In the end THIS is what it is all about.
My recent haul from the Amazing Adventures Kickstarter from Troll Lords.
I
Just so much fun.
Friday, September 4, 2015
Kickstart Your Weekend: What THIS is REALLY about
So I like to support smaller game companies or lines on Kickstarter and I like letting you all know about them.
In the end THIS is what it is all about.
My recent haul from the Amazing Adventures Kickstarter from Troll Lords.
Iwant need to do something with this soon.
Just so much fun.
In the end THIS is what it is all about.
My recent haul from the Amazing Adventures Kickstarter from Troll Lords.
I
Just so much fun.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Class Struggles: The Halfling Classes
Welcome back to Class Struggles. Today I wanted to do something a little different. Instead of focusing on one class or product I wanted to focus on a general theme of classes.
The theme this time is halflings.
I often find that halflings don't get a lot of respect. Maybe it is the size or the fact that they are all universally depicted as home-bodies. In any case a lot of us owe our gaming career to halflings, or at least one in particular; Bilbo.
If you were like me you discovered Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit around the same time as D&D and RPGs. I think we owe the humble halfling a little better. Thankfully I am not the only one.
To start with lets look over to +Richard LeBlanc at Save Vs. Dragon and a product that is not even out yet. The Halfling Warslinger is a D&D Basic/Expert class that will appear in his CX1 Character Class Codex. The Warslinger is an alteration of the basic halfling class. This one focuses more on the halfling weapon of choice, the sling. Now while there are some very obvious David-and-Goliath imagery going on here there is also plenty of flavor text to really make this class it's own thing. Not only that but it also makes sense with a community of halflings. The sling taking the place of the yew bow and arrow of Medieval England. The art that accompanies the write up makes it very easy to imagine an army of halflings all armed with slings. It makes for a compelling picture.
I have also spent a lot of time with Fantastic Heroes & Witchery. This book includes a couple of different halfling classes. The Folk-Champion and the Scout. The Folk-Champion is described as something akin to the halfling knight in shinning armor. Like the Warslinger, this class gets benefits from using slings, but this class is also more than that. They also can boost the morale (and some rolls) of their allies and have a bit of luck on their sides. Folk Hero would be another good way to describe them. The Scout is the halfling ranger and thief mixed into one. Though more ranger than thief. They also have some proficiencies with the sling, but they are also adept to hiding in shadows.
These characters, like all the characters in FH&W can advanced to 14th level. The scout also has a Legend Lore ability as well, which I thought was very cool. It makes it difficult not to imagine the Shire being patrolled by scouts but the villages protected by Folk-Champions and Warslingers.
Next we have not only the archetype treasure finder but also from a guy that I think might be a hobbit himself. The Burglar from +James Spahn's Barrel Rider Games should invoke images of halflings stealing treasure from dragons. Personally, James is my go to guy when it comes to hobbits/halflings. Not only does he have this but he is doing some work with Cubicle 7 on the One Ring game. That is pretty close to being an expert in this field as you can get. So it goes without saying that his burglar class (more so than any of his other classes) really captures the feel of a new class. Yes..yes you can argue it is nothing more than a reskinned thief, but there is more here than that. I refered to this class as BRG's signature class. I still stand behind that. Plus you have to like a class where the artwork looks like John Belushi with mutton-chops.
There are few more in his Class Compendium book as well, but this one is my favorite.
There have been others books of course, the old 2nd Ed The Complete Book of Gnomes & Halflings had the kits. In that my favorite was easily the Halfling Whistler, a Bard kit that could be reskinned as a Basic/LL class.
I also presented rules/guidelines for the Halfling Herb Woman, their version of the Witch class.
It is great to see so many choices for halflings. I think someone now needs to come up with a magic system that is unique to them. Maybe something associated with singing or music.
The theme this time is halflings.
I often find that halflings don't get a lot of respect. Maybe it is the size or the fact that they are all universally depicted as home-bodies. In any case a lot of us owe our gaming career to halflings, or at least one in particular; Bilbo.
If you were like me you discovered Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit around the same time as D&D and RPGs. I think we owe the humble halfling a little better. Thankfully I am not the only one.
To start with lets look over to +Richard LeBlanc at Save Vs. Dragon and a product that is not even out yet. The Halfling Warslinger is a D&D Basic/Expert class that will appear in his CX1 Character Class Codex. The Warslinger is an alteration of the basic halfling class. This one focuses more on the halfling weapon of choice, the sling. Now while there are some very obvious David-and-Goliath imagery going on here there is also plenty of flavor text to really make this class it's own thing. Not only that but it also makes sense with a community of halflings. The sling taking the place of the yew bow and arrow of Medieval England. The art that accompanies the write up makes it very easy to imagine an army of halflings all armed with slings. It makes for a compelling picture.
I have also spent a lot of time with Fantastic Heroes & Witchery. This book includes a couple of different halfling classes. The Folk-Champion and the Scout. The Folk-Champion is described as something akin to the halfling knight in shinning armor. Like the Warslinger, this class gets benefits from using slings, but this class is also more than that. They also can boost the morale (and some rolls) of their allies and have a bit of luck on their sides. Folk Hero would be another good way to describe them. The Scout is the halfling ranger and thief mixed into one. Though more ranger than thief. They also have some proficiencies with the sling, but they are also adept to hiding in shadows.
These characters, like all the characters in FH&W can advanced to 14th level. The scout also has a Legend Lore ability as well, which I thought was very cool. It makes it difficult not to imagine the Shire being patrolled by scouts but the villages protected by Folk-Champions and Warslingers.
Next we have not only the archetype treasure finder but also from a guy that I think might be a hobbit himself. The Burglar from +James Spahn's Barrel Rider Games should invoke images of halflings stealing treasure from dragons. Personally, James is my go to guy when it comes to hobbits/halflings. Not only does he have this but he is doing some work with Cubicle 7 on the One Ring game. That is pretty close to being an expert in this field as you can get. So it goes without saying that his burglar class (more so than any of his other classes) really captures the feel of a new class. Yes..yes you can argue it is nothing more than a reskinned thief, but there is more here than that. I refered to this class as BRG's signature class. I still stand behind that. Plus you have to like a class where the artwork looks like John Belushi with mutton-chops.
There are few more in his Class Compendium book as well, but this one is my favorite.
There have been others books of course, the old 2nd Ed The Complete Book of Gnomes & Halflings had the kits. In that my favorite was easily the Halfling Whistler, a Bard kit that could be reskinned as a Basic/LL class.
I also presented rules/guidelines for the Halfling Herb Woman, their version of the Witch class.
It is great to see so many choices for halflings. I think someone now needs to come up with a magic system that is unique to them. Maybe something associated with singing or music.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Rage...Across the Multiverse.
Wizards of the Coast is pulling out the stops for it's new Rage of the Demons campaign and I have to admit I am rather excited about it myself.
There is a lot going on here. Including the new Out of Abyss book and Rage of the Demons minis.
Though how is any of this going to affect the Order of the Platinum Dragon? Simple. This is a multiversal event. While all that stuff is going on in the Realms and the Sword Coast, over here in my world we are still running through what I call the "Great Greyhawk Campaign" in my campaign of the Endless Darkness.
The two campaigns are obviously linked. I'll adapt bits and pieces from the Rage of Demons to put into my campaign.
I am excited to see Demogorgon in this and the mindflayers. Mindflayers working with Orcus, that is like custom made for my games.
There is a lot going on here. Including the new Out of Abyss book and Rage of the Demons minis.
Though how is any of this going to affect the Order of the Platinum Dragon? Simple. This is a multiversal event. While all that stuff is going on in the Realms and the Sword Coast, over here in my world we are still running through what I call the "Great Greyhawk Campaign" in my campaign of the Endless Darkness.
The two campaigns are obviously linked. I'll adapt bits and pieces from the Rage of Demons to put into my campaign.
I am excited to see Demogorgon in this and the mindflayers. Mindflayers working with Orcus, that is like custom made for my games.
Social Contract Thing (again)
So. Yeah that DriveThruRPG/OneBookShelf / Tournament of Rapists thing happened.
I am not going to bore with the details, others have had more to say on it. But I do want to talk about the fallout.
Over the weekend and into this week I have seen some exceptionally bad and unprofessional behavior coming from all sides of this issue. All sides. And from people I expected better from, and sadly from people that played the part I totally expected them to play.
The result of this is now OneBookShelf will have a system of some sort for people to "report" on suspectedwitches communists offensive material. So far it sounds like a button of some sort. No idea if the person reporting the material actually has to read it first.
Personally I can't change any of that. But here is what I will do. Again this is a social contract thing, I expect to do X, Y and Z in return for certain expected behaviors A, B, and C.
1. Under no circumstances will I ever use this system of reporting material to DriveThruRPG. Never. If I have a problem with your product I will email you.
2. I will not blast a product I have not read on social media or this blog. If I talk about a product here it is usually because a. I like it or b. have read it or plan too. If I hate something and I talk about it here then be assured I have read it and reread it to make sure my impressions of it are sound. I then invite debate. You are free to use your social media or my blog here to tell me why I am wrong.
3. I will not go to social media and rally support to blast/flag a product. I have seen this from a number of industry professionals and frankly they should be ashamed. Again, if I have an issue with your product enough to do something about it, expect an email.
This is what I see as being the biggest issue with the new system. It is far too easy for a publisher to leverage their social media weight to get fans to tag or report a product that either they personally don't like OR because it is competition.
These are my expectations. Granted I am under no illusions that people will abide by them, but at least I am putting these up here for those that might.
1. If something of mine is offensive you will email me first. simple right? No anonymous slack-tivism, no clicking on a button. If you don't like something I have done then please have the courage of your convictions to tell me. Don't want to confront me for some reason? Fine. Have a friend email me on your behalf.
Simple right? I promise to do three things, you promise to do one.
There is no reason why we can not act like professionals and adults here.
I am not going to bore with the details, others have had more to say on it. But I do want to talk about the fallout.
Over the weekend and into this week I have seen some exceptionally bad and unprofessional behavior coming from all sides of this issue. All sides. And from people I expected better from, and sadly from people that played the part I totally expected them to play.
The result of this is now OneBookShelf will have a system of some sort for people to "report" on suspected
Personally I can't change any of that. But here is what I will do. Again this is a social contract thing, I expect to do X, Y and Z in return for certain expected behaviors A, B, and C.
1. Under no circumstances will I ever use this system of reporting material to DriveThruRPG. Never. If I have a problem with your product I will email you.
2. I will not blast a product I have not read on social media or this blog. If I talk about a product here it is usually because a. I like it or b. have read it or plan too. If I hate something and I talk about it here then be assured I have read it and reread it to make sure my impressions of it are sound. I then invite debate. You are free to use your social media or my blog here to tell me why I am wrong.
3. I will not go to social media and rally support to blast/flag a product. I have seen this from a number of industry professionals and frankly they should be ashamed. Again, if I have an issue with your product enough to do something about it, expect an email.
This is what I see as being the biggest issue with the new system. It is far too easy for a publisher to leverage their social media weight to get fans to tag or report a product that either they personally don't like OR because it is competition.
These are my expectations. Granted I am under no illusions that people will abide by them, but at least I am putting these up here for those that might.
1. If something of mine is offensive you will email me first. simple right? No anonymous slack-tivism, no clicking on a button. If you don't like something I have done then please have the courage of your convictions to tell me. Don't want to confront me for some reason? Fine. Have a friend email me on your behalf.
Simple right? I promise to do three things, you promise to do one.
There is no reason why we can not act like professionals and adults here.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Dark Albion meets Mythic Éire
The talk around the ole' Other Side water cooler is still Dark Albion. No surprises really.
I love the idea of playing in England/Albion. Especially with some dark magic thrown in for good measure. If I can tie it in with my War of the Witch Queens idea so much the better.
So I was looking over all my Castles & Crusades stuff over the weekend. Lamenting that I don't get to play it as often as I would like. I dearly love Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, it has such a cool vibe to it. But I also enjoy Castles & Crusades. Rumor has it that C&C began as a campaign on Earth. Aihrde is phonetically the same as Erde which is German for Earth. That being said I also have a couple of adventures I consider to be "must haves" for my next games, Night of the Spirits and A Druid's Lament.
Another strong selling point for C&C is the Codex Celtarum.
I reviewed it a while back and it is still one of my favorite gaming books ever. There is so much I could use here. Plus the ties with the Faerie world is a must-have in my mind.
Which brings me in a round about way to what are these Witch Queens warring about anyway? At first I thought maybe it was for control. But could it be more? I am hesitant to detail it too much. I still have a current D&D5 game I need to finish. Plus I want to keep it a little loose for now. Maybe even a bit "story gamey". Yes I am that much of jerk to take one of Pundits products and make it into a story game centerpiece. Well...not really. It's still OSR.
Éire is a idea I have been playing around with since forever I feel. A mythic Ireland, a land of adventure. The Celtic themed games I usually enjoy tend to skew a bit to the older and colder themes found in AS&SH.
Regardless of which way it goes I do know that there will be an Éire to go with Albion and I am going to have a great time doing it.
I love the idea of playing in England/Albion. Especially with some dark magic thrown in for good measure. If I can tie it in with my War of the Witch Queens idea so much the better.
So I was looking over all my Castles & Crusades stuff over the weekend. Lamenting that I don't get to play it as often as I would like. I dearly love Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, it has such a cool vibe to it. But I also enjoy Castles & Crusades. Rumor has it that C&C began as a campaign on Earth. Aihrde is phonetically the same as Erde which is German for Earth. That being said I also have a couple of adventures I consider to be "must haves" for my next games, Night of the Spirits and A Druid's Lament.
Another strong selling point for C&C is the Codex Celtarum.
I reviewed it a while back and it is still one of my favorite gaming books ever. There is so much I could use here. Plus the ties with the Faerie world is a must-have in my mind.
Which brings me in a round about way to what are these Witch Queens warring about anyway? At first I thought maybe it was for control. But could it be more? I am hesitant to detail it too much. I still have a current D&D5 game I need to finish. Plus I want to keep it a little loose for now. Maybe even a bit "story gamey". Yes I am that much of jerk to take one of Pundits products and make it into a story game centerpiece. Well...not really. It's still OSR.
Éire is a idea I have been playing around with since forever I feel. A mythic Ireland, a land of adventure. The Celtic themed games I usually enjoy tend to skew a bit to the older and colder themes found in AS&SH.
Regardless of which way it goes I do know that there will be an Éire to go with Albion and I am going to have a great time doing it.
Second Edition DMG in PDF
The Second Edition DMG is now up on DriveThruRPG.
Never quite as good as the 1st Ed DMG, this one did have a lot going for it.
Never quite as good as the 1st Ed DMG, this one did have a lot going for it.
Monday, August 31, 2015
RPG a Day, James’ Appendix
+James Mishler also added some questions.
1. Best non-RPG property to licensed RPG you’ve ever played
Easy. Ghosts of Albion.
2. Best RPG you’ve ever read but never played
Keltia from Cubicle 7. It looks amazing.
3. RPG core rulebook you would take with you on a desert island
Only one? The D&D Rules Cyclopedia. One book, endless possibilities.
That or the WitchCraftRPG.
4. Favorite RPG vaporware.
I hate to throw another designer under the bus, so I won't mention the one I am thinking of.
So I will go historic. I would have to say the B/X Companion from TSR. There was a BECMI Companion and a couple of other B/X Companions, but the TSR one is the one I wanted back in the day.
5. Best houserule that ended up with the worst results
Using a d30 for anything. I know they are fun looking, but damn a flat 1 to 30 range is nearly useless for most games.
6. Worst kerfluffle that ever ended an otherwise good, ongoing campaign
The biggest campaign killers for me have been time to meet.
1. Best non-RPG property to licensed RPG you’ve ever played
Easy. Ghosts of Albion.
2. Best RPG you’ve ever read but never played
Keltia from Cubicle 7. It looks amazing.
3. RPG core rulebook you would take with you on a desert island
Only one? The D&D Rules Cyclopedia. One book, endless possibilities.
That or the WitchCraftRPG.
4. Favorite RPG vaporware.
I hate to throw another designer under the bus, so I won't mention the one I am thinking of.
So I will go historic. I would have to say the B/X Companion from TSR. There was a BECMI Companion and a couple of other B/X Companions, but the TSR one is the one I wanted back in the day.
5. Best houserule that ended up with the worst results
Using a d30 for anything. I know they are fun looking, but damn a flat 1 to 30 range is nearly useless for most games.
6. Worst kerfluffle that ever ended an otherwise good, ongoing campaign
The biggest campaign killers for me have been time to meet.
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