June 28, 2018 Wrath & Glory Warhammer 40,000 Role Playing Game Press Release
The much-anticipated Wrath & Glory Warhammer the 40,000-roleplay game, as announced in August 2017, is on preorder now. The RPG is crafted by award winning game designer Ross Watson and published by Ulisses North America. Go to www.ulisses-us.com/wrathandglory for all the details. The adventures in Wrath & Glory take place in the new era of Warhammer 40,000 that was introduced with the 8th Edition of Warhammer 40,000 miniatures game. This is a galaxy torn asunder by a great warp storm that altered reality itself forever bringing the great rift.
Pre-Order Campaign – What You Get The Wrath & Glory preorder campaign is not a Kickstarter or crowd funding. This campaign gives fans the opportunity to purchase bundles of the new products at significant savings. They are the first to get the new game, expansions, and supplemental items, months before they become available in stores for the general public. Along with the preorder, Ulisses North America is adding bonus material for fans plus other spiffs on the Pre-Order Campaign.
What’s New? Wrath & Glory is first and foremost a role-playing game. What’s new and different about the Wrath & Glory RPG from other RPGs? Lots! Here are some examples.
Simple yet Satisfying Wrath & Glory game mechanics are easy to grasp but detailed enough to make characters clearly distinct for other characters. Baked right into the game are rules and benefits for doing things that your character is particularly good at that gives great opportunities for role-playing. For example a commissar may have the objective of threatening someone with execution for being a coward while a priest must bring up a famous martyr and the effect of his death on the players. Wrath & Glory is built to be encompassing to different styles of play, different type of characters (both archetypes and races). Unlike the previous version of Warhammer 40,000 there will be no new systems or rules to learn as new campaigns and settings come out. While the system is simple and effective enough for a novice to learn, it offers the expert an opportunity to face varying degrees of challenge and adventure.
Character Spotlight Warhammer 40,000 has spawned countless novels, novel series, board games, video games, hundreds of miniatures, incredible artwork. In total more than any other game setting published. Players can create their own stories in this grim and dark far future. The character design and play style of the Wrath & Glory RPG makes every character player a key to the success of any scenario.
The Grim 41st Century Setting Fans of the 40,000 Warhammer universe understand the grimness of this far future and will find Wrath & Glory an immersive experience into the setting that’s true-to-lore with depth of detail experienced in character play.
Role-playing Game players who have never played Warhammer 40,000 miniatures game or don’t know the game setting will quickly be immersed into an incredible setting that’s ripe for role-playing. It is a fun and quick moving RPG allowing players many opportunities to participate in the game to build the strength and resources of their character.
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About Ulisses. In a few short years, Ulisses North America has earned its reputation as a publisher of very high quality roleplaying games. It was founded by Markus Plötz. Markus is also the CEO of Ulisses Spiele, headquartered in Germany, which supports more RPG lines in active print than any other company in the world.
The Ulisses North America design studio consists of high caliber, award-winning game designers with decades of experience who have worked on some of the best selling RPGs in history and some of the most popular intellectual properties in the world. They are led by Timothy Brown, multi-award winning designer and creative design director veteran with over 40 years of experience in the industry. In 2017, Ulisses North America was selected to create an immersive RPG for exploring the grim dark universe of Warhammer 40,000.
Ross Watson is the lead designer and product line manager for Wrath & Glory, Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay. Ross is an award-winning designer who, among numerous other credits, oversaw development of the Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, and Deathwatch roleplaying games. His game design acumen and vast knowledge of the Warhammer 40,000 universe makes him the perfect choice for taking Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay into the Dark Imperium.
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Tessera Guild Editor’s Note – Some edits, formatting, and additions were made to this press release.
INDIANAPOLIS (June 28, 2018) Magic: The Gathering will commemorate its 25th Birthday on August 2-5 in Indianapolis at Gen Con, North America’s largest and longest-running tabletop convention. Making an international splash at Gen Con in 1993, Magic: The Gathering has become a worldwide phenomenon with more than 100 booster releases, printings in eleven languages, and more than 20,000 unique cards. At Gen Con 2018, Magic will give back to the gaming community with a host of planned events, tournaments, and surprises.
“We are thrilled to see Magic’s exciting plans for 2018,” said David Hoppe, Gen Con President. “25 years ago, Magic’s debut at Gen Con changed the course of gaming history, and we’re eager to see not only what they have planned for this year, but for the next 25 years of Magic: The Gathering.” Magic’s 2018 presence at Gen Con will include hundreds of events, including Learn-to-Play programming, competitive drafts, and signature offerings that highlight the 25th Birthday of the original tradeable card game.
Events include:
● Magic’s 25th Birthday Championship- Eight qualifier events, open to all attendees, will take place over the weekend that will culminate in a Sunday eight-player event which will feature Beta boosters from Magic’s first year of existence.
● Magic Panel- Attendees can learn about Magic’s history and glimpse its future at a ticketed, free panel.? Celebrate Magic’s 25th birthday with its creators! Come join us and members of Magic’s R&D team as they talk about their personal history with the game and where they see it in the next 25 years. Get a look behind the scenes at Wizards and learn about their journey from being fans of the game to creating it. Stick around for a Q+A session with our guests!
● Multi-Player Events- The more players, the more fun! Multiplayer events will include Battlebond 2HG, Wizards Tower, Trios, and Grand Melee. These are great for parent & child teams!
● Constructed Events- Great prizes await at Standard, Modern, Legacy, and Vintage events.
● On-Demand Programming- Round-the-clock Magic including Core 2019 Drafts, Chaos Drafts, 2HG Drafts, Commander play, and TURBO TOWN events.
● Weekend-Long Surprises- The Wizards of the Coast team will have some surprises in store all-weekend, and gamers should keep on the lookout for giveaways on social media, around the convention center, and in Magic’s play areas.
About Gen Con LLC Gen Con LLC produces the largest consumer hobby, fantasy, science fiction, and adventure game convention in North America, Gen Con, The Best Four Days in Gaming!™. Founded in 1968 and acquired in 2002 by founder and former CEO of Wizards of the Coast, Peter Adkison, the company is headquartered in Seattle and takes place each August in Indianapolis.
About Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast brings people together through their shared love of games. Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and other Wizards games are enjoyed by friends around the world, both at gaming tables and on digital platforms. We bring together world-class creators in game design, worldbuilding, fantasy art, and interactive events to create unforgettable moments. Wizards of the Coast is a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS). For more information, visit www.wizards.com
. Media Contact for Gen Con LLC Stacia Kirby, (206) 363-1492, stacia@speakeasy.net
I started watching wrestling during the 80s. At some point, my sister and I discovered that on the UHF channel they’d show wrestling pretty much all day on Saturdays. There’d be WWF and NWA to bookend things, but in the middle, you got all sorts of regional wrestling shows with people that my dad recognized but neither of us had any clue. We watched the goofiness of GLOW (well before it became a Netflix tv show). We’d absorb it. We’d cheer for our favorites.
And we had no idea that it wasn’t real.
Then I didn’t watch it for many years, only to pick it back up in the mid-90s when I heard that Hulk Hogan had turned bad guy and the NWO (New World Order) was running roughshod over WCW (which I later understood to be basically the successor to those NWA shows I’d watched as a kid. Every week I tuned in.
And then I stopped again. I’m not sure if I grew tired of it or just faded out with it. Once in a while, I’d flip it on and see who was wrestling. I watched the last episode of WCW when WWE bought them. I watched handfuls of episodes of TNA Wrestling. And even watched WWE.
A couple of years ago I started back up (much to my wife’s chagrin). My nephew has tons of the figures and at the beach, we watched an episode of RAW (WWE’s flagship show). It was over.
Luckily, I knew it wasn’t “real” anymore, but I still like to watch.
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The Death of WCW by R.D. Reynolds & Bryan Alvarez is a history lesson and a cautionary tale. It is about making all the correct decisions for a short amount of time and then having it all come crashing down around you.
You see, in the 80s, the WWF was king. Everyone knew Hulk Hogan and Wrestlemania and Andre the Giant. They had a cartoon. Andre was in one of my favorite movies (The Princess Bride for those keeping score). But in the 90s WCW had a run where they took over and all people wanted to see was the NWO.
The book goes into the history leading up to this revolution. It talks about WCW’s roots within the regional wrestling business. How Ted Turner’s TBS Superstation made him want wrestling programming. And how with a few signings of talent from the WWF (Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall), WCW became number one.
It walks you through the weeks. And as it did, I began to remember many of the matches talked about. One of the great things about wrestling is this ability to connect to your childhood through the championships and through the wrestlers who span the decades. Each backstage glimpse revealed answers to questions I’d long-since forgotten about.
If I had one complaint about the book it would be that towards the end you could almost cut and paste the words on the pages. WCW did this stupid thing and made this stupid decision and then doubled down on that dumb thing… but that’s not really the book’s fault. Those were the decisions being made by whoever might have been in charge at that particular time. I mostly found myself thinking (even though I know the ending… it’s right there in the title) “Surely they are going to learn from this mistake, right?”
They didn’t.
And like a train wreck, you can’t look away and you want to keep reading if only to find out the next dumb decision.
Wrestling might be fake, but the decisions being made were very real indeed. If you are a fan of wrestling now or then, it is an eye-opening read to be sure.
There are a number of excellent RPG Kickstarters that end this week but I want to focus on four of them. From superheroes to fantasy, original systems to Savage Worlds, these four campaigns are worth your time.
“Recovery and re-imagining of first-generation Champions role-playing.
The first wave of role-playing design was its own Renaissance, marked by greatness of all kinds. If you were playing then, you’ll remember. And if you weren’t, you’d be amazed at what that wave held. One of them was Champions, the Super Role-Playing Game.
Hero Games is proud to present Champions Now, to be created by pioneering game designer Ron Edwards, author of Sorcerer and co-founder of The Forge. Ron will revisit the original three editions of first-generation Champions (1981 to 1988), recovering the power of this foundational era of superhero roleplaying.
We know that time and tides went elsewhere. Fourth edition Champions and the Hero System have their own storied history beginning 1987-1989. Steve Long revised and expanded this body of work into the Hero System Fifth Edition in 2001, and then revised and expanded it again in 2009. There were lots of good books, lots of great games, and lots and lots of superheroing.
And that’s fine. Things change. Only… there is one little point, one observation, one wholecreative superhero subculture left back there in the past. One that just happened to rock the hobby to its foundations and train a whole generation of play and design, including a bunch of Big Ass Names who wrote the Big Ass Games you know well.
So our goal for Champions Now? To show you why the original Champions created by George MacDonald and Steve Peterson was actually just that good. To celebrate and recover that explosive quality. The final work will include best practices for the original rules and a new rules-set to bring their strengths forward, as well as practical essays about superhero comics and gaming.
It will also include you. See these people playing this game?
Right here is a very sketchy yet usable playtest document. We’re playing this thing right now and so can you. We want to know what you do with it! Pledging playtesters get serious props right there in the text, saying what they said and what it means.
Halfway there breaking news! Hero Games is providing the PDFs for Champions 3rd edition and for the supplements Champions II and Champions III to all backers at named tiers at the completion of the campaign. The playtest document was written assuming you’d have these in hand, and now you totally will, as of July 1.
That’s why you see that long delivery period – so you can play. This isn’t a pre-order for a prefabricated product that would have been pumped out anyway. The point of crowdfunding is inclusion, and this is how that happens.
Another example are Ron’s short videos, like this one, which initially appear as updates and are archived into a public resource at Adept Play. What you tell us about how you play and what happened – that’s what upcoming videos are made to address. If you want, you might even get to be in one!
Ron Edwards is a wanderin’ Californian who has wound up in Sweden. He is the co-founder of the legendary website The Forge, a creator-owned-game publisher site, and the author of some notions about role-playing. His previous works include Sorcerer, Trollbabe, Spione, and Circle of Hands. He won the second Diana Jones Award for “excellence in gaming” in 2002, and is the author and creator of this project.
Steven S. Long is a role-playing game author and one of the owners of Hero Games. He has written for numerous companies, including White Wolf Publishing, Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Steve Jackson Games, Last Unicorn Games, and Chameleon Eclectic. He has written, co-authored, edited, or developed over 200 RPG products. Steve will be assisting in the development and playtesting phase of this project.
Jason S. Walters is an author, essayist, and publisher best known for running Indie Press Revolution (IPR), a distributor of micro-published roleplaying games. He is also one of a small group of investors that purchased Hero Games in 2001, and serves as its CEO. He is the developer of numerous roleplaying games, including Champions Complete, Fantasy Hero Complete, and At The Hands of An Angry God. Jason is the publisher for this project.
Ruben Smith-Zempel was made in Oregon. He showed his creativity at an early age, charging his 3rd grade classmates 25 cents for paper and cardboard army vehicles (for the G.I. Joe’s, of course). Thus was born an artist who would never shy away from creating things important to his hobbies. Ruben has served as head graphic designer on dozens of RPG projects and will be handling layout and graphic design for this project.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
As a kid, the ads for the historic versions of these games always captured my attention creating a nostalgia for this campaign as much as the game itself. I want to see how this game plays today (and how this campaign plays out).
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere or at the OpenGamingStorehere.
“Everything you need to begin an exciting adventure with your friends that you won’t forget
Quest is the roleplaying game for everyone.
If you’re completely new to this type of game, we’ll have a friendly conversation with you about how to play. Quest is fast, fun, and easy to learn. We hope to show you how intuitive and immersive storytelling games can and should be. And if you’re already an experienced player, you’ll find a surprisingly deep game with a refreshing set of modern rules.
This is a game about becoming an extraordinary person in a dangerous world. You’ll explore wondrous places, meet fascinating and mysterious people, witness magical events, and answer the call to go on an exciting adventure. What happens in this world is based on the choices you and your friends make.
Curious? Excited? Ready?
Let’s begin.
Quest is a way to tell an exciting story with your friends. You don’t have to be an improv actor or a mathematician to be good at it – you just need to open your mind and use a little imagination. The rules of the game are intuitive and help you imagine where the story might go.
These are just some of the ways Quest will help you quickly begin your adventure, and potentially carry it with you for years to come.
The Friendly Guide. Everyone deserves to feel like a hero with their friends at the table, so we wrote a book that feels inviting. It’s not a textbook – it’s a conversation. Along the way, you’ll see a running dialog from a fictional group of players, to help you see how the rules of the game are used to tell the story.
The way it works is simple. Read the left side of the player’s guide to learn the basics, and if you want to learn a little more, see the right side of the book. Here’s what it looks like:
A page spread from the Quest Game Book
The Essential Deck. Quest features a deck of cards with all of the game’s special moves, so that you can reference them at the table without having to flip through a book. The Essential Deck makes it easy and fun to grow as a character. When you begin the game, you’ll start with a few moves that make your character special. As you grow during your adventure, you’ll get to collect more cards that tell you how to do amazing things.
Essential Deck cards showing Quest’s 8 hero roles
The Story Engine. Quest only uses a single (but powerful) die – the twenty-sided die, or “d20.” When the stakes are high in your adventure, rolling the die will help you imagine what happens. Sometimes you’ll use it to walk a tightrope, make a sweet move, or witness the results of an unpredictable spell.
You only need to roll once to see what happens. And if you’re really good at something, you’ll get a bonus. Then, you’ll check to see what the consequences are from an easy-to-remember set of outcomes.
The story engine keeps the game moving fast by letting you succeed a lot. But when you fail, the consequences will be meaningful. Every choice you make matters.
“Quest breaks from the war gaming history of more classic tabletop RPGs to bring a more narrative driven approach both in and out of combat. I love D&D, but it is structurally, by the design and history of war gaming that it comes out of, a game that encourages players into the murderhobo mindset. Quest feels like a game that is trying push back on that inclination systemically. A lot of the spells and skills tend to be a bit more narrative driven which gives a lot more room for encounters that aren’t about just about killing monsters.”
Spells that tell tales. We think everything you can do in a tabletop roleplaying game should be surprising and delightful. So we created skills and abilities with a focus on narrative and fun. Quest’s skills and spells – the special things your adventurer gets to do – are meant to inspire your own silly, dramatic and unexpected ideas. Here are a few examples:
There are over 300 spells and skills in Quest that you can learn and use. Follow us on Twitter to see more examples, where we’ll be posting more previews of Quest’s spells, abilities, and items every day.
Play a little, or a lot. You can play Quest just once, or a few times, with groups of any size. You don’t have to make a long-term commitment to play, and with our first adventure format, you’re not obligated to play every time your group meets; you can easily rejoin the story down the road, if you want. But for groups that want to tell an epic story over months or years, Quest is deep enough to let your character learn and grow over time.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
An easy, inclusive fantasy RPG that has, as of this writing, around 1,200 backers. I think they’ve found the secret sauce and that level of excitement alone is reason enough to check this out. Want more details? Dan Davenport hosted a Q&A with T.C. Sottek about Quest and has a copy here: https://gmshoe.wordpress.com
“5th Evolution (5Evo) takes the wildly popular 5E game mechanics and applies them to new genres: super heroes, WW2, and 80s horror.
What is 5th Evolution?
5th Evolution (5Evo) takes the wildly popular 5e game mechanics and applies them to new genres. 5Evo products are a marriage of comics and roleplaying.
5th Evolution is intended for gamers who enjoy the 5E game engine and would like to use it in other genres. 5E is wildly popular, has been extensively play-tested, and is easy for new players to learn. Many players familiar with 5E are hesitant to learn a new system, and 5Evo allows them to explore new worlds and genres of play seamlessly.
What does this Kickstarter Contain?
This project is made up of three separate graphic novel-sized softcover books in three different genres: WW2, Super Heroes, and 80’s Horror. Each book contains three parts:
Part 1: the comic. Each 5Evo book opens with a comic that GMs will share digitally with their players prior to the gaming session. These comics serve to introduce the genre and setting, as well as to get players invested in the coming adventure.
Part 2: the adventure. The second section of each 5Evo book is a one-shot adventure, complete with pregenerated characters, that picks up where the comic left off.
Part 3: the source guide. Finally, the third section of each 5Evo book is a source guide that gives the GM the monsters, equipment, and characters to create their own adventures in that particular genre.
The Books
World War II – Set in North Africa in 1942, you’ll crew an M5A1 Stuart tank on a special mission during Operation Torch. This book contains the adversaries, equipment, characters, and vehicles to run a WW2 North Africa campaign with or without supernatural elements.
Source guide includes:
4 American WW2 solider archetypes
Period specific tanks and trucks
Meticulously researched, period specific firearms
Customizable enemy combatants
Super Heroes – Set in Carbide City in the present day, you are part of a team of the super heroes trying to stop a gang of super villains wreaking havoc downtown. This book contains the super villains, equipment, and player archetypes to run a supers campaign.
Source guide includes:
13 of Carbide City’s worst super villains
Customizable non-super enemies
Future tech equipment
10 character archetypes
80s Horror Films – Set in the small town of Woodhaven in 1985, you and your friends get in over your heads and uncover a dark plot while seeking a party. This book contains the monsters, equipment, and teen hero archetypes needed to run a horror campaign set in the 1980s.
“Secret Agents of CROSS is a tabletop RPG where Catholic agents protect the flock from supernatural horrors, demons, and terrorists.
CROSS is a clandestine spy agency also known as the Catholic Response Organization to Strategize and Strike. CROSS was created by rogue Cardinal James McDonnell to take the Pope’s prayers and convert them into actions. He and his command staff create missions to protect the flock from evil using cutting-edge technology coupled with saintly magic honed over 2000 years of history.
The CROSS organization was originally created as part of a Champions game years ago. When I decided to create a setting around it, I wanted to capture my vision of an organization that only includes agents that are the best of the best. They are the only people suited for the types of adversaries that they will face. I wanted the players to feel like they were playing competent characters from the start. When I discovered Savage Worlds, I felt that the exploding dice aspect of Savage Worlds along with the bennies system modeled that feeling. After a few sessions at Garycon, I knew this was the system for Secret Agents of CROSS.
Please note, you will need a copy of Savage Worlds to play Secret Agents of CROSS. You can find out more about Savage Worldshere.
You will receive the Secret Agents of CROSS book, a Savage Worlds setting in full color with approximately 170 pages of never-before-seen content. This book is your guide on how the world of CROSS operates, how to make player characters, and how to run CROSS missions that are steeped in secret spy stuff, religious history, modern terrorism, and the supernatural.
For Players and GMs:
A brief history of Biblical events that affect the modern world of CROSS.
A detailed history of the creation of CROSS and the entire command staff.
10 Roles for players to choose from to promote CROSS’s setting feel. Optional rules to expand, create, or change Roles.
New Edges and Hindrances to help capture the setting feel of Catholic secret agents.
Over 40 unique weapons created by the engineers of CROSS.
For GMs:
Suggestions for how to handle the nature of supernatural things and how they are affected by normal and supernatural powers.
Suggestions for the use of CROSS in various genres including Fantasy, Horror, and Superhero settings.
Suggestions on how to provide the best gaming experience for each archetype.
Double-secret-GM’s-eyes-only section of secrets not revealed in the other chapters.
Over 30 powerful relics and artifacts to place into missions.
Over 30 adversaries to interact with your agents. Some good, some bad, some hard to tell.
3 complete missions for your agents to begin defending the flock.
A detailed mission generator.
High-quality color pdf and printing fulfilled with DriveThruRPG in standard 8.5″ x 11″ size.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Pete Ruttman of Blessed Machinereached out over a month before this campaign began to share his enthusiasm for his game. The concept – literal warriors of Christ – is an obvious idea (D&D Paladins brought to today), yet it has only been lightly explored in the [largely secular] gaming industry. Since the engine is Savage Worlds, the question of deciding whether to back this or not becomes if you like that system and this setting for it.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!
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Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by a variety of companies:
What you need are ways to squeeze in a little exercise into the gaps of ordinary life.
Here’s ten simple exercise solutions. Try a few or do them all.
1. Park in the Farthest Spot Available
It’s funny how people operate. The fittest guy or gal, even when driving to the gym for a vigorous workout, will usually pick the closest, most convenient parking spot. It makes zero sense when you think about it. Forget about driving around the mall or the airport trying to find the best spot. Park way, way out there, and burn some calories on your way in/out of wherever you’re going. Anyways, thanks to these amazing workouts I’ve got from https://strongandfit.com! These also helped me achieved the peak physical performance I need!
Another bonus to this tactic: never having to fight with other drivers over parking spots.
Look at all that exercise waiting to be had.
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2. Take the Stairs Instead of the Elevator
Three floors up? What’s the problem? Bypass the herd waiting outside the elevator doors and sprint for the stairs. As far as time spent, taking the stairs will cost you…what? An extra 5 seconds per floor? Instead of standing idly inside a big metal box, you can stretch your legs out nicely which you can do better with some tips at https://studio-element.net/be-flexible/.
Bonus: Carrying luggage while scaling the stairs.
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3. Take the Stairs Two at a Time
Ever notice how close stairs are to one another? It’s almost like they were built to accommodate children and octogenarians. So why are you, a robust thirty or forty-something, taking them one at a time? Come on, man! Move those legs and climb at twice the speed!
Bonus: Taking stairs two at a time…while on an escalator
I’d climb stairs with her ANY day.
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4. Do One Set of Pushups Every 20 Minutes (while doing household chores)
Stop. Drop. Give me twenty.
You’re doing laundry? Do a set of pushups after hitting ‘Wash’ on the machine. You’re waiting for pasta to boil on the stove? Do another set. You’re waiting for your computer to boot up? Drop to the floor and knock yet another set out. I’ve been doing this for years, and sometimes at day’s end I look back and realize I’ve banged out 500 pushups. You don’t have to do 500. Just do what suits you…while setting aside only a fraction of the time you would have for an actual trip to the gym.
Bonus: Set weekly pushup goals. Then shatter your own records.
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5. Buy a Push Mower
Sometimes I peek out my front door and see my neighbor (who’s twenty years younger) riding around his tiny little yard on a $1,500 John Deere mower. And sometimes I see my other neighbor, a former marine, striding slowly behind his self-propelled mower. First of all, these machines cost way more than a typical walk-behind mower. And second of all, these guys are mowing outside on a beautiful summer day…somehow getting no exercise at all. You can get a push mower for $150-$300. Slap on a mulcher (bagging your grass will slow you down) and get going! Studies show that with a medium-sized lawn, you can walk 1-2 miles while mowing.
We have another word for all that walking: exercise
Mow your way to fitness.
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6. While Playing Video Games, Ride a Stationary Bike
This one is among my favorites. I’m a video game nut (see this and this) and yet there’s possibly no activity in the world that’ll kill fitness quite like plopping on the sofa and not moving for hours on end. Solution? Buy a stationary bike and pump out the miles…while crushing your favorite games. I’ve found that the higher energy level the game requires, the faster you’ll tend to bike. Once, while playing Zelda – Breath of the Wild, I biked for two-and-a-half hours without really even noticing.
And afterward, I’d gotten both a gaming fix and a really satisfying workout.
Bonus: Play Mario Kart while on a bike and pretend you’re racing along with the game. Seriously. It works.
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7. Take the Printer out of your Office
Humans are always striving to increase their level of convenience. But at what cost? This suggestion isn’t just about printers or other office hardware. It’s about purposely not obsessing about convenience. So you’ll have to get up and walk thirty steps every time you print something? Big deal. Just do it. So you’ll have to carry your laundry upstairs? I’m not sure I see the problem.
Force yourself to move. Get out of your chair. Savor every step you have to take.
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8. Carry Hand-Baskets in the Store instead of using Shopping Carts
What’s that you say? A shopping cart with just six things inside? Nope. That’s hand-basket territory. You know what a hand-basket is, right? The little things with handles stacked just inside the grocery store entrance.
Bonus: If you must use a shopping cart, push it all the way back into the store rather than into the cart corral
This woman makes me proud.
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9. Install a Chin-Up Bar in a Household Doorway
They don’t cost much. They’re surprisingly safe. And chin-ups are an awesome way to tone your shoulders and boost your core strength. My suggestion is this: install a bar in a doorway you pass through 5-6 times every day. And then…every single time you pass through that doorway…pump out 5-10 (or more, if you’re buff) chin-ups. Even if you can only do 1-2 chin-ups per pass, it’s fine. They’re quick, and it’s a fantastic exercise.
Hrrrrnnnnggggg!!
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10. Walk Faster
No, don’t be a fast-walking robot. Just be swift. While taking a stroll at the park, pick up the pace a little. While watching the kids play at the park, walk brisk circuits around the playground. Slogging along through grocery stores, parks, and parking lots is the same as sitting in traffic. Get off the surface roads and onto the highway. Move those feet and get your heart-rate rising!
Bonus: On moving sidewalks, actually walk. (Most people just stand there and let the sidewalk float them into oblivion.)
To coincide with Origins Game Fair 2018 (June 13 to 17, 2018), I wrote articles spotlighting some of the games and personalities that were at Origins. Below is a collection of those articles as well as a shout out to Esper Genesis for 5e and Christopher Negelein (I didn’t get over to see the game but I still wanted to share it here because it looks amazing and easy to pick up for all D&D 5e players).
Dream Askew // Dream Apart – During the con, this Kickstarter ended with 1,705 backers pledging CA$62,355. While Avery Alder’s prior game, MonsterHearts 2, did not win an Origins Award, it appeared among some amazing games and it speaks volumes to the game.
Ankur: Kingdom of the Gods – Chris Miller is from Atlanta (as am I) so we’ve talked at several conventions. It was good to catch up.
Fates of Madness, an RPG Card Game – Due to bad timing on my part, I only got to say hi to Jimmy Sanders, but his demos were running back-to-back and his Kickstarter is going strong.
Art of War – I missed Greg LaRose at Origins, but I still await the return of his Art of War Kickstarter.
“Esper Genesis is a versatile science fiction RPG and setting that uses the 5th edition rules of the world’s greatest roleplaying game.
Galaxies at war, high-tech gadgets and weapons, robots, aliens, starfighters, space cruisers, and ancient machines with the power to shape reality – All of these and more make up the core of Esper Genesis. Brace yourself for high adventure in hyperspace as you strive to make your mark within the great expanse!
Esper Genesis is a science-fiction tabletop roleplaying game powered by the 5th Edition rules engine and inspired by sci-fi greats such as Star Wars, Mass Effect, Phantasy Star, and Ghost in the Shell. Taking on the role of a galactic hero, you can forge your destiny within a universe of advanced technologies and hidden mysteries. Beyond just a bunch of mechanics, Esper Genesis is a powerhouse of awesome sci-fi that’s fully compatible and interchangeable with any official 5E product.
“Heroic Sci-fi Roleplaying“ is the heart of this game. Like the core of 5E, Esper Genesis is just as focused on amazing adventures as it is with fast and easy mechanics. Exotic personalities, alien cultures, and galactic lore are woven together into the setting’s rich history. With a universe that’s immersive from beginning to end, every one of your characters is already part of a fantastic setting you can use to build your own cool sci-fi legend.
Create extraordinary personas from soldiers and spies with high-powered gadgets, to engineers wielding specialized rigs and robotics. Though there is no magic, gifted adepts known as “Espers” channel their cosmic energies through powerful devices, producing spectacular feats of gravity control, psychic ability, and the power to shape the very fabric of space-time.
And that’s only the beginning! Esper Genesis has a unique, adaptable rules system for starship combat. Strap in and blast through the stars in a ship of your own or as part of an ace crew in your party-owned and operated vessel. We’ve also developed an extended list of new weapons, armor, gear, and enhancements, all tailored to provide you with a full scale sci-fi experience.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
I missed this Kickstarter when it was going on, but 336 backers that pledged $24,313 did not. The short pitch – D&D 5e rules used for an epic sci-fi/space opera. If you know 5e, this is an option to take the rules from the dungeon and up into the heavens. If you don’t know 5e, the advertisements assure that “[y]ou do not need the D&D rulebooks or any other 5E product in order to play.” The core rulebook is available now as well as four free samples over at DriveThruRPG and they’re worth looking into.
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!
* * * * * *
Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by a variety of companies:
Gen Con Approaching Badge Sellout for Second Consecutive Year More than 90% of Convention’s 4-Day Badges Gone
INDIANAPOLIS (June 19, 2018) Gen Con, the largest and longest-running gaming convention in North America, has announced that it expects certain types of badges to sell out in the coming weeks as sales have surpassed the 90% threshold for its badge offering four days of admission to the show. The sellout of 4-Day badges will mark only the second time that this has happened in Gen Con’s 51-year history with the first sellout occurring in 2017. Prospective attendees are encouraged to purchase 4-Day badges quickly while limited supplies remain.
“Our goal at Gen Con is to provide the highest-quality experience possible for as many gamers as possible,” said David Hoppe, Gen Con President. “We continue to refine our operational planning for Gen Con each year, which has allowed us to increase the total quantity of 4-Day badges available. That said, we expect to sell out of these badges soon.”
The majority of Gen Con attendees purchase 4-Day badges; while single-day offerings provide more economical options to attend the show, including the convention’s new $15 Sunday-only badge. Children ages 10-and-under can attend for free with a child’s wristband option.
Gen Con 2018 returns to the Indiana Convention Center Thursday, August 2 through Sunday, August 5. Last year marked a historic milestone for the convention as it celebrated its 50th show, setting record attendance numbers and selling out for the first time in its history.
About Gen Con LLC Gen Con LLC produces the largest consumer hobby, fantasy, science fiction, and adventure game convention in North America, Gen Con, The Best Four Days in Gaming!™. Founded in 1968 and acquired in 2002 by founder and former CEO of Wizards of the Coast, Peter Adkison, the company is headquartered in Seattle and the convention takes place each August in Indianapolis.
Media Contact for Gen Con LLC Stacia Kirby, (206) 363-1492, stacia@speakeasy.net
This is part of a series of posts where I look back at the process of running a Kickstarter. The steps we took, the mistakes we made, and a bunch of other things I wish I had known.
When we last left our intrepid hero, he was busy crunching numbers for the Route 3 Kickstarter, trying to find the bare minimum it would take to actually get the trade funded. And I had my number: around $4500 would get us what we wanted.
Aside from my mistake, that is what it would cost…
I didn’t notice my mistake at first. And I really must say that I had done a ton of research. I’d listened to podcasts and read blogs until I was cross-eyed, and still didn’t see it coming. Because here’s the warning that you get on every single one of those posts:
Watch out for Shipping costs.
So I did. I was a maniac about it. I was making sure to count every person at the $7 shipping charge. What I didn’t realize is how Kickstarter actually incorporates that number. My brain said:
The shipping is determined after you make your pledge selection, so it CAN’T be a part of the overall $$. It’s a separate item and is effectively collected separately.
What reality said:
No, that $7 for shipping is actually added into the total goal number. So when you were calculating your goals, you should have included that one, but you didn’t.
It seems like it probably shouldn’t matter all that much, but I didn’t realize it until I did an update to the spreadsheet once we’d gotten past the 50 backer mark – and then realized my error.
On the positive, it meant we were much more likely to hit our goal when our $25 reward level was actually worth $32 to the campaign each time. On the negative, I was now seeing that there was as much as an $800 difference. Which basically meant if we barely funded, we’d potentially be behind by $800. Of course, that was the absolute worst case scenario (and I kept reminding myself of that very fact). That was if everyone only contributed at the $25 level. The idea of that happening was highly doubtful. It would mean no one would buy any PDF only levels or any of the higher tiers… again, not realistic.
That rationale didn’t help ease my brain spinning, and I can only imagine Robert’s state of mind when I told him the “good news”:
“So after we got off the phone tonight I got curious about the overall numbers. I quickly added the 55 backers up and found that the shipping charge (the $7 or $20) that appears to be an add-on is actually contributing to the Project Fund Goal.
This obviously causes a problem because we did not factor that into our cost breakdowns. I have written Kickstarter to make sure that I am seeing this correctly. What follows is the note I submitted through their “Support” button:
“I would like to confirm whether or not the added charges for domestic and international shipping is a contributing factor to the project’s overall Funding Goal. I had been under the impression that this was not the case when we launched on Friday afternoon. Is there any way that this can be altered for a project, as our calculated costs did not assume the shipping applied to the pledge amount? We believed it was an add-on. Any assistance you can provide on this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.”
Assuming that this cannot be changed for the project, it appears that our True Number should have been approximately $5625 ($775 difference).
Now, this number is based on various factors:
Digital vs. physical backers – I’m assuming 25% digital based off our current level
Potential of International vs Domestic Shipping – This is probably only going to be a handful of people, but it is something to consider
The number of people who actually chose to do a higher reward level – This would reduce the number of people we actually have to ship anything to.
And potentially people who can get their reward hand delivered – Again, reducing the number of people we actually have to ship anything to.
That’s a lot to take in. I can walk you through it if you want to talk by phone at some point. I’m sorry that I didn’t catch this as I thought we’d been as thorough as possible.”
***
Of course, things couldn’t be changed at that point, and Kickstarter wasn’t going to change their whole setup for little old me. So I mentally prepared myself to make up for the blunder if it came to it. As the campaign went on I tracked the updated numbers and found that for every digital only person, it brought that value down (nothing to ship), for every higher award number chosen, it brought the numbers closer together.
I said it last post – the biggest part of Kickstarter is that it changes with every new person who contributes. We’d calculated in the “have an artist draw you tier” into our numbers, but if all of them weren’t taken (I think we were limited to 10) then it would reduce the number. So there were tons of ways to get through this gaffe. And by the end, just due to the rewards taken, we ended up all good and got some Stretch Goals in for good measure!
***
So I suppose the lesson is to really, really try to identify the potholes where you can. And even if you think you have a handle on the costs, maybe reach out to someone who’s already done a Kickstarter. Sometimes it is the question we don’t even know to ask which end up biting us in the ass.
I just returned from Origins 2018. It was a blast meeting the folks that I write about, joining in the community, and gaming! One of the many games I played there was Eric Bloat’s OSR, Survive This!! Zombies! That inspired me to look at what OSRs are currently on Kickstarter where I found a few winners.
NSFW – This article is Not Safe For Work. OSRs are fun but they’re not without controversy and NSFW art so, dive in at your own risk.
“Role-Playing Game (RPG) Adventure Module Inspired by Classic Tales of Horror. Dungeon Crawl Classics(TM)-Compatible Zero-Level Funnel.
The Peasants’ Fell Bargain is a zero-level adventure compatible with the Dungeon Crawl Classics™ Role-Playing Game. Available in print or PDF and featuring twenty-eight action-packed pages, this fully-illustrated adventure inspired by classic horror tales will put your peasants to the ultimate test as they search for the Lord Stenorian’s missing son.
A Bargain of Fire and Blood
For generations your village has lived and worked in the shadow of the Stenorian estate, which sits perched like an ancient bird of prey on a promontory at the edge of the mountains. You eked out a hard living through logging, mining, or planting the rocky Stenorian lands. Each year you made the three-mile trip up the mountain to pay rent and tribute to the men-at-arms standing watch at the keep’s gate….The years went by, and nothing changed.
Now the Lord Stenorian himself has come, begging for your help. “My men are slain, my father is missing, and I have nowhere else to turn. My son! My son Michael is still hiding somewhere in the keep. Find him! Save him! Do this for me, and I will reward you beyond your wildest imaginings.” His eyes burn with a frightening intensity. “Hear me. Return my boy to me, and ask what you will. I promise you, if it is in my power, I will grant it.” These last words seem to echo inside your minds as visions of a new future for you and your family float before you.
Meaningful Choices and Motivations
The Peasants’ Fell Bargain invites you to be a hero—you are ten-year-old Michael’s only hope—or a mercenary. After all, Lord Stenorian promises you rewards beyond your imaginings: all you have to do is find the boy. No matter the motive, agreeing to serve Stenorian will bring you power you’ve never known.
But as the stories tell us, power always comes at a price, promises can be impossible to keep, and even the purest motives can lead to unspeakable evil…
An Adventure of Mayhem and Mystery
In the best tradition of Dungeon Crawl Classics™, Goodman Games’ incomparable system of classic RPG adventure, The Peasants’ Fell Bargain pits hapless gongfarmers and blacksmiths against monsters from their worst nightmares. You will test your pitchforks and slings against new and deadly adversaries.
At the same time, you will need to examine clues in the Stenorian manor to uncover the horror hiding behind the keep’s high stone walls. The mystery of the Stenorian family unfolds as your party explores the scene and pieces together the evidence. Handouts allow you to discover the story as you go—and what you learn may very well force you to reconsider your assumptions, your plans…
And perhaps even your promises.
Deals with the Devil: A New Game Mechanic
Like many classic tales, The Peasants’ Fell Bargain turns on a pact made between the PCs and a figure of awesome power. Adventurers who choose to strike a bargain with Lord Stenorian will be rewarded with powers determined by a d20 roll on the custom “Fell Bargain Table.”
This funnel also provides an alternate “Monkey’s Paw Table” for use in other adventures and campaigns. Like the story from which it gets its name, the “Monkey’s Paw Table” can extract a high price for the boons granted.
It is not for the faint of heart.
(Art in progress)
A Module Crammed with Content
The Peasants’ Fell Bargain is packed with 28 pages of adventure, illustrations, and game supplements, including “Encounter Cards” that judges can photocopy, cut out, and use to run combats.
Back our Kickstarter, and see what surprises await. With your help, The Peasants’ Fell Bargain will be a funnel you and your party will never forget.
So what do you say?
Do we have a bargain?
Say, what is this Dungeon Crawl Classics™of which you speak?
Dungeon Crawl Classics™is the amazing role-playing game from Goodman Games that takes you back to those all-night odysseys in your parents’ basement, when all a good adventurer needed was a map, a sword, and some guts, and all a player needed was paper and pencil, some dice, and imagination. Magic is mysterious and powerful, monsters are menacing and unpredictable, and Luck matters—A LOT more than min-maxing and statistical analysis. DCC takes the best parts of the game you remember and combines it with the wisdom gained from over fifty years of role-playing to create the one-of-a-kind experience that got you rolling dice in the first place. If you haven’t checked out the rulebook, what are you waiting for?”
Egg’s Thoughts:
At MomoCon 2018, I picked up Dungeon Crawl Classics from the Goodman Games booth. DCC is an OSR that is gonzo awesomeness! Getting to start at zero-level with this adventure is worth checking out because it lets you really stretch your creative legs and build something fun.
“Yet another adventure for the Alpha Blue roleplaying game! Sleazy space opera that parodies many existing scifi franchises.
Hi. I’m Venger As’Nas Satanis, author of classics such as The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence, How to Game Master like a Fucking Boss, and Adventure Writing like a Fucking Boss. What’s up?
I’m Kickstarting the Alpha Blue supplement Alien Ass, Hydrogen Gas, or Cosmic Grass… No One Warps For Free!
Yes, it’s a silly title (a prominent member of the Kort’thalis Publishing g+ community, MoonSylver, came up with it), but it’s the kind of inappropriate, over-the-top, ridiculously awesome kind of thing that Alpha Blue excels at.
This book will be full-color and feature fantastic artwork. I got the taste for color with Blood Dark Thirst and Battle Star: Trek Wars… now, there’s no going back!
Here’s a look at the interior layout for both the PDF and (CreateSpace / Amazon) softcover by Glynn Seal of MonkeyBlood Design. He does awesome work and Kort’thalis Publishing is fortunate to have his services at our slimy pink and blue disposal.
What is Alpha Blue? As I look around me, it seems the vast majority of RPG rules/mechanics are being swallowed up by either old standbys or the new hotness. Well, this particular game is one of the few holdouts that hasn’t become a D&D clone, Fate thing, Apocalypse Powered, or Savage World. And yet, Alpha Blue is vaguely similar to D&D, has a few story-game elements, and wild dice-swinging action.
Alpha Blue has been my most successful RPG line (that includes Crimson Dragon Slayerand The Outer Presence) – numerous supplements have been created over the last 3 years. It’s rules-light (traditional and contemporary hybrid with d6 dice pools), juvenile, and a lot of fun.
Still curious? Play a little choose your own adventure: http://www.sleazyscifi.com/#/
For the most part, it’ll be adventures that parody established scifi franchises. The amount of raunchy, gonzo comedy depends on individual tastes. Not everyone is going to want to playAlpha Blue like a Star Wars porn parody – and that’s ok. Many gamers only want a hint of 70’s era exploitation. And not that you need it, but you’re given “permission” to mix and match less-hard scifi, such as Ice Pirates, Flash Gordon, and Heavy Metal with familiar pop-cultural icons.
Besides several scenarios (see the next few paragraphs), there will be tons of random tables – ice cream, menstruation, tattoos, and so much more! Random tables are kind of my thang and nobody does them better (plus, I get crowd-sourcing help from dozens of contributors who love Alpha Blue and everything it stands for). These tables can be used in multiple adventures, campaigns, and the comedic / gonzo / sleazy RPG of your choice.
Among others, the zenobites will be back in a Hellraiser tribute scenario called “Skinless and Horny.”
It’s spring break somewhere in the Federation, and college kids need transport from Margaritaville to Pina Coladaburg. Wouldn’t it be a shame if convicts from a women’s prison broke out and tried to commandeer the PCs’ ship? That’s a sexy mission if ever there was one.
Terrorists within the Interstellar Caliphate are strapping themselves with suicide vest explosives on their way to the space station of love – Alpha Blue. Admiral Ackbar! Let’s go kill those freedom hating, bastards!!!
There will be pre-generated characters for quick-start games like introductory demos, virtual tabletop, conventions, etc.
Optional rules, helpful suggestions, and neat mechanical bits and pieces will be interspersed throughout the text in sidebars.
Plus, new “classes.” Really, these are just character concepts that will give you some idea of where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Here’s a quick overview…
Primitive Screw-head – you’re a savage barbarian and dumb as a box of space rocks. But you can smash real good, intimidate those low-muscle cerebral types to the point of “pee fright,” and get in the way of delicate high-tech operations like nobody’s business.
Quantum Sorcerer – you travel the universe, casting spells for fun and profit. Yep, you’re a magic-user among the stars. Several new spells will be offered, though the system is so light-weight and malleable that official “spell lists” are unnecessary.
Bard – yes, that’s right. The most useless adventuring profession in the universe – and you can play one! Learn an instrument… or a thousand instruments (doesn’t matter, you’re still going to die horribly) and join the Guild of Performing Arts. The GoPA will assign your bard to a special crew of hand-selected spacers who probably won’t eat you if the food runs out andmight not consider your instrument a portable latrine.
Space Ranger – you’re part of an elite team of highly unorganized cops protecting the innocent and hunting down the worst of the worst. At one time, the space rangers were affiliated with the Federation – not any more. The Federation has grown too corrupt to police itself, let alone the entire universe. You’re a vigilante with a badge!
This book will be 30 pages at a minimum. See the stretch goals for possible extras…”
Egg’s Thoughts:
Looking for a sleazy sci-fi RPG? Something simple system-wise, but full of sex tropes from the 70s and 80s? Venger Satanis, as always, has you covered. Since the Trinity of Awesome Returns, I’ve covered Venger’s Kickstarters. While he’s a font of RPG business wisdom and he’s published some of my first RPG work, he’s also said things I cannot co-sign, so promoting his OSR work – which is an unashamed system-light RPG love letter to the 70s/80s era of low-budget, sleazy sexploitation fantasy and sci-fi movies – goes from let’s-do-it to am-I-going-to-lose-friends-for-this. [For whatever it’s worth, Venger writes me pretty often to see if I’m still upright and drawing breath.] With that, let me share this RPG and let you make your own decision about his subset of OSR – he’s dubbed it “O5R” – that’s “[s]leazy space opera that parodies many existing scifi franchises”.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“The award winning, super-streamlined, oldschool fanstasy roleplaying game returns with its expanded, content packed second edition.
The Kickstarter for the original edition of The Black Hack funded in just 5 days, raising over 1000% of its goal amount – more importantly however, it marked the moment a small set of house rules evolved into a fully-fledged DIY rpg movement. Today, I’m proud to launch this new Kickstarter as another evolution in the life of The Black Hack — turning it into the most comprehensive and lightweight old school system available — with all the gorgeous layout, artwork and trappings that it deserves.
The engine and design behind The Black Hack (TBH) is a simple, straightforward game written in a logical conversational tone. It provides all the experiences you’d expect a traditional fantasy RPG to deliver without clunky rules getting in the way of the action and the emerging character stories.
TBH doesn’t force a trite grand fantasy setting upon the players either. Instead it comes accompanied by a full-suite of tools flavoured with old school fantasy sensibilities – culminating in a game that provides a foundation of preparation or improvisation for the imaginations of the GM and the players.
Peter Regan of Squarehex/Gold Piece Publications has assembled a legendary team to support the writing and design of the game. Artists Karl Sternjberg, Sean Poppe and Jeff Call will be providing detailed, evocative, old school art to fuel the readers’ imaginations and Pookie will be providing editing duties to ensure the writing and rules are water tight.
The beta document has been written, laid out and is going through final playtesting sessions – now all we need to do is have it looked over by an editor, commission the final pieces of monster artwork and print it, which we aim to have done by October. If you pledge at a level that comes with print version of the main rulebook you will gain access to the production ‘beta’ document as soon as the project funds are transferred (normally 2 weeks after the project funding period ends). Thank you for taking the time to read this, but most of all thank you for sharing and supporting this campaign and the DIY RPG movement.
– David Black
The Black Booklet – ‘Quickstart rules for players’ 300gsm matt laminated cover, 170gsm silk art pages.
The Black Hack – ‘All the rules, all the things’ Hardback matt laminated cover, 120gsm internal pages, black end papers.
The Black Hack – ‘All the rules, all the things’ Hardback with cloth/silver foiled cover, 120gsm internal pages, black end papers. Kickstarter Exclusive.
GM’s Screen – ‘Inspiration and GM tools’ 3xA5 panels 300gsm matt laminated card.
Illustrated Character Sheets – Double sided a4 OSR style playbooks, one for each class.
The Black Box – ‘Goodies’ Matt black 1.5mm board with a silver foil printed lid. Dimensions are: 230x165x50mm. Dice are opaque black with white numbering. The dice pouches are black velvet. The pencils are matt black with black wood and black erasers printed in white.”
“Fans have been demanding a combined Labyrinth Lord/Advanced Edition Companion book for a long time…here it is!
Advanced Labyrinth Lord
Labyrinth Lord was first published in 2007, and for over 10 years has been one of the premier old-school “retro-clone” games. Its wildly popular supplement, the Advanced Edition Companion, adds all of the “advanced” first edition options for Labyrinth Lord, all while keeping compatibility with the B/X basic fantasy game.
For the first time, Labyrinth Lord and the Advanced Edition Companion will be seamlessly combined into one volume! Fans have been asking for this for several years, and it is my pleasure to make it happen! All of the basic and advanced options, magic items, and monsters will be brought together under one cover for easy reference.
Here are some facts about the combined book:
This is not a new game.
This is simply a combined book.
You will still be able to separate “basic” from “advanced” game options.
Much interior art will carry over from the original books, but new interior art will be featured in addition.
This combined book does not replace the current separate books. Those books will remain in print.“
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!
* * * * * *
Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by a variety of companies:
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!
* * * * * *
Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by a variety of companies:
Greg LaRose, owner of Amora Game, and TentacleGreg on Open Gaming Network (where I write some articles), is roaming the halls of Origins Game Fair 2018 looking for games to consume. I did an interview with Greg during his Art of War Kickstarter. Check out previews of AoW for 5ehere and for Savage Worldshere as this Kickstarter will be relaunching with some nice improvements in the near-future. And, if you’re at the con, find Greg and talk to him about AoW and his other games.
Have You Seen This Man? Greg LaRose is armed with a dice bag and the Art of War!
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!
* * * * * *
Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by a variety of companies:
It’s another day of Origins Game Fair 2018 and another game worth checking out! This time Legendary Games and Mythica Games are showcasing Fates of Madness on Kickstarter [below] and at Origins. Are you at Origins? Because designer Jimmy Sanders is demo’ing FoM there. As well, there are sessions of the Legends of Draxia card game and the Draxia RPG from Mythica Games.
“A cooperative RPG adventure card game based on the Gothic Campaign Compendium. Plays Solo or up to 5 Players!
Fates of Madness is a cooperative role-playing light adventure card game based on the popular Gothic Campaign Compendium by Legendary Games with game design by Mythica Gaming.
This diceless game is varied by the use of Fate cards and skill level to determine success or failure. This horror themed adventure is the first joint project between Legendary Games and Mythica Gaming.
The game is comprised of two sizes of cards, Tarot sized and Poker sized. You will find the following in the base game but we hope to reach all stretch goals.
Tarot Size Cards
6 Character Cards
4 Character Hit Point Tracker Cards
13 Location Cards (7 Scenarios and 6 Monsters)
5 Boss Monsters Cards
1 Monster Hit Point Tracker Cards
Poker Size Cards
27 Fate Cards
16 Equipment Cards
20 Potion Cards
14 Treasure Cards
Characters in the game
Agrimar Vaskel, Male half-orc paladin
Dominnia Vorsaife, Female human wizard
Eilinica Ziorec, Female elf cleric
Ereviss Cierdel, Male elf bard
Jevalt Ardain, Male human inquisitor
Merenso Kull, Male half-elf ranger
STRETCH GOAL LOCKED: Xiuj Hak Leyng of the Seven-Ghost-Needles, Male middle-aged human alchemist
STRETCH GOAL LOCKED: Ysabot Vaskel, Female human Witch
Locations in the game
Abandoned Laboratory
Crumbling Gazebo
Crypt
Derelict House
Graveyard
Grimoire
Ruined Castle
Swamp, Foul Needler
Cave, Adomination
Misty Grasslands, Barghest
Abandoned Dress Shop, Possessed Manikin
Ancient Battlefields, Animated Armor
Deep Forest, Jabberwock
STRETCH GOAL LOCKED: Farmer’s Field, Barbed Devil
Boss Monsters
Black Behemoth
Body Thief
Devil Beast
Drider
She Devil
LOCKED: Alternative Boss Monster”
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere or at the OpenGamingStorehere.
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!
* * * * * *
Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by a variety of companies:
From Bryce – “[I]f you have a spare 20 minutes to try the [new social deduction card] game, just stop by between 8 and 11 PM in the game room b230.” I hope to see you there.
Intrepid investigators are asked by the stoic Dr. Watson to take cases out of Baker Street in Holmes’s absence. Victorian streets, foggy nights, and crime most foul await. Will the nefarious plans of crafty villains come to fruition or can the champions of justice from Baker Street save the day?
Baker Street is a Role Playing Game in which the players attempt to solve some of the most baffling crimes in history. Featuring over 30 careers, 25 unique criminal extras, and rules for making your own nefarious villains, Baker Street features a robust investigation mechanic, easy character generation, and rules for making your own mystery.”
The small band of outlaws gathers around the trysting tree. Prince John and the Sherriff of Nottingham are making life impossible for the villagers of Sherwood and Barnsdale. Only these outlaws can fight back and preserve the English way of life until good King Richard returns. Don the Lincoln green, grab your arrows, and join the Merry Men!
This book contains:
Adventuring mechanics that feature a narrative style of storytelling and derring-do.
NPCs and legendary characters you can add to any campaign.
Historical information on locations and events in Robin’s life.
A “Clash of Blades” system that brings back the tension and drama of classic movie sword duels.
Rules for Pluck, Swashbuckling Momentum, and a stunt system that unleashes the swashbuckler in you!”
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* * * * * *
Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by a variety of companies:
Ankur: Kingdom of the Gods – Kingdom of the gods is a sci-fi tabletop role-playing game based largely on ancient Sumerian mythology. The game takes place on Earth just after the great flood, some 25,000 years in the past. A species of Alien beings from the planet Nibir, in the farthest reaches of our own solar system, come to Earth to mine gold for the production of Mana. Through genetic manipulation, they create a variety of humanoid slaves to mine gold.
A series of cataclysms and power struggles set in motion events that will entwine the destinies of these species forever! Since the great flood many forgotten ruins and ancient alien technologies lay buried, awaiting re-discovery and exploration. Strange monsters roam the land, remnants of a pre-historic past, all but swept away by the hands of fate. Politics and treachery are around every corner as alien and humankind alike struggle to claim their place in this world. It is up to the players to decide the fate of Earth. Prepare to enter a world of pre-historic monsters, flying saucers, swords and sorcery. Adventure awaits you in…
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* * * * * *
Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by a variety of companies:
“A pick-up & play tabletop RPG. Easy to play, easy to run, hard to survive! Infinitely re-playable, no dice needed, sci-fi fun!
Starship Infernum is a pick-up & play, sci-fi survival-horror, tabletop role-playing game for 3 or more people.
The idea for Starship Infernum began as a one-sheet expansion to our previous pick-up & play game, Purgatory House. But as we started working on it, we realized that it was a complete stand-alone game, and we had to give it the space to soar.
We are now proud to present our brand new, survival-horror RPG with great art, cool new mechanics, alien monsters, psychological dangers, lots of explosions, and even more unrelenting horror:
108 pg. 6×9 Hardback Book! (offset printed in the USA)
Easy to Learn “Blackjack” Mechanics!
Infinitely Replayable! The Ship is different every time!
Pen & Ink Illustrations from Master Artists!
KS Exclusive Extras!
Actual Shipping costs charged AFTER the Kickstarter!
All Backers get immediate access to our Beta Playtest Rules in Update #1!
Character creation is fast and easy, or you can jump right in with one of the many included pre-generated crew mates.
No dice to play, just two decks of regular playing cards (with Jokers!)
Definite endgame! A single adventure plays in 2-4 hours.
Death is not the end of the action! Expired crew mates are still part of the story and will impact the outcome of the adventure.
There are no complicated rules to memorize! If you can play Blackjack, you can play Starship Infernum!
No Prep! Crises are determined at the start of play. The ship layout and the obstacles encountered are generated by a deck of cards. The Dealer simply interprets how to implement them.
The book is filled with examples, gameplay options, and descriptions for each room and obstacle!
All challenges are resolved with a hand of Blackjack. A player only takes damage if they bust!
Failure creates “Rising Tension” which makes the next test harder!
Players can exhaust relevant traits to adjust their total score or use found equipment for a one-time bonus!
Jokers summon Swarms – mass challenges against the entire crew!
Duty Abilities provide each character with a unique bonus (or rules twist) in certain situations!
Crisis Swarms, Spacesuits, EVA, and new Psychological Challenges!“
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* * * * * *
Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by a variety of companies:
That’s the line that started it all. Sure, there were other zombies in movies and literature prior to the delivery of that iconic quote but George A. Romero’s Night of The Living Dead kicked off the modern zombie craze for sure. From Day of the Dead to Return of the Living Dead to Dawn of the Dead to Shaun of the Dead to The Walking Dead, people can’t get enough of The Dead! Zombies can be found in abundance in film, TV, comic books, literature, video games, board games, card games, dice games and yes, of course, roleplaying games. That is where we come in.
SURVIVE THIS!! – Zombies! is the first in the line of SURVIVE THIS!! Roleplaying Games to be released by indy publisher, Bloat Games. SURVIVE THIS!! is a retroclone of the world’s most popular fantasy roleplaying game. Mixing the familiar rules of the Old School Renaissance and a near future zombie apocalypse, SURVIVE THIS!! – Zombies! aims to please giving any zombie lover a fast, fun and wild ride, that’s easy to pick up but hard to put down.
In SURVIVE THIS!! – Zombies! players take on the roles of survivors in a zombie apocalypse. This Collected Edition is the complete game and contains all 4 booklets (Introduction, Survivor’s Handbook, Zombie Master’s Guide & Zombie Manual). Don’t miss out! Pick up all four books today and try to SURVIVE THIS!!”
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Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!
* * * * * *
Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by a variety of companies:
When Terminus Media decided to get into comics, we cut our teeth on four different anthologies. The thought process was that it was a lot to ask an artist for 22 pages, but 8 pages… that would be doable. On top of that, learning to write in those 8 page blocks only helped me as a writer. Considering I was still trying to figure out how exactly to script a comic in the first place, it allowed for learning on the job.
Artists – Rafael Romeo Magat, Kyle Roberts, Rafael Dantas
Colors – Ilaria Fella, Mai, Davi Comodo, Emilio Pilliu
Kickstarter Campaign ends on Friday, June 22, 2018 at 11:00 PM EDT.
***
The Pitch:
Drawing inspiration from classic anthology comics and television shows like Creepy, Eerie, The Twilight Zone and Tales From the Crypt – FIVE FROM BEYOND is a full color, 48-page anthology comic featuring five short stories infusing elements of horror, suspense, and science fiction into each gorgeously illustrated tale.
The Stories:
Parent/Guardian
In the far flung future, beyond the far reaches of our solar system, PARENT/GUARDIAN tells the story of a father’s fight for redemption in the eyes of his daughter.
The Brokener
Born from the imagination of a three year old girl, THE BROKENER is a terrifying tale of folk tradition and the cycle of abuse.
Deathtrap!
A mind bending re-imagining of Edgar Allen Poe’s classic The Pit and the Pendulum. DEATHTRAP! turns the focus outside the pit and onto the rescue party tasked with saving Poe’s original protagonist.
The Ark
Earth’s attempt at colonizing a new world is jeopardized when the transport’s commander decides to play God aboard THE ARK!
The Bin
Based on true events! Four teens stumble upon an unsettling discovery when they go snooping within THE BIN!
John’s Thoughts:
Kyle Roberts clearly knows how to hook me in the very first sentence as he called upon The Twilight Zone. I might as well stop reading at that point as “you’ve got me!”. That aside, the biggest thing with anthologies is doing the initial scan when you are trying to see if any of the story synopsis grab you. So I do that, and knowing nothing else, I’m intrigued by “The Ark” and “Deathtrap!”. The first due to the fact that I have about 10 different ideas on where the story may go and want to see if they’re true. With the latter, Edgar Allen Poe’s story is one that’s always caught my attention (if, for no other reason, that my wife once had nightmares from watching only the beginning scene of the movie).
And I love the cover!
The Rewards:
You have the PDF ($5) only or the Print ($15) versions of the comic. At higher levels you can get an 8 1/2 x 11 inked drawing ($60) or an original interior page from the book ($100). At the $25 level, there is a unique reward where you get a panel from the comic that is suitable for framing.
The Verdict:
The book is done, so that’s always a great thing to be able to read it all the quicker. And like I said above, I’m a sucker for this type of comic. When done well, you end up with stories that will stay with you for weeks after you’ve read them!
John McGuire is the creator/author of the steampunk comic The Gilded Age. Want to read the first issue for free? Click here! Already read it and eager for more?
In addition, Andy is running playtests for De Civitates Dei: Occult Horror in 1135 Jerusalem, his latest RPG that he’ll Kickstart in 2019, at 1:00 PM on Wednesday and Thursday of the con. If you are eager to try out a new RPG, Andy’s ready to GM.
“It’s Always Dark in Smoke City
A group of muggers thrash an innocent workman in a back alley.
Mob drug runners flood the streets with filth, profiting on the backs of the addicted and hopeless.
A rogue metahuman uses fantastic pyrokinetic powers to torch an entire neighborhood.
The police are overwhelmed. Prisons overflow with the violent and psychotic. The innocent suffer while the guilty profit.
Some say that justice is all but gone. You know better. Justice hasn’t disappeared. Justice now wears a mask. Your mask.
Never Despair! Never Surrender!
Inspired by the rise of dystopian, darker, contemporary comics from the 1980s onwards, Cold Steel Wardens: Roleplaying in the Iron Age of Comics brings the drama and suspense of the world’s greatest comics to your game table. High-stakes action runs hand-in-hand with the new MAFIANAP game mechanics, which emphasize the brutal combat, the intense investigations, and the deep moral quandary found in the Iron Age of Comics. Players become vigilantes in the crime-ridden city of New Corinth, using their unique skills and powerful metahuman abilities to bring justice to darkened streets.
Strap on your domino mask, buckle your utility belt, and grab your grabbling hook! You are the night!
Cold Steel Wardens: Roleplaying in the Iron Age of Comics is a complete game. All you need to play is this book and some ten-sided dice.”
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!
* * * * * *
Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by a variety of companies:
I’m on the road to Origins 2018. In other news, there are six 5e Kickstarters worth looking at. I don’t say much (on the road), but these games are worth a look. 😉
“Return to high adventure with this upper level (10+) module that features a living dungeon, adversarial NPC companies, and much more!
Join the adventure as Art of the Genre revisits the various curses of Roslof Keep! This first part of a six part mega-campaign is based around experienced characters levels 10+, and I’ve specially designed the dungeon to breath life into those adventuring levels without relying on old standards like giants, dragons, and constructs.
The Curse of Roslof Keep revolves around an adventuring company moving to the city of Tiefon, capital of the great eastern power of Thalonia, where they will match wits against other great adventuring companies as well as the intelligent dungeon known as The Infernal Machine.
Folio #20 will introduce characters to the setting, the mysterious and ancient Kasbah of Tiefon, as well as the other companies hired by the great houses to clear the magical dungeon that has suddenly appeared beneath their streets. Dungeon details include 2D standard ‘blue’ hex maps as well as fully 3D renderings of Level 1. A gazetteer will give background on the Infernal Machine and the city, as well as the stakes that weigh on the characters, and includes a new monster designed specifically for this campaign. It also features a fully removable stand-alone cover, and two booklets (gazetteer & adventure).
The adventures of Folio #20 await!
As with all previous Folio adventures, this is written in classic AD&D mechanics, while also having D&D 5E stat blocks and adaptations as well.
What is Roslof Keep? Roslof Keep is a six part mega-dungeon produced in 2015, and comprises Folios #1-#6. It is based around an intelligent dungeon known as ‘The Infernal Machine’ that has now spread to other cities with greater threats, thus bringing about the events of The Curse of Roslof Keep adventure series.
Folios 1-6 in the original Roslof Keep Campaign
What do Folio dungeons look like? Below you will see a internal Folio removable cover dungeon, rendered in full 3D for easy use by the DM, and well as defined in hex style 2D for mappers. Rooms are well described, and stats are provided for both AD&D and 5th Edition D&D formats.
Sample of 3D maps on the removable interior module cover!
Sample 3D mapping from the original Roslof Keep Campaign!
What is The Complete Roslof Keep Campaign Hardcover? Produced in 2016, this 128 page compilation book includes all six Folios in the Roslof Keep Campaign as well as 6 bonus mini-adventures that tie in with the set and a Nameless Realms Races gazetteer, as well as the stats for the 7 Iconic characters seen in the series. It has an original cover by Jeff Easley, and a classic ‘orange spine’ to go along with the TSR AD&D hardcovers of the 1980s.
The Complete Roslof Keep hardcover edition
What are ‘Bridge’ Mini-Adventures? These three ‘throwback’ style mini-adventures bridge the timeline between the close of The Roslof Keep Campaign, and the events of The Curse of Roslof Keep, allowing players to build on the adventure before it has even truly begun.”
‘Bridge’ mini-adventures included in the ‘Full’ backer levels
Egg’s Thoughts:
Love the art as always with The Folio.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“A 5e sandbox campaign. In the Runewild, witches walk, goblins cavort, and the borders between the realms of mortal and fey grow thin.
Beyond the kingdom of Aruanda, there is an untamed land. It is a place where witches walk, where goblins cavort, where the borders between the realms of mortal and fey grow thin. For some, it is a place of unspeakable wonder; for others, only madness and death lie within its trackless depths.
It is the Runewild, and it is both beautiful and cruel.
The Runewild is a dark fairy-tale sandbox setting for use with the 5th Edition of the world’s most popular roleplaying game. Designed for character levels 1 through 10, it provides locations, encounters, and NPCs to support a campaign lasting months or years, or to be adapted into other campaigns. The 160+ page book includes:
A history of the Runewild and its surrounding settlements.
100 detailed encounter areas for player characters to explore.
New optional rules for exploring and resting
Advice for running a sandbox campaign
A new feat: Fey-Touched
13 unique magic items (like witch embers and the staff of clarity and confusion)
32 new monsters (including clockwork dwarves, fey lions, giant forest sloths, and the terrifyingly beautiful Golden Bodach).
Detailed descriptions of the histories, motivations, and weaknesses of the witches of the Runewild, including the Whitebone Sisters; Missus Switch, the swine hag; Korthsuva, the Witch of Hours; and the hag-queen Griselda, Mother of Ogres.
Dozens of random tables designed to help GMs make the Runewild campaign their own.
To learn more about the Runewild, you can check out our free previews:
Preview 1: Missus Switch, Swine Witch – The history and statistics of the Swine Witch and a detailed description of the school house where she teaches her porcine pupils.
Preview 2: Highvale Blade and Twisted Tome – The Runewild is a place steeped in powerful fey magic, and these items show how some harness it safely, while others let it get out of control.
Preview 3: Beasts that Lurk in the Runewild – This preview features four new beasts that live in the Runwood: the helpful fey lion, the thought-stealing fiddlehead, the enigmatic Seven-Tails, and the terrifyingly beautiful Golden Bodach.
COMING SOON! Preview 4: The Goblin Market – A magical, moving marketplace that sells everything from a baby’s wail to a portable mouse hole to the secret you’ve searched for your whole life.
If you want to see even more, you can back the project and see the current draft of the complete book by going to this backer-only post. We’ve written the whole book and gone through several rounds of revision, but we plan to do at least one more revision using your feedback.
We love the ways crowdfunding can involve our backers. Everybody who backs at any level can read the current draft of the book and provide feedback. For those who want to play an even bigger roll, we offer two backer reward options:
Denizen of the Runewild
The final book will contain a table featuring one hundred random fey denizens of the Runewild. We want to give you a chance to be part of that chart. If you select either the PDF and Runewild Denizen, or Print and Runewild Denizen reward level, you can create one entry on the chart that includes your fey creature’s name, the type of fey, a brief description, and the creature’s goals. (All descriptions may be modified for length, tone, and established setting cannon.)
Part of the Art
If you want to be even more involved with the creation, you can pledge at the Part of the Art level. At this level, we will also include an illustration based on either a photo or description you provide. We will add the NPC to the book, and you can provide as much or as little guidance as you would like.”
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“Role playing game source book ~ 50 exotic weapons and 50 Enchanted Weapons in one beautiful book for 5th Edition D&D RPG DnD Fantasy
50 Exotic and 50 Enchanted weapons, in one beautiful book!
That’s what this campaign is about. Your support will fund art, production, and print costs for backer rewards. This book is being produced and released for the fifth edition game mechanic.
Each weapon is fully illustrated in the style of sketchbook in keeping with the narrative throughout the journey. Yes, this means there are 100 pages of illustrated weapons in the book!
Image capture from first draft formatting of the book
Narrative text is in 12 point font for ease of reading and to best simulate natural handwriting while maintaining legibility.
Our introduction begins the narrative found throughout the book
The Steel Road
The Steel Road, is created to resemble the sketch book of a traveling weapons merchant. This book details exotic weapons from Africa, East Asia, Eastern Europe, India, China, Japan, and the lands of the Pacific.
Each weapon is illustrated, making this book a fantastic resource for game masters and players alike.
Each weapon is described from the point of view of the narrator (our fictional weapons merchant) and the descriptions include statistics for game play use.
An enchanted example of each weapon is also described within as the legendary version.
Each legendary weapon is of Unique rarity. There is only one!
Game mechanic data for these enchanted weapons is provided for easy use.
The book is printed in 8.5 by 11 inch size, in dtrpg.com’s premium color option. The print copy of the book is released in soft cover but check out the stretch goals below!
Experience the world on the edge of a blade, travelling The Steel Road.
Featuring Weapons from ~
Africa
Art Layer: Each weapon has a mundane version and a legendary version
Eastern Europe
Art Layer: The Dacian Falx
India
All of the weapon stats are original content
China
Exotic weapons from China and the surrounding areas of Asia
Japan
Great attention to detail is seen in the sketches of these exotic weapons
Lands of the Pacific
Cultural elements were honored within page space capabilities
Egg’s Thoughts:
Sam Quinton of Sinopa Publishing LLC is working hard to make some unique 5e offerings. This is another example.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“The ultimate guide to creating amazing trading posts, villages, towns, cities, and capitals populated with versatile & detailed NPCs!
Spectacular Settlements, the latest addition to the Game Master’s Toolbox, is the ultimate guide to creating compelling locations for your adventures and campaigns.
Contained inside are chapters devoted to various settlement types, from the smallest trading posts, to massive capital cities. Within these chapters are all the steps needed to craft a settlement with both depth and originality.
Creation takes just a few easy steps, each of which has multiple options to detail your settlement. These options are presented as tables from which you can select the outcome yourself, or roll for a random result.
Step one covers basic information, such as its age, size, environment and recent history. Step two details aspects of the community, such as resident and visitor populations, disposition, politics and crime. Step three establishes points of interest, including shops and services that can then be populated with proprietors and patrons taken from the ‘Interesting NPCs’ chapter.
The resulting settlement is both dynamic and detailed. The book has great utility, designed to also be an engine of inspiration for storytellers and world builders, sparking creativity and prompting GMs to delve deep into what their settlement is, how it came to be, and how aspects that might be at odds with one another may just give clues about its most compelling elements.
The book is available in full-color PDF and hardcover formats for 5th Edition. We have multiple pledge levels to best suit your gaming budget, so please check out the project, share it with your friends, and help us hit our goal.
1. Creating Great Settlements. An overview on settlements, when to use them, how to use them, and how to keep things both dynamic and interesting.
2. Trading Posts. One of the most important settlement types, trading posts are often hot spots for information, quests, intrigue, and excitement!
3. Villages. Often the home of simple folk with simple lives, villages dot the landscape. They can however, be the jumping-off point of many a fun adventure!
4. Towns. The beginnings of urban development, towns can be lawless communities ripe for powerful influence, or the birthplace of the next world superpower.
5. Cities. More people, more problems. Cities are teeming with all manner of folk. Some good, some bad, some just trying to mind their own business. No visit to a city is ever without potential dangers, or potential rewards.
6. Capitals. Seats of concentrated power, home to mighty bastions and the focal point of both politics and war alike.
7. Keeps. Keeps are single large fortified buildings such as towers. The nature of these structures dictates that villages and towns usually spring up around them, due to the protection they offer. They are modest when compared to full castles, but are much more attainable for smaller communities in terms of costs and resources.
8. Castles. A large, imposing group of buildings, castles are fortified against attack with thick walls, battlements, and towers. They typically have a town or even city surrounding them, with homes and shops perhaps directly outside its walls.
9. Strongholds. Like a castle, but larger still, strongholds have greater fortifications. Built to be as impenetrable as possible, these bastions are the pinnacle of what one could expect from a physical structure.
10. Shops & Proprietors. What is a settlement without shops? In this chapter you’ll find all the shops you’ll ever need, as well the folk who operate them.
11. Interesting NPCs. Over 100 pages of NPCs who can be dropped right into a shop, service establishment, or encountered on the streets of your settlement.”
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“A non-linear adventure in the classic Sandbox style where the party (Level 11-12) fights to escape the lair of an Old One–Hastur
About This Project
Carcosa is an adventure for three to seven characters about level twelve. It is designed for use with the Fifth Edition version of Gary and Dave’s RPG. It can be adapted to any fantasy RPG.
Special Note
The Physical Catchup Naga reward description at the right is missing some critical text. The description below is accurate; however, the one at the right reads “DNH4-Carcosa” when it should read DNH4-Confronting Hastur, and DNH5-Carcosa” The “Includes” list is correct. I apologize for any confusion this typographical error might have caused. Thx to a backer for catching it early in the campaign. Sadly, I cannot edit that section for KS integrity reasons.
The Premise
Immediately following the events of Confronting Hastur, the characters wake up in Carcosa and are greeted by a broken man who tells them they only have a day to escape the plane before becoming permanent residents. The way home appears to require them to confront a demon lady and the three demon brothers who constantly vie for her attention and their domains within Carcosa. A land teeming with minor demons, humans, and three powerful Abrar, dreadful demon lords. Pressed for time, the party members find themselves pawns in the petty games of the brothers as they claw their way to worship before the lovely Grushka, the Abrar who runs Carcosa while Hastur slumbers. Their search for a way home reveals rumors of a way to trap Hastur in a longer, deeper slumber, giving their world peace from his attempts to invade for hundreds of millennia to come. Will they work to go home, or will they chance eternal damnation to save their world?
Who We Are
Cover for DNH5 – Carcosa (with thanks to Randy Price’s keen eye for typos)
I am Kevin Watson, and Dark Naga Adventures is my company. It exists to create and publish adventures that are a combination of the classic sandbox adventures of the early days of the hobby combined with modern features. I have probably written 30 adventures and designed about a dozen fantasy worlds in my life as a Game Master.
This project is the fifth adventure for commercial release and my fifth Kickstarter Project. This concludes the Haunting of Hastur series. As a young company, I am motivated to produce quality products and intend to leverage the experience gained from several Kickstarter campaigns to mitigate potential complications in production.
As a one-person shop, the buck stops with me. Art, cartography, and editing are all being done by top-notch freelancers. Expect regular updates and as much transparency as we all can handle.
“Following our successful Legacy’s Wake Kickstarter, we are bringing our style to a book of monsters for 5E designed by our backers!
Final Cover
When it comes to your table top game, there is always room for another monster, but so often you find yourself throwing the same tried and true creatures at your players. Orcs, Goblins, Dragons; the classics are classics for a reason but sometimes you really want something fresh and new. That’s just what the Bespoke Bestiary aims to provide.
Think back to your earliest experiences with the game, before you knew what resistances that ooze had or what spell to NOT EVER cast at that golem. Remember those breathless sessions, not knowing if your party would determine the right tactics and techniques to bring down the terrifying new beast your game master threw at you?
We want to bring that back! We present to you, the Bespoke Bestiary, a monster tome done up in true Mithrilpunk style. Inside you will find dozens of new creatures complete with all the background you need to run them and the mechanics needed to scare your players with fresh terrors unlike any they have seen before.
Final Art to be in Color
TL;DR: At least 24 new monsters (probably a TON more than that), a new take on existing classic monsters, and awesome new player options, all with the MithrilPunk look and feel!
All art will be in full color, though we’ve intentionally kept all art in greyscale at this stage in order to allow our backers to have influence even on the art direction!
Final Art to be in Color
At the base level, our goal for this bestiary is to start with at least 100 pages and go from there. Based on stretch goals and sponsored monsters, that count will only go up! We are going to start with 24 custom monsters with new art, 6 of our favorite Skyfall monsters updated and improved, and then we’ll go into some classic monsters and put a great new spin on them! Every single new monster, including sponsored monsters, will be at least two pages each (with “Legendary” monster spreads covering four full pages).
Each monster will have either a 2-page or 4-page spread. That means every standard monster entry will increase the length of the book by 2 pages for every backer, while legendary monster entries will increase the page length by 4 pages! Note that when we say legendary, it doesn’t mean the monster has to have legendary actions or anything, just that it’s got enough content to take up four pages (through multiple variants, multiple player options, bigger monster stat blocks, lairs, etc). Then, we’ll also have a more free form section where we will take classic monsters (orcs, kobolds, ogres, etc.) and give them a fresh coat of paint in the coolest ways we can come up with! You’ll have an opportunity to influence many of the core and classic monsters, though some will be finished prior to the kickstarter to give you all an idea of what we’ll be making, like the Sidereal Stalker below!
Sample Spread – Final Version may change
Every single new monster entry will include a player option as well, themed around that monster. You’ll find new spells, magic items, feats, and more. You could even see a new playable race entry or a new subclass, if it fits the theme of the monster! Again, all our backers will have a say in tons of these new player options. with the player options increasing in complexity based on what makes the most sense for the monster. You won’t see a random item or spell slapped onto the page. Instead, you’ll find spells that use parts of the monster as components, feats based around how the monster lives or fights, and items tied to the monster’s history or physiology.
At its core, your ideas, votes, and pledges will define this book as much as possible! Our goal with this bestiary is to create a tome full of your favorite monsters, pulled directly from your imagination and the imaginations of the backers who pledged with you, and we see three main ways to do that: getting your ideas, letting the community vote on those ideas, and having special add-on levels to sponsor a monster to ensure that your creation makes it to the pages of the bestiary. We will engage with our backers through regular feedback and communication, as well as surveys allowing you to help flesh out everything that goes into the book, and backers who purchase the sponsored monster options described in the Addons section will have a more direct impact on the book!
You supply the ideas, the group votes, and we put in the work!
As we commission art from our artists, we’re going to give our backers an opportunity to submit high level concepts for those monsters. Once we have a handful of ideas, we’ll create polls and allow all of our backers to vote on the concepts they like best! The more input we get, the more we will let the voting drive the process. That way, if a monster’s art really sparks an interest, our backers will have the most say in that monster. In the same way, if the art doesn’t get that spark from the backers, we can and will guide the monster’s design and flavor to make sure that every monster in the book meets our standards.
I want to make my own monster!
Great! We will give you that option, by allowing you to “sponsor” a monster. You can check out the Add-ons section for more info, but at the base level, your add-on will go toward commissioning a custom art piece for your monster in full color, and then adding that monster to every single print copy of The Bespoke Bestiary. That way, every monster that you sponsor will make the book bigger and better for every other backer, and every monster sponsored by other backers will make the book bigger and better for you! When you sponsor a monster, we will work directly with you to create every aspect of the monster, including the flavor, the monster design, the art direction, and the player option that will go with your monstrosity. You can be as involved or not as you want, we’ll always pick up the slack to make sure every sponsored monster is as awesome as possible!
I don’t know anything about making monsters for 5th Edition!
That’s okay too! We’ve got a ton of experience making interesting monsters and compelling player options. No matter how much input you want to give, we’re ready to step up and make sure the writing is great, the monster is well-designed, the player option is balanced, and anything else we need to do. Of course we’ll always work with the artists, handle the layout, and take care of any of the “business” parts of the process. If you’ve got a cool idea, we will help you bring it to life, and we’ll do all the work needed to make sure it’s something really awesome when we’re done!
“Don’t listen to these guys! They wouldn’t know the difference between a carsnuffler and a kilgorean ragebeast if the ‘snuffler sat on their heads! I don’t know how these two idiots got top billing on this kick-whatever, but forget their monster book. It’ll be full of prissy little monsters that wouldn’t scare a burp from a baby goblin. And player options? Who cares? My monster book is 1000 times better than theirs. Some TRULY terrifying wonders, with INCREDIBLE LIFELIKE depictions, and instead of player options, I’ll give you my BEST AWARD-WINNING* recipes using ingredients directly from that monster! Oh you want to vote on stuff? Uh, sure, you guys can send me recipes and I’ll think about putting those in there I guess…”
Well, when you’re making a monster book, you end up with a TON of extra art from various sources. Sometimes the monster you thought would look awesome ended up being a little too silly. Sometimes the art’s style just didn’t fit with the rest of the book. Regardless of the reason, we decided to put all that extra art to use! Sleg is a “popular” goblin wizard-chef in our Skyfall setting, known for his extravagant cooking spells (most of which end up finding better use in pitched combat than in the kitchen; Sleg is subtle like a sledgehammer). Since we have this great NPC, and a bunch of extra art, we thought “Why not make a bestiary that’s also a cook book?”
In addition to the Bespoke Bestiary, you can also pick up Sleg’s Scrumptious Safari Spectacular in PDF or print! This 6″x9″ black and white softcover will contain at least 24 monsters in two-page spreads, and every single monster will include recipes submitted by our friends, family, and backers! Of course, Sleg’s recipes will call for rare ingredients from the monsters on his pages, but we’ll make sure you know what to substitute if you can’t find ground carsnuffler. Check out the example spread below for an idea of just what we have in mind:
Sample Spread – Final version subject to change
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!
* * * * * *
Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by a variety of companies:
Is Dream Askew // Dream Apart at Origins 2018? Unfortunately, no. Is it available on Kickstarter? Yes! How do you know if it’s going to be good? Well, Avery Alder’s prior game, MonsterHearts 2, is up for an Origins Award and that speaks volumes about the game (and, in my mind, indicates future games’ quality). Not enough? Well, both Dream Askew and Dream Apart have gorgeous art and the ideas they describe below offer a refreshing take on some well-loved gaming tropes! It’s worth checking out!
“Dream Askew and Dream Apart are beginner-friendly roleplaying games of belonging outside belonging. They give you tools to tell a story about marginalized people living together in precarious community. In Dream Askew, that community is a queer enclave enduring the collapse of civilization. In Dream Apart, it’s a Jewish shtetl in a fantastical-historical Eastern Europe. They both feature a no dice, no masters system that emphasizes collaboration, shared ownership, and character-driven play. You can check out the most recent playtest versions here.”
“Queer strife amid the collapse. Jewish fantasy of the shtetl. Two beginner-friendly roleplaying games of belonging outside belonging.
Dream Askew gives us ruined buildings, haunted faces, strange new psychic powers, fierce queer love, and turbulent skies…
Dream Apart gives us demons and wedding jesters; betrothals and pogroms; mystical ascensions and accusations of murder; rabbi’s daughters running away to be actresses or bandits or boy soldiers; the sounds of the shofar ringing through cramped and muddy streets, of cannon fire, of the wolf’s footfalls in the snowy pine forest…
[Header: Two Games in a Split Book]
Dream Askew and Dream Apart are beginner-friendly roleplaying games of belonging outside belonging. They give you tools to tell a story about marginalized people living together in precarious community. In Dream Askew, that community is a queer enclave enduring the collapse of civilization. In Dream Apart, it’s a Jewish shtetl in a fantastical-historical Eastern Europe. They both feature a no dice, no masters system that emphasizes collaboration, shared ownership, and character-driven play. You can check out the most recent playtest versions here.
They’re being released as a split book, graced by the brilliant art of Zev Chevat and Ezra Rose.
softcover, full colour, half-letter (5.5 x 8.5), approx. 100-180 pages
The book goes beyond simply teaching you how to play. It’s also a guide for how to pitch these games to your friends, create a welcoming environment to play them in, and support healthy boundaries at the gaming table. Finally, it ends with a guide to designing your own games of belonging outside belonging.
[Header: Belonging Outside Belonging]
Both dreams put community at the center of the story. Players collaboratively fill out a community worksheet as part of setup. Dream Askew has players choosing apocalyptic visuals and ideological conflicts, while Dream Apart has them choosing blessings and curses. A map gets drawn, relationships get established, and play emerges.
[image: the text of the community worksheet options for Dream Askew are paired with art depicting a ragtag group of people in a ruined city.]
Rather than telling stories of rugged individuals on epic adventures, both dreams keep the focus closer to home. They tell stories of interpersonal relationships, community drama, and tension with the outside world.
[Header: No Dice, No Masters]
Each player takes on a character role, one of six archetypal figures in their community. These are pages divided into three columns: on the left, everything that gets read aloud when introducing the role; down the middle, all the choices you make during character creation; and finally, on the right, everything you need to play the character.
[image: the page layout for The Torch, a character role for Dream Askew]
These games are diceless, leaving nothing to chance. Play is driven by the choices that get made at the table, with scenes unfolding as players make moves: picking simple narrative prompts off their sheet and working them into their description of what happens next. Weak Moves grant a token while Strong Moves require one, creating a balanced tempo for each character – moments of petty drama and tragic failure set the stage for ones of resourcefulness and skill later on.
There’s no Game Master to defer to; authority is divided equally around the table. The dreams achieve this by giving each player a setting element to customize and play.
[image: the page layouts for Outlying Gangs and The Earth Itself, two setting elements for Dream Askew]
While there’s no Game Master or MC, the game thrives when someone steps up to act as teacher and facilitator, helping others to find their initial footing. The book outlines how to take on this role without taking over the story in the process.
[Header: Working Together]
Dream Askew began as a paired-down remix of Apocalypse World, but it quickly developed into its own as a diceless, MCless game of queer community strife. Avery Alder first released a prototype in late 2013. Benjamin Rosenbaum approached her in 2014 with an idea about using the same game engine for a game about Jewish shtetl life. In early 2017, they made the decision to continue developing their games in close dialogue, and eventually release them together in a single volume.”
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!
* * * * * *
Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by a variety of companies:
Legendary Games Seattle, WA 98126 Jason Nelson, Publisher MakeYourGameLegendary@Gmail.com LEGENDARY GAMES KICKSTARTER
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Seattle, WA, (Jun 6th, 2018) – Legendary Games in partnership with Mythica Gaming has launched its first RPG card game, Fates of Madness Kickstarter! This project is intended to create a RPG rules lite cooperative adventure card game based on the popular Gothic Campaign Compendium. This diceless game is varied by the use of fate cards and skill level to determine success or failure. As the journey continues, madness sets in compounding the difficulty. Will anyone survive or will it end in a total party kill? This horror themed adventure project will be fulfilled in December 2018.
Rachel Ventura, Business Director of Legendary Games, said “I am so excited about this partnership and new avenue of games from Legendary Games. We were impressed with Mythica Gaming’s flagship game Legend of Draxia which is why we approached them about creating a card game based on Legendary Games products. We plan to have a long working relationship with many more games to come!” Publisher, Jason Nelson states, “It is time to make card games legendary!”
Lead Game Designer Jimmy Sanders agreed, “We immediately found kindred spirits in Rachel and Jason, and the partnership that quickly evolved is fantastic. We are very excited about this game and what future collaborations will bring!”
Legendary Games is an all-star team of authors and designers, coordinated by award-winning game designer Jason Nelson. They publish materials for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder RPG, Savage Worlds, and 5th Edition, with a wide variety of products including adventures; rules expansions for core game mechanics like spells, feats, and magic items; themed monster books; character class options for heroes and villains; and an array of innovative rules subsystems and campaign supplements for every kind of campaign including a beginner/kid’s track. Publisher: Jason Nelson, Business Director: Rachel Ventura, Founder: Clark Peterson, and Executive Partner: Neil Spicer
“We are gamers and storytellers first, and we believe that passion shows in our products.”
About Mythica Gaming
Mythica Gaming is a family-run gaming company out of Bartonville, IL. Their flagship product, Legends of Draxia, is a tabletop boardgame with four expansions in various stages of development. A custom RPG system, a novella, and a prototype worker-placement game all based in the Draxian Universe has been created by Jimmy Sanders. Mythica Gaming has several other non-Draxian projects underway as well. The vision that underlies all of their work is to create games that bring non-gamers and gamers to the same table. Elegant, accessible game play with an underlying complexity of strategy; fun, interesting, engaging, and replayability: gaming that brings people together. Lead Game Designer: Jimmy Sanders, Lead Graphics Designer: Theresa Weibler, Business Operations: Janet Sanders, and Marketing: Katie Sanders
For More information please contact
Rachel Ventura,
Business Director
Legendary Games
815-954-1981
rfvrpg@gmail.com
Years ago, I heard stories about a strange book: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. The person claimed it was a horror book, but that it was so much more. It used narrative within a narrative within the narrative to tell its story, bouncing between these moments via footnotes within the text itself. They said it used the book itself as a way to tell the story, with the edges of the paper acting as the walls of the haunted house, and the words were the characters trying to find their way through to the other side.
I’m sure they said the name of the book, but it was lost somewhere within my mind. And for years I thought nothing more of it.
And then, as these things do, it reappeared on my radar, randomly mentioned on a podcast. At my desk, I scrawled the name on a scrap piece of paper before looking it up on the internet. It didn’t take long for me to remember the previous conversation about the novel, so I went ahead and put it on my Christmas list in the hopes some family member might purchase it for me. Sure enough, that wish was granted.
But I waited.
I read most of the books I have on Kindle. Yet, this was a book – well, I’m not sure there would be a way to construct it for digital consumption. It almost demands you have the tactile sensation of holding it in your hands. Flipping the pages and then flipping the orientation of the book. So I saved this beast for the beach.
I have a habit of not always choosing the bright and cheerful books for the beach, having read The Road a couple of years ago. House of Leaves demanded a different level of focus from me than I’d been expecting – so much so that after a day of reading. I was only at about 50 pages into the book. I’m a fast reader, but this crawled along.
Note that’s not a slight on the book, instead it speaks more to how the book is laid out.
One of the things I have learned in writing comics (and am always learning) is the idea of the pace of reading a page. Typically, if I want to slow the reader down (maybe because there is something coming that needs to be built up) I add more words to the page. Narration boxes, dialogue, etc.
And on those pages that need fly by, to feel fast, I include fewer words, let the art breathe a bit more.
House of Leaves is the 1st book I’ve ever seen that attempts to do this as well. Pages will have only a couple of a couple of sentences, a word presented upside down, twisting and turning on the page.
It uses footnotes, editors ramblings, forward, and appendices to paint a picture of how this House affects these people throughout the world. Students write theses on it (within the world it has constructed).
It’s complex and confusing and maddening and at times you can’t put it down and at other times you are unsure whether to pick it back up.
It has highs and lows as to what held my interest more, but once things get “weird”. I was devouring pages.
It may make you obsess. I found myself looking for answers to some questions while still reading, chastising myself for doing it as I didn’t want to spoil anything.
***
What is House of Leaves about? It’s about multiple things – a weird, possibly haunted house and the people who live there. A documentary made by those people who live in the house. The world at large’s thoughts on the doc.
But it is also about a man who had written “House of Leaves”
Oh and about the man who found the “House of Leaves” manuscript.
And the subject of the manuscript. The one who made the documentary. The one who journeys into the darkness within the house itself. That’s where the book really shifts into forcing you to turn your book sideways or upside down. The text will shrink the gutters on one page before expanding to the next. You’ll have pages with only a dozen words on it.
It pulls you in. All the techniques, which on the surface appear to be a pain in the ass, all serve the same goal. Through this, it makes you a part of the story. As much as any of the people you’re reading about.
It’s horror, but not always scary, but quite often disturbing. It’s the type of book that pushes the boundaries of what a novel can actually look like. Fiction upon fiction upon fiction. If you want to read something odd and strange and something that will have you searching the internet at 2 in the morning to try to figure out… this might be the book for you.
***
Most of the time book reviews/reflections/whatever want to be a little vague so they don’t spoil anything, but I honestly think that I couldn’t give anything away without giving everything away. A strange and amazing read. I’ve seen book reviews online for this where the person says they hated the book in one sentence and yet they recommend everyone read it. Such a strange thing to be said about anything.
So I’ll say, if you want to read something pretty unique… this is the one.
Let’s highlight the best Kickstarter campaigns for games that belong at your family’s gaming table. If you have kids in your life, these games are going to win for them!
“A reprint of the award-winning storytelling game for creative kids and their families.
In addition to the rewards listed in the backer levels, every backer level now includes a PDF of No Thank You, Evil! delivered early!
No Thank You, Evil! is an award-winning tabletop game of creative make-believe, adventure, and storytelling. In No Thank You, Evil!, each player creates a character based on a couple of cool, descriptive, imagination-firing traits. The Guide (a special role often played by a parent or older sibling) presents a dilemma, and the players set off on an adventure of the imagination. Along the way they use their character’s special skills, companions, and equipment to overcome obstacles—perhaps fighting a slime monster, winning over the suspicious mayor, or beating a rabbit at a race. Whereas conventional board games constrain players’ actions, No Thank You, Evil! sets kids’ imaginations free: Their options are limited only by what they can think up. Together, the players create a story as they work together to make their way through the adventure.
No Thank You, Evil! contains everything you need to play, all in a beautiful, sturdy box designed to be easy for children to use. It includes:
No Thank You, Evil! rulebook
Let’s Go On An Adventure! adventure book
Five dice (because sharing is hard!)
Character sheets
Cards for characters, creatures, and cyphers
Game tokens
No Thank You, Evil! was released in March 2016. This Kickstarter campaign is funding a reprint of the game, as well as some additional products.
For the Little Kids, the Grown-ups, and Everyone in Between
Younger kids frustrate easily when a game is too complex for them to master. Older children quickly grow bored by games that are too simple or that strike them as below their level.
No Thank You, Evil! is great fun for kids as young as five years old. But it’s also great fun for the rest of family—adults included!—because the scalable rules adapt easily to the abilities of the player. A six-year-old might play, for example, a Princess. An eight-year-old might play a Super Smart Princess. A ten-year-old might create a Super Smart Princess who Experiments With Science. Each of these stages adds a level of sophistication to how the game is played—but all of these characters play around the same table in the same game. After a game or two with the grown-ups, a twelve-year-old might even run games for the other kids!
The gameplay rules are easy for novice or young players to grasp, but nuanced and flexible enough for older kids and grown-ups to enjoy just as much. Here’s a brief look at how the rules work:
Enter Storia: The Land Next Door
No Thank You, Evil! is set in Storia: The Land Next Door. It’s a world seen through children’s eyes, home to all the elements of kids’ imaginations: Dragons and dinosaurs, faeries and elves, race cars and robots, and all sorts of fanciful creatures. Players’ characters in No Thank You, Evil! are kids who have been specially chosen to help save Storia from evil. Accompanied by their companions and their handy I Gotchyer Back packs (living creatures that carry the characters’ cool stuff in their bellies), characters venture into Storia to save the day!
No Thank You, Evil!has won a well-deserved ENnie and an Origins Award! This is an amazing family game, and this campaign is for a reprint so it’s going to be to you quickly. BACK. IT. Monte Cook Gamessent me a copy of the game that I reviewed for the Open Gaming Network (here). This is an incredibly fun, family-friendly tabletop RPG with endless possibilities and it is well worth checking out!
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“The Ratmen Temple is a fantasy paper model with miniatures created for tabletop role-playing games like Pathfinder and 5th Edition.
The Ratmen Temple is a paper model underground dungeon section created for tabletop role-playing games. It is designed to fit with 25mm, 28mm and 30mm gaming scales.
This RPG paper model includes 2 cardboard bases (also called sections), the cardstock wall, 8 paper miniatures, 8 paper accessories and the assembly instructions.
The bases are printed on a thick cardstock and then glued to a cardboard. The paper miniatures and accessories are printed on a high quality white cardstock. The wall is printed on a thicker cardstock.
Assembly is easy, requiring only glue and exacto knife or scissors.
Thanks again to my brother JF with whom I created this paper model temple.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
I love this artwork! For the campaign, it’s around $2.50 US for the digital version, and they’re cartoony enough to work perfectly with No Thank You, Evil! or Scales & Tales or any RPG (kid or adult). I recommend them if you want some cheap visuals at the gaming table!
“A collaborative card game for all ages where the dogs of Pugmire quest for the treasures of Man.
Jack Rat-Terrier grumbled under his breath. He was a dog of stealth, much preferring to sneak past enemies instead of getting his paws dirty with the rough stuff. But Spike wasn’t able to take care of the Leechtongue, and it blocked his way into the crypt. Spike was a warrior dog, not a pioneer blessed with finesse and skill… and defeating a Leechtongue required a special touch. Jack was exhausted, even after Sister Picassa Collie had treated his wounds. Worse, Princess Yosha Pug had to retreat, leaving him without any magical backup. It was up to Jack to deal with this latest threat.
The Leechtongue was surprisingly quick, forcing Jack out of the shadows and into action. Luckily, his reflexes kicked in, and he was able to quick draw his magical bow, shooting several arrows at the threat. His natural skill and expert training were unerring, and the arrows landed in a precise strike, defeating the monstrosity. The Leechtongue gargled and fell over with a heavy thud. For now, he was out of danger. He had to avoid any more challenges so he could finish their mission. They all needed a moment to rest and recover before continuing on. Before they could finish their quest.
“I’m a good dog,” Jack muttered under his breath. “At least, I’d better be.”
Fetch Quest is a family-friendly cooperative deck-building game. Each player represents a pioneer, one of six adventurous dogs on a dangerous quest. The pioneers work together to overcome dangerous challenges and resolve missions. Once the missions are resolved, the quest is finished and the players win the game.
Fetch Quest is a collaboration between Onyx Path Publishing and Pugsteady, the home of Eddy Webb’s various projects set in the Realms of Pugmire. With your help, we hope fund the purchase of additional art and to produce and distribute a boxed edition of this card game, allowing further exploration and interaction with the world and characters of Pugmire.
Fetch Quest is a cooperative deck-building game for 3-6 players of ages 12 and up. Playing time is approximately 60-90 minutes. The components for the game include:
6 dual-sided Pioneer cards
72 green-backed Fortune cards
28 red-backed Challenge cards
4 Mission cards
All participants who would like to aid in this endeavor can pledge their support and add to the overall campaign total. If the campaign meets the funding target ($6,000), then we will have funded the project and it will become a reality. Your pledge will only be collected if we achieve our funding target.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
While this is not a RPG, it’s a family-friend game. Fetch Quest is based on the Pugmire RPG, a game for which I have a special place in my heart after playing the RPG with Eddy Webb at AndoCon. Fetch Quest expands the Pugmire franchise with “a cooperative deck-building game for 3-6 players of ages 12 and up”. If you’re looking for a way to tie RPGs and card games together for your young ones, this is an excellent option.
You can see examples of their work at DriveThruRPGhere.
“A fantasy role playing game starter-pack book for people of all ages. Includes rules, character creation, & a ten night campaign.
Hello! My name is Kevin Sherry, author and illustrator of many popular children’s books, including The Yeti Filesseries and I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean.
What I have made here is a brand new 104-page book, filled with fun illustrations, that is aFantasy Role Playing Game Starter Pack
Scales & Tales is a rule book, an easy instruction manual and an activity book all in one!
Scales & Tales has easy-to-understand instructions
Table of Contents include: Classic pen & paper, Tabletop gaming, Terrain, Miniatures & Figurines, Snacks, How to Fantasy Role-play, Create a Character, Leveling Up, Personality Generator, Weapons and Gear, Range, Spell Casting, Combat, and Bad Guy Glossary.
When I was young, I wasn’t allowed to play the classic D & D role playing game. I think a lot of kids were in the same boat. Either their parents didn’t allow it, or it was just too complicated to get started.
So many years later, after I had already published many children’s books, my friend asked me to participate in a role-playing campaign that he wrote, and it opened a whole new world for me!
I realized Fantasy Role Playing was the game I had always wanted to play! I loved the brainstorming, the collaborative storytelling and the simple joy of having a group of people around a table telling jokes and coming up with a story together.
HERE’StheTHING: I think difficult gameplay is a real barrier to people who would have a lot of fun in a role playing game, but find some of the rules complicated and difficult to decipher.
So with my background in children’s books, I’ve used simple, precise language and hundreds of illustrations to take what I’ve learned from classic role playing games and present it in a very fun a graphic way.
What’s Inside the Book?
-The first 50 pages are the instructions, the users guide. Think of it as the Player’s Manual and the Game Master’s Guide in one. Scales & Tales explains everything from basic gameplay to character creation , to setting up your DIY game board, to a monster glossary, an armory, spellcasting and more.
-The Second half of the book is a campaign I wrote made of ten one-night quests. There’s instructions and maps for each quest, and the quests I wrote are all great examples of classic role-playing tropes, like: Exploring castles and dungeons, navigating deep forests, a town setting, a quest on a boat, a rescue scenario, a chase scene, all culminating in a grand battle atop the highest castle.
What sets Scales & Tales apart?
While there is a lot of traditional combat in the book, sometimes fighting bad-guys all day gets a little redundant.
That’s why Scales & Tales contains ways of augmenting your traditional “End-Boss Combat” with fun drawing games and party puzzles. Games like: Telephone, exquisite corpse, blind contour drawing, and Pictionary-Like games.
Also, Players learn early in the book how to use a drawing game to summon one of 24 different familiars, Each with their own unique stats. So each Player can have a little animal companion-who doesn’t love that?!
This book, Scales&Tales, was a self-motivated project for me. I really needed to write this book to share the joy of role-playing with people who just don’t know who to get into it.
It took me two years to write and illustrate, but THISBOOKISDONE!
I put so much of heart and soul into this book, Scales&Tales, so if you’ve read this far, I hope you will please consider supporting this Kickstarter campaign, and ordering a book. There’s also a lot of really cool Kickstarter Incentives and I’m looking forward to painting some of my supporters hero characters for sure!
Fantasy role playing has opened up a whole new world of creativity and imaginations for me and I’d love to share that with you and everyone with my new book, Scales&Tales.”
Egg’s Thoughts:
From the campaign above, Kevin Sherry talks about his youth and not being allowed to play RPGs, and that spoke to me. I had no such restrictions – my parents let me do as I pleased – but I’ve talked to a number of individuals that ran into that barrier. With Scales & Tales, Kevin is working to overcome that roadblock by creating a kid-focused product. It looks fun and I’m curious to see the final product and, more than anything, I hope it opens the door for more kids to game.
Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!
* * * * * *
Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by a variety of companies:
It’s 8:30 PM, and I’m at a party in suburban hell.
I’m not sure what I was thinking when I said, “Yeah, I’m in.” I mean, I’m at least ten years older than everyone else here, probably more than that.
I’m also single. I’m dressed like a douche. I’m tired. And I’m the only one in the room not glued to his phone.
Yeah. That’s the truth. I’m in a house with twenty people, most of them strangers, and everyone except three little kids is nose-deep in their phone. I count four Xbox controllers lying dormant in front of a paused game on TV. I see plates of half-eaten food and abandoned drinks. Even the music, probably something-something by Justin Bieber, thumps a little quieter in the background.
It’s as if the Biebs himself is ashamed to be heard at a party at which no one is talking, flirting, or looking up from their phones.
I figure I have three choices:
Leave. It’s not as if anyone will notice.
Drink a ton. And then hope a beautiful woman walks in the room in time for me to make a horrible first impression.
Or option three: wake the zombies from their phone-induced slumber.
The way I see it, one and two are boring.
Option three is where it’s at.
In a room full of twenty-somethings, I clear my throat and crack the overwhelming silence. People I’ve never met look up as if to say, “Who the hell are you to distract me from Facebook?” It’s ok. I’m not shy. I’m running on four Krispy Kreme donuts and three Solo cups of liquid courage. There’s nothing in the universe capable of embarrassing me now.
“Anyone here ever heard of the train question?” I blurt out.
Five, maybe six people nod their heads. Everyone else looks confused.
“You know, the train question,” I continue. “If you pull the lever, a mother and her son get smacked by a runaway train – if you don’t pull the lever, five random strangers get run over by the same train. Anyone know what I’m talking about? Anyone?”
At first, only a few people in the room start mumbling. Sure, they’ve heard of the train question. It’s just that no one has asked them anything philosophical since…ever. In this case, it’s the party’s host and his wife who chime in. Yes, they’ve got answers. She says pull the lever because only two people will die. He says, “Nope. Not pulling it. If I divert the train, I’ve directly killed five people.”
The room doesn’t know it yet, but they’re hooked.
Everyone is a philosopher.
* * *
That was three years ago. The night turned out better than expected. People’s shells were broken. Phones were put away. Conversations – real conversations – happened.
And that’s what it’s all about, right?
Anymore, we spend so much of our time talking about weather, about news stories, politics and television shows, we don’t talk about life anymore. We pay attention to what other people are saying, and we miss out on our own stories.
Just under the surface, we’ve all got a story.
And it’s probably more interesting than we assume.
* * *
Dusk approaches. I’m feeling a little fat after devouring a dinner of pasta and bread with my little one, the G Man. In truth, all the food inside me is a good thing. Like pretty much everyone else, I operate better with a full belly. In this case, a little extra full.
Fatter philosophers are better philosophers.
Maybe.
I’m sitting in my house. It’s a small suburban bachelor pad, all mediocre art and empty wine bottles. Tonight, my drink of choice is a Hook & Ladder pinot noir. It doesn’t have the most nuanced flavor, but I’m a fan nonetheless. Not all that long ago, my favorite bartender Sam suggested I try it, and I was sold from sip number one. Sam’s the type of human I really like. She serves a mean drink, carries conversations better than anyone, and served me cake at her kid’s birthday party.
We should all have a good bartender in our lives.
We should all have a Sam.
Sam’s bar, which we’ll call the M, is more or less my haunt. I’m not sure if people have haunts anymore, and I’m doubly unsure whether most people know what a haunt is. What I am sure of is that I spend a lot of time at the M.
I’m quite literally the guy whose name everyone knows.
The guy who helps other patrons with drink selections.
And the guy who’d prefer to dine at the bar with strangers than at a table with friends.
It’s amongst strangers I thrive. And while plenty of people would disagree, it’s amongst strangers at bars the best conversations can be had. One never knows what kind of person might co-haunt one’s favorite bar. And when alcohol hits everyone’s bloodstream, one never knows what might happen.
In my experience, plenty.
If we exclude the obnoxious types and people who are deadly serious about not being spoken to, we’re still left with a huge population of interesting bar-hopping strangers.
There’s the hopeful loner, awaiting someone, anyone, with whom to strike up a conversation.
There’s talkers, the types who will happily invade your conversation and let you invade theirs.
And we’ll find friendly couples, storytellers, broken-hearted romantics, and slightly-too-tipsy people. Most are willing to offer way too much information about their personal lives.
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![[image: the text of the community worksheet options for Dream Askew are paired with art depicting a ragtag group of people in a ruined city.]](https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/021/192/082/af5d7d7cad47a322f4fd75ad4460efd1_original.jpg?w=680&fit=max&v=1526014675&auto=format&q=92&s=d4dd5a9ef50aca758c76712a9fa93a60)
![[Header: No Dice, No Masters]](https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/021/197/940/78ae911d24255ab91f916e981c7af186_original.jpg?w=680&fit=max&v=1526059903&auto=format&q=92&s=408b36b808c5b827a86004a365e2b510)
![[image: the page layout for The Torch, a character role for Dream Askew]](https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/021/189/009/54ef38255e479ab68364d59e1e885469_original.jpg?w=680&fit=max&v=1525990475&auto=format&q=92&s=5e5a4c61e1e8ff6a51a39900647d5577)
![[image: the page layouts for Outlying Gangs and The Earth Itself, two setting elements for Dream Askew]](https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/021/189/834/318da52e00d726c947874cd87fc29d09_original.jpg?w=680&fit=max&v=1525995813&auto=format&q=92&s=85dfcdcdf508d655576e63eef608e58c)
![[Header: Working Together]](https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/021/197/955/c219029333d97eabd43eb0cb02f39c56_original.jpg?w=680&fit=max&v=1526059982&auto=format&q=92&s=91ce806bc90ad3640257c14d263b5d21)
