Thursday, June 2, 2011

AD&D1 in Dragon #400

Just was reading through some of the new articles that will be in Dragon #400.  Current WotC employees are talking about their favorite Dragon moments.  Mike Mearls brings back Roger Moore's Jester and keeps it as 1st Edition AD&D.   Odd seeing a 1st ed character in 4e trade dress.

Anyway here it is, but you need to be a subscriber.
http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/dra/400jester#74712

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

New Review: Northlands

Northlands

The Northlands is a very cool campaign setting for a Norse/Viking like area for use with Pathfinder. Not a setting by itself, it is designed to be easily inserted into your game world. Though there is nothing stopping you from just using this book all by itself.

In its 110+ pages you will find a area ready for adventure. There are new classes, skills, feats, weapons and spells. There are rules for variant races (humans and Dwarves) and new races from the bestial Trollkin to the Hyperborean. Everything is given a new look to reflect the cold lands of the north. The culture here is a very different one. It’s not just colder, the people (and thus the characters) are different.

The magic chapter is very cool, with new spells, and new types of magic such as grudge magic and runic magic.

The lands are detailed in both chapter 2 and chapter 5. So there is plenty to work from here. The chapter on monsters contains quite a nice number of creatures and they are not for the faint of heart.

The author capture not only the rules of playing in these lands but the feel as well. Author Dan Voyce obviously has a love for this setting and their real world counterparts that show through the writing. This is a well researched book.

The art is equally fantastic and even though it is spare and black and white, it adds to the overall feel of the book. The cover is one of the best I have seen in a very long time.

The legends of the Scandinavian countries are ripe for adventures and part of the very fiber that makes up the core of the FRPGs. The Northlands helps bring these tales to life.

I originally grabbed this because my local Pathfinder group is called "the Northlands Group" and I thought this might be a cool thing to have.  But once I got it and started reading it I realized I wanted to keep it all for myself! I plan to use it for the areas in my Mystoerth games, specifically the areas right around my version of Hyborea.

Now this Northlands has nothing to do with the Frog God games Northland Saga for Pathfinder and Swords & Wizardry.  But they are not incompatible.

I enjoyed it and I think you all might too.

5 out of 5 stars!

...here there be dragons...

School is winding down for my little guys and that means the summer of no school, no homework and no reading right?

Wrong!

You can't be the kid of an educator and not expect something.  But this time it was my son that surprised me.  I was talking with him the other day and he wants to write a book, and not just any book.  He wants to write one on dragons.
 
Liam has been playing D&D now for years.  He loves dragons and has read dozens of books on them and of course he is the original Dragonslayer in my games.  

We talked and I talked with teacher, so this summer Liam will be writing his first book, "Here There Be Dragons".  There will be stats, histories and all sorts of goodies about dragons.  He wants to do it all for Pathfinder and maybe 4e.  I also suggested doing it for OSRIC and Basic era games too.

He wants spells, prestige classes and even has come up with some very specialized dragon hunting weapons including the dragon hunter's spear ("Because getting close enough to a dragon to use a sword is stupid.")

I will be doing the layout and editing, but all the ideas will be his.

The best part?

We are going to make the book available to everyone.

I don't know all the details yet.  But expect a book of dragons coming from us sometime later in the summer.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Cliff Chiang Bad Reputation

Making the rounds today but it is very cool. Cliff Chiang's mashup of DC women and the Runaways.


I love Black Canary singing and Z on bass.
Course I posted this to Amazon Princess, but given that it had Z in it I figured here is a good spot too.

Something nice till they completely reboot the DC universe. Again.

Other links:
http://cliffchiang.tumblr.com/post/6037210898 Cliff Chiang's tumblr.
http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/6037306593/omg DC Women Kicking Ass
http://girls-gone-geek.com/2011/05/31/dc-women-runaways-mash-up/ and Girls Gone Geek.
http://amazon-princess.blogspot.com/2011/06/cliff-chiang-bad-reputation.html Amazon Princess

Long Weekend

Just getting off of a long holiday weekend.  Lots of blog posts to read, picked up some games too.

More soon.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Zatannurday: Russel Platt

I have recently discovered the art of Russel Platt.
Here is his rendition of the Other Side's favorite Sorceress Supreme, Zatanna.


And one not safe for work, http://rplatt.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=144#/d14qp56
This one is a bit too busty for my tastes, but I love the facial expressions on this first one.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Happy Birthday Christopher Lee

Happy 89th Birthday to Christopher Lee.


I hope I am half as awesome as you are when I am 89.