A Word From White Haired Man

Andugus from White Haired Man posted this as a comment to yesterday's post about digital formats and such. I figured it was important enough to get a post of it's own.

Andugus: My goal is to eliminate the format issue in roleplaying. For example that ePub is a taste of what is to come for all of our adventures, in ePub format. Adventures are shorter than full blown resource books and ideal for holding in your hand while GMing.

That said, WHM has not abandoned the PDF format. We are currently laying out the Kith'takharos line in a new PDF format. This will of course be free to anyone who purchased earlier PDF versions. My goal as the designer is to make these new PDF's work well for self-printing (IE no background art) and Print on Demand through RPGNow. The Print on Demand option will sport a color cover and B&W interior pages due to cost. My goal is to offer our products in print under $10. About half the cost of a Paizo Pathfinder adventure product.

Summary. WHM will be publishing adventures for Savage Worlds and Pathfinder Roleplaying Game System in three formats: ePub, PDF, and POD.

If a Product Is Free, But In a Format You Can't Use, Does That Make It Crap?

(damn Blogger's iPad app - sent to wrong blog - sigh)

I ask, because it came up in regards to White Haired Man's release if The Hideout in ePub format. Which means it was aimed at gamers with ebook readers that use ePub (all but the Amazon Kindle line).

There are lots of freely available stuff in the world that I either don't need, can't use or would use, but for some reason I can't. It doesn't make it useless, it doesn't make it worthless, it just means it's not for me, time to move on.

The world was not built for me. Amazingly, I am NOT the center of the world.

I don't expect every RPG product, especially the free ones, to be of use to me (or even usable by me). That's life.

I just don't see the anger that was directed at a free product as being viable. Then again, the reviewer may have been bitching about ereaders in general, but as the product is a digital product sold at RPGNow, which specializes in digital products, I fail to see the surprise.

Free Adventure - The Hideout (Savage Worlds)

White Haired Man put's out stuff for 3.5e and Savage Worlds.  In fact, my one time actually playing in a Savage Worlds session was play testing for White Haired Man via Fantasy Grounds 2.  Oh, did I mention that they put out a lot of stuff for use with Fantasy Grounds 2?  They do.  Good stuff.

In any case, they are also getting into the e-book side of things with their releases.  PDF, as much as I love it, does have it's limitations.  This free release of The Hideout is in ePub format, the same format used by the Nook and the vast majority of ebook readers out there.  It is not in mobi, which would be the Kindle's preferred format.

So, if you have a Nook, Sony E-reader, or one of dozens of other ebook readers, give it a shot.  It's free, and it's a fee glimpse of the possible future of game books on your favorite ebook reader.

From the blurb:


A fragment of an ancient bridge offers a commanding view of the surrounding swamp-and a defensible refuge for poachers.


Outlaws called poachers roam the swamps and nearby river lands. Poachers continuously spar with the Order of the Jade Leaf, waylaying shipments of swamp plant products, dodging and fleeing patrols. They turn remote islands or forgotten ruins into bases.

The Hideout is a Simple Scenario designed for 3-5 Novice to Seasoned characters, with an estimated 4-8 hours of playing time. A Simple Scenario is a set piece encounter or very short adventure the gamemaster can insert when needed to fill a gap or spice up an ongoing adventure. In this Simple Scenario, the characters stumble upon a poacher hideout at the ruins of a Harlass Orn bridge.

The basic Kith'takharos Setting is available for free in a system neutral format at the White Haired Man web site.

Mini Review - Seal the Rift! (Savage Worlds / Fantasy Grounds 2)

Alright, I guess I need to give full disclosure on this review - I play test part of this.  Heck, this is the adventure I played in via Fantasy Grounds 2 that let me to seriously consider running a game with the Savage Worlds rules.  To me, that says a lot about the adventure itself, as it sold me on a set of rules I truly had very lithe knowledge of (and no actual play experience).  So, I may be a bit biased.  Sue me ;)

First things first.  Seal the Rift! comes in two flavors - Savage Worlds and 3.5e.  Each flavor comes in 2 different packages - a PDF with the Fantasy Grounds files, or without.  I'm very glad to see White Haired Man releasing their products in a PDF only format in addition to their FG2 combo - it gives them a larger base to sell their products.

Okie, on the the review.  As I played in (and currently have) a PDF copy of the SW version, that's the one I'm going with.

Bookmarks - if you read this blog on a regular basis, you know that publishers that omit bookmarks from their PDFs tend to hear me bitching about it.  Not this time.  Nicely done guys!  We have bookmarks!

Artwork - I want a print of the cover art.  Really.  I'm serious.  Hook a lad up.  Oh, the rest of the art is pretty decent too, but this is the highlight to me.

The Adventure - The PDF itself is very well laid out and easy to follow.  Did I mention it has hyper links in addition to the bookmarks?  Now I need to bitch about publishers that don't hyperlink ;)

It includes a regional map and a map of the Town of Kith'takharos.  Both are pleasing to look at without being overly detailed, so if you like maps that spell out everything you may need to flesh things out yourself.  For my needs they are fine as is.

The adventure itself is designed for a party of Heroic Level Savage Worlds characters.  It should present a decent challenge (I should know - I was the only PC to die in my play test session).  I'm going to hazard a guess that it should take 2 to 3 sessions to complete, as we completed about a third or so in our play test (with lots of hand holding for the Savage Worlds Rookie - you guys were great...heh).

Seal the Rift! Savage Worlds PDF Version

Seal the Rift! Savage Worlds PDF with Fantasy Grounds 2 Module 

Seal the Rift! 3.5e PDF Version

Seal the Rift! 3.5e PDF with Fantasy Grounds 2 Module

From the blurb:

He waited, standing like a statue just inside the entrance of the Administration Wing. He had not moved in a thousand years, having no need of food or rest, and never suffering from fatigue. He existed to serve his master, which gave him pleasure. And every moment of those thousand years was pleasing, for his Master had bid him to wait.


Then a whisper of thought brushed his mind. His eyes regained focus and he turned his head, recognizing the pyramid of mummified Harlass Orn corpses he had carefully assembled so long ago. He sensed his Master's voice, faint yet unmistakable. The rift had opened again, and Agurth-Plaga called to him.


Months have passed since the Harlass Orn were freed from the Veilwalker Dreamseeker in The Dreamers Awaken adventure. One of the survivors, the scholar-mage Zzhastor Brune, learns that the people of Kith'takharos have begun using the ancient Harlass Orn Teleportation Towers. These towers precipitated the Harlass Orn downfall, for the magic employed in tower teleportation opened a rift that allowed the extra-dimensional Veilwalkers to enter normal space and destroy the Harlass Orn.

Seal the Rift! is an OGL 3.5 adventure for 4-6 characters of Ninth and Tenth Levels, with an estimated 15 hours of playing time. Zzhastor Brune teleports the characters into Nhamah, where they will navigate the automated defenses before confronting a powerful Veilwalker construct determined to prevent the Aether Bind from being activated.

This 42 page PDF contains all the information necessary to run the adventure.
The basic Kith'takharos Setting is available for free in a rules agnostic format at www.whitehairedman.com

A Step Closer to Assailing Your Senses

Yep, ordered a tripod from Amazon earlier tonight.  If I could come anywhere near the quality of the Freezer Burns (really good stuff BTW) guy I'd be ecstatic, but no worries, I intend to start small.

All of which means I really need to work on the "Man Cave Corner" so it's ready for filming.

As an aside, but certainly more important then my tripod purchase, White Haired Man has just released Seal The Rift for Fantasy Grounds 2 with PDF.  I play tested this via FG2 and had a great time!  It got me excited about the Savage Worlds System and it's the reason I picked up the latest version of the rules.  I'll need to review this at a later date, but as someone that played in it, I can say it's definitely good stuff.

If you just want the PDF, you can grab it here.

I Got Savaged in Kith’takharos!

Yep, I spent the afternoon play testing an upcoming adventure from the guys at White Haired Man. I was the only party death, but it was a heroic stand!

I've owned the Savage Worlds rules for years, even prior to the Explorer Edition and had yet to play in a session until now. Amazing, I know, but I was never able to wrap my head around the system until today. Play certainly helps the learning process.

As for the play test itself? Probably the most fun I've had gaming in a long time. The combination of in game chat and voice using Ventrillo worked very well, and it didn't hurt that we had a good group playing. The adventure was a challenge, but a group used to working together would have had an easier time with it. It took some time for us to learn the other characters strengths.

From my estimate, based upon what we were able to accomplish in 5 hrs (with a 5 minute potty break), this adventure should be good for 3 to 4 sessions easily. Online does tend to slow thing down a tad, so 2 to 3 sessions if it were played face to face. Extremely good value on your dollar.

What's the name? When is it being released? Is the cover art really that awesome? (yes) That's for the White Haired Men (Man) to reveal, tho I'll post an update when they post theirs.

I do want to thank Viz for inviting me, and the rest for putting up with my lack of system knowledge (tho i learned a lot, and forgot much of it already, i am sure).

Really makes me hunger for a steady FG2 again. Maybe I should get off my ass and run one myself. After this coming November that is. Life should calm down a bit after November 5th ;)

The Overlooked Blogs Collection - White Haired Man

White Haired Man is not new to the RPG Community, especially if one games via Virtual Table Tops such as Fantasy Grounds.  Their Blog is fairly new tho.

 

First things first:  White Haired Man has it's generic, system free campaign setting called Kith'takharos available for free online.  Nope, not as a PDF, but as an honest to god webpage, with links and maps that one can blow up and print out as they desire.  It is a fully detailed, ready to run, campaign setting.

They also produce and sell modules that can be used with the Fantasy Grounds 2 software, both for the 3.5 OGL rules and Savage Worlds.

If you play online via FG2, you really can't go wrong by checking out White Haired Man's modules, as they are created for use with FG2, not conversions of previous products (that being said, each module includes a full PDF, suitable for reference during online game by the GM or for running a face to face game).

The blog contains observations, gaming material for a Kith'takharos, behind the scenes game session info, and all the stuff you expect from a gaming blog - except that there is an emphasis on Virtual Gaming.  Since a good Virtual Game session can compete with a good face to face gaming session, I think that's a nice change of perception.  Well, that and I tend to do most of my gaming with VTTs myself these days ;)

Review - The Hideout for FG2

Short and Quick review, as the module itself is short. 

The Hideout is a Savage Worlds mini-adventure for use with the Savage Worlds Ruleset and the Fantasy Grounds 2 Virtual Table Top (VTT).

The Hideout details an encounter with Poachers (think evil Ranger types and you get close to the type) that the party might stumble between adventures.  Its a combat encounter at its heart, which will require tactical play on the part of the PCs.  A head on assault will probably be... less then successful.

It is set in White Haired Man's Kith’takharos setting, which is available in a rule agnostic format for free at White Haired Man's website.  It is very much set in the setting and is not really a stand alone encounter.  It's purpose is to fill the gap between two adventures, and it fill that gap well.

PCs can earn themselves a new enemy and might even find themselves a fairly unique magic item if they survive the encounter ;)

It might be a bit light ( the PDF, which is very well done, runs  2 pages) compared to the amount of material you get with other White Haired Man products but it packs a lot into the smaller package.

So, after all that, how does it rate?   I'd say the encounter itself is a strong 4, FG2 programing a solid 5, value is a 3.  It's a short but complete adventure that accomplishes its goal, which is to serve as a viable drop in (or intermission)  between larger adventures or story arcs .  Which averages out to a strong 4 for The Hideout, Savage Worlds Edition (just noticed they released it in OGL/3.5 too).


Thanks again to White Haired Man for giving me the opportunity to dig thru their stuff ;)

Weekend Wrap-Up - The Next Weekend

Jets lost, but kept it honest for 3 quarters.  Nice game from both teams.

Well, I'm still underwater with the Haiti Relief Donation package.  I need to stop downloading, peeking and moving one to the next item.  Pick one or two and just read the crap damnit!  heh

Not part of the Haiti Relief package, but a damn sweet looking piece of work is Atomic Highway.  I know the smaller and indie RPG companies have put out a plethora (nice word, eh?) of post Apocalypse RPG games, but this one has been a fun read so far.  Hopefully I'll finish reading and get to reviewing.

I still have a digital stack of White Haired Man products that I need to dig thru and review.  Next month's week of vacation cant come soon enough ;)

Review: White Haired Man

The Nine Towers -  Fantasy Grounds 2 Module Review

In the first part of this review I talked about the PDF that comes in the package with the FG2 module.  Now we get to the toys, and I mean that in the nicest way.  

Whereas the PDF gives you a handy way to read the adventure, the FG2 module includes all of that and more for use with the FG2 software.  Unless you are a Skype / Teamspeak / Ventrilo / or some other voice software user, the idea of typing out all the descriptions, color text, NPC chat and such can be overwhelming.  A well designed FG2 module does all that heavy stuff for you - a few clicks of the mouse and you are moving right along in your role as GM.  White Haired Man has done that for you.


Just as an aside, I reviewed an adventure for FG2 on RPGNow in 2008 and basically said it's only saving grace was as a tool to designing your own FG2 modules.  After poking my way through The Nine Towers, I would take that back.  That old adventure from a company I shall not name has no redeeming graces compared to this product.

The Nine Towers is a great insight in to how, or at least, how high one can strive, to make your own FG2 module for your own use.  This is the example one should follow.  Links are there where you need them.  Need to find the handout of Tarshal'din's Shining Spear for your players?  Its linked right in the encounter.  Narrative boxes?  Check.  Tokens specific to the module that can be readily recycled into other game session or systems... or even, heaven forbid, a different VTT?  They are there, waiting to be used.  They are also very attractive.  I happen to like the top down look that was used.  Personal preference I guess.

Overall I give the complete package a 4.5 outa 5.  The Nine Towers is a well written adventure, slickly produced FG2 module for use with the Savage Worlds ruleset.

Now if White Haired Man would come out with a version for Castles & Crusades or Labyrinth Lord I'd be flying high. ;)

Teacher, My DX ate my PDF!

My Kindle DX displays the vast majority of my RPG PDF collection quite well, tho it chokes on a few and needs the Heimlich in one or two cases.  The Nine Towers gives the DX some isses... nothing that totally breaks usability, just a minor annoyance when it crops up.  Before I go any further, I wish to state that Adobe Reader 8.1 reads the PDF flawlessly.  Remarking that other programs or devices don't interact as flawlessly with it reflect more on the program or the devices shortcomings, not necessarily the PDF in question.

So, to answer White Haired Man games inquiry as to the problems my Kindle DX has with The Nine Towers PDF:

1 - The cover art doesn't display - its just a grey smudge (with the footnote on the bottom of the screen "some elements on this page could not be displayed").  It also lacks the Savage Worlds and FG2 Partner badges.  To be fair, Sumatra, an alternate PDF reader doesnt handle the art well either.  Adobe 8.1?  Perfect.

2 - Hitting the next page on the DX brings up a blank page with the same message as previously.  This might be a reference to the missing badges.

3 - The creature from page 4 is missing, but the Image: Token Outline is there.

I think I misspoke when I referred to layers i my previous post.  I am far from an expert at composing PDFs.  The problem the DX is having with this PDF is similar to others that have, what appears to me, to be "layers" of art / page shading or such.  Its all mumbo jumbo to me anyway ;)

In the end what matters is that the PDF is usable, well written, and appears like it would be fun to run.  The Nine Towers fits that criteria.  It is still readable and usable on the DX... just not a perfect fit.  I feel like I'm complaining I didn't get my "gift with purchase" that was neither promised nor offered ;)

Tomorrow  hopefully I get to the FG2 part of The Nine Towers.

Brewing Apprentice 101

So, over the weekend I bottled my beer.  The Red Ale will need to be filtered as it appears some hops and dead yeast made it to the bottles.  No biggie, its all good ;)  The Oktoberfest looks nice and clear.  Both seem to be carbing well, as the plastic bottles are firming up nicely.  It will all be ready in plenty of time for the Super Bowl... heh

A side note to yesterday's review.  The PDF is not very Kindle DX friendly.  The DX seems to have issues with PDFs that have multiple layers on the page... it tries to view each layer as a separate page.  I could go into the PDF with some editing software and take out the offending layers, but it looks damn fine using Adobe Reader.  Sumatra has some minor issues, but I've been finding the Sumatra has issues with just about all but the most basically laid out PDFs.  Minor quibble, and it probably only effects me :)

Review: White Haired Man

Nine Towers -PDF Review

"Learn the adventure, the setting, and the motivations of the various NPCs. Careful preparation should give the Gamemaster a deep enough understanding that the right responses will spontaneously emerge and make perfect sense for the situation." (lifted from page 85 of this 88 page Behemoth)

Better advice could not have been written.

Like most (if not all) of White Haired Man's adventures, Nine Tower's takes place in a grittier, lower magic setting them most fantasy games. Take the time to learn the background of the setting, Kith’takharos, as it will add your appreciation of the adventure.

As to the adventure. How to describe it without giving away the plot? This is from the blurb itself:

"The ruthless archaeologist-mage Lenar Hoyt has stolen the most holy artifact of the Bright Water Swamp Men. The tribe holds Kith'takharos responsible, and will destroy the village unless the Order of the Jade Leaf retrieves Tarshal'din's Shining Spear. As the Swamp Man warriors gather for the assault, Hoyt activates the first Teleportation Tower."

Hmm, that is much of the plot I guess. Still, in its simplest summary, the players are on a recovery mission. A timed recovery mission. Thankfully, there are multiple choices for the adventure hook, so it can be tailored more to the party as opposed to shoehorning them into the plot.

This is not a dungeon crawl, although there are rooms and corridors to explore at points in the adventure. It requires more thinking and less swinging. Traveling is the key here, much of it in non standard ways (teleportation anyone?). Some events can be quite deadly (falling comes to mind) that players have little control over (about the only negative that quickly comes to mind).

The use of sidebars for added background and other information is pretty close to perfect. It keeps the flow of reading of the adventure uninterrupted, yet allows one to pause for added detail.

My best undereducated guess is two to three sessions to play out this adventure on a face to face tabletop session, then add one more session for the time lost using FG2 (VTT games always seem to take just a wee bit longer to complete in my experience).

Now, this review has just touched upon the PDF that accompanies the Fantasy Grounds 2 Adventure. Why have I covered just the PDF at this point? Because it is no light weight. It is easily worth the price of admission on its own. It is well written and edited. It is a professional piece of work that stands on its own. I've purchased adventures for use with Fantasy Grounds that offered no accompanying PDF at a higher price that left me regretting my purchase within minutes. All that and truth be told, reading the PDF has left me no time to play with the FG2 software. I'll peek at that tomorrow or wednesday and give a follow up.

I'm going to give this a 4 out of 5 star review - a full 5 stars to those that truly dig the setting Kith’takharos. This rating is for the PDF alone. Once I've given the FG2 software a shake with this I'll give the full review and rating.

The Nine Towers is a Savage Worlds adventure for 4-6 Seasoned characters.

Much thanks again to Andugus over at White Haired Man for letting me get my hands on a review copy

Its Been Busy at the Tavern

It's been a busy couple of days on this end. I came home from work on friday to find sewer specialists were called in as the 100 year old sewer line had backed up... yet again.

After a couple of harrowing hours (and fears that a need to replace the line would easily top 10 grand), our lovely specialists pulled a roots system from the pipe that would have made for an excellent baddie in any waterborne adventure. It looked like some bizarre sea creature from the depths of the deepest ocean instead of some roots and soil (and sewage oh my). Things we take for granted in today's modern world and probably our fantasy worlds too. All that for just $2700. Sigh, I need to take up a career in adventuring ;)

Yesterday I bottled one of the two batches of beer that have been brewing for the last three weeks. Irish Red is carbonating and the Oktoberfest will follow later today. About three to four weeks before the first beer from these batches get drunk.

If all goes well I'll have a short review of one of White Haired Man's products posted tomorrow or tuesday. Although packaged for FG2, the enclosed PDFs really make them suitable for all VTTs or even tabletop play.

Snow, Beer, and RPGs - My Kinda Weekend

We got about 11" of the white stuff here in t6he6 NYC area overnite Saturday into Sunday. This led to a few things:

1 - The girlfriend and her dog got to stay the nite as we were a bit snowed in. My kitty Ashley did her avoidance deal, which is basically to sleep under the futon that my g/f and her dog were napping on and watching TV from, thereby driving the damn dog crazy as SHE knew the kitty was near.

2 - Being in yesterday afternoon meant I got to do something I had put off for a bit - home brewing. Nothing fancy-schmancy, just 2 2-gallon mini kegs of Mr Beer brewing. One is an Irish Red, the other is an Oktoberfest. When I bottle in two weeks I may go for something a bit different for the next batches for the mini-kegs.

3 - RPGs. Andugus from White Haired Man Games mentioned the idea of giving my some review copies of their latest products. When that happens I'll be putting the reviews on here. I've liked what I've seen of their stuff so far and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on more.

4 - Fantasy Grounds 2 now has an ULTIMATE version of their VTT software. For $150 you get a full version of the license and unlimted floating license connections. Good deal if you are doing demo or pick up games, or need to convince your circle of the viability of successful roleplaying on a virtual table top platform. In truth this can only help other platforms, assuming that the market doesn't balk at the price tag.