Game Plan in Action - Prepping My Campaign Stewpot

Alright, I think I know what I plan on running in 4 to 6 weeks time via Google+ Hangout (possibly a VTT will be attached to that for whiteboard and dice rolling - I should have that all covered so players won't need to purchase a VTT license if I go that route).  QUERP seems to hit all the right spots of what I am looking for.  Level-less game design with a simple resolution system yet deep enough for campaign play (especially with the GM's Companion adding depth - I assume the Player's Companion and the Bestiary will only add more).  Going to aim for a fairly standard fantasy setting - with possible tweaks.

I plan on using the following source material:

QUERP (obviously) and the Companion books - the rules the players need can be explained in 10 minutes or less.  If they wanted to pick the core rules up they could, but I doubt it would be necessary.

The excellent Tome of Adventure Design from Frog God Games to assist in designing the adventures.  Gotta love the flavor.

The Toys For the Sandbox Series - But I'll need to twist these a bit, as the writer may be one of the players ;)

Christian's Loviatar Zine - in particular the Hex 000 series, which will be hitting 004 with the latest issue.

Barrowmaze - either in whole or in part.  The conversion should be easy as pie.

Always open for suggestions :)

Picking a System For Online Play

I've been playing online table top gaming for a few years now.  I started with Warhammer 40k: Dark Heresy, moved on to Castles & Crusades, did a single Savage Worlds session (all via Fantasy Grounds 2) and I'm currently playing in a slightly stripped down D20 game using Google+ Hangout.  All the previous, I was a player.

The was my only gaming for years until recently, as I've been going to the Games That Can Not Be Named sessions on Wednesday nites as time permits, and time has permitted.  I've played numerous different systems over the last few weeks.  It's all gotten me thinking.  Dangerous, I know.

Level based systems are easy to get a session up and running.  As are very simple, relatively abstract systems.  Skill based, such as Dark Heresy, Savage Worlds, BRP and the like can take a full session to get characters up and running.  They also can require the GM to do some heavy lifting do to the sometimes overly comprehensive rules during game sessions, and generating NPCs can be a major PITA.

The thing is, skill based doesn't have the same inherent breakdown at higher levels as level based games (your mileage may vary).  Maybe skill based is too specific a term.  Non-level based RPGs - that works.

For a pick up game, whether in person or via a VTT or hangout, you want easy character generation.  Even D20 based games can chew up time, and in your 40s, time is a precious commodity.  Additionally, game play itself eats up time.  What I mean by that is that combat, or any kind of rolled resolution, can take up much of the gameplay time at the table depending on the amount of charts and tables that need to be referenced.  4e may be an extreme example of this, but it is a feature / fault of many systems.

Which is why I'm looking for something that's easy yet with some depth.  Something that a group can pick up easily, run with fairly instinctively, with no fear of the leveling tree moving the game to more tedious realms of play while still allowing for character advancement.  The closest thing I've found so far is QUERP.  That wouldn't have been my choice going into this search, and it may not be the final answer I find, but at the moment it seems like a good option.

Online play in general slows things down, and you generally want to keep a faster pace to keep your players engages.  That is what I'm looking for.  The search continues, but I have definitely found a possible answer already.

Taking a Peek at QUERP - Quick Easy Role Playing

I picked up QUERP years ago on a whim about the same time I was grabbing all the PDQ system driven games I could find.  The price was right (5 bucks) but I think it got lost in all that PDQ noise at the time.  Now, as I look for a game system to run on a fairly regular basis,i find myself expanding my world view past the OSR.  I jokingly brought up QUERP in last night's blog post, but after giving it a read through (straight through on the Player's section, haphazard on the GM section and poking about on the adventure - skipped the included solo) it's actually a pretty tight and rules light game (Quick Easy Role Playing)

The player's section is about a dozen pages in length.  It includes six character classes, a small amount of spells, a weapon list, item list, armor, rules for melee, casting spells, character advancement - it's all here.  In twelve pages.  About the only thing missing is a skill list, which I think could be grafted on fairly easily.  Heck, it might be in one of the other books for this system.  I'll have to do some research.

The default character generation method isn't really a generation method - starting stats for all members of a certain class is the same for everyone.  So, all Priests start with the following Characteristics: Fighting 1, Magic 5, Strength 3, Charisma 6, Stealth 2 and Knowledge 4.  If you notice the spread, it's 1-6 inclusive.  There are rules in the GM section to allow players to play around with this.

Pretty much everything is resolved with a "characteristic roll".  Roll 2d6 and add your stat.  Equal or exceed your  target number and you succeed.  Lower and you fail.  It's actually a pretty elegant system.

Interestingly, the rules cover "bribery" situations.  Too bad "interrogation" and / or "torture" aren't ;)

Only humans are covered in the core rule book.  Other races are added in later books it seems.

The monster section covers many of the usual fantasy tropes, including the missing demihumans (but without enough info to run them as PCs).  I do like the minimalistic stats for adversaries.  Just what you need and little more.  Descriptions are a paragraph or two, perfect for flavor without going overboard.

Overall, I'm very impressed.  Impressed enough that I ordered the core rule book, the players expansion and the monster book in dead tree format.  You can find them at Lulu and surprisingly at Amazon.  At Amazon they ship free with Prime and are discounted.  With Lulu, you can snag a 25% off coupon (RETAILMENOT25) but shipping ain't free.  You might want to do the math to see what works out better for you.  Oh, and of course you can find them at RPGNow. (maybe they should add this to the list of dead tree books available at RPGNow)

Level Based vs Skill Based Systems - Looking at the Tradeoffs

Consider this me thinking out loud.

I like level based systems (OSR in particular) in part due to the limited options presented, at least at character generation.  Most level based systems use a class type breakdown or archetypes.  It keeps the players focused and everyone knows their niche.  The problem is as I mentioned earlier today.  Level based systems tend to break down at higher levels.  Pile on the Hit Points and the armor and watch combat become an act of attrition (insert catholic confession joke here).  Still, rolling up a 1st level character can be done in half an hour or less.  The closer you get to OD&D or T&T, the less time you need to get that first session started.

Skill based or point based systems tend to be on the more complicated side of things due to the umber of options presented, for both players and the GM.  Character generation can be a game session unto itself.  You need a GM that is stronger with rules knowledge and mechanics than you do in most level based games (or at least that is how I perceive it).

I'm looking at GURPS, Savage Worlds, Basic Roleplaying and EABA.  Although I have some knowledge of the first three systems, it's far from strong enough to run a game.  EABA looks interesting, and I ordered the print on demand (PDF was just 2 bucks more) but even that looks like it will require some fairly intense effort to gain some basic fluency with the system.  Still, I strongly suspect that those skill based systems don't suffer the same brake down that the level based systems tend to fall prey to as characters level.

Maybe I need to check out TWERPS or QUERP;)

Answering Brendan's 20 Questions

Brenden from the Untimately blog posted a list of 20 questions / rules clarifications a DM should decide (and probably inform the group of) fairly early in play.

I'll take my stab at answering:

Ability scores generation method?
- roll 4d6.  keep the best 3 dice.  do this 6 times.  arrange as you wish.  any score less than 7 you may discard and roll again.

How are death and dying handled?  Zero is unconscious.  
- 10 minus (plus?) con bonus for death.  bleed out 1 HP per round unconscious until wounds are tended to.


What about raising the dead?
- if available no caster wants cash in return.  they will want a major quest

How are replacement PCs handled?
- two level less than the lowest character level in the party for the replacement character

Initiative: individual, group, or something else?
- individual for the players.  npcs will be grouped by type

Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work?
- no

Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet?
- probably not, because I always forget about their presence or lack there of.

Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly?
-damn straight skippy!


Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything?
not everything will be balanced and fair.  it is not 4e ;)

Level-draining monsters: yes or no?
- no, but they will drain something else (permanent HP or stat drain, pending high level spell for recovery)

Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death?
- yes, but rarely

How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked?
- not very, but if you start carrying chests and rugs and statues, I'll be looking at your stats.

What's required when my PC gains a level? Training? Do I get new spells automatically? Can it happen in the middle of an adventure, or do I have to wait for down time?
- i've run games with both extremes.  I prefer the happy medium of leave the dungeon, rest and increase to hit, saves, HP and spell slots.  new spells or abilities must be taught by a teacher or training time.

What do I get experience for?
- killing or outsmarting your foes, GP (but not at 1 to 1 ratio), amazing role-play may kick in a small bonus, completing quest may kick in small bonus, making DM laugh so hard he fall out of chair may result in a small bonus, etc.

How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination?
- combo.  observant actions may result in a bonus to find traps

Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work?
- if the party is small, probably encouraged.  treat them well, pay them fairly and they will only need to roll when odds are greatly against party or things are going south fast.

How do I identify magic items?
- spells, bards, sages and the like.  exact bonuses are not revealed, and will only be learned through active use.

Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions?
- potions and scrolls

Can I create magic items? When and how?
- potions and scrolls during downtime.What about splitting the party?
- are you fuckin' crazy!?!

At What Level Do Your Campaigns Break Down?

It's been my gaming experience that (A)D&D starts to break down around name level. I suspect EGG knew that, and put in game reasons into character advancement to encourage the (semi)retirement of characters at that point.

What do I mean?

Once a character hits name level, they no longer roll a new Hit Die upon advancement. Depending on class, they get 1 to 3 Hit Points instead. That same handicap doesn't happen on the monster side (druids and monks are an exception, but their name levels are higher than other classes).

Upon reaching name level, characters are encouraged to settle down and build a stronghold, church lands, thieves guild, magic tower and the like. It's the only way most classes will get the followers indicated for attaining name level. The fact that there were little if any rules for PC owned lands and the running of such is a good indicator that it didn't happen much. (By the way, thank you to ACKS for giving us such rules).

So, figure most of the D&D rule sets and their clones work best to around level 10 before they start breaking down.

I suspect that LotFP Weird Fantasy breaks down earlier, possibly as early as level 5 or 6, in part due to the gradual removal of combat effectiveness of all classes but the fighter as level increases but also due to a dearth of magic.

Most D&D games and their clones assume PCs will gradually be accumulating magic items. Magic weapons and the like add to weapon damage (and increase the chance to hit) and wands and the like add to the spell casters combat effectiveness. These are pretty much absent in WF. Admittedly, WF also lacks most monstrous adversaries. Still, I suspect that Weird Fantasy encounters start turning into endless slugfests a few levels earlier than other OSR clones.

What is your experience? When does combat start to break down for you or do your campaigns even last that long? (I know many of mine never made it to name level)

My Old AD&D Books - Getting Ready For Sunday

I finally found my AD&D 1E Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide.  I also found my Monster Manual, but it suffered damage during Hurricane Irene's visit and subsequent basement flooding.  I may need to give it a proper burial.

No problem.  I have my copy of OSRIC.  :)

The survivors are beat up, but it's all from heavy play as a teenager... heh

I did realize something - I have WAY too much gaming shit ;)

Observation - All Editions of D&D Sessions Lead to Torture and / or Fire

This wasn't just my observation. It was made at both tables at last nite's Games That Can Not Be Named.

Torture comes up repeatedly, because there is no system in game for PCs to extract information from captured adversaries. Most DMs don't want their now prisoner NPCs to divulge too much info. PCs want all info. Frustrations leads to torture.

Fire. Either the PCs are using burning oil, or their adversaries learned from the previous session and are using it on them. At low levels, effective use of burning oil can be a game changer. Either that, or we have a lot of suppressed pyromaniacs playing D&D ;)

As for torture, that might be a good RPG supplement for someone to write. Kinda like a flow chart / resolution table, so we can get away from the descriptions of failed torture for info in our gaming sessions.

Just some thoughts.

Taking a Trip With Trollbabe (Narrative RPG)

I bet no one expected to see the phrase "Narrative RPG" on this blog, but I played one yesterday, and it was an interesting experience. Definitely not the usual type of RPG session I partake in, but it was being run by David at Games That Can Not Be Named last nite. He ran an excellent Tunnels & Trolls session a few weeks back, so I was willing to take the chance on Trollbabe. I'm glad I did.

It was an educational experience, as you powers and abilities are largely undefined, combat and challenges require narrative input by the player in addition to the GM and over the top play is pretty much encouraged. I'm not all that good at over the top playing, but as the other two players were, that was okay. I kinda kept the balance (and got really lucky with some skill rolls to save the party's bacon).

Narrative RPG gameplay requires a different mindset than I'm used to in my gaming. Although I had a great time, I suspect that was more due to the excellent work of the GM and my fellow players than the underlying game system.

Would I play it again? Definitely - so long as David was running it ;) I don't thing I'd find myself ever running a session.

Talking about running a session... This Sunday at the Brooklyn Strategist I will be running Palace of the Silver Princess (I mistyped when I earlier stated The Keep on the Borderlands - but I've played that classic adventure so often recently - including last night with Trollbabe - I hope you can understand my confusion) using AD&D / OSRIC during the second session .

Should be fun to watch me shake off my DM rust ;)

Heading Out To Games That Can Not Be Named...

in an hour.

I was hoping to have a game in my possession so I could broach the topic of running a session or two for play testing purposes, but it hasn't arrived yet.

Since I haven't yet seen the rules myself, it would be hard for me to talk about running it. Ah well, there's always next week ;)

Looking For a Lighter Than GURPS Universal System

I have GURPS 1e, 2e and 3e revised. The FAQ for 4e has 24 pages of changes. I'm tapping out before I even think of moving up to 4e.

I like Savage Worlds, but I'm not thrilled with how it handles fantasy. Dare I say I want something a bit realistic? Silly, I know, when we are talking games ;)

Basic Role Playing is a possibility, but I'm not sold on it. Between BRP, MRQ 1+2, Legend and the upcoming RQ6, I figured I'll steer clear and wait to see how it all shakes out.

Any thoughts on other universal sytems?

Castle of the Dead for Tunnels & Trolls - Upcoming Giveaway

Yep, I have two dead tree copies of the new Castle of the Dead Solo adventure for Tunnels & Trolls.  It's written by Andy Holmes for T&T 7.5e.  I only need one copy for myself (but ordered 2 as the package deal was too good to pass up at Fiery Dragon), so in the next few days, I'll be giving one away.  I already have my excuse - currently at 197 Friends via Google Connect, when we hit 200 I'll decide on a contest for this and a few other prizes (probably a few copies of Toys For the Sandbox, a copy of Christian's excellent zone Loviatar and whatever else I can think of.

What the contest will be, I have no idea...

I'm sure I'll think of something ;)

The First Games of the Hobby - OD&D, T&T and EPT

As I look through the PDF of Empire of the Petal Throne, it strikes me how far we've come since the beginning of the hobby.

Original Dungeons & Dragons, the granddaddy of them all, required the use of a separate product (Chainmail) to resolve combat (the optional combat system became the default of the non-Chainmail possessing masses) and an Avalon Hill boardgame (Outdoor Survival) for outdoor adventuring.  If you didn't have a background in wargaming (and a copy of Chainmail), you probably wouldn't get too far teaching yourself OD&D.

Tunnels & Trolls 1e is a simple game, but it has a horrible presentation that is just as confusing, if not more so, then that of OD&D.  Heck, I'd argue that T&T, right through 5e/5.5e is nearly just as horrible, with class descriptions and information on combat adds to be found only after diligent searching.  This was the anti-wargameer RPG of the time.

Empire of the Petal Throne does away with the Chainmail combat system, going right to the optional D&D combat system as it's default.  It is laid out like a war-game at the time, numbering each section in groups of 100, then by the 10's digit and finally by the single digits.  It actually reminds me of DragonQuest in this way.  (and it might be why they were able to do the very thorough bookmarking of the PDF).  Where it fails is the use of setting and new Tsolyani words right in with the system.  EPT has tighter links to it's setting than early RuneQuest had to Glorantha

If I'm not mistaken, these were the first three RPGs, with publishing dates of 1974, 1975 and 1975 respectively.

None of them would pass muster these days.  This is probably why the OSR clones are as successful as they are.  They clean up and present the rules of the early D&D editions in a way that's easily approachable by new and experienced gamers.

T&T 7.5E is not my favorite version of the T&T rules (I'd go with 5.5e myself) but they are certainly the most approachable and best organized of the bunch, and they are where I would steer a new T&T player.

As for EPT, there have been many versions since the version I've had a chance to look at, starting with the elusive (and generally overpriced TSR edition) and three later editions, the last in 2005.  It's safe to assume that they are without exception, better produced and clearing in rules presentation (though I suspect the have use of Tsolyani terms continue in later editions).

All three are priceless for their historical value if you are a fan of the hobby.  I consider myself lucky enough to own a copy of the OD&D "Original Classic Box", a reprint of T&T 1e (and an original copy of T&T 2e, previously owned and signed by the Trollgod himself) and the PDF copy of EPT's pre-TSR edition.

Can you tell I'm a history buff?  heh

Does Margaret Weis Games Produce an RPG That Isn't Licensed?

The Marvel Super Heroes RPG launched today from Margaret Weis Games and it got me thinking - does this company put anything that isn't licensed? And how did they get a Marvel Supers when they also have Smallville?

Supernatural is based off the TV series if I'm not wrong, Leverage is based on a movie and they used to have Serenity (Firefly).

Is the Cortex system any good? I really don't hear much, if anything, about it.

As a side note, aren't licensed properties an expensive investment in the RPG field? I thought we were in a shrinking market

A Little Paranoia Goes a Long Way - Intra-Party Antagonism

At Games That Can Not Be Named two weeks ago, we played a session of Tunnels & Trolls. I wrote a bit about this last week. I'm not sure if I mentioned that almost right from the start of the session, we had some inter-party antagonism going on. A failed casting of Oh Go Away on another player led to one hell of a beat down of the wizzie in question. Did I mention the players are a couple in real life? heh

I've noticed recently that pick-up games don't instill the same party loyalty that a ongoing campaign does, but that's not a surprise. What is a bit surprising is the players' desire (in some cases) to do something that is totally out of place in the game because they can - there are no long term consequences.

My idea? I wan't to break out my 1st Edition Paranoia rules for one of these game days, give everyone a pre-gen with lots of treasonous secrets and let everything take it's course.

Doesn't matter to me if folks say the system is broken - the players won't have the proper security clearance to see the rules.

The character write up will ensure that each player has many reasons to be paranoid of their fellow players. If chaos doesn't ensue within the first 15 minutes of gameplay, I'll be doing something wrong.

My idea is to channel this intra-party aggressiveness with a game that thrives on intra-party aggressiveness. Personally, I think Paranoia was written with pick-up games in mind. (I know we were never able to run more then two sessions with the same characters, as clones got swapped out faster then a newborn babies diapers).

Getting My Feet Wet - Returning to My Proper Place Behind the Screen

As I alluded to in the previous post, it looks like I may be DMing before I expected to be, and with a system I know very well, but have been away from for at least 20 years.  Yes, I'm talking AD&D 1e.

I expected my return to be GMing a play test document for an unreleased fantasy RPG (no, not 5E), so really, if I screwed up, I could have blamed the system...heh.  Not that I would, but at least my lack of knowledge could be explained.  If I screw up AD&D, I'll have no one to blame but myself...

At the very least, I'm going to have to go to storage tomorrow night, and grab my Player's Handbook and my two copies of OSRIC.  That should give me a couple of days to bring me back to fighting ability.

I'm going to assume that it is very much like riding a bike, and 15 years away from the chart side of the DM screen will fade away fast, but I am open to any advice one wishes to offer.

Shit, I'm almost begging for some advice.  Help a brotha' out! ;)

What Do You Consider Yourself - A DM or a Player?

I wish I had a cool looking screen like this
I do have the cool looking booklets tho' ;)

I ask, because even though I was out of active gaming for a number of years AND when I did return it was as a player, I still consider myself a DM first and foremost.

In my old groups, I was the main DM.  In the college gaming club, I was the only DM.  I was comfortable in that role.  Not everyone is.

I suspect that amongst gamers that blog, more associate themselves as sitting behind the DM screen then across from it.  The urge to create, to share, even to control your own little universe - blogging allows one to fill those needs.

So, where do you sit?  DM?  Player?  Both?  Neither?

As an aside, I may be back behind the DM screen this sunday.  Damn.  Exciting and scary ;)

M.A.R. Barker's Empire of the Petal Throne (Original Manuscript) on Sale at DriveThuRPG-

If you are like me, you've heard of M.A.R. Barker's Empire of the Petal Throne but have never actually come across it.  As far as I can tell, this was the first setting / house rule publication based of the grand daddy of all RPG - The Original Boxed Set of Dungeons & Dragons.

This is a copy (included is both a scan of the original pages and a newly produced and cleaned up via computer pages) of the original 1974 manuscript, of which only 50 copies are known to have been produced.  TSR's version was published in 1975.  To tell the truth, I always thought the TSR edition was the first edition, so this is very interesting news to me (and a nice piece of history.)

Both the scan of the original pages, and the cleaned up computer versions are shown side by side.  They have even included a sweet option to only print out he cleaned up pages if you were to print this out.

This PDF is nicely bookmarked, and a breeze to navigate.

As I poke through this, I see that there are Original Skills tables.  I wonder if this is where AD&D got the idea for secondary professions.  Stats aren't 3d6 but d100.  Wow.

Lots for me to dig through.  It's like being given a piece of gaming history.  Doubt I'd ever run this, but I'm pretty impressed at the depth of a game written and produced in 1974.

More when I get further into it.

A Sphincter Says What? Delving Into Apocalypse World

Alright.  I was told that Apocalypse World was the greatest thing since sliced bread - except that it is apparent to me that some asshole grabbed that loaf of sliced bread and squeezed the living shit out of it while it was still in it's Wonder Bread bag with twisty, put it back on the shelf and I bought it.

The best I can figure is I'm going to have to work real hard at getting to the meat in this nut of an RPG.  Want proof?  I'll give you proof (which, BTW, was read to me last night by the same guy that convinced me to buy it last week.  I literally pulled the trigger an hour before game time last night):

The rules for moves is to do it, do it.  In order for it to be a move and for the player to roll dice, the character has to do something that counts as that move; and whenever the character does something that counts as a move, it's the move and the player rolls dice.

Oh my fucking God!  Who the hell thinks that a run on sentence that would make even a German cringe is a great way to introduce a game rule?  Even worse, a run on sentence that makes NO FUCKING SENSE!

I know EGG used to right some confusing shit back in the day, but this seems to be written to be confusing.  It's almost like the author feels that isn't being cool unless he's writing like a fucktard.

There, I feel better.  I needed to vent.  I'm sure the rest of this PDF isn't going to be as annoying to read, 'cause if it is, Feltothraxis is going to be treating this a whole lot worse then he did Vornheim.  And yes, I ordered the dead tree / PDF combo.  I expect to find some redeeming qualities soon in this purchase, even if it means having a dragon puppet do bodily functions that puppets just aren't meant to do ;)

Mini Review - Beasts & Bararians Golden Edition (Savage Worlds)

Beasts & Barbarians is a Swords & Sorcery sourcebook / setting for Savage Worlds.  It's kinda cool to be reading it so soon after Crypts & Things, as it gives a different POV (as well as ruleset) for the Swords & Sorcery genre.

So, what do we get in Beasts & Barbarians which we aren't getting elsewhere?  Well, for one thing we don't get into any of the rules / numbers until around page 60.  Yep, those first pages, almost a third of the book, is all setting information.  Pretty snazzy, and it does a great job of drawing you in before hitting you with actual game info.  Strangely, Cosmic Patrol does something similar, but it didn't work for me in that case.

Next up is the Characters section.  It doesn't only deal with character generation but also new and changed skills and edges.  Surprisingly, it also covers some asian tropes, such as fighting monks and the like.  I truthfully didn't expect to find them here, but I'm glad they are, as they seem to fit well.

Arcane backgrounds are modified in this setting.  I don't have a full grasp of them in the standard Savage Worlds rules, so I'm going to need to spend some time on these before I can fully comment.  It should be noted that the party is limited to one member with the arcane background.

Gear is gear.  When it comes up, you look it up.

Around page 110 we get to the GM section of the book.  It does a great job of showing the GM how to set the tone.  It's a gritty, evil world full of larger than life nasties.  Sounds like fun.

Chapter 7 is the Adventurer Generator.  It uses a deck of cards help determine potential plots for your story lines / adventures.  It looks to be a handy tool.  I may just print out this one section for handy use whenever I'm in need of something to prod me when I need a quick adventure regardless of system.

Next up is the obligatory monster section.  Nice nice selection of demons and devil, along with a recognizable selection of less supernatural (yet still lethal) adversaries.  When you include the templates for NPCs, this is a pretty complete (and long) section.

Vengeance of the Branded Devils is the introductory adventure included with Beasts & Barbarians.  It has a pretty strong introduction and it reads well.  As for lethality - one will only know for sure when it is run ;)

Beast & Barbarians is a very complete setting / sourcebook for Savage Worlds.  The artwork, from the flu color cover to the black and white drawings inside are excellent.  My one complaint is that for a PDF of 210 pages in length, there are no bookmarks, which makes navigation more difficult than it should be.

From the blurb:

Beasts and Barbarians Golden Edition is a bigger and more savage version of the B&B; Player`s Guide. Packed with a lot of Game Master stuff, it has 208 pages full of Savage Goodness. New things we have put into it: 51 non player characters, 10 new monsters, new rules, adventure generator and an adventure! 

And of course, with a new art from Tomek Tworek! We have also included the errata and a few new informations!

IMPORTANT NOTICE - we have a special discount for people who bought the former version of the Beasts and Barbarians. If you didn`t get it from rpgnow.com, feel free to contact me at pkorys(at)gmail.com

 Welcome to the dangerous Dread Sea Dominions, a place where mighty barbarians do combat with hideous monsters, dark warlocks whisper terrible sorceries in forgotten temples and noble amazons duel in the sun scorched arenas of Faberterra, capital of a decadent empire!

In this book, you will find:

• Thirty new Edges.

• Three arcane backgrounds, Lotusmastery, Sorcery, and the Path of Enlightenment

• Dozens of new weapons, armors, and mounts

• A simple but elegant system to develop your character between adventures and to manage the enormous riches you’ll find!

• Rules for Heroic Incapacitation

• Henchemen and Right Hands to support your villains

• Twenty dreadful monsters

• Fifty-one Non Player Characters

• An adventure generator explicitly tailored for Sword and Sorcery to create a great plot in no tim

• A fully fledged adventure in the Dominions  

And much, much more!

  Gird your loins, get your broadsword ready and prepare to face the threats of Beasts and Barbarians, the new sword and sorcery open setting from GRAmel.

GURPS or Savage Worlds For Your Skill Based Gaming?

I have some experience running GURPS 20 years ago, and I'm looking closely at Savage Worlds (and plan on rereading the rules to both as time permits).  Yes, I'm leaving Basic Roleplaying / RuneQuest / Legend off the list as I wait to see what the latest edition of RQ will offer.

The game plan (such as it is) is to run a OSR (D&D clone) and a non-OSR game, and alternate the system on a weekly basis.  It would keep the systems from getting old, and always give me two weeks to get things ready for the next game of the same type.

I know GURPS is the heavier system (and looking at Conan: Beyond Thunder Dome, I'm reminded how crunchy the system is).  Both GURPS and Savage Worlds have a huge amount of setting books.  I'm actually reading Beasts & Barbarians for Savage Worlds this weekend, and it look like a fun Swords & Sorcery setting for S&W.

I'm open to input.  I'll even look at other systems if the argument is solid ;)

Retrospective - GURPS - Conan: Beyond the Thunder River

I remember picking up Conan:  Beyond Thunder River at the Complete Strategist in NYC, probably back in the early 90s.  I loved the cover art, and I was intrigued by the idea of a solo adventure, especially for Conan.  The fact that it was for GURPS didn't deter me, as my group at that point dabbled in many systems, and although we don't get too far in any of the GURPS campaigns we started, I was fairly conversant with the rules.  Ah, to be young again, with a brain like a sponge as opposed to the sieve I currently am armed with, but I digress.

I don't think I ever played it.  I certainly didn't play it all of the way through.  It was fucking intimidating!  Characters we had created and used were all in the 100-125 point range - this solo module required a 400 point character.  Heck, even the pre-written Conan sheet in the back was more than I was comfortable with, although I still find it amazing that even a 400 point character in GURPS is still vulnerable.

Although I am very tempted to give this a shot, I'm not sure I want to relearn GURPS in order to do so.  I might give it a read through like a solo quest type book, and just assume I survive all of the encounters.  ;)

GURPS always had some of the best sourcebooks on the market, and I suspect this solo is probably on the high end too.

Anyone actually give it a play through?  How was it?