The Start of a Mini-Cation

I've been breaking my vacation time into single days to get work done around the house on some long weekends.  This time, it's going to be a bit different.  This three day weekend the future Mrs. Tenkar, myself and her dachshund are heading to the Poconos.

This is a rarity for us, as my son is staying behind to do some of his auxiliary work.

Actually, we haven't had an opportunity like this since last August.  Date weekend!  Oh, and needless to say, but a great chance to catch up on some of my RPG reading ;)

The Red Headed Step-Children of AD&D - Classes

The original Player's Handbook had a handful of classes that did not fit in well with the default setting assumed by the rules.

Assassin - evil by nature, it really didn't work with parties that generally had at least one Paladin or Ranger. Every campaign I played in had at least one Paladin or Ranger in the party.

Bard - start as a Fighter, then dual class to Thief and finally dual class again to Bard, this broke just about every rule in the book. Over powered by some standards, it's probably the worst version of the Bard in the game. Then again, the Bard class from issue 56 of the Dragon was single classed and overpowered.

Monk - very weak to start, powerful at higher levels, the Eastern Style monk didn't really fit into the setting (I know they tried to fit it into the Scarlet Brotherhood but it still didn't feel right to me).

Illusionist - an underpowered Magic-User. It could work in a campaign that was heavy on role play, but since expo relied upon combat, an Illusionist made for a poor substitute.

Druid - many of a Druid's abilities and spells relied upon being outside. The default setting of the Dungeon negated much of his usefulness.

As a side note, except for the obvious LotR reference, why does the Ranger have access to Magic-User spells and ESP devices?

Beyond Politics and Political Affiliations

Yeah, I know I am against political posts on RPG blogs, but this post is neither right or left, republican or democrat, conservative or liberal - this is just a wee post about a disturbing trend.

Western society as a whole, and our governments in general, have been up in arms when Arab countries were shutting down cell phone service and access to social media sites during "The Arab Spring". Their whole line was "that is not how democracies would do things".

The recent shutting down of cellular service at certain BART stations in the San Francisco area due to protests at said stations was the same thing. Surprising for such a liberal, forward thinking city. Britain has been talking about controlling social media during future social unrest.

Governments fear social media. Probably for good reason. The thing is, once you give up a right, you rarely get it back.

You would think that with 15 years in law enforcement I would embrace tools that have the potential to make my job easier, but everyone I've spoken to in my profession about this incident is very disturbed by it. Thankfully, there wasn't a repeat of the shutdown during the most recent BART protests. Still, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I'll get back to gaming with my next post. I promise ;)

Hardware Upgrade in Progress (and another week without gaming)

I've moved from a PC / MacMini shared peripherals setup to an iMac that I'll be dual booting with windows. Haven't gotten around to BootCamping windows just yet. Still trying to get Apple to give me my free upgrade to Lion. Sigh.

Enough tech talk. I noticed something over the weekend. My son's core group of friends at the age of 18 closely mirror my core group of friends from that age (and with whom I remain friends with to this day). For us, it was AD&D and other RPG's that helped forge the bond. For this generation, it seems to be the XBox 360. Still, I have hope for them yet. They enjoy games like Fable and Oblivion and Fallout on the 360 - surely they may one day graduate to "true" RPGs ;)

It looks like the sometimes weekly OD&D chat game is on indefinite hold. I may need to find a game to fill the gap. It's a noticeable gap, as its the only game I've been playing in recently. A well.

The Secret Fire - It's a Band, Baby!

I was just goofing around with some google searches and it appears that there is / was an indie rock band named The Secret Fire. They have a myspace page and everything. Of course, they haven't logged into it since June of 2010. It must be that "myspace thing". Everything goes to myspace to die.

Anyhow, I was thinking that I really like the way that The Secret Fire handles multi classing, or whatever you want to call it in TSF. That means it must not be balanced, because as we know, multi classing in AD&D was balanced to the point that the MC'ed character was generally underpowered once the rest of the party started hitting their stride... generally about 6th or 7th level for them. Reduced level with the permanent XP split for the MC was their burden for life.

Then again, even with TSF, certain MC options are better then others, and certain primary classes work better then others, for in truth, in TSF, it isn't so much multi classing as it is adding a secondary class. You don't get all the class abilities from the second class, and what you do get is watered down from the full version.

Rainy Couple of Days in NYC

It's been a rainy couple of days in NYC. I'm not complaining, as it has kept the temperatures cooler, but it's been disrupting my ability to watch the kittens in my yard. Yep, a momma cat had kittens recently and had been moving them from yard to yard before settling on mine. Those kittens are adorable. Old enough to run around and get in trouble, one of the four has already been adopted by a neighbor (the first to start eating dried food, but I think they all are now). One orange tabby and two calicos are the three that are left.

My son wants a german Shepard, but seems receptive to getting a kitten instead. At 18 and making rumbles of joining the military, I think I'd rather he pick a kitten ;)

The rain has also prevented me from enjoying the yard to read my recent gaming acquisitions, but then again, the heat prior to the rain was also preventing me from enjoying the yard.

Late Night Gaming Thoughts Are Like the Wind

As I lay in bed last nite, my mind was drifting back and forth between The Secret Fire and Adventurer Conqueror King. I am quite sure that my semi-conscious faculties were melding the the two into some sort of unholy conglomerate (then again, I've been consciously thinking of doing the same) when I thought of a dice resolution system for spell casting that must have also been stealing from the upcoming Dungeon Crawl Classics - as it's the only OSRish game I know that requires a dice roll for every casting of a spell.

With the exception of the knowledge that the outcome of the casting was decided by a roll of 2D6, all else is obscured by the mists of sleep. Seemed damn good and intuitive when I thought of it, that much I can remember. Details? Nope.

I used to keep a voice recorder next to my bed for such times. It appears I must do so again.

Do You Like Peanut Butter in Your Chocolate?

The Secret Fire is, from my POV, a game you will either like a lot or really dislike. It's an OSR game with pieces of FATE, BRP, possibly 4e (don't know 4e well enough to guess) and I'm sure concepts and ideas from other media / games mixed in. Maybe it's more Rocky Road ice cream then a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, but it's definitely a game that draws on more then one prior source or inspiration.

Some folks may like it. I do, I think it works pretty well - or at least reads pretty well. I've noticed comments from others on some of the gaming forums that TSF has activated folks gag reflex. The idea of mixing old with new is a non-starter, sight unseen.

It's not a perfect game by any means. I, for one, don't feel comfortable using descriptor's instead of numbers. I also don't like nuts in my Rocky Road, but it is one of my favorite ice cream flavors. The whole overpowers the individual parts. Besides, I tend to leave the the nuts in the bowl. ;)

How to you feel about mixing old and new?

Sometimes It's Good to be King (Adventurer Conqueror King System)

The Adventurer Conqueror King System play test document was recently updated.  I've no idea what the particular changes were (it's probably in the forum), but I'm looking at this with fresh eyes (and eagerly awaiting my printed copy to arrive).

Things I've noticed this time (but but may or may not have noticed before):
- High Int is just as good for Wizards as High Wis is for Clerics.  I've been using that as a house rule for ages and I'm happy to see it here.
- I didn't miss this the first time, but I am happy to see a game that gives options to demi-humans as far as classes go without giving them human classes.  Dwarves can be Dwarven fighters or Dwarven Craftpriests and Elves can be Spellswords or Nightblades.
-Thief skills are rolled on a D20, not percentile based.  Apples and oranges for some, but I like the D20 roll high method.
-Bard class is included.  Yay!
-Character inheritance: for when your PC is dead and you planned ahead to replace him.  Leave him a good amount of starting cash.
-Domain Rules - I really need to read these through.  Damn interesting.

K, all for now.

Digging Out in Order to Dig In

I told my fiancee that the goal of this weekend was to throw out at least 4 mid size garbage bags of "stuff".  I have way too much stuff, and I find that when she's helping me I'm more apt to trash something that thin "I maybe able to find a use for this whatchamicallit".  She keeps me honest.  Three bags of trash and a bag or so of recycling so far.

I draw the line on RPGs.  They get boxed. Very few get trashed.  Some of my 3.x glut will probably get dumped, Mayfair Chill got trashed (Pacesetter version will be kept tho), lots of old computer games found their way into the recycling bin - like i said earlier, I have way too much stuff if I want to share space with the woman i love.

My PC / Mac Mini set up is moving up to an iMac which I will bootcamp with Win7 Ultimate.  Again, making the best use of the available space (she's getting the Mac Mini - the old PC will get recycled).  Oh, and I cut that last strip of molding I needed to buy.  I'll nail it in as my son and a few of his friends have a barbecue in the rain.  What can I say?  They're 18 ;)

I Am a Servant of The Secret Fire

Well, maybe not a servant, but I'm certainly enjoying it so far ;)

I think I touched on 'Trademarks" briefly in another post, but I'm going to delve into them a bit deeper tonight.  They are a sorta like feats.

I'll let the author explain a bit better then me:

Trademarks are the unique elements of a character’s makeup that set him apart from others of his Calling. These abilities, or qualities, are powerful additions to the nature of the PC, so choose carefully. They can and should impact the course of your character’s life, making his path a unique one, especially when combined with his ranks on the Character Wheel.

Some Trademarks are combat oriented, some are non-comabt oriented and some are both.  As  you can guess, some are more powerful then others.  One of my favorites is Holy-Man Training.  It adds Holy-Man prayers (spells) to you character's abilities, tho' he only gains half as many as a true Holy-Man.  Instant Paladin if you add this to a fighter.

A Character starts with 2 trademarks and gains one every odd level.  Humans gain an extra one at creation, for 3 to start.

Characters in The Secret Fire aren't much more special then the average person.  Stats are rolled on 3D6.  The amount of damage a character can withstand is about the same as a normal person, so trademarks can be the difference between life and death.  It's the edge that the players get.

There Are Some Extra Copies of Tome of Horrors (S&W Version) Available

According to Mythmere, there should be an extra 100 or so copies of Tome of Horrors (S&W Version) available for purchase.  If you buy a book (which should be shipping in about a month) you get the PDF for free.  If you buy the PDF directly from Frog God, and follow the instructions laid out by Mythmere, you can decide later to purchase the hard cover and have the price you paid for the PDF applied to you payment.  Not technically saving you anything, but it does let you buy the PDF and see if you want the HC.

Personally, I'm trilled by the PDF myself and I'm eagerly awaiting the hardcover to go on my bookshelf.  I need to review this beast of a book in depth in the future.  It is worth every penny IMHO.  Not sure if I'll be using it with S&W Complete or with Adventurer Conqueror King, but it's definitely going to get use.

Sometimes it Helps to Hold It

The two copies I have of The Secret Fire paperback look awesome.  Hopefully I'll find some time to read this weekend (renovations never seem to end).  Soon I should have my pre-release copy of Adventurer Conqueror King.  I just found out earlier tonight that George Strayton plays in a White Box campaign run by one of the guys behind ACK.  The two games currently on my mind the most.  Go figure.

Think I may need to Frankendragon the two ;)

Or maybe not.  But stealing from one for the other is also fun.

Oh, and just to throw this out there, I don't think I could use descriptors in place of numerical modifiers as The Secret Fire relies upon.  That's one of those things that's been hard wired into my D&D brain.  I don't think it would suffer much from avoiding the descriptors.  Guess time will tell when I get to actually play it.

What Makes an RPG Old School?

What makes a RPG "Old School"?

Is it emulation of one of the older D&D rule sets? How far before the house rules in one of these emulations takes it too far to be Old School? Is The Secret Fire "Old School"?

Is it an older feel to the rules themselves (hard to explain - one of those sentences that either makes sense to you, or it doesn't).

Is it presentation?

Does OpenQuest count as Old School? Basic Roleplay? CoC? Any of the current editions of Traveller?

Is X-plorers Old School?

Edit: Is Old School Hack "Old School?"

Is Old School something you just know when you see it?

I ask because X-plorers and The Secret Fire both seem Old School to me, both were just released (or just re-released in the case of X-plorers) yet I don't hear much about them on the blogs I read. Both are selling well on RPGNow, which is generally the Old School friendly when it comes to sales (compared to DriveThruRPG - both are the same company, different audiences).

I've got thoughts on X-plorers (just got the new PDF) but I'm waiting on the boxed set. I've been rambling about The Secret Fire for about a week so far and I still have more in me. Just a friendly warning ;)

Free Quickstart - The Kerberos Club (FATE Edition)

Ever want to play a Victorian Era Superhero?  What, you never heard of one?  Well, here's your chance to get your feet wet for free with The Kerberos Club Quick-Start Guide (FATE Edition)

From the blurb:

The Kerberos Club (FATE Edition) is a superheroic roleplaying game in Victorian London using the FATE roleplaying game system. 


This 28-page Quick-Start Guide gives you a taste of it, with an introduction to the Club, a summary of the timeline, and four sample characters, ready for play, that each highlight different aspects of the setting and its culture: Lady Constance Davies, the Glaifsantes; Sgt. (ret.) William mac Donald, the One-Man Army; Pale Tom Teach, the Gutter Magus; and Jonus Earl Underbridge, Esq., Troll About Town.

I Have The Secret Fire in My Hand!

Feline approved.  Cover is reflective in direct sunlight.  The Secret Fire is flammable, do not place in open flames.  No felines were damaged in the shooting of this picture.  Ashley has no opinion on Role Playing Games, in general or otherwise, but enjoys RPG dice.  Opinions expressed are those of her owner.


Lulu sent my two printed copies of The Secret Fire damn fast.  Nice white paper, large pocket sized, perfect for me to throw in my bag for work or read in the private reading room.

If you purchased a PDF copy of The Secret Fire from Lulu that lacks bookmarking, go to this post on The Secret Fire Blog to find out how to get an updated copy.  The Secret Fire guys (George and the rest) have been very receptive to critiques and their customer service has been top notch.

Rule Correction / Clarification For The Secret Fire

George emailed me last nite to inform me that I was not wrong in thinking that the Luck Throw uses 2D6. Apparently there are 2 typos in the PDF where it states a Luck Throw uses a D12 - and I found one of those typos inadvertently using the new PDF with bookmarks.

So, until the PDF is updated, remember 2D6 for any Luck Throw you may need to make. Now if I can only convince him to use DARO (doubles are rolled over) from Tunnels & Trolls ;)

The Secret Fire PDF - Now With Bookmarks!

George Strayton just sent me an updated file of The Secret Fire PDF. Not only is the cover full color now (and sweet looking) the sucker has bookmarks!

Yes, I'm happy as pig in poo! Dancing a jig! All that jazz!

I can wander the PDF as I have a horrible habit of doing and navigate my meandering path. Heck, I found a mistake of mine already that I made earlier thanks to the bookmarks - a Luck Throw is rolled on a D12, not 2D6 - target number is still 7. Hmm, the 2D6 might make for an interesting house rule tho.

George, thanks for listening. My sole complaint (not counting some art - but that is a matter of taste) thus far has been addressed. K, time for me to peruse my newly updated and bookmarked PDF.

No idea if the update is on Lulu yet or not, but I assume it will make its way there sooner then later.

Oh, and the latest Lulu 20% Off Coupon is SINK305

The Secret (Ring of) Fire

Just humming some Johnny Cash in my head right now...

(the rest of The Secret Fire posts)

Alright, enough of that.  Let's talk about wombats.  Or not.  Combat, let's talk about Combat.  None of that AC  or THACO shit in The Secret Fire.  Nope, you gotta roll again your opponents "dodge score".  Which is also how effects like poison, dragon's breath and the rest of them damage you - it's a D20 roll against your dodge score.  So, the to-hit resolution in cobalt is the same system that does away with saving throws as you an I know it - unless it calls for a Luck Roll, in which case its 7 or better on 2D6.
Higher Dodge is better btw.

"What about my armor?" you might say.  Well, ya see, armor (or other types of resistance, depending on the Attack Type,) subtracts from the damage you take (there's always a minimum of 1 point taken).  Feels a bit like Runequest or Tunnels & Trolls.

Armor absorbing damage is important in a game where the PCs can't take as many hits as in the usual OSR type games.  Interesting tweak.  I may need to run a mock combat to see how this works in play, not just theory.

Oh, and my kid passed his First Aid Certification test.  Inching closer to EMT certification.  It's a good day ;)

Ah, heck... enjoy some Johnny Cash :)

Reviews on the Back Burner

I think I've got a bad case of The Secret Fire and the over the counter remedies aren't going to cure it.  I need to let it run its course.  Which means there's still a few more bad blog post titles to come.  That being said, I still want to review the following over the next week or so:

The One Ring - simply because it's Middle Earth, and I dig that.

The Complete Tome of Horrors - because I need to spend more time with its awesomeness.

X-plorers - I just got the PDF and I'm waiting on the dead tree.  Old School Sci-fi

Other stuff that has been sitting and waiting for me to get to it, and the Free OSR Game mini-reviews must continue!

Never Scream (The Secret) Fire!

My Gamer's ADD is really strong, as it effects even the way I read The Secret Fire - I'm bouncing like one of those 10 cent power balls you used to get out of gum ball machines when I was a kid.

So, where's the gnomes? 4e turned the gnome into the unwanted stepchild of D&D, dropping them from the core races and their missing from the core here too. Not that it matters all that much to me as I don't recall ever actually playing a gnome in any edition of D&D / AD&D, but I felt it should be mentioned lest one of those gnome lovers get upset at the omission.

Hmm, for that matter, there are no "half races" either - unless I missed them during my power ball bouncing around the PDF. No half-elves or half-orcs (actually, not sure if I saw orcs at all in the monster section - I'll need to double check that.

initiative - Roll a D6, add your Agility modifier and count down from highest to lowest. Pretty standard. Except that PCs can swap initiative score with each other. That certainly isn't standard. It add a certain amount of tactics to combat that isn't there otherwise. It also means that just because you rolled a sucky roll, if your party needs you to react faster, they'll swap your score to get you there. Pretty neat. I don't believe I've seen that before.

Morale - As far as I can recall, this is missing from most OSR style games (James properly pointed out my error here - its there, same system - I'm going to lock myself in the privy for a 15 minute time out ;). It's nice to see, especially as this is a very lethal combat system. Much easier to chase your adversaries away then killing them all.
It's rolled on 2D6.

Notice that they have stayed away from a unified resolution system? 1D6, 2D6, variable D6, D20. Yes, one die size does not fit all rolls. Nice.

K, lunch time is over. Back to work.

My Pants Are On (The Secret) Fire

I never promised the Blog Post Titles would be any good, or even funny... just part of the theme ;)

Now I'm going to talk about skills and skill tests.  Most D&D / D20 games use some sort of "roll a D20 and see if you made your target number".  Not so in The Secret Fire - here you roll D6s and the number of dice rolled is dependent on the difficulty of the task at hand.  You are attempting to equal or roll under the relevant ability.

It ranges from 3d6 for an Easy attempt to 7d6 for an Impossible attempt.  If you are trained in the skill in question, you roll one less die (in effect, shifting the difficulty down by one).  I'm surprised that I like this system, but I do.  It makes your actual ability scores important - score of 13 to 15 are a +1 adjustment to other rolls, but as far as skill go, a 15 is much better then a 13.  It also brings back the "bell curve".

Moving on to the random charts, I think they are pretty good in my opinion.  The personality quirks and random equipment help to define the characters.  It's similar in a way to what Scott from Huge Ruined Pile had us roll in his house ruled OD&D game.  Anything that helps to define a character is good.  Would I buy it for the charts alone?  No, but they should port to other games fairly well.

K, lack of bookmarking is really starting to annoy me and my desire to flip semi randomly throughout this PDF.  The hardcopy won't be so annoying, but flipping through a PDF without bookmarking can lead to major frustrations.

Odds & Ends

Lets see - over the past few days I've thrown out a crapload of odds & ends - mostly electronic and computer accessories that I can no longer recall the use for, or wires that I have more then I'll ever need.

I also came across some gaming stuff that I had forgotten, such as my limited edition C&C Player's Handbook with the faux leather cover. some Lejendary Adventures books that I had forgotten about and some other random stuff.  Oh, and I killed a storage box of DVDs by getting rid of the annoying plastic holders they come in. Space is getting to be at a premium.

I installed the two transition pieces for the new floors, finished the last corner of wallpaper, put in (with major help from my father) new molding in the second room (still need another 12' strip it seems), moved the Bowflex to it permanent spot (which the fiancee would rather was in the basement, but the ceiling isn't high enough), move the new desk to its spot, boxed up more games, still need to measure for and order the new closet... I seriously need more time ;)  

We Didn't Start "The Secret Fire"

At some point I'm going to run out of witty blog post titles for this never ending review of The Secret Fire RPG. ;)

Anyhow, back to the game - or rather, the reading of the game.

This definitely has an Old Ones / Cthuhlu feel to it, which helps it read as well as it does.  As I said earlier, it seems to out weird LotFP's Weird Fantasy without straying too far from the fantasy tropes we already know.  I still have an issue with the artwork as it attempts to draw upon satantic imagery when it can (with the exception of the cover art and a few other).  There are much more effective, and potentially less alienating ways to draw upon the Old School RPG style of art.  Not a huge issue to me, but I could have done with less of it.

Saving throws - replaced by a Luck Roll.  Luck Rolls do not change with level, what you need to roll at level 1 is the same as at level 10 (baring the choosing of certain trademarks/abilities or finding an item or such).  I believe you need to roll a 7 or better on 2D6 but I can't find the rule at the moment.  Bookmarking the PDF would have prevented this issue.  Yes, the lack of bookmarking is becoming a real PITA.

The Montage System - a random way to hand wave certain situations.  Well, really its more then that, but in other games, it would probably be a hand wave with maybe a die thrown to see in generally how well it goes for the PCs:

However, there may be times when the party (or the Master Creator, TSF speak for DM) may wish to speed up play and instead call for a quick resolution. Rather than simply handwaving the situation (which is, of course, a perfectly acceptable option), the MC can instead employ the simple universal method outlined below. Note that this system works for multi-aspect events (such as parley, wilderness travel, etc.) rather than single actions (such as picking a lock — use a Skill Check in that situation). You can even use it for combat, especially when wandering monsters appear, if you are trying to speed up play for one reason or another. But note that, depending on the roll, the outcome could prove extremely beneficial, wildly disastrous, or anywhere in between, for the player characters. Which, of course, is what makes it fun. 

The Montage is a way to “play” through events that would take a lot of real time, even though they may take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days of game time; yet everyone agrees these events should only take a short amount of real time. The system can be used for random engagements, and everyone rolls using their prime stat (Critical Failure means death, Complication means wounded, etc.).

Is it something I would use often?  I'm not sure.  Generally speaking, if something is worth resolving, it's worth playing out, either via combat or role play.  Still, this may fit well for certain groups.

More later, with another bad blog post title ;)

Monday Movie Nite - The Seven-Ups

Roy Schneider plays the lead role in this gritty NYPD cop drama.  This is one of those movies I've been told to watch for the last 15 years, so I finally picked it up at Amazon.  Not bad (not as good as Fort Apache: The Bronx IMHO) but it does have the best (and possibly longest) chase scene I've ever seen in a movie.  If you know any of the major streets and locations in the NYC area, its even that much better.

The Seven-Ups squad itself would work pretty well in any modern RPG - either as something for pliers to belong to, or as an adversary.

Back to reading The Secret Fire.  More on that in the morning.

I'm On "The Secret Fire"

Yeah, i could start numbering the posts, but what's the fun in that?  Yes, more of my thoughts and observations on The Secret Fire RPG.

Just so y'all know, I was not a Kickstarter supporter of this project.  Truth to tell, the webpage (and yes, the associated blog) did not excite me.  Lot's of advertising talk, light on what was actually going on.  The Gail Gygax endorsement didn't excite me (she killed Legendary Adventures before I ever got to enjoy my books), but Monte Cook having good things to say did.  So, I went into this kinda neutral.

I'm also one of those fine folk that has asked out loud if we really need more retro clones and the like... it hasn't stopped me from buying them, but are the really needed.

The Secret Fire isn't a retro clone.  It gladly borrows and steals from D20, FATE, possibly T&T and I'm sure others.  It is solidly D20, and if you've played D&D in any of its incarnations (even - GASP! 4e) you will probably be comfortable with the system fairly quickly.  

I've been reading this like I read most RPGs these days - I jump around like a Mexican Jumping Bean.  As was pointed out by a poster on RPG.Net, the PDF lacks bookmarks.  How the hell do you put out a 310 page PDF these days without bookmarks?  I fully expect that will change in the near future, and the file will be updated with bookmarks.  If it isn't, I'll be here to rant.

That being say, I'm enjoying this immensely, even without the ease of bookmarks to enable my haphazard jumping thru the virtual book.  

Did I mention I just ordered 2 dead tree copies from Lulu?  Love those 20% off coupons ;)

Dinner calls.  More rule observations later tonight if all goes well.

Does "The Secret Fire" Out Weird LotFP's "Weird Fantasy"?

I like Raggi's Weird Fantasy RPG and own the boxed versions of both the Deluxe and Grindhouse Editions.  While I may not agree with all of the changes Raggi made to the classes and races, I always figured I could house rule them to a state I was comfortable with.  Besides, the tone of the game did have a nice horror feel to it, especially in the Referee Book.

I think The Secret Fire may have outdone Raggi on the "Weird" axis.  Case in point.  TSF changes many of the D&D spells we know and  gives them a twist.  Sometimes they are easily recognizable, sometimes it takes a little work.  As an example, I'm going to show what all the CLW, CSW, CCW and Heal spells turned into - one simple, yet powerful and disturbing spell:

Mend (Life)
Circle: I                                   Casting Time: Move
Range: 5 feet (1 square)          Resistance: Willpower
Area of Effect: 1 Creature       Duration: Instant

Description: Your allies thought you mad when you asked if you could make small incisions on each of their limbs with the Brand of Mantheris. As you concentrate, holding the Brand gently in your grip a few inches from your ally’s wound, a tentacle of blood streams from the Brand toward his body, which spasms painfully as the blood forces its way into him. At first, there is only suffering; then his injuries begin to disappear and relief spreads across his face. You are grateful that you had properly attuned the Brand to your ally, as the use of this power on the un-attuned can lead to injury and even death. 

Mechanics: By briefly laying hands upon a living creature, the cleric channels positive energy that cures 1d4 + Wisdom adjustment Stamina. The amount of die increases by 1d4 for each level, up to level 4 (4d4). At level 5 the die increase by one size (4d6) thereafter continuing to add 1 die size each level, up to 4d20 at level 9.
-At level 10 the Holy-Man may use a mend prayer to perform a miracle once per day. A miracle fully heals the creature chosen, regardless of amount of healing done. Any other uses of Lay Hands on that day are rolled as normal for a Level-10 Holy-Man (4d20). If this ability is performed twice in one day for any reason, the gods consider it arrogance, and all life from the caster is transferred to the injured.
-This prayer will not affect creatures without corporeal bodies, or creatures that can only be harmed by iron, silver, or magical weapons.
-The reverse of the prayer, rend, inflicts the same amount of damage on a successful prayer attack against the target. Because the subject is less willing and the intention more severe it takes a full Action to complete a Rending prayer.
-A critical miss while performing rend results in inadvertently requesting your Deity strip the intended amount of life from your body, and transfer it into the target as healing.

That is a disturbing reworking of the healing spells from D&D.  It scales very well and is limited to one casting per day (unless you want the gods to kill you).  Screwing it up can have deadly consequences.  Definitely a "Weird Fantasy" vibe if you ask me.  This is just one spell of many that have been reworked into a similar vibe.

Did I mention that spells that have limited durations count down in "real time"?  If a spell lasts 10 min/per level, that's 10x minutes at the gaming table, not game time.  Certainly makes bookkeeping easier and encourages the players to keep the pace of the game moving,

I haven't even touched on the races or classes yet, have I?

Count this as the beginning of the review process.  This is going to take some time, as this isn't the usual clone or house rule revision that we often see.

Closing in on a Review of The Secret Fire RPG

Of the GenCon timed RPG releases, The Secret Fire is the one I find the most interesting thus far.  That may change once I get thru the whole thing, but for now it is an accurate statement.  The most anticipated, by me, was The One Ring, and I'm sure if it wasn't for TSF, I'd be immersing myself in Hobbits and such right now.  No worries, I'll be returning to The One Ring shortly.

Now, back to some more perusing of The Secret Fire (which was originally billed as Legends & Labyrinths - not a bad choice ether).

Stamina Points (which apply to each Wound level) do not increase as you gain levels.  So, no Hit Point issues of the 9th level fighter surviving a 100' fall because of his Hit Points (he may now survive it for other reasons).  Oh, and high level combat is no longer a war of attrition.  Well, at least not of HP.

As Padre pointed out, do we really need Man-Boob Satan on the second page?  It doesn't add anything (unless you are going for Raggi Shock Value, in which case this is a "fail") and may give a wrong opinion of the rules.  Not a real issue, just a question.  I mean, is this what one needs to include to prove Old School Cred these days?

About Energy Points (this is the "hook" in my opinion, and something I really like so far):

In THE SECRET FIRE™, Energy Points (EP) represent a character’s daily energy level ,which can be spent in a variety of ways (called Special Effects), as a free Action, both within combat and without.The heart of the roleplaying system of TSF lies in the use and acquisition of Energy Points.

It's a way to make feats and feat like abilities and the like flexible as well as a resource to manage.  You can regain your spent points quicker through actual role playing your character.  A role playing game that actually rewards role play.  I'm having one of those "duh!" moments.  So obvious.  So overlooked.

Digging Deeper Into The Secret Fire

So, The Secret Fire is D20 based, but it strays far and afield while still feeling vaguely familiar. Here's some quick observations:

6 stats, rolled on 3d6 - assigned as the player wants.

Four basic classes and the ability to multi class.

No HP as we know it, but wound levels and wounds.

Five spell levels, gained in the first 5 character levels.

Combat and non-combat abilities that seem like a cross between skills and feats.

A pool of points that can be used for special abilities, and the pool is refilled via role playing situations that fit the character but may not be directly beneficial to the party.

Just some stuff that came to mind as I sit at my in-laws ;)

Saturday Nite Movie - Fort Apache: The Bronx

My first time watching this was shortly after being assigned to the 42 Precinct in the Bronx as a rookie.  It was pointed out to me that many of the scenes, including the scenes taking place with outside shots of the station house, were filmed in the 42 Precinct.  My VHS tape made the rounds of my fellow rookies and never made it back to me.  I finally bought DVD copy.  It arrived this morning and me and the lady watched it tonight.

It was just as good as I remembered.  This is how a cop movie should be, characters instead of bullets, story instead of mindless action.

Of course, I was told numerous times by my son, who was not watching the movie with us, to stop pointing out the locations that I knew... sorry, couldn't help myself ;)

Paul Newman was awesome BTW ;)

First Look - The Secret Fire (RPG)

I'm experiencing a bit of a sensory overload with all of the RPG products that have been released in the last week.  I'll get to the reviews of these games later, I need time to digest them them.  In the meantime I'm giving my first looks and initial impressions.

The Secret Fire is the latest game I've gotten to look at.  I'm really at a loss for words so far as to how to explain it.  It harkens back to the original Dungeons & Dragons White Box.  It quotes from Supplement III - Eldritch Wizardry and Chainmail 3rd Edition.  It seeks to carry on the mantle of EGG himself.  The question then becomes, does it succeed?

To that I don't have an answer just yet.  Mr Strayton, the author of The Secret Fire, has been granted access to all of EGG's notes and files by Gail Gygax.  It is quite possible that many of test ideas were tweaked and trimmed form ideas of Gary's himself.  It's just that at over 300 pages in length, so it's way to large for me to absorb at this point in time.  That being said, from what I've read in the beginning of the book, and what I've skimmed form the rest of it, there is certainly an early D&D feel to it.

If you have the time or the inclination, the PDF can be found on Lulu for 10 bucks - google search for a 20% off coupon and you can get it for 8 - a bargain for a game this size.

Give me time and I'll let you know if it succeeds at it's aims of uniting the fractured D&D gaming landscape.

From the blurb:

From SECRET FIRE GAMES™ comes THE SECRET FIRE™ (formerly known as George Strayton’s LEGENDS & LABYRINTHS™), a new, original game system with mechanics that emphasize exploration, roleplaying, and the constant threat of danger as adventurers set forth on perilous quests, engage in lethal battles, and win precious treasures. The design philosophy focuses strongly on imbuing the game world with a specific tone through elements of flavor, simpler rules, faster play, constant roleplaying (with associated mechanics that make it necessary to roleplay in order to win the day) and unlimited flexibility using innovative “literary” mechanics alongside traditional tropes of the fantasy game genre. The overall “feel” of this combination is what sets THE SECRET FIRE™ apart from all other games. It’s been 11 years in the making and now finally comes to a tabletop near you this August!

The foundation for TSF lies with the unknown, the dark and dangerous subworld which we all fear and yet desire to inhabit, if only for a brief time (so that we may survive and return to the world above and repeat). With that, we begin our journey….

PRE-RELEASE REVIEWS

“With THE SECRET FIRE, George Strayton is following in the footsteps of the inventor and master of roleplaying games, Gary Gygax, expanding on Gary’s original vision of fantasy roleplaying by taking it back to its roots while simultaneously bringing it into the future.”

— Gail Gygax

“A flavor-filled approach to fantasy gaming that puts the mystery and magic back into the dark recesses of the dungeon.”

— Monte Cook, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition

The "I'm Not at GenCon" Update

My lord but I have a crapload of new releases to read and review, some of which I've already discussed.

The Tome of Horrors Complete isn't technically a GenCon release, but the timing couldn't be better.

Adventurer Conqueror King hit GenCon with a prerelease / beta copy.

The One Ring, the new LotR RPG also released at the con.

The Secret Fire, which kinda bills itself as a game EGG would have written was also just released. I snagged a PDF copy for 8 bucks on Lulu after a 20% off coupon. I'm not quite sure what to make of it yet, but it does quote from some OD&D pieces, so that earns it points right out of the box.

Heck, I might be suffering from rpg overload at this point ;)


- Posted from my iPhone

PDFs on Tablets - How Do They Look To You?

I do most of my PDF reading on tablets these days - both my gen1 iPad and my 7" Samsung Galaxy Tab. I've yet to experience an issue with either. The PDFs look vibrant and the ability to zoom in on parts of the page is priceless.

I bring this up because I've noticed that some e-publishers of roleplaying material are also putting their stuff out in epub format. One reason I've seen them use is that PDFs don't present well on tablets. In my experience, PDFs present extremely well on tablets, and piss poor at best on most dedicated e-readers. E-readers generally don't display PDFs in their native format but use "reflow", which is fine for fiction but plays havoc with RPGs that have charts and stat blocks.

Maybe they don't know the right terminology to differentiate between a tablet (which is basically a small PC) and an e-book reader (a device dedicated to presenting the different digital publishing formats). I don't know.

I do know I'd rather have a PDF displayed on my iPad for RPG reading then the same presented in epub or .azw or whatnot.

Eh, this was annoying me throughout the nite. I feel better now ;)

First Look - The One Ring (LotR): Adventures over the Edge of the Wild

Cubicle 7 just released The One Ring:  Adventures Over the Edge of the Wild in PDF on RPGNow.  I suspect it has released at GenCon in print, but one of my fellow bloggers that is in attendance will need to verify that.

It includes an Adventurer's Book, a Loremaster's Book and maps for each.

The game uses specialized D6 and D12 dice, but it's easy enough to substitute your own (standard) dice.

One thing of note is that gameplay is divided into two phases: The Adventure Phase and the Fellowship Phase.  The Adventure Phase is what we generally do doing our RPG sessions - kill things, take their stuff, overcome problems, etc.  The Fellowship phase seems to be what most gamers would do between sessions, kinda off the grid.  I need to read further to see how these would work in play.

I've barely scratched the surface, and I still need to spend more time with The Tome of Horrors Complete for S&W ;)

From the blurb:

Smaug has been defeated, the Battle of Five Armies has been won, and Bilbo has returned to the Shire. The War of the Ring is several generations away. In the relative peace, the Free Peoples of Wilderland look beyond their borders for the first time, establishing trade routes, renewing bonds between their cultures, and bringing prosperity to the region of northern Mirkwood, the Lonely Mountain, and the eastern slopes of the Misty Mountains.

But much danger still remains, and from the Orc-holds of the mountains to the dark and corrupt depths of Mirkwood a darkness waits, recovering its strength, laying its plans, and slowly extending its shadow . . . .

The One Ring: Adventures over the Edge of the Wild is the newest fantasy roleplaying game set in the world of The Hobbit^TM and The Lord of the Rings^TM. It provides you with everything you need to begin your adventures in Middle-earth, including:

• 192 page Adventurer's Book
• 144 page Loremaster's Book
• Two 22"x17" maps

Adventures over the Edge of the Wild is the first core set for The One Ring roleplaying game. Set five years after the events narrated in The Hobbit, it introduces players to the world of Middle-earth focusing on Wilderland, the region visited by Bilbo in his journey to the Lonely Mountain. Future core and supplemental publications will advance the timeline and explore other areas of Middle-earth.

Flipping the Virtual Pages of the Tome of Horrors Complete PDF (Swords & Wizardry)

I spent some more time with the Tome of Horrors Complete PDF (S&W) last nite, this time on my 28" computer screen instead of my iPad. Some of my new thoughts on it:

The artwork really is damn nice overall. I've always been partial to B&W illustrations over color, and this book just reinforces that. I'm going to repeat myself - I want the opportunity to purchase some original pieces of some prints ;)

Bookmarking - very nicely done. A PDF of this size needs bookmarks and I'm glad to see it was done. Certainly makes flipping thru the virtual pages easier.

Pricing - I got my PDF for free as I paid for (and I'm waiting on) the print version, which if I recall correctly was around 90 bucks. The PDF just showed up on RPGNow for $30. A steep price to be sure, but right around the price that the C&C Castle Keeper's Guide sold for, and that was less then half the size. Or, to put it another way, the PDF is being sold at a 67% discount or so from the limited edition printed book price, which isn't a bad discount - it's just a high starting point.

I believe Paizo is taking orders of the Pathfinder version of ToHC and is including the PDF copy with their orders.

It's going to take me a long time to plow thru this book ;)

Loviatar Contest! Win a 6 Month Sub to Christian's New Zine!

Matt over at Lapsus Calumni is running a contest to win a 6 month sub to Christian's (unknown destination blog and others) IN PRINT zine: Loviatar.  How awesome is that?

All you have to do is flesh out a small dungeon map he's posted on is blog.  You can use stats for your favorite game or go stat-less.  You have until August 15th.

I've been reading Christian's stuff for about 10 years now.  It's always top notch.

While you are at it, check out Matt's blog for an amazing assortment of dungeon maps.  I might have to add his blog to the "Free Resources" links on he left side of this page ;)

First Look at The Tome of Horrors Complete for Swords & Wizardry

Tomb of Horrors Complete is the new monster book from Frog God. The physical copy is going to be huge - I just got my PDF copy of the Swords & Wizardry version (it also comes in a Pathfinder flavor).

First, this is a huge PDF - solidly over 200 MB, so don't download this if you are using a hotspot / mobile device with a monthly cap - grab it when you are home.

The main thing that got my attention is that every page (at least the ones I've looked at so far - it is close to 700 pages in length) has one or two creatures and a short plot hook in which to use them. The plot hooks are pure awesome even if you don't use as written, as they are a great tool to get one's creative juices flowing.

The art is quality so far. I would't mind the option of buying some original pieces (or signed prints) to frame and hang on the wall. Maybe the Frog God can pass the word on to the artists.

Really like what I see so far.

Adventurer Conqueror King Hit Another Goal

Adventurer Conqueror King has now hit it's second bonus goal via Kickstarter. If it hits the third bonus goal, the creators will run some game sessions for the supporters via Google+. Google+ is really becoming more of a hit then I ever expected. Well, that and ACK is getting more support then I expected, but really, I should have expected it. The OSR corner is small but strong, and ACK really is bringing new stuff to the OSR corner of the gaming table.

I wonder if iTabletop/Pandoren is getting any of the G+ overflow on the gaming side. It does video, voice, game table, dice and all the rest. For me, if G+ had a whiteboard and a dice rolling macro it would probably be all I need, but at this point I think I would need more.

My First Time Was Magical

My first time playing AD&D was magical. There was something about the dice, the crude map on graph paper, killing skeletons and the like that just can't be recreated. Heck, my first time was a one-on-one session with just the DMG - my friend Kenny had to call another friend with the Player's Handbook just to find out when my fighter Cyrus leveled up.

I believe that was early in the summer of 81. For my birthday my mother got me copies of the DMG, the PH and a set of dice that I still have to this day. There was magic in having the world of RPGs opened up to me. Holy crap, I've been a gamer for 30 years!

Mini Review - The Age of Shadow (D100 / OpenQuest)

This is a quick Two-fer.

First, we have The Age of Shadow, a fantasy RPG drawing upon the OpenQuest rules, which drew upon the Mongoose RuneQuest, has it's roots deeply in the previous versions of RuneQuest.  Got that?  Good.

So, it's OpenQuest with a few twists, like less modifiers but higher mods when you do have one.  Oh, and its free, which is always nice when looking for new options for a current game engine.

From the blurb:


The Age of Shadow is an easy to learn fantasy role-playing game based upon the OpenQuest system. As such, the game utilises a simple percentile rules mechanic to resolve most actions, and is set in a fantasy world of elves, men, and fearsome monsters.
Within these pages you will find:
• character generation rules.
• a comprehensive skill list and combat chapter.
• rules for two different types of magic.
• a complete monster section.
• a two page character sheet.

Then we have The Age of Shadow: Campaign Guide.  This 28 page PDF goes into further detail of the default world referred to in The Age of Shadows RPG.  This comes in at $2.99.  Definitely grab the free RPG first before deciding if you need more.

From the blurb:


This campaign guide is intended for use with The Age of Shadow: Role-playing Game, and is presented in such a way as to quickly familiarise both players and GMs with the specifics of the setting, as well as providing a starting point from which many tales and adventures may arise.
Within these pages you will find:
• a brief history of the land and its people.
• a full colour map of the land itself.
• short descriptions of all of the major settlements.
• a number of alternate rules and items of interest.
• statistics for several NPC archetypes.
Note that this booklet is not intended to be a complete campaign setting, but rather an easily digestible primer than can be read in a single sitting. In addition, to make full use of the information contained within you will require the Age Of Shadow: Role-playing Game (which is available as a free download).

Pics of the Future "Man Cave" Corner

Another floor done. Need to buy the 3/4 molding for where the floor meets the walls.

Where the desk will be going. The box is a bookshelf that will be going...



Where the bookshelf will be going into. Door goes bye bye. Soundproofing will be behind the bookcase.



The new closet will be built into this space...



- Posted from my iPhone

Mini Review - Eureka: 501 Adventure Plots to Inspire Game Masters (Systemless)

Does anyone else remember the AD&D Encounter Cards?  They were my GoTo Resource when I had nothing planned for Sunday's Weekly Game (which happened more often then I would lie to admit).  I'd pull a few cards at random, figure out which one (or more) had a seed of something larger in it, and ran with it.

Eureka: 501 Adventure Plots to Inspire Game Masters is similar, but for the most part the plots are deeper on role-play the those old encounter cards ever were.  The pieces here also tend to have more depth and dangling threads, as these are plots - or plot seeds if you will.

167 plots each for fantasy, sic-fi and horror, but you can tweak nearly all to fit outside their default genre.  Which puts this at less then 4 cents a plot.

Did I mention this is a full bookmarked PDF?  And that they are further broken down by Dramatic Structure?  Nicely done.  This, my iPad and Goodreader will have me making notes right on the PDF for the plots I want to use.

From the Blurb:

"Much more than a simple book of plots, Eureka! stands as one of those essential tools that GMs and game designers will find themselves reaching for again and again." -- Game designer Wolfgang Baur, Kobold Quarterly review

Featuring a foreword by gaming industry legend Monte Cook, Eureka contains 501 complete adventure plots usable with almost any roleplaying game, plus GMing advice and tools for making the most of every plot.

If you game once a week, that's nearly 10 years of adventures, all right here in the largest collection of its kind ever published. Written by nine veteran game masters -- the authors of the most widely read game mastering blog on the planet, Gnome Stew -- Eureka is more than just adventure seeds.

Each plot includes a hook to draw your players in, an outline detailing enough material for a complete adventure, generally in the form of 3-5 meaty encounters, and any game mastering notes, plot twists, and advice you might need to turn that plot into a fun night of gaming.

Adventure hooks alone don't give you much to work with, but fully developed adventures can be hard to personalize and fit into an ongoing game. Eureka is the perfect middle ground: We provide the main ingredients, and you decide how to prepare them.

Packed with ideas and inspiration, this massive collection is designed to be the ultimate adventure toolkit:

• Fantasy, science fiction, and horror plots: 167 of each, all easily adaptable to multiple genres
• Clear, concise game mastering advice: We show you how to adapt plots to other genres (effectively giving you 464 fantasy, 420 sci-fi, and 338 horror plots) and how to turn Eureka plots into full-blown adventures
• The tools you need: Plots are grouped by theme, from "Revolt" to "Mistaken Jealousy," and categorized by tags like intrigue, exploration, and combat-heavy
• Four indexes: Quickly find a plot for any situation by genre, tag, title, or author
• No game mechanics and no proper names: These system-neutral plots are simple to use and easy to personalize to your game
• DRM-free, fully hyperlinked and bookmarked: We've made Eureka as user-friendly and GM-friendly as possible

Want to find out more about Eureka? You can download a free 19-page PDF excerpt of the book, read reviews, and check out articles about Eureka on the Engine Publishing website.

Trying to Tame Google+

Alright, I have more followers in G+ then I have on Blogger, which is awesome - 3 weeks to surpass 2 years ;)  Of course, I have only one post on G+ as I am more geared to Blogger and blogging then social networking but I'm trying to embrace it all.

So, first thing is I have to break down my circles further it seems.  I have a ton of people in my RPG circle and the information overload means I'm missing out on stuff.  Lots of stuff.  So, I think I need to tweak that circle down to manageable sub-circles or whatnot.

Now, is there a way to mirror your blog post on G+ like you can do on Facebook?  I'm still stumbling around half blind and and shit trying to find out what the new shiny can do ;)

Any play reports from Constacon or any other of the video huddle game sessions that have taken place?  Especially interested in hearing from those that have used VTTs in the past, or even used one with the G+ video interface running at the same time as the VTT.

I feel like I've been given an awesome multi-tool without any directions or diagram.  I can understand why some that jumped into the Google+ world early have pulled the plug, but I plan on being here for the long haul.  Heck, I even tried Google Wave and saw some potential there, but G+ is leaps and bounds past that.

A Day of Success, But Little Time For Play

I spent the afternoon installing the flooring in what will be (in part) my "Man Cave".  The first row was a real PITA trying to fit it around the radiator.  Ughhh!  Still, with my father's help and expertise we got about 2/3 of the floor laid down and I should be able to finish it off tomorrow.  Yay!

I'm seeing a lot of similarities in this process with any creative project I've been with, especially today as we hit our stride and I didn't want to stop even with dinner waiting.  I get similar emotions when I write (as rare as that is these days - need to get into it again).

I'm looking forward to getting the kitchen done by a professional - that's just a cash outlay - someone else can break their back ;)

Spending quality time at the moment with the future Mrs Tenkar watching some National Geographic on Netflix on Demand :)

Sunday Renovations Update

The old floor we are going to cover today and tomorrow. My son is excited as he get my old room when this is done.





- Posted from my iPhone

Found "Emergency!" on Netflix on Demand

I grew up watching Emergency! on a 9" B&W TV.

Can't believe all 122 episodes are available on Netflix.

There has to be a RPG campaign that could be built around this and maybe Adam 12 ;)

My Birthday Gift! My... Precious...

Well, it isn't REALLY my birthday gift, but the timing of it couldn't be better.

Greg, from Dark Horse Game Design, (click for a full sized copy) has put together a one page graphical explanation of what an RPG is.  Kudos!

How frickin' awesome is that?

Trollin' For Trolls

I'm beginning to realize I haven't played any T&T lately.  When Scott from Huge Ruined Pile was running it every other week, I kinda got my T&T fix in (even if there were sessions that not a single die was rolled - still damn fun).

We've moved on to a house ruled OD&D game, which i expect will be just as much fun, if not more, but I do feel the lack of T&T in my (sparse) gaming diet.  I may need to break out a solo or two over the weekend.

The TrollGod has made reference in passing to HeWhOwIlLnOtBeNamed (now to be known as HWWNBN) in emails in the past few months.  It seems that much of the initial anger is gone.  HWWNBN still puts out 2 Tunnels & Trolls fanzines which are a good value for your T&T dollar if you can track them down.  They are no longer on the Verbotten list it seems.

Oh, this seems to be a "coulda woulda shoulda might been" cover for a true Tunnels & Trolls 6e rulebook.  I really like this piece of art.

edit:  Dan has pointed out that apparently issues with HWWNBN have reverted to the old ways of taking folks stuff and publishing it  w/o permission.  Ken speaks of it on the Trollhalla Walla, but I missed it as the Walla is a really unintuitive and awkward way to impart information if you don't read it constantly. 

More Work, More Play!

This weekend should be a busy one. I'll be installing the flooring in the second room Sunday and Monday. Why not tomorrow? 'Cause its my birthday, silly! heh

Tomorrow will be a day of reading (I have a crapload of really good stuff I want to read and review and I'm hoping tomorrow is my chance to do so) as my son (with his newly minted license) will be doing any driving related duties.

I need to give the Google+ video hookup a try. Not sure I would use it for gaming, as I am well aware of the VTT choices out there, both free and paid, but I wouldn't mind taking it for a spin. Zak is going whole hog with ConstantCon, the Google+ powered pick up game online con of sorts. I'll be following this closely to see how well it works out. It will be interesting to see if users more up to some of the VTTs out there or even use them in conjunction with Google+.

Mini Review - Oubliette Issue #6 (OSR Magazine)

It's been a while between issues 5 and 6 of Oubliette, but it's been worth the wait.  47 pages of OSR (Labyrinth Lord flavored) goodness for the amazing price of free.  Nada.  Zip.  For a liited time, so get your free copy now!

K, enough of the hype.  What do you get for your hard earned cash (did i mention its free)?

Lets see, in the "Monster Category, we are presented with the Skeleton Lord.  Nice tweak on a common adversary.

The Petty Gods preview is worth the price of admission.  We get 3 petty gods as a quick peek.  I'm all it.  Definitely looking forward to this being released.

We get a 4 page sandboxie fantasy campaign setting, Newland and a 9 page adventure set in the new setting.  Not bad.  I'm going to have to read these closer later.

Random tables for wandering dungeon monsters for the first 3 levels.

Some cartoon strips, some review, some other articles, fiction, business card sized LL character sheets...

Holy crap!  There's business sized LL character sheets!  Great for the overworked and poorly organized DM.  Awesome!

To wrap up;  get it!  It's damn good and it's free!

From the blurb:

OUBLIETTE - A magazine for old school fantasy roleplayers.

FREE! For a Limited Time Only

47 jam-packed pages!

Written for Labyrinth Lord, but also ideal for use with any Basic/Expert/Advanced original or clone, with little or no adjustment required.

Full Contents:

• Tales from Hell - Kobold Skool
• Monster Club #9 - Animate Dead Special: Skeleton Lord
• Petty Gods Preview - A Sneak Peek at this Exciting OSR Community Publication
• Newland - A Fantasy Campaign Setting
• Shame of the Shaman - A Labyrinth Lord Adventure for 3rd to 4th Level Characters
• Whips in Labyrinth Lord
• Monster Club #10 - Dungeon Random Encounter Tables: Levels 1-3
• Goblin Quest
• Found Familiar - The Raven
• What's in the Oubliette? - Reviews of Alestorm, Quickshade, Game of Thrones and Ironwood Gorge
• Mouse Watch - The Raven Ryder
• The Song of Sithakk - Part 6 of our Serialized Story
• Plus Bonus Material: Business Card-sized Labyrinth Lord Character Sheets and Customizable Dungeon Encounter Tables

In the small preview below, some tables and artwork don't display at the reduced size. In the full-size PDF they are all displayed correctly.

Warning! Oubliette may contain content that is suitable for adult audiences only. Persons 18+ only.

What Google+ Means (and Doesn't Mean) To the OSR Community

I am thoroughly enjoying Google+ so far. It is the "New Shiny", and the new shiny is always a pretty bauble to behold. I've given out invites to those that ask, and still will if you ask. Google+ is not the Rosetta Stone of internet communication, but it does a lot of things, and it does most of what it does very well. Let's look at some of it's features that are useful to our corner of the gaming hobby.

1 - Group Video - Zak is using this with success for pick up games. Many layers of awesome here. Greg is using it to get immediate feedback on some of his gaming designs. Effective use of group video. It's easy to get a group chat going. Of course, the same features are available in the Free Pandoren / iTabletop VTT, which also includes maps, tokens, dice rollers, shared PDFs and more - but Google+ is easier to set up and has a much smaller learning curve. If they ever add a whiteboard and a random number generator, you'll have an awesome basic Virtual Table Top.

2 - Immediate feedback - As Greg pointed out, he's getting more comments on his Google+ threads then he is on his blog posts. I'll call that the "Facebook Effect". If I post "I hate commuting in traffic - aargh!" on Facebook, I'll get 6 replies in an hour. If I make a deep post on my blog, I may get 3 posts in 24 hours. Google+ is a more interactive method of communication. That being said, it's "noise to signal" ratio is much worse then a blog. I need to prune my circle tree, because at it currently is it is totally unmanageable and unreadable for me. I prefer reading and commenting on blogs at the moment

3 - Growth - everyone is jumping on the Google+ bus it seems. Those that might not read blogs may be reached by Google+. Effective use of both mediums may do well in growing the community.

Some things that Google+ is not good at (at least, not yet) -

1 - Search Engines - your blog posts may show on a web search, but your best Google+ post will not.

2 - Archives - blog posts are archived and generally easy to find. I haven't found such a feature on Google+ yet.

3 - Google+ plugin for Blogger - this is a no brainer - where is it Google? We want it, and we want it now!

Remembering Gary

My earliest memories of EGG were from Dragon magazine. Back then, when the man laid down the law, he LAID DOWN THE LAW ;) He had opinions and they were strong.

When he left TSR I didn't know the politics behind it, but I saw he was putting out Cyborg Commando, so I ordered it sight unseen. Ouch! I quickly learned the man was not perfect ;)

A few years later I picked up Dangerous Journeys at the one and only Gen Con I attended. It was good, but heavy in the Gary way, and without anyone to teach it to me, I was overwhelmed. It's still packed away some where.

Years later I found he was a regular poster on ENWorld. He was a gentleman, and upon finding out my profession, he suggested Coppers & Crullers as my tag line, which I still use there to this day. He also gave me an open invite to join a game on his porch which I was never able to attend. Damn shame. It would have been an awesome memory, but as he is a part of many of my most awesome memories, directly or indirectly, I'm okay with it.

Rest well Gary, you deserve it :)

What is Your Sweet Spot Level Range?

We all have it. The levels that it is most fun for you to DM or play in. For me as a DM, its the levels 3-7 range. The players have a decent amount of spell access w//o it being overpowering, hit points are high enough to prevent "one-shotting" without the HP tree being so tall as to be unwieldy and the PCs are still coming into their own - they are still growing.

Level 1 is fun, but usually more lethal in nature then the others. The higher levels are harder to balance an adventure for and nearly impossible to buy one off the rack without an extensive need to rework and rewrite for your party's quirks. It's also harder to avoid the "didn't we already do an adventure just like this already" syndrome.

As a player, I enjoy up to about "name" level, usually 9 or 10. At that point, the game (from my play experience) turns into the DM throwing bigger and badder things at you to whittle your spells and HP down. Repetition sets in as it turns into a game of guaranteed success or guaranteed failure, depending on how the DM balanced the encounters.

Yep, I'm into the high end of low to the low end of high game play it seems.

Where's your sweet spot?

Spending More Time With Adventurer Conqueror King

It looks like Adventurer Conqueror King will be hitting it's second goal, which will give every patron a PDF copy of Domains of War when it's released.  Not sure if they will be aiming for a third goal or not, but it's nice to see the interest in the system.

Anyhow, it's nice to see a system that addresses high level play.  Actually, that's not the right way to put it.  It's a system that allows for the progression from adventurer, to land owner (taker) to ruler.  These are the rules I had to make up on the fly.  Later on, Birthright held that potential, but it was unwieldily to play and didn't resonate with my group.  Still, everyone wanted to become more then a spell slinger pr a sword swinger.

That is the definitive difference between ACK and the rest of the D&D clones - high level play includes additional responsibilities.  It's definitely something you could borrow or steal for other OSR games with little trouble (I just love mixing my rulesets... heh).

Not that the rest of the rules aren't tweaked... they are.  I like the tweaks for the most part - I have less of an urge to tweak these rules then other OSR rules I've read.  I like the addition of proficiencies, as they allow characters to be class based yet fairly unique in their individual makeup.

Did I mention the world economy is logically thought out?  Not that I overly concerned myself with such in my earlier gaming days, but knowing how much land will support how many people (with fairly accurate historical data used to reach those number) does mean there is one less suspension  of disbelief one must accomplish.

Alright, back to reading, then an early night to bed.

The Free OSR List Mini Review - Labyrinth Lord

Time to take a look at Labyrinth Lord.  I'm sure most of you are familiar with it, it's basically a re-imaging of B/X Dungeons & Dragons rules.  Add in the Advanced Edition Characters supplement (1st Edition AD&D) and you can run the D&D game of your flavor from the late 70's to the mid 80's.

The free versions are the "Art Free Editions" - nothing is missing but the art.  You can buy the version with art to support Goblinoid Games if you would like (currently one sale for Christmas in July), but as I said, except for the art, its the same text.

If you use the Fantasy Grounds 2 Virtual table Top, there is a free LL plug in for it.  The Advanced Edition Characters isn't directly supported, but there shouldn't be an issue if you wanted to use those rules instead.

Definitely an excellent choice of D&D flavored rules.

Looking for Post Solomon Kane Reading

I'm slowly making my way through The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane and I'm looking for some "next read" suggestions. Back when I would / could read a novel in a handful of nights I didn't much like short stories. These days, I'm really appreciating the reoccurring lead character in a series of short stories. It fits well with my current reading habits.

So, any suggestions? I'll be reading on my iPad, but I find between the Kindle app and other formats I can read about 98% of what I want without killing trees or requiring more storage space ;)

The Weekend Workout

Before reattaching the molding.



After molding (which still needs touchup paint job).



Need to install transition piece.



Second room to be done this weekend.

Game tonight. Some OD&D. Woot!


- Posted from my iPhone

Mini Review - Loviatar Issue #1 (Zine)

There is something about getting SOMETHING in the mail that isn't a bill or a credit card application.  I've been big on "e-formats" for my reading for a while, but I do appreciate getting a hard copy at my door.

Loviatar is just such a thing.  It's a RPG "Zine".  There's no "ezine" format available yet (although I will make the suggestion, as I'm sure it would add to accessiblity for those overseas).  It's available fr 3 bucks an issue, or a 6 month sub for $12.

What do you get?  A quality zine from a man who has been producing zines for as long as I've been reading them.  This issue gives us the starting area / homes for a new party of Pathfinder players set in the Forgotten Realms.  20 pages sized approximately like the OD&D booklets of yore.  It really is a fun way to get your game reading fix in, and doesn't take up too much space in the throne room ;)

I'm glad to see Christian is back at doing what he loves and does best.  Keep up the good work lad :)

Man Cave Corner

We often joke about the "Man Cave", but we (meaning men) like to have one. Why? Because usually the rest of the house in controlled by the woman. The German mirrored beer shields and cavalry sword are NOT being displayed in most living rooms. Thus, the need for a man cave.

I'll be getting the better part of a room as my office / workout / man cave. Which is cool. I'll have a place to display my beer memorabilia, a small selection of my games, my miniatures, my signed art prints and other assorted stuff. The rest of the house will have dolphins, seashells and an assortment of nicknacks. The lady gets to decorate everything but my man corner, and that's OK.

I'm just glad I secured my little corner ;)

Picking Nits in My Own Work

When I do a project (in this close putting new flooring in a room) I want perfection, or damn close to it.  I'm still quite annoyed that one box of flooring was too damaged for use (it will probably work fine in the second room, in the space where I am building the closet).  The thing is, I still found a few imperfections... peaking in two spots (one which will be under the bed) and some slightly chipped laminate where i had to work too close to a wall - they will be covered by an armoire and a bookshelf, but still, I know they are  there.

I suspect the same happens in publishing, especially when you serve as your own proofreader.  I know it happens with my blogging - and I correct it as I see it.  Thankfully, online posts and PDFs can be corrected and update.  Print copies can only be corrected by a new printing (an errata sheet doesn't really corrects the mistakes).

Tomorrow I do the finishing touches (reattach moldings, stain some other pieces, touch up paint where needed) and then prep the other room for its new flooring.  That also means I can put more time into reading an reviewing.  I really want to talk more about Adventurer Conqueror King.  I'm really digging it.

Free Quickstarts - The Wild Hunt (Savage Worlds Quickstart)

Yep, this is the same freebie that was available on Free RPG Day and in PDF from the Pinnacle website.  I'm adding it to the Free Quickstarts Tag (at some point, the Free RPGs and the Free Quickstarts will get their own pages).

Anyhow, this free Savage Worlds Quickstart is a great way to get a taste of the Savage Worlds system.  Give it a peek... it is free ;)

From the blurb:

This absolutely free version of the Savage Worlds Test Drive rules includes everything you need to play, as well as a modern day horror adventure by fan favorite John Goff!

I Have a New Appreciation of Projects

I really respect those in our hobby that can sit down and produce a game, a book, a piece of art - really anything that takes time and diligence to accomplish.

Me, I'm used to doing my stuff in bit and pieces.  To the point where its really just bits here and there.  The room renovations I've been working on have been going on for - well, forever it seems.  Done in bits and pieces.

Today was the first time I found to hit it dead on, and nearly completed flooring the first room in a day.  Of course, I had to ignore my 7 month old niece that was visiting, had to get my mother to pick my son up after his 100 degree tour of auxillary service, ate lunch in big bites while taking measurements and used my father's carpentry skills to the hilt as he trimmed the boards that needed it before I installed them.  Yes, I was focused.  An afternoon of clarity.  It won't last for me.

Even getting this typed out has required a degree of cat wrestling, as my girl was neglected all day and wants to get it all in now, either by standing over my mouse or walking on my keyboard.  She is persistent ;)

So to those of you that are persistent, productive, focused and all the other adjectives that define someone as one who gets things done - I tip my hat to you.  Oh, and I'll be reading some of that work the previously mention have produced as I lie in bed tonight before passing out.  Doing this "project" shit is damn tiring.

Just look at how long it took me to complete by Bard class for S&W.  In that time, Greg has written a whole RPG from scratch, tracked down and received free yet amazing art, layout, feedback... and still finds time for the family responsibilities.  Me, I need a clone of myself to split the work :)

I'm Floored - Literally

Spent my day installing this floor. Almost done. And yes, that corner still needs wallpaper. Oh, and thank the Lord for Amazon Prime shipping delivering the AC, or nothing would have been done in the heat.



Hopefully I can get a review up before I crash for the nite.

- Posted from my iPhone

Eating My Own Words

A few months ago I posted that I didn't see the need for new games built on the same OGL / OSR inspired rulesets. I guess I was wrong.

Or maybe I was half right. We don't need them, but there is certainly an audience for them, myself included. My most recent OSR - OD&D inspired game that I'm enjoying reading is Adventurer Conqueror King. Not sure how much I like the title, but so far I like the system.

I'm still plowing thru it, but I like the way it makes fighting classes viable and special w/o resorting to the LotFP Weird Fantasy method of doing away with any sort of combat progression with the exception of pure fighters. There are other ways to secure a nitch for them, and ACK found a way. Actually, from my reading so far (and I am far from reading the whole document) I haven't seen much of a desire from myself to house rule the ACK rules. With Weird Fantasy, I loved the concept, liked a lot of the tweaks (specialists particularly), but I was house ruling in my head as I read my way thru.

I think the only ruleset I haven't mentally house ruled was Swords & Wizardry, and I wrote a Bard class for that, which u might say is a huge house rule ;)

It's not that the ACK rules are how I would have run a game back in the 80's. To my eyes so far, the rules read as how I would want to run one of my games from the 80's today, if that makes sense to you.

Road Trip!

My son just texted me that he passed his road test on the first try. He is now a licensed driver, so help me God ;)

I'm half expecting him to map out a road trip in August.

Now the fight over the car begins in earnest... heh!