Saturday, September 25, 2010
OD&DITIES Goes Back on Hiatus
Long Island City Craft Beer Festival
Alright, four days at GenCon probably beats a four hour beer tasting, but not by much ;)
- Posted from my iPhone
Friday, September 24, 2010
Sometimes the Best Review is No Review at All
They way I see it, if there is no chance that I will EVER use the product in any way, shape or form, I'm probably better off not snagging a copy. Pathfinder stuff falls into that category, except for the modules, as they are easily converted and I still speak the language, if not the dialect.
4e stuff is out. A pain to convert to anything that resembles OSR. Ah well.
Most things that give out the "overpriced vibe" unless they look fricken awesome. I'd hate to grab a reviewer copy of something that I suspect is over priced and find out that I was right. Besides, I suspect reviewer copies are counted in the sales levels / awards (this is a guess only), and I don't want to boost the numbers of an item I expect to not justify its price in my eyes.
Most adventures for games I don't own the rules to. There are exceptions. Sometimes an adventure / module look so damn intriguing I'll buy the rulebook just to enjoy the adventure.
Foreign language products. If it isn't in English, I won't touch it. German language products are tempting, to see how far my college German can take me, but I suspect after the first page I'll give up ;)
Diorama products, as I have no space to display anything that I might actually produce from it.
So yes, I leave about 95% of what I am eligible to grab just where it is... but I'm getting fairly good at ensuring the other 5% is worthwhile, which ain't that bad ;)
Job Title of the Day
I feel bad for the above civilians that were promoted as hardened cops burst out laughing when they were announced.
Worse even then calling our Detectives Defectives ;)
- Posted from my iPhone
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Bits N' Pieces as the Week Winds Up
Anyone know of any decet blogging software for the Mac? I'm using Quamana at the moment, and while it isnt bad, it isnt the best I'm sure. Figure I'd throw that at my fellow bloggers for some input.
I'm going to work on a quick iPad, Kindle, Kindle DX comparison postfrom personal experience. Depending on what you are looking to get out of your device, each has its own, well served, niche.
Going to a beer tasting on Saturday, and thanks to my brother in law who is in the industry I'm going for free. Only thing better then microbrew beer? Free microbrew beer ;) Maybe I better not post directly after returning from the event... heh
Oh, and my Detective is officially promoted to Sergeant tomorrow. Congrats Maria! Now that you are out of my office maybe you can stop dissin' on my blogging ;)
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PDFs on the iPad, Why I Don't Mention the View in My Reviews
Which is why I tend to forget to mention how they look on the iPad. So for now on, if I don't mention how they look on the iPad, it is safe to assume they look great ;)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Confessions of a Completist
To balance out the 4e-ness of my recent purchaes, I found and bought (Buy it Now) a Holmes and a Metzner Basic Rule Books. I already had a Metzner, but I figured an extra copy wouldn't be bad to have. Now I think I'll search for some Tunnels and Trolls goodness and call it a nite ;)
(edit: Between Ebay and the Flying Buffalo website I have a crapload of T&T solos on their way. I feel better now, having balanced the 4e karma with some T&T Old School karma ;)
The End of Summer, the Return of the Game
Now, at the ripe old age of 43, I'm happy the summer has drawn to a close so I can return to the once a month C&C game I play in via Fantasy Grounds.
Something tells me I need to find more time to play these days ;)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Shadow, Sword & Spell - If it is Basic Where's the Advanced?
I've just started digging thru the rules (as you can see, I'm digging thru a whole slew of rules at the moment... I need to focus). The 12 degree system seems workable (after reading a handful of pages for opposed rolls, but I'm not sure how useful degrees of succes will be outside of combat, as an "impressionistic" approach is suggested (DM fiat or just wing it).
It looks like it should be a quick and enjoyable read. Hopefully I can get it done before the end of the month and post a short review on it. I am curios as to why this is "Basic", as it infers an Expert or Advanced edition. Eh, just me picking nits again it seems.
In the meantime, here's the blurb from RPGNow.
In Shadow, Sword & Spell: Basic, you create a character embarking on an adventuring career. Some event or desire, drives you to thumb your nose at your lot in life and seek out a destiny of your choosing. Society holds no bounds for you and you choose the life you want to live. Why should the only wealthy be wealthy? Why should only the baron own his own land? You want that — and more — and by Azathoth’s Radiance, you will!
In Basic, your character adventures and grows, becoming not only stronger, but more influential. Over time, a character can acquire not only wealth but power. Your influence and fame enables you to command armies, rule a kingdom, influence society — but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Basic gets you to this point, if you survive it…
It's Almost Time to Homebrew
The return of cooler weather means not just the return of the C&C game I play in, but also the return of my opportunity to make some more home-brewed beer. Mmmmmmmm. Beer.
Anyhow, I need to figure out what the first batch of the season will be. I'm leaning towards using my Cooper's kit, although I will need to see what I have waiting.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Monday, September 20, 2010
Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul - Free Quickstart
Spectrum Games has released Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul - Quickstart Preview at RPGNow. Lets see, we had the Villains & Vigillantes new edition released (and the original edition re-released), Icons, DC Heroes... I'm missing another, aren't I? In any case, there's a new Supers game on the block.
If I only played the genre, my options would be endless ;) It's free, so why not give it a peek?
From the Blurb:
Imagine, if you will, a superhero role-playing game that emulates how comicbooks actually work. When comic writers sit down to pen a story, they don't have a character sheet in front of them that defines precisely what the characters can do... how strong or agile they are, what skills they demonstrate, what the exact parameters of their powers are.
Instead, they give the characters what the story demands of them. If the story requires the power-armored hero to have stealth armor, he'll most likely have it on hand. Should it be critical that the hero with the magic amulet needs to generate a mystic shield, you can almost bank on her getting it. Does the hero with normal human strength desperately need to lift a gargantuan chunk of concrete off of his ally? Chances are, he'll be able to muster up the power to do so. It all comes down to what makes for a more entertaining story.
Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul, takes this fully into consideration by offering a game system that is open-ended and flexible, treating the players and Game Master like comicbook writers rather than just some people playing a game. The sky really is the limit... so why not soar through it like the hero you've always longed to be?
Sunday, September 19, 2010
A Plethora of PDFs
Cubicle 7 recently released the Clockwork & Chivalry Core Worldbook for Runequest 2 (I'm tryng to figure out how much work would be needed to make it work with BRP or Openquest). A nice twist to the historical time of the Musketeers. Cubicle 7 has been putting out some interesting releases recently.
Troll Lord has released an updated and expanded A1: Assault on Blacktooth Ridge, for Castles & Crusades. From what I can tell it now includes some of the web enhancements to the original release. I've already caught a typo, which may be a hold over from a print release, but I'm not sure (when you rfer to pages 50-51in a PDF that is 43 pages, you might be Troll Lord Games). Despite the typo(s) I'm a big fan of Assault on Blacktooth Ridge... it has some Keep on the Borderlands-ness to it, and it presents a nice low level sanbox.
The Sanctuary Ruin from Ludibrium Games is a module for the OSR rules of your choice. It clocks in at 10 pages, so maybe I should hit this first.
That's just what I'm trying to dig thru at the moment... I've got a larger pile waiting to be even looked at. Well, actually, at the moment I've got the Jets game calling my name. Hey, this is a tavern, you need to watch the game :)
Blogs of Inspiration & Erudition
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Friday Roundup for 12/1/2023 - Random links to end the week. - I missed a GURPS post yesterday for Thursday; I was just solidly busy until late and forgot. I generally don't like to miss...2 hours ago
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Campaign Journal Update - From Hardby to Dyvers and a Few Points In-Between - [image: Kron Hills, Gnarley Forest, and Dyvers environs - map by grodog] Kron Hills, Gnarley Forest, and Dyvers environs - map by grodog Since my last Ha...3 hours ago
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Heroes’ Feast: Saving the Children’s Menu Review - Heroes' Feast: Saving the Children's Menu is an adventure for 6 10th-level adventures available on D&D Beyond. The adventure is 4.99 and is a tie-adventure...5 hours ago
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Woodland races playtest - https://basicfantasy.org/showcase.cgi I created some playable races for bfrpg. You can check them out on the showcase page. These are all races like s...7 hours ago
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The Other OSR: Operation S.A.N.T.A. - Traditionally, roleplaying scenarios involving Christmas have the Player Characters doing one of two things. Either Santa is unable to complete his round ...8 hours ago
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DL2: Dragons of Flame (1984) - From the web: The second in the series of DragonLance adventures. In this adventure the heroes resist the growing might of the Dragonlords. The characte...16 hours ago
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#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 12, Room 1 - As the party exits this layer following a grand flight of stairs they see a large glowing portal before them. [image: Room 1] This portal will transport...20 hours ago
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Best Books of 2023 - The greatest of traditions have a timeless quality that allows us to imagine ourselves inhabiting an unbroken chain of custom that goes back into the mis...1 day ago
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OSR Commentary On CROM FASERIPopedia sourcebook By Jonathan Nolan For The FASERIPopedia Rpg or Classic Marvel Super Heroes Rpg - "CROMFASERIPopedia sourcebook"Taking as its inspiration Saturday morning science fantasy cartoons and the Golden Age comics era character CROM THE BARBARI...1 day ago
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The Isle of Wight: Planning the Sandbox - One of the defining aspects of this campaign is my choice to run this on the *real*, *actual* Isle of Wight. I had thought about filing off the serial nu...1 day ago
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[BEYONDE] Thief: The Black Parade [NOW AVAILABLE] - The Black Parade *“In THE BLACK PARADE you play the character of Hume, a hardened* *criminal who was sent into exile as a punishment for his crimes.* ...1 day ago
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My fireball problem - My fireball problem (in B/X) is the fact that, in wilderness adventuring, the magic-user (MU) can destroy most encounters with a single fireball. Facing an...1 day ago
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OSR: Rereading OD&D: Back to the Start - Time to revisit the primordial ooze of the Old-School Renaissance, the original D&D booklets. While my usual long-term OSR campaigns use the GLOG, for p...2 days ago
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Sparking Conflict - *Mythic Bastionland *is approaching its final week of funding! Go and check it out. Now onto the actual post. So you've built a nice *Mythic Bastionlan...2 days ago
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Bonus session (#7.5) - Although the players from the main group were all busy with Thanksgiving festivities, I had visitors from out of town who wanted to play, so we had a gam...4 days ago
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One day left on the TMNT RPG kickstarter...! - It seems clear that the campaign isn't in need of a signal boost from a tiny corner of the internet like mine...but it's still probably worth pointing ou...4 days ago
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Rappan Athuk: Unwelcoming Trolls - Session was played on 1/22/23 Nick, Fighter 7 (Me) Borumar, ½ Orc Fighter (Josh) Blotto, Goblin (Lanse) Koltic, Cleric 7 (NPC) Aroon, Fighter 5 (NPC) Jameth...4 days ago
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Strange Stars Play Notes & What to do Next - My Strange Stars game has lasted months now with 3 players which means if one away still doable as a few family guys ha...4 days ago
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The Wives of Barago - Another post about Lon Barago, but also a continuation of Forms of Government. History King Barago was the first king of Lon Barago. After his death, hi...5 days ago
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Fun with Mapbashing, and perhaps a map for the new Kaendor - Maybe I should just make peace with being that map guy who keeps excitedly posting about new map doodles that I’ll mostly never be using for any campaigns?...5 days ago
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Erol Otus cover of Dragon Magazine now on my wall - I'm thrilled that I now have a framed print of the cover illustration by Erol Otus of the very first *Dragon* magazine that I ever owned (issue # 55) han...5 days ago
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Napoleon (meh) - Well, *Napoleon *was not great. Joachim Phoenix was great, as was Vanessa Kirby playing Josephine, but *Napoleon *as a whole was not. The timeline was...6 days ago
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MOON MOON MOON - GACKLING MOON is live! Go here if you want to learn more; (On the one hand I am the least successful of the OSR diaspora, on the other I am not doing t...1 week ago
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X-Cards - The *X-Card* emerged from the indie/storygamer side of the hobby maybe ten or so years ago. Originally taking the form of an index card with a simply X dr...1 week ago
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Blackmarsh in print again. - The print version of Blackmarsh is now available again both in softcover and hardcover feature cover art by Richard Luschek. Many of you will know him fr...1 week ago
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The Ruin in the Savage Wastes - By Connor McCloskey Black Gamberson OSE Level 1 10 years ago, a catastrophic earthquake struck a stoic keep on the borderlands of human civilization. Three...3 weeks ago
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Go back my first Kickstarter! - Sanctimonious Slimes Versus Expired Epicures is the first adventure module written for Errant. It will also be my first properly printed book. The kind wit...3 weeks ago
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AD&D's Front-Loaded Dilemma... - AD&D has some front-loaded demihumans. From dwarven saving throws to elven attack bonuses (and infravision, among other useful abilities), non-human char...3 weeks 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 ...3 weeks ago
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Frugal GM Review: Mystery Dice Goblins Mystery Dice Packs - [image: Frugal GM Review: Mystery Dice Goblins Mystery Dice Packs] Earlier this month I got a message & email about reviewing some mystery dice grab bags ...4 weeks ago
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Clerics of the Flanaess, Part 1 - It’s been a while since we’ve had one of these articles, but the pages of Dragonne Magazine have once more released their secrets from that alternate unive...1 month ago
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Golden Gaming: Adeptus Custodian Guard - Welcome back to the Vault! It's been some time since I've posted, but fear not, I have been both painting and gaming! It turns out that 10th edition 40K...1 month ago
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Return to the Known Lands – Sessions #39 and #40 – In Search of the Golden Axe Hideout - PCs: NPCs: Hirelings: Link to Discussion Link to Previous Sessions Session Dates: 3/13/22, 4/24/22 Session Notes: The party, minus Arro … Continue reading →1 month ago
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The Return of Robilar and El Raja Key's Arcane Treasury: Rob Kuntz's Latest PDF Releases - The Return of Robilar Fans and friends of *ROBILAR*, rejoice, we have great news for you! Rob Kuntz's latest digital publication is sure to please all of y...1 month ago
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Into the Megadungeon - Just a quickie to let you know that if you're not following Ben Laurence's new podcast Into the Megadungeon, you are doing yourself a serious disservice....2 months ago
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Proxy? You Misspelled Patsy! Part 1 - Mechane, Atomo and Spatia had a delightful little trade union going. Things improved with time. Spatia's ships improved their drives and began reaching ...2 months ago
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Arnecon - I've got a busy gaming schedule coming up. I'm playing in Virtual Greyhawk con and running 2 games (Lakofka's Devils Dung and Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg...3 months ago
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Change is in the air! I'm moving to Substack! - TLDR; Moving here: https://chgowiz.substack.com I've been using Blogger, formerly Blogspot, since 2008, when I was at my old blog http://oldguyrpg.blogs...3 months ago
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The Great Hill Cantons 5e Experiment Begins: Marlinko Backgrounds - I still love the old ways, you can pry the increasingly deviant BX/OSE/LL subvariant of HC house system from my cold dead hands. But dammit has playing ...3 months ago
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The Dreams In Gary’s Basement Update - Pat Kilbane’s documentary of Gary Gygax and Dungeons and Dragons, The Dreams In Gary’s Basement, was released online to Kickstarter backers today. This mul...4 months ago
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On the OSR Christmas in July - Isn't it disappointing that only digital files are on sale at DTRPG? So I've dropped the prices of print copies of my books! Bestial Encounters Caused By...4 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...5 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...6 months ago
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Random Encounters: Love Them! - Picture swiped for my own purposes from Random Encounter. I want this sticker! It's been a while since my last entry. More health issues. More computer...8 months ago
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Magical Magic That Feels Magical - *14. Heart Of The Beast: Cast this spell on a slain monster’s heart (or reasonably equivalent organ or portion), then consume it. At any time, you may ...8 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...10 months 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...10 months 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...11 months ago
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Trivial Pursuit: Dungeons & Dragons Ultimate Edition - Of all the things that I never imagined I would end up working on, I was asked to help put together the Trivial Pursuit D&D edition, which has just be...11 months 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 ...1 year 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...3 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...3 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...3 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...4 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...4 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...4 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.4 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...4 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...5 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