commitment [...]

[Online Dungeon Master] May of the Dead: Spooks Under Silverymoon

Tue, 29 May 2012 16:15:02 GMT

My contribution to the May of the Dead blog carnival is an adventure for low-level D&D 4th Edition adventurers: Spooks Under Silverymoon. You can download the PDF here, and maps for use in MapTool (scaled to 50 pixels per square) are below.

I originally created this adventure for my wife, my wife’s brother, and his wife. My brother in law and his family were visiting us for the week of Christmas 2010, and I introduced them to D&D. We first played the Castle Ravenloft board game, then created characters for a real D&D game.

The first adventure I ran for them was [...]

[Age of Ravens] Citybook VII: King's River Bridge: RPG Items I Don't Like

Tue, 29 May 2012 16:15:02 GMT
WHAT IS IT?
Sourcebook detailing people and establishments surrounding a bridge in a generic fantasy city. Intended for use with any FRPG.

SERIES WILL PASS YOU BY
With Citybook VII: King's River Bridge, we come to the end of this series. When I decided to review the Citybooks, I had to finish out some gaps in my collection. After the fire I'd been able to replace a couple of them pretty quickly. But some I'd waited on, and Citybook VII was the last one I picked up. I hesitated on that- I remembered it not being that good. Of [...]

[Fustians so Sublimey Bad] Spud Daddies

Tue, 29 May 2012 16:15:02 GMT
image by Ginger Troll via Flickr Spud Daddies are giant Tatermen that have been modified (willingly or not) with heavy-duty Bioniks to work as guards or to fight in the Blenders.
SPUD DADDY
Rank 4-9
Body: 11
Mind: 3
Spirit: 2
Skills: 5
-Parry
BP: 22
Special Weapon (choose one)
-Flamethrower
+8 plus 3in6 chance of setting target on fire (+4 damage per round until extinguished)
-Drillbit or Chainblade +10
-Charge Cannon +12. Can only fire every d4 rounds
Damage
+6 Punch
Armour
-2d6(roll once to determine)

[The Delvers] Ready Player One

Tue, 29 May 2012 16:15:02 GMT

It was morning outside the Tomb of Horrors, when Balthazar made his way down the first hall. Lit torch in hand, he stepped towards an arch of mist causing three colored stones light up.

Jay: Blue, orange, yellow?
LL: Heh, no.
Jay: Orange, yellow, blue?
LL: Ha! No.
Jay: Ugh. Yellow, blue, orange?

The colored vapors dissipated beyond the arched door.

Jay: The most obvious sequence and I couldn’t figure it out. Not a good start. I walk through the arch, while ON the red path.

Belthazar made his way passed a broken gargoyle statue and into the Great Hall of Spheres marked [...]

[They Might Be Gazebos] Catching Up & Building Worlds

Tue, 29 May 2012 16:00:04 GMT

Yes, I have neglected this blog for too long. I have this little weakness. When I’m not playing a game sometimes I just don’t feel like writing about it plus I’ve been busy running my Dresden Files campaign. So the best thing I can do here is use to start building my “perfect” world. Hell, I’ve got the time, it’s not there’s a deadline looming over my head. Plus I figured it would fun to drag along a few readers through what passes for my creative process.
To put it bluntly, I’ve grown a bit weary of thinly [...]

[Troll in the Corner] Devious NPCs and Curious Creatures on sale for $1 through this week

Tue, 29 May 2012 15:45:03 GMT

Because it’s a short week and you may not have as much time to prepare for your upcoming Pathfinder or d20 fantasy campaign – I’ve put Devious NPCs and Curious Creatures on sale for $1. It’ll stay this way until Monday next.

Lotsa ideas in this here book to help you out.

Devious NPCs and Curious Creatures is a document designed to give GM’s interesting creatures and NPCs to mesh in to their ongoing Pathfinder games. The creatures and NPCs are designed for low to mid-level campaigns.

These NPCs and creatures are a bit different from what one may normally encounter and should [...]

[Casting Shadows] Review: Leagues of Adventure

Tue, 29 May 2012 15:00:03 GMT
Produced by Triple Ace Gamesand using Exile Game Studio’s Ubiquity System,Leagues of Adventureis a broad-shouldered yet elegant game set in the age ofVictoria and the brave new world of Stream-that-never-was, opening new vistas, charting new courses, and shining light on forgotten places. It is consulting detectives, daring inventors, challengers of convention, firsts-to-do, culture-clashing, mind and … Read more

[Adventures and Shopping] Gamebook Goodness

Tue, 29 May 2012 14:45:03 GMT
Friends on Facebook will have noticed my triumphant cheer at finally reaching and killing the infamous Balthus Dire after a thirty year relatively unfocussed comings and goings from my copy of Fighting Fantasy Citadel of Chaos. On this occasion it involved rapid play and a few cheaty back-tracks on the iPad version of the game. Finally, not only did I get by the deadly Ganjees but I also knew the code for the tumblers on his door. Now, Citadel of Chaos is by no means a difficult gamebook to play, and blind luck will allow some players to succeed in [...]

[Dungeon's Master] When the Plus (+) No Longer Matters

Tue, 29 May 2012 14:45:03 GMT

When an adventurer begins his career he's always looking for magical treasure. Even in a magic-rich setting a +1 sword is a coveted item. As the character advances he will seek more items with even higher plusses. After all why stick with a +1 sword when you can have a +2 sword? But eventually the plus no longer matters. Believe it or not there comes a time when the player realizes that the plus isn't the most important part of a magic item. Eventually an item's power or ability is deemed more integral to the character than one more plus.

Our [...]

[Beyond the Pale Gate] Chainmail Magic Design Notes

Tue, 29 May 2012 14:30:04 GMT
Considering the rather terse introduction I gave to these house rules, I thought maybe a little more insight was in order.

My main goal was (and has been for a long time) to come up with a tweak of the magic system in Chainmail that was unpredictable, wide open, and carried an element of danger.

I started with the casting table straight from Chainmail. I took the numbers for a Seer casting a complexity I spell and added +1 to all the numbers. That was my baseline. The extra +1 to the numbers offsets the fact that most [...]

[Thoul's Paradise] Blade Raiders

Tue, 29 May 2012 14:15:03 GMT

Your humble host came across this Kickstarter project and thought that some of his more discerning readers might be interested. Thoul's Paradise would not dedicate a post to some hum-drum OGL re-hash (except for purposes of ridicule); there are enough of those floating around. Blade Raiders has aspects that set it apart from many games.

First, Grant Gould, the artist/creator, seems to be a nice guy. That might not count for much in the eyes of others, but it means something to me.

Anyway, since Blade Raiders is his project, it is only fitting that I quote [...]

[Boccob's Blessed Blog] Pathfinder Online

Tue, 29 May 2012 14:15:03 GMT

It would seem that Paizo is looking to throw their hat into the MMO ring with Pathfinder Online.They are funding the whole project through Kickstarter.

Check out the video and Kickstarter page here.

I hope they are successful and that it doesnt go the way of City of Heroes, Lord of the Rings Online, DDO, Conan, Star Trek…well you get the idea. MMO’s are a fickle mofo.

[STUFFER SHACK] My problem with Kickstarter

Tue, 29 May 2012 14:15:03 GMT

I’ve been a gamer for quite a while. I’ve played quite a few editions of quite a few games, and I’ve had the displeasure of watching thetabletop role-playing game industry flounder. My hometown had four friendly local gaming stores, and they flourished for years. They flourished right up until the industry took a dive, andall four of them had to close shop.

This unfortunate turn began right around the time zmuds became popular, and then really took a nose-dive whenAsheron’s Call and World of Warcraft came out. Are these other geeky games responsible for the RPG industry’s downfall? I don’t know [...]

[Aventuras en la Marca del Este] Nueva sesin de juego

Tue, 29 May 2012 13:45:05 GMT
Ayer disfrutamos de una nueva sesin de juego, continuando con el playtesting de la caja negra. Todo fue bien, nos divertimos en el transcurso de una partida que fue muy tranquila en lneas generales. Nadie muri, a pesar de tener dos o tres encuentros complicados con gnolls, orcos y clrigos, amn de un elemental de fuego y nuestra nmesis particular, un elfo oscuro que parece divertirse hostigndonos por todo el complejo, lanzndonos bolas de fuego a diestro y siniestro. Parece ser que ayer conseguimos acabar con l, quin sabe, pues finalmente se precipit al vaco y nos sabemos si realmente [...]

[Creative Mountain Games] The Play Generated Map and Document Archive

Tue, 29 May 2012 13:30:03 GMT
There is a cool website called "The Play Generated Map and Document Archive" that is starting to pick up some steam and is well worth checking out. In their own words -

PlaGMaDA's mission is to preserve, present, and interpret play generated cultural artifacts, namely manuscripts and drawings created to communicate a shared imaginative space. The Archive will solicit, collect, describe, and publicly display these documents so as to demonstrate their relevance, presenting them as both a historical record of a revolutionary period of experimental play and as aesthetic objects in their own right. By fostering discussion [...]

[The Signe of the Frothing Mug] Discussions on Knights and Knaves

Tue, 29 May 2012 13:15:04 GMT
So I discovered a new wargame over the weekend, one that I actually wanted to write about on Monday but forgot completely. I've yet to actually give it a try (I get a lot of resistance from certain members of my IRC crowd whenever I suggest using Maptool to play wargames), but from reading over the rules, I'm excited as excited can be. The game is Knights and Knaves, a free game for use with any

[Big Ball of No Fun] My NPCs are Lame - On Purpose

Tue, 29 May 2012 13:00:04 GMT
I'll admit it, my NPCs are lame. They are not memorable, they don't have quirks, they are boring to interact with. While I truly admire DMs who can make their NPCs come alive, it is not a skill I have. I am lousy when it comes to acting or making unique voices. I forget the quirks of an NPC from one night to the next. But part of me doesn't care. Part of me makes my NPCs lame on purpose. I

[The Other Side] Marvel HRP links

Tue, 29 May 2012 13:00:04 GMT
Quick one today.
Found some links for various builds for the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying game.

The Lost of Files of Marvel is just link after link of tons of builds.
That 70's Game also has a few, but in particular are his build builds of Zatanna, Fire and Ice from the DC world.

And only quasi-related, Tim Marchman over at the Wall Street Journal wants to know why comics aren't doing better than they are. Actually he has a pretty good idea.

[Arcanos do Vale] Old School - Homenagem visual

Tue, 29 May 2012 12:45:04 GMT
8)

"No existe outro modo de testar a agu da fonte, exceto bebendo. O liquido magico perde sua magia caso voc deixar a sala. Voc se sente com sorte... Jibu? Hein, se sente?"

me ajudem, ela esta servindo caf em um regador?
@alan_myla

[Gothridge Manor] Projects and Still Breaking Stuff

Tue, 29 May 2012 12:45:04 GMT
Over the weekend I was reading through a project written by Dylan Hartwell (Digital Orc) and received a rough draft of Johnathan Bingham's, Delve! zine. On top of that Matt Jackson sent me some excellent maps for the upcoming issue of The Manor. So it's been good busy.

My destruction of electronics and machines continues. Over the weekend I was not only able to blue screen my computer a half dozen times, but I also had the fun of blowing out a fuse if I put the light on in the bathroom because our air conditioner is running full [...]

[Going Last] Last Stand at Camp Starfall

Tue, 29 May 2012 12:30:03 GMT

Last Stand at Camp Starfall -- The Influence of Other Genres on D&D

For the vast majority of gamers, D&D is simply a fantasy game. The characters, the adventures, and the setting itself have fantastic elements that center around wizards, mages, and mythical creatures. In most cases, there are no aspects of science-fiction. We remain true to the core of what we read in the Lord of the Rings books and other popular stories and movies. A few settings, such as Eberron, describe a lost past where magic once duplicated what we think of as technology. Still, most of that has [...]

[Glimm's Workshop] Game Night: Resident Evil

Tue, 29 May 2012 12:30:03 GMT

Welcome to the Game Night Blog Carnival for May! You can get more information about the carnival at the main Game Night site.

This month, I’ve been participating in the May of the Dead blog carnival, so I wanted to pick an undead-themed board game to write about for Game Night. I stopped by one of the local game stores, looked at a few options, andended up buying a copy of the Resident Evil: Alliance. I’ve enjoyed both Ascension and Thunderstone quite a bit, so I figured trying another deck-building game would be fun.

Alliance is a standalone expansion for the original [...]

[The RPG Athenaeum] Game Night Blog Carnival: Scallywags

Tue, 29 May 2012 12:15:04 GMT

Pictured above is an “inactive” priate, which counts toward a total needed to sail. The pirate also contains the Monkey card, which allows the player to draw an extra card each turn.

Scallywags is a card game for two to four players ages 12 and older, published by Bent Castle Workshops. As the name implies, the game has a pirate flavor; the object of the game is to be the first toassemble a pirate crew from dozens of interchangeable pirate parts; the number pirates required for victory varies with the number of players.

The Scallywags deck contains 120 cards. Ninety of them [...]

[Farsight Blogger] A Monthly Roleplaying Magazine

Tue, 29 May 2012 12:00:05 GMT
So, I'm never going to get the chance to do anything like this so I figured I'd put it out there. These are a few ideas I had about a monthly roleplaying magazine.

I have always been of the mind that an affordable monthly magazine on the magazine racks of high street stores would be a much better selling point and avenue for new gamers than great big comprehensive rulebooks available in specialist shops or on the internet, where prospective gamers won't see them or be able to afford them. Creating a magazine-based game such as this and making [...]

[Хроники Геров (Heroes' Chronicles)] D&D Next - Rule of the Three 29.05.12

Tue, 29 May 2012 11:30:03 GMT

WotC . D&D Next , . . .

, , ? , , D&D Next?

[...]

[Gamerstable] Romance -- Ep59

Tue, 29 May 2012 11:00:06 GMT

We can't quit ya, Mike!

As in real life, romance can be a profound enhancement to a character's life. Adding that dynamic can change a blah [...]

[Geek Ken] Board Game Review: Blue Moon City

Tue, 29 May 2012 10:30:03 GMT
Periodically I'll be participating in the game night blog carnival, which gives me a chance to review some board games that might be a good break from your typical RPG session nights. Be sure to check out the other participants and their blogs.

Blue Moon City is a release from Fantasy Flight Games which is still available from retailers despite being out of print. This is a fantasy game where players represent different factions attempting to rebuild the famed city of Blue Moon after a civil war. Players race from building to building, attempting to contribute the most [...]

[The Role-Player Hater] It's Been a Long Time..

Tue, 29 May 2012 10:30:03 GMT
Damn, I haven't updated in a while.

You may be asking, "What the fuck were you doing?". Well, I was absurdly busy with stuff. For one, my band's first EP is done! You can listen to it here. We've got tons of shows and things coming up, so I'll keep you guys posted on that. Gaming wise, I have some stuff I'm working on for ye old blog. Stu and I are going to do a joint review of the Book of Erotic Fantasy, because it was either that or FATAL. Not to mention the write -up I've been [...]

[Greyhawk Adventures 576CY] LEGACY the Path of Heroes - Session 015

Tue, 29 May 2012 09:45:05 GMT
TEMPLE OF ELEMENTAL EVIL
SESSION 015 - A Storm Approaches

FREEDAY, 07 NEEDFEST (MID WINTER) 579CY
Siam jumped down from the tree branch with a graceful backward flip, landing in the soft snow beneath the tree that she has taken refuge in during the fight. She brushed her hands off of the cold snow, as she walked past the wolf she had doused with the alchemist fire earlier. The wolf's body writhed in pain as the fire expunge the last moments of life from its body. The acrid smell made the young rogue's nose twitch as she walked [...]

[GAME OVER] Streamlining Cthulhu

Tue, 29 May 2012 09:15:05 GMT

No, I’m not talking about chopping off the big lad’s wings and tentacles to reduce that inopportune wind resistance and tendency to walk or stumble that he has going on. I’m talking about the RPG that bears his name.

The idea of running some Call of Cthulhu has been batted around of late (mostly by me, admittedly, as I’m looking at running some decidedly short-term RPG shenanigans during a week’s holiday, and it’s usually CoC that I reach for when it’s important that the game has a defined and definite end).

Now, I like Chaosium’s game, but…

… I’ve only really run it [...]

[Exchange of Realities] Not Getting Romance in Everything

Tue, 29 May 2012 09:00:04 GMT

There was a book I read last week. I’m not going to say which of the books I read that set me off, as it’s a bit of a spoiler for the piece in question, but---there was this relationship. I didn’t see it as romantic, and while there was apparently subtext I completely missed that implied it as such, I gleefully persisted as seeing it as nonromantic. When it was explicitly made a romantic relationship, a good portion of the fandom rejoiced and discussed how long ago they’d seen it, but I was a tad disappointed. It wasn’t the possibly-technically-taboo [...]

[Emergence Campaign] The Chronicles of Heavenly Artifice LXXIV -- Alchemical Factions

Tue, 29 May 2012 08:15:03 GMT

Mercurial Bane Of Deception Pretending to be an Actress on Dr Who…

With everyone else quietly leaving Martha and Ethan alone to talk for a bit, Charles got towed along down the hall to the executive break room – where they waited. People started getting antsy (and nervous) pretty quickly, but no one was going to crack the door open and go back into the conference room – or try to get Charles into casual conversation. After all, if you said "yeah, I like good views" you might come home to find half your house hanging out over the grand canyon [...]

[Teilzeithelden.de] Rezension: Legenden von Harkuna 1 --- Das Reich des Krieges

Tue, 29 May 2012 07:45:04 GMT

Unter dem Arbeitstitel Legenden von Harkuna" erschien im September 2011 beim Mantikore Verlag die Neuauflage eines echten Klassikers. Der eine oder andere vermag sich an Sagaland erinnern, welches in den 90ern beim Ravensburger Spieleverlag unter Vertrag war. Der englische Titel lautete Fabled Lands".

Erscheinungsbild
In meiner Hand ruht ein 373seitiges Buch nach solider Machart. Der Buchrcken macht einen stabilen Eindruck, das Papier ist griffig und hat eine angenehme Haptik. Insgesamt finde ich 680 Spielabschnitte, die wild ber die Seiten verteilt sind.

Das Frontcover wird geziert von einer Einheit Soldaten, die von einem berittenen Fahnentrger angefhrt werden. Der Zeichenstil hat den gewissen, heute so [...]

[Between Are the Doors] The Scavenger Masters Grimore (remix)

Tue, 29 May 2012 07:15:03 GMT

The Masters of the Scavenger Lands include Gartheon Nack, Yelkar Truth, and Larmak Fermain. These mysterious robed figures meted justice out among the Vistani and Wastelanders, battling or unleashing monsters as they learned to manipulate the horrific energies gushing out of the Ruinous Scar. The greatest honor was survival; their magic tends to grow more potent as its wielder continues on unkilled.

This magic is most often learned from strange wandering masters, or from hermits deep in the Scavenger Lands, or from scarred mercenary spellcasters who spook the armies they serve.

The Scavenger Masters Grimore

Jack posted on elemental magic of the Scavenger [...]

[Gnome Stew] In Defense of Published Adventures

Tue, 29 May 2012 07:00:04 GMT

DNAPhil has covered the disadvantages and downsides of published adventures in a separate article. I do not wholly disagree with his assessment; it's one Gnome's valid opinion. But more than one of us felt that a counterpoint article should be written, and my compulsion to volunteer led me here, to defend the published adventure. (Don't worry, Phil; I'm technically unarmed.)

Published adventures (or, as we old farts called them, modules) are often seen as GM's training wheels or the mark of an amateur, but there are a number of reasons to use them, and a number of ways to maximize their [...]

[Land of Nod] Three New Undead ... Just Because

Tue, 29 May 2012 06:45:02 GMT
These critters popped into my head a few days ago, so I decided to give them some stats. Enjoy ...

Necromantic Masterpieces

Necromancers are often frustrated artists, and their desire to outdo their brethren is fierce. While the pedestrian necromancer is content with creating zombies, skeletons, ghouls and the like, the true artist labors on a unique creation and creates a manual to hide away for others to one day find.

DAME SANS MERCI
Medium Undead, Chaotic (NE), Average Intelligence; Solitary (1)

Hit Dice: 5
Armor Class: 15 [4]
Attacks: 2 flailing fists (1d6) or gaze [...]

[Adventuring Archives] Trying on a new skin: Clay Golem and The Queen's Golem

Tue, 29 May 2012 06:45:02 GMT

Golems are a well-known enemy in RPG Geekdom, especially Dungeons and Dragons. The clay golem was inspired by the Golem in Jewish Mythology. In Jewish mysticism the golem was fashioned from dust "kneaded into a shapeless husk". Two ways of bringing the golem to life are shown in the mythology. The first is to inscribe the Hebrew word Truth into the forehead of the golem. The second way to bring the golem to life was to scribe the word life on a piece of paper or parchment and place It in the open mouth of the inanimate golem. In [...]

[Aventuras en la Marca del Este] Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG en Tesoros de la Marca

Tue, 29 May 2012 06:00:04 GMT

Pues s, en poco tiempo, unos das a lo sumo, esperamos tener disponibles en Tesoros de la Marca el libro bsico del juego de rol Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG y la primera aventura aparecida, Sailors of the Starless Sea. Con toda probabilidad, puede que nos llegue algn manual bsico de edicin limitada, ya veremos. Es nuestra intencin traer todo lo que aparezca en esta lnea a Tesoros, para para apoyar y difundir en lo posible este juego entre la aficin patria, porque bien lo merece, por su calidad y buena factura. Pronto pondremos en preorder estos productos.

[Emergence Campaign] Greed of the Cabal Campaign Setup

Tue, 29 May 2012 05:45:05 GMT
Greed of the Cabal
A Champions! Campaign

Inspiration comes from the strangest places, and this is the second time I ended up creating a character based off BlazBlue. If you haven’t heard of it, BlazBlue is a fighting game with the most absurdly intricate and nonsensical backstory the Land of Anime can produce. They also have extremely inventive and colorful character design, that for some reason frequently inspires new ideas. So there’s reason that Nu-13 shows up. Remember: It’s not a rip-off as long as you can call it an homage with a straight face.

Beyond fun character design, the reason I came [...]

[Reality Refracted] Marvelous Miami - Head Count

Tue, 29 May 2012 05:00:24 GMT
Today, well tomorrow at the time of this writing, I begin my Marvel Heroic RPG game. In the spirit of this awesome trailer for the Avengers movie, and the fact my game is set in the Marvel movie verse, I figured that'd make a good post for today. I don't normally do posts about games I am playing/running but several people have expressed an interest, and as this is everyone at the table's first experience with the system, I figure I can also use it as a journal of system experiences. Thursday will be the first session impressions, as I write [...]

[Tenkar's Tavern] Looking at "The" Monster vs. "A" Monster in Dungeon Crawl Classics

Tue, 29 May 2012 04:30:04 GMT

"The" Monster Vs. "A" Monster paragraph of the Dungeon Crawl Classics rulebook reminds me quite a bit of a similar world view from the Lamentations of the Flame Princess' Weird Fantasy referee book on monsters. Just like in LotFP WF, the key is to make sure they are special to the players. Is there more than one minotaur in your game world? Is there more than one unicorn or more than one chimera? To a provincial farmer with a ten-mile-wide worldview, does it really matter? You can make monsters more special by referring to them as "the" monster (minotaur, unicorn, chimera, etc.) rather than "a" monster. Whether it is you as the judge describing the creature or an NPC speaking to the player characters, remind yourself that the in-game point of view [...]

[Ancient Scroll] Magiczna zbrojownia Oskara: Srebrny Sztylet

Tue, 29 May 2012 04:15:03 GMT
To kim jest Oskar nie ma dla nas w tej chwili znaczenia. Moe jest magiem, tworzcym magiczne przedmioty, moe kolekcjonerem, moe agentem si za, podsuwajcym ludziom bro, mogc sprowadzi ich na manowce. Waniejsze od Oskara, s jednak jego magiczne przedmioty. Oczywicie s magiczne, wic zapewne mog wyglda jak chc. Tu przedstawi Wam w jakiej postaci [...]

[Anthony Pryor's Blog] The New Wulf Archives

Tue, 29 May 2012 04:00:04 GMT

As I have finally completed work on at least the tentative version of the new, New NEW Improved Wulf Archives site, where you can read my adult (and for those of you who need explanation, that means 18 years and over only, please) fantasy adventures featuring Wulf the Freelance — rogue, warrior, adventurer, philosopher, lover and all-around grumpy guy — and his various friends and lovers.

I’ve described how I came to write the Wulf stories several times — in short, I loved both the works Bill Willingham, Stephen Brust and others, and in the early days of Usenet, I posted [...]

[Age of Ravens] Changeling Songs

Tue, 29 May 2012 04:00:04 GMT
Some time back I wrote a post explaining why Neko Case's Middle Cyclone is the ultimate Changeling the Lost album. To add to that, I'd say the following is the ultimate CtL song & video combo not from that album.

For song but not video, we would also accept this-

[Sea of Stars RPG Design Journal] Elementals, in general and in the Sea of Stars

Tue, 29 May 2012 03:00:04 GMT

I had mention in an early post that the elemental realms (elemental plane in D&D terms) still interacted with the Sea of Stars, but I have decided this is not longer so as there are no elemental realms anymore. Not as it “they have been destroy” but rather, that they never existed.

Elements

Reading James Maliszewski‘s It’s Elementary article reminded me about the origin of elementals in D&D and that the elemental planes were a later addition to the D&D cosmology which may have some literary antecedence in Moorcock’s works but I am not sure.

In retrospect, the elemental realms is a concept [...]

[The City of Bones] City Tour: The Perfumed Privy & other taverns

Tue, 29 May 2012 02:30:03 GMT

The Perfumed Privy Welcome to one of the best kept secrets in the city. The name puts most people off, the stink outside too. That's the smell of the OFFAL PITS; and believe me, it's a breath of fresh air compared to how it smells close up. That stench stays with you for days. This is as close as I'm bringing you, so don't frown so. I'll take you the long way to the RESIDENTS QUARTER. In the meantime, step inside. First drink's always on the house, so choose something good. I can heartily recommend the Bearded Ale, a [...]

[Fustians so Sublimey Bad] Everything is a Remix ...

Tue, 29 May 2012 02:15:04 GMT
... so it seems, is complaining about how there is nothing new under the sun.

[Neuroglyph Games] The Feywild Codex: Archfey, Demesnes, & Other Oddities

Tue, 29 May 2012 02:15:04 GMT

Well, my Toledo Campaign is moving on into the Paragon Tier, and so my overall campaign story arc is likely to take them to new and strange locales. It seems to me that in the Paragon Tier, the hreats have got to increase by a serious factor, the pace of the story has to go up in tempo, and the masks will come off revealing the evil string pullers that have manipulated plots during the Heroic Tier. In my canse, specifically, the evil cult that my heroes have been pursuing and opposing off and on during their Heroic Tier has [...]

[Fustians so Sublimey Bad] A Fighter, a Thief and a Mage Walk into a Tavern

Tue, 29 May 2012 02:15:04 GMT
This is awesome. BFX is running The Third Level Tomb of Horrors Challenge with his players. I can't wait to see how far they get!

[Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer] [D&D Next] Fighters: Freedom to Improvise

Tue, 29 May 2012 01:45:03 GMT

I’ve been paying attention to some of the internet chatter with regards to D&D Next as of late, and I’m puzzled by all this talk of the Fighters getting the short end of the stick. From what I can tell, a lot of this stems from the fact that there isn’t a laundry list of powers / maneuvers in the rules that cater specifically to the Fighter class. Oddly, I find the lack of maneuvers liberating, as it gives Players and GMs the opportunity to get fighters to try all sorts of things without consulting a list of powers and [...]

[Alex Schroeder: RPG] Regarding My Nominations

Tue, 29 May 2012 01:30:04 GMT

We’re close to finishing the list of winners for the One Page Dungeon Contest 2012. I’ve sent my nominations, prepared the spreadsheet, did my thing. As the deadline approaches---June 1st---I’m reminded of what I said a few days ago:
If you're the author of a particular entry amongst the first fifty dungeons and you'd like to hear a few more words about it, let me know. I hope I'll be writing a paragraph about all the dungeons I'm going to nominate in the end -- but if you want to hear about your dungeon right away, I'll be happy to talk.
Two people got back to me and here’s what I had to say.
The author of The Oracle of Pagebrin was the first who wanted to hear more. He had already read about the things I like to see in a dungeon and knew that it wasn’t going to be my cup of tea.
The problem is this: What should I do with humorous and witty submissions to the contest? As for myself, I run D&D games, various Indie games, Pendragon -- and the old school D&D games in particular are full of deadly slapstick. The player characters are murderhobos and killerclowns. It’s neither serious like the Forgotten Realms, not gritty like Warhammer, nor is it meta and funny like Paranoia used to be. That’s why I would never use The Oracle of Pagebrin in my campaign.
There would be a lot of groaning and shaking of fists once the players discover the jokes. There are plenty of these funny moments and I’m sure I missed many as I read the entry: the presence of angry birds, links going on for ever and ever, feeling lucky, and so on. In addition to that, there are no elements that I might lift from [...]

[Adventures and Shopping] WHQ: better dungeon layouts in random play

Tue, 29 May 2012 00:45:03 GMT
I had a moment to myself in my flat tonight, but didn't quite have enough time to play a full solo Warhammer Quest game as planned, so I decided to enjoy myself by just laying and the dungeon as the card decks told me, with some improvised rules regarding extra exits from rooms as dictated by the roll of a die and then splitting the deck according (hard to explain if you haven't played WHQ* - but it's an home-brew improvised expansion on the T-Junction).

*Or is it WQ? I think I'm might be getting confused with AHQ... and [...]

[Beyond the Pale Gate] Chainmail based Magic

Tue, 29 May 2012 00:30:04 GMT
Here we go. My magic rules for a more Chainmail based game. So far I really like the look of them, so, please be gentle.

Magic Use
In any discussion of magic, there are two things that must be understood:
Magic is special;
Magic is unpredictable
Any two-bit conjurer of cheap tricks can light a candle or make a noise seem to originate from somewhere else. Then again, so can an innkeeper, by walking across the room, or a petty entertainer, by throwing his voice.

A Wizard can command flames to race across a battlefield and explode in the midst [...]

[Adventures and Shopping] Lord of the Rings LEGO

Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:05 GMT

EDIT: Since composing this post Forbidden Planet seem to be hiding the LotR Lego WTF! Sheesh. I will still share - even if some of the links are null and void. Shopping FAIL!

My good friend Mortis drew my attention to this, Forbidden Planet (uk) are now selling and taking pre-orders on a selection of Lord of The Rings LEGO sets.

You'll find some of these sets on Amazon too (although I was struggling to locate them today on the UK site), so some of the [...]

[Хроники Геров (Heroes' Chronicles)] D&D Next -

Tue, 29 May 2012 00:00:05 GMT
, D&D . , -.

. - : D&D "" .

4-, - . . , [...]

[Tenkar's Tavern] The Grumpy Dwarf Wonders How He Missed Mike Mearls Interview at the Escapist'

Mon, 28 May 2012 23:30:03 GMT

Really, how the f' did I miss this? How did my fans miss this (as they often send me messages directing The Grumpy Dwarf to an article they feel will entertain). So, lets more on to yet another Mike Mearls The Man, The Manager and The Next.

You can read the original article here

The public playtest for the next iteration of Dungeons & Dragons begins today, May 24th. (well, it began that day - if you could get past WotC's borked servers.) Mike Mearls is the head of the development team tasked with recreating the rules for the most iconic tabletop fantasy roleplaying game after the 4th edition unfortunately led to a fracturing of the game's core audience (and that was [...]

[Gaming Tonic] Earlier Versions of D&D Next Character Sheets

Mon, 28 May 2012 23:30:03 GMT

In case you aren't a regular reader over at EN World, I posted two different character sheets from earlier versions of D&D Next. The cell phone pictures are from December, the better version is from the Friends and Family playtest. It has been so hard to keep these to myself and hope you enjoy them. I apologize for the quality but I am not a cell phone camera expert. You can see for yourself how much and how fast the game is changing. Let me know what you think, and until next time, Roll Hard!

[They Might Be Gazebos] Lamentations of The Flame Princess Hardcover. I'm in.

Mon, 28 May 2012 22:45:03 GMT

It’s down to the wire folks and I’d really like to see some of those adventures. So throw in your bucks now. The fund raising ends this Friday. And yes, I’ve already thrown in. So why haven’t you?

[x6 system] New friends, old acquaintances

Mon, 28 May 2012 22:45:03 GMT

Right now, the DnD Next open playtest is all the rage in RPG blogs, forums and the social media community. So I thought I’d take a break from writing The Frontier (which is almost ready, I promise!) to have a look at the playtesting material and share my thoughts.

I managed to sign up and download the playtesting material on Saturday, then went over it during the weekend. I didn’t have the chance to actually playtest it (too busy for that kind of thing nowadays) and I focused more on the "How to play" and the DM’s section material. I also [...]

[Fustians so Sublimey Bad] The Enchiridon

Mon, 28 May 2012 22:30:04 GMT
I've wanted to do this for a while; systematically going through each Adventure Time with Finn and Jake episode, and generating stats for the fantastic creatures, items and people in the series. I'll be doing it for three different systems!
Questamundo (my homebrew system)
TWERPS (The World's Easiest RPG) and
D&D Basic (Red Box)
Hey, it's not the kind of stuff that works in everyone's campaign, but it certainly works in mine.
Episode: Pilot/Adventure Time
Sweater
Any character wearing a sweater is immune to effects of normal cold. They still take full damage from magical cold.
Snow Golem
Snow [...]

[Third Edition House Rules] Sidebar: Reimagining the Gnome

Mon, 28 May 2012 22:30:04 GMT

The 3.5 gnome is by far the worst player character class in the Core Rulebook. Consider some of the following problems:

The Gnome’s Ability Adjustments Do Not Assist in the Race’s Favored Class
Dwarves get a +2 bonus to Constitution, which helps them as fighters, because they can take more hits in combat. Elves benefit from a +2 bonus to Dexterity, which boosts their low armor class as wizards. Half-orcs get a +2 bonus to Strength, which helps them hit things harder as barbarians. Halflings get a +2 bonus to Dexterity, which helps them stay nimble and stealthy in combat. Gnomes… [...]

[The Wandering Gamist] Twenty Questions of Interest to My Players

Mon, 28 May 2012 21:45:03 GMT
By way of Jeff's Gameblog (yeah, I know I'm behind the times on this one, but it only just became relevant).

What is the deal with my cleric's religion?

Religion on the Inner Sea is much like that of ancient Earth or the Wilderlands of High Fantasy - there are a number of pantheons, all of which think the others are wrong, and which all grant spells to their followers. There are even localized minor deities who only have power within certain areas (the frog-god of the marshes, for example). Pick pretty much any ancient historical deity and [...]

[Of Dice and Men] S is for Seneschal

Mon, 28 May 2012 21:45:03 GMT
When I first heard about Rogue Trader's Career system, I wasn't massively impressed.

I had seen the glut of Class-based systems, and wanted something a bit different. While I had heard of WFRP's Careers, wide and varied as they are, the whole "buying Advances, not automatically gaining new stuff" was a foreign concept to me.

For those of you who don't know: in your average Class-based game (like D&D), you gain Experience Points - once you reach a certain threshold, you gain a new Level. With that Level, you automatically gain new abilities (like new spells for Wizards, [...]

[G*M*S Magazine] Servants of Gaius Available in Print

Mon, 28 May 2012 21:45:03 GMT
Unravel sacred mysteries and explore the empire in this unique alternate Roman history setting where a mad emperor is saviour of the world. As Neptune's armies threaten Rome, Caligula creates a secret order to root them out. The Servants of Gaius come from all the ranks of the Empire, chosen by the divine emperor himself. [...]

[Wombat's Gaming Den of Iniquity] [May of the Dead] Deadweed

Mon, 28 May 2012 21:30:04 GMT
This is my entry in the May of the Dead Blog Carnival. True to form, it's also a crossover piece that gives a taste of the fantasy setting we're developing over at The Gamer Assembly. How can you possibly go wrong with undead symbiotic plants?

Deadweed
(Note: I have copied the relevant passages from a letter read in a recent Cabinet meeting. Headings have been added for my own benefit. -Tobias)

Greetings and long life to Speaker Tobias and the rest of The Cabinet of the Confederacy of the Silver Charter. I trust this letter finds you in [...]

[G*M*S Magazine] Raging Swan Press releases Scions of Evil

Mon, 28 May 2012 21:15:04 GMT
This week, Raging Swan Press is proud to announce the release of Scions of Evil a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game compatible GM's RESOURCE by loads of talented designers. Every hero needs an antihero, every defender of the light must have darkness to keep at bay and every pure-hearted paladin needs a vile, shadow-cloaked assassin to cut [...]

[G*M*S Magazine] Party of 1: Alosar Emanli and the Creatures from the Fallen Star

Mon, 28 May 2012 21:15:04 GMT
This pdf from Open Design is 15 pages long, 1 page front cover/editorial, 1 page SRD, leaving 13 pages of content, so let's check this out!

[ROFL Initiative] Small, Weird World

Mon, 28 May 2012 21:00:04 GMT
Over the past few days, I have had a front row seat to one of the bizarre realities of our digitally entangled humanity, the quick rise of internet fame.

Last week, one of my good friends from college decided to propose to his girlfriend. In order to make the moment something special, he enlists the help of one of our other mutual friends, her husband and many of his other friends and family. They choreograph a dance, videotape the proposal and upload it to the internet. Over the course of three days, it goes viral like some great love [...]

[Geek Related] Jade Regent -- Night of Frozen Shadows, Session 5

Mon, 28 May 2012 21:00:04 GMT

Fifth Session(10 page pdf) -- We kill Thorborg the oni and make a bunch of new friends in preparation for our journey north. Plus we have to fight BLINDHEIMS!

Well, both Tim and Matt showed up late, but luckily walked in by the time we opened the door to the boss’ lair and went inside. Things started out well – I used Suishen’s wind walk and see invisible to get up in the air and see the oni and I shot her with an outsider bane arrow. And then she shot a spear-sized arrow right into me with a crit and [...]

[SinisterForces] Enterprise: A Lesson In Why Intros Are Important

Mon, 28 May 2012 21:00:04 GMT
Now that I have more free time I have been making sure to dedicate some of my daily and weekend schedule to my hobbies. Believe it or not, you need to schedule downtime for yourself when you are job hunting. You will drive yourself nuts if you do nothing but look for a job after [...]

[Cobblestone Chaos] Baatezu's Advocate: Problem with Forums and D&D Next

Mon, 28 May 2012 20:15:02 GMT
Ah, well, this particular post isn't too bad. I would like people to actually see it though, so a bit of cross promotion is in order.

Problem with Forums and D&D Next

[Ruthless Diastema Games BlogCast] The Great Podcast Promo Exchange

Mon, 28 May 2012 19:15:03 GMT

Like the penny jar at the convenience store: Take a podcast promo if you want; send one if you like. I like to promote others. Note: My show has a clean tag.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10614144/ruthlesspromo/ruthlesspromo1.mp3

[Third Edition House Rules] Reimagined Races: Gnome

Mon, 28 May 2012 19:00:04 GMT

Gnome

+2 Charisma, -2 Strength: Gnomes are fun-loving and amiable, but they are small and therefore not as strong as larger humanoids.

Small: As a Small creature, a gnome gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters those of a Medium character.

Gnome base land speed is 20 feet. However, gnomes can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike [...]

[Tagsessions] Gifts of the God Mages : Pathfinder e01

Mon, 28 May 2012 19:00:04 GMT
Gifts of the God MagesMay 2012 - ongoingPathfinder
Episode One: The Tomb of the Elven Princess

As my latest game for the people of Indigo Entertainment, I've borrowed liberally from the Forgotten Realms comics of Rags Morales, Dave Simons and Jeff Grubb. Given how the games will be held every (or at least we try to every) Friday, I've decided to make each game session a self-contained quest where the players are tasked to help Dwalimar Omen, Minder, Foxilon Cardluck and Vartan gather up all the artifacts they can to lock them away in the extra-dimensional portal that exists [...]

[Geek Native] The DnD Next playtest collections

Mon, 28 May 2012 18:45:02 GMT

Wizards of the Coast have reached an important stage in the production of the 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons. The project, known as DnD Next, is being widely playtested by registered gamers across the world.
There are some restrictions as to what these tabletop roleplayers can say – don’t expect to see many posts about the crunchy bits of the rules. It’s also worth noting that the rules are still fluid, very fluid, after all that’s the whole point of the playtest. However, Wizards of the Coast are allowing bloggers to share their thoughts and opinions on the same as [...]

[Gnome Stew] Remembering the Fallen on Memorial Day

Mon, 28 May 2012 18:30:04 GMT

I attempt to write becomes a dim echo of this one.

At work, at play, abroad, at home, whatever your views, please take a moment today to remember the men and women who have paid the ultimate price.

May our lives be worthy of their sacrifice,

Kurt “Telas” Schneider

*****

(First posted in 2010)

"The old myths, the old gods, the old heroes have never died. They are only sleeping at the bottom of our minds, waiting for our call. We have need of them, for in their sum they epitomize the wisdom and experience of the race."

-Stanley Kunitz

In the United States, today is [...]

[The Most Unread Blog on the Internet. Ever.] Tommy's Take on Dark Harvest: Resistance

Mon, 28 May 2012 18:30:04 GMT

Last week I reviewed Dark Harvest: The Legacy of Frankenstein, an interesting alternate history set in the closed-borders country of Promethea, better known to you and I as Romania. Now, I've been given the opportunity to review the Resistance supplement in advance of its release.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: First off, Resistance isn't actually out quite yet. The cover lists a retail price of $36.99, so I assume the pricing will be pretty similar to the core book. The core was about 216 pages in PDF, this one is about 177. The art in this line is [...]

[that70sgame] New Heroes : Amethyst

Mon, 28 May 2012 18:15:03 GMT
Another New Hero. Again based on art from deviant art, again by gb2k. Someone’s commision, so if its yours, er, let me know! Amethyst is from an alternate reality fantasy … Continue reading →

[Ancient Scroll] The Castle of the Gods

Mon, 28 May 2012 18:15:03 GMT
This is a short inspiration from book "The Blood of Morpheus" by Michael Garcia and Quinn Conklin. It was designed to use with d20. Michael and Quinn will take You into world of dreams… Full book You can buy HERE But – and this is even better – You can have it for free. How? [...]

[The Delvers] A Fighter, a Thief, and a Magic-user Walk into a Tavern

Mon, 28 May 2012 18:15:03 GMT

The Keep seemed particularly busy this weekend. Would-be adventures were crawling around the Caves of Chaos like cockroaches, and buzzing about the tavern like flies on horse manure.

Matthew made a post that sounded fun. The premise was to see how far a level 3 character could get in the Tomb of Horrors. I shared the post with Sue and we planned a Memorial Day weekend game around it.

While I thought the idea was interesting, I did not think it was possible to meet any of the goals with just a level 3 Fighter.

I rolled up three characters. Sue would be [...]

[HeroPress] Tonight On Game Of Thrones (In The UK)...

Mon, 28 May 2012 18:00:05 GMT

And a brief recap of last week's thrilling episode:

[Flames Rising] Achtung! Cthulhu -- Zero Point Part 1 -- Three Kings Available Now!

Mon, 28 May 2012 18:00:05 GMT

Wartime roleplaying...
...with tentacles!

Achtung! Cthulhu brings you a two-fisted wartime CALL OF CTHULHU roleplaying game setting packed full of fiendish Nazis, terrifying ancient mysteries, legendary war machines, and enough writhing tentacles to fill ten Reichstags!

Three Kings is the first in a series of standalone adventure supplements in the globe-spanning Zero Point campaign for Achtung! Cthulhu written by Sarah Newton. Join a band of heroic soldiers, agents, and partisans behind enemy lines on the eve of World War Two, as they discover the unspeakable horrors of Castle Karlstein in occupied Czechoslovakia!

Inside you will find everything you need:

A [...]

[Arcanos do Vale] Drages em Calabouos jogando "Houses and Humans"

Mon, 28 May 2012 17:45:04 GMT

Traduo Livre
Drago Azul: Voc deixa a festa e a sua esposa diz, "Porque voc fez piada do meu cabelo ?"
Drago Amarelo: Caraca! agora voc ta morto cara!
Drago Vermelho: Vamo l D20 Evitar Argumento!
Caixa de Texto: Drages Nerds amam jogar "Houses & Humans"

Fonte: 9gag

[Reality Refracted] Memorial Day + Late Tomorrow

Mon, 28 May 2012 17:30:04 GMT
Apparently I set this for the wrong time.

No post today for Memorial Day. Also, due to how busy I've been this weekend (painting, moving, cleaning, etc) tomorrow's post will likely be late. Will give best effort to avoid that.

Have a good Memorial Day everyone!

[Knightvision Games] "Accursed Halls of the Keeperstone" Preview 1

Mon, 28 May 2012 17:15:03 GMT
I’ve completed the first draft writing of my next Labyrinth Lord adventure called "Accursed Halls of the Keeperstone". This adventure will be available via PDF and Print-on-Demand (POD) in late June 2012. It has been designed as a first adventure in a long adventure series into the core of Ebonyr called the FarDeep. I'm developing

Read More...

[The Dungeon Monkeys] DnD Next (and sorry for the delay)

Mon, 28 May 2012 17:00:04 GMT
Well it's been a while, a very long while so firstly I would like to apologies for the lack of posts from and Alifornication. but as DnD Next has officially started I figured now is a good at time as any to get things moving again :D. so my first impressions on the DnD Next stuff so far... I like it. the lac of 4e stuff is noticeable (some things for the better I have to say). also I have to say to all those moaning on how the classes are boring or not very inventive let me kindly say and with all due [...]

[Land of Nod] Mass Combat in Blood & Treasure

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:45:03 GMT

I want to start this off by wishing folks a happy Memorial Day, especially those who are serving in the armed forces, have served, or lose a loved one who served. Though my family doesn't have a massive history of military service, I can point to my father Rick, who served in the USAF and spent some time overseas in Thailand, my grandfather John ("Pa") who was a doctor in the US Army and helped take care of folks after the bombing of Hiroshima, and several uncles.

And since I'm thinking of the military and mass combat (and [...]

[Heroes Against Darkness] D&D Next: Playtest Impressions

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:45:03 GMT
The other day I posted my early thoughts and opinions of the playtest rules for D&D Next and tonight we finally got a chance to play the rules.

First some background.

Those of you who are close followers of my adventures will know that a just a year ago I GMed a Basic D&D campaign starting with the Keep on the Borderlands.  In that campaign, the players' characters were hired to rescue the son of a noble who'd been captured by a group of monsters from the Caves of Chaos.  The players had reached the caves overland, passing the tower of one of their mentors, and then through the forest.  At the ravine of the Caves of Chaos, they explored the kobold lair (the first cave on the right), then the goblins' cave on the left, which I think took them through to the next set of caves where I had [...]

[The City of Bones] City Tour: Artisans & Stone Districts

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:45:03 GMT
Artisans District Separated from the dwarf community, the STONE DISTRICT, by narrow streets, the ARTISANS DISTRICT is where all the craftsmen make their goods. Most are sold elsewhere, and most of the workers actually live in the RESIDENTS QUARTER. This district is made up of workshops, forges, smiths and warehouses. If you want anything made, bespoke or otherwise, this is the place to come.
Stone District We won't tarry here, as the dwarves like their privacy; but this is where the majority of them live. They have their own workshops and forges, but many of them are miners who work up in [...]

[The City of Bones] City Tour: The Grand Bazaar

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:45:03 GMT
Someone once said that this is a city of markets, and it is true that there are an abundance of markets and travelling traders. We even have the NIGHT MARKETS, which appears in the dead of night, vanishing before sunrise, selling all manner of vices. None, however, compare to the great edifice, the GRAND BAZAAR.
As you can see, it's enclosed in this peaked, towering, arrow-shaped building, several stories high. It's a wide-open space, filled to bursting with stalls, booths, tents and shops along the walls. If you look up, notice the lack of additional floors; instead are three wide [...]

[The City of Bones] City Tour: Merchants Quarter

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:45:03 GMT

Pilgrim's Inn

Torch-Bearers' Guild

Grand Bazar

Traders' Guild

The Perfumed Privy

Hammer & Anvil

Stone's Throw

Orcs Skull

Soldiers' Arms

Owl Bear & Wyvern

The Fighting Pits

The MERCHANT QUARTER lines one side this street, TEMPLE AVENUE, and occupies most of the South half of the city. It's by far the largest quarter, housing businesses of every kind, numerous taverns, inns, brothels and markets. Further in are the ARTISANS DISTRICT, where the craftsmen work their trade, and the STONE DISTRICT, where the majority of the dwarves live.
It's the liveliest part of the city, bustling with trade and revelries, busy night and day. This quarter never sleeps.
As you can see, the avenue [...]

[The Delvers] Ah, Purple Lightning. That's Always a Good Sign.

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:30:02 GMT

Rain poured down on the rooftops of the port town Naerie. The sound was minimized inside The Misty Mug, since the laughter and drunken boasts were louder than the thunder outside.

Coincidentally, this was one of those odd March days in Los Angeles when it was actually raining outside.

The two dwarves, Baz and Sea Axe, sat at their regular table with their hired men. Absent was Hurgar, who left once he realized the two dwarf pirates weren’t going to pay the coin owed to him by the dead halfling Krisella.

In total, eleven had entered the Barrowmaze; four now sat at [...]

[Greyhawk Grognard] Memorial Day

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:30:02 GMT
Remember those heroes who have fallen in service to their nation.

[Flames Rising] Deadworld: War of the Dead #1 Review

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:30:02 GMT

Issue: Deadworld: War of the Dead #1
Writer: Gary Reed
Artist: Sami Makkonen
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Release Date: August 2012
Price: $3.99

The zombies have over run the Earth! A small outpost, remnants of a twisted scientists' scheme to defeat the plague holds out against the army of King Zombie. Their secret weapon are the Lepers-victims of a bizarre experiment that left them with dead flesh in breathing husks with skin that even zombies won't touch. This new series of Deadworld is perfect for new readers to join in the frenzy of what has been called the "grand-daddy" [...]

[Lost Heroes RPG] On golems and sources

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:30:02 GMT

(Originally posted over at Google+)

Came across a very good article on the origin of "golems": "Golems: A Brief History". I had known a little about it, but it’s the meaning behind them that I didn’t get (as in golems are monstrous because only "god" can create life from nothing, not man…). That’s a pretty cool theme.

Anyway, the reason I’m sharing this is more so about the discussion surrounding it. "Cultural appropriation" is mentioned in the comments by someone and I originally saw this shared in relation to DnD… as in how DnD badly represents "golems".

I think it’s weird. I don’t [...]

[Strange Magic] We Did It!

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:15:02 GMT
We reached our funding goal on IndieGoGo!

Thanks so much to all the people who contributed and helped spread the word about our project. [...]

[Kaijuville] Birthdays of horror legends

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:15:02 GMT
I have been so wrapped up in work and school lately, I completely forgot about the anniversaries of Peter Cushing's birthday (May 26th) and Vincent Price's birthday (May 27th), along with Christopher Lee's 90th birthday (May 27th). Mrs. Kaiju and I hold these gentlemen in very high regard as masters of the horror genre, with legacies that extend throughout film making, popular culture and gaming.

I have posted tributes to them here in the past on these occasions. The video below is a clip that was added to the end of part 2 of Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror when it aired on BBC1.

[Ancient Scroll] Wycieczka na wie

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:15:02 GMT
Scenariusz ten dla mnie najlepiej sprawdzi si dla pocztkujcych postaci – modych chopakw z miejskiego getta. Jeeli kto jednak chce, myl, e spokojnie mona dopasowa go do innych realiw. Co jest wane -- przygoda musi dzia si we w miar wspczesnym wiecie, podobnym do naszego. Od pocztku wic! DeShawn, Darnell i Dominique s brami mieszkajcymi [...]

[Bad DM's The Good, The Bad & The Gamer] D&D Next: Kobolds Bleed Red

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:00:04 GMT
Yesterday, was our first playtest of the Caves of Chaos adventure included with the D&D Next playtest materials. It is an 11-cave complex that is home to bugbears, owlbears and more. We followed the smallest set of tracks to the entrance of a cave. Before long, we spotted a small band of 8 kobolds leaving the cave, so we decided to raid the cave and the kobolds remaining inside.

In true kobold fashion, the cave entrance was rigged with a pit trap. Our rogue spotted it but then activated it while trying to disarm it. Using the simplified long jump rules, we were able to jump over the side of the pit and engage the two kobold guards on the other side. Before long, the two kobold guards were joined by about 6 more kobolds and it was time to paint the mother red... red with kobold blood and [...]

[The Delvers] The Folly of Conceit, Pic Unrelated

Mon, 28 May 2012 15:30:03 GMT

After burning the goblin bodies in the bonfire, they traveled further up the mountain pass through the ruins along the roaring river.

The next morning they came across a landslide that blocked their way forward.

The landslide was recent. Newly broken stones and sharp rocks were everywhere. Up the hill of toppled rocks was a great cavern torn in the side of the mountain. Among the shattered rocks, halfway up the slope something red gleamed in the sunlight.

Starlight: I climb up the slope to check it out.

It was the Eye of the Wyvern, a magical device that had been used by Alexus [...]

[Zenopus Archives] Monster Ability Scores

Mon, 28 May 2012 15:15:03 GMT
D&D Next gives each monster type a full set of six ability scores, necessary because saving throws (in addition to other stat checks) are based on these scores. Monster ability scores are not generally used in old-school D&D, but are also not entirely antithetical - particularly in Holmes Basic. The very module from which the playtest scenario was derived, B2 Keep on the Borderlands, is the only TSR module to include a DX (dexterity) score in the stat block for each monster. This was because initiative in Holmes Basic went in order of dexterity. In the rulebook, Holmes simply [...]

[Held Action] The Immortal Codex for WitchCraft

Mon, 28 May 2012 15:15:03 GMT

The cover of the Immortal Codex.

Discussion last week on RPGnet about WitchCraft and other urban fantasy games has got my thoughts turning around that game again. First the Gilchrist Trust crossed into the WitchCraft world. Then a passing reference to a self-published game called Immortal Invisible War led me to the Immortal Codex, a fan supplement for WitchCraft.

Claudia Silva took the format of a typical WitchCraft supplement and ported over wholesale the background and set-up of the Himsati immortals for use in Unisystem. I’m not familiar with the Invisible War, but it looks like a pretty gnarly, gonzo sort of [...]

[19th Level] RPG Review: Dwellers of the Forbidden City

Mon, 28 May 2012 15:00:05 GMT
Earlier I examined some of TSR's earlier adventures which features what were essentially miniature campaign settings. They all had home bases for the adventurers, a wilderness, a decently sized dungeon, etc.

Dwellers of the Forbidden City shares some commonality with those but is also its own beast.

A friend in my first D&D group lent me his copy of Dwellers of the Forbidden City. There was one thing that grabbed my attention immediately. The map. It was a gorgeous map, portraying the titular Forbidden City in all of its glory. Moreover, unlike previous D&D adventures, this map was a 3D [...]

[Hereticwerks] Pearl Hoarder

Mon, 28 May 2012 15:00:05 GMT
Pearl Hoarder
No. Enc.: 1 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral (Evil)
Movement: 30'
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 2 (beak, petrify)
Damage: 1d4, petrify
Save: F1
Morale: 12

Despicable little monsters, Pearl Hoarders were originally created by saturating the eggs of poisonous serpents with ichor derived from Cockatrices. The details of the process are explained in the (Expurgated) Journals of Halprink, available in most decent occult libraries and some of the more discriminating book-sellers.

A typical Pearl Hoarder is under 1' in length, often only measuring (1d10) inches, with a serrated ridge running down their back and a [...]

[Perpetual Geek Machine] Review: Pixeljunk 4am

Mon, 28 May 2012 15:00:05 GMT
PixelJunk 4am is not quite a game, but more than a toy; something less than an actual instrument, yet something more than musical knob-twiddling. And it looks like pure drugs. The result of what must have been a seriously booze-and-sushi filled collaboration between Q-Games Dylan Cuthbert and performing artist Baiyon, 4am is grasping towards an [...]

[Grumpy RPG Reviews] Special: Sexist Art?

Mon, 28 May 2012 15:00:05 GMT
http://grumpycelt.podbean.com/feed

[Lost Heroes RPG] On golems and sources

Mon, 28 May 2012 15:00:05 GMT

(Originally posted over at Google+)

Came across a very good article on the origin of "golems": "Golems: A Brief History". I had known a little about it, but it’s the meaning behind them that I didn’t get (as in golems are monstrous because only "god" can create life from nothing, not man…). That’s a pretty cool theme.

Anyway, the reason I’m sharing this is more so about the discussion surrounding it. "Cultural appropriation" is mentioned in the comments by someone and I originally saw this shared in relation to DnD… as in how DnD badly represents "golems".

I think it’s weird. I don’t [...]

[Grumpy RPG Reviews] Special: Cook Leaves the Building

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:45:04 GMT
http://grumpycelt.podbean.com/feed

[Papers & Pencils] Variant Spell Preperation

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:45:04 GMT

Casters are overpowered in Pathfinder. It’s not exactly a controversial statement. They’re less overpowered compared to non-casters than they were in D&D 3.5, but that’s not saying much. Wizards were demoted from Gods, to merely Demi-Gods. Finding ways to creatively nerf wizards has become a side hobby of mine. I’d like to bring them in line with the other classes, without taking away of the flavor which I view as central to the class.

In early editions of D&D, Magic Users gained their spells at random, and that served as an effective balancing device. And while I think it’s a really cool idea, I don’t think it fits into the Pathfinder mythos very well. A Pathfinder wizard is a scholar; there is nothing random about how they go about their business. I’ve suggested before simply removing any spells that a wizard gains by leveling up, and instead offering the wizard spells as treasure. I still like this idea a lot, but I understand that not everyone can get behind such a large nerf. It has also recently been suggested that any spell a Wizard casts from a scroll should count against their total spells per day. I quite like this idea as well, but obviously it’s not sufficient to completely balance the class.

While reading a recent post over at Brendan’s site Untimately, I struck upon another idea. What if the spell slots of the Wizard (or any other Caster) were not level specific? According to the current Pathfinder rules, every time a wizard gains a new spell level, they have only 1 spell slot for that level. At the next level it goes up to two slots, two levels after that it goes up to three slots, and three levels later it maxes out at four slots. By level 20, a [...]

[Tenkar's Tavern] The Dead, The ACKS and the DCC

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:45:04 GMT

I got some decent cemetery photos yesterday, including the circle of Civil War soldiers. A lot has been done to the site. I'll try to post some later today

Whereas before it was partially hidden, as it was on a small hill surrounded by by trees, the trees have now been cleared out. A new memorial stone has been placed, a flag staff is in the middle of the circle and a small flag has been placed at each tombstone for the Memorial Day holiday here in the states. It no longer seems so ominous.

I did stay clear of my ACKS game over the weekend, not that it was ominous or anything. I just find I'm [...]

[Fustians so Sublimey Bad] Some Awesome Indy Art

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:30:03 GMT
lots more by Mathew Reyolds at deviantART

[The Signe of the Frothing Mug] The Nature of Adventure

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:15:03 GMT
Most of my inspiration comes from every day activity, believe it or not. Adventures, adventure-sites, and even the design of cities is generally compounded from various experiences I have throughout my day. I tend to pay close attention to little things in nature, like what the ground looks like as it cants, or how the stone face of a hill emerges from the soft earth. I don't know why, but

[The Other Side] New Basic Class, The Vampire

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:00:05 GMT
Want to playtest something for free?

Well I want you all to have a look at my new class for Basic Era Games and their Retro Clones.

The Vampire Class
Art copyright 2012 by Jason Rainville
This is a class/race combo for the system that also had Elf, Dwarf and Halfling as a class.

From the document:
"Vampires are among the most powerful of the Undead. But unlike other undead, the vampire can retain a bit of their own humanity. Thus a vampire can also become an adventuring class much like that of an elf or dwarf. [...]

[Untimately] Caves of Chaos Player Map

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:00:05 GMT
Here is a player handout I put together for The Caves of Chaos. I couldn't find one with the concealed caves unmarked, so I made my own.

CLICK HERE for a PDF version.

Some other nice Caves of Chaos resources:

The Yaqqothl Grimoire - B2 Player Handouts
The Weem - High-Def Caves of Chaos
D&D With Porn Stars - Caves of Chaos is a One-Page Dungeon

[Unofficial Games] Last Call for Print Copies of Neoclassical Geek Revival

Mon, 28 May 2012 13:30:05 GMT
So by the end of the month I will finish taking orders for a hard cover copy of NGR until the next printing. If you have been sitting on the fence let me know ASAP. I will be following up to confirm with everyone who has already expressed interest, and then it is off to the printers.

[Creative Mountain Games] 38th Annual Origins Awards Nominees

Mon, 28 May 2012 13:30:05 GMT
The Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design has announced the nominees for the 38th Annual Origins Awards. Read more here!

[The Crooked Staff Blog] 2012 Map-a-Monday (week 22)

Mon, 28 May 2012 13:15:03 GMT
Here's the 22nd cave geomorph of the year, and the first since joining the RPG blog Alliance (see the link on the bottom right):

So, for anyone who's new to the blog, may I first offer a hearty welcome, and give a little background on the Map-a-Monday Project:

Map-a-Monday (which is itself not a very clever/relevant play on mappa mundi) has been going for nearly a year and a half now (how time flies), and basically involves me drawing a new geomorph-style map every single week of the year, and then posting it on the blog [...]

[Keith J Davies -- In My Campaign] Links of the Week: May 28, 2012

Mon, 28 May 2012 12:45:03 GMT

Some more links this week. A few (big!) Hall of Fame entries, a longer list than usual of videos (mostly science — Feynman! — or science fiction), some blog posts (still losing ground there) and a Kickstarter project.
Hall of FameFantastic Maps (Jonathan Roberts)
Jonathan Roberts has a site, Fantastic Maps, full of maps and tutorials.
He’s done a number of commissions for RPG products (tabletop and computer), and is doing the Game of Thrones map book. This guy is good.
I’ll have to see about digging up some examples of his work.
Added to the Hall of Fame under Cartography and Maps.
Hack & Slash: [...]

[Wampus Country] Mascot Monday: Antonius the Great

Mon, 28 May 2012 12:30:04 GMT
Antonius was already a fierce frontier warrior and barbarian-fighter in the years before he became cursed; in the time since he transformation, he has become even more formidable.

Some years back, Antonius the Great and his companions (Gerfeldt the Lazy, a wizard; and Heathclyff the Rogue) were investigating ancient tunnels beneath the ruined city of Crumbledown when they came upon what they believed was an incomparable treasure: a massive cats-eye opal the size of an infant's head. However, when one of them reached out to touch the precious stone, there was a flash of light, and the three adventurers [...]

[Hack & Slash] On the Wilderness Codices

Mon, 28 May 2012 12:15:02 GMT
So there have been quite a few posts recently about wilderness travel.

What we have here, is a systematic collection of useful structures that are applicable for a broad spectrum of game types. Actual new knowledge that is functional in play.

There are 3 types of 'wilderness travel'.

The first is travel over a road or through safe or known territory leading to a destination.
The second is exploratory travel through a hex.
The third is travel to a destination through non-safe or unknown territory leading to a destination.

Several logical, entertaining, game structures [...]

[Greywulf's Lair] I played a game and I liked it

Mon, 28 May 2012 12:00:03 GMT

Last night, I DM’ed my first session of the D&D Next Open Playtest. I had five players (two Clerics, two Fighters and the Rogue – no Wizards, yet!) and took them through a part of the Caves of Chaos I haven’t used before, not even back in my Classic D&D days of yore.

Good words, “days of yore”.

I had a checklist of the game elements I wanted to test, but didn’t share the list with my group. One of the items was “does the game flow smoothly” and the players running through items on a checklist with me wouldn’t exactly make [...]

RPG Blog Alliance Feed

[HeroPress] DVD Of The Week: Chronicle (2012)

[Dungeon's Master] Month in Review: May 2012

[Troll in the Corner] I've been rejected!

[Papers & Pencils] Magical Marvels 7: The Son's Service

[Beyond the Pale Gate] BtPG RPG

[Troll in the Corner] Reality Makes the Best Fantasy: Heroes

[Arcanos do Vale] Battlestar Galactica - Homenagem visual

[Rolang's Creeping Doom] Last Day for Flame Princess Hardcovers

[A Rust Monster Ate My Sword] The Gods Have Smiled Upon Me (for a change)

[Games From the Mind of fewilcox] Open Source Rules-light TRPG

[Games From the Mind of fewilcox] D&D Next Playtest

[Games From the Mind of fewilcox] Roleplaying Accessories

[The Signe of the Frothing Mug] Monsters with Reason

[Creative Mountain Games] Bond Girls (Women!)

[Ancient Scroll] By Fate Enslaved by Robin D. Laws

[Ancient Scroll] Przez los zniewoleni -- Robin D. Laws

[Teleleli] from The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath

[Age of Ravens] Build a Better City? Last Thoughts on Citybooks

[Gothridge Manor] The Offical Stamp of Approval

[G*M*S Magazine] 101 Combat Feats

[Big Ball of No Fun] 5E Friday

[The Good Gaming Blog] Folklore Friday: Know Your Legends: Fossegrim

[Worlds in a Handful of Dice] Last Hours at Hand for LotFP IndieGoGo

[Keith J Davies -- In My Campaign] RPG Blog Carnival: Fantastic Creations, Final Roundup

[The Player's Side of the Screen] Crashing the Dungeon

[War Bear] Sci Fi Role Playing

[Game Knight Reviews] Friday Knight News -- Gaming Edition: 1-JUN-2012

[The Other Side] Mary Pickford Blogathon

[S#!t Roleplayers Say] Genghis Khan would've approved

[6d6 Fireball] Massive Discounts on Memberships

[Teilzeithelden.de] Aktion Abenteuer! --- Die Maizusammenfassung

[Emergence Campaign] The Emperic Masquerader

[Tower of the Archmage] Balticon 46 Mapping (1 of 4)

[The Wandering Gamist] Resolving ACKS' Quantum Death

[Greywulf's Lair] Playtest 2: Evil Shrines of Moradin!

[Of Dice and Men] U is for Ungoliant

[Hack & Slash] On Alchemical Items, Flaming Candles

[Die Tafelrunde] Pendragon Fiction im Ausverkauf

[Terruizeng] ACKS Terruizengan Campaign Proficiencies list

[Gnome Stew] Take a Risk, or Take a Pass

[tenletter] [South Africa] Pathfinder Society at ICON 2012

[Between Are the Doors] Harrowfaust Rocks

[Teilzeithelden.de] Angeschaut: Men in Black 3

[Cradle Of Rabies] Hands Of Death - Spell

[Aventuras en la Marca del Este] Reverse Dungeon

[Live from the Dead Air] LASERs and Related Systems

[Forgotten Runes] Carcosa!?

[Gaming Tonic] What Classes Aren't Necessary in D&D Next, Poll Results

[Reality Refracted] Discussion - How Would Your Players Act In The Avengers?

[The Mule Abides] Megadungeon Mastery II: Rise and Fall of the Great Underground Empire

[About Bruce Heard. D&D, and new stories] The Alphatian Province of Limn (Updated May 31)

[Wampus Country] Orlando Furioso

[Just Add Heroes] New Release Roundup: May 2012

[Kobold Enterprise] Alternate Attribute Generation

[Ancient Scroll] Mapa IX: czytana z rki

[Sea of Stars RPG Design Journal] Review -- Shadowrun: Spy Games

[ROFL Initiative] Play Test

[Reality Blurs] Bang! Bang!

[20ft Radius] Recent Changes to the Site

[HeroPress] Miss June: Cobie Smulders

[The Wandering Gamist] Journal of Gallivan Stoneshield, Part 1

[The Savage AfterWorld] Savage Menagerie: Hummingoat

[Mithril and Mages] Quick Thoughts: Welcome to Mortiston, USA

[War Bear] Boss Fights!

[The Good Gaming Blog] (Prataferro) The Desprezivel, the Insignificant Host.

[The Tome Show] Player Engagement and Prep Time (Tome 195)

[Occult Moon] Thank you!

[The ArmChair General] The Hatfields

[Tenkar's Tavern] Bouncing Through the DCC RPG With Reckless Abandon - And Then Distracted by the Art

[...and the sky full of dust] Weeping Chasm draft

[Life and Times of a Philippine Gamer] [Let's Study: Degenesis] Part 1 -- The Setting & History of the Apocalypse

[Tolrendor DM's Blog] Waaay off piste...

[The Good Gaming Blog] (D&D Next) To Mike Mearls: Of Madlibs, Moogs, and Modules

[Between Are the Doors] OSH Armor Reconfigured

[Between Are the Doors] Western Hack: Guns

[Occult Moon] Captain's Logs from the Sandbox 02: The Broken Omnicrys

[Between Are the Doors] The Scavenger Masters Grimore (remix)

[Alex Schroeder: RPG] The Last Batch Of Favorites

[Untimately] OD&D Ability Scores

[GMS Magazine] 101 Combat Feats

[GMS Magazine] Forsooth!, the Ultimate Shakespeare RPG, Coming in June