I also got a desire to dust off an older game and give it another go. It was a lot of fun back in the day and I have been itching to do some more with it.
Should be fun.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Gaming Weekend
Did a little bit of gaming this weekend. My son got to play some Mongoose Traveller with his other group. Here at home we started up a new D&D 5 game set in the Skyrim universe that my oldest is going to run. So far it's a lot of fun. We are hunting down the murderer of the Emporer and have managed to hit level 2 already.
I also got a desire to dust off an older game and give it another go. It was a lot of fun back in the day and I have been itching to do some more with it.
Should be fun.
I also got a desire to dust off an older game and give it another go. It was a lot of fun back in the day and I have been itching to do some more with it.
Should be fun.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Wizards of the Coast Print On Demand: The Results, Part 2
I received a few requests for some more pictures of the Shady Dragon Inn.
Here is the spine. It is Perfect bound. No staples.
Various shots of the text. It appears the same as the early editions. Maybe a touch fuzzier, but nothing that I consider a deal breaker. Barely noticeable in fact.
How can you tell this is a new print versus a really, really well kept original? This page. This is the same sort of page found in all DriveThru/OneBookShelf/LightningSource books.
Note how the bar code is not an ISBN one.
Hope this helps.
Here is the spine. It is Perfect bound. No staples.
Various shots of the text. It appears the same as the early editions. Maybe a touch fuzzier, but nothing that I consider a deal breaker. Barely noticeable in fact.
How can you tell this is a new print versus a really, really well kept original? This page. This is the same sort of page found in all DriveThru/OneBookShelf/LightningSource books.
Note how the bar code is not an ISBN one.
Hope this helps.
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Wizards of the Coast Print On Demand: The Results
Yesterday I got a surprise in the mail from DriveThruRPG/OneBookshelf/LightningSource.
My copy of the Shady Dragon Inn came in. It looks fantastic.
I don't have an original one to compare it too, but inside it looks great.
The maps are part of the book, not detachable, but that is fine really.
They are set to 1" = 5', so D&D 3, 4 & 5 standard.
They do not print out to 1" exactly, but when you buy the pdf you get the maps as files to print on your own.
The characters inside can be converted to 5e easily enough.
Ignore the saving throws, and recalculate the base to hit as 20 - THAC0. I find that 22 or 23 -THAC0 actually works out a little bit better for 5e.
Plus $8 is better than the $30 or so it can go for on eBay.
I do kind of wish now I had grabbed something that I have an original of just to compare.
The quality is very good; what you would expect from a high quality print of a high quality PDF source. Though the source of that PDF is a scan of the original that has been seriously cleaned up.
The results are something fantastic for the table or reading, but no collector will be convinced it is an orignal. That's perfect for me really. I am a collector, but a pragmatic one and a "playing" one. I like to have these books, but their value to me is not on my shelf, but my game table.
DriveThru has promised us new Wizards of the Coast Print on Demand updates each week. So check back on every Tuesday to see what is new. In fact they have new items up today.
Bookmark this link to check back on what's new each week.
My copy of the Shady Dragon Inn came in. It looks fantastic.
I don't have an original one to compare it too, but inside it looks great.
The maps are part of the book, not detachable, but that is fine really.
They are set to 1" = 5', so D&D 3, 4 & 5 standard.
They do not print out to 1" exactly, but when you buy the pdf you get the maps as files to print on your own.
The characters inside can be converted to 5e easily enough.
Ignore the saving throws, and recalculate the base to hit as 20 - THAC0. I find that 22 or 23 -THAC0 actually works out a little bit better for 5e.
Plus $8 is better than the $30 or so it can go for on eBay.
I do kind of wish now I had grabbed something that I have an original of just to compare.
The quality is very good; what you would expect from a high quality print of a high quality PDF source. Though the source of that PDF is a scan of the original that has been seriously cleaned up.
The results are something fantastic for the table or reading, but no collector will be convinced it is an orignal. That's perfect for me really. I am a collector, but a pragmatic one and a "playing" one. I like to have these books, but their value to me is not on my shelf, but my game table.
DriveThru has promised us new Wizards of the Coast Print on Demand updates each week. So check back on every Tuesday to see what is new. In fact they have new items up today.
Bookmark this link to check back on what's new each week.
Monday, November 21, 2016
Thanksgiving Break
Taking some time off for the Thanksgiving break.
Only sporadic posting this week.
Only sporadic posting this week.
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Zatannurday: Justice League Dark Animated Movie
This is exactly the sort of thing I was waiting for in Zatannurday's long run. A new DC Animated movie of Justice League Dark.
This isn't exactly JLD, it's more Justice League Dark + Batman, but it still looks cool.
It's also rated R, which I guess is not a big surprise given the content.
Looks like it will be out in early 2017.
Friday, November 18, 2016
Kickstart Your Weekend: Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea 2E
We are coming into the last few hours of the Kickstarter for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea 2E.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1806106772/astonishing-swordsmen-and-sorcerers-of-hyperborea-0
I am very, very fond of this game. There is just so much potential here that I become overwhelmed with ideas. Do I want to do do the dawn-time of humanity when the Old One have left the Earth? Do I want to do an older, colder Earth of the far future under a dying sun? Or just smoosh it into my current games? I want to do it all, to be honest!!
There is a lot love about this game really and I can't wait to try out this new addition.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1806106772/astonishing-swordsmen-and-sorcerers-of-hyperborea-0
I am very, very fond of this game. There is just so much potential here that I become overwhelmed with ideas. Do I want to do do the dawn-time of humanity when the Old One have left the Earth? Do I want to do an older, colder Earth of the far future under a dying sun? Or just smoosh it into my current games? I want to do it all, to be honest!!
There is a lot love about this game really and I can't wait to try out this new addition.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Reviews: New Castle Falkenstein Supplements
During October I reviewed a ton of new (and old) Victorian Era games and supplements. I didn't get to everything I wanted so I going to fix that now.
Fist up are a couple of new books for the venerable Castle Falkenstein.
Full Disclosure: I received free copies of these PDFs in exchange for a review and also because the author knew I would like them. He was right.
Castle Falkenstein: Curious Creatures
Author J Gray, Artist Rick Hershey, Fat Goblin Games, 146 pages
Ok, we all know I love monster books. Like all Castle Falkenstein books, new and old, this book is gorgeous. The art is fantastic. The book is a nice mix of travel guide, creature catalog, and journal. This is a fairly common feel to all CF books and it is served well here. The first 50 or so pages cover some new rules and some various stories. The central conceit of the book has notes from the very Doctor Doolittle. I have to admit this is really awesome. I wish I had thought of it, to be honest.
The next 100 or so pages cover the Bestiary proper. This includes about three dozen monsters, as many normal creatures and a little more than 20 or so unique characters and intelligent animals. This includes Doctor Doolittle, Gregor Mendel, Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde. The surprises include Mowgli, Riki-Tikki-Tavi and Fantomah. The mere fact that Fantomah is here really increases the value of this book in my mind.
The writing is very fluid and is a pleasure to read. The CF stats are, well CF stats, you either like that game or you don't. The bonus here is that this also makes the book extremely flexible for use with any number of systems. In fact, this book is a very fine supplement to be used with any number of other game's monster books. The art, is for the most part, Public Domain, but that is something I REALLY like in my Victorian books and here it flows seamlessly in with the text.
I don't have the softcover book, but I am considering picking it up now. It is really that good looking and really that useful.
Do you all remember the old "Enchanted World" books from Time-Life books? Well, this book reminds me of reading those. It is less like a game book and more of a coffee table book of monsters.
This is a very, very fun book and I am so pleased to have it.
Castle Falkenstein: The Tarot Variation
Author J Gray, Artist Rick Hershey, Fat Goblin Games, 6 pages
Now this is a fun little book. It's not long, only six pages, but it packs a punch.
This guide allows gamemasters of Castle Falkenstein to use a standard tarot deck instead of playing cards for the game. There are additional rules to cover the Major Arcana. If you play CF then I would easily say this is a must have. If you play other games that have a playing card mechanic then is also a useful resource. I am considering using this with Victoriana. I think it would work fantastically.
Both books are so much fun. I am really pleased to have them.
Fist up are a couple of new books for the venerable Castle Falkenstein.
Full Disclosure: I received free copies of these PDFs in exchange for a review and also because the author knew I would like them. He was right.
Author J Gray, Artist Rick Hershey, Fat Goblin Games, 146 pages
Ok, we all know I love monster books. Like all Castle Falkenstein books, new and old, this book is gorgeous. The art is fantastic. The book is a nice mix of travel guide, creature catalog, and journal. This is a fairly common feel to all CF books and it is served well here. The first 50 or so pages cover some new rules and some various stories. The central conceit of the book has notes from the very Doctor Doolittle. I have to admit this is really awesome. I wish I had thought of it, to be honest.
The next 100 or so pages cover the Bestiary proper. This includes about three dozen monsters, as many normal creatures and a little more than 20 or so unique characters and intelligent animals. This includes Doctor Doolittle, Gregor Mendel, Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde. The surprises include Mowgli, Riki-Tikki-Tavi and Fantomah. The mere fact that Fantomah is here really increases the value of this book in my mind.
The writing is very fluid and is a pleasure to read. The CF stats are, well CF stats, you either like that game or you don't. The bonus here is that this also makes the book extremely flexible for use with any number of systems. In fact, this book is a very fine supplement to be used with any number of other game's monster books. The art, is for the most part, Public Domain, but that is something I REALLY like in my Victorian books and here it flows seamlessly in with the text.
I don't have the softcover book, but I am considering picking it up now. It is really that good looking and really that useful.
Do you all remember the old "Enchanted World" books from Time-Life books? Well, this book reminds me of reading those. It is less like a game book and more of a coffee table book of monsters.
This is a very, very fun book and I am so pleased to have it.
Castle Falkenstein: The Tarot Variation
Author J Gray, Artist Rick Hershey, Fat Goblin Games, 6 pages
Now this is a fun little book. It's not long, only six pages, but it packs a punch.
This guide allows gamemasters of Castle Falkenstein to use a standard tarot deck instead of playing cards for the game. There are additional rules to cover the Major Arcana. If you play CF then I would easily say this is a must have. If you play other games that have a playing card mechanic then is also a useful resource. I am considering using this with Victoriana. I think it would work fantastically.
Both books are so much fun. I am really pleased to have them.
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