Saturday, July 31, 2010
Gathering of Fools Recap
We did however, watch The Hunt for Gollum. Very well done, especially considering it is a fan movie. Better then most of the made for SciFy Channel stuff in any case.
Family Guy, bad Heavy Metal videos, classic arcade games like Gauntlet 2 on the PS3... plus beer, chips and beef jerky. Classic Fools Fare. Oh, and some Krod Mandoon. My god but that show left little to the imagination.
In the end I gave everyone copies of Dark Dungeon, and they got to do a last man standing with generic level 1 fighters for a copy of the collectible Swords & Wizardry Whitebox boxed set (a copy of the S&W Quickstart rules went to the three eliminated). Probably the first time I had the classic group rolling dice in a meaningful manner in 13 years... it was a blast. Think I've hooked 'em, no to reel them in ;)
I Looted the Birthday Beast
I feel truly blessed, as I received presents way beyond what I deserved. I'll be hitting Amazon pretty hard in the next couple of days and will need to hit Microcenter soon to spend my new gift card. Got some new Teva sandals which will be worn at the Gathering of Fools in lieu of socks ;) Even got a handly dandy Apple Keyboard and Stand for my iPad. Most excellent. Oh, and of course Monty Python's Holy Grail ceramic goblet. Good one.
Number one b-day loot? I Hate Your Guts, by comedian Jimmy Norton (also a regular on the Opie and Anthony Satellite Radio Show). This book was delivered to my Kindle app on my iPad thanks to my son Chris, who figured out the prefect gift without any help from me (i just said get me an iTunes gift card). I'm a real proud poppa.
Of course, his other idea was to put money on my Paypal account so i could by some of those silly RPGs at RPGNow. He really knows me well ;)
I get to give gifts out in about 3 hrs at the Gathering of Fools. Awesome vacation so far. Heh
Friday, July 30, 2010
Pending Gathering of Fools
More importantly tomorrow is the seasonal (more or less) Gathering of Fools. The core of my old High School / College / Life Before our own Families and Responsibilities Group gets together every few months to shoot the shit, have a few beers for old fiends we've lost, watch Army of Darkness for the 27th time, eat lots of beef jerky and basically act like we did 25 years ago.
I like to bear gifts when possible during these gatherings. Castles & Crusades books, OSRIC, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry... I've given them all out.
Tomorrow I get to give out copies of Dark Dungeons, some Swords and Wizardry Quickstarts and a single copy of the Swords & Wizardry Whitebox Edition in the collectible box. Think I'll run a mock combat with the S&W rules, last man standing gets the boxed set. Should be a blast.
Posting may be light the rest of the weekend. Or not. One never knows what may spark a post ;)
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Warrior, Rogue & Mage
In this game, the classic class names from fantasy RPGs are instead your attributes. Once you wrap your head around that a few times you'll be fine.
In simplest terms, Warrior defines your combat abilities, Rogue your stealth and Mage your academic / magical abilities. Add in skills (that are linked to your attributes) and talents and you've pretty much defined your character.
Simple games can be a lot of fun, but they take the correct group. A 40 page PDF is not going to cover all possibilities, so common sense and GM fiat may be needed at times. Still, for a quick and easy system Warrior, Rogue & Mage reminds me in ways of Ancient Odysseys - both games are easy to pick up and get gaming with pretty quickly.
Decent layout and nice enough artwork makes this a keeper. Warrior, Rogue & Mage is released under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
LotFP - Weird Fantasy in Hand
Lots of goodies jammed in the box. Its a tasty box too, or at least my cat thinks so. She was nibbling on the edge.
The first parts I plan to read are the Tutorial (to see how well it might actually explain role playing to those outside the hobby), and the two included adventures: Tower of the Stargazer and Weird New World. Need to step away from my iPad for a bit it seems ;)
Heck, the dice may be small but they look to be decent quality.
I'll give a review after I read thru everything.
Dungeon Demon - Mapping for this Dummy
I stumbled across Dungeon Demon from Rusty Axe Games last nite, a surprisingly intuitive mapping program for the mapping impaired. I was able to put a no frills 4 room dungeon together in about 10 minutes, suitable for my online Virtual Table Top of choice, Fantasy Grounds (tho iTabletop may be knocking on that door soon). I figure if I spend another 20 minutes making it all pretty I'll be pretty well set.
It won't overwhelm you with options, and will probably be seen as a mapping program with training wheels for the mapping masters out there, but I need the training wheels :)
This is a first for me. I'm actually kind of excited. Another excuse for not running a game removed from me. Going to need to get off my ass and DM soon it seems.
If I get anywhere near passable I'll post some on the blog, just don't hold your breath ;)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
No More Core 4e Books?
ManaNation has received a tip that Wizards of the Coast has decided to end the print run of the Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition Core Handbooks, instead aiming to turn the game in the direction of “Dungeons and Dragons Essentials”, a product to be released later this year. The first product for the Essentials line is starting with the ‘Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Roleplaying Game’ also being called ‘the Red Box’ and is due to be released on Sept. 7th, 2010.
It is our understanding that they are not going to be reprinting any of the three main books, the Players Handbook, Dungeon Master Guide and Monster Manual from this point on to allow them to be phased out. No other books have been mentioned.
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EGG's Lejendary Adventures - Quick Start
These days it is out of print. As Gygax Games has yet to decide what to do with the property, it may be out of print for a while. That being said, DragonsFoot has a decent amount of material for use in the game. More to the point, they have the PDF version of the Lejendary Adventures Quickstart available for download.
On the day we remember the man who did much to bring about this hobby of ours, why don't you download a copy of the Lejendary Adventures Quickstart. Designed by the man. Played by the man.
Heck, I'm gonna download another copy myself. So I can give it a good reading. I never got to play on the man's porch, but I've gotten the chance to spend many a year with his creations.
Roll them dice lads and ladies.
edit: fixed the damn "G" for "J" deallie - Gary's f'n with me from above I tell you! ;)
Encounters Mag - Aussie for Classic Gaming
Very high production values and a decent page count, this quarterly magazine would have me subscribing if it offered such, but it's free, so I'll need to remember to track it down very few months.
Issue 2 of Encounters was just released. Do yourself, and your gaming group a favor, and grab a copy.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Quick Start Rules - The Listing - Part the Seventh
HELLAS: Quick Start Rules - Hellas is an exciting fusion of high drama, action-adventure, romance, mythology-infused space opera and science fiction - all that seems to be missing is the kitchen sink.
S.A.V.A.G.E. Essentials Rulebook - (Survival and Victory after Global Extinction) - Stripped down core rules for free. When the author says "for experienced gamers only", I lean toward beleiving him. Still, mightbe some stuff stealable for your Mutant Future game.
Promethean: The Created Demo - Promethean: The Created Promo - Think Frankenstein and Golems. Its set in White Wolf's World of Darkness. Hell, with of of the WoD quickstarts, you could game for months and not spend a cent.
SLA Industries FREE Rulebook - Not a quickstart, as the quickstart's link appears to be dead. Instead, its the full core rulebook. Spies, espionage, magic, biogenetics and more. Over 300 pages. Full game. 'Nuff said.
Destination Now Known
I'd link it up for ya, but still haven,t figured how to do that from the iPad. ;)
I'll edit this tonight for linkability.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
edit: Got mine in my snail-mail box today. Woot!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Weekend Bits N Pieces
I just realized yesterday that Netflix on Demand has many of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 movies for instant viewing. Some great Scifi and Fantasy cheese to watch. Of course, my all time favorite Mitchel isn't available for instant viewing... I might have to pick that one up on DVD (not a gamer movie, but oh god, its great in its badness).
The Smallville RPG just hit RPGNow. I don't think I've watched more then an episode or two, but I have friends that watch it religiously. I have access to a reviewer's copy, so I might have to check this out. Alot of folks like the Cortex System, so it should be fun to see how good a fit it is.
Oh, and I'm still going to bitch about the heat we've had in NYC. Last year I didn't need to run my AC at night until August - but then again, last summer was unseasonably cool.
Last bit - open to suggestions for a new wireless router. Mine is "okay", but I'm looking for some extra range and perhaps better support for wireless gaming.
Thanks for listening. Should have some more Quickstarts listed in a day or so.
Fantasy Hero 6th ed- The Beast
I tend to beg, borrow and steal from many sources when I run a game, and good ideas don't need to share the same rule system. There is much here that is not specific to the Hero system. The sections Elements of Fantasy, Fantasy Sub-genres, and crossing fantasy with other genres could stand on their own as generic advice for anyone about to begin a new Fantasy game with any set of rules.
Other Chapters, such as Beyond the Fields we Know: Fantasy Worlds and Races and Wonders of the Imagination: Gamemastering Fantasy Hero stand pretty well on their own too. The ideas and advice presented could easily be published as a systemless supplement, and I strongly suggest that Hero Games, or whatever the company is called these days, consider publishing these chapters to an audience outside of the Hero Game circle. I suspect they would do well.
As for the bulk of the book? Its been ages since I've run anything Hero / Champions - wise, so I am far from the person to be counted on for a definitive judgement, but even with my time away from the game I could see myself creating a Fantasy Hero character. I don't have the day and a half available to do so at the moment ;)
On a more technical note, there is an excellent use of bookmarks in Fantasy Hero, something that is unappreciated until you start using them. At that point, they become priceless.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
The Lonely Coast Campaign Setting
The setting details a small area that can fit into just about any campaign world. It's designed to fit on the outskirts of a kingdom, and doesn't cover a huge area, so it shouldn't disrupt much if you drop it into a world you already plan to use.
Five wandering encounters are included to help the DM hit the ground rolling.
You can grab The Lonely Coast here and visit the Raging Swan Press' website here.
Raging Swan has also released an adventure named Retribution for 1st level PCs, that can be used with The Lonely Coast or not. It's also for Pathfinder and would required some conversion to use it with other rule sets. I'll give my thoughts on it when I finish reading it.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Fantasy Games Unlimited Seems Limitless
There are 26 adventures and supplements for Villains and Vigilantes along. I assume that they are pretty compatible to the new release of V&V, but maybe someone can confirm or deny that for me.
The title that caught most of my attention last night was Swordbearer. It was one of the first non-AD&D RPGs that I purchased. Never played it, not even sure if I understood how all the rules would have worked in game play, but I loved that boxed set. Come to think of it, games in boxes were generally more exciting then book format. It's kinda like opening a present every time you play.
I did use the Swordbearer adventure Dwarven Halls in my AD&D campaign back in the day. Wish I could remember how well it played, but time has stolen the details from me.
Anyhow, FGU appears to be participating in the Christmas in July promo on RPGNow. 25% off aint bad.
FGU Classic Releases on RPGNow
Last night I received numerous emails informing me of Fantasy Games Unlimited releasing classic titles from it's library on RPGNow. It included some V&V titles, some Aftermath and Space Opera supplements and even the Swordbearer rules (of which I have the original box packed away somewhere).
Over the weekend I'll take a closer look at the releases. I figured I'd let y'all know now, as there are some FGU fans out there ;)
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Thursday, July 22, 2010
And The Winners Are...
Still haven't figured out a better method than rolling dice by hand, although I'm sure there is a better method.
Forty-three peeps registered via Google Friends Connect. I'm going to be lazy and just roll percentile dice and disregard any results over 43. Breaking out the pink crystal dice inked in black (which I SWORE were red when I ordered them online).
Ashley the Feline will be our dice rolling witness. Hopefully she will refrain from playing with the dice until after the winners are chosen.
And the rolls are:
Congrats to all.
Just think, we get to do it again at 50 - just need to check the prize closet and make note of what we have ;)
Breaking Out the Dice Tonight
We, I have three items to give away from June, and I'd hate to see them expire and go to waste, so everyone that is on the Tavern's Google Friends list by 7 pm NYC time tonight is entered. Raffling off PDF copies of:
Fantasy Craft Karma Roleplaying System Fat Dragon Deluxe Set
Should be fun ;)
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Wednesday, July 21, 2010
My ENnie Choices - Atomic Highway
Even the cover plays homage to the Road Warrior series of movies.
This book is a blast (nuclear?) to read. Simple rules (as in not too crunch heavy), nice setting rules (so you can customize your own setting) and a well done sample adventure. Haven't yet put the rules to a playtest, but I suspect they would be quickly picked up by the average gaming group. All that and a solid 5 star rating on RPGNow.
Now, for a free alternative post holocaust RPG (more on the side of Gamma World then Road Warrior) you can check out Mutant Future.
Or just read them both and make your own future.
The 40th Person Just Stepped up to the Bar
Tomorrow night I'll do the random rolling to determine the winner of a PDF copy of Fantasy Craft, compliments of RPGNow. Actually, I'm leaning on giving more then one prize away, as the codes are from June and I'd hate for them to expire ;)
Best of luck to all.
Bits n Pieces
Over the next few days I'll be posting some short reviews of my picks from the ENnies list. I figure most of them are independent publishers and might have flown under some folks radars.
I also need to complete another Tales of the Blue Knight installment. Let's see how far I can get on that.
Another week in the 90s here in NYC. Saturday will be gunning for 98. Did I mention I hate the heat?
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Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Eenie, Meenie, More ENnies....
Best Production Values
Eclipse Phase (Catalyst Game Labs & Posthuman Studios) - 'cause its a damn good book
Pathfinder Core Rulebook (Paizo Publishing) - Paizo outdid their already high standards on this one
Warhammer Fantasy RPG (Fantasy Flight Games)- Holy Shit! Open the box and be left in awe!
Best Regalia
I'm not even sure what this means
Best Rules
Atomic Highway (Cubicle 7 & Radioactive Ape Designs) - a most excellent post nuke the world game
Diaspora (VSCA) - FATE system rules rule
Best Setting
Day After Ragnarok (Atomic Overmind Press) - If I were to play in a pulp setting, this would be it... excellent read, even w/o getting to play it
Best Supplement
eh, I refuse to vote for Player's Handbook 3
Best Website
Obsidian Portal - if you want a site that will help you run your game between sessions, this is it
Best Writing
Eclipse Phase (Catalyst Game Labs & Posthuman Studios) - like i said before, its a damn good book
FantasyCraft (Crafty Games) - i like the book, even if i know i will never use it
Product of the Year
Pathfinder (Paizo Publishing) - why? because this one goes to ELEVEN! or 3.75, or the alternate 4e
Closing the Pandoren Box
Something I think I forgot to mention about iTabletop Pandoren is that is uses Silverlight or some such (I'm doing this from my iPad so I'm just gonna roll with it). There is nothing to download. Everything is saved server side, even the application.
Which can be good or bad, depending on the future health of the company. In the hear and now it is awesome. Log in on any computer that can access the Internet and your account, your resources, everything you have saved game-wise is there.
Alright, closing the Pandoren box for now. I'm sure I'll have more after I give it a bit of a workout in the coming weeks.
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Monday, July 19, 2010
Opening the Pandoren Box
For a brief time I was a volunteer mod on the site, it was at a point where v1.0 was no longer being worked on, and v2.0 wasn't even in pre-beta. Like any real growth, it was a rough spot. So I walked away. Not proud of it, but I was hoping to get my own fairly regular game running, and iTabletop wasn't ready for prime time. I turned my attention back to Fantasy Grounds 2, no slouch in the Virtual Table Top field, but with a decent learning curve if you wanted to run a game with it.
I never completely walked away from iTabletop Pandoren (which I assume is a play on Pandora's box), as the stream of emails updaying threads I was following on the forums could attest to.
At the moment they are offering $25 Lifetime memberships, good for one person, with all the bells and whistles. Crap, that's right, the bells and whistles that set iTabletop Pandoren apart from the others: Video and voice built into the platform. Which is damn nice, as my group is in NYC, Texas and Washington State... and everyone wants to make faces and crack jokes. Hard to do that via the chat log in Fantasy Grounds 2.
You can also share sounds for events, video clips, PDFs (tho the last part is a bit touchy, as copyrights can be involved). Suffice to say it is far enough along that I can now stumble my way thru the idea of getting a game running with it.
At the very least my group with use this for the 4 time a year Gathering of Fools... so that those in distant lands (Texas and Washington) can enjoy and participate in the foolishness.
Eenie, Meenie, ENnies....
Best Adventure
The Grinding Gear (Lamentations of the Flame Princess)
Best Aid or Accessory
er, don't know, don't rightly care
Best Art, Cover
Eclipse Phase (Catalyst Game Labs & Posthuman Studios)
Pathfinder Bestiary (Paizo Publishing)
Rogue Trader Core Rulebook (Fantasy Flight Games)
Best Art, Interior
Pathfinder Core Rulebook (Paizo Publishing)
Rogue Trader Core Rulebook (Fantasy Flight Games)
Best Blog
guess i dont read the big ones
Best Cartography
and don't now much about the final picks
Best Electronic Book
not one of the finalists are on my digital bookshelf... sigh
Best Free Product
amazingly enough, I don't know anything off this list either... and I LOVE free
Best Game
Pathfinder (Paizo Publishing)
HM: Labyrinth Lord (Goblinoid Games) Honorable mention isnt bad, but I'd have preferred a vote ;)
Best Miniature Product
I dont really do minis these days
Best Monster/Adversary
Pathfinder Bestiary (Paizo Publishing)
Pathfinder: Classic Horrors Revisited (Paizo Publishing)
Best Podcast
I listen to like 4 podcasts a year, so my vote doesn't count
eh, there's more, but I'll post it later tonight
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Quick Start Rules - The Listing - Part the Sixth
Misguided Ambitions - An Introduction to Earthdawn Third Edition - My experience with Earthdawn is limited to the harcover published by FASA back in my early days of gaming. This cover to the new edition's quickstart reminds me of little in that old book, which is a good thing.
Mage: The Awakening Demo Part 1 and Part 2 - ENnie Nominated for best free product or web enhancement. Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the Ascension and Awakening line for Mage?
City of Heroes RPG Quickplay Pack - Based on the MMORPG of the same name, it appears the full system was never released. If this weren't a PDF, it would be a collectible.
A Players Guide to Castlemourn - Not so much a quick start as an intro to the setting with enough rules (for use with 3.5e) to allow a player to create a character for use. Includes original fiction from Ed Greenwood, which by itself means it deserves a gander, especially for free. Castlemourn Quickstart for the Cortex System here.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The Osmond Family RPG
That damn stupid ass song: I'm a little bit Country... I'm a little bit Rock n Roll!
I'm a little bit OSR, I'm a little bit 3E. And a smidgen Rolemaster, MERP, BRP, CoC, FATE, Rifts, peanut butter and chocolate...
Just imagine if I HAD been drinking. This could have been a whole lot worse, but the point is labels dont mean shit except from a marketing perspective.
Talking about marketing, I wonder if one could pull off an Osmond Family RPG. I mean, TSR did publish a Dallas boardgame. I actually owned that train wreck in my youth.
Pendragon - The Once and Current King
Pendragon is one of the great games that I never played. I have the 1st edition boxed set and the 3rd edition soft covered book (there was no 2nd, and i missed the 4th and 5.0). I've read them repeatedly, cover to cover, over the years as they are great King Arthur resources unto themselves and make for nice reading (my BA is in History, so I may be biased).
The new PDF is 238 pages from end to end, and I'm starting at the begining and moving directly forward. It's not the only thing on my plate, so its going to take some time before I can give a full (or even partial) review, but if it stays true to form it should be excellent.
Maybe I'll finally get to play with the rules this time.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Room for Another Mag?
In addition to covering many different RPGs, the plans include coverage of tabletop and live action gaming. It should be interesting to see how this plays out.
Issue Zero, a 16 page preview, is available for free as a download from RPGNow here.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Life Sucks - Then You Blog
It's one hell of a distraction. I'm sure its a D&D spell already, but damn I'm ready to write one from experience.
On a positive note, despite all the noise James managed to raise recently, his Weird Fantasy game is ready for preorders. I'm in for one. He may be a loud mouth, but he is an extremely talented loudmouth. I have high expectations for it. I'll review it when I receive it.
It aint cheap, but damn thats alot stuff!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Optimal Salacious Review - OSR
Truth of the matter is it served its purpose. It drove traffic to Jim's site, just as Weird Fantasy is getting set to release. Who will be the main buyer's of Jim's game? People that are interested enough in this corner of the hobby to read blogs about this crap... me, you maybe?
I personally didn't like Jim's telling people what they should be called, making people a part of the OSR based on his word alone. If I read a book by a Communist, am I now a Commie? If I read the Bible do I now have to "witness" for everyone, or whatever the heck it is they do when they knock on my door and try to save me?
I'm fine at defining myself. I might game mostly in what is defined loosely as OSR, but I have no products to push, no game to publish. As someone else said... this is my hobby, and lets leave it as such.
Greyhawk Grognard: Marketing the OSR
Greyhawk Grognard: Marketing the OSR, Part 2 of 4: Innovation
GG has put forward two really great posts on the OSR. Do yourself a favor and check them out.
I'd Make a Horrible PC
My sinuses and the accompanying post nasal drip are driving me out of my mind. I blame the wonderful NYC weather.
I could never survive as a PC, getting my ass beat on a daily basis, sleeping outdoors or in a dungeon.
Sinuses knock me down ;)
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Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Another Twofer Tuesday
First up is Oil Pressure, a module for Villains and Vigilantes. Coming in at 16 pages, it should give you an evening of entertainment and a nice sample module for you V&V game.
Our second freebie is also the second part of a series of adventures.
Campaign 1: Secrets of the Ancients from Mongoose Games for Traveller. There are three separate download links on the page. The campaign intro, part 1 and part 2. Enjoy
Monday, July 12, 2010
Waiting is the Hardest Part
So, The Kid is at a birthday party tonight. He's 17, stubborn, likes to show he is independent. Got a whole lot of: "and you know you don't have to text me every five minutes." "You DON'T need to know everything." Normal adolescent spreading of wings.
All I asked was: "When you know what time it is wrapping up, send me a text"."
The independent lad needed 5 bucks for a MetroCard (NYC Subway) and has already texted me that: "It wraps up at 10 and if I feel lazy I may need a ride." That's my boy... you can spread those wings as far as you want, but your father will always be there for you.
So, what am I doing in my spare time this evening? Watching the Dungeons & Dragons: The Complete Animated Series... cause if the lad were home he'd probably laugh me outa the house ;)
Alright, its a little dated, and the putz shares my name (Cavalier named Erik... sheesh, what a tool) but its still D&D, its still fun, and it makes me feel years younger. It can't be all that bad ;)
Looking For a Good First RPG
I started a thread pretty much asking for the same on ENWorld.
I'm looking for a good RPG to introduce a first time player to roleplaying. They want something they can read first, so it shouldn't be too huge and should include an easy to follow sample of play.
The vast majority of my 30 years of game collecting assumes prior knowledge of roleplaying games. I'd like to hear some suggestions if y'all if possible.
Thanks :)
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Sunday, July 11, 2010
And the Winner is...
In any case, we have 5 entries. In order of their posting it is:
1-2 Greg
3-4 Mikemonaco
5-6 James
7-8 dogrodeo
9-0 Tim Shorts
Can we have a drum roll please?
Taking a randomly chosen 10-sided die from my desk drawer. Witnessed by Ashley, the 4 y/o feline... we have rolled a 5.
Woot! James wins a PDF copy of Dragon Warriors courtesy of RPGNow.
James, check your email.
Still Six Hours Left...
Your comment must be in by 6 pm today, Eastern time. Just Do It! :)
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Quick Start Rules - The Listing - Part the Fifth
There is still time to add your favorite BBEG to the thread here and have a chance to win a PDF copy of Dragon Warriors. Comments must be added by 6 pm Eastern Time July 11, 2010. Operators are standing by.
Anyhow, back to the Quickstarts:
FFGs quick starts for its Warhammer 40k line of RPGs is available at the following links:
Deathwatch Rouge Trader Dark Heresy
Actually, lots of free goodies at those links... enjoy
StarSiege from Troll Lord Games- Cross Castles & Crusades' engine with sci-fi and this is the result. My son gave me this as a Christmas gift when it came out. He rocks!
PDQ Sharp! from Atomic Sock Monkey - The game engine behind Jaws of the Six Serpents, Zorceror of Zo, and many others.
PDQ - For an ever more streamlined version of the above. In case you don't like Swashbucklers and such ;)
Lazy Saturday Afternoon
So far today I have played some Star Trek Online, read the latest Knights of the Dinner Table, surfed the web, played with the iPad... I've really missed the Do Nothing of Importance type of Saturday. I think I need to schedule these more often ;)
Oh, and we are getting some rain here in NYC. Woot! About friggin time.
Anyhow, when I motivate my lazy ass I'll put up the next installment of the Quick Start collection. I expect that should be sometime this evening.
K, back to blowing shit up in STO.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Tell us About Your Favorite BBEG
Besides, everyone that posts gets a chance to a single copy of Dragon Warriors RPG from RPGNow.
Yep, I have a copy to give away, and one lucky random poster will get it.
Get your posts in by 6pm eastern time Sunday, July 11, 2010. The winner will be announced by 6pm on July 12th, and probably a lot sooner.
The ongoing contest is still in effect. When we hit 40 Google Connect Friends, one lucky random friend gets a PDF copy of Fantasy Craft. Prizes at 50 and 60 friends also.
So, who is your favorite baddie anyhow?
Warhammer 40k Quickstarts gone from RPGNow
Apparently Fantasy Flight Games has removed the assorted quick starts for their Warhammer 40k RPG lines from RPGNow. They are still available if you dig through the FFG website, although you will need to sign up on their site to download anything.
I noticed this as I was preparing the next installment of the Quickstart Collection posts. In any case, any previous links I may have posted for these are dead. I'll try to get the new links up this weekend. (posting links with the iPad is a PITA... Heh)
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Thursday, July 8, 2010
July Specials at RPGNow
JulyDriveThruBlogPod2010
Blogs of Inspiration & Erudition
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The Crime Scence - The Red Room's Orbital Decay & Night Owl Workshop's Colonial Troopers - Session Report - Let's get into it from today's game session with DM Paul aboard the 'haunted' space station. Our party has been able to cut into the 'Engineering ' sectio...3 minutes ago
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Lego Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon's Tale - A bit of a break before I get into Sci-Fi month proper. My oldest kid and I went in on the new Lego: Dungeons & Dragons set. [image: Lego: Dungeons & Dra...10 hours ago
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Lawman: western scifi silliness - I got pointed to this game by my bro Bill and honestly I am just loving it. Western bounty hunter space zooming around space to apprehend criminals. What ...10 hours ago
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April ‘24 In Review - Another hectic busy month, with a vacation right in the middle of it that just didn’t feel entirely worth it having to come back to a pile of things that...12 hours ago
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Greyhawk Wars (1991) - From the back of the box: From the mad Malachite throne in Rauxes to the bejeweled city in Chendl in Furyondy, the Flanaess is at war! In the east, Overk...12 hours ago
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Add Some Brutality To Your Action Figure Collection - The first item from Severed Toys is live on Kickstarter. In a partnership with Johan and Pelle of Stockholm Kartell, they're releasing an action figure bas...1 day ago
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Why the dearth of 'other world' campaigns? - JRR Tolkien was a crucial 'break' between two conceptions of the fantasy genre. Before him, most (though not all) fantastical tales either involved people ...1 day ago
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The Fenworthy Inheritance - By Simon ToddMontidotsBRP/CoC/Gore When David Farrington decided to drag his sister, Jinx, away from the hedonistic vortex of London’s Bright Young Things ...1 day ago
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The Power of Bluntness - I was reading through the rules for *Blood Red Skies. *I picked up the starter set for reasons that will become clear in a few weeks. The game appeals to...1 day ago
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Minis I Don't Need But Want - Evil Geniuses - I stumbled on these on Mark Copplestone's webpage. I have no need for these guys, but I want to play a game where I need them. That guy on the left looks...1 day ago
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Simplifying encounter procedures - In a recent post, I mentioned that I find the procedure for random encounters too lengthy - it can require half a dozen rolls or more to go from "is there ...2 days ago
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d100 What are those wild people up to now? - Chagrinspire pdf on Patreon now Had my birthday and an interview to be on a live stream twitch game When you live close...2 days ago
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Miskatonic Monday #280: Mail Order Bribe - Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for *Call of Cthulhu* under the Miskatonic University Library Associati...3 days ago
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Geeky SKAturday: The Toasters - Last weekend, we got to go to This Is Not Croydon Fest, a ska festival near Philadelphia. Good stuff; we're lucky to get to go and I'd love for it to ha...5 days ago
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QuarHammer - I stumbled, addled, into my local semi-rural game store in search of off-brand Contrast paint to finish up Ionus Cryptborn, and while wandering around, I ...1 week ago
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More (Mostly Pointless) Messing About - I thought I would try an experiment: I re-scaled one of Bergman's 1:100 Char B-I (bis) models to 1:200 and printed it on my Mars Pro. It's the yellow ...1 week ago
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grodog's Founders & Legends and GaryCon XVI Convention Reports - 14-25 March 2024 - Part 3 - GaryCon XVI – Thank YOUs and SwagContinued from *Part 1 – Arrival through Founders & Legends and Interregnum Tuesday* and from *Part 2 - GaryCon XVI – 20-2...1 week ago
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Living Rooms, Beyond the Living Room, and The Open Form Broadside - Living rooms set to liven up your RPG adventures, and a broadside journal set to stimulate those little grey cells... Rob Kuntz's latest releases! *Livin...1 week ago
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Return to the Known Lands – Session #43 – Beware of Strangers with Magic Swords, Pt. 2 - PCs: - Frakus (Dw FM 3) - Osan (Elf F/MU 4/2) - Omes (Half FM) - Arro (MU 3) NPCs: - Marnes (CL 4) - Burdar (Dw FM 1) -...1 week ago
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New Printable Scenery Campaign: Ramshackle & Ruin - [image: New Printable Scenery Campaign: Ramshackle & Ruin] I don't know how many of my peeps here are into 3d printing, but I'm always collecting the STL ...2 weeks ago
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OSR: Mirrors, Cubes, Rods, Staves, and the Deck of Motley Things - I've written another 10 pages of the Treasure Overhaul (title pending), a condensed magic item compendium for old-school games. Unlike the first two prev...2 weeks ago
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Session #12 & Adventure Sites Compilation - Firstly, I wanted to let everybody know that Adventure Sites I by Coldlight Press is now available as a free download on DriveThruRPG. It includes my own...2 weeks ago
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The Release of How to Make a Fantasy Sandbox and the Isle of Pyade - The Release With the successful conclusion and fulfillment of my Kickstarter, I am releasing How to Make a Fantasy Sandbox and The Isle of Pyade to the publ...3 weeks ago
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Clerics of the Flanaess, Part 2 - Sorry it took so long to get to the next article in this series, but here we are! This continues the details of specialty clerics for the World of Greyhawk...3 weeks ago
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On the Sector Turn - It's very simple. There are many important things cybertechtronically enhanced secret agents need to do: Buy illegal tanks with railguns. "Convince" the...3 weeks ago
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Arsenic & Old Lace (a Review)... - The free-kriegsspiel revolution (or FKR; sometimes free-kriegsspiel roleplay) has been getting a lot of attention lately, which seems inevitable given re...4 weeks ago
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The Light Dawns - THIS!!! Yes, a thousand times, this! Back in the day, I referred to this as “neo-classicalgaming,” which is to say, the sorts of games that came ou...4 weeks ago
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Improvised Awful Lights Missions - Asking about The Awful Lights, a commenter asks: *I'd love to hear about how this is run - with the Handler determining mission location and objectives ...4 weeks ago
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Jim Ward's Adventure in Gygax's Wonderland - Last weekend at GaryCon, many of us raised a glass to the memory of Jim Ward, who passed away just days before the convention. Ward was very helpful to m...4 weeks ago
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It’s Tolkien Reading Day - I recently started rereading *The Silmarillion*. I had last read it over two decades ago. I liked it then but I’m really enjoying it this time! Despite b...5 weeks ago
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Osr anchorites? - It's been a long time since I listened to any osr podcasts. Anchor was a lot of fun. I'm not sure if the community is still going? I deleted the app ...1 month ago
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Chaos War Dogs - Welcome back to the Vault! My gaming partner and I had a fun day at the Meme Team doubles last weekend, placing mid-table results wise. My eye is now lo...1 month ago
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ShadowDark Magic Items - The next campaign I run will use the ShadowDark RPG. I'm not sure when that'll be (I'm hoping a little later this year), but ShadowDark is my choice. I'v...2 months ago
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Xandering, Jaquaysing, or Arneson-ing the Dungeon? - Yet another gamer firestorm arose shortly after the passing of Janelle Jaquays when it was noted that Justin Alexander had changed a rather well known p...2 months ago
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GLOG Class: Bioweapon - I got this idea from mad gods on bear blog. Crab Evo from Kagaku Sentai Dynaman A thousand soldiers were slain. Too many to be tragic--this is just a fact...2 months ago
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The Economy Engine, v0.2 - I made a thing. For D&D 3rd edition, so it might not be that interesting to a lot of people. But I made it and I think it’s cool. The 3rd edition Dungeon M...3 months ago
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*'s in SpaaaaaAaaaace - A lot of SF (including a certain 2D6 RPG grandaddy) deal with ancient aliens taking humans from Earth and dropping them, fleas and all, on one or more w...3 months ago
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[MODULE] The Webs of Past and Present & Cloister of the Frog-God (NOW AVAILABLE!) - Can you have enough frog-themed modules? I am pleased to announce the publication of two adventure modules, *The Webs of Past and Present *and *Cloister of...3 months ago
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What Else Have I Got in Me? - Brechewold's been done for a little while. Still incredibly pumped to have this labor of love out in the company of LotFP's marvelously creative body of ...3 months ago
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Housekeeping 2024 - Coactus Illustration © Heather Gwinn. A gift she gave me in 2013 for an edition of Miscreated Creatures which I hope exists someday. Coloring by me. I am a...3 months ago
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Last move - to self-hosting! - As my vote regarding Substack in the “marketplace of ideas”, I’m moving to self-hosting. I’m now at (and hopefully staying for a long time at) Blog: ht...3 months ago
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Sex-Crazed Falling Stars, Free Weather Magic, and Adventures: News of the Hill Cantons - *Grandma Gaya, the Rav-Witch of High Kezmarok*, seeks the stout of limb and humble of mind in the *obtaining of fallen stars* from an upcoming prophesied ...3 months ago
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Time Rolls On - Today is December 31, 2023, in the mid-afternoon. In less than ten hours it will be 2024. 2023 2023 was a good year. But all years are good years. Both goo...4 months ago
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Play Report: Skull Mountain - At the end of the last Skull Mountain session the PCs had retreated to safety at Owen's redoubt, met with visiting elves, and recovered from injuries ...5 months ago
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Moving On... - So, my D&D 5e experiment has blown up the lab in a puff of green smoke leaving my face blackened like Wile E. Coyote after a failed roadrunner Acme trap...10 months ago
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How to Keep Megadungeons Fresh - People often consider megadungeons boring. Not because the play style is boring, but because they are in the same locale for a majority of the campaign. If...11 months ago
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ODIOUS UPLANDS and COMPLETELY UNFATHOMABLE DCC AT LAST - NOW AVAILABLE in PDF and Print on Demand:ODIOUS UPLANDS and COMPLETELY UNFATHOMABLE (DCC)CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW! SO YOU SURVIVED OPERATION UNFATHOMABLE? Od...1 year ago
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The Blade Itself - I just finished listening to the audiobook of The Blade Itself, volume one in Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law trilogy. This was my first exposure to his wo...1 year ago
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Master Treasure Seeker: A Dungeon23 MegaDungeon - Introduction - Sean McCoy, author of Mothership, posted an article on his substack titled Dungeon23 and it's taken the indie RPG scene by storm. So, I'm throwing my hat...1 year ago
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Genteel Magistrate at FenCon XVIII - Victorious author Mike Stewart will be a guest at FenCon XVIII this weekend at the Sheraton DFW Airport hotel, 4440 W. John Carpenter Freeway, Irving, TX, ...1 year ago
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Osamu Tezuka (1928 - 1989) - [image: Osamu Tezuka - Shonen Magazine Cover, 1970]Shonen Magazine Cover, 1970 [image: Osamu Tezuka - Shonen Magazine Cover Illustration 1970]Shonen Maga...1 year ago
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Helvéczia: Journal de Campagne, 3 - We resumed play this past week, joining the company still within the farmstead where those that remain of the seven knaves are restrained or incapacitate...1 year ago
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This is an Important Game Mechanic - *"That's the GM's Regional Map from my AOWG. And it's a damned good regional map. It's not a good map for a Simple Homebrew Campaign. It does some s$&...1 year ago
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Clean Your Room - Looking back at my little blog here. That last post… wow, I was having fun playing WOW Classic! That was August of 1999 and I was having a blast… it was ...2 years ago
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My RPG Zine Trilogy is on Kickstarter! - I can't believe I didn't post about it here! The Dead are Coming, Screams Amongst the Stars and Running Out of Time are on *Kickstarter right now!* Thes...3 years ago
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Maximum HP 004, one week to go - Just one week to go for Maximum HP issue #004, the undead. We are pushing through stretch goals and wracking up contributions for the best issue yet. We...3 years ago
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Steve Jackson Interview - James Maliszewski recently did an interview with Steve Jackson over on his Grognardia blog. Steve chats about the beginnings of The Fantasy Trip and upcomi...3 years ago
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The Hero’s Journey 2nd Edition, Campbellian roleplaying at its best! - (this review done using the reviewers own purchased copy) I have been a James Michael Spahn fan since he wrote his Swords & Wizardry Companion. His writing...3 years ago
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Undermountain Map Origins - As documented on the Ruins of Undermountain sales page, "TSR didn't actually use Ed Greenwood's original maps," at least not in their entirety. This post d...3 years ago
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WB:FMAG Total Print Sales - Hello Folks, The last time I did a quick sales report was in September 2018. I pulled reports from Amazon, Lulu and DrivethruRPG from October to current fo...4 years ago
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The Minotaur for Old-School Essentials - *Minotaur* *Requirements:* Minimum STR 9, Minimum CON 9 *Prime Requisite:* STR and CON *Hit Dice:* 1d10 *Maximum Level:* 8 *Armor:* Leather, including shield...4 years ago
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WIZARDS OF POHJOLA - Init +0 Melee Atk • sword or dagger +1 (1d5 or 1d3) Ranged Atk • hot iron sparks +3 (1d4+2 to two targets within 20' but not closer than 5') AC 14 HD 12d...4 years ago
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The Withered Crag custom print version for sale again - Just re-enabled the direct sales button for the custom print (classic style detached cover) version of F4 The Withered Crag, and also for F3 Many Gates of...4 years ago
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Dungeons & Dragonmead Fall Schedule - *As you know, I run public classic Dungeons & Dragons games at **The Loaded Die**/Metro Detroit Game Night's Board Game Nigh at **Dragonmead**, in Warren...4 years ago
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D&D Sling Damage vs. Large Targets - In many early editions of D&D, weapons were assigned two damage values: one for small/medium targets (i.e. man-sized) and one for large targets (giants and...4 years ago
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James A. Smith, Jr. Memorial Video - A beloved father, devoted friend, and D&D Dungeon Master extraordinaire. We miss you! To view video, click here Memorial Video Note - The original video...5 years ago
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Let's Talk About Pacing! - The idea, I think, is that the RPG is ultimately about the long game. Even rolling back to the early days of Basic & Expert, the goal of the player was...5 years ago
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Profane and Profound Prep Part 2 - This is part 2 of my work to edit my magic items for a DMsGuild release, along with adding cursed items along the way. Here is part 1. Bone of a Saint 8000...5 years ago
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SHORT BREAK. - I'm going to take a break for a week or so and will start up again in the New Year. Thanks for reading and we'll start with Level 6 when I get back.5 years ago
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Iain Lovecraft, 3D Sculptor - Nope, it's got nothing to do with Cthulhu. I just did a video conversation with Iain Lovecraft, who designs 3D miniatures and terrain. If you're not doi...5 years ago
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New website! - Slowly but surely, all the content here will make its way — in updated form! — to my new website: timbannock.com. For fairly obvious reasons, that site wil...5 years ago
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Please Update Your Link! - If you're seeing this, it means your link to the Greyhawk Grognard blog is out of date. Please update your link to www.greyhawkgrognard.com (RSS feed is h...5 years ago
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Mord Mar - Session 6 - We weren't able to play Mord Mar last week, due to a family funeral. This week we played on Monday for the first time, due to kids returning to school and ...5 years ago
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A Small, Quiet Plea - There has been a great deal of discussing political agendas, social grievances, and personal attacks within the little corner of gaming that is my hobby....5 years ago
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Don’t Sleep It’s Broken - Expanding/editing my comments from What Makes Something Broken G+ thread: “Broken”, for me, is anything that makes normal character choices, tactics, or ro...6 years ago
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Swords & Wizardry Light-Themed Birthday Party - Last month, my wife and I helped our oldest to celebrate his birthday in style. Ever since 2013, we have hosted a themed birthday party for our now-15-ye...6 years ago