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 ;)
Powered by Qumana
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
-
Q is for Quartzite - Quartzite is a villain and member of Task Force X that's only made three appearances. She is recruited by Amanda Waller to replace Nightshade (who had left...3 hours ago
-
Friday Fantasy: Grave Matters - *Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #9: Grave Matters is a scenario for Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game and the ninth scenario for th...3 hours ago
-
Kickstart Your Weekend: Witches and Wizardry - Ah. Two of my favorite topics. Let's see what this weekend has in store for us on the Kickstarter front. *The Witches of Oz #1 - A Mature Magical Queer ...3 hours ago
-
Special weapon maneuvers - Another quick idea on how to differentiate weapons. in old-school D&D - somewhat simpler than AD&D, but potentially more varied than B/X: Give each weapon ...7 hours ago
-
Villains & Vigilantes (2nd Edition) (1982) - From the back cover: CONTEMPORARY ROLE-PLAYING IN THE AGE OF SUPER-HEROES COMPLETE RULES FOR: Origins of Super-Heroes Super-Powers Use of Super-Powers C...12 hours ago
-
Violent Mechanisms of the Second American Civil War - Cities Without Number & Zozer Games Earth Sourcebook for The Hostile Rpg - What if the newest face of the American Civil War wasn't what everyone thinks it's about?! This is the question that I asked myself when I was reading thr...15 hours ago
-
Limits on Targeting Hit Locations? - This post is thanks to Faodladh, who made a comment on my last post on this subject. In GURPS, it's very common to target specific hit locations. For skill...19 hours ago
-
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 ...20 hours ago
-
Play as Sculpture, Play as Prism - Watching my eldest child and friends engaging in imaginative play, I'm often struck by the fact that what seems to excite them is deciding who gets to be...22 hours ago
-
New monster for dungeons and debauchery - Ive never heard of a minotaur with a medusa headed nob - terrifying. At least you can always see him coming. So I made s...1 day ago
-
Replacement Star Hero Books - The two *Star Hero* books I ordered to replace two that I thought I'd lost (but had merely misplaced) arrived this morning. I got the shipping notice ...1 day ago
-
Remembering Celery, 2010-2024 - I started 2024 with -- relative to my usual blogging output -- a bit of a bang. And then I fell off...for a variety of reasons, one of which I'm about to ...2 days ago
-
The Lost Universe - By Christina Mitchell NASA Generic/Universal/Fantasy Levels 7-10? A dark mystery has settled over the city of Aldastron on the rogue planet of Exlaris. Res...2 days ago
-
Making the Game Happen - My favourite RPG books do their work in three distinct stages: *GRAB*: Get the reader excited to play the game and make it an easy sell to players. *PRE...2 days ago
-
Stonehell: Hiring Mercenaries - Session 227 was played on 9/17/23 Morgana, Magic User (Rob) Blotto, Goblin Fighter (Lanse) Koltic, Cleric 7 (NPC) Aroon, Fighter 5 (NPC) Jameth, Fighter 5...3 days ago
-
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...3 days ago
-
I saved the timeline! - One of the other participants in the game jam I joined produced a Game Boy adventure called OuttaTime. You can try it yourself in your browser here: http...3 days ago
-
A Review of 'A Tale of Bali' by Vicky Baum - really liked this book but the five stars I give it are based on my experience, and that is influenced strongly by my recent reading of 'The Theatre State'...4 days ago
-
Maw of the Beholder - A New Magical Ring for the World of Greyhawk - *Maw of the Beholder* is my new magic item inspired by John Popson's wonderful commemorative GaryCon XVI ring. John runs Effincool Miniatures, and makes...5 days ago
-
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...6 days ago
-
The Evolution of Gaming, or Why My Thoughts on Gaming have Changed Drastically Over Time - I have been thinking about this for quite a long time and though I am not an eloquent man, I thought I should put these random and chaotic thoughts down in...1 week ago
-
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...1 week ago
-
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...1 week ago
-
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...2 weeks ago
-
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...2 weeks ago
-
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...2 weeks ago
-
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 ...2 weeks ago
-
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...2 weeks ago
-
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...3 weeks ago
-
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 ...4 weeks ago
-
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...4 weeks ago
-
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...1 month ago
-
Return to the Known Lands – Session #42 – Beware of Strangers with Magic Swords - 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) -...2 months ago
-
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
-
The 4th Category - New Year, New Release — and this one is a monument all to itself, a great fit for the 50th Anniversary of the launch of D&D™... Introducing *The 4th Cat...2 months ago
-
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
-
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...2 months ago
-
*'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...2 months ago
-
[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...2 months ago
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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...3 months ago
-
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
-
-
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
-
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...10 months ago
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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