Showing posts with label mail call. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mail call. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Mail Call Tuesday: Mini Duchess & Candella, Spanish WitchCraft

 Got some things to support two of my new on-going obsessions.  

Up first, some new HeroForge "standee" minis of Duchess & Candella.

Candella & Duchess Standee minis

Candella & Duchess Standee minis

Candella & Duchess Standee minis

They are flat, made of plastic about 3 mm thick. Their colors and design perfectly match those I used on HeroForge. 

Candella and Duchess

They got here rather quick to be honest. Much faster than the 3D-printed color minis. And cheaper too.

I always wanted to try these, and since I needed these minis in a hurry I opted to go this route for these two. I am happy with them, but I do prefer the 3D color minis. But they do come with nice little bags to store the mini or dice in.

Hero Forge minis and standees

Next up a "new to me" version of one of my all-time favorite games.  The Spanish Language version of CJ Carella's WitchCraft RPG.

WitchCraft RPG

The Spanish Language version from Edge most resembles the Eden Studios 2nd Edition. The text is the same and the art is the same.

Wicce in Spanish

The difference of course is this new Edge version is in Spanish.

I am happy to have this as this was one of the other "Holy Grail" items for my Spanish collection of RPGs. It was also the last CJ Carella WitchCraft book I am likely able to buy. 

CJ Carella's WitchCraft RPG

I am pleased that I was able to read a lot of it. Granted, my Spanish is still very limited, but I know this book very, very well. 

My collection of Spanish Language RPGs is not huge, but it covers my favorite games and about 85-90% of the games I like to play.

Spanish Language RPGs

Not a lot, but enough to keep me busy for a while.

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Mail Call Tuesday - Frightshow Classics Adventures

 Got a a nice little treat in the mail yesterday.

Frightshow Classics Adventures

The latest print versions of the Frightshow (formerly Fright Night) Classics Adventures designed for Chill.

Included was a 2nd printing of my own The Nightmare!

This completes my print editions (so far) of all the Frighshow Classics Adventures from Yeti Spaghetti & Friends. I know a couple more are in progress now, including my Golem adventure, though they won't be out until the spring or later.

Frightshow Classics Adventures

PDFs are available at DriveThruRPG.

If you want a print version, send an email directly to Frightshow Classics at cryptworldrpg@gmail.com.

They are all quite fun and really great for any sort of Horror RPG.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

New Releases Tuesday: Adventure Time!

 Normally, Tuesday is a great time to talk about the sort of RPG goodies I got in the mail. But nothing new this week (or last), and I am waiting for the local Games Plus RPG auction before buying anything else.  So, imagine my delight when one of my recent adventures got published over the weekend.  Then, my delight doubled when another adventure I wrote got its own stand-alone treatment!

Frightshow Classics: GolemAdventures in Aldea: Witching Weather

Frightshow Classics: Golem is published by Yeti Spaghetti & Friends and is for the Chill 1st Edition RPG. It also works with Chill 2nd Edition, Chill 3rd Edition (with some mods), and Cryptworld and can even be used as a rules lite adventure. 

A rabbi and a neo-nazi have been found murdered in Queens, NY. Is there a connection? People have spotted a large figure near the synagogue and a former professional wrestler is being held for questioning. But is something stranger going on?

I really loved writing this one and it made really appreciate all the great things about New York. As a Chicagoan, I don't give New York enough credit. But I approached this with the frame of mind of "write this with the same love as I would if this were Chicago." Cause one thing I know for sure. New Yorkers LOVE their city, and I wanted that to show.

Adventures in Aldea: Witching Weather from Green Ronin is older, but I discovered it while working on my Blue Rose characters last week. This adventure appears in the collection Six of Cups. But here, you can buy it as a stand-alone adventure for Blue Rose AGE 2nd Edition. 

A group of orphans have turned up in Garnet, and now the weather is out of control, and the forces of darkness want them. One believes they are his children, and another wants to eat them to gain even more power. You have to stop them both. 

This one was so much fun to work on. Blue Rose is sometimes described (somewhat unfairly) as a "Fantasy Seattle," but my Garnet here is "Fantasy Alton, IL," a blue-collar river town (now sea town) with a deep history and pride. And maybe a monster or two hiding in the bluffs. In addition to the adventure, there is a gazetteer for the City of Garnet with some history and background on some major NPCs.

Grab both if you can! I already got paid, so I don't get anything more from the publishers, but if the sales are good, they can hire me back! 

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Mail Call: ¡Anuncio por correo! Spanish BECMI and Pacesetter Adventures

Or at least the BE part of BECMI.  So many of you know I have been learning Spanish. I mainly use Duolingo, but I also print books and audiobooks from Audible. My progress is quite slow I will admit, but the journey is half the fun really. 

Back in 2023, I got copies of the Spanish Language D&D 5th edition books for my birthday and Father's Day.  But something I have wanted since 2020 are copies of BECMI in another language. I thought I might grab one in German (a language I can still -somewhat- speak) but they are always quite expensive.

So imagine my surprise when, after posting my search for Spanish language ones, actually came through!

Spanish Language Basic and Expert

They look great, even if I can only sort of read them at the moment. But I know what is in these quite well, so that helps.

Spanish Language Basic and Expert

Versions of BECMI Basic

It is also fun to compare them to the Spanish D&D 5e books I got last year.

Spanish Language D&D

I am NO WHERE near ready to run a game in Spanish D&D. But maybe I could play one later this year.

I might just stick with Basic and Expert. I have not seen a Companion edition out for a very long time. If the price of the German one I was looking at is any indication then it is way outside of my price range.

I also got copies of some adventures (in English) from Pacesetter Games.

Adventures from Pacesetter Games

I gave Venger's Final Wish to my oldest. He is working on taking his group through all the editions of D&D.  More on that later.

Of course, I am a sucker for anything about the Vampire Queen. So this is a nice addition to my collection.  Since the Vampire Queen adventure is for B/X then maybe a "Castillo de la Reina Vampiro" is in order. 


Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Mail Call: Gary's Other Grandkids

 Maybe "stepchildren" might be a better moniker. We are coming up on the first anniversary of WotC's attempt to murder the OGL 1.0. This sent many publishers (myself included) on various paths of re-discovery on what to do about it. Some looked for new licenses. Others stuck with the OGL 1.0 to show it can't be removed.

Myself? Well, it knocked the wind out of my sails, to be honest, and I have spent the better part of 2023 figuring out where I want to go next. But while I am over here contemplating the various Gods, others have moved on.  So here are a couple of recent purchases that embrace the two paths of the OGL.

Pathfinder and OSRIC

Pathfinder and OSRIC

Undoubtedly two of the biggest success stories of the OGL and 3e era has been Pathfinder and OSRIC. Both gambled on the OGL and spent a long time enjoying the fruits of that gamble.

OSRIC of course used it to go back to "1st Edition style" play and Pathfinder to extend and enhance their own flavor of "3rd Edition style" play.

The OSRIC Players Book covers everything the Player needs to know. It is a great resource and a good replacement for your Player's Handbooks and Unearthed Arcana books that might be showing their wear.

OSRIC

This one embraces the OGL 1.0 and keeps it alive.

OSRIC Players Guide

Pathfinder has taken a different path (sorry) and taken their own 2nd Edition and revised it into two new books for Players and GMs.

Pathfinder 2nd Edition

This uses the new OGL-free version of Pathfinder. I have not spotted many differences yet, but I am still working through the game. The new books combine the older OGL Corebook and some of the Advanced Player's Guide.

Pathfinder 2nd Edition

These are supposed to be the same system, Pathfinder 2nd Ed, so there are far more similarities than differences.

Bard vs. BardWitch vs. Witch

I am looking forward to delving deeper into both games.

 

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Mail Call: Back to Basic

 Been down with COVID-19 so most of my posts have been things I wrote a while back.

But here is something new, some of my latest mail calls. All with a Basic, as in B/X, theme.

Mail Call. Nov 2023

Up first is the OSE version of Dark Places & Demogorgons.

Dark Places & Demogorgons OSE

I like the idea of an OSE version, but I am more likely to play it using its original rules.  Still nice to have and the Cryptid Manual is a great addition to any OSE game.  My only question is do I shelves these with my OSE books or my Dark Places & Demogorgons ones?

Speaking of Demogorgons.

OSE Demons

OSE Demons

Ryan Thompson's Demonology for OSE is now being shipped. I have already stated most of these creatures for myself (and many posted here) but it is always nice to see more and different takes on the same creatures.

This is OSE so it is compatible with B/X and DP&D OSE above. Bring in the real Demogorgon into your DP&D game!

Since it was Halloween, I treated myself to another adventure.

Witch, Grave, and Haunt

Witch, Grave, and Haunt from Pacesetter Games is for BX and 5e. I got the BX version.

The "Witch" portion is an updated version of The Witch of Monte Rosa. There are some changes to the adventure which is fine. The other two are not unknown to me, but this is the first time I have them in print.

This and the Demonology book will work great for my War of the Witch Queens campaign.

And finally, I have been playing a LOT of Baldur's Gate 3 so I treated myself to a little Print on Demand fun.

Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate 3

This is Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate II, released to support the Baldur's Gate II game back in the late 1990s. It would be nice if Wizards put out something to support the new game, given how popular it is.


Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Mail Call: The Wasted Lands

 Got a nice surprise in my mailbox this weekend. 

Wasted Lands books

Jason Vey's The Wasted Lands has begun shipping. And the books are fantastic!

Wasted Lands

Wasted Lands

Wasted Lands

Wasted Lands

I feel this game has a good chance of replacing D&D 5e for the games I run. I have been doing playtests on it for months (longer if you count NIGHT SHIFT which uses the same rules) and have been using it to help detail some my gods in my Deities & Demigods II project.  Though I am thinking of pulling together some threads and starting a new campaign (or, rather, making one I have been doing here and there official) and calling it "The War at the Gates of Dawn."

You can get your copies, including the nice leather ones, at Elf Lair Games' website. If you backed the Kickstarter, then your games are on the way. I got mine early because I was a "test subject" for their new mailing system. I grabbed extra copies for our Sunday group since they helped play-test it.

You can also get your Wasted Lands books as PDF if you like. 

This is a great game and I really want everyone to give it a try. 

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Mail Call Tuesday: New Dice from Threshold Diceworks

 Hello. My is Tim, and I am addicted to dice.

It began innocently enough. I got a set in my D&D Basic. Then another in my D&D Expert Box. Then B. Dalton's Bookseller in White Oaks Mall had Dragon Dice in full sets and percentile genators.

Then I got clear sets. Blue sets. Discover more. Now...well, now I have no clear idea how many I have. I have sets for characters, a set for each game, and sets for DMing certain campaigns. Metal dice, tiny dice, huge dice.

So what did I get in the mail yesterday? You guessed it.

Threshold Diceworks retro Dice

Threshold Diceworks retro Dice

These retro dice were made by Threshold Diceworks. Which you can find on Facebook and their Etsy store. He was taking pre-orders a while back and mine finally came in yesterday and I am very pleased with them!

They compare very favorably to the sets I had with my Expert set, the Dragon Dice polyhedrals, and the sets that came with the Mentzer Basic boxes.

Threshold Diceworks Dice compared to classic dice.

Threshold Diceworks Dice compared to classic dice.

Threshold Diceworks Dice compared to classic dice.

Yes. Those are my Mentzer dice still in a bag and unopened and unmarked.

Threshold Diceworks Dice and Armory dice markers

I even have some Armory Dice Markers for them! I might swap a d10 in each set for a proper set of percentile dice. I can even use them for Star Frontiers.

Now. I just need a good dice bag for them.

These will likely be my Old School Essentials dice or my Wasted Lands ones. 

In any case, I am really happy to have them. When they start selling more I need to snag an orange d8.

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Mail Call: More Witches!

 Yeah...I am obsessed. Mail call today, and it was full of some great witch books.

Up first, another witch-centric RPG I backed on Kickstarter, Last Sabbath.

Last Sabbath RPG

Last Sabbath RPG

Last Sabbath RPG

Last Sabbath RPG Art, bookmark and pin
Last Sabbath RPG Art, bookmark and pin

The game looks phenomenal, and I want to try it out really soon.

And one I have been waiting 20+ years for.

The Bewitching Hour

Ashley Poston has a novel out about 17-year-old Tara, one of my all-time favorite witches. 

This is her pre-Sunnydale days, and I can't wait to jump into this.  And because I had a credit lying around, I picked it up on Audible as well.

The Bewitching Hour Audiobook

While I am sure the narrator will be great, it would have been nice to get Amber Benson to do it.

--

So yeah I *know* I am obsessed, and I know I catch some grief for it online, but you know what? 

I don't actually care.

This is my little corner of the Internet, and I get to do what I love here. And if that gets me 10 fans or 10,000*, then fantastic! Plenty of other sites out there that leave me scratching my head asking "who would even find that fun??" but hey, their sites, their rules. 

To quote Steve Martin, "The most amazing thing to me is, I get paid for doing this!"


(*It is less than 10,000, but a lot more than 10!)


Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Mail Call: Enter the Creative Commons Era

 To recover from their massive PR screw-up involving the OGL, Wizards of the Coast swang the completely other direction and released the D&D 5 SRD under the Creative Commons License. 

I know much less about this license than I do about the OGL. I am pretty competent in the OGL and have been part of the Open Gaming Foundation since its beginning. So yeah, I have had nearly 23 years of practice with it. 

I got my copy of the new Swords & Wizardry Complete Revised via their Kickstarter recently and it looks fantastic.  It uses the CC 4.0 By Attribution license.  So I thought I'd grab some more Creative Commons books and see how they are made.

Creative Common books

Not a bad collection, really.

The Arcanum 30th Anniversary Edition is an update to the venerable Arcanum and Compleat books from the 1980s.  I always have had a soft spot in my heart for this series. The 30th Anniversary Edition also does a good job of updating these rules and provides a nice history.  

It has been released under the CC BY-SA - Creative Commons Share Alike license. Sadly, Zila Games seems to be either defunct or at least lost their website. 

In a move I think surprises no one, Basic Fantasy RPG Core Rules 4thEd from Chris Gonnerman also has gone Creative Commons. This one was also released under the CC BY-SA - Creative Commons Share Alike license.

All three are worthy updates to their original versions. If somewhat thicker.

Creative Commons and Originals

The rules have not really changed all that much. The presentation of all three is also better, with Swords & Wizardry inching out as the best-looking update.

This might be just what I needed to help get over my creative hump on my High Witchcraft book I have been playing around with for years.