So many here as well. Since I am limiting it to D&D I think I am going to say Ravenloft, I6. I have run it a number of times and each time it gets better and better. Plus it is a lot of fun and I love all the gothic horror trappings.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 11: Favorite Playable Race
Day 11: Favorite Adventure I Ran
So many here as well. Since I am limiting it to D&D I think I am going to say Ravenloft, I6. I have run it a number of times and each time it gets better and better. Plus it is a lot of fun and I love all the gothic horror trappings.
So many here as well. Since I am limiting it to D&D I think I am going to say Ravenloft, I6. I have run it a number of times and each time it gets better and better. Plus it is a lot of fun and I love all the gothic horror trappings.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Review: Basic Arcana
The style is very much in the feel of the old B/X books. The text and most of the art is by Doolan himself, so kudos in that regard.
We start off with some class variants. The obvious parallel here is when the UA expanded the classes demi-humans could take but it also fills a niche. Not all elves use magic, not all dwarves swing an axe. While we can see some of this in ACKs, this has a tighter feel with the B/X design. We get two new races, the Half-elf and the Half-orc and two new classes, the Barbarian and the Martialist.
There are some rule additions including various to hit bonuses, rules for Followers and the Mass Combat rules.
Mass Combat is interesting since it is a backwards evolution of what D&D took from Chainmail.
On the down side I did not see a declaration of open content. The OGL is there, but not the copyright for this book or how much open.
Also while the book feels packed it is only 17 pages total or about 14 pages of text. I am of two minds on this. First the book does feel packed, so a lot was crammed into these 14 pages of text. On the otherhand is $3 too much for 14 pages?
In the end I judged the price fair, but I would have liked to have seen some more. Some special spells for the Dwarf Priest and the Elf Sorcerer would have been nice.
Who should buy this?
If you are a big B/X fan (like me) then there is a lot of value here for your buck. If you play any of the "Basic Era" games then there are things you could use here.
I think there is worth while in identifying some spells from various "Basic" sources that might work well with the new classes. Books such as Magical Theorems & Dark Pacts and my own The Witch.
You can find Tom on the web at http://wishfulgaming.blogspot.com/
30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 10: Craziest Thing
Day 10: Craziest Thing that's Happened that you saw
I have shared this story in the past, but it was too funny not to share it again.
I have played exactly 1 ninja my entire gaming life. His name was (horrible I know) Oko-nishi. My lame attempts at a Japanese sounding name. In my defense at what I knew was bad I made him a half-orc. It must have been around 1984-5 as I made him using the Oriental Adventure rules. My then DM and I had worked up a D&D combat simulator and we plugged him in with 9 other characters. He was attacked by a Black Dragon (or Red, cant recall) and killed. The dragon kept attacking him and only him. We had not worked out all the errors. In the end he had been reduced to something like -70 hp. My DM offered to let him be ok, or keep him dead. We enjoyed watching it so much and getting the mental image of this dragon jumping up and down on my dead ninja that I felt it was a waste to say it never happened.
I have shared this story in the past, but it was too funny not to share it again.
I have played exactly 1 ninja my entire gaming life. His name was (horrible I know) Oko-nishi. My lame attempts at a Japanese sounding name. In my defense at what I knew was bad I made him a half-orc. It must have been around 1984-5 as I made him using the Oriental Adventure rules. My then DM and I had worked up a D&D combat simulator and we plugged him in with 9 other characters. He was attacked by a Black Dragon (or Red, cant recall) and killed. The dragon kept attacking him and only him. We had not worked out all the errors. In the end he had been reduced to something like -70 hp. My DM offered to let him be ok, or keep him dead. We enjoyed watching it so much and getting the mental image of this dragon jumping up and down on my dead ninja that I felt it was a waste to say it never happened.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Cryptworld: Chilling Tales!
As many of you know I am a long, long time fan of the old Chill game.
I have also enjoyed the recent set of games using the "Pacesetter" system, Rotworld and Majus.
Well it is my pleasure to introduce you to the newest member of the Goblinoid Games Pacesetter Family.
Cryptworld!
I love the Jim Holloway art and the "Chilling Adventures into the Unexplained".
I just got my pre-release copy and it is awesome. This plus Majus, Rot World and all my other Chill books should get me back in the mood for my "Spirit of '76" game.
I will get a proper review up soon.
Heading to the Manor
I have had these wonderful zines sitting around so I thought I would share some thoughts with you all.
The Manor is the digital zine from Tim Shorts over at Gothridge Manor. I have always enjoyed Tim's blog. He began his blogging around the same time I really started blogging in earnest. Plus he is a fellow Tim and our sites both use a dark marble background, so I am inclined to like it. He also posts some great stuff too so even better.
The Manor #1
The Manor #1 is the first of the quarterly (or so) issues of the fanzine from Tim Shorts of Gothridge Manor. The zine takes on the feel of old-school zines from the late 70s and early 80s. Though one could argue that the art and layout are better today. The inaugural issue has a quick dungeon, a random table of various items found in a Troglodyte dung heap, a modern day encounter location (with some monsters), forest enocounters and an NPC and his wares.
The Manor captures the feel and the spirit of the old school zine quite well. The only thing that is missing really are ads for local gaming groups!
If you enjoy old-school style new games or the original games they are based on.
All in all you get 24 pages of material. Not a bad deal really.
The Manor #2
The Manor #2 keeps right on going with another 24 pages of material. This one is setup to allow you to print it out and then fold it over and staple it for that "real zine feel", nice, but sometimes I prefer to read these things on my computer. (Edited to Add: There is a "regular" version as well).
In this issue there is Hugo's House of Healing. An encounter/resource.
An inn which would be great to use anywhere and a random table of 20 things you find under the cot.
The inn and Hugo's house (that is Hugo on the cover) take up most of this issue.
One other minor quibble, and this is more me than the zine itself. There is no OGL license. Granted, it doesn't really NEED it (and I am not taking off for it's omission) but it would have made it play nicer with the likes of Basic Fantasy, OSRIC and Labyrinth Lord.
Still though. Top notch effort and results.
The Manor #3
The Manor #3 increases to 32 pages. Though it feels like there is more here than that.
The main article is the Mine of Rot and Disease, a great little old-school adventure. Stats are 1980s era D&D, but easily converted to anything.
The art is fair, but perfect really for the feel of this issue. The maps though are quite nice.
Another poetry slam. It is what makes The Manor unique and I hope it does not go away.
Pog Nog the Goblin is a great little NPC/resource and one I am going to use in my next adventure with my kids.
There are some, self-admitted, dumb jokes. Again, perfect for a zine.
Ending with a new god of Monster Hunting.
If you remember the zines of the 80s (and some of the best ones I remember from the late 80s even) then this a very nice stroll down familiar, yet new, territory. If you were not around then but enjoy oldschool games, then this is also a great find.
I have not picked up The Manor #4 yet, but here are some Tim's other books.
The Mini Manor: Faces Without Screams
The Mini Manor is a free adventure made specially for Swords & Wizardry appreciation day. If you are familiar with the adventures found in the Manor zine.
The adventure is somewhat reminiscent of a horror movie setup but works well.
If you want a good free adventure then grab this.
If you want an idea on how the adventures in The Manor feel like, then grab this.
Note: this publication DOES include the OGL.
Knowledge Illuminates
Knowledge Illuminates is a 28 page (24 pages + 1 cover, 1 toc and 2 end pages) adventure for Swords & Wizardry complete, though it could be used with any OSR game.
This adventure is designed to be the start of a campaign or the first S&W adventure.
There is quite a lot of information here in case the players want to go off exploring on their own. There is also a fairly detailed XP allocation chart in back, helpful for new GMs.
This adventure is also released under the Pay What You Want feature. So if you have some spare change and need a good starting S&W adventure then this might be exactly what you are looking for.
The Manor is the digital zine from Tim Shorts over at Gothridge Manor. I have always enjoyed Tim's blog. He began his blogging around the same time I really started blogging in earnest. Plus he is a fellow Tim and our sites both use a dark marble background, so I am inclined to like it. He also posts some great stuff too so even better.
The Manor #1
The Manor #1 is the first of the quarterly (or so) issues of the fanzine from Tim Shorts of Gothridge Manor. The zine takes on the feel of old-school zines from the late 70s and early 80s. Though one could argue that the art and layout are better today. The inaugural issue has a quick dungeon, a random table of various items found in a Troglodyte dung heap, a modern day encounter location (with some monsters), forest enocounters and an NPC and his wares.
The Manor captures the feel and the spirit of the old school zine quite well. The only thing that is missing really are ads for local gaming groups!
If you enjoy old-school style new games or the original games they are based on.
All in all you get 24 pages of material. Not a bad deal really.
The Manor #2
The Manor #2 keeps right on going with another 24 pages of material. This one is setup to allow you to print it out and then fold it over and staple it for that "real zine feel", nice, but sometimes I prefer to read these things on my computer. (Edited to Add: There is a "regular" version as well).
In this issue there is Hugo's House of Healing. An encounter/resource.
An inn which would be great to use anywhere and a random table of 20 things you find under the cot.
The inn and Hugo's house (that is Hugo on the cover) take up most of this issue.
One other minor quibble, and this is more me than the zine itself. There is no OGL license. Granted, it doesn't really NEED it (and I am not taking off for it's omission) but it would have made it play nicer with the likes of Basic Fantasy, OSRIC and Labyrinth Lord.
Still though. Top notch effort and results.
The Manor #3
The Manor #3 increases to 32 pages. Though it feels like there is more here than that.
The main article is the Mine of Rot and Disease, a great little old-school adventure. Stats are 1980s era D&D, but easily converted to anything.
The art is fair, but perfect really for the feel of this issue. The maps though are quite nice.
Another poetry slam. It is what makes The Manor unique and I hope it does not go away.
Pog Nog the Goblin is a great little NPC/resource and one I am going to use in my next adventure with my kids.
There are some, self-admitted, dumb jokes. Again, perfect for a zine.
Ending with a new god of Monster Hunting.
If you remember the zines of the 80s (and some of the best ones I remember from the late 80s even) then this a very nice stroll down familiar, yet new, territory. If you were not around then but enjoy oldschool games, then this is also a great find.
I have not picked up The Manor #4 yet, but here are some Tim's other books.
The Mini Manor: Faces Without Screams
The Mini Manor is a free adventure made specially for Swords & Wizardry appreciation day. If you are familiar with the adventures found in the Manor zine.
The adventure is somewhat reminiscent of a horror movie setup but works well.
If you want a good free adventure then grab this.
If you want an idea on how the adventures in The Manor feel like, then grab this.
Note: this publication DOES include the OGL.
Knowledge Illuminates
Knowledge Illuminates is a 28 page (24 pages + 1 cover, 1 toc and 2 end pages) adventure for Swords & Wizardry complete, though it could be used with any OSR game.
This adventure is designed to be the start of a campaign or the first S&W adventure.
There is quite a lot of information here in case the players want to go off exploring on their own. There is also a fairly detailed XP allocation chart in back, helpful for new GMs.
This adventure is also released under the Pay What You Want feature. So if you have some spare change and need a good starting S&W adventure then this might be exactly what you are looking for.
30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 9: Favorite Character I Haven't Played
Day 9: Favorite Character I Haven't Played
That's easy. My character Astra Kent, aka Justice.
I have stated her up in a number of systems but I have not had the chance to play her at all. Ok ok. So she is technically not a D&D character. But she is the one.
I have wanted to play my witch Larina under Pathfinder (closer to D&D) but I have not found a good group for that yet.
That's easy. My character Astra Kent, aka Justice.
I have stated her up in a number of systems but I have not had the chance to play her at all. Ok ok. So she is technically not a D&D character. But she is the one.
I have wanted to play my witch Larina under Pathfinder (closer to D&D) but I have not found a good group for that yet.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 8: Favorite Character I Have Played
Day 8: Favorite Character I Have Played
So many really. My favorite goes against my normal type. Nigel Blade aka Death Blade was a dual classed fighter/assassin in AD&D. I have played him in other games as well, notably Gama World and StarFrontiers.
I have also enjoyed playing my regular witch character Larina.
So many really. My favorite goes against my normal type. Nigel Blade aka Death Blade was a dual classed fighter/assassin in AD&D. I have played him in other games as well, notably Gama World and StarFrontiers.
I have also enjoyed playing my regular witch character Larina.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)