This is a magical item that can be introduced into your D&D campaign.

Check out this badass version of Enik by GizmoGremlin77.  This Enik would bot be the kind that would put the Marshall's into nets and dangle them over a pit.  This Enik would walk up to them plant a crossbow bolt into their sternum and push them into the pit before their bodies hit the ground.  Gone is the Rita Moreno dress.  Now he's got a sash, man. 

There's still time to get down to Kingdom Con today!!! Today is my personal day of fun, both games I ran yesterday went off without a hitch, even Interface Zero 2.0, had a 5 player playtest. Using the gritty rules, the LAC15, with its 2d10+1 damage and AP 6 tore through the characters, so I think it was a good idea to tone down the damages. Sean and Ian playing in the Malifaux one-day

A bit later than I wanted and mostly because of work commitments not letting me publish this episode on time, here's our first attempt to the Game Buffet!

There are places where no sane spacer goes where the wretched hives of scum and villainy end. Here are the truly alien and perverse encounters. 
Lurid & Perverse Space Encounters 1d10 Table

1. An alien dominatrix with a gathering of 1d8 1st level fighters each attached to her body by tendrils that lovingly feed and nourish them. They will fight for her to the death. She is always looking for more willing players in her games. She is also a tenth level wizard. A highly accomplished author and holoartist in her own right. 
2. Jagzeen Psychic Slaver with Harem - This incredibly corpulent and dangerous 5th level criminal psychic [...]

Season 09 Episode 16

Your hosts: Stu, Stork, Jib, Gina

Show Notes: The hosts discuss emotion in an RPG, specifically getting the players emotionally investing in what’s happening. Heavy Metal Jess ask how to give a setting a specific ethnic or cultural feel. Clockwork Monk asks about bringing up disadvantages in a game.

N. Eric suggest Over the Edge for a fast, easy to play game for conventions. Jason in Indianapolis asked about the Mixmaxed song and then asks if we’ve ever NOT wanted to run a specific setting because we like it too much. And Ryan chimes in on GM open/secret rolling.

 

[...]

This post is the roundup of the fantastic participants to March’s RPG Blog Carnival. If you haven’t...

Britannia Manor II, as it is officially known, was built in 1987 byRichard Garriott, known by addicts of the Ultima video games as Lord British. For the uninformed: He was one of the founding fathers of Ultimate Online. For the young and uninformed: Ultimate Online was the forefather of MMORPG’s …

It's been a rough year - from the issues with my disability benefits, through my fluctuating health problem to more recent tragic events - but this week I finally decided "enough is enough".

I've been allowing crap to pile up (both physically and emotionally), dwelling on my own mortality (the loss of a loved one can do that) and generally not being a fun guy to be around.

Simultaneously, HeroPress has entered a kind of death spiral with my random and erratic posts leading to a mass exodus of visitors; my current daily hits barely average over 300 and the site has plummeted out of the top ten of the Comic Book Elite  down to number 36, when I last checked earlier today.

So, now it's time to shake things up, get my shit together and streamline my life - get my gamesroom (pictured above) back into some semblance of [...]

I have been gorging myself on Victoria 2. I actually stayed up till like midnight playing the damn thing- I couldn't help it. It's compelling.

It's all about managing your people, unlike most map-painting Grand Strategy games. You have to make sure that your ethnic factions are all working together in harmony, and you can capably quash rebellions, and build factories, and you know, honestly, just look at the game if you like the time period. It's set from the Industrial Revolution to the Great War and it's wonderful.

I was playing as the Russian Empire and it's [...]

This article is part of some world building for the futuristic World of Darkness game set in 2052 in a new World of Darkness game that incorporates Demon: the Fallen canon.  You can read about the Zombie Apocalypse over here and the CDC over here.  If you haven't already done so, I'd suggest reading it for context.

The CDC has risen to the challenge of dealing with the zombie outbreak and helps manage many of the communities although the mega-corporations keep it weak and in check in the eastern states.  They rabidly despise the Cheiron Group, who many believe [...]

Welcome to another Tales of a Married Gamer. In my never ending quest to tell you about my life as a married gamer, I wanted to discuss roleplaying games… or rather the lack of them in my household. My wife has never really considered herself to be a “gamer” per se, however, she does like to play board games and card games. In this she has progressed from the simple games of her childhood such as “The Game of Life” (which she played overseas), to Catan, to Power Grid, and now thinks that Pandemic is a boring game that is [...]

Fortress Fairling is two days’ ride northwest of Summerfort. Like Summerfort, it was once a simple border outpost. Unlike Summerfort, it became a staging area for military campaigns into Redami.

As the war between Rekellia and Redami started to cool off, fewer and fewer missives and soldiers came through Fairling. Now, while still well-equipped, the fortress has remained aloof from the rest of Rekellia and out of touch with its remote commanders. As a result, these Rekellians remain unaware that the war with Redami ended six months ago.

Last year, a number of Redami spies and saboteurs attempted to disrupt the operations [...]

Over on the Gamers and Grognards blog, there is a recent post collecting many of the old TSR adverts.  See more here!

Well, we switched internet services, and I hoped that would give me a stable enough online connection that I could join the wonders of gaming online.

After a promising start, the company “fixed” our service. Now my computer is like a wet log, sluggishly surfacing to connect and then lolling over under the surface again. The connection is not better than it was before. Maybe we can do something with it, maybe not, but the short version is, no online gaming for Andrew.

Which makes me all the more appreciative of my local game group.

Recently I got a submission for the One Page Dungeon Contest 2013. It was made using the Dungeon Tiles Set by ProBono on RpgMapShare. The tiles use textures from CGTextures.com.

I stopped when I saw a passage saying “One or more textures in this pack have been created with images from CGTextures.com. These images may not be redistributed by default, please visit www.cgtextures.com for more information.”

Then I found the following passage in their FAQ:

May I use these textures in my Open Source (Creative Commons, GPL, etc) project?No. These textures may not be used in Open-Source projects. The licenses are not compatible. Almost all Open-Source licenses allow redistribution of the materials, and redistribution is not allowed for these textures.

Unfortunately, the One Page Dungeon Contest uses a Creative Commons license.

Tags: RPG 1PDC

Instead of playing the table-top role-playing game Dark Heresy as usual, we played a new Fantasy Flight board game our Game Master recently purchased:  Warhammer 40k Relic.  It was awesome!

Many board games I've played recently have blended the development of characters as seen in table-top role-playing games with effect cards as seen in games like Magic along with the structured layout typical of the traditional board game.  The last few board games I've played such as Last Night on Earth, all hold a similar formula and Relic is no different.

There are a lot of characters from [...]

Just thought I'd gove you good people an update as to what's going on here, as I know I've been a little quiet of late.

All is well, I've definitely not abandoned the blog, but have taken something of an unintentional sabbatical (as waves of work keep ambushing me) but have been able to chip away at a post that has taken far longer than it ever should have done. And fear not, there's still plenty more left to write about when I get back properly. Not hit the dreaded burn out yet.

Some of you may be [...]

This just in…

Games Played: A couple of games of Kung Fu Fighting with my daughter. (She doesn’t want to discard, but HATES not being able to attack every turn.) Also… one game of Carcassonne.

Watched this week: Robotech episodes 47-51. With the introduction of Zor to the armies of the Southern Cross, this whole humanoid-alien-that-I-must-kill-and-yet-at-the-same-time-find-strangely-attractive plot seems stereotypical at this point. (I’m looking forward to the Invid storyline just to get a break from it.) The Ajax is a much needed shot in the arm for this show– the other transformable robots are weaker in comparison to those in the other [...]

Iain Lowson (the GENIUS behindDark Harvest: The Legacy of Frankenstein) and ourselves both LOVE our 3DS! Love them! However, we have a minor problem is finding other wonderful folks who have them too!

So we decided to make it easier to find folks – with a competition at Conpulsion! It is very simple, there will be three 3DS that their Mii’s welcome message, when combined together, will create a question! Answer the question and send your answer to3dscomp@nearlyenoughdice.com and you will be entered into our prize draw to win a HOST of delicious prizes!

So far these prizes include:

• Dark Harvest: The Legacy [...]

The second and last issue of this magazine that I own. I can't say much about it other than that I really like the cover. I was not even able to find index information to provide you anywhere. This may go down as the lamest blog post ever. Sorry!

Source: urbanrose (Etsy)I have decided to make each magic item in the Montporte Dungeon unique, with the exceptions of scrolls and potions. I am not worrying about back story, since the players won't be concerned either. While I actually need to spend some time doing this (maybe with random tables), I have created some items and the players have found a few. Here is what they have found so far:

Lens of Melnar: A convex glass lens with a brass frame and handle (betraying its Gnomic origins). The Lens of Melnar can perform a Detect Magic spell twice per [...]

SynopsisOld peaceful city in desert. Predicted their doom in their calender. Wanted to save something for the kids. Used arcane devices (cameras) to record a normal day in their life (in full 3-D). 
Devices uses blessed water to store information, kept in urns. One for audio, one for visual.
City and people perished. All that's left in the ruins are urns with water (tapes) and large hollow craniums (playback devices). But the water slowly evaporated, distorting the information, making them nightmare versions of what really happened.
Pouring the water into the skulls will play the scenes in full 3-D (as a [...]

UZ asks (in response to one of the Management’s posts, but hey, if it gets the mail-slot going…)

How do you get a PC to accept mind control? How do you sell servitude to someone who fights (theoretically) for freedom?

Dear UZ:

That’s a very good question. The PC is a special kind of protagonist---resistant if not immune to plot-induced stupidity (source-induced stupidity, on the other hand….), innately aware of the forces behind the Wall, and equally likely to serve the Laws of Dramatics slavishly or flip them the bird based on unknowable whim. On the plus side, they have a massive [...]

This is your garden variety six legged toad demon bred by were-toad cultists in the mutating energy of the Huwawa complex.  It is large enough to swallow a man whole or carry two riders if specially constructed saddles are used.

pen and ink by moi

I am going to try statting up one of my 4e creatures in a more old school D&D style here:

Temple Toad Demon

MV: 12 (15' vertical 40' broad jump)
HD:11d8+15
AC: 3 (blessed weapons do normal damage; holy water deals 1d8; 1/2 damage magical weapons, fire and acid; immune [...]

 Need a dark cult of evil with a twist? A Mythos dripping 1973 hippie death fest of horror and depravity in a small California town? Have we got a vacation spot just for you right over HERE

Part I right over HERE
The party made its way through the canyons cutting as fast as they could through the Valles Marineris. Valles Marinerisis a vast canyon system that runs along the Martian equator. At 4,500 km long, 200 km wide and 11 km deep, the Valles Marineris rift system is ten times longer, seven times wider and seven times deeper than the Grand Canyon of Arizona, making it the largest known crevice in the solar system.
The party consisted of 2 fighters(soldiers), a mutant/Martian scout, a chaplain(Cleric), A Martian Pychic (Wizard), and A Martian (Assassin/Thief).
Major Peter Wells Fighter 7th [...]

I thought I’d let you have a look at some more of the coming releases from my Grinning Skull range from 15mm.co.uk. I also thought the added comic book styling was needed for that extra bit of cartoon dynamism! For those who are interested in getting your own figures from the range, the first releases [...]

I saw a mention of these the other day, and I thought it would be of interest to the 15mm zombie enthusiast (and 28mm too) This Commission Figurines KS is really up my alley, I could see loads of real zombie wargaming potential here, even so they seem to be geared for WW2 games, these [...]

Again, looking through kickstarter does throw up some god awful funding campaigns, lets face it for every one or two good ones, there’s going to be many real stinkers. So with that in mind, I’ve selected a few that my money is on to really fail. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a great feeling [...]

God, I love that movie.

I realized watching it, it’s exactly what I had in mind when I put together this playlist.Which I guess is obvious, since I used a ton of the Highlander soundtrack!

Not literally, mind you (though, no lie, I will run aHighlandercampaignin a goddamn heartbeat). But thematically.

Magic in the air. An endless, grimy, 80s New York that seems to be the center of the universe—surrounded on all sides by weird fantasy landscapes. Swordfights in alleyways, as Punisher knockoffs drive by in loaded hot rods. Wars spanning centuries, all out of view. Post-apocalyptic punk rock, but a different kind [...]

I thought I’d let you have a look at some more of the coming releases from my Grinning Skull range from 15mm.co.uk. I also thought the added comic book styling was needed for that extra bit of cartoon dynamism! For those who are interested in getting your own figures from the range, the first releases [...]

Being Polish, I had access to the Witcher saga long before the pc/xbox games came into existence. There was a big fantasy boom in Poland abut the Witcher in the 2000s. I have read and loved the short stories (they are also available in english) and liked the saga. Unfortunately it turned more into politics later on, and lost its focus on action and exploring Geralt's story, but it was a good read nevertheless. Apart from the books, there was a tabletop roleplaying game, a movie and a TV series released in Poland. While the RPG was decent, the movie and [...]

Free for the taking.

We came upon a room in the tower, a guard’s room hastily and recently abandoned. Food and drink scattered, mostly uneaten on the table. It had been nearly half a day since we had eaten, so we fell upon the food.

It was a restorative and we felt much refreshed and ready to fight. But when we next entered into combat, we were suddenly befuddled and unable to act or even think clearly. Had our foes been more dangerous we all would have died.

The truth was it was a trap for the unwary. There were not even any [...]

Okay so this time I'm reviewing Swords & Wizardry, the White Box edition (available free), by Mythmere Games.  Swords & Wizardry (S&W) is one of the surprisingly numerous old school renaissance rules sets available nowadays which aim to recreate the early days of D&D.  I say surprisingly numerous because I am baffled by the popularity of the early editions of D&D.  The early editions had a lot of bad ideas in them and I really don't understand why you'd play them where there are so many better games out.

S&W starts out with perhaps the worst rule of early [...]

Have you tried our Easy Spell Cards yet? We’re working on the next lvl of spells for Sorcerers/Wizards. Plus we want to get a better design down soon. In the meantime we’ve posted this video showing the cards in action. Leave us your comments below and vote for what class/lvl …

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 12
August 19, 2012


Assault on the Gold Goblin (2nd Wave)Map Tool Chat LogSession SummaryThe second wave of attackers enters the Gold Goblin and the party moves about the building engaging them and dispatching them. It seems a group of Half Orc thugs (assumedly sent by Boss Croat) had entered through the back door of the building and made their way upstairs. There they met Shayla and Snargash as he followed them up. They had made a beeline to Saul's office so it was assumed they were looking for him. 

After a [...]

No, I'm not talking about The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, or even FOX and Friends. I want to share with you this cool little resource called The Newspaper Clipping Generator, which I learned about today indirectly from the Miskatonic University Podcast by way of the Gaming on the Cheap Community on Google+. This online app lets you create images of newspaper clippings that you can use as props or handouts in your roleplaying games. You supply the name of the newspaper (real or fictitious), a headline, and a short news story, and the image generator does the rest. The [...]

Some fun randomizers.

+John Reyst runs the Swords & Wizardry SRD (as well as the Pathfinder SRD, but who has the time to read thru all of that? ;) and he as an idea to grow the Swords & Wizardry Community.

As most of you know, April 17th is the Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Dat Blogfest. John wants to keep it going year round. Well, not the blogfest, but the focus on Swords & Wizardry ;)

Here's his email to me:
"Hey Erik! I'd really love to get a massive boost to the traffic on the Swords & Wizardry SRD website so I want to give out a free $10 coupon to one random blog per month that I see in my referral logs for [...]

Michael Radzichovsky (and by the way... I want to list this as a + to him, but I have no idea how to do this... suggestions would be welcomed! I just created a hyperlink to his Google + profile...) suggested doing away with the D16 altogether (and even the D20) and capping the progression at D12. Since (as I talked about two days ago) I have layered in multiples of dice, this wouldn't be too difficult of a feat to accomplish. I don't love the idea of the ants and their ilk having the potential to be as strong/quick/intuitive as [...]

Character survival is the aim of the game in EPOCH.  The scenario will remorselessly eliminate characters, so the pressure is on to make your character one of those that will survive the horror right through until the end scenes.  Because while is true that EPOCH is guaranteed to eliminate characters, it is equally true that there are guaranteed to be survivors so long as there is a basic level of engagement with the scenario.  So, how to make it through to the end? 

Because eliminations are the result of collective decision making, there is no guaranteed method, and every [...]

Mutant Future is super simple. The rules are basically:

Roll to hit.
Roll damage.
Roll to save.
(Optional rule: Roll below ability if you try stuff).
And also technological rules.

But what if something happens not covered in rules? Generally that's where roll ability steps in. But here's some rules I used in this game session, I pulled out of my hat during the gameplay.

Sneaking And The Guard
Character tries to sneak and avoid guard's vision.
Player rolls 1D6 + Dexterity modifier
Referee rolls 1D6 + guard's Intelligence modifier

Higher roll wins (stay hidden versus spot). Draw? [...]

Last night we played Axes and Anvils. It was a hoot!

Here are some handy links.

• Adventure report on the new Obsidian Portal site.
• Clan Grundleforge record. (The form is just a draft.)
• Summary of player feedback.

This is coming along really well. For those who want just a hint of the dwarfy goodness to come, I hope this whets your appetite!

So, this piece started off as a short narrative about a couple of GMs who run really great games, but it might have spiraled a teensy bit out of control and ended up as a long meditation on different modes of consuming RPGs.

The Games I Love to Play

While at PAX, we had the pleasure of playing in a game of Fortune’s Fool with Pantheon Press‘s Rob Trimarco and Jason Keeley. They had planned on running the introductory adventure that we had run several years ago the first time we met them, but when they realized we wanted to play, Rob [...]

Joanna Gaskell is originally from Victoria, Canada. She is the producer and the writer of Standard Action, and plays Edda the Elf Barbarian. You can see her in the board game review series Starlit Citadel Reviews, catch her in the upcoming Gamers: Hands of Fate movie, hear her voice in new animated TV show Animism, and watch her on stage at the Critical Hit Show – live D&D improv in Vancouver. Her favourite colour is orange, she loves playing Patfhinder, and she wants to grow up to be a Jedi.

In this guest post Joanna shares her top 5 lessons learnt [...]

Chthonic Codex is going to be many things: a lot of full page illustrations, monsters and weird magical stuff.Let’s say something less known: it’s going to be a proper campaign setting too.

It’s going to be delivered in ways usually not trodden by settings books: writtenin characterby a dude in the setting. The book is going to be stattedfor AFG (get yourself a copy here) but compatible with other OSR games (I suggest Swords & Wizardry Whitebox or Lamentations of the Flame Princess, but they’re pretty much swappable unless you’re in New Feierland).

And the PCs will typically be Casters attending classes [...]