Prestige Class: Queen of Witches

While I enjoy the Pathfinder Witch there is a serious lack of good witchy prestige classes.  Here is one based on my own Liber Mysterium witch and was going to appear in the 3.5 update.   Some of the powers and ideas here are actually based on my playtests of my Basic Witch class.

Section 15: Queen of Witches, Copyright 2012, Timothy. S. Brannan.
OGC Declaration: The following content is considered Open Content for term of the OGL.

Queen of Witches
There are witches so dedicated to their path and to their Patron that they become not only the de-facto leaders of many covens, but of their traditions as well. They are considered to be the chief agent of the Patron’s will. Sometimes these witches can claim divine parentage, others are chosen by her peers for her deeds. In all cases the Queen of Witches is imbued with a spark of divine power.
Generally speaking there is only one Queen of Witches per Tradition, so only 13 (or less) in the world at any given time.

Hit Dice: d4

Requirements 
 To qualify as a Queen of Witches, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.

Knowledge (Religion) or Knowledge (Arcana): 7 Ranks
Knowledge (Witchcraft): 13 Ranks
Feats: At least one Witch feat.
Spell casting: Ability to cast 7th level spells
Special: the Queen of Witches must belong to a coven.

 The Queen of Witches typically has a high wisdom.

Alignment: Any.

Class Skills

The Queen of Witches class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Alchemy) (Int), Craft (any) (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), (Int), Knowledge (witchcraft) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier

Class Features

All of the following are class features of The Queen of Witches prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Queen of Witches gains no proficiency with weapons or armor.

Special: The Queen of Witches gains special powers at each level of her progression.

Spells per Day: The Queen of Witches continues to progress in spell casting as if she had gained another level as a witch. This does not include any special powers or benefits, such as extra feats or occult powers (except as noted below), she would normally receive for progressing as a witch.

    Awesome Presence (Su): At first level, the Queen of Witches is infused with the power of her faith and by the faith her Coven has in her. This supernatural ability has two main effects. First all witches can “see” this presence as a bright aura. All witches will treat her with deference and respect. Secondly enemies can also detect this aura. Any morale checks made by enemies are at a –1 penalty.

    Occult Powers (Su): At 2nd level the Queen of Witches gains additional occult powers as if she were a witch of that Tradition. The Queen of Witches will choose occult powers form her own Tradition first always at 2nd level, then branching out to the other Traditions for her next Occult power.
Note: Some witches call their Occult Powers “Hexes”. These witches may choose a new Witch Hex at these levels. The first Hex must be of the Minor sort. The second Hex may be Major or Grand as appropriate.

     A Thousand Faces (Su): At 3rd level the witch gains the ability to change her appearance at will, as if using the disguise self spell. This affects the witch’s body but not her possessions. It is not an illusory effect, but a minor physical alteration of the witch’s appearance, within the limits described for the spell.

    Timeless Body (Su): At 5th level the witch no longer takes ability score penalties for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any penalties she may have already incurred, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the witch still dies of old age when her time is up.

Class Level	Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
1st	+1	+0	+0	+2	Awesome Presence	+1 level of existing class
2nd	+1	+1	+1	+3	Occult Power / Hex	+1 level of existing class
3rd	+2	+1	+1	+3	A Thousand Faces	+1 level of existing class
4th	+2	+2	+2	+4	Occult Power / Hex	+1 level of existing class
5th	+3	+2	+2	+4	Timeless Body	+1 level of existing class

Sabrina the Witch

Oddly enough one witch I almost never talk about is Sabrina The Teen Aged witch.

Not because I don't like her, I just don't know all that much about her.  I knew of the Archie comic, but never read it.  I watched the old Filmation Saturday Morning Cartoon and enjoyed that.  I never watched the TV series though with Melissa Joan Hart or the cartoon spun off from it.

Truthfully I never gave her much thought other than starting up a sheet for her in Buffy with a note to watch some of the episodes.  My idea then (2001-2002) was to have the MJH version meet up with the Cast.  That never happened since I went full on into another series.  She never even guest stared in my next series about witches, which is kind of a shame really.

It probably would have stayed that way until fellow Eden writer Thom Marrion hadn't included her in his "Swinging 70's" character write-ups.  Course there she was "Sabrinia, the Late-20 to Early-30s Witch".
http://edenstudiosdiscussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/34780/Swinging-Seventies-

But I liked the idea so much that I thought I'd update that version of her.  I always wanted an older matriarch sorta witch character in my game.  Someone that was not active in the normal affairs, but had history.  Plus I also wanted someone that pretty much had the entire supernatural world owing her favors.
And of course I was dying to use Stevie Nicks as casting in something.  Given my history with her, it had to be something special.  Sabrina as a character might not have been my first choice, but I am happy how it all worked out.

Sabrina the Late Middle Aged Witch
(based on Thoms original)

Note: All respect to Thom Marrion for this. This is an idea I had kicking around in my head for a while. Plus I have ALWAYS wanted to use Stevie Nicks as the Queen of Witches in my games. I was listing to the "Wild Heart" today and decided to do this.

Sabrina Spelman-Krinkle
Age: 63, played by Stevie Nicks
Very Experienced Investigator (Semi-Retired)

Name: Sabrina Spelman-Krinkle
Motivation: Not much motivates her now
Creature Type: Human
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Constitution 2, Intelligence 4, Perception 4, Willpower 5
Ability Scores: Muscle 10, Combat 12, Brains 16
Life Points: 26
Drama Points: 20
Special Abilities: Attractiveness +2, Contacts (Supernatural) 5, Emotional Problems (Depression, -2), Love (Tragic), Magic Family, Occult Investigator, Occult Library(Amazing), Secret (She's a witch who belongs to a powerful magical family), Magic 8, Supernatural Senses (Basic and the Sight)

Maneuvers
Name;Score;Damage Notes
Dodge;12;;Defense Action
Grapple;14;;Resisted by Dodge
Kick;11;8;Bash
Magic;21;Special;Varies by spell
Punch;12;6;Bash

Thom gives us an idea of what Sabrina was doing in the 70s since that time Sabrina married her long time love Harvey Krinkle which was no end of controversy, a Spelman marring a mortal (though it had been done before) and eventually she rose up in ranks in the Witches Council. After the death of Samantha Spelman-Stephens, Sabrina was the logical choice as the successor to the Queen of Witches. Logical to everyone except to Sabrina herself and maybe Harvey (but not like the Council cared for his opinion), it was in fact their mistreatment of her husband and their non-magical daughter (though their other children were magical) that she finally took on the role. She had hoped to change the Council from the top down. The trouble was the Witches Council is an old organization and moves slow. It took her months to even get them to install a computer in her office.
After years of fighting the system Sabrina is now tired of fighting. Her reason to fight, Harvey, died a couple of years ago and now she is not much more than a figurehead with the true operations of the Witches Council being run by Tabitha Stephens.
However dont let her apathy fool you, Sabrina saw more of the supernatural before age 17 than most teams of occult investigators see their entire lives. Like the previous Queen of Witches, her (great) Aunt Samantha, Sabrina has the full might and power of the Council at her disposal. Though it would take something considerable to get her attention.

In your games: Sabrina looks over her life and sees the wasted years fighting the council, working to keep the council and her family both happy and she has ended up here, older, alone and pleasing no one. Her stats have not changed much to reflect this stagnancy of her life. Think Queen Victoria after Albert died. I even have her wearing black.

Also I like the idea that if you bring her into the game it needs to be for a really good reason.

Zatannurday: Deviant Art

Time to revist Deviant Art and see what is new. Or in other words, the week got away from me and I didn't have something prepared!



Zatanna Zatara- Cosplay Fever by *Andserkiel on deviantART


Under the Streets of Gotham by *Andserkiel on deviantART


Zatanna at London Expo Oct 2011- 3 by *Andserkiel on deviantART


ZATANNA IN WONDERLAND by ~jdavidlee1979 on deviantART


The cat in the hat by *TorqueStudio on deviantART


Zatanna 2012 by =Supajoe on deviantART


Zatanna Commission by *martheus on deviantART


The bat and the magic ian .... by ~CoOkIexDoUgH on deviantART


Nothing Up My Sleeve by *BestNameEver on deviantART


Zatanna commission by *monkeymarc on deviantART


dc: shining like a spider's web by ~bakhu on deviantART


Zatanna by ~judittondora on deviantART


Zatanna Zatarra by *OverGround-EIC on deviantART


Careful What You Wish For by *petercotton on deviantART


dc: behind the blinds the dancing snow by ~bakhu on deviantART

Player & Character morality

Read these two descriptions of how two different groups of players deal with a potential threat of otherwise incapacitated humanoids.

1) http://lotfp.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-my-players-taught-me-today-no-rope.html

2) http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2011/06/they-didnt-kill-ubues.html

Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that both groups are equally as dangerous to the PCs and if given the chance will kill them.  Which is the "better" solution?

Now this is not limited to adults or kids as one or the other.  I just played a 4e game with a bunch of 10-11 year olds that wanted "to slaughter everyone" and fight the other characters.  I have played with adults that are the same way.  I have played with both age groups that would rather fine a more rational action.

Here is a question from Tenkar on "Why are PC's so hooked on Torture?"

And we wonder sometimes why we can't get new blood into our games.

Do we as a group encourage this sort of play?  Is it something inherent in the rules or the agreed upon reality?  That is a "violence begat violence" sort of deal?

I did my fair share of immature violence back n the day, but my DM quickly cured me of that.
I had a thief that I felt was a real bad ass.  So while going through the adventure "Death's Ride" he shot a guy in the back with a crossbow.  The NPC was annoying him (aka me) so I shot him.  Throughout the entire run of the classic H-Series modules (Throne of Bloodstone) this NPC, now an undead revenant kept coming back to screw things up for me at the exact wrong moments.  He went from a vague pest to a Deadpool like character that couldn't be killed or turned.  And that included the insane humor.  In the process the already deadly modules turned into a meat grinder with this guy (Kirkroy was his name) letting all the demons know we were coming.

In the adventures above if I were the DM for both.  In #2 (which I was the DM) the characters were rewarded and considered to be heroes and saviors, not mass murdering thugs.  In #1 (where I wasn't), well nothing screws up your day like a bunch of unstoppable undead warriors claiming vengeance on the murder of innocents.  

What do you all think?  Am I being overly sensitive?
Mind you for this argument I am not accepting "it's just a game" as an excuse. Maybe it is just a game.  But I am talking about in-game behavior.  You might as well say "oh that is because we are on Earth".

Zombies vs. Robots

IDW has a new series of short stories up called "Zombies vs. Robots".
I'll admit I knew nothing about it but today my friend (and Ghosts of Albion RPG co-writer) Amber Benson has a new book out in the series.

Zombies vs. Robots: Mademoiselle Consuela and Her Army of One

She is also running a contest around the book and you could win a lunch with her over Skype.
So go. Download.  99 cents won't buy you much, but it will get you Amber's newest book.  And would make her happy.  Unless of course you have something against happy.

In other Amber/Tara news, Zap2It is running a poll on the most "crush worthy" dearly departed TV character.  If you enjoy my blog, pop over and give "Tara Maclay" a vote.
http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2012/02/tvs-most-crushworthy-dearly-departed-mischa-barton-ian-somerhalder-amber-benson-vote-now.html

February DriveThru Deals

It is that time again.

The new February Discount code for the following items is now out from DriveThruRPG.  Here are the games:

Aruneus Bundle - Troll in the Corner
Part-Time Gods - Third Eye Games
A Peculiar Pentad - Savaged - Super Genius Games
Ultimate Dice Tower 2 - Fat Dragon Games
Exodus Post Apocalyptic RPG Survivor's Guide - Glutton Creeper Games

And here is the code to get 20% off: GeekLoveRules2012  
This code is good until March 14th, 2012.

Enjoy!!

Leave a signature

I am participating in the A to Z blogging challenge again this year.
As a value add to my regular readers and to new readers each post will be about a different game.  I'll have a review, maybe some new crunch or fluff, something for everyone (I hope).

Regular readers get to hear about something new and new readers can get a better insight to our hobby and maybe find something they would like to try out.

But that is not why I am posting today.

Today I want to encourage YOU my readers to leave your signature when you reply.
If you are reading my blog and you are a blogger, chances are you are saying thing I might want to read or other readers might.  So I want YOU, my readers to leave a signature.

This idea was posted at the main Blogging A to Z site, http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2012/02/how-to-make-hyperlink-signature-guest.html

For the Challenge we are being asked to leave signatures on the posts we make.
Now typically I (and many of you) do not do this.  It can be considered tacky or SPAMy by most and even rude by others.

But I think I am going to be ok with people leaving comments here to leave your signature.  If you take the time to read my posts and then even more time to post something then I should repay you the courtesy of reading your blog and posts AND have others here do the same.
As long as I think this is not being abused then I am not going to delete anything.

Using Sue Travers cue, here is how you do it.

Leave your name and your blog title as a signature.

So replace the text in red with your link and the text in blue with your name.  So I would do this:

You now have my explicit approval to use that here.  Your experiences may very on other blogs.
If you wish you can try it out below.

White Dwarf Wednesday Issue 6

April/May 1978 gives us the topic of today's White Dwarf Wednesday, White Dwarf #6.

So we at one year of WD and we see some changes.  The first, most notable change is the right justification of the the text.  I does make the magazine a bit easier to read and looks cleaner.  The second is the introduction of a new feature called The Fiend Factory.  Something that in time will be a major feature of WD and spawn the AD&D Fiend Folio.

First up though is an article ripped from today's Internet postings on various types of Armor Class vs. various weapons.  Very old school yes, but the solution reminds me of the various armor classes we see in 3.x.

Next up is the Fiend Factory. The monsters presented here are from various authors but edited by Don Turnbull.  The format is near-AD&D/Basic D&D (no longer in OD&D format).  Each includes a picture (most times) and a Monstermark rating right there with all the other stats.
Out of the gate we have some monsters that would later live on in the Fiend Folio and some even in infamy.  We have in this issue, The Needleman, The Throat Leech, The Mite, Bonesnapper (no "The"), The Fiend (which later became something of the mascot of later articles), Disenchanter, and the first appearance anywhere of The Nilbog.  The article is longer than most WD articles have been to date (which were about 2 pages max).  This is a significant jump in the evolution of WD.

An article on minis follows then an article on how to adapt Jack Vance's The Dragon Masters to a D&D game.
Open Box reviews two new games, "Knights of the Round Table" by Little Soldier (no ranking is given) and "Elric" by The Chaosium which they loved, but still graded it down in terms of the price (7 out of 10).  Also reviewed are various D&D playing aids from Judges Guild.

The letters section has someone complaining about last issue's comic and another giving reasons why players should be allowed to roll your own attack dice.  See none of you are really old school at all if you let your player roll their own dice!  What's next? 4d6 and drop the lowest die? Anarchy!

Don Turnbull treats us to a lengthy overview/review of Traveller. He does spend a lot of time comparing it to D&D, which at the time I think made it read unfavorablly even if the article is positive.  Today of course it reads differently where our assumption is it should not be like D&D at all.  While he likes the game he feels there are some serious drawbacks to it.  Namely what to do with it once you have it.  While we can wink at that now, I do see where he was coming from.
Another full page of Kalgar.
Some new magic items in Treasure Chest.
Part 2 of the Asbury System of rewarding experience points by level and class.
A hit location system for Melee combat.
And finally an expanded Classified section.

Issue 6 now sees all the early vestiges shed from the pages.  No joke classes, no silly treasure.  White  Dwarf has stepped up.  Issue 6 can stand side by side with Dragon issues of the day and content wise I feel they are comparable.  The art is not there yet and the content is still only around two dozen pages (but the pages are longer and the font smaller).

Next month, cover art takes a big leap forward.

Sex and D&D

Man, you take a little break to collect your thoughts and the next thing you know the bloggers are going crazy again.  We all need to need to switch to decaf!

So the latest dramarama is WotC jokingly or not posting a list of choices to include in the next iteration of D&D.  One of which was gender-based attribute limits.
http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/20120213/2#78477

Don't bother to look for it, it is gone now.

Now, the first thing I suspected was it was just a joke. Something no one wanted to take seriously.
Of course they started getting a lot of notice for it (planned maybe?  Nah...even I am not that cynical), so it was taken down as a choice.

This lead to the next level, blog posting, here three different takes.

• http://lotfp.blogspot.com/2012/02/whats-orc-babys-maximum-strength-score.html
• http://greyhawkgrognard.blogspot.com/2012/02/in-defense-of-gender-based-ability.html
• http://tao-dnd.blogspot.com/2012/02/no-sex-please-we-play-d.html

Now in reality I don't care.  Anyone with any passing familiarity with me or this blog know I love female characters.  I have played more than a few in my day, more than that even.  I think that the few female fighters I have played only 1 ever rolled a 17 for Strength.  But that is not the issue is it.  The issue is should it be there at all.

The people on the side of realism say, "yes, it should!  look at the evidence!" and they point to the real world.
People on the side of gender inclusion, or at the very least, people on the side of "less rules = better play" say there should be no differences".

I am, at least on the opinion side of things, on the side of equality.  Mostly because a.) I really don't need a rule for this, I have plenty ok and b.) I want to encourage more women to play the game, I don't want to give them any reasons why they might not want to.

In practice though, I am falling short.

In AD&D we did use this at first, but we countered it with giving female twice the amount to develop a psionic wild talent (per the old AD&D 1st ed rules) since we logicked out that since psionics are a dominate sex-linked trait on the X chromosome then women had twice the chance to have it than men.  The balance of course didn't pay off since there was always a good chance that female character had some psionic power.

In Ghosts of Albion "Female" is a minority and worth a 1 point Drawback.  Women also have 1 level less of Status and have a 1 Point Obligation to cover the loss of their freedoms.
All of this is of course appropriate to the time in which Ghosts of Albion takes place.   I will also point out that one of the most physically powerful characters is the ghost of Queen Boadicea and the most magically potent character is Tamara Swift; and this is all from the mind of Amber Benson (who even got higher billing on the book cover than i did!).

So yeah.  I might not have a leg to stand on this one.  I do see both sides.
This is not Dead/Evil Lesbian Cliché bad or even  Women in Refrigerators bad.
For me.  I 'd rather not see it since I am going to ignore it anyway, and it is one less thing I barrier to the game I'll have to overcome to get people to play.

How about you?  What are your thoughts?

Victorian Games

I have gotten a bunch of "new" Victorian Games in the mail here recently.

I don't have a lot to say yet, but you can follow the discussion with myself and some of the authors of these games.
We are talking over at the Victorian Gamers Association (on Facebook).

Come on by.

Could this be my next Ghost of Albion idea?

New trailer out today for "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter".
As an Illinoisan, I approve.



Sure it might better suited for Rippers, but hey this is fun stuff.

Caves of Chaos in HiRes

How awesome is this?

http://www.theweem.com/2012/02/01/caves-of-chaos-reimagined-by-weem/

HiRes, and otherwise just plain cool maps of the Caves of Chaos.

I am planning on printing these out as soon as I can cause you jest never know when you are going to get that itch to go back to the Keep.

With Extra Pulp

One genre I enjoy, but never really play much with, is the Pulp era.  Now I love the horror that comes from this time, and I watched a lot of movies filmed in and about this time.  So I do have a fondness for it.  But if I am going to pick up a historical game it will be either the Dark Ages, or the Victorian Age.  I tend to overlook the pulps.

I am much the lesser for it I think.

There is something about the pulp era that screams (yes screams is the right word) Adventure! Suspense! Action! Thrills! all with exclamation points too.

Here are some games I have been exploring over the last few years.  I have more, but this is a good batch.

THRILLING TALES: Omnibus Edition
I will admit that the Pulp Era is not one I seek out to either read or play games in.  I see the appeal and every interaction I have had with the material has been a positive one.  Thrilling Tales then is no exception, except for the fact I might actually seek out to play this one more often.
Physically this book is very nice. The layout is clean and easy to read.  The art is very evocative of the time and my first thought was the old Universal movies from the same time frame (and movie still from the serials was really nice).  That is a very good thing in my mind.
I loved the time line of the 30s.
The game is designed with d20 Modern in mind and I think it is a very good fit.  I love the minor changes like renaming the core classes to something more "Pulpy" and addition of the Seduction skill, something I pushed for in other games.
There are a bunch of new advanced classes appropriate to the era. If you have ever seen a movie, serial or read a book from this era then the cast will look very familiar.
The section on weapons and gear is great, and perfect for any pulp-era game, not just a TT one or even just a d20 one.  What I liked most about it is it is full photos and illustrations.
This is followed by sections on how to run a Pulp game and a wonderful section on Villains.  Again the villains section is great for any game in this era or even a supers game in any era.  Besides any game with a Nazi Vampire cult leader as a villain is an instant win in my book!
Speaking of which, all of chapter 8 is devoted to the only human enemy everyone can openly hate and kill without moral repercussions; the Nazis.  Not so much a history of the Nazi, but a a history of the Nazi-as-a-boogeyman; the all-Enemy.
The Thugee likewise get a chapter, but I am sure this is due 100% to Temple of Doom.

The book ends with a Random Adventure generator.  Which is 100% appropriate to this sort of adventure era.  Watch the old serials, it sometimes looks like they were rolling on a similar table while writing the scripts.   A bit of tweaking and this could work for any era.  Replace Nazi with "Drow" or "Soviets" or "Dark Cabal" and you get the idea.

All in all this is a great game and one that makes me want to play some two fisted pulp adventures!

5 out of 5 stars

Forbidden Kingdoms is one of the first d20 Pulp games I ever owned.  In many ways it is the yardstick I compare other pulp games to.  Sure I had Call of Cthulhu, which is sorta a pulp game, but it is more "Call of Cthulhu" and it's own thing than it is a pulp anymore. Forbidden Kingdoms (either version) is actually one of my more favorite Pulp era games. It is also the game that helped me see the value of D20 Modern.

Forbidden Kingdoms: Babbage Edition
FK is a great pulp-era game based around d20. It was very different than anything else out at the time and just a really fun read. The art is great and the game rules are a solid re-working of the d20 system to fit that Golden Era after Victoria and before WWII.
5 out of 5 stars


Forbidden Kingdoms: Modern
Forbidden Kingdoms: Modern is a slimmer version of the full FK book. This one uses the D20 Modern rules to cover the heavy lifting and leaves the rest of the book to focus on what is just Forbidden Kingdoms.
The Pulp Era is not one I spend a lot of time playing in, but it certainly tailor made for adventures. You have many of the advantages of a modern society and still have large areas of land that mysterious, unknown and ready for imagination.
The background information covers the end of the Victorian age till WWII and has a great overview of history. Not perfect of course, but perfect for a game.
If you like the Pulp era or any of the books that came out then, then this is a great game to have. I am using it for the history sections and the adventure hooks alone.
4 out of 5 stars

Weird Adventures
Weird adventures is, in my mind, a mix of things that usually do not work with me.  Pulp era heroics with Fantasy adventure and a sorta-semi-Earth like world.  Usually this is enough to turn me off of a game.  But here it seems to work well.  Very well.

So WA is a Pulp era game. Though not really OUR pulp era, but one on a world very similar to our own.  Not WoD similar-but-darker or even D&D world like but not alike.  This is our world with some odd distortions.  Sorta like the world of a pulp era comic.
We know that the creators of D&D and FRPGs were heavily influenced by the pulps.  What if that influence was more heavily felt than say the fantasy ones or the the Tolkien ones.  We might end up with some similar to Weird Adventures.

Now this book is designed as a fantasy campaign world. So it is not by itself a playable game, you need other rules in order to play it.  The book is written as system neutral, but obviously the prime influence here is older D&D.  Both Ascending and Descending ACs are given in the handful of monsters.

What I like about the book is that these different elements mix and merge so well.   Fantasy Adventure and Pulp Adventure seem to be two sides of the same coin.  I love the layout and look of this book too.  They made to remind the reader of a pulp era magazine and it works well.

The art is fantastic really.  The piece with the adventurers in a tomb with a beholder is fantastic.
The monsters were all great. I loved the Hill-billy Giant.

There are somethings though I didn't care for.
While I can see why they did it, I don't like some near-Earths.  This is not a deal breaker.  I like it for example in most Supers games.  I think I would have rather have used it with a real earth.
While it is designed for any game, I would have liked some more crunch.  At the very least give me some rules for guns.

I think it would a solid addition to any older D&D or the clones, and even a solid addition to any Pulp Era game.
4 out of 5 stars

Pulp Zombies

A "Zombie world" for the All Flesh Must Be Eaten game.  This one focuses on the two-fisted action adventures of the 1930s.
A special emphasis is given on the mystical side of the pulps and of course Nazi Zombies.

Even if you are not a fan of this era, there is a lot of good crunch that you can add to your AFMBE, WitchCraft, Armageddon or Conspiracy X game.

4 out of 5 stars

What do we know about D&D5 so far?

Here are a couple of links.

http://critical-hits.com/2012/02/03/initial-impressions-of-the-new-dd/

and this massive overview from ENWorld.
http://www.enworld.org/index.php?page=dnd5e

Again they are looking more for a "style" of play rather than out and out compatibility.
I am expecting it all to built on a 3.x base, in a presentation similar to that of the 4e Essentials line.
The core races and classes, with lots of add-ons to get more classes, monsters and skirmish battles.

I do expect skills and feats in the first sets of core books, but as kinda optional rules (like 2nd ed had for skills).

Otherwise the progress is moving along as I'd expect it too.
I am hoping to see some play-test games at Gen Con.

Zatannurday: Steampunk Zatanna

Long time readers know I Am a fan of the Victorian era and in particular Victorian horror. I am not though a Steampunk fan per se. It is cool. I get the appeal, but if I am wearing my Victorian costume I am going to carry a cane, not a nerf gun I spray painted.

That all being said I am a huge fan of the these Gaslight Justice League figures over at Sillof's website.
http://sillof.com/C-Gaslight.htm.  I was a big fan of "Gotham by Gaslight" and Wonder Woman: Amazonia and would loved to have seen more.  I felt his figures were a great look for the Victorian Justice League.

If you have never seen his custom figures then you need too. Now.  Especially his re-imaged Star Wars as an old Japanese Samurai movie.

But you notice something missing?  Yup!  Where is Zatanna?!
Well she was hanging out on Deviant Art!

Zatanna Steam punk 1887 by ~doonboy on deviantART

I love how she looks.  Very classy, like you would expect the daughter of a world renowned magician be.  Of course her secret is she really know magic.

Given the high weirdness of both the Victorian age and mixing the JL, I thought it was only proper to stat her up for Ghosts of Albion.  Given her power level in the comics Zatanna (in any reality) should be one of the more powerful magicians in the game.

Zatanna (1887)
Zatanna Zatara is the daughter of the late Giovanni Zatara, renowned illusionist, prestidigitator and expert on all subjects occult.  Having spent her entire life in her father's show it was natural that Miss Zatanna would continue that occupation after her father's untimely demise.
What is not generally well known is that Zatanna also inherited her father's magic and mantle to protect the world from magical beings that would attempt to do humanity harm.

Zatanna Zatara
Very Experienced Master

http://my.deviantart.com/messages/#/d3hsevs

Life Points 50
Drama Points 10

Attributes
Strength 2
Dexterity 4
Constitution 3
Intelligence 4
Perception 5
Willpower 6

Qualities
Attractiveness +3
Charisma
Contacts (the Justice League) 4
Contacts (Supernatural) 5
Hard to Kill 2
Fast Reaction Time
Magic 10  (Homo Magi race)
Magical Family
Nerves of Steel
Occult Library (Amazing)
Resources 8
Situational Awareness
Supernatural Senses (the Sight)
Status 3 (lowered due to profession and gender)

Drawbacks
Adversaries (Lots) 5
Honorable (Minimal)
Mental Problems (Fear of Commitment)
Minority (Woman)
Obligation (mundane humans, Important)
Secret 1 (really uses magic)

Useful Information
Initiative +
Actions 1/2
Observation 1d10 + 11
Fear +

Skills
Armed Mayhem 1
Art 6 (stage performance)
Athletics 2
Crime 1
Drive / Ride 1
Engineering 2
Fisticuffs 2
Influence 6
Knowledge 7
Languages 6 (English, Italian, Latin, Greek, Egyptian, Backwards talk)
Marksmanship 3
Notice 5
Occultism 9
Physician 2
Wild Card

Combat

Maneuver	Bonus	Damage	Notes
Dodge / Parry	+6	-	Defense Action
Grapple	+6	-	Defense Action
Punch	+6	4	Bash
Magic	+25	per spell	Must speak backwards
- Deflect	+25	Special	Deflects spell 45 degrees

You can see more of his Victorian super ladies here: http://doonboy.deviantart.com/gallery/33431300

Can't wait to have her run across Madame Vastra and Jenny!

ACKS B/XC Or How I commit heresy with Adventurer Conqueror King

I just picked up Adventurer Conqueror King last night and sat down to read it just a bit ago.

I like it.  It is a solid Retro-clone, near-clone and actually does a better job than some of the other "core rules" clones on the market now.  I will get a proper review out later.

One of the things that people are drawing attention to is the fact that this is an "End Game" system.  Characters grow, mature and then move out of the dungeon into rulerships of their own.  It is not unique in that respect, it is in fact often compared to Mentzer BECMI but the comparison can also be made of it and D&D4.  All three have end games and all three have rules for how those end games can play out.

ACKS though caps most progress at 14th level.

This of course got me thinking.  At a hard stop of 14th level...it makes B/X Companion a perfect "expansion" kit!  Yeah, yeah I know, I am totally violating the spirit and intent of the game.  Won't be the first time or the last time.

I did some quick checks and while things don't line up perfectly, they are damn close. Obviously pulling from the same source material.

Both rulesets deal with the idea of creating a life outside of the dungeon, the oft-sited "now you can play like Conan!"  Well Conan can retire, I have characters and a multi-plane universe to explore!

Others though have mentioned that it meshes nicely with Labyrinth Lord.  I have not checked that out for myself yet.

Is ACKS worth it at $10?  I don't know yet.  It is nice. The art is great. AND this might be the most important one, of all the clones out right now (S&W, LL, BFRPG, DD, LotFP, S&S) this is the only one I feel is good for a new player; one that has never played an RPG before.  The rest assume some level of knowledge.  No surprise, they were written by gamers for gamers.  ACKS I feel was written by gamers for non-gamers or even near-gamers.  Gamers too, but I think we have demonstrated that we will buy anything.

So who is up for an ACKS + B/X Companion campaign?

Ghosts of Albion on Sale at DTRPG

Ghosts of Albion is on sale at DriveThruRPG for their "Geek Love Rules" Valentines Day special.

Included in this sale are some other products I have talked about or have used in the past.

Angel RPG (companion to Buffy and compatible with Ghosts of Albion)
Byron Falls (OMG Drama bomb! high school kids with supernatural powers, and a fun game.)
Devilish Duos: Strange Attractors
Infernal Romance at Moon Temple (AE)
Instant Antagonist: The Selfish Succubus  (reviewed in the past)
King Arthur Pendragon: Edition 5.1
MILFS: Monsters I’d Like to F*** (Cardstock Characters™) (you know you want to click on this one)
Sexcraft: A Little Game with a Lot of Sex  (includes the Sexcraft Witch)
Sisters of Rapture, OGL Edition and Pathfinder Edition
Smallville Roleplaying Game
Smallville High School Yearbook

I have to admit I am a little surprised not to see Blue Rose on the list.

Reviews

Some new reviews from various products I have picked up lately.  Mostly horror, but also some others I have used recently.  All really fun.

Fear and Faith Horror Rules
A great little miniature skirmish game. The rules are fast, simple and easy to learn on the fly. Some situations tend to work better than others, such as an attacking zombie horde or a bunch of vampires in a grave yard, but all in all I like it. I actually plan to try it out in conjunction with other Horror RPGs and see how well they mesh. They game was not designed specifically to do this, but it certainly can be easily adapted to this. And even to make it perfect there is a list of links of where to get some quality horror minis.
5 out of 5 stars

Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium
Here is my basic problem with Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium.
Why haven't I heard more about it? It is an extremely easy, almost light, game for all sorts of horror. The execution is extremely well thought out and has such an indie charm to it I am a little confused as to why I haven't heard more about it. Let me go over the book a bit.
The Art and Layout. The art is a mixed batch of photo art, line art and a mix. Instead of looking chaotic it comes together as a whole. It reminds me a bit of the various "investigator notebooks" style layouts that are popular in modern horror games today, only no where near as cluttered. The layout is clean, neat and easy to read. In fact the near "sterileness" only adds to the horror feel to be honest.
Characters. The best part. The characters of Dread are damaged goods. In this respect I am reminded of Kult or other games where the characters start out already in deep trouble. In many ways the characters of Dread are like that of The Matrix. Outside humanity, but fighting for it. It is the extensional fight of WoD or Kult, with the actual fights of Armageddon and the chance of survival of Call of Cthulhu.
Characters do not have a lot of stats. Again this game is light, but there is more than enough here and really the focus of this game is more what you do and not how hard you hit it (though that is pretty important sometimes).
The magic system is likewise as light, but it is not lacking in spells. The guide lines are also pretty simple that making new ones is easy.
Between Magic and Combat is appropriately Exorcisms. I can't recall a game that devoted an entire chapter to this before. Another plus in it's favor.
Combat is also designed to be simple. Interestingly enough you roll to attack and to defend.
A section on role-playing and a quick start round out the first half of the book. The rest is for Directors only.
There are rules sections (not much) but then what follows is a true gem. Page after page of new, completely original demons. Nothing cribbed from the Monster Manual or some moldy document from the Church. Demons, their habits and how to take them down. Honestly worth it for this alone.
The book finishes off with some sample scenarios.

All in all a great game. I can't wait to try it out with a group that would really appreciate it.

Don't get this game if you like a lot of rules or crunch or want to have a number next everything your character can (or can't) do.
Don't get this game if pick up a horror game only to play it like "XXXX" tv show, book or movie. Dread is it's own thing.

Do get it if you like a fast moving game. Do get it is you have tried every other horror game out there and want something new. Do get it if you just want to try something new.
5 out of 5 stars

Devilish Duos: Smoke and Mirrors
Icons
Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Ed
I love well worked up characters for supers games. I love supernatural characters. And I love products that have appeal across games. While this is an Icons product, I see there are M&M versions out as well. That beign said the value here is in the character write-ups and those can be used anywhere.
Smoke and Mirrors are two such characters. Though I have to think it was just a quirk of chance that made them as they are and but a change in the same fates could have made them...well not good, but certainly not villains, though Smoke could have been had she been allowed to live her life. And that is the key here. Not that these are well stated out or the art is good (true on both counts) or even that there nice little paper minis to use (there is and they are a nice touch) but that they are characters I would want to get to know to use.
Actually I want to use them in a horror game. There they would shine.
The Mutants and Masterminds version includes Hero Builder files.
5 out of 5 stars

Toy War
Have kids?  Do they love to play with anything from stuffed animals to toy robots or action figures?
Do want to introduce them to the world of RPGs?  Well then this might just be the perfect game.
Well, not perfect, but really, really, really good.
Toy War takes so very simple rules (and also teaches kids how to use a ruler) to bring their favorite toys to life.   Each toy has a purpose and something it does well.  In one session we brought in a baby harp seal (was cute), a toy Dalek (can shoot), a space ship and some D&D dragons.  We came up with this idea to rescue some fish and we were off.  The adventure is fast and fun. In the end we saved the fish, only to have them eaten by the baby seal.
Depending on your kids this could be a game of structured make believe or even an on-going saga.  Or it can be a great diversion for a rain or snowy afternoon.
Worth every penny and then some.
5 out of 5 stars

Supernatural Adventures
Five adventures for Supernatural.
They are actually set up well enough that they could be used with just about any Modern Horror game, but they do have the feel of the show.  Not perfect adventures mind you, but certainly well written.   My favorite is "Hell Hound on My Trail" since it can be slotted into any ongoing arc with plenty of room to expand it for future use.
"Synchronicity" is good as well and might be my favorite in terms of how it was written.
4 out of 5 stars

BASH! Ultimate Edition

BASH! is a fantastic little game of Super Heroes.  Instead of a huge book of powers or effects, BASH instead focuses on "What do you want to do?" and "What kind of hero are you?", Simple, but powerful questions.
The game achieves the near miraculous feat of being simple to use and learn and yet powerful enough to keep you interested and coming back to the game.
The mechanic is kind of an odd one with multipliers (but I think it works for supers) and exploding doubles on 2d6, which I admit I like. It also has a cool FASRIP-looking chart for die results, so it gives it an old school feel (something all old school supers games had were charts, lots of them!). I like that the main Abilities have been reduced to just three; reminiscent of Tri-Stat, but these a Brawn, Agility Mind (BAM!), which appeals to me.  Everything after that are skills and powers.
It has it's legions of fans and I can see why.

BASH is a nice alternative to M&M or Icons, both very fine games, but BASH is easier to get going in.  Yes, even compared to Icons.
In addition to all of that BASH has a great power leveling system to play everything from Street Level Mystery Men to Cosmic "New Gods".

It's not perfect.  BUT just like like the comics would sometimes have huge cross-over events, so can games.  If you are happy with your current Supers RPG, great, but maybe the characters fall into a wormhole-spacetimebridge-cosmicsink and end up in a BASH universe.  At  under 10 bucks it is totally worth it.

I have a quibble with the "Bruce Timm" inspired-art.  I am not really sure how they got away with that.
Now mind you, I like the art.  I like Supers games to looks like comics or supers cartoons, but this seems a bit odd to me.

No matter.  Bottom line. Great game. Great fun. Great Respons...er sorry, Great Price.
If you like supers games then get this.
5 out of 5 stars

Twilight 2000

Twilight 2000 was always one of those classic games of my post-D&D youth.  Back then I grabbed anything that wasn't D&D.  TW2k was fun, but not a game I ever got into for any length of time.
In today's eyes it seems a bit dated and even maybe a little silly, but this was a big deal in the 80's.

What I like though is using this game as a precursor to the GDW Traveller books of around the same time.  Then this game improves in my mind as a link to the Traveller universe.  Sure it was not really designed that way when Traveller first came out, but it certainly was the assumption I got.

The game though is still a classic and maybe one day I'll give it a go again. Or maybe as part of a larger Traveller campaign.
4 out of 5 stars



Forbidden Kingdoms: Modern 
Forbidden Kingdoms: Modern is a slimmer version of the full FK book.  This one uses the D20 Modern rules to cover the heavy lifting and leaves the rest of the book to focus on what is just Forbidden Kingdoms.
The Pulp Era is not one I spend a lot of time playing in, but it certainly tailor made for adventures.  You have many of the advantages of a modern society and still have large areas of land that mysterious, unknown and ready for imagination.
Forbidden Kingdoms (any version) is actually one of my more favorite Pulp era games.  It is also the game that helped me see the value of D20 Modern.
The background information covers the end of the Victorian age till WWII and has a great overview of history. Not perfect of course, but perfect for a game.
If you like the Pulp era or any of the books that came out then, then this is a great game to have.  I am using it for the history sections and the adventure hooks alone.
4 out of 5 stars

Dweomercraft: Lich

Liches are the ultimate bad guy in D&D.  All the liches we know, we know by name.  Dweomercraft: Lich helps you create those monsters and make them into some more; villains.
At 106 pages (plus additional maps and files) this book is filled with everything you would suspect.  There is a chapter on what a Lich is and how to create them. There are discussions on how the different races approach lichdom.  Lots of lich-related knowledge is also presented with appropriate DCs. There are plenty of new skills, feats, spells and monsters.  Additionally we have undead familiars; for undead wizards natch, and Lich prestige classes.  Sure to scare your characters to death.
Most importantly there are Lich NPCs.  Something that no book should be without.
I can't help but to compare favorably to the old "Blueprint for a Lich" Dragon article.  It would mesh nicely with this book.  I also comapre it to the old Mayfair "Lichlords", which this present book is better.

A properly played Lich should be able to stand up to an entire party of characters.
A properly played Lich out of this book should be able to wipe them out.

4 out of 5 stars

Ghosts of Albion Character sheets

I have been wanting to get this out to you all for some time.

Here is a character sheet you can use for Ghosts of Albion

• Eden's Site (just scroll down)
• My Dropbox site

Get these now and happy adventuring!

Noble Knight Games

I am pleased to announce that I have set up the Other Side as an affiliate site to Noble Knight Games.

I don't put up ads here on the Other Side and I have no intention to do so.  But Noble Knight has been a very good shop for me in the past (read one such story here) and have been a great source of rare, out of print games.

So by clicking on the link I get a small percentage of the sale.  Like an advertising commission.  I set up my account for store credit only since I figure anything that this blog generates for me should go back into it.  That is, if you buy a game then I should also buy games to review.  Since a lot of you are coming here to hear about old games, I figure I should at the very least give you reviews of some of the older books and the means then to find them.

My hope is that this will not interfere with your enjoyment of this blog.

Like with my affiliation with DriveThurRPG and RPGNow I hope to be able to pass on deals to you all.

White Dwarf Wednesday Issue 5

Here we are again for our mid-week delve into the past with White Dwarf.   Today I want to discuss issue #5 which came out Feb/March 1978.

Our editorial is another feature ripped from today's blogs, if that is Ian Livingstone had figured out how to read the blogs 30 years before they were published.  The editorial deals with the issues of copyrights and how one can play a game in someone else's worlds.  He mention Star Wars specifically (ok so he didn't see the future where you can play "D&D Star Wars" thanks to the d20 System), but also the Tolkien estate and TSR's short lived "Battle of the Five Armies" game.  Granted the point of view at this time is "hopefully one day we can play in those worlds" which we ended up being able to do.  Today the cry is more "this should be in the public domain".  An argument for a later post I think.

Lew Pulsipher gives us a nice review of FGU's new game "Chivalry & Sorcery".  Actually it is part review, part play report and part advertising to be honest.  I am not faulting him on this, on the contrary, I am rather enjoying the open fondness everyone had for the games back then.  He likes this game and wants you to try it.
We are treated to a 2-page review/overview of Der Kriegspielers ("The War Gamers") new line 25mm minis.  These mins have a strong Middle-Earth feel for them (they had not read the Editorial yet it seems).

More monsters from Don Turnbull in Monsters Mild and Malign. The presentation of the information has not improved any here.  The monsters are detailed in the article with their stats inserted where needed.  Among the monsters we get this time are the Fuzzy and Steely which actually come from an article from The Dungeoneer about Beholder-like creatures.  We have modern monsters like the Gremlin and Cyborg.  The Bogy is an interesting beast (and pictured) as something like a three-armed satyr that might be related to the Type III Demon.  That one deserves to be worked up a bit more I think.  A bunch of other creatures are also mentioned including Imps of various sizes (and Monstermark ratings) and a crawling hand.  Of note though is the final entry which mentions that a new feature will be coming with the next issue, The Fiend Factory.

Don Turnbull returns with more on D&D Campaigns where he discusses Alignment, Magic, Treasure and whether or not Players should play more than one Character.  Each one of these is interesting in their own right and most of all how none of these have stopped being a point of conversation among D&D players.  I think it would be good for the playtesters and authors of D&D.Next to re-read some of these old articles.

Open Box gives us new reviews.  Three book from a company named "Little Soldier" are reviewed; Book of Monsters, Book of Demons and Book of Sorcery.   Book of Monsters has 100 new monsters, mostly from myth and legend with some "near D&D" like stats. Book of Demons is similar, but also includes the magic and magicians used to deal with these creatures.  The Book of Sorcery includes spell fumble rules and more magic items.  While the reviewer (Pulsipher) does not care for them (no rating is given) I can't help now but to want them and try to find them! (ETA: I found them!).  We also have a review of War of the Ring from FGU which only gets 5/10.  Chaosium's (still called "The Chaosium" at this point) "All The World's Monsters" is reviewed. Described as a 110+ page book of 265 monsters for D&D and fantasy RPGs. It was printed on thick stock and featured 3-ring punching long before this was a common feature for some games.  There are a lot of good features to this book, but the reviewer (Again Don Turnbull) found it a little lacking, giving it 5 out of 10 and saying that quality was sacrificed for quantity.

A review of Games Day III (Dec 17, 1978) follows.   An article on how to get food and water on the Starship Warden for MA.
The news section informs us of the release of the D&D Basic box and that the AD&D Monster Manual is next.  Followed soon by the AD&D Player's Handbook and the "AD&D Referee's Guide".

The first comic for White Dwarf is featured.  A full page comic called Kalgar.
Treasure Chest gives us some neat magic items.  The Rainbow Sword for charming (based on an item in the Led Zeppelin movie The Song Remains the Same) and two waters, the Waters of Beguilement and the Waters of Enchantment.
The "Asbury System" of awarding experience points based on PC level is presented by Brian Asbury.  It reminds me of the charts in the 3.x DMG of awarding experience to characters based on CR.  The only thing this is missing is a way to tie it in to Monstermark.

Letters continues with more Monstermark clarifications and how to separate player interaction from character interaction.

One gets the feel here that White Dwarf is becoming something more now.  Gone are the silly classes and weapons.  The art is taking a notch up and the regular features are in getting into place.  It comapres well to others of it's kind at the time, but I feel the writing is getting better, the analysis is more in-depth.  At one year old WD is getting ready to be the fantastic RPG magazine I knew it to be.

Want to read more of this issue? Get it from Noble Knight Games. White Dwarf #5.

Have a cookie

I swear I need to stop reading message boards.

Let me ask you.
If a company produces a product you don't like, let's say a type of cookie, and then they come out with a new cookie that they are very excited an happy about.  You don't care cause you only eat home made cookies or maybe you don't like cookies at all, maybe you like cake.  But I don't like cake. I like cookies.
So in the end does it really matter what the company does?  You can eat your home made cookies or your cake or nothing and I can enjoy my cookies how ever I get them. Right?

Ok now substitute "Cookies" for any game of your choice.

Now can you see why I have a headache?

Ugh.

By the way please buy my new cookies.  They are shaped liked ghosts but taste like English Shortbread.
;)

More updates

Not much going on today for a blog post.  Just a bunch of random updates.

Digital Orc is trying to organize an Old-School/Grognard blogger meet-up.
His site has a sign-up sheet.
http://www.digitalorc.blogspot.com/

Tim Knight of "I Rather Be Killing Monsters" has posted about About.Me a social media link tool with free business cards.  Here are our links, Tim Knight and mine.

Ever wonder what would happen in an alternate world if Tara and Warren got together and instead of him killing her, they got pregnant and had the Anti-Christ?  Of course you have.  And the answer lies in Amber Benson and Adam Busch's indie movie, Reverse Parthenogenesis.

http://io9.com/5881586/buffys-tara-and-warren-are-finally-having-an-evil-baby-together



Ok, well not really Tara and Warren.  But (then) real life couple Amber and Adam.
This should be pretty funny.  A lot of people don't know this but Adam Busch (whom I have never heard anyone say or have a bad word about) is pretty damn funny.

Hopefully a real post soon.  Kinda in a haze right now.

Gen Con updates

Gen Con badges bought.
Hotel booked.  More expensive than last year, but not undo-able.

The big issue this year is my Ghosts of Albion game.
As in I am not going to be running any.

I might do a pick up game, that I would announce here.

It basically boils down to me not having enough time to work out a new adventure.  That and my kids are older and they want to play in more games with their dad.

So this year I am looking forward to playing more and trying out a bunch of new games.

Zatannurday: Happy Birthday Bruce Timm!

Bruce Timm, artist, animator, director and producer celebrates his birthday this coming week (Wednesday, Feb 8).  So I figured what better than some Bruce Timm and DCAU/Timmverse version of Zee!

Zatanna came in to the Bruce Timm/DCAU/B:TAS world in the episode naturally titled "Zatanna".

It featured a young Bruce Wayne and an even younger Zatanna back when Bruce was learning escapology.

Here is what Timm and Paul Dini said at the time about this episode.

Paul Dini on Zatanna’s appearance on Batman: “Bruce [Wayne] had to learn to be an escape artist from someone, and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if he learned from Zatara, DC’s old Golden Age hero, who at the time had a cute, little sixteen-year old daughter?’ I pitched this to Paul Levitz, president of DC Comics, who said, ‘That’s wonderful; that’s better than anything we’ve ever done with Zatanna! And it was logical that, if he learned from her father, he would have had a little thing going with Zatanna (courtesy of Cinefantastique Magazine)."

Bruce Timm on Zatanna (circa 1998): “We wanted to make sure [that] any superhero guest stars would make sense within the context of the Batman show. So we played Zatanna’s down and made her more of a David Copperfield-type of magician so that she had a bit more realistic framework for her appearance (courtesy of Wizard Magazine).”

She would then go on to stay friends with Batman, even learn his real name and display the power we are accustomed to seeing.

We all know Paul Dini loves Zatanna, but Bruce Timm can't be too far behind.

So happy birthday Bruce Timm!

RPG/D&D Survey

Johnathan over at B/X Blackrazor has a survey he would like everyone to participate in.

http://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/2012/02/rpg-gaming-survey-your-help-needed.html

There is an Excel file you need to download and send back to him.

Fill it out, encourage other to do so as well.  It is not really marketing research (not asking those sorts of questions) but more of a temperature gauge.

Check it out.

Random Updates

A couple of updates this morning.

Like Victorian era RPGs?  Don't forget about my Victorian Gamers Association on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/117617184004/

There is a winner for the "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" contest!
Bob correctly identified Stevie Nicks as my big 80's (and 90s...) crush.
His 10 dollar gift code for DriveThruRPG has been sent out.

I picked up a couple of new horror games that I hope to have reviews up for soon.