My Afternoon With Guild Wars 2

Well, not the whole afternoon - I spent a good 2 hr chunk with one of those naps from hell, where you get to tell the dead that they shouldn't be in your dream, because, well - their dead. Thank God the fact that the living room renovations were done were the clue that let me know I was dreaming, because everything else was real as rain.

Where was I? Oh yeah, Guild Wars 2. Pretty damn sweet if you ask me. No monthly fee right from the start? Win win. PvP where everyone get's leveled up to 80, so the level gap is less pronounced (I assumed you still get skills and other bennies earned, so your true level will probably help, but it's not the swing like in other games of it's type).

Started with a human necromancer. Hit level 4, then took the nap.

Came back and played a norse ranger. Hit level 8 with him. No dwarves in the game, so if you see Tenkar Calishun running around on Tarnished Coast, that would be me ;)

I like the personalized quest chain - it reminds me a bit of the latest Star Wars MMO - it's about the one thing SW really got right. I like the on going events, much like Rifts. I like the PvP, although I would like to see some Warhammer Online type PvP, with limited time and set goals. Maybe that stuff is there and I haven't seen it yet.

No clerics. Kinda strange to play a Fantasy MMORPG without a declared healing class (a role I often took upon myself). I really need to give this some more time to find out how all the classes play out. I do like the engineer class, as it reminds me a lot of the same class from Warhammer.

Ah well, back to reading my PDF of Blood & Treasure. If you decide to grab it from Lulu, the code for August is AUGBOOKS12 for $20 off. If you get it in Hardcover and email Matt your Lulu receipt, he'll hook you up with the PDF for free.

Reaper "Bones" Miniatures 3rd Largest Kickstarter Ever!

It looks like I need to get back to painting miniatures after a 20 year break ;)

Here's what arrives in March (not counting a few extras I'm getting)

I think the count is 240 plus extras - plus S&W Complete AND Shotguns & Sorcery

August DCC RPG Contest - Get Some Corruption and Maybe Win a Prize!

I'm going with ScrivenerB's suggestion - new Corruption results, with the idea of getting enough entries for a few alternate tables. (ScrivenerB - email me at erikATtrubluniteDOTnet so I can get your gifts to you).

So, here's what you gotta do:

Post a Corruption result of your own design for the DCC RPG in the comments below. It could be Minor, Major or unlabeled if you are not sure. Use pages 116 and 118 in the DCC RPG rulebook to find other examples (the following example is from the DCC RPG Rulebook:


Ears mutate. Roll 1d5: 
(1) ears become pointed; 

(2) ears fall off (character still hears normally); 

(3) ears enlarge and look like an elephant's;

(4) ears elongate and look like a donkey’s (character also gains braying 

laugh); 

(5) ears shrivel and fold back.

Prizes - Dak will be sending out a copy of Crawl! #3 to the entry that I think is best.

Purple Sorcerer is donating a PDF copy of each of it's released adventures to the prize pool - Perils of the Sunken City, Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk and the soon to be released Mist Men.

Other prizes - I'm working on some PDF copies of DCC adventures from some of the 3rd party publishers. Expect this to get updated shortly. These prizes will be distributed randomly amongst the entrants.

I'll be purchasing  copies of Toys For the Sandbox for 5 entrants of my choice. They will each have their choice of an issue from 1-16 in the series.

Contest ends at midnite, August 31st, EDT. Enter as often as you like, but you can only win one prize no matter how many entries.

(by adding your comment to this thread, you agree that your entry may be compiled into a list with other entries, that it may appear in on this blog, Crawl! or the DCC Crawler's Companion. The lists compiled will be given to the DCC community to use. And corrupt...)

Reaper Kickstarter Could Put Swords & Wizardry Complete in the Hands of 13,000+ Gamers

I just read the above on Mythmere's blog. Think about that for a minute. 13K copies of S&W Complete in PDF being given to gamers kicking in to the Reaper Kickstarter, (as there are about 13k at the Vampire or Undertaker levels - Matt's numbers were low ;)

That's 13k people potentially getting exposed to one of the more popular OSR rulesets. Pathfinder might have some of it's iconics being reproduced in plastic as part of the stretch goals, but only one ruleset is being given to 13,000 gamers / miniature painters / collectors. Swords & Wizardry Complete.

It boggles my mind.

For those that say the OSR is dead, that the OSR has served it's purpose, that it's time to move on - 13,000 people - some of whom will be getting their first look at an OSR set of rules, may differ.

OSR - Oh Shit! Run! May it live on forever ;)

(19 hrs left to the Kickstarter as I type this)

Castles & Crusades 50% Off Sale at RPGNow

My return to active RPG Gaming was due in large part to Castles & Crusades. Heck, I played in a D&D campaign for the better part of two years via Fantasy Grounds 2. It was fun and certainly felt like D&D to me. In many ways, it was my introduction to the OSR before there even was an OSR movement.

I still buy much of the C&C stuff that is released, even if my current game of choice to run as a campaign is ACKS (and of course DCC RPG in shorter arcs). C&C Classic Monsters is the poor man's Tome of Horrors Complete if you ask me ;)

Not everything is on sale for 50% off (regretfully Classic Monsters isn't included) but the Player's Handbook is $6.99, Monsters & Treasures is $5.59 and even the Castle Keeper's Guide is marked down to $12.79. 

That being said, the true diamonds are Fields of Battle at $3.35 (though the mass combat rules can work in most OGL / OSR games), Engineering Castles at $2.10, Engineering Dungeons at $2.39, Arms and Armor at $3.00, Heart of Glass (adventure) $2.12 and the Aihrde Campaign Setting for $3.99 among others (a bunch of adventures are $2.10 each).

Not sure how long th sale is for, so strike while the iron is hot ;)

Next Stretch Goal of the Reaper Miniatures Kickstarter Includes the Swords & Wizardry Complete PDF

Yep, in addition to getting 4 more miniatures at the next stretch goal (for all of you supporting at the Vampire level), you'll also be getting a PDF copy of Swords & Wizardry Complete - that's worth $10 bucks right there! I find S&W Complete comes the closest to playing like the AD&D games I played as a teenager - in other words, it may not be AD&D, but it plays like how WE played AD&D. Hope that makes sense.

Pretty damn cool.

The last value computed (if this were all in metal) is over $1065 for the miniatures that already have molds (and therefore prices) - and 26 new figures + the metal sophie (which you can trade out for $25 worth of other miniatures) + the S&W Complete PDF (if it hits it's next stretch, and why shouldn't it?)

Woot! 250 Patrons at the Tavern!

Adam Bomb is the bomb! ;)

Adam is the 250th patron to sign up to follow the Tavern via Google Friends Connect. Thank you kind sir for joining the fun.

I remember struggling to hit 25 people following this humble blog. We've come a long way.

Sometime this weekend the next DCC RPG contest will go live. I'm not sure what the contest will be just yet, not the prizes, but it will be fun and the prizes will be cool. I'll probably add a few things into the mix like I did last month. If you ever want to know where the referrals from RPGNow go to, they go to prizes and such. Remember, I'm giving away prizes for contest ideas too. Even if I don't use your idea this month, if I use it later I'll still give you the prize.

Finally Downloaded the DCC RPG 2nd Printing

I'm very glad to have an index. I think I'll print the 2 pages out and slip it into my 1st print HC.

I do have a question - they dropped 2 pages of black and white art from the DCC Adventures cover art samples in the back to add in the index. I understand wanting to make sure the PDF file and the print file match and not increasing the page size - no biggie.

Why did the file size jump from 53.3 MB (huge) to 84.5 MB (frikkin' huge) when they removed art? I know there are typo corrections throughout, but that shouldn't have increased the file size by over 50%.

When you are moving your PDF collection over to your tablet, every MB counts ;)

More Thoughts on Adventures For Small Parties

Joseph Browning post a simple work around for small parties - just use an adventure that is designed for a lower level party. For example, a party composed of two 5th level characters will probably get a decent challenge from an adventure written for a 3rd level part of 4 to 6 characters. It's something you need to eyeball more that have a chart or equation to check the balance, but it's doable.

The question then becomes - what of small lower level parties? Two 1st level characters won't last long in the average adventure designed for 4 to 6 1st level characters - that's a fact, especially if it's combat heavy.

Yes, I know -"I write adventures specific to my player characters abilities". Regretfully, not all of us have that amount of free time (and others lack the skill or inclination). That is why adventures are such a popular purchase, especially on RPGNow.

Joseph also posted today that his most popular adventures by sales numbers are the low level adventures.

By extension, this means, at least in my mind, that low level adventures for smaller parties have an underserved audience.

Appendix N Update - 8/23/12 (From Brave Halfling)

Hey folks! Here is where we stand on the Appendix N Adventures Kickstarter: 

First, the Ruins of Ramat, The Witch of Wydfield and The Vile Worm modules as well as the Dagger Kids RPG are all still on schedule to ship in late September. I will start posting pictures of the products as they are being printed and assembled. 

Second, I have been working and will have finished the private forum where those who have pledged at levels that allow it will be able to log on and help create, name and describe major and minor npcs, monsters and locations in The Old Isle setting. I will begin inviting folks to sign up for the forum in order from the highest pledges to the lowest pledges that qualify next week. 

Third, Doug Kovacs is lined up to produce the cover art for the Old Isle Campaign Setting. 

I really appreciate everyone who has or is moving who has emailed me their new address. Just as a reminder, I am setting up a file on every supporter in order to double-check each shipment when it is time to go out - both the products to be shipped and where they should be shipped. Furthermore, I will be sending out a kickstarter survey to every supporter a few weeks prior to each shipment just to be sure I have the correct address. 

(Just got this email from John "Brave Halfing" Adams. It an update on the Appendix N Kickstarter. I figured I'd pass it on for those that might not have been on the Kickstarter email list. As a side note, this isnt the first Kickstarter where I've seen a large % of the pledges failed to go through)

Things are rolling now! 

On a personal note, I used a bit (less than $500) of the Kickstarter money to purchase two printing / shipping tables. These babies have already dramatically increased the number of products BHP can print or ship each day! I will be posting pictures of the halfling family working on them. 

There is some bad news that is two-fold. It appears that nearly $1,350 in pledges never went through - and this includes some of the highest pledges. Times are tough for many people, so I am not upset about it, but it does remove a large amount of money from the total raised. Actually, that amount is about what one shipment to supporters would cost. We will just have to see if it affects the whole program or not. 

In addition, since the successful end of this Kickstarter, two of my artists and my box maker have all raised their prices. Apparently, they feel that I should be flush with money now. Or maybe it is because a number of other Kickstarters are raising tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars, they can just ask and get more money? Either way, I am dealing with it. 

Just so you know, I will begin offering to the public individual Appendix N Adventure modules and an annual subscription (4 modules a year) in September. However, supporters of this Kickstarter will always receive their Appendix N Adventure modules a month before they ship to everyone else and to game stores. Supporters of this Kickstarter already have in essence what is a year’s subscription. ;) 

Lastly, I will also begin taking orders for Dagger RPG kids game in late September as well. Again, nearly every supporter of this Kickstarter will receive a copy of this game master’s shield. 

That is it for now, back to work!

-John Adams

Review - The Monolith From Beyond Space and Time - Part 1 - Into the Valley of WTF!?! (LotFP)

I've been struggling with writing the review for Monolith From Beyond Space and Time for a few days now, for the simple reason as I didn't know where to start. Well, that and I wasn't sure if it was going to make any sense. Especially if I were to avoid "spoilers".  To deal with the "making sense" issue, I've decided to break this review into multiple parts. As for where to start, I guess I'll just start at the beginning. As for "spoilers", I'll indicate when we hit that point - and it will run from there to the end of the post.

Now, starting at the beginning might make sense for most reviews, and maybe it even makes sense here, but I'm not sure. The first thing you, as the future GM of this adventure needs to do is read the Author's Notes. This is shit I usually pass right over, but read them. There is a huge SPOILER ALERT! HP Lovecraft vibe to the Monolith and it's environs, even if nothing is specifically borrowed from his mythos. You do need to understand this before moving on to the rest of the adventure, or else the confusing aspects won't make sense (as they conform to their own sort of reality).

The Valley: Into the Valley of WTF!?!

I really don't know how to describe the Valley. Literally. It's size and effects on the party are random (anywhere from 1' across to 1000 Astronomical Units). Truth to tell, on my first reading I thought all 10 possible effects were actually 10 effects that were always in effect in the Valley, which nearly made my poor GM head explode. I'd like to not have my head explode, and rereading correcting my bad assumption. Still, the Valley is extremely dangerous (Magical Sentience brings your cast spells literally to life that can cast itself at will - just one example)

So yes, your environment can potentially kill you before you even get to the Monument, and that is without using any of the possible random encounters / locations. Now, there are 7 encounters / locations detailed in the adventure. The GM is encourage to add his own. Or maybe just use a D7. Some are a few paragraphs long. Some are 2 pages long.  All serve to add to the general weirdness of the Valley (which is a direct result of the Monolith itself). Some may have long term repercussions on the PCs. As is usual with James' stuff, know how far you want to take it on your players. Or, better yet, make this a campaign ending adventure, because then you may feel less guilt when the characters are forever fucked ;)

Did I mention that the art is excellent? Yep, some pretty sweet stuff in here (and no where near as disturbing as Death Love Doom)

(alright - end part 1.  I'll try to get to part 2 this weekend)

Looking For Ideas For The August DCC RPG Contest

I'd like to get the August DCC RPG Monthly Contest up and running sometime this weekend. Although I have a few ideas of my own, nothing compares to the ideas you guys and gals come up with.
So, give me some! ;)

If I go with your idea, I'll buy you one issue of Toys for the Sandbox (your choice) AND a copy of Tangents #1 - The Barrow Mound.

See, you can win just by helping the contest :)

(and yes, I still need to cut last month's list down to 100 professions ;)

Published Adventures For 2 to 3 Players - Are There (M)Any?

When it comes to published adventures, there is usually a range for the number of players that recommends 4-6. (DCC RPG certainly ranges higher). That is why in my survey 4-6 players plus GM was one of the choices, and it seems to apply for 2/3 of the gaming groups out there. The question then becomes: "How do you modify an adventure to balance for a smaller / larger gaming group?"

For the larger group (or PCs of a higher level than the recommended level spread) the answer is usually to simply increase the number of adversaries. Heck, some adventures even give examples on how to do so. It's not so easy to modify the power level down, or at least, it's not as intuitive in my experience. Which is probably why we rarely see examples of how to power down an adventure.

Why is this important? Fully 25% of the groups (as per my I'm sure "unscientific survey") regularly play with a group of 2 -3 players plus a GM. Assuming folks aren't doubling up on PCs, we're talking fairly lean in numbers adventuring parties. An adventure that is level appropriate for 4-6 PCs is going to be a very tough for 2-3 PCs.

While I don't expect publishers to aim their products at 25% of an already small market, I can't think of any adventures off hand that have easy conversions notes for accommodating a smaller party.

Before someone states the obvious: "Why aren't you just writing your own adventures?" time is often a luxury I don't have, and a well written adventure is a time saver. Having to rewrite one to accommodate a smaller party can be a PITA. I've done it. Just wondering if there is anything out there that takes into account a larger possible spread in the party numbers, especially on the smaller party side of the equation.

$900 Worth of Miniatures for $100 - Reaper Miniatures Kickstarter

This Kickstarter from Reaper is utterly amazing. The sweet point to pledge is $100, which gives you over $897 worth of Reaper Miniatures in high def plastic as of the time I'm writing this. It can only get better before it closes in the next few days. This site (be warned, it's slow to load but awesome) gives you the current lowdown on the value and close ups of the actual miniatures.

Here's the current $100 package with the current stretch goals included-

I haven't painted miniatures in over 20 years, but I guess I'll be getting back into the hobby ;)

Anyone Play HARP?

I have a crapload of the system in paperback - bought when whatever entity that took over for ICE was clearing out inventory. Heck, I just picked up the HARP 2nd edition rules in PDF for 5 bucks (I got a link - if you want the link, let me know - I won't be posting it  it's in the comments of the post) and truth be told, I don't know what the differences are.

Heck, I'm not even sure what the difference is between HARP, Rolemaster and Rolemaster Express.

The thought did occur to me that if I wanted to run a smaller group, say 2 to 3 players, a system like HARP (if you want levels with skills) or Crypts & Things would be the more obvious choices. I suspect with the critical charts, HARP would be a tad less forgiving if the players ran into a stretch of bad luck.

So, can someone tell me a bit about HARP? Is it worth me breaking out the books and giving it a serious read through? Is 1e all that different from 2e? Or should I move them on to storage? (I think the Loot book looked portable to other systems, so that might stay)

Help me Tavern Patrons! You are my only hope ;)

Does Ruleset Impact Expected Group Size?

As I think about group size for RPG sessions (and working on the assumption of one PC per player) the following question comes up for me:

Does the ruleset impact on the group size?

I ask this, because most D&D styled gaming is based on covering the four main classes grouping: fighter, cleric, magic user and thief. Therefore, you need four players (absent multi-classing) to cover the spread.

Crypts & Things is one of the few OSR games that I can think of that does away with the spread of "core four". Fighting classes, an universal caster (mixing magic user and cleric) and a thief. But the thief isn't "needed". He's better at thieving than the other clases, but all can attempt the skills and all get better with them. In Crypts & Things, you can cover the spread with two PCs.

RQ, Legend, Basic Roleplaying, Openquest - you don't have classes, you have skills that define the character. With rules like this (and Savage Worlds and the like) you can create characters that cover more of the spread, if you will. They might not be specialized, but they should be competent.

I'm by no means saying you can't play D&D or a class based system with less than four players / PCs (or whatever the number may be). I ran a game AD&D 2e game for a year with just three players, and a Space Master game for nearly just as long with just two. What I am saying is that certain rulesets default to different group sizes by their very nature. They have a minimum number that fits their "sweet zone".

How hard do you find it if you fall below that number (no cleric or no thief in the party, etc)?

Looking at the Numbers - How Big is Your Group?

As I stated earlier, 310 readers voted in the How Big is Your Gaming Group Poll.  Here's the numbers (complete with comments)

GM +1 player = 9 votes (2%) I expected a larger number, as I've read a number of blogs that talk about 1 on 1 play.

GM + 2 to 3 = 78 votes (25%) This number was actually larger than I expected. I'm happy to see that it is sizable, as I ran a group of GM + 2 for the better part of a year and we had a great time.

GM + 4 to 6 = 206 votes (66%) This group size is the sweet spot, and 2 out of 3 groups fall into it. If you play a D&D styles game, you have a large enough group to cover the 4 main class types and maybe some overlapping.

GM + 7 or more = 17 votes (5%) I expected this to be a bit larger in number, yet closer to the 1+1 numbers. It does seem that gaming groups gravitate naturally to the sweet spot of 4-6 players plus a GM. It might also have something to do with the number of people that can fit around your gaming table comfortably ;)

Now I'm wondering if game system has an effect on the size of one's usual RPG group, as classless systems probably have more flexibility for smaller groups. Something to think about.

"How Large is Your Gaming Group?" Poll is Closed - Time to Pick a Winner

I'm pretty excited by the "How Large is Your Gaming Group?" Poll. 310 blog readers casted votes! Simply amazing. I am at a loss for words, really. I would have been happy if we had topped 100.

So, we have 47 fine folk that left comments on two related blog posts for this contest. 45 on the main post and two on the follow up post. So, 1-45 on the original post, 46-47 from the follow up post - breaking out my trusty d50 (d100/2), disregarding results of 48-50.

Drum roll...

42

Roger from the A Life Full of Adventure blog.

Congrats!

Roger, I need you to email me at erikATtrubluniteDOTnet with the email address you use at RPGNow, and I will see that the fine folks over at RPGNow hook you up with a $10 gift certificate.

Thanks to everyone!

New Feature - Free Game of the Week - Star Frontiers (Remastered)

After passing some emails back and forth between Larry Moore and myself, I kinda realized that my link list on the left side of this blog is lacking any kind of highlighting - it's a fine list, but lists can be boring.

So, every week I'm going to showcase "The Free Game of the Week", although sometimes it may more accurately be a game supplement or adventure (but that wouldn't all fit as a title).

This week, it's the remastered Star Frontiers, a much loved game from my teen years right through High School.

So there you go Larry, this link's for you!  :)

As for the rest of you - feel free to add suggestions for later weeks in the comments section of this post, or send me a message on G+. This should turn into a decent resource for all of us with your help.

Mini Review - Tangents #1 - The Barrow Mound (Generic Fantasy)

I've noticed a recent spike in "generic" adventures and such recently. Maybe its the success (and frequent releases) of the Toys For the Sandbox series, but there is certainly a market for such. For one thing, you don't have to worry about abiding to the OGL or another license. For another, you aren't pinning yourself to a specific ruleset. LL, S&W, ACKS, RQ, Legend, the list goes on. Possibly just as important, you aren't locking yourself into a specific level or power range. Generic might just as well mean "flexible" in these cases.

The Barrow Mound is certainly "generic fantasy". It is systemless. It can work in just about any fantasy type system, and I think would make a sweet little DCC RPG adventure with some work. This is the point where we talk about The Barrow Mound's strength and weakness if you will. It isn't read and drop into play. It has a deep backstory. Deep enough that it should be reflected in the region's history. Which means this is more of a read, revise, tweak and plant sort of adventure. Actually, some of the encounters require fleshing out to tweak to the party you have, so there is prep needed before running this adventure in any case.

The strength of this is that your players will appreciate the depth of the story. Heck, the adventure even ends with a number stories seeds that can build of this one. There is a lot packed into 8 pages of adventure. I just don't see it as drop an play like the adventure states. It's good though. There's almost enough ideas here to flesh out the history of a corner of a sandbox, and isn't that what it's all about, great ideas? The Barrow Mound succeeds in providing the GM with some great ideas.

From the blurb:


Under a black, cloud-choked sky, something stirs near the hamlet of Elrin. Rumors of an unnatural blight, creatures of darkness and evil threatening the countryside abound. Brave souls are needed to dare the twisted forest, to find the heart of wickedness plaguing Elrin and defeat it forever...or be consumed by it.

DCC RPG PDF Updated at RPGNow - Includes Index and Errata

I work up to this email in my mailbox:

Hello DCC RPG customers! This email is to let you know that a new version of the core book has been made available for download. This new version is the same content as the book's second printing. It includes errata and an index. Enjoy!

I'm especially looking forward to the index. I'll check this out when I get home later.

With Swords and Sorcery Style Gaming on My Mind, I'm About to Re-Read Crypts & Things

As nice as Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperboria is as a game with a crapload of options and character classes, it doesn't really satisfy my sweet tooth for true Swords and Sorcery style gaming.

When I first got my copy of Crypts & Things last November (in PDF) I had just gotten married earlier in the month, just started a new supervisory position at work and had just commenced renovations at the house. I did a quick read of the rules and and didn't get to do the multi-part review I was hoping to get to. I wasn't running or playing in any games at the time either.

Now I've been GM'ing and playing again since the beginning of the year and I really have an itch for some Swords and Sorcery styled gaming. I think Crypts & Things is going to satisfy that urge for me. It doesn't hurt that the system is built off of Swords & Wizardry Core, a system I'm fairly comfortable with. Yes, I know all of the OSR games are fairly similar in set up, but some are just easier to run with than others.

Besides, Crypts & Things is much less cluttered than AS&SH (but I will be yoking classes from AS&SH as NPCs in other games, and possibly my ACKS campaign). The DCC ROG most certainly has a Swords & Sorcery feel, but I want to try a system that is lighter. That being said, the DCC RPG is the main factor in my renewed desire to try other S%S style gaming.

Here's a very nice list of what makes C&T different than vanilla S&W core (from page 4 of the C&T rulebook):


Characters

The Fighter has optional fighting styles, to add more
options and fun and to differentiate between fighter
characters.

Adds the Barbarian character class based off the version
of the class originally published in White Dwarf 2 in
1977.

The Thief class., is a more martially-inclined version
of the Thief, inspired by the Grey Mouser from Fritz
Leiber’s Lankhmar stories.

Adds the Magician class, which combines the spell lists
of the Magic-User and Cleric, and then separates them
into White/Grey and Black magic spell lists.

Higher Ability bonuses (+1 to +3) to highlight
exceptional characters.

Removes the Cleric and Magic-user Class

No Elves, Dwarfs or Halflings..

No Turning the Undead either as a class ability or spell.

Life events. This takes the form of a simple table where
characters roll a single D20 three times for starting
characters to learn some of the events that occurred
before they started adventuring and the benefits that
they caused.

Rules systems

A simple skill system based off the Saving Throw
number. Used for class skills (such as the Thieves’
skills and Barbarian’s abilities) and other skills that the
character may have picked up along the way.

Sanity rules. Wisdom is used as a measure of mental
stability. This system is used for both taking mental
damage for witnessing horror and for magicians casting
Black Magic.

Altered damage rules. Hit points become a measure
of exhaustion and fatigue – and are lost as a Magician
casts spells. Constitution is used as a measure of
physical health, and is lost once Hit points have been
exhausted.

Back ground and Setting

Crypts & Things is based more upon the Sword and
Sorcery works of Clark Ashton Smith, Fritz Leiber
and Robert E Howard, than the more traditional
Tolkienesque fantasy.

So, I'd say that all looks pretty good. I also have the introductory adventure Blood of the Dragon, which includes a small sandboxie setting. If all goes well, I may run this for a few session in September.

Adventurer Conquerer King System - 12 Session Review

I believe we have played at least 12 session of ACKS - we started in early May of 2012 and have taken off one week a month (sometimes two). So, by my reckoning, we are at 12 or 13 sessions. So, what can I tell you about ACKS?

First, let me "pick the nits" and get them out of the way:

Using the Player's Companion will lead to some unbalanced classes. It's the nature of the beast - the book is in beta. Still, be prepared to fix things on the fly if needed.

Proficiencies are great in theory - most are piss poor in execution. The chance to succeed in most of them is nearly pathetic, which is why I added stat bonuses to proficiencies.

The needless rewording of to-hit, THAC0, whatever to Attack Throws makes the conversion to other OSR games needlessly confusing. It isn't hard, but it is awkward.

Character classes. Many of the character classes beyond the core classes (and in the Player's Companion) default to a campaign setting that isn't available yet. Some of the classes seem to be very campaign specific, so working the into your game may or may not work.

Okay, the nits are out of the way - now to the good stuff:

Spells repertoire for the Arcane Casters makes them sorcerers of a sort, but it seems to be done right. Not saying I didn't throw my own house rules into the mix, but I like the way it is handled, as it gives arcane casters some flexibility.

Proficiencies - once I house ruled them, they became important parts of the game for my group. I do like them.

Levels cap of 14, 10-12 for specialty classes. It keeps the games power levels within the realms of playability.

The combat damage bonus for the fighter type classes means they don't fall behind the arcane casters, which is good (especially with the new found flexibility of the arcane casters.

Long term playabilty - the most easily ported and ground breaking part of ACKS is the framework used at higher levels to accomodate PCs that become rulers or otherwise influential players in the larger world. It is well done and pretty much defines the game. We are no where near that level of play.

So, the question then becomes: Would I run a second campaign of ACKS before running a new campaign. For that, the answer truthfully is "I don't know". I really like S&W Complete and I'm enjoying my short gaming arcs of DCC RPG. If the ACKS game were to come to an end, I suspect I might run with a different OSR style system, not because ACKS doesn't do all I want it to do, but because there is so much out there that I want to play with.

Adventurer Conqueror King or Die! - Zombies on Fire

We're about a dozen sessions into the Adventurer Conqueror King or Die Campaign that I'm been running mostly weekly. The party consists of 4 PCs (covering each of the major food groups) of levels 3 to 4 with a 1st level henchman each. The recent addition of henchman has certainly added to the viability of the party, and allows the party's mage to actively participate when he isn't casting. So, it's a win - win.

The highlights from last night's session:

The party smashed to pieces a one armed goblin statue. That might come back to haunt them - I guess we'll find out in a session or two.

Later, they stumbled into a large ass crypt with 10 skeletons and 10 zombies. Multiple successful turning attempts kept the part from going under (although one of the henchman went down and lost a tooth). This was followed up by multiple tosses of flaming oil complete with splash effects on the retreated and cowering undead.  Most of the zombies made it back to the party to reengage but the damage was done, and the undead fell fairly quickly. Mark off fire for the session.

A short time later they surprised a small group of mongrelmen. After trapping them with a web spell, they were asked the usual basics - coins, magic, loot, where's it at? When no useful answer was forthcoming, they were quickly disposed of. Maybe a "?" for the torture part. ;)

Otherwise, the usual killing, looting, bad jokes and horrible stories. All the reasons you love to play RPGs and more.

Mini Review - Fistful of Fantasy: 01 (Generic)

Do you remember the Hook, Line and Sinker series from Knights of the Dinner Table? A Fistful of Fantasy is basically that, but with a higher standard of writing.

It's not a unique way to present plots with options - Toys for the Sandbox does something similar, but it is effective.

So, what do you get for your 69 cents? (James D, I'm going to have to summon my Research Assistant to handle your "in-joke ;)

You get 5 plot hooks or Legends, presented as a small piece of fiction that the players may overhear or have fed to them when appropriate. This is followed by The Truth behind the Legend - what actually happened. You are then presented 2 to 3 Stories. These are the seeds for the GM to work out further for the players to explore. Similar to TftSB, you don't need to waste Stories that you don't use immediately. There's enough here to use for inspiration later.

Each of these 5 plot hooks takes up a page, including a decent piece of art on each. Well, done James. I'll be looking forward to more in the series. (note, at $0.69, there is a $0.35 surcharge for orders under $0.99 - so buy this with something else on your list. It's certainly worth $1.04, but you might want to pad you order)

From the blurb:


From the author of the '100' series of Adventure Seeds books, a new, shorter form source of inspiration for Games Masters. They might be adventures, non-player-characters, monsters, places... all ready to be dropped into your fantasy campaign, regardless of system.

In this booklet:

The Dragon's Head Inn: Augury to the masses and site of the Blue Moon Festival. A wild stopover for travelling adventurers.

The Blackberry Wilder: A different kind of dryad with a thirst for blood and the thorns to get it.

The Shrieking Tomb: Not every vampire can escape its grave to bring terror, but then again, maybe it doesn't need to.

Fimble Finesmoke: Halfing tobacconist, herbalist and fan of experimenting with the inhalation of substances.

Elesha the Exotic: Immortal elven companion looking for interesting and exciting places to be to distract her from the boredom of centuries of life.