I love new classes. I love all sorts of new options. So when the chance comes around to get my hands on a new class, especially if it is for my current favorite version of D&D (Basic/Expert) or clone (Labyrinth Lord/Basic Fantasy).
So I have been picking up a few from Barrel Rider Games, http://barrelridergames.com/
Barrel Rider Games (and I will admit I love this name) is in the biz (so far) of producing a new class for a buck. Not a bad biz to be in really. There is always a new class that can be made, there is demand and people will part with a dollar pretty easy.
In nearly every case you get a class, some art (usually just cover art), descriptions, and the LL compatibility license and the OGL. Also, I am afraid to admit they are usually missing the Saving Throws table and sometimes how the class gains To Hit rolls. This is not a huge deal for most of them since it usually pretty obvious what they should be, it would still be nice if they had them.
Here are few I have tried out.
The Bounty Hunter
In many ways the Bounty Hunter (class) is a better class for "Basic" Era Games than the Assassin is. The Assassin has a history in the "Advanced" Era and it has it's place, but a game aimed at simpler rules might not be it. That is why the Bounty Hunter (this book) is a good choice for Labyrinth Lord or any other Basic-era compatible game.
Like all the books from Barrel Rider Games this book presents a class, reasons why it can be used, and the associated skills and tables. The Bounty Hunter (class) then is part thief, part assassin and part tracker/ranger. Honestly it might well be the best of all the BRG classes.
Also, though, like the other classes, this one is missing some key information. Namely this book is missing the saving throw tables and to hit tables for the Bounty Hunter. I would suggest using the thief tables in both cases.
Other than that, this is a solid class.
The Undead Slayer
I love undead and all the classes and trappings that go around them; so slayers and necromancers are great in my book.
This class is a very specialized one, against other monsters it has the fighting prowess of the a thief (which isn't bad), but it shines against Undead. I felt the powers it received were fine, I think I would have started them at lower levels to be honest. The feel of this class is akin to the ranger. It has some sneaking ability, some magic and bonuses to fight undead.
If the Cleric is modeled off of the Hammer-era Van Helsing, then this class is more along the lines of a Captain Kronos.
The class might be a little under powered in some respects to be honest. But that is only a read-through and the proof would be in the playing. For example it does have some thief abilities that would aid a party in non-undead adventures.
In earlier reviews of products from Barrel Rider Game I mentioned that I didn't see the Labyrinth Lord Compatibility License. That was an error. It is very clear on the same page as the OGL. This book has it.
I also mentioned that in some of the other classes that I could not find the to-hit and saving throw progression for the classes. I also could not find it in this one. There is only about a page and half of text and about a page of tables. I am sure I would have seen it. I suspect that the undead slayer uses the Clerical to hit and saving throw tables.
I would like to try this class out sometime. I think it would work well in the right kind of adventure. Care though needs to be given that it does not interfere with the cleric's role of hunter of the dead.
The Assassin
I don't expect a lot for a buck. Can't buy a bottle of Mt. Dew or a cup of coffee for a buck anymore. But you can buy a class.
This is the classic "1st Edition" class for Labyrinth Lord, but should be compatible with any number of other Old School RPGs.
You get a cover page (oddly formatted, but hey), fours pages of the class and the OGL statement.
The class has what you would expect, tables for advancement and assassinations. Also there is a bit on the use of poisons.
There are, unfortunely a few things missing.
In the missing must haves there is no saving throw advancement tables and no to hit advancement tables. I would use the Thief for these.
In the missing like to haves there is nothing on new weapons unique to the assassin. Nothing for example about the garrote, the time honored classic of all assassin weapons. This is almost a missing "must have" to be honest.
So it has a lot of potential, but the publisher really needs to fix these omissions.
The Dragon
Again, I don't expect a lot for a buck. Barrel Rider Games though gives you a whole class for a buck.
This one is a bout Dragons as a class/race. Not Dragonborn or Dragonfolk, but full blown dragons.
Now my first thought is these characters could be unwieldy in a group of adventurers or even overpowered. That is best left to the Labyrinth Lord to decide really.
The book is five pages: Cover, 2 pages for the class, and 2 pages for the OGL.
This one does have the Labyrinth Lord compatibility notice.
There seems to be a bit missing though.
For starters there is no "To Hit AC" tables for the Dragon. Nor are there any Saving Throw tables.
Kind of need these in order to play the character. In this case I don't have any suggestions.
I would have liked have seen a little on how to play this character class and what motivates them to adventure.
Smith and Scholar
This book is only a buck and it is very simple. But don't let "Simple" translate into "not worth it". This book is filled with ideas for all the Basic/LL core classes. They are billed as professions, but if you are familiar with the old 2nd Ed "Kits" then these are very similar.
There are 6 per class and all provide some background, history and some mechanical bonus for the character. There is no balance issue from what I can see if everyone in the game opts for one or if there is some sort of DM-enforced obligation attached. For example the Exorcist Cleric should be obligated to investigate any claim of possession he/she hears. The other Professions can work the same way.
These are set out as flavor, but I think in the right hands these can really brighten up what would be an ordinary game into something very interesting.
They have other books that I have not tried yet as well. The Barbarian, the Swashbuckler, Half-Orc, Half-Elf and Dark Elf.
I say give them a look.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Justice is Returning
I have been really, really negligent in keeping up with posts on my supers character Justice. In fact it looks like the last time I posted about her was March.
That's just not right.
So I do plan on posting some stats. But in the mean time here is something to keep you entertained.
A commission from my friend David Reynolds of ShadowGirls fame.
Not sure what the Penguin's name is yet. But I do know she finds him in her father's Fortress of Solitude.
As for Stats, I am hoping to do some FASERIP/Marvel/4C, Super Babes, Villains & Vigilantes and some Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul.
EDITED TO ADD: David is taking commissions again. http://my.deviantart.com/messages/#/d5rjqrc
That's just not right.
So I do plan on posting some stats. But in the mean time here is something to keep you entertained.
A commission from my friend David Reynolds of ShadowGirls fame.
Not sure what the Penguin's name is yet. But I do know she finds him in her father's Fortress of Solitude.
As for Stats, I am hoping to do some FASERIP/Marvel/4C, Super Babes, Villains & Vigilantes and some Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul.
EDITED TO ADD: David is taking commissions again. http://my.deviantart.com/messages/#/d5rjqrc
Sunday, January 13, 2013
The OSR of Computers
I am of the age that my involvement in RPGs began at the same time as my involvement in the burgeoning home computer market.
Indeed, my games were from TSR and my computers are from TRS. As in the old TRS 80 and Tandy Color Computer.
Most of my first attempts at programming were ways to help, improve or other wise supplement my D&D experience. This went on for a number years. In fact I upgraded past (ie got rid of) my CoCo3 right around the same time I moved to 2nd Ed AD&D.
It should then be no big surprise then that while I am trolling eBay for old RPG materials I am also looking at old Color Computer stuff.
Which is really dumb. I have owned at least three or four of these things over the years. I have computers sitting in my office unused that are 1000s of times better every respect.
Yet. Here I am. Looking at these toys off my youth.
Maybe an emulator is the way to go. I have a computer I could rebuild I am sure.
Indeed, my games were from TSR and my computers are from TRS. As in the old TRS 80 and Tandy Color Computer.
Most of my first attempts at programming were ways to help, improve or other wise supplement my D&D experience. This went on for a number years. In fact I upgraded past (ie got rid of) my CoCo3 right around the same time I moved to 2nd Ed AD&D.
It should then be no big surprise then that while I am trolling eBay for old RPG materials I am also looking at old Color Computer stuff.
Which is really dumb. I have owned at least three or four of these things over the years. I have computers sitting in my office unused that are 1000s of times better every respect.
Yet. Here I am. Looking at these toys off my youth.
Maybe an emulator is the way to go. I have a computer I could rebuild I am sure.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Zatannurday: Movie! For Real this time
Maybe not by that name, but certainly something very, very similar.
It is going to be directed by Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth and others) and currently called Dark Universe.
It would feature many of the JL Dark characters as well as some from the the DC/Vertigo Books of Magic series. Currently we are set to see both Zatara and Zatanna.
Now remember talk is cheap and no where is that more true than in Hollywood. I am not sure if this will see the light of day or not, but here's to hope!
And here are some links. They are all pretty similar.
- http://latino-review.com/2012/11/01/exclusive-senor-fenix-futures-locke-key-powers-revivial-jj-abrams-guillermo-del-toro/
- http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/01/07/guillermo-del-toro-talks-dark-universe-his-dc-comics-supernatural-heroes-movie
- http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/174315-guillermo-del-toro-confirms-dc-comics-project-dark-universe
- http://www.newsarama.com/film/del-toro-justice-league-dark-movie-in-development.html
- http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2013/01/08/del-toro-drops-more-details-about-dark-universe-his-dc-comics-film/
Friday, January 11, 2013
Dragonborn Books
My son loves Dragonborn. He plays Skyrim because there is a "dragonborn" in that. He wanted to get all the Doctor Who episodes on DVD that feature the Draconians, and in every game we play that is the character race he wants.
Well...not every game has them. But there are a lot of great third-party publishers that feel the same way.
Good thing for me I know about Goodman Games.
They have two products out, The Complete Guide to Dragonkin (for 3rd ed) and Hero's Hanbook Dragonborn (for 4th ed).
The Complete Guide to Dragonkin
This book is the older of the two, so let's do it first.
76 pages, covers, OGL. Pretty packed really. A brief intro and some background on dragon-kin and how they are all connected to each other (an interesting touch). This assumes that a lot of different races inter-bred with dragons like humans, orcs, goblins and of course kobolds. So we have a variety of bloodlines; half-dragons, dragon-touched and "wyrm-bred".
The Half-Dragon Racial Template is presented and the associated powers. If you are playing 3.x/Pathfinder and want to play a "Dragonborn" character then this is a great book. It predates the Dragonborn in 4e and the Dragon bloodline sorcerer in Pathfinder, so a Pathfinder update would be nice to have, but still this is a solid book.
There is a lot in this book. It even covers how these races view, and sometimes worship, the dragons they are related to. There is a chapter on Dragon magic which includes new spells and "dragon egg sculpting".
There is not much in the way of news monsters, but I think that is fine. There is a Dragon/Kobold crossbreed that works well as an antagonist. Especially if your players tend to laugh when you throw kobolds after them.
I compare this book rather favorably to their Complete Guide to Fey. It was because I owned that book that I felt comfortable picking up this one. I was not disappointed.
Hero's Hanbook Dragonborn
99 pages, GSL, covers. There is a quite a lot in this book. While Goodman Games could have used a lot from their previous book (The Complete Guide to Dragonkin) this one has a completely different approach. Dragonborn are well established in D&D4, so none of that material is repeated here. Instead the book covers different clans and variations of Dragonborn. There is also a lot of crunch to go with the fluff. Frankly Dragonborn need a lot more "fluff". Unlike all the other fantasy races, Dragonborn/Dragonkin are really a creation of D&D. Sure there have been other types in the past, but even in the early days of the game their origin is purely a D&D one. That gives this book a lot of room to run.
There is also a nice collection of items to help give this race a sense of history. Plenty of powers for Dragonborn characters, options and magic items. If you are like my son and love to play Dragonborn in 4e then this is a great book to have.
This book though suffers from the fate all 3rd party GSL books suffer and that is the material is not in the character builder.
In the process of reading these books I became aware of other ones, not by Goodman Games though.
One of the first is from Barrel Rider Games, The Dragon and it is only a dollar.
Again, I don't expect a lot for a buck. Barrel Rider Games though gives you a whole class for a buck.
This one is a bout Dragons as a class/race. Not Dragonborn or Dragonfolk, but full blown dragons.
Now my first thought is these characters could be unwieldy in a group of adventurers or even overpowered. That is best left to the Labyrinth Lord to decide really.
The book is five pages: Cover, 2 pages for the class, and 2 pages for the OGL and the Labyrinth Lord compatibility notice.
There seems to be a bit missing though. I would have liked have seen a little on how to play this character class and what motivates them to adventure.
Fehr's Ethnology: Dragonblood is another one for Pathfinder by Purple Duck Games, a name I have grown to like.
This one is pretty good really. Nice art, clear easy to read text and 7 pages of content (1 full page art, 1.5 of OGL and ads for 10 total pages). Simple race rules with not a lot of fluff, but a lot of crunch. There are some alternate racial characteristics and some feats. There are class suggestions and suggestions on play. For 10 pages it is really packed full. My son has been using this in our 3.x game now for a bit and we like it the most out of the many free options we have also found. At $1.25 it is an absolute steal.
Well...not every game has them. But there are a lot of great third-party publishers that feel the same way.
Good thing for me I know about Goodman Games.
They have two products out, The Complete Guide to Dragonkin (for 3rd ed) and Hero's Hanbook Dragonborn (for 4th ed).
The Complete Guide to Dragonkin
This book is the older of the two, so let's do it first.
76 pages, covers, OGL. Pretty packed really. A brief intro and some background on dragon-kin and how they are all connected to each other (an interesting touch). This assumes that a lot of different races inter-bred with dragons like humans, orcs, goblins and of course kobolds. So we have a variety of bloodlines; half-dragons, dragon-touched and "wyrm-bred".
The Half-Dragon Racial Template is presented and the associated powers. If you are playing 3.x/Pathfinder and want to play a "Dragonborn" character then this is a great book. It predates the Dragonborn in 4e and the Dragon bloodline sorcerer in Pathfinder, so a Pathfinder update would be nice to have, but still this is a solid book.
There is a lot in this book. It even covers how these races view, and sometimes worship, the dragons they are related to. There is a chapter on Dragon magic which includes new spells and "dragon egg sculpting".
There is not much in the way of news monsters, but I think that is fine. There is a Dragon/Kobold crossbreed that works well as an antagonist. Especially if your players tend to laugh when you throw kobolds after them.
I compare this book rather favorably to their Complete Guide to Fey. It was because I owned that book that I felt comfortable picking up this one. I was not disappointed.
Hero's Hanbook Dragonborn
99 pages, GSL, covers. There is a quite a lot in this book. While Goodman Games could have used a lot from their previous book (The Complete Guide to Dragonkin) this one has a completely different approach. Dragonborn are well established in D&D4, so none of that material is repeated here. Instead the book covers different clans and variations of Dragonborn. There is also a lot of crunch to go with the fluff. Frankly Dragonborn need a lot more "fluff". Unlike all the other fantasy races, Dragonborn/Dragonkin are really a creation of D&D. Sure there have been other types in the past, but even in the early days of the game their origin is purely a D&D one. That gives this book a lot of room to run.
There is also a nice collection of items to help give this race a sense of history. Plenty of powers for Dragonborn characters, options and magic items. If you are like my son and love to play Dragonborn in 4e then this is a great book to have.
This book though suffers from the fate all 3rd party GSL books suffer and that is the material is not in the character builder.
In the process of reading these books I became aware of other ones, not by Goodman Games though.
One of the first is from Barrel Rider Games, The Dragon and it is only a dollar.
Again, I don't expect a lot for a buck. Barrel Rider Games though gives you a whole class for a buck.
This one is a bout Dragons as a class/race. Not Dragonborn or Dragonfolk, but full blown dragons.
Now my first thought is these characters could be unwieldy in a group of adventurers or even overpowered. That is best left to the Labyrinth Lord to decide really.
The book is five pages: Cover, 2 pages for the class, and 2 pages for the OGL and the Labyrinth Lord compatibility notice.
There seems to be a bit missing though. I would have liked have seen a little on how to play this character class and what motivates them to adventure.
Fehr's Ethnology: Dragonblood is another one for Pathfinder by Purple Duck Games, a name I have grown to like.
This one is pretty good really. Nice art, clear easy to read text and 7 pages of content (1 full page art, 1.5 of OGL and ads for 10 total pages). Simple race rules with not a lot of fluff, but a lot of crunch. There are some alternate racial characteristics and some feats. There are class suggestions and suggestions on play. For 10 pages it is really packed full. My son has been using this in our 3.x game now for a bit and we like it the most out of the many free options we have also found. At $1.25 it is an absolute steal.
WIPs
So I have a few works in progress right now, but nothing I have worked on yet this new year.
I am trying to get organized and find some things I can get out to you all fairly quickly.
Some smaller things, things less involved than the witch.
Among these smaller things are a Houri Prestige Class for 3.x/Pathfinder. But it hasn't quite jelled.
A few D&D4 items that may or may not see the light of day.
And some others.
Gotta get better organized this year. My hard drive death a few months back really killed me.
I am trying to get organized and find some things I can get out to you all fairly quickly.
Some smaller things, things less involved than the witch.
Among these smaller things are a Houri Prestige Class for 3.x/Pathfinder. But it hasn't quite jelled.
A few D&D4 items that may or may not see the light of day.
And some others.
Gotta get better organized this year. My hard drive death a few months back really killed me.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
More Kickstarters. And I can't believe this first one
Couple more Kickstarters. This first one has to be seen to be believed.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/917876657/republishing-the-world-of-synnibarr
That's right! Synnibarr is BACK! If you don't know what Synnibarr is then maybe you are not as Old School as you thought you were. ;)
In case you don't then here is the review that is almost as famous as the game itself.
http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_4762.html
But I have to hand it to Raven c.s. McCracken. He keeps right going and his love for his magnum opus is apparent. Enough that he is currently $3,000 over the goal.
Read the Kickstarter page. Everything you need to know about how this game will turn out is there.
In other news.
There is also a new Castles & Crusades book coming out, Castles & Crusades Codex Celtarum.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/676918054/castles-and-crusades-codex-celtarum
I have some mixed feelings about this one.
On one hand it looks fantastic. It reads like it will be a ton of fun and I know it will be a top notch book. I also love Celtic myth and I have wanted to have an old schoolish style D&D Celtic game for years.
Which brings me to the other hand. That was what I was going for in my game Éire.
Éire was going to be produced by Elf Lair Games, but Jason (rightfully so) does not want to make any product that might compete with Troll Lord. I get that. I have things I could do myself that I don't because I don't want to step of the toes of other designers I am friends with or companies I have relationships with.
One of those companies is Cubicle 7. While I have never worked for the company, I have worked with most of their employees on one game or another over the years. They are also producing their own Celtic themed game.
I like both Troll Lords and C7 I know they will make great games and I look forward to them. There is of course room for all these games in the market, including mine, but desire to get it out there is less.
My goal when putting out something isn't very market driven, it is "me" driven. I put out the stuff I want to play. I think others will like it too, but that isn't what fuels my fires. Codex Celtarum is very, very likely to scratch the D&D-as-a-Celt-Game itch I have.
I have known about this one for a while really. Some of Éire made it into The Witch and Eldritch Witchery in fact. So if I do choose to resurrect Éire it might take a different form. But who knows.
In any case I am looking forward to Codex Celtarum and plan on supporting Troll Lords in this.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/917876657/republishing-the-world-of-synnibarr
In case you don't then here is the review that is almost as famous as the game itself.
http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_4762.html
But I have to hand it to Raven c.s. McCracken. He keeps right going and his love for his magnum opus is apparent. Enough that he is currently $3,000 over the goal.
Read the Kickstarter page. Everything you need to know about how this game will turn out is there.
In other news.
There is also a new Castles & Crusades book coming out, Castles & Crusades Codex Celtarum.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/676918054/castles-and-crusades-codex-celtarum
I have some mixed feelings about this one.
On one hand it looks fantastic. It reads like it will be a ton of fun and I know it will be a top notch book. I also love Celtic myth and I have wanted to have an old schoolish style D&D Celtic game for years.
Which brings me to the other hand. That was what I was going for in my game Éire.
Éire was going to be produced by Elf Lair Games, but Jason (rightfully so) does not want to make any product that might compete with Troll Lord. I get that. I have things I could do myself that I don't because I don't want to step of the toes of other designers I am friends with or companies I have relationships with.
One of those companies is Cubicle 7. While I have never worked for the company, I have worked with most of their employees on one game or another over the years. They are also producing their own Celtic themed game.
I like both Troll Lords and C7 I know they will make great games and I look forward to them. There is of course room for all these games in the market, including mine, but desire to get it out there is less.
My goal when putting out something isn't very market driven, it is "me" driven. I put out the stuff I want to play. I think others will like it too, but that isn't what fuels my fires. Codex Celtarum is very, very likely to scratch the D&D-as-a-Celt-Game itch I have.
I have known about this one for a while really. Some of Éire made it into The Witch and Eldritch Witchery in fact. So if I do choose to resurrect Éire it might take a different form. But who knows.
In any case I am looking forward to Codex Celtarum and plan on supporting Troll Lords in this.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
White Dwarf Wednesday #47
NOTE: Looking for the Beginnings Blogfest Post? Go here.
White Dwarf Wednesday today takes us all the way back to Issue #47 from November 1983. The first thing we should notice is this combination Bushido/Iron Maiden cover. That's pretty much 1983 in a nutshell right there. We also get our first add for Talisman, a game I never played.
Ian Livingstone talks about analysing the reader feedback given in the Reader Strikes Back. He also praises Alan Craddock for the cover of WD 44 stating it is the most popular cover so far. Wonder why.
Up first is the Demonist class for D&D by Phil Masters. This class, a sub-class of the Cleric summons up demons to do it's will. The class in not bad and there are some new spells. While the class is neat, I doubt I'll use it.
Open Box has four books this week. FGU's Privateers and Gentlemen gets a respectable 9/10 from Ian Waddelow. He enjoys how it can be played as a pure RPG or a pure War Game or some combination of the two. The Asylum and Other Tales for CoC from Chaosium is next. Jon Sutherland is also not cheap with the praise, saying not to be put off by the price (£7.95) and gives it a 9/10 as well. I talked a little about Star Fleet Battles last week, well this week (and in 1983) the topic is Fighters and Shuttles from Task Force Games for SFB. Jim Sizer gives it a 7/10 liking the increased numbers of ships and the 5 scenarios, but not liking that some combat is not made easier. Chaosium is up again with The Big Rubble about the ruins of Pavis for RuneQuest. Oliver Dickinson likes it and gives the best parts 10/10, most of the areas 8-9/10 and some only 5-6/10.
Critical Mass details some more books including masters Asimov and Clarke. I find this article harder to review. There are a couple of reasons. One, the books are dated. I mean anything I review here has been reviewed hundreds of times in the last 30 years. Also the article itself, the layout, makes it look like one huge paragraph. Maybe my eyes are getting old.
Zine Scene is next and it is described as an occasional article dedicated to the "street level" news of going ons in RPG and fandom. I am sure this has a lot to do with adding Mike Lewis to the set of editors.
Interestingly enough there is some news in here about other Zines opening up. I guess WD didn't consider them as competition at all. They shouldn't, but I am not sure I ever recall seeing such "openness" in Dragon.
There is a two page article about Goblins in RuneQuest. It's an interesting read. Interesting because is sounded very familiar to me. I am sure I had read this one back in the day and my goblins of today can trace their lineage back to this.
Letters is next with general praise and asking for clarifications.
Starbase is up with a bunch of Aliens for Traveller. Anyone use these in a Traveller based "Bug hunt"?
The last part of Irilian is posted with a big map and brief adventure. I am not sure if any updates were ever made to this city or not. But there really should have been. What I would like now is too take all six parts and do a retrospective on them. Maybe later.
RuneRites has Morale. Neat, but nothing I could use back then.
Kwaidan is next and it is a big deal. Big because for the first time have an adventure for Bushido. The RuneQuest/D&D/Traveller lock is broken! Ok yeah we have had some others, but to me this is a bigger deal.
Treasure Chest goes Dorian Grey on us and gives us a great painting for the Necromancer character that everyone hated. Well. I liked it, but it raised a fuss.
Fiend Factory gives us some mini-monsters for D&D. The Diabolo is kinda neat if you think of it as a devil-kobold cross breed. The Trollkin, is a combination of brownie and troll and one I used a couple of times. The others, the Trist, Krowks (demonic crows) and Gromits (Wallace no where to be seen). I took this article an ran with it creating my own "Trobbits" which were a cross between a troll and a, um, er, halfling. I should post those sometime.
Pitbits is another news column. With "Demogorgon" as editor and "Orcus" as Advertisement Manager. :rolleyes:
We get some Thrud and some Travellers. Gobbledigook was up there somewhere; head butting an orc.
Ending up with the small ads. There seems to be more items for sale in this one. People unloading their collections. The first wave of gamers moving on? Who knows.
Ads for the James Bond 007 game, Battlecars and Knight Hawks.
There is an ad for a "Truly British" Victorian Adventure game to appear at Games Day 83. Anyone know what that was for?
We have been fluctuating between 44 and 48 pages (counting covers) for a bit now, but we seem squarely stuck on 48 now.
In 1983 I don't know it yet, but we are leaving the Golden Age behind. Maybe those gamers in the small ads knew this and sold off their copies of RuneQuest, Traveller and White Box D&D knowing that the hobby was about to change again. Nah. They didn't know anymore than I did really. I was clueless, sitting there waiting for the next supplement or module, listing to my cassette copy of Chart Action '83 from K-Tel. I had no reason to know either. My 13/14 year old self doesn't care what my 43/44 year old self has to say.
Ian Livingstone talks about analysing the reader feedback given in the Reader Strikes Back. He also praises Alan Craddock for the cover of WD 44 stating it is the most popular cover so far. Wonder why.
Up first is the Demonist class for D&D by Phil Masters. This class, a sub-class of the Cleric summons up demons to do it's will. The class in not bad and there are some new spells. While the class is neat, I doubt I'll use it.
Open Box has four books this week. FGU's Privateers and Gentlemen gets a respectable 9/10 from Ian Waddelow. He enjoys how it can be played as a pure RPG or a pure War Game or some combination of the two. The Asylum and Other Tales for CoC from Chaosium is next. Jon Sutherland is also not cheap with the praise, saying not to be put off by the price (£7.95) and gives it a 9/10 as well. I talked a little about Star Fleet Battles last week, well this week (and in 1983) the topic is Fighters and Shuttles from Task Force Games for SFB. Jim Sizer gives it a 7/10 liking the increased numbers of ships and the 5 scenarios, but not liking that some combat is not made easier. Chaosium is up again with The Big Rubble about the ruins of Pavis for RuneQuest. Oliver Dickinson likes it and gives the best parts 10/10, most of the areas 8-9/10 and some only 5-6/10.
Critical Mass details some more books including masters Asimov and Clarke. I find this article harder to review. There are a couple of reasons. One, the books are dated. I mean anything I review here has been reviewed hundreds of times in the last 30 years. Also the article itself, the layout, makes it look like one huge paragraph. Maybe my eyes are getting old.
Zine Scene is next and it is described as an occasional article dedicated to the "street level" news of going ons in RPG and fandom. I am sure this has a lot to do with adding Mike Lewis to the set of editors.
Interestingly enough there is some news in here about other Zines opening up. I guess WD didn't consider them as competition at all. They shouldn't, but I am not sure I ever recall seeing such "openness" in Dragon.
There is a two page article about Goblins in RuneQuest. It's an interesting read. Interesting because is sounded very familiar to me. I am sure I had read this one back in the day and my goblins of today can trace their lineage back to this.
Letters is next with general praise and asking for clarifications.
Starbase is up with a bunch of Aliens for Traveller. Anyone use these in a Traveller based "Bug hunt"?
The last part of Irilian is posted with a big map and brief adventure. I am not sure if any updates were ever made to this city or not. But there really should have been. What I would like now is too take all six parts and do a retrospective on them. Maybe later.
RuneRites has Morale. Neat, but nothing I could use back then.
Kwaidan is next and it is a big deal. Big because for the first time have an adventure for Bushido. The RuneQuest/D&D/Traveller lock is broken! Ok yeah we have had some others, but to me this is a bigger deal.
Treasure Chest goes Dorian Grey on us and gives us a great painting for the Necromancer character that everyone hated. Well. I liked it, but it raised a fuss.
Fiend Factory gives us some mini-monsters for D&D. The Diabolo is kinda neat if you think of it as a devil-kobold cross breed. The Trollkin, is a combination of brownie and troll and one I used a couple of times. The others, the Trist, Krowks (demonic crows) and Gromits (Wallace no where to be seen). I took this article an ran with it creating my own "Trobbits" which were a cross between a troll and a, um, er, halfling. I should post those sometime.
Pitbits is another news column. With "Demogorgon" as editor and "Orcus" as Advertisement Manager. :rolleyes:
We get some Thrud and some Travellers. Gobbledigook was up there somewhere; head butting an orc.
Ending up with the small ads. There seems to be more items for sale in this one. People unloading their collections. The first wave of gamers moving on? Who knows.
Ads for the James Bond 007 game, Battlecars and Knight Hawks.
There is an ad for a "Truly British" Victorian Adventure game to appear at Games Day 83. Anyone know what that was for?
We have been fluctuating between 44 and 48 pages (counting covers) for a bit now, but we seem squarely stuck on 48 now.
In 1983 I don't know it yet, but we are leaving the Golden Age behind. Maybe those gamers in the small ads knew this and sold off their copies of RuneQuest, Traveller and White Box D&D knowing that the hobby was about to change again. Nah. They didn't know anymore than I did really. I was clueless, sitting there waiting for the next supplement or module, listing to my cassette copy of Chart Action '83 from K-Tel. I had no reason to know either. My 13/14 year old self doesn't care what my 43/44 year old self has to say.
Beginnings Blogfest
The theme of this blogfest is to talk about why you started blogging in the first place.
I actually have two reasons, but the first was to start out as a design blog/journal for my work on Eldritch Witchery and The Witch. I was going to talk about what I was doing, the playtests and the writing process.
I did do all of that, though not to the level I thought I was going to do. Instead reason number 2 took over.
I used to be very active in online message boards. I spent a lot of time on Planet AD&D, Eden's Boards and various boards for other systems. I was also involved a lot in RPG.net and the Kitten Board forever. Boards are fun, but rules over what you can post vary. D&D boards don't want to hear about my Unisystem stuff, and visa versa. Some boards have very strict mods while others don't.
With blogging I got to post what I wanted, the way I wanted to post it.
If I wanted to spend a week on vampire movies or anime or stats for various witches in various game systems, I can.
Getting to know other bloggers was just a really nice and totally unexpected benefit.
I hope that doing this has improved my own writing and opened up a new avenue of social networking for me.
Note: White Dwarf Wednesday will appear later today.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Meanwhile at Hero Press...
What the hell is this thing???
I have no idea. Neither does Tim over at Hero Press. But if you do it could be worth something.
Worth a copy of Icons or "'With Great Power...' The Stan Lee Story".
He is sponsoring a contest to name and flesh out this monster as part of his 6th anniversary of blogging.
So go over there and ... dare I say it...give him a hand!
I have no idea. Neither does Tim over at Hero Press. But if you do it could be worth something.
Worth a copy of Icons or "'With Great Power...' The Stan Lee Story".
He is sponsoring a contest to name and flesh out this monster as part of his 6th anniversary of blogging.
So go over there and ... dare I say it...give him a hand!
Monday, January 7, 2013
DriveThruRPG Sale
We have not had one of these in a while, but DriveThruRPG is holding a January sale.
Their "New Year, New Game" promotion with select games at 40% off.
Among the games listed here are a just a few of my favorites:
There are plenty more.
AND if you use this code:
You gain an additional 15% off.
Their "New Year, New Game" promotion with select games at 40% off.
Among the games listed here are a just a few of my favorites:
- Albion - not Ghosts of Albion, but equally as fun!
- Aletheia - have had it for a bit and really need to play it.
- Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul - really fun comic game
- Conspiracy X 2.0 is the best Modern Conspiracy game there is.
- Diana: Warrior Princess - ever wonder what future archeologists will say about the late 20th/early 21st Century? Wonder no more!
- Icons - a great FATE based Supers RPG.
- Leverage - one of the cooler Cortex+ systems out there.
- Little Fears: 10th Anniversary Edition - great creepy game. The original rules for Little Fears. My review.
- Mutants & Masterminds 3.0 - I have talked about how great this game is a lot here.
- Myth & Magic: Player's Guide - looks a bit like 2nd ed AD&D. I have a review going up soon.
- Primeval RPG Core Rulebook - based on the English TV show about rifts in Time and Space. Compatible with their Doctor Who system. My review.
- QAGS - See my review for this one!
- Shadowrun: 4th Ed. 20th Anniversary Core Rulebook - The cyberpunk meets the future meets magic game. Reminds me of going of to college.
- The Victory System - the only one on the list that I didn't know much about. It is by Dakkar Unlimited and I have known Dakkar for years, so I am willing to try it out based on that alone.
- Traveller Main Rulebook - I have enjoyed Traveller in the past even when it frustrates me. I will give Mongoose a lot of credit for cleaning it up so much.
- Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition - this nearly 530 page tome is a MUST BUY for any fan of the Vampire game. 40% off the PDF is a great savings.
- Villains and Vigilantes - my first ever Supers game. Glad to see this one back as well.
There are plenty more.
AND if you use this code:
happynyng2013
You gain an additional 15% off.
New Kickstarters
Maybe later.
All of these are already backed.
First up is an update to the Ron Edwards classic Sorcerer.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/847190685/sorcerer-upgrade
And what I described as the Kick-Starter of the Year, the new Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/994700393/deluxe-tunnels-and-trolls
Not sure if I am going to pledge in either yet, but both are games I have enjoyed in the past and I am happy to see them get some cash for some high end production value.
There is also the new FATE Core rules.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/evilhat/fate-core?ref=home_leanback
That one is so ridiculously funded that it doesn't need my help really. It is even linked on the front page of the Kickstarter home page. But you have to give Fred and Evil Hat credit (and kudos) for having such a successful campaign. Plus for a buck you have access to the draft rules right now and a physical book for only 30 bucks. Also, and lets be honest, cybernetic Kung-fu gorilla on the cover? How can that not be cool?
The trouble with all three of these games is I don't need anymore games. But there they are, out there, taunting me.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Known by the company you keep
Then my book is in some pretty good company here.
Not trying to indicate any compatibility here at all. But they all sure do look good together.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Zatannurday: DC Nation
Today is the day we get new DC Nation shows and that means new Young Justice.
The clips from the website feature all sorts of cool things and the return (and sometimes for the first time in this show) of some familiar faces. The ones I am looking forward too are Slade, Apache Chief (what! He was cool in Super Friends and this version looks awesome), Doctor Fate and of course Zatanna!
It will be fun to see 20-something Zee given the recent (semi-recent) version of her in Justice League Dark #0.
New YJ also mean new Green Lantern (which has gotten better) and new DC Shorts, which I am really looking forward too. Sadly the Subuffs aka SBFF aka Super-Best Friends Forever will not be back.
We are getting new Thunder and Lightning and Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld.
This is never a bad thing.
Just a couple more hours...
Friday, January 4, 2013
Star Trek RPGs, Part II
I feel the need to make this "Wrath of Something" or "Into Dorkness" jokes.
Anyway, last year (snerk) I was talking about Star Trek RPGs. Well fellow blogger, sci-fi fan, all around good guy (with a GREAT name) Tim over at Hero Press posted these gems today.
http://www.heropress.net/2013/01/fleamarket-friday-gaming-where-no-die.html
First we have the Pre-Order for the Traveller based Prime Directive.
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/rpgs/traveller/core-rulebooks-accessories/traveller-prime-directive.html
I am not sure what you all know about Prime Directive, but it is almost a thing onto itslef. It is based on the TOS era Star Trek, but it goes in a different direction all together. Now the purist in me used to reject this. Especially when the later movies and TNG began to air. But these days I find it much more appealing. Plus, like I said, Prime Directive is now almost a thing into itself with a rich history, while not quite as equal to Trek, it is still fun.
As many of you know from my White Dwarf Wednesday I have a history with Traveller, something I want to rectify someday. Could Prime Directive be the game for me? At the current exchange rate that would be $50 or so. So I might wait to see after it out in PDF.
Another game that gets mentioned to me is Where No Man Has Gone Before.
http://www.abillionmonkeys.com/trek
I don't know much about it at all save that most people seem to like it.
Maybe this is the year I find my Sci-Fi RPG.
Anyway, last year (snerk) I was talking about Star Trek RPGs. Well fellow blogger, sci-fi fan, all around good guy (with a GREAT name) Tim over at Hero Press posted these gems today.
http://www.heropress.net/2013/01/fleamarket-friday-gaming-where-no-die.html
First we have the Pre-Order for the Traveller based Prime Directive.
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/rpgs/traveller/core-rulebooks-accessories/traveller-prime-directive.html
I am not sure what you all know about Prime Directive, but it is almost a thing onto itslef. It is based on the TOS era Star Trek, but it goes in a different direction all together. Now the purist in me used to reject this. Especially when the later movies and TNG began to air. But these days I find it much more appealing. Plus, like I said, Prime Directive is now almost a thing into itself with a rich history, while not quite as equal to Trek, it is still fun.
As many of you know from my White Dwarf Wednesday I have a history with Traveller, something I want to rectify someday. Could Prime Directive be the game for me? At the current exchange rate that would be $50 or so. So I might wait to see after it out in PDF.
Another game that gets mentioned to me is Where No Man Has Gone Before.
http://www.abillionmonkeys.com/trek
I don't know much about it at all save that most people seem to like it.
Maybe this is the year I find my Sci-Fi RPG.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
I Don't CAPTCHA
One of the more useful or annoying tools on the internet is CAPTCHA or reCAPTCHA.
If you have been here for a while you can guess I am not a fan.
While I do find it interesting from a programing perspective and I find the bots used to foil them just as interesting. My "real-world, everyday" dealing with it is not wholly positive.
I don't use it myself. I honestly don't get enough spam or bots to make it worthwhile.
I have run into cases where I was commenting on a blog and for the life of me could not get the CAPTCHA. If I am reading a blog with my glasses off then forget it, there is no way I am going to figure it out.
It really sucks and it's too bad really because the one of the biggest joys of blogging is being able to comment on others' blogs and getting comments.
There is an interesting post on this over at Clay Baboons.
I am not sure how many comments CAPTCHA has actually killed. In my case it killed one, maybe two, comments I would have made.All the the same, I'd rather turn it off here and maybe deal with some spam. I get emails on every post made, so I can usually delete the spam long before others see it.
What are your thoughts on this? My rough guess that it is about 50/50 on the blogs I visit.
If you have been here for a while you can guess I am not a fan.
While I do find it interesting from a programing perspective and I find the bots used to foil them just as interesting. My "real-world, everyday" dealing with it is not wholly positive.
I don't use it myself. I honestly don't get enough spam or bots to make it worthwhile.
I have run into cases where I was commenting on a blog and for the life of me could not get the CAPTCHA. If I am reading a blog with my glasses off then forget it, there is no way I am going to figure it out.
It really sucks and it's too bad really because the one of the biggest joys of blogging is being able to comment on others' blogs and getting comments.
There is an interesting post on this over at Clay Baboons.
I am not sure how many comments CAPTCHA has actually killed. In my case it killed one, maybe two, comments I would have made.All the the same, I'd rather turn it off here and maybe deal with some spam. I get emails on every post made, so I can usually delete the spam long before others see it.
What are your thoughts on this? My rough guess that it is about 50/50 on the blogs I visit.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
White Dwarf Wednesday #46
Happy New Year everyone! Welcome back to the Other Side and my weekly feature White Dwarf Wednesdays. Every Wednesday I take an issue of White Dwarf and run through it both with an eye towards what the issue meant to me then and what it means in the scope of my gaming today.
This Wednesday we are going back to October 1983 and Issue #46.
Let's start with the cover. An improvement over last week I think. Futuristic flying city with jet fighters. Cool idea. I wonder if this was supposed to be taking place in 2013!
We have the usual pages of ads including a new one for Battlecars from Games Workshop.
Our editorial this month comes once again from Ian Livinstone. He discusses the latest landmark reached by White Dwarf, 20,000 copies per month. He credits this to the rise in the RPG hobby, which at the time was nearly 10 years old and the inclusion of WD in WHSmith stores.
First up in the articles we have Phil Palmer trying to bring some logic to wandering monsters. This is territory that has been well covered. I am not even sure if games today even talk about wandering monsters anymore. I still use them out of habit, but they have to make some sort of sense. I am not sure if it was reading this article that got to me to that point, or it just seemed logical.
Open Box is next with the RuneQuest Companion as reviewed by Oliver Dickinson. He gives it an 8/10. Mentioned as the first of the series, I'll have to go back and check to see if they kept up with that. The next item up is the re-issue (as they call it) of FGU's Chivalry & Sorcery. Marcus Rowland gives it high marks all around with an overall score of 8/10. I am a touch surprised that no one has tried to retro-clone this game. And finally the Sanctuary Board Game from local guys (local to me now that is) Mayfair Games. It gets a 7/10 from Allan E. Paull.
Critical Mass has some reviews of new books. One that always grabbed my attention, but I never read was "Golden Witchbreed" by Mary Gentle. I have to say that going back over these Critical Mass articles have made me want to go back and revisit some of the classics of my youth. It is 100% nostalgia, but I know I missed some good ones from back then.
Counterpoint is back with a new board game, Dragonhunt. These articles were always very detailed affairs. Which begs the question. Was there a greater connection to RPGs and Boardgames in England than here in the US or was I just not that interested in Board Games?
Part 3 of the 3 part Dealing With Demons focuses on the Demonic Nobility. There is a lot of good advice here for any game that has demons. The demons themselves do not inspire me, but they are certainly usable.
Phil Masters has some world governments for Traveller.
Lew Pulsipher goes over some non-fiction sources for use in RPGs.
Letters has a letter complaining about the cover for WD 44. 30 years later we still haven't gotten the chainmail bikini worked out of our system. A later asking people to leave D&D for "newer and better" games. And some alignment squabbles.
Part 5 or 6 of Irilian is up. I don't recall this one as well but there is a ton of detail.
Play by Mail is the subject of Microview. Using the computer to handle the PBM turns and then print out and send the GM responses to everyone. This is a rare window on a time when we knew computers would change everything, we just didn't exactly know how. While I would say that at least 80% of WD is still usable today, with 10% of the remainder either needing updated or in use already. The last 10% or so is something like this. Artifacts of the hobby that have been left in the past. PBM would be a foreign concept to many new players and the idea that you would print out something and mailing it makes very little sense. This is also one of the cases where computers have really improved the experience in my opinion. A Play By Message Board (PBMB) does allow for the same sort of interaction that MMORPGS only sort of do, but also the ability to connect to other players around the world. Google+ Hangouts are the current ultimate evolution of these.
Thrud the Barbarian gets hungry and the Travellers leave hyperspace.
Fiend Factory has been lacking a bit for me lately. The crazy monsters are thankfully something of the past, but now I find I miss the creativity that came along with them. This one features a collection of woodland monsters and an associated mini adventure. We get some intelligent plants like the Ivyix, Crimson Carpet, the Puffbal Plant and the Acrophids which are a bit like Triffids. We also get the Vily (woodland spirits) and Dame Vertes (green lady), which are a sisterhood of protectors.
RuneRites has some combat related ideas for RuneQuest.
Lew Pulsipher devotes a page to a single spell, but to be fair it is a big one. The Hellwalk Spell sends victims to a pocket universe where they must defeat monsters. It's a neat idea and one that would work with any game system or edition. In D&D4 terms this would be more of a Ritual than anything else.
There is an odd page, Pirate Eye, that is attempting some humor. I like gamer and geek humor as much as the next guy, but this one seems too out there for me. Maybe it is too British and I am not grounded in the same culture. There are bits of news here too. I guess it is trying to come off as a gossip column for gamers.
Though I will admit that the use of Steve Jackson was amusing. As in "Steve Jackson-not-of-Car-Wars" and "not-this-Steve Jackson".
Some small ads and Gobbledigook. More ads. An ad and sign up for Games Fair '84 featuring E. Gary Gygax. Color ads for RunwQuest and for the new Star Frontiers set, Knight Hawks.
All in all this issue didn't wow me. I enjoyed Irilian as usual, but the rest didn't do much for me. Ah well. There is next issue!
Let's start with the cover. An improvement over last week I think. Futuristic flying city with jet fighters. Cool idea. I wonder if this was supposed to be taking place in 2013!
We have the usual pages of ads including a new one for Battlecars from Games Workshop.
Our editorial this month comes once again from Ian Livinstone. He discusses the latest landmark reached by White Dwarf, 20,000 copies per month. He credits this to the rise in the RPG hobby, which at the time was nearly 10 years old and the inclusion of WD in WHSmith stores.
First up in the articles we have Phil Palmer trying to bring some logic to wandering monsters. This is territory that has been well covered. I am not even sure if games today even talk about wandering monsters anymore. I still use them out of habit, but they have to make some sort of sense. I am not sure if it was reading this article that got to me to that point, or it just seemed logical.
Open Box is next with the RuneQuest Companion as reviewed by Oliver Dickinson. He gives it an 8/10. Mentioned as the first of the series, I'll have to go back and check to see if they kept up with that. The next item up is the re-issue (as they call it) of FGU's Chivalry & Sorcery. Marcus Rowland gives it high marks all around with an overall score of 8/10. I am a touch surprised that no one has tried to retro-clone this game. And finally the Sanctuary Board Game from local guys (local to me now that is) Mayfair Games. It gets a 7/10 from Allan E. Paull.
Critical Mass has some reviews of new books. One that always grabbed my attention, but I never read was "Golden Witchbreed" by Mary Gentle. I have to say that going back over these Critical Mass articles have made me want to go back and revisit some of the classics of my youth. It is 100% nostalgia, but I know I missed some good ones from back then.
Counterpoint is back with a new board game, Dragonhunt. These articles were always very detailed affairs. Which begs the question. Was there a greater connection to RPGs and Boardgames in England than here in the US or was I just not that interested in Board Games?
Part 3 of the 3 part Dealing With Demons focuses on the Demonic Nobility. There is a lot of good advice here for any game that has demons. The demons themselves do not inspire me, but they are certainly usable.
Phil Masters has some world governments for Traveller.
Lew Pulsipher goes over some non-fiction sources for use in RPGs.
Letters has a letter complaining about the cover for WD 44. 30 years later we still haven't gotten the chainmail bikini worked out of our system. A later asking people to leave D&D for "newer and better" games. And some alignment squabbles.
Part 5 or 6 of Irilian is up. I don't recall this one as well but there is a ton of detail.
Play by Mail is the subject of Microview. Using the computer to handle the PBM turns and then print out and send the GM responses to everyone. This is a rare window on a time when we knew computers would change everything, we just didn't exactly know how. While I would say that at least 80% of WD is still usable today, with 10% of the remainder either needing updated or in use already. The last 10% or so is something like this. Artifacts of the hobby that have been left in the past. PBM would be a foreign concept to many new players and the idea that you would print out something and mailing it makes very little sense. This is also one of the cases where computers have really improved the experience in my opinion. A Play By Message Board (PBMB) does allow for the same sort of interaction that MMORPGS only sort of do, but also the ability to connect to other players around the world. Google+ Hangouts are the current ultimate evolution of these.
Thrud the Barbarian gets hungry and the Travellers leave hyperspace.
Fiend Factory has been lacking a bit for me lately. The crazy monsters are thankfully something of the past, but now I find I miss the creativity that came along with them. This one features a collection of woodland monsters and an associated mini adventure. We get some intelligent plants like the Ivyix, Crimson Carpet, the Puffbal Plant and the Acrophids which are a bit like Triffids. We also get the Vily (woodland spirits) and Dame Vertes (green lady), which are a sisterhood of protectors.
RuneRites has some combat related ideas for RuneQuest.
Lew Pulsipher devotes a page to a single spell, but to be fair it is a big one. The Hellwalk Spell sends victims to a pocket universe where they must defeat monsters. It's a neat idea and one that would work with any game system or edition. In D&D4 terms this would be more of a Ritual than anything else.
There is an odd page, Pirate Eye, that is attempting some humor. I like gamer and geek humor as much as the next guy, but this one seems too out there for me. Maybe it is too British and I am not grounded in the same culture. There are bits of news here too. I guess it is trying to come off as a gossip column for gamers.
Though I will admit that the use of Steve Jackson was amusing. As in "Steve Jackson-not-of-Car-Wars" and "not-this-Steve Jackson".
Some small ads and Gobbledigook. More ads. An ad and sign up for Games Fair '84 featuring E. Gary Gygax. Color ads for RunwQuest and for the new Star Frontiers set, Knight Hawks.
All in all this issue didn't wow me. I enjoyed Irilian as usual, but the rest didn't do much for me. Ah well. There is next issue!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Welcome 2013!
Here we are! 2013! Let's get the new year started off right with some gaming.
Today I have to help my oldest make a Buffy RPG character, level up the DragonSlayers and find an adventure for their next trip.
Should be a great year.
Today I have to help my oldest make a Buffy RPG character, level up the DragonSlayers and find an adventure for their next trip.
Should be a great year.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Return of the Dragon Slayers!
I got a chance to play with the boys again today. We continued the DragonSlayers game from a while back. To recap they had just entered the Temple of Tharizdun and had held off the advancing hordes with a Wall of Flame spell.
I upped the stats of all the goblins, trolls and norkers in the place to make them partially demonic. Centuries of interbreeding has made them them evil, but dumb. The boys cleared out one side of the temple and found the access to the Black Cyst.
They recovered the Lament of Tharizdun, but the mostly Neutral Good party wants nothing to do with it. They have no issue with the legendary 333 gems of Tharizdun.
I am setting Tharizdun up as the next big bad. But not till the next generation. That is the 1st Ed AD&D game I started with the children of these characters.
I printed out the newer symbol of Tharizdun and had it ready. One of the demonic trolls had it on his armor, so I showed it to the boys. After some Knowledge Arcana, History and Religion rolls I announced that they didn't know what it was. My youngest, playing a half-elf Sorcerer/Ranger/Arcane Archer stated "I know exactly what it is. It's a target!!" and he fired two flaming arrows into the troll.
I have to admit, I was pretty amused by that!
They finished the adventure and high tailed it back to Glantri City. They are planning on taking a couple of months break before the next leg of their adventures, but I doubt it will be that long. There is some trouble brewing in Two Lake Vale and strange cloud over the land.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Zatannurday: Into 2013!
I thought it might be nice to get a preview of the new year and next weeks Justice League Dark.
Looking forward to reading this arc! (Once I catch up of course.)
Friday, December 28, 2012
Grumble*Sprint sucks*grumble
Was going to work on a post today. But been on hold fighting with Sprint over the crappy ass phone they sold my son.
Hopefully something soon.
Hopefully something soon.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Star Trek RPGs
I give Greg the benefit of the doubt on this one, he has played all the Trek RPGs out there and playtested a few more. He has also played more SciFi games than I have.
Now I will admit that so far Starships & Spacemen 2e seems to fit the bill rather nicely, it's not perfect. In fact in my mind it even has a couple of potential problems, but I am not talking about that one today.
So let me ask you all.
What does a game need to have or do to be a "Star Trek" game?
Any series is fine. Any game is fine. Just let me know why it works.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
White Dwarf Wednesday #45
The cover is interesting. I am sure she is supposed to be a demon of some sort, given the contents of the issue. I don't really like it to be honest. Something about it rubs me the wrong way.
Normally I don't comment on the ads very much and that is shame really. The ads are always a good way to pulse of the gaming trends. I should mention though that on page 6 is the first time we see the Mentzer edited D&D Basic Set, AKA the Red Box in pages of the White Dwarf. To some this is the signal flare of the end of the Golden Age, to many others this was their start with D&D. For me it was the first D&D product that I made a choice not to buy. I felt I didn't need it. I have the Holmes and Moldvay Basic sets, why did I need this? Plus I was heavy into AD&D at this point. Moving on.
Ian's editorial mentions this issue is the last phase of the changes that had begun a while back with the addition of two new comics to the pages of WD. He reminds that there is a read survey.
Open Box gives us yet more classics. The Avalon Hill classic Wizards is reviewed. To me this game was what I really liked about gaming in this era. All sorts really cool games that I could mine for ideas. I loved the idea of Wizards and shameless mined it for ideas for my own Wizard Schools and Druid Groves. I really should find a copy of this again someday. Alan E. Paul gives is 7/10 total. We have a collection of the new I Series from TSR. I2, I3, and I4 plus M1, TSR's first solo module. The "M" stood for the "Magic" of revealing the hidden text. Or so I always have thought. I always thought T&T did better with the solo modules, so I never cared for this one. Jim Babbra gives them 9/10, 10/10, 10/10 and 6/10 respectively. Oliver Dickson reviews Pavis: Threshold to Danger for RuneQuest. I have never heard of this one before, but it sounds interesting (I am sure one you knows about this one). It gets a 9/10.
Critical Mass reviews some more current Sci-Fi and Fantasy books and some outside of that. I'll ignore the SStephen R. Dondalson poetry and move right to the 1982 Hugo award winning Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh. He struggles to like the book, but somehow it just does quite get there.
Dave Morris has Part 2 of Dealing With Demons. This time the Lesser Demons. Like a lot of articles written for other games I ported them over to to D&D, with the Porphyrs becoming Astral Vampires in my games.
Starbase has an Introduction to Traveller Scenarios. I had finally thrown in the towel on Traveller at this point, but I still enjoyed reading the articles.
Marcus Rowland has an article on Thieves tools. Interesting read, but not something we ever used.
We come to our first new comic Thurd the Barbarian. Amusing liitle tale.
Next page is out next new comic, the Travellers. I enjoyed what they were trying to do here, but never got into it.
Part 4 of Irilian is next. 6 more pages of urban goodness. I still think TSR missed the boat on doing an Urban Survival Guide. I wish I still had all my notes for mine.
More letters. More people disappointed in Lew Pulsipher.
RuneRites has some clarifications on Divinations.
Thistlewood is a first, and certainly not the last, Warhammer Adventure in the pages of WD. I hate to sounds all maudlin but this here is the signal of the beginning of the end. I stopped reading WD regularly around issue 50. It was harder to get by me by then and any extra money I had for magazine went to Dragon and the new Dungeon later on.
Fiend Factory, our constant companion here, has some monsters from the elemental planes, with focus on the "new" para-elemental planes. Very interesting ones too. To follow up on this there is the next article on various items from the elemental planes.
Ok this next article is an odd one. Under the title of Super Mole it is an RPG industry gossip column.
I have no memory of this and I am not sure if it survived much after this. There is a con report and then on to the gossip. It is reported that 100 of TSR's 300 staff were laid-off (they don't use those words) and Kevin Blume is now President of TSR while Gary is out looking for that D&D movie. Wow. I guess I have a right to be maudlin. This issue reads more and more like an obit for the Grognards of the Golden Age of D&D. Reports that 3 companies want the Marvel Super Hero license, TSR, Games Workshop and Mayfair. I wonder who is going to get it? Games Workshop will publish their Golden Heroes with out the Marvel Content anyway it is claimed. We get an overview of the Red Box D&D and promises of an Expert Set. The HeartQuest books are mentioned as a means to get more girls into the fold. And some rumors of Marc Miller's Traveller hardback not seeing the light of day anytime soon.
The page concludes with Gobbledigook.
The next page has the new reader survey. They are still offering a prize draw if you can get it back to them by October 1, 1983.
We end with more ads.
I don't want to say this is the beginning of the end for WD. It isn't. Nor did I feel so then. But retrospect is a funny thing. Know what I know now and knowing when things began to happen it is hard not to look at this issue as a transitional one. At this time in 83 I was in my own personal Golden Age of gaming. Things were great and they were going to get better. I had a job and I could buy the things I wanted, for the most part, or save for the things I really wanted. The next five or so issues will be very interesting to revisit. Some I have not reread since I picked up this box of White Dwarfs at a Garage sale so many years ago. Some I will wager will be like reading them for the first time. Once we get into the 60s and 70s I know there will be more like that.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Merry Christmas and Happy BOXing Day
We are celebrating Boxing day a day early here at the Other Side.
I am opening up Box.com functionality for all my free downloads.
So please expect some more content here as I am working on gathering up material and getting it out to you all.
So Happy Boxing Day!!
I am opening up Box.com functionality for all my free downloads.
So please expect some more content here as I am working on gathering up material and getting it out to you all.
So Happy Boxing Day!!
Monday, December 24, 2012
Year 2012 in reveiw
It is just about that time to get reflective on the year we have past and look forward to the new year.
Kickstarter
2012 might well go down as the Year of the Kickstarter. Sure we had Kickstarters in 2011, but this was the year that everyone seemed to be getting on board.
We saw the introduction of the RPG Kickstarter Group on Facebook and I'd wager we will get something similar on Google Plus Community soon. One of the more useful sites though has been Tenkar's Tavern and his round up of late Kickstarters.
Movies
I mentioned the Hobbit already, but 2012 was a great year for movies. All sorts of Superhero action, with the Dark Knight Rises as my favorite super hero movie of the year. I also enjoyed Brave quite a bit.
Games
Not much came out this year that I had to have. My Witch book came out and I was quite pleased with that.
In terms of running games, well it has been a busy year.
I am still running the D&D 3.x with my two sons, the Dragonslayers. We had hoped to finish up this year but various things got in the way. I started a new 4e game with my sons and some of their friends. That one is more intermittent, but still enjoyable. At Gen Con we also started a new 1st Ed game, designed as a "Next Generation" of our 3.x game. I introduced my oldest son to Ghosts of Albion and he enjoyed it. I want to introduce Doctor Who to them both since I think my youngest would like it as well.
The Edition Wars seemed to end, more or less. WotC is working on 5e and printing 1st Ed material. The OSR and Pathfinder is still chugging along.
Blog Traffic
So far this year I am sitting at 540 or so posts compared to 511 for last year.
My total traffic is down 109,747 visits (as of this writing this year compared to 121,509 visits last year. This is a general trend I think most bloggers are seeing. While this is all down there is not a huge change in the patterns of traffic, just less of it. One thing I have yet to figure out is why Google Analytics gives me different numbers than the Google Blogger stats. For example if I just look at Blogger stats I got over 300,000 hits this last year.
Regardless of the amount, the trends are about the same.
Here are my Top Ten Referers for 2012:
Google+
A lot of what is going on with Blogger and Bloggers is Google Plus. A lot of bloggers have been spending more time on talking and posting Google Plus.
Reviews
By the end of last year I had written a little over 200 reviews for DriveThruRPG. This year I reached my goal of 500 and hit 531. Not sure what my goal should be for 2013.
2013
Not sure what the new year will bring to the Other Side yet. I want to continue White Dwarf Wednesday and Zatannurday. More games and reviews to be sure. I have a few WiPs I can alos talk about more next year.
Kickstarter
2012 might well go down as the Year of the Kickstarter. Sure we had Kickstarters in 2011, but this was the year that everyone seemed to be getting on board.
We saw the introduction of the RPG Kickstarter Group on Facebook and I'd wager we will get something similar on Google Plus Community soon. One of the more useful sites though has been Tenkar's Tavern and his round up of late Kickstarters.
Movies
I mentioned the Hobbit already, but 2012 was a great year for movies. All sorts of Superhero action, with the Dark Knight Rises as my favorite super hero movie of the year. I also enjoyed Brave quite a bit.
Games
Not much came out this year that I had to have. My Witch book came out and I was quite pleased with that.
In terms of running games, well it has been a busy year.
I am still running the D&D 3.x with my two sons, the Dragonslayers. We had hoped to finish up this year but various things got in the way. I started a new 4e game with my sons and some of their friends. That one is more intermittent, but still enjoyable. At Gen Con we also started a new 1st Ed game, designed as a "Next Generation" of our 3.x game. I introduced my oldest son to Ghosts of Albion and he enjoyed it. I want to introduce Doctor Who to them both since I think my youngest would like it as well.
The Edition Wars seemed to end, more or less. WotC is working on 5e and printing 1st Ed material. The OSR and Pathfinder is still chugging along.
Blog Traffic
So far this year I am sitting at 540 or so posts compared to 511 for last year.
My total traffic is down 109,747 visits (as of this writing this year compared to 121,509 visits last year. This is a general trend I think most bloggers are seeing. While this is all down there is not a huge change in the patterns of traffic, just less of it. One thing I have yet to figure out is why Google Analytics gives me different numbers than the Google Blogger stats. For example if I just look at Blogger stats I got over 300,000 hits this last year.
Regardless of the amount, the trends are about the same.
Here are my Top Ten Referers for 2012:
- rpgbloggers.com
- dreamsofmythicfantasy.blogspot.com
- rpgba.org
- tenkarstavern.com
- facebook.com
- networkedblogs.com
- hillcantons.blogspot.com
- dreamsinthelichhouse.blogspot.com
- matt-landofnod.blogspot.com
- theoreticalgm.blogspot.com
Google+
A lot of what is going on with Blogger and Bloggers is Google Plus. A lot of bloggers have been spending more time on talking and posting Google Plus.
Reviews
By the end of last year I had written a little over 200 reviews for DriveThruRPG. This year I reached my goal of 500 and hit 531. Not sure what my goal should be for 2013.
2013
Not sure what the new year will bring to the Other Side yet. I want to continue White Dwarf Wednesday and Zatannurday. More games and reviews to be sure. I have a few WiPs I can alos talk about more next year.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Zatannurday: Merry Christmas
Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.
Friday, December 21, 2012
It's the end of the world as...
well. you get the idea.
So the end of the world. Again. No pole shift. No, whatever it was the Mayans said was going to happen. Of course, if I am wrong we will all be dead by the time you read this so I am safe in calling bullshit once again.
Ok lets get on to some better stuff. Like end of the world in games! I could spend a lot time discussing all sorts of great Post-Apoc games but really I only want to talk about one.
Gamma World.
A while back I mentioned that despite by ridiculous fondness for Mutant Future, I never owned a copy of Gamma World. Ever. Well Justin Davis over at the great A Field Guide to Doomsday heard my tale of woe and he sent me one of his extra copies!
It's only the book, and it has some water damage and shelf wear. Plus there is a 50 cent garage sale sticker on it...and it is absolutely PERFECT!
I have read Gamma World before. Friends have had copies and I have always meant to go out to get one but never did.
I am surprised how much I enjoyed reading this. This really was like finding some long lost artifact of a different age.
A couple of things I noted right away.
- This really made me appreciate Mutant Future so much more. So Justin, if your goal was to get me interested in MF more, then you succeeded!
- I can't help but think that the table of Random Mutations is perfect for a random demon generator for the OSR crowd.
So I want to thank Justin for my early Christmas gift!
I always feel a bit awkward when I get stuff. I appreciate it and love the books, esp. if it is something I have been searching for for years. But I also don't want to come over as begging for stuff.
So I think I'll pay it forward. I have some extras of books laying around, next time I see someone in our little group here saying they need one of them they might just get a package in the mail!
So the end of the world. Again. No pole shift. No, whatever it was the Mayans said was going to happen. Of course, if I am wrong we will all be dead by the time you read this so I am safe in calling bullshit once again.
Ok lets get on to some better stuff. Like end of the world in games! I could spend a lot time discussing all sorts of great Post-Apoc games but really I only want to talk about one.
Gamma World.
A while back I mentioned that despite by ridiculous fondness for Mutant Future, I never owned a copy of Gamma World. Ever. Well Justin Davis over at the great A Field Guide to Doomsday heard my tale of woe and he sent me one of his extra copies!
It's only the book, and it has some water damage and shelf wear. Plus there is a 50 cent garage sale sticker on it...and it is absolutely PERFECT!
I have read Gamma World before. Friends have had copies and I have always meant to go out to get one but never did.
I am surprised how much I enjoyed reading this. This really was like finding some long lost artifact of a different age.
A couple of things I noted right away.
- This really made me appreciate Mutant Future so much more. So Justin, if your goal was to get me interested in MF more, then you succeeded!
- I can't help but think that the table of Random Mutations is perfect for a random demon generator for the OSR crowd.
So I want to thank Justin for my early Christmas gift!
I always feel a bit awkward when I get stuff. I appreciate it and love the books, esp. if it is something I have been searching for for years. But I also don't want to come over as begging for stuff.
So I think I'll pay it forward. I have some extras of books laying around, next time I see someone in our little group here saying they need one of them they might just get a package in the mail!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
#7RPGS
Over at Google+ #7RPGs there is new meme making the rounds and Gnome Stew has picked up.
The idea is to post your 7 RPGs you have most played or GMed.
So lets give it a go!
1. Dungeons & Dragons (all editions) I am combining these all into one category since my games have a 30+ year continuity. This is the one I started with and continue to play to this day. It is also number one on my running list. I have played and run all editions of D&D. Well...I have never run OD&D, only played it.
2. Buffy/Angel/Army of Darkness/Ghosts of Albion.
We began playtesting Buffy in 2002. I played it pretty much from the second the rules hit the playtesters. I wrote for all the books as well, so it should be no surprise that this one is so high. When I started on Ghosts of Albion I moved the campaign wholesale to that. I still get to run this quite a bit, but not play as much as I would like.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/search/label/ghosts%20of%20albion
3. WitchCraft (along with AFMBE & Armageddon). From 1999 to 2002 WitchCraft was my only game. I had given up on D&D at this point and Buffy and Ghosts had not been written yet. It was (and is still really) everything I wanted in a game. It's perfect in my mind. When I pitched the idea of Ghosts of Albion to Eden I wanted it to use WitchCraft as it's base. Thankfully I was talked out of that in favor of the same system for Buffy. While OD&D and 4e have less in common than WitchCraft and Buffy, I separate WitchCraft from Buffy because of how they are played.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/search/label/unisystem
4. BESM. I played this quite a bit in the early part of the 2000s with my son, trying to find a game he would enjoy. I grabbed this because I was looking for something to work as a more powerful version of Buffy with some super hero and some anime influences. It was a fun game and I wish that it had done better in the market.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/search/label/BESM
5. Mutants & Masterminds. I enjoy supers games and have tried a number of them over the years, but M&M is my favorite. I love pretty much everything about it. I enjoy the background, the rules, even how the rules were created and what they meant to the OGL. I am also happy that M&M 3 is the same system being used for DC Adventures. I have run this a few times and played it a few but would like to do it more.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/search/label/mutants%20masterminds
6. Call of Cthulhu. While I have mentioned my fondness for Chill, many, many times I never got a chance to play it or run it very much. On the other hand I have played Call of Cthulhu a few times int he 80s. I was going to run it in the 2000s, but Ghosts of Albion and Buffy distracted me. Still this is the pinacle of horror games and I have always enjoyed it.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/search?q=cthulhu
7. World of Darkness (oWod). World of Darkness changed everything. To think otherwise is to ignore all the facts. I loved what Vampire did for all horror games and games in general, though I will be honest that I didn't see it at the time. My game was Mage.I thought it was fantastic and so near perfect. It turned out I would later find the perfect game (WitchCraft) but I still really enjoyed this game. I picked up all the New World of Darkness games but they seemed to lack something of the original games had even if the new rules were better.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/search/label/world%20of%20darkness
Links to others
http://towerofzenopus.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-7-games-youve-played-most.html
http://derekas.blogspot.com/2012/12/7rpgs-as-player.html
http://derekas.blogspot.com/2012/12/7rpgs.html
http://www.gnomestew.com/crock-pot/the-7-rpgs-youve-gmed-the-most-and-the-7-rpgs-youve-played-the-most/
http://rathergamey.blogspot.com/2012/12/top-games.html
The idea is to post your 7 RPGs you have most played or GMed.
So lets give it a go!
1. Dungeons & Dragons (all editions) I am combining these all into one category since my games have a 30+ year continuity. This is the one I started with and continue to play to this day. It is also number one on my running list. I have played and run all editions of D&D. Well...I have never run OD&D, only played it.
2. Buffy/Angel/Army of Darkness/Ghosts of Albion.
We began playtesting Buffy in 2002. I played it pretty much from the second the rules hit the playtesters. I wrote for all the books as well, so it should be no surprise that this one is so high. When I started on Ghosts of Albion I moved the campaign wholesale to that. I still get to run this quite a bit, but not play as much as I would like.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/search/label/ghosts%20of%20albion
3. WitchCraft (along with AFMBE & Armageddon). From 1999 to 2002 WitchCraft was my only game. I had given up on D&D at this point and Buffy and Ghosts had not been written yet. It was (and is still really) everything I wanted in a game. It's perfect in my mind. When I pitched the idea of Ghosts of Albion to Eden I wanted it to use WitchCraft as it's base. Thankfully I was talked out of that in favor of the same system for Buffy. While OD&D and 4e have less in common than WitchCraft and Buffy, I separate WitchCraft from Buffy because of how they are played.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/search/label/unisystem
4. BESM. I played this quite a bit in the early part of the 2000s with my son, trying to find a game he would enjoy. I grabbed this because I was looking for something to work as a more powerful version of Buffy with some super hero and some anime influences. It was a fun game and I wish that it had done better in the market.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/search/label/BESM
5. Mutants & Masterminds. I enjoy supers games and have tried a number of them over the years, but M&M is my favorite. I love pretty much everything about it. I enjoy the background, the rules, even how the rules were created and what they meant to the OGL. I am also happy that M&M 3 is the same system being used for DC Adventures. I have run this a few times and played it a few but would like to do it more.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/search/label/mutants%20masterminds
6. Call of Cthulhu. While I have mentioned my fondness for Chill, many, many times I never got a chance to play it or run it very much. On the other hand I have played Call of Cthulhu a few times int he 80s. I was going to run it in the 2000s, but Ghosts of Albion and Buffy distracted me. Still this is the pinacle of horror games and I have always enjoyed it.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/search?q=cthulhu
7. World of Darkness (oWod). World of Darkness changed everything. To think otherwise is to ignore all the facts. I loved what Vampire did for all horror games and games in general, though I will be honest that I didn't see it at the time. My game was Mage.I thought it was fantastic and so near perfect. It turned out I would later find the perfect game (WitchCraft) but I still really enjoyed this game. I picked up all the New World of Darkness games but they seemed to lack something of the original games had even if the new rules were better.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/search/label/world%20of%20darkness
Links to others
http://towerofzenopus.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-7-games-youve-played-most.html
http://derekas.blogspot.com/2012/12/7rpgs-as-player.html
http://derekas.blogspot.com/2012/12/7rpgs.html
http://www.gnomestew.com/crock-pot/the-7-rpgs-youve-gmed-the-most-and-the-7-rpgs-youve-played-the-most/
http://rathergamey.blogspot.com/2012/12/top-games.html
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
I am running a risk here
of sounding like a broken record, but the Witch is out in print. I just got my copies of the softcover version today.
If anything it looks even better than the hardcover copy I had made for myself.
I love how it came out, it looks really fantastic and I am very, very pleased that you all can get a copy too.
If anything it looks even better than the hardcover copy I had made for myself.
I love how it came out, it looks really fantastic and I am very, very pleased that you all can get a copy too.
White Dwarf Wednesday #44
I would though like a better copy of this art for my game room. I have to admit I am a bit confused. I am unsure if this cover was done by Alan Craddock (as I assumed) or Jim Burns (who is listed as the cover artist). Like a lot of art from this time it seems to pop up in other places.
Cheesecake aside there are a lot of things in this magazine I used; so page for page this was the most useful issue for me. This was the height of White Dwarf's golden age for me.
This is also the issue that almost got me back into Traveller with it's nice big full color ad.
Let's jump in and see what August 1983 has in store for us.
In the editorial Ian Livingstone talks about the changes that will conclude come issue #45. Among other things we are getting the first comic of Thrud the Barbarian.
Marcus Rowland has a new idea for moving the plot along in Traveller with ICE, the Interstellar Charter Enterprises. Nice idea for some independent operators in Traveller that beats the stand by "You all met in
Open Box gives us some classics. First up is the The Shadows of Yog Sothoth. Which gets a rare, but in my mind deserved, score of 10/10 from Ian Bailey. Steve Jackson continues the mini-game line with a company defining game. Not GURPS, but Illuminati. Phil Masters only gives the first two sets a 6/10 each, disliking some of the rules and complexity. Marcus Rowland steps away from Traveller to review two Endless Quest books and is not impressed. Reviewed are Revolt of the Dwarves and Revenge of the Rainbow Dragons, each only getting a 5/10. Finally Jim Bambra reviews what is destined to be some of the last of the "Golden Age" of the TSR modules. He gives high marks to S4 (9/10) and WG4 (9/10) which I agree with. He also likes N1 and U2 (8/10 each).
Critical Mass has a bunch of new books to review, or at least mention. This was the great age of 80s Sci-Fi and the OtherWorlds club. I remember then not begin able to read enough. Oddly enough the article bemoans the lack of good Sci-Fi and fantasy, or at least the lack of attention on new good books. I know that at age 14 I did not have a very advanced or sophisticated palette but I don't recall it like this.
Lew Pulsipher is up next with an article I have read and reread hundreds of times. True Sight is all about realism in your games. In the time following this I was all about realism. I wanted to know where the arrows hit, what the GDP of a country was in GP and how did adventurers factor into that. All that. I have since given all that up and now just enjoy the moment of the play. But this is still a great article. Not on realism, but what realism means to you and your game.
Charles Vasey is next with the bi-monthly Board Games column, Counterpoint. This one cover the Sanctuary Board game based on the then uber-popular Thieves World books. I loved Thieves World and gladly grabbed anything I could. But this gem never made to my stores (which were still just book stores). Vasey also covers the Consulting Detective game. Interestingly enough at the time that had no interest for me. Today it is the other way around.
Dave Morris has Dealing With Demons in RuneQuest. I cannibalized this article for all sorts of ideas for D&D. There have been better articles on the subject since, but none grabbed my attention quite like this one. Yeah at 14 in the middle of the Satanic Panic in the Midwest I was devouring articles about summoning demons in D&D. The article is long and only the first part, but I used every bit of it.
Microview has more software for us. A Zx81 BASIC program for AD&D or T&T combat. At only a couple score lines it doesn't really do much. Still though I loved it.
Irilian is back with part 3. Only 3 more to go for the complete town.
RuneRites has some new monsters for RuneQuest, a first really. Only two, a Kirin and a Golem. But since they had analogs with monsters in D&D it gave me my first taste at converting some monsters from one system into D&D. Since I didn't have any other monsters these both became a demon type for me to use with the Dealing with Demons article.
Fiend Factory is back with Tribal monsters. We have an odd dragon/centaur like race call Wodennians. Never used them because I thought they looked silly. We have a race of "Evil Halflings of the Underworld" called, of all things, Blacklings. I liked the idea but HATED the name. Even then it struck me as stupid. I used them, but I made them pale like what you would expect a race that lived underground to be like. Some of those ideas later were worked into my ideas for Drow. Intitally I hated the next creature, the Wohk, because they seemed dumb and I didn't like their spontaneous regeneration. But over the years I have come to like them as something so odd it could only work in D&D. Yelgs are like Green Orcs and some of my first orcs of my world were green.
It may surprise some but my first character was a cleric and I enjoyed the hell out of playing him. So when I got a copy of Graeme Davis' Seeing the Light article I went about trying to convert everyone to my cleric's religion and gaining XP for it. I did it so much in fact that if you read my witch books now you will notice that one of the things about witches is they DON'T try to convert you.
More ads and classifieds. Another Gobbledigook strip.
Again, it is not understating it that I milked this issue for everything it had back then.
I mentioned above that this particular bit of cover art had been reused. Here are a couple of examples that appeared after this cover came out.
Here is one for an Irish 80s Metal Band Blackwych.. Which of course begs the question "Why have I not heard of these guys before??"
And the cover for "Fires of Azeroth" by C. J. Cherryh. No. It has nothing to do with WoW.
I have no problem admitting that I created a character solely based on this cover. Ok I gave her better armor. Also she was a character that most everyone else hated in my games, but changed the course of not only my 80s D&D game, but also my 2000s Buffy/Willow & Tara games. Yeah, that image was the source of my inspiration for Morgan Ebonflame, the Hunter of the Dead and the Daughter of Death. She was a PC in games I played and an NPC in games I ran in my group's shared world.
I find it interesting that the C.J. Cherryh's book was part of the "Morgaine" series and my character was named "Morgan". That is one of those weird happenstances, but I don't rule out that I had seen this cover sometime in the mid-80s. I would have rolled up Morgan around 1985 or so.
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