A Bit More About My Swords & Wizardry Bard

When I wrote my version of a Bard class for Swords & Wizardry (it's in Knockspell #6), I went with the "Tastes Great, Less Filling" method. By that, I mean I didn't want to try and reinvent the wheel. If there mechanics or charts I could use that already existed in an OGL source that fit what I needed, I used it.

Some of the Bardic abilities from the class write up in one of the issues of NOD were very useful as were the attack and saving throw charts in the S&W rulebook. Why reprint a chart if I can say "Save as X"? or "Fights as Y". Even the experience chart can usually fit that of a previous class when you decide where it falls in the power structure of the classes.

Spell progression was my own write up, as I saw the spells being limited to 4 levels and that had to be spread out a bit. The spells on the spell list were all from the S&W rules, taken from different classes (and with the spell level change in some circumstances).

I do have some ideas for additional spells and some bard specific items, but whether I'll submit them as an article to Knockspell or publish them on the blog is anyones guess. I sure don't know yet. Heh.

Knockspell Issue 6 is Out... and I'm in It :)

Well, not me literally, but my bard class made the cut.  It's actually one of two bard write ups in Knockspell #6.  Mine is the version that takes up less then 2 pages.  I'm not listed in the table of contents, but flip ahead to the article A Duet of Bards and my version is there: Tenkar's Bard.  Woot!

I really like the cover but haven't done more then look at my little piece and a bit of Tavener's version of the Bard (which stays much closer to the original then mine does).

I'll have more to write when I've read more of the issue but it looks good so far.

Microlite74 - Tastes Great! Less Filling!

When it comes to the OSR style games, I think Microlite74 frequently gets overlooked. It isn't a direct port of any of the original D&D rulesets - instead, it's roots are in 3e, condensed down to their most basic rules into the original Microlite rules, then flavored and mixed with some Old School sensibilities. Oh, and you won't be finding it at RPGNow. They are free (donations appreciated).

The latest edition and its various versions are available here: http://blog.retroroleplaying.com/

They are going thru final proofreading, which you, the good reader, can help with. I'm currently looking at Microlite74 Extended. Clocking in at just 381kb and 28 pages, it's amazing how they have squeezed a complete reworking of the original boxed set and the supplements into 28 pages. It's not OD&D, but it has much of the feel of OD&D.

I don't think it would work well as an introductory RPG, but in the hands of experienced gamers looking for a smaller ruleset to get their game on, this should work remarkably well.

A Card For Each PC - DM'ing Prior to the Home Computer Age

Yep, before we had computers, laptops, iPads and the rest of the computer age helping us run our games, index cards were the shit!

I wish I remember where I got the idea from.  If I had to guess, some issue of Dragon magazine, but I read all the gaming mags back then, so it could have been from nearly anywhere.

I used the 4x6 cards, as the 3x5 were just a tad to small to be useful.  I would write in the basic captions and the players would fill in the details.  I would then refer to these cards during the game, so I would know the stats, saves, weapons, items, etc of the players without needed to ask them.  The back of the card lists items and the thieving abilities.

I was a generous and benevolent DM during the campaign in question.  At the time we had 3, maybe 4 players, and not one was a healer if I recall correctly.  I'm going to say this was a AD&D 2e campaign, as I'm pretty sure those were the rules we were running with mostly.  None of us knew the politics behind EGG leaving TSR, and there was no internet to float the stories and rumors in.

So yes, the stats were inflated, and Paul dual-classed, which probably wasn't too hard to level, as we gamed every Sunday and during the summers we even snuck some extra sessions in.  Still, we had a blast, and at least these characters weren't using my "% increase" house rule that I ripped from UA's Cavalier class.  I quickly learned that was a path to madness.

Paul is the friend that we had dinner this past Sunday in memory of.  I actually found his index card (and Dave's and Brian's - they were at the dinner too) Sunday afternoon as I was moving and boxing even more gaming stuff.  Good looking out lad.  You brought back some fond memories on a day that had the potential to be truly depressing :)

Fear Me! I May Kill Your PCs... In a Month

Have you noticed how hard it is to instill actual fear in players? Sure, you can magically "fear" the PC, but how do you get the player emotionally invested into his character's danger?

As a rule of thumb, it's time sensitive, and the longer the time, the more fear (or suspense) it generates.

Here's how it works. PCs risk death constantly. The threats are immediate, and success or failure is determined fairly quickly. There is little, if any, fear or suspense, generated.

You need a long term threat with a due date of sorts. A curse or disease that will run it's course in a certain time frame before ending in the PC's death unless a cure is found works pretty well for this. Even a word of potential execution by a political heavy or a guild leader if the PC's can't accomplish a certain goal in the allotted time frame can do wonders.

The secret is giving the PCs (and in turn, their players) the time to think about the price of failure. The suspense itself adds to fear, or the illusion of it.

How do you generate fear in your games?

Pick a Table, Any Table...

Thanks to James at the Underdark Gazette I picked up the Ready Ref Sheets and some other Judges Guild goodies from Different Worlds Publications.  Holy crap but I forgot how chart heavy most Judges Guild products are ;)

If you don't already know, Ready Ref Sheets is over 50 pages of charts and random tables for D&D or any OSR game.  Dry as hell to ready, useful a swiss army knife in a survival situation.  This is the real deal and a bargain at the price.  You can find them in PDF on RPGNow, but this is one of those cases I'm gonna say get the dead tree version, never used, over 30 years old at cover price.

The Book of Treasure Maps III is 10 adventures for 8 bucks.  Came still in the original shrink wrap.  Grrrr!

Castle Book II is a handful of charts and lots of outdoor maps of castles on a hex grid.  I'll find a use for this, trust me.  Not sure WHAT the exact use will be, but I'll figure something ;)

Fun times.

Good Food, Good Friends - Now Where's the Game?

Last night I had dinner with some old friends in memory of one that we lost on 9-11. It appears that all the OSR games I've distributed at the multiple Gathering of Fools over the past few years have finally paid off. It looks like folks are itching to start playing using Fantasy Grounds or some other Virtual Table Top. Not sure what my game of choice will be - C&C, S&W Complete and ACKS are all contenders. C&C has the advantage that I've given out copies of the Player's Handbook to to everyone on the group over the years and there is a very complete FG2 add on for the system.

It was good to see my friends and their wives at a time when we really needed each other to recharge our emotional batteries. We communicate multiple times each day via mail and the occasional G+ video huddle, but nothing compares to hugs and ass grabbing at an upscale restaurant in Manhattan - it even better when you can embarrass the women folk with your actions ;)

Oh, and Holy Crap! The Jets won!

Remembering 9-11

9-11 is always a hard day for me.  I carry a lot of emotional baggage from that day as well as the knowledge that under stress, I'll do the job that I signed up for.  That's actually scary when I sit back and think of it - crap like that can get someone killed.  My Department, the NYPD, lost 23 members that day and another 49 members have succumbed to illnesses related to their 9-11 duties over the past 10 years.  At least, 49 members that the Department and the City government recognize as related - I'm sure there are others that we have lost that are missing from the list.

The story I want to relate today is one I was told by a NYPD Detective that afternoon, hours after the towers fell.

He pulled up to my post in an unmarked police car.  The front of the car was melted.  The headlights looked like slag from a glass factory.  When he put the car in park, his partner exited from the passenger side and started to slowly shuffle in random directions, constantly picking up random pieces of paper that were all over the place from the fall of the towers.  I noticed that his partner was wearing a fighter fire's helmet, which certainly seemed out of place even in the chaos of that day.

The first detective, the one that had been driving, told me that the two of them had been assigned to the crime scene at the foot of the towers.  They were told to catalogue and tag the debris that had fallen when the two towers were hit.  He'd never seen a crime scene like it, and didn't even know where to start.  It was then that he heard the bodies falling.

There were people stuck in the towers, above the points of impact, that leapt to their deaths rather then burn alive or die from the smoke, and they were landing (and dying) around the two detectives.  Before that day, I could never have pictured the image, but on that day I could imagine it to well.

When the towers fell, they felt it before they heard it.  The ground shook, they looked up and saw the world crashing down towards them.  The detective that was relating the story said he grabbed his partner's arm and ran with him, but they got separated in the chaos.  At some point he threw himself and some random woman he was near under a fire truck, just as parts of the towers were impacting.

At some time after, he crawled out and tried to find his partner, but he couldn't.  He did manage to find his now partially melted car, and started to canvass the area, looking for his missing partner.  He found him about an hour and a half later, sitting on the back of a fire engine.

Some firefighters had found the partner wandering around aimlessly, picking up random papers, studying them and putting them in his pockets.  His detective's shield was still clipped to his belt.  They decided he was in shock, put him on their truck (where he happily borrowed one of their helmets) and kept an eye on him until his partner found him.

I tried talking to the partner, but he wouldn't respond.  Truthfully, I don't think he heard me.  Not from loss of hearing, but because his mind was escaping within... he just couldn't handle what he had witnessed.  He did respond to his partner telling him to get back in the car.  Not with words, he just got back in the passenger's side seat in the front.  Even reached down and put the red bubble light on the dash, out of habit more then anything else I suspect.

I'll carry 9-11-01 with me for the rest of my life.  We lost a lot that day, both as individuals and as a country.  We didn't just lose friends, family, coworkers, countrymen - we also lost our innocence.

Paul - My friend, fellow gamer, classmate, extended family - you will never be forgotten.  Rest well lad, you deserve it.

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

I Think The HP Leprechaun Has Been Spotted!

Yep, the F'er seems to be in Mobile Alabama.

I want my Touchpad yo!

The HP Leprechaun is Gonna Get an Ass Kickin'!

I've been on the hunt for an HP Touchpad for a while now, "a while" being defined as "since HP pulled the plug and dropped the price from $499 to $99.  It's like trying to find a Leprechaun in Central Park -  you might (if you drink enough) think you see one, but when the time comes, it's just not there.

When the price drops were announced, I hit all the usual places, including HP's site itself, no luck.  Then, suddenly, it appeared to be in stock at HP's Business website.  So, I ordered 3 (me, the soon to be wife, and the kid).  Order accepted.  Wheeee!

Then, later that day, HP notified me that they did not, in fact, have any Touchpads in stock. Order cancelled.  Damn it!  But wait, the next morning, I get an order number and a confirmation.  Uhm, WTF? Happy WTF, but still, WTF?

Looking closer, I couldn't initially log in to get further order info.  Weird.  Two days later, all the info is there.  Five days later, when I click on my order details, I get a website error.  I feel like my ever elusive Leprechaun is playing mind games with me at this point,

Yesterday, Tigerdirect sent an email stating they had a Touchpad Bundle for sale.  $200 for the Touchpad and some accessories I'd probably buy anyway, so I ordered a bundle immediately.  Order in 4 minutes after the email landed.  Success!  Order confirmation and everything.

Until this morning, when I noticed they sent an email last night that my order was not filled, they were out of stock... yadda yadda!  Foiled again!

But wait, then I got a shipping notification... for the accessories only.  Now my mood is really WTF!?!  Maybe checking email at 525 AM while walking to the bathroom isn't such a good idea.  After logging into my account, the HP Touchpad IS ordered, but on Backorder.  Actually, the note says they are ALL on backorder.

I'm gonna kill the f'n Leprechaun when I get my hands on him...

Dungeon Crawl Classic RPG is Delayed to February 2012

Yep, DCC RPG is delayed until early winter of next year (Feb '12).  I'm neither surprised nor disappointed.  When it comes to computer RPGs / MMORPGs, they are never released on time.  Well, at least not the successful ones.  Why?  Because they go through many layers of beta testing, which leads to rewrites and more beta testing, but even more importantly, a more solid game.

So, I applaud Joseph Goodman for taking the play test / beta test feedback to heart and tweaking the game to make it better.  I'd rather wait 3 extra months for a tighter product then get something that isn't quite ready for prime time.

Besides, I'm still waiting on lots of RPG goodies I preordered to ship - Xplorers Boxed Set, Delving Deeper, Tome of Horrors Complete... not including the Kickstarter Projects I joined.

I'm much better at waiting now that I'm older ;)

Want Your PC to be Abducted By Aliens?

"PCs begin the adventure waking up alone in an unfamiliar setting, stripped of all of their possessions".

Do you really want to play in the above session? A session that starts with the decision making process totally removed from you? Where you have lost everything you have gained, not through your own actions or failures, but through DM fiat?

Me? I will not play in the above adventure in campaign play. Sorry.

Would the above be a decent way to start a campaign? Sure. There is no prehistory being erased, no PC actions being invalidated. A one shot? No problem. Hey, it's perfect for a convention. It sucks when placed in the middle of an on going story.

There are Railroads and there are RAILROADS. Starting an adventure with the PCs abducted and stripped of belongings is a railroad of the worst sorts.

That, and it's just poor adventure design.

End of short rant...

Begin non-rant...

Great start to the Football season here in the States last nite. Wish I had caught the game. Not going to see much football this sunday, as I have a memorial dinner to attend that day for the 10th anniversary of 9-11.

Freebie Friday - Casefile: Evil Acts (Dresden Files RPG)

I've only read the first book in the Dresden Files, but it hooked me for wanting to read more and buying the RPG.  The two core books are HUGE but extremely atmospheric and well written.  When and if I finally get to play in a FATE system RPG, I hope it's Dresden.

In any case, the guys at Evil Hat have put out a free adventure... er, Casefile for the Dresden RPG.  Evil Acts is a one-shot adventure.  You'll need the core book to run it, but it should be a good way to introduce it to a group, run at a game night or even a con.

From the blurb:

The play's the thing... or is it? Something fishy is going on at the local playhouse. A production of the Tempest has a bigger budget than makes sense -- and some surprising special effects. Could it be that there's something more to this than the grand final retirement performance of a talented actor? Lord, what fools these mortals be!

Evil Acts is a Dresden Files RPG casefile, a one-shot mystery-adventure intended for 3-6 characters at the "Chest-Deep" power level. Customizable, pregenerated characters, a mix of mortals, practitioners, and more, are provided with sheets and power details.

Whether as performers, audience members, or something else, the characters are drawn into a complicated web of theatrical sleight-of-hand and supernatural power politics. Will they unravel the mystery of Prospero's performance before the final curtain? Or will it be curtains for everyone?

Together with a copy of The Dresden Files RPG: Your Story, Evil Acts is perfect for a "test drive" at home, or for a convention GM looking for a print-and-play scenario.

Mini Review: All Stars Take on the Mega Dungeon (Pathfinder)

I generally don't review much of the stuff released for Pathfinder.  The system is fine, just too rules heavy for my current taste.  It doesn't stop me from grabbing adventures and sourcebooks for the system, as most of the stuff, even the licensed stuff, is top notch and easily convertible for my needs.

Tonight I'm looking at All Stars Take on the Mega Dungeon.  Now, everyone has their own opinions on who's a star adventure writer and who isn't, but I recognized 3 of the 4 names right off the bat, and 2 (if not all 3) are certainly starters on any adventure writers team I might assemble.

Now, the adventures within all use geomorphs that can be found in Gamin Paper's Mega Dungeon 1 release, but it's not required for play, as the dungeons are all mapped out in each adventure (and labeled if you did want to use the sheets with it).

Lets get to the meat of the matter:  How do the 4 adventures stack up?

The first one we get is The Temple of the Half-Born by Monte Cook.  Certainly the headliner.  He's pulling this from his Ptolus setting and redesigning it.  I have no idea how close in remains true to the original, and I'm not dragging the monster out to check.  It's for 7th and 8th level characters.  Monte seems very comfortable with the Pathfinder system (as well he should) and there are DC checks throughout the text.  Undead heavy, but what do you expect for a dungeon under a temple?  Four Tankards out of Five

Arena of Souls is the next in line.  It's written by Brian Cortijo and is for characters of levels 3 and 4.  The author's name doesn't ring a bell for me.  Here's where it lost me:  "PCs begin the adventure waking up alone in an unfamiliar setting, stripped of all of their possessions".  Sorry, tapped out and moved on to the next adventure, as this screams "railroad" to me.  No rating, as I stopped reading at the above point.

Alright, Ed Greenwood is the next author.  He gives us Lost Coins and Flying Bones for 4th and 5th level characters.  I happen to like Ed's work.  He gives a rumor list and nice background material.  Ed also gives very detailed encounter descriptions.  It gave me an old school feel, but then any adventure that includes a Gibbering Mouther tends to do so for me.  I'll give Ed Four Tankards out of Five.

Last but certainly not least, we get Keep Away From the Borderlands! by Steven Schend for beginning characters.  Now, I'm going to quote Steven's opening paragraph, just to give you a feel for what follows:

As much as I’d love to make this a full homage to the early days of roleplaying, I won’t bother you with a “Welcome to the land of imaginations!” and all that. If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve played in or run a roleplaying game before using one set of rules or another. You probably don’t need hand-holding to walk you through a dungeon or tell you how to prepare or use this material1. What you do need is a good old-fashioned starter adventure to get a new campaign rolling—and I hope this module !ts the bill for you.

How's that for getting you in the Old School mood?  There is an implied, sandboxie setting that could be fit easily into nearly any larger setting.  There's a rumor list, there's a Generic Dungeon Details list (I'm yoking this) and even a Generic Corpse Detail list.  Some of the NPCs even have pre, current and post adventure status's written up for them and well as some post adventure hooks.  It's an excellent starter adventure for new or experienced DMs.  Five out of Five tankards.  Heck, I'd even give Steve a "buyback" if he patronized the Tavern ;)

Overall, a very strong product.  Even if you just used the 3 adventures I read, the cost to you would be 2.50 a piece.  Consider the railroad a freebie thrown in with purchase ;)

Tenkar's Treasure Trove: Sometimes You Gotta Get MAD!

Yep, another post of a rediscovery. I'm adding the label Tenkar's Treasure Trove to these posts now, as it been tossed around already, and it is fairly accurate. Rediscovered treasures are like Christmas Mornings as a kid when you get something you really wanted, but figured you wouldn't get.

The MAD Magazine DVD is one of those things that I bought, apparently lost behind my huge desk, and recently refound.

The first thing I did after popping it in (and thanking God that the scratches on the disc didn't damage it) was look up an issue from 1997 when I was a rookie cop. It had the Bad Cop's Guide to Good Police work. It was so on the money it was scary.

MAD Magazine is one of the few forms of entertainment that still holds up to the test of time. I need to explore the rest of the DVD, as it has every issue up to a few years ago. Good stuff. Major time killer.

What's Your Class?

Most people have a default template / character class that they default to.

When I first started playing, it was usually a Paladin. What can I say? I was a teenager and I saw it as the power class. Besides, we usually had inflated stats back then.

When AD&D 2e was released, I gravitated to the Bard. It was a versatile class and a jack of all trades. Not all that powerful, but it filled in holes when the party needed it.

When I started playing Castles & Crusades, I settled on the Cleric. Dwarven, if you need to know. He made a decent warrior and a decent healer... again, filling more then one role. In a way, it was a natural progression from the old bard class.

What's your default class?

Counting Time on a Tombstone - Part 2 of 2

I sounds a bit like Bob Ross in this video: "Maybe over here, by the trees, we have some goblins living. We can add some ghosts by the tombstones using some 'magic white' paint".

In any case, I'm really psyched about using a graveyard as a hook in my next campaign.

Hoping to Rediscover Some Paranoia (West End Games) Tonight

Tonight if all goes well (and really, how often does that happen?) I'll be able to access the top part of a closet I haven't been able to access for years. Buried somewhere in there are the original Pavis and Big Rubble boxed sets (thanks to Grognardia for making me think of them today), but more importantly, my copy of the first Paranoia boxed set.

Paranoia is a game that played very well in small doses with a large group, less well as anything that resembled a campaign and read better then just about any game related novel I can think of. Many of those original modules were simply laugh out loud funny to read.

I think I also have my copy of the City-State of the Invincible Overlord up there as well as some other gems.

After this I don't think there will be any treasures left for me to rediscover ;)

The Loose Definition of What Constitutes a RPG, According to Me ;)

I posted this in response to a thread started by Greg Christopher (Errant RPG Blog) on Google+ in which he explains how the OSR helped him define what constitutes an RPG game. I'd link it directly, but then I'd actually have to know what I'm doing ;)

Greg, thanks for the mention :)

I played in a Tunnels & Trolls game run by Scott from the Huge Ruined Pile blog via Google chat. We had sessions that no dice were rolled - every challenge / encounter / puzzle was role played. We also had sessions where dice were being tossed for hours.

So, here's my take on the current argument: If every challenge / encounter / puzzle / whatnot can be solved by a character's die roll, it is no more a roleplaying game then WoW or EQ or Rifts. You are playing a game with social interaction, but you have little if any chance to actually get into a "role".

This is my problem with 4e - pretty much every "challenge" is made to be resolved by "roll play", not "role play", and is worked out on a game board (or encounter map or whatnot). That seems more like Decent then a roleplaying game to ME.

If you started gaming with 3.5e or later, what I see mostly as a social board game you may perceive as a RPG game. From my experience, your perception is wrong. It doesn't mean the definition of what constitutes an RPG can't (and hasn't) changed. Massive Multiplayer Role Playing Games is a very profitable corner of the gaming industry, but MMRPGs don't resemble RPGs that I grew up on. I've rarely if ever seen actual roleplaying in these game by ANY definition of the word, even on "Roleplay" servers. Yet I've still had fun.

"Fun" is the key word here I think. Definitions don't matter much as long as you are enjoying the game you are playing.

That being said, I agree with Greg - some of you are doing it wrong ;)

Holy Carp!

I came home today and my son surprised me by moving most of his stuff into his new room.  That also meant moving my old desk.  It's old in more ways then one, and it weighs a ton.  Needless to say, there was a large accumulation of stuff between the desk and the wall.

Found and waiting for me were:

Mad Magazine DVD Collection.  I'll be popping this in shortly.

Campaign Cartographer 3 and Dungeon Cartographer 3 - I need to bootcamp Win7 so I can play around with these again.

RPG Explorer with Pathfinder datasets.  Need to peek at this too.

Now if he only found my Claddagh Ring that's been missing for over a year...

Castles & Crusades - Rosetta Stone of the OSR

Castles & Crusades is one of those games that is "old school" in flavor without trying to reimage any of the specific classic D&D rulesets. It certainly follows AD&D most closely, but even with that, many of the classes are rewritten in a way that they don't mirror the source material too closely. The secret, I think, is the "flavor".

C&C feels and tastes and even looks very much like AD&D without being AD&D. I've played in a long lasting C&C campaign online, and it felt very much like AD&D despite all the changes. My biggest gripe, and the toughest nut for me to crack, is the Siege Engine.

The Siege Engine is pretty much a universal skill check system for C&C and it's also the one piece that takes me out of my AD&D feel. I just don't like it. I feel like it was thrown in to give the system something that wasn't part of the OGL for marketing and copy write reasons.

Still, it is probably the best supported of the Old School rulesets, with a large assortment of modules and adventures for use with the Fantasy Grounds 2 VTT. Actually, with the exception of the LL rules, C&C is the only Old School ruleset available for FG2.

The best thing about the rules? From OD&D to 3.5e, I can run a module on the fly. Probably could with all the OSR rulesets for everything up to 2e, but 3e and 3.5e get a bit shaky ;)

I've Migrated, Cleaned and Ordered

Yep, I've migrated.  I finally transferred my account info, programs and applications from my Mac Mini to my iMac.  I no longer feel like I am missing some of my go to resources.

Today we also finished clearing out my old room.  Holy crap but I had a lot of crap in there.  Threw more stuff out and boxed other stuff, but now I really need to go through the clothes.

Oh, and we ordered the 1/2 pint presonalized glasses for the wedding favors.  Hey, some folks might actually get a use out of them ;)

I've been looking over one of the new releases on RPGNow, a fantasy rpg named Azamar.  Maybe it's just me, but on the quick bouncing read through, I get a huge LotR feel with the serial numbers scratched off.  I need to give it a closer look, time permitting.

Tombstones: A Random Table

My time spent walking through a local cemetery over the weekend got me thinking about a random table to describe what adventurers find when they start poking around the graveyard.  This table just deals with the tombstones themselves, not the mysteries that may be attached.

It doesn't include what may or may not be inscribed on the tombstones.  That may follow in a later, more detailed, random table.  For a good hook, that should be worked out by the GM in advance.

        A               B                                  C
1   a pristine         grey tombstone covered in lichen

2   a weathered white "         with some lichen

3   a worn black "         covered in moss

4   a broken*         green "         with some moss

5   a cracked         brown "         covered with loose spider webs

6   a missing** pink         "               clear of growth

*  broken tombstones may be complete, with the broken piece(s) on the ground, or a piece may be missing

** missing tombstones just have a nub remaining in the earth

Video Blog - Counting Time on a Tombstone - Part 1 of 2

This is part 1 of 2 of my time walking around one of the cemeteries in Bethany Pennsylvania over the past weekend.  My narrator's voiceover may be a bit low, but I'm still a little self conscious about blabbing in public while filming. ;)

Part 2 should be up in a day or so.

Next time I get up to the Poconos I want to hit the Catholic Cemetery in Honesdale.  There is a section that has a Civil War Officer buried with some of his men in a circle.  There is an RPG scenario somewhere in that scene.

Oh, and working on the random table I mentioned earlier.  If I like it when it's done, I'll post it.

Sunday Movie Matinee: The Expendables

I just watch The Expendables on Netflix on Demand.  It's pretty much the usual action hero shoot 'em up, but with the Save The Princess angle added to it, just to make the mercenaries a bit less mercenary in nature and appearance.

What surprised me, but really shouldn't have, is that the movie played out damn close to a D&D session (pretty much any edition).  The good guys (player characters) disposed of the "mooks" with single blows, took multiple blows to kill the minor henchmen, took an encounter to take out the major henchmen and took out the main baddie after a huge battle with many bullet wounds and a knife through the back.

Heck, they even stormed a castle and had to go through the dungeon.  Stallone was even wearing body armor.  Change the clothes and the weapons and it was D&D.

Scary.

Rumbling Through the Mountains

I'd forgotten how localized weather can get in the mountains. You'll hear thunder rumbling for hours and never get a drop of rain. Two towns 5 miles apart, one suffering from a flash flood thunderstorm, the other bathed in sunlight.

I generally don't get weather like that back home in NYC, but it isn't uncommon in the Pocono Mountains. This is something I'd like to integrate into my next campaign along with some other atmospheric highlights (such as the effects of time as I discussed yesterday).

I'm sitting on the front porch here in the mountains, waiting for the rain to come and pass so we can head back to the city. We already sat through one thunderstorm a few miles away while having breakfast and returned to sun, a dry patio and the distant rumble of thunder.

Counting Time on a Tombstone

I spent some time earlier today walking through an old cemetery - or at least old for the States as I know our European friends have a different timetable as to what is old ;)

I wasn't just surprised at how weathered the stones looked, but how they tilted and fell over during the course of 200 years or less. Not from abuse, but from wind, rain and the settling of the soil. I found it to be quite amazing (I filmed some and hope to get that posted over the weekend). It got me thinking about how the window dressing that we usually see in our adventures leaves out such effects of time.

I think there is a random table or two hiding there. I need to get to work and unearth them...

Recharging My Batteries

I made this weekend a four day weekend.  It's a chance to recharge my batteries before a busy fall.

I'll be keeping my vid cam handy just in case the moment strikes me.  We'll see if I find anything.

Padre linked some really good Johnny Cash stuff.  I think I'll need to add some to my digital song collection.

How Many LotR RPGs Do I Own?

Upon finding Middle Earth Roleplaying 2e (otherwise known as MERP) under my bed, I got to thinking about the different versions of Lord of the Rings based RPGs that I own.

The first was the MERP boxed set from Iron Crown Enterprises.  I played the shit out of this game.  Rolemaster rules that the average gaming group could actually master.  Very sandboxie in nature, as there were tons of setting books released, not much in the way of adventures.

Then we had The Lord of the Rings Adventure Game.  I'm not even sure if I still own it.  From what I can recall, very dumbed down.

MERP 2e was next.  Somewhere between MERP 1e and Rolemaster in complexity, I don't recall if we ever played with the 2e rules.

The Lord of the Rings RPG from Decipher was licensed from the movie if I recall correctly.  Tons and tons of shots from the movies were included.  Not much if any real art.  I bought the core book, left it as bathroom reading for 6 months and never got past skimming it.

The One Ring - this is the latest and it landed at Gencon.  I only have this in PDF so far.  I need to spend some more time with it.  At first glance it seems fairly faithful to its source material.

That doesn't include games like Midnight, which is essentially LotR with the evil, alternate director's cut ending.  Well done but a depressing setting to play in.

Oh, and ICE published some endless quest style books using the LotR license.

Did I miss anything?

The Treasures Under the Bed

Where I reveal some of the gaming gems I found under the, now moved, bed.

A Look at the 6D6 Core RPG

I hesitate to call this a review, as it is less review and more "first view" of the 6D6 RPG, at least with my eyes viewing it.

Now, if you want the one minute summary you can view the video on youtube.  It's stop motion and brought back memories of Gumby for me, but it's also a better summary of how the game is played  then I could explain in a thousand words.  See, a (moving) picture IS worth a thousand words.

Did you watch it?  Good.  I didn't produce it it, the 6D6 guys did.  Just over a minute it length, it hits the post perfectly.  Much longer and it would have lost my interest.  Amazing what a one minute video can get across to someone.

Okie, here the next link. The 6D6 Ultra-Lite rules.  It's a free download.  It's billed as a 30 second introduction to the 6D6 rules.  I'd say it's closer to two minutes myself ;)

Alright, now that we are up to speed, more or less, I'll give some of my impressions of the 6D6 Core rules:

The use of cards, and in some instances actions similar to "tapping" actions from card games like Magic the Gathering and the like, may help make this a crossover game for those whose gaming experience is limited to or centered on such games.  Note:  The cards are not collectible.  You are printing them out yourself.  They are practical, not pretty, which is fine by me.

Less crunch, still crunchy - by this I mean the game is not written to be a realistic simulation.  Modifiers are generally 1D6 (plus adjustments) for each card you can play.  Its the play that becomes a bit crunchy, at least if you've been playing the standard types of RPG for the last 30 years (like I have).  The card system IS a different system, and it does take some getting used to.  I had a hard time grokking it myself until I found the youtube video I linked above.  It's not overly complicated - it's just different.

Its surprisingly flexible.  I thought the cards would result in the limiting of choices, but with the number of combinations that can be played (as long as the player can weave a plausible explanation for the situation in question) it covers a lot of possibilities.  Hey, and you can create new cards!

The cards themselves are like skills, or feats, or equipment, or mental and physical abilities - but they are used in different ways.  Not all can be available at once.  There is strategy involved in what you play and what you have prepared to play.

Monsters and adversaries are defined by cards too.  This part seems like it can get a bit confusing if you are running more then a small handful of monsters at a time.  Well, that's true in most RPGs, but keeping the cards in order for multiple foes seems to consume both time and table space.  There has to be a way to streamline it

Well, as I said in the beginning, this is less a review then a "view".

I need to print out a set of cards and try some mock encounters and generate a character or two.  I'll post the results when I get it done.

I Love Rosie The Robot (Where I Talk About My iRobot Vacuum)

Recently I found a deal on a Roomba iRobot robotic vacuum cleaner.  I've been reading about them for years it seems, but this time I finally stepped up and got one of the basic models.  I'm in love.

Actually, my fiancee loves it too, as do my parents, who ask if they can borrow it constantly (I know what will be on their Christmas list).

Charge it up and let it roam.  It does a very decent job at vacuuming (not perfect, but who is?).  It handles all floors but shag - and shag is so yesterday anyway.

Right now I have it vacuuming around me as I work on some reviews for later.  I like the future.  Still waiting on my flying car though ;)

Old is New - Digging Through The Games

You know what the best thing about renovating / digging through crap that you haven't looked at in years is? Old becomes new again ;)

I've already spoken about rediscovering my AD&D 2e collection, or at least most of it, as some of it is mixed it with my general RPGs that are now boxed up (for the most part). Still, I've been digging out a few gems, like the D&D Cyclopedia, The MERP Softcover book (I have the earlier boxed set buried somewhere), Pendragon, GURPs Discworld, and some more GURPs sourcebooks (GURPs was THE universal system before Savage Worlds' simpler system took much of that corner of the hobby).

So, not only am I far behind in the new games that I need to review, but now I have the urge to reread some of the old games that I haven't touched in 15 years or more. I'll try and get a review up later tonight of one of the newer games. Then I want to spend some time with MERP and maybe compare it to the newly released LotR RPG.

Free Time... What Free Time?

As am sitting at my desk at work, digging myself out of paperwork, it suddenly full dawned on me - I don't have much in the way of free time until after my wedding. How the hell did that happen?

Two nights a week I shuttle my son back and forth to EMT class. In between the shuttling I also have to drop the fiancée at her apt in The Bronx. So, those two nights are shot. Weekends always revolve around renovations, so they are shot. Tuesday and Thursday nights. I think I have majority ownership of them ;)

After November my son's classes are over, renovations will be done, trips to The Bronx will no longer be needed - I think the New Year will bring some fairly regular gaming back into my life.

Oh, wait - football season starts soon. Okay, Sunday's will still be shot for a while... heh

Those Damn AD&D 2e Complete Handbooks

Earlier today I posted a bit about the AD&D 2e Handbooks.  You know, the books that took AD&D into the never ending, unbalanced world of "splat books".  Moving stuff (like my bed) earlier tonight uncovered my collection of 2e Complete Handbooks.  (As an aside, the binding on my 2e Player's Handbook is shot to shit).

I'm not even sure if I have a complete collection of the "Completes" - I'll list what I have in no particular order:

Complete Psionics Handbook
The Complete Ranger's Handbook
The Complete Book of Humanoids
The Complete Book of Elves (an evil, unbalanced addition if any are)
The Complete Paladin's Handbook
Complete Thief's Handbook
Complete Fighter's Handbook
The Complete Book of Dwarves
The Complete Bard's Handbook
The Complete Barbarian's Handbook
The Complete Druid's Handbook

Somewhere the Halfling and Gnome book is hiding.  I know I have it, but those buggers are sneaky ;)

The Code of the Harpers kinda fits the overall definition of "kits" too.

Were they f'n insane?  I must have been insane, as I bought the suckers (tho' as I stated earlier, the Mail Order Hobby Shop was nice enough to fill in some gaps).

I played a lot of 2e back in the day, but my fondest memories are of 1e.  Without the bloat,  Without the kits.  Without the later Player's Option: Combat & Tactics.  Still, there's a years worth of posts in those books, I am sure... heh

The Red Headed Step-Child of TSR - The Mail Order Hobby Shop

You have to have been a gamer for a bit to remember the Mail Order Hobby Shop. Before you had stores with a virtual presence on the 'net, you had stores with a physical presence on a street. Such it was with the Mail Order Hobby Shop, TSR's storefront in Lake Geneva.

There were ads in Dragon magazine, which makes sense, as Dragon was mostly a house organ and the Mail Order Hobby Shop was part of that house. I don't know how many of you dealt with the MOHS to make your purchases, but I did - once. I ordered a poster and one of the Complete Handbooks for AD&D 2e.

What I received was nearly a dozen different Complete Handbooks and no poster. Apparently, they sorted their orders by first name and sent my book with some other "Erik's" books, and the poor guy got my poster. I set it all aside when I realized the mistake and called them. Someone answered, had no answer for me, took my name and number and promised I would be called back.

The did. I was told to ship it back at my expense. After they verified the books were all accounted for and not used, I would be issued a credit for my shipping. I told them I wanted them to pay the shipping up front or a check to refund the shipping cost, not store credit. It was their mistake, not mine, and I was willing to do the footwork to return it, but I wasn't settling on store credit. I was a college student with little cash on hand. Credit wasn't going to pay my bus fare to school.

They insisted on store credit. I refused to pay for their mistake. I was called a thief. I reminded them I was willing to fix their mistake, but I wasn't going to pay for their mistake. The call ended. They never contacted me again.

I wasn't surprised to see TSR have major financial problems a few years later. My one interaction with their retail end was full of numerous failures.

Frog God Freebies!

Frog God, the purveyor of many books for Swords & Wizardry, has released some things for free.  Foremost is the compilation of Lairs from the Tome of Horrors Complete: Swords & Wizardry version.

It's a great way to get a good peek at some of the work put into that awesome book.  I'm still waiting on my hard cover copy (love the PDF... so I'm not complaining TOO much ;)

Oh, and theres some other stuff for free too.  I'm just too busy looking at the Lair write ups, which is silly, as I have them in the ToHC: SW PDF.  It's just that they are such a nice neat package here.

Who Cares About 5e? I Want My 8e!

Having survived the weekend, I must say I'm disappointed that I didn't any real RPG reading in (let alone gaming in) although we did get to play a game of Ticket to Ride. Yes, I squashed my competition underfoot! (heh... my mother and my fiancee - yes, I show no mercy).

As I've stated before, I am WAY behind on reviews. It doesn't help that I'm easily distracted by the new shinnies ;) I'm going to try and get to 3 or 4 a week for the next few weeks - lets see if I come anywhere near the pace.

Did you see the announcement for Tunnels & Trolls 8e over the weekend? The Trollgod himself sent out an email that it wasn't happening anytime soon, if ever. Still, it got me thinking... What would I want to see "fixed" or "added" to the next version of T&T? For me, the answer is -

I want to see a unification of the 5x and 7x rules. I want something that fixes 5x level advancement (and the ability increases). I want something that fixes 5x ability increases (and level advancement attached to abilities). Is that too much to ask? Probably, but I'm asking anyway ;)

Irene, We Hardly Knew Ya!

Well, you cant have a Hurricane visit without spending some personal time with her, so the family and I headed out to Rockaway Beach to meet her.  She was still causing havoc at the water's edge as you can see below:

Additionally, you can go to the MTA's own Flicker Album to see the problems in store for those seeking to commute into and within NYC over the coming days.  Flooding is the word of the week.

About to play a game of Ticket to Ride with my lady and my mother.  Mom's been going thru withdrawals over the summer months it seems ;)

Hurricane Irene Wasn't the Biatch I Thought She Was ;)

I'm still here ;)

The rain was the worst of it.  The basement got damp but didn't flood.  I did get a leak in the roof which sucks, as it came thru the ceiling in one of the rooms I just renovated.  Still, we have power and the worst seems to be over.

Didn't get recalled for the weekend, so I guess I'll find out how bad things are at work when I return tomorrow morning.

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow - Failing That, Maybe Monday

They are saying that the NYC subway system may not be back up for Monday morning. It should be a fun commute.

So far it's just been a lot of rain here in NYC and I'll probably sleep thru the worst of the winds overnight.

I haven't gotten the reading in that I had hoped for, as the family is glued to storm coverage on the TV, myself included. Every loves to watch natural disasters ;)

Then again, the weather is now causing havoc with the satellite signal - reading may be in my grasp ;)

Psst! You Wanna Buy Sum "Conspiracy"?

Well, I've probably spent most of my day so far watching paint dry - I mean, watching Hurricane Irene coverage on TV, which apparently happens at the same time frame as paint drying.  Waiting isnt the hardest part - so far its the only part.

I've seen FEMA mentioned a few times so far today for their role in digging us out of the aftermath of "Hurrigedon!" or whatever the news will wind up calling it, and I thought back to the conspiracy research I did in the years after 9-11.  I felt a need to know what the fringe believed, because it's much easier to make your point when you know where others are coming from.  So I delved into the world of Jesse Ventura and his ilk, a world of thermite paint, remote controlled airliners, contrails, FEMA death camps, UN world domination, shadow governments and the like (this was years before his TV show, which I've yet to see).

Does anyone know of a game or gaming supplement that starts from the baseline that ALL the recent conspiracies are true?  It would be a bit over the top, but would make an excellent alternative modern setting IMHO.

Waiting is the Hardest Part

It's 0120 in the morning and I'm still wide awake (if not wholly sober - 2 Blackberry beers from Sam Adams and I'm done -  damn lightweight) trying to track the storm.  It's not like I'll be able  to change it's course or anything.

I remember using weather tables from one of the Dragon Magazine issues (somewhere in the 80's or 90's issue wise) and rolling campaign ending weather on my players - something like a 4 day blizzard with 5 1/2 feet of snow.  Sorry, but that's once in a milleneium weather event.  That's the Ice Age.

Weather in a RPG should be adjusted to fit the story - need a blizzard or a hurricane?  Add it to the story.  It's really that simple.

I love random tables and hate them at the same time, as some GMs allow themselves to be ruled by "the random".  If the results don't fit, you must adjust.  Or change gloves- wait, that's O.J.

On that note, I think I'm no longer as wide awake ;)

Castles & Crusades on Sale!

The Trolls are running a sale on the C&C Core books.  You can get the C&C Player's Handbook, Monsters & Treasure and the module Shadows of the Halfling Hall for 20 bucks in print (plus shipping) or for 15 bucks in PDF.  It's a damn good deal.

The Player's Handbook is the new edition.  Well, both of the core books are the new edition with the green banded covers, but the PH has some updates fro the earlier editions.

I just got my 2 sets of the print copies in the mail today.  It's a good day ;)

I think I collect C&C editions like i do Tunnels & Trolls.

The City That Never Sleeps Prepares to Shut Down

Last year it was the Blizzard of the Century.

Earlier this week, we had the once in a lifetime earthquake on the East Coast.

Now NYC faces it's worst hurricane in nearly 125 years. Mass transit shuts down at noon tomorrow. Bridges in the city (which consists of The Bronx on the mainland and Manhattan and Staten Islands, and Brooklyn and Queens counties on Long Island) will be closing when sustained winds hit 60 MPH. Parts of the city are under mandatory evacuation orders. We are looking at 8"+ or rain and huge storm surges.

If this was a RPG scenario, we would be talking End of Days type of stuff. Actually, I'd love to use this in a RPG scenario - it's a great set up.

In any case, I may be posting a lot this weekend, or nothing at all. It certainly wont be boring. My sister, her husband and my little niece may be staying the weekend. They aren't in an evac zone, but they have lots of nearby water soaked trees that are liable to come down causing loss of power or damage to their house.

Two Is Better Then One

So, I'm using a Sony Bloggie Duo mini video camera for the short videos I've been putting up. The advantage to the Duo is that is a LCD screen on both sides of the camera, which makes it easier to see what the camera is seeing when I'm in front of the camera. I'm pretty happy with it so far.

I'm trying to keep the vids at around a minute in length each. If I find something strong enough to go significantly longer then a minute I'll make a note in the accompanying blog.

Now, if I could figure a way to do a PDF review via video. Hmmm, I need to actually do some real reviews via video, which may require me actually writing stuff down before blabbing.

Hey, maybe I can set up on my front porch and do some hurricane videos on sunday! Er, if I can do it safely ;)

Adventurer Conqueror King System - Shown in High Definition!

Yep, got my printed copy of the Adventurer Conqueror King System Gen Con Limited Edition in the mail today - simply awesome.

So I put a short together a short vid to show it.  Go figure ;)

Experimenting with the HD upload option, but if it makes viewing harder due to increased bandwidth I'll forgo that in the future.

Why Do Dwarves Get (S)hafted in AD&D?

Compared to other demihumans, Dwarves get the short end of the stick in AD&D.

Elves get +1 to hit with bows and swords, resist sleep and charm, move softly, etc

Halflings get a bonus with bows, or slings or thrown weapons depending on your source (Monster Manual or Player's Handbook).

Gnomes - no one plays them, so why bother.

Dwarves - +1 to hit some cheap and cheesy evil races and an AC adjustment when fighting giants and such and some good saves vs poison and magic. Oh, and stonework knowledge.

Why no weapon combat bonuses, such as with weapons that are often associated with them, like battle axes and war hammers? Heck, why would then even use an axe or a hammer, when a long sword works much better against large creature - d12 is much better the a d8 or less for the war hammer.

Aren't Dwarves a bit more militaristic then elves and halflings?

30 years later and questions like this can still keep me up at night ;)

Rock You Like a Hurricane!

Yep, shortly after the east coast of the US got shaken by what our west coast brethren would consider a "very mild quake" we are now bracing for a fairly major hurricane. The one blessing is that it is going to hit over the weekend, which means I'll be off the roads and at home, ready to deal with any flooding.

I figure if we lose power, I might actually be able to get my son to play a pen and paper rpg session. Not that I'm hoping for a blackout or anything, but I do have my hand cranked flashlight / radio all ready to go. My mother is actually talking about buying a generator, so yes, the fear mongers are doing a great job on TV.

Remembering The Twilight Mercs of The Price of Recon

Remember The Price of Freedom RPG? It was basically the movie Red Dawn with the numbers filed off. How about Twilight: 2000?

The 1980's were a great time for Cold War style RPGs. Heck, thats when Merc and Recon also hit the bookshelves, allowing you to be a mercenary in Cold War Hotspots like South America and Africa, or fight in the jungles of Vietnam.

I don't see similar games being produced these days. When I say similar, I mean working off the current events of the past decade. No "Let's play some Navy SEALS and take out Osama" and such. Maybe the lines are too blurred these days. Perhaps the Cold War, while always in the back of your mind, was more fantasy then terrorists using jetliners as bombs and the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I do remember playing Twilight: 2000 back in my high school and college years. A squad of Americans left behind enemy lines, fighting for survival. Eh, it didn't play out all that well either. It's probably a good thing we don't have a Navy SEALS game. You can only kill Osama / Orcus so many times ;)

Successful Trial

Looking back on yesterday's video blog post, I think it went fairly well for a first time, getting one's feet wet, how the f' do I use this sort of thing.

I've got an idea for a dice related video blog post as I never posted my dice pics when it was all the rage earlier this month. I need to make up for that omission.

Christian mentioned having my cat Ashley pick an RPG from a selection of books that I place on the floor. The main problem with that is about 80-90% of the new stuff I have is in PDF only. Limiting to some extent, but I might have enough to start.

Tunnels & Trolls 7.5e is made for a video review, with its lay flat spiral binding. We all know I love me some T&T.

I'm also falling behind on some game reviews. The Secret Fire has been burning my britches for a while now. Time to pat out the flames for a bit and move on.

Time to Assail Your Senses

Here it is - the first "Beta VidBlog Post".

First, I breath like a dying horse.  Allergies don't help, but sheesh!  I need to control that.

Need to learn more about the camera itself, and the iMovie software, but I can only learn by doing.

At least Ashley smiled for the camera ;)

Things would probably work better outdoors as far as lighting goes.

You! Shook Me All Night Long!

I hope everyone is okay on the rest of the East Coast. I felt the quake up here in NYC. Pretty weird feeling.

I'm sure Christian is an old hat at this ;)

HP Touchpad Tablet Dump Pricing!

HP is dumping their WebOS Tablet device for dirt cheap prices. They are going in out out of stock at the HP Business Website.

16 gb was $499, now $99

32 gb was $599, now $149

you can hit the following website for status updates and other vendors where t may become available.

http://justindeals.com/hp-touchpad-tablet-for-99-update-list-of-updated-merchants-status/

I don't know much about it, but the price is right for those that may have been on thew tablet fence.

Badges? Badges! We Don't Need No Steenkin' Badges!

Well, we don't.  But it is a good concept, and I'm all for it, even if they don't look like my usual badge -  (note: not my shield number - knowing it will NOT get you out of a ticket ;)

That being said, there are a few badges that Stuart was nice enough to share with us that would apply to games that I have run in the past (and by extension, game that I may yet run in the future).

 I will Mirror back player ideas I think are interesting in the game


 My games rely on a lot of Improvisation rather than pre scripted content 

 My games are more of the Social, Fun and "Beer & Pretzels" style

 The GM is In Charge in my games and "rule-zero" is in effect

 My games focuses on Exploration & Mystery

The Red Headed Step-Children of AD&D - Unearthed Arcana - Races

When I was a teenager, I thought the Unearthed Arcana was the best thing ever for AD&D. New classes, new spells, new races - new everything. Even better, everything now went up to "Eleven" (Alert! Spinal Tap reference).

It takes a little aging to realize the mistakes of my youth.

Lets look at the Drow. Innate spell ability? Check. Penalties in sunlight? Check. 90% of all adventures were underground at the time? Check!

Wild Elves always made me think of slightly taller dwarves without beards and with long hair.

Svirfnenlin - I still have no idea how to pronounce it. More innate spell abilities.

Duergar - evil dwarves that aren't so dwarfish.

Hmm, all these races are antisocial, xenophobic types. Perfect for the average party of AD&D adventurers.

More Free Mapping Resources

Just added these to the links on the left:

Dungeonographer (Free) - Requires you to be online and a few other limitations, but the price is right and the maps it makes are nice.

Random Dungeon Generator - perfect when you are at a loss of ideas for a dungeon.  All u need to do is fill in the rooms ;)

Random City Generator - sometimes the players actually want to walk around the town you never bothered to map.

Random Village Generator - the villages it creates look so nice I want to stat one out right now.

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.

Out of the Frying Pan, Into The Secret Fire!

It's been DAYS since I've postured a horribly titled The Secret Fire RPG post, so here's the latest.

Today, I want to talk about the spell levels. In a typical D&D style OSR game, the spell lists advance every "Odd Level". This is a general statement as I know certain classes frequently buck that trend (clerics and druids are often the examples). In The Secret Fire, spell rank / levels advance along with character level through level 5. Which means at level 5 a spell caster has access to his / her most powerful magics.

Now, these powerful magics aren't necessarily being cast at their greatest strength - that still comes with level advancement. It does mean that by level 5, the spell casters have pretty much peaked.

Now, on my initial, haphazard, read-thru of the rules, I was still thinking about the traditional advancement in the back of my mind, even tho I read the new advancement and knew it was there. So it didn't full "click". Now that it is clicking, I need to go back and see if the casters (and classes that take a caster class as a talent) run away from the other classes in terms of power. Not that an absolute balance is required to enjoy a game, but you don't want your players feeling that they made a lame choice compared to others.

Coming Soon to the Tavern - Video Blog Posts (Ack!)

I really have enjoyed Christian's video blog posts when he puts them up. It's probably because it's Christian doing them that they are so entertaining and mine will stink worse then my cat's litter box (which truthfully, doesn't stink much at all thanks to Feline Pine litter, but I digress). In any case, I've been toying with the idea of the occasional video post for a while now. Never discussed it with anyone, not even the future Mrs. Tenkar.

So, who tells me today that I should be doing some video blog posts? The future Mrs. Tenkar. The mind reading is just a little scary, but I also think she wants to get some more use out of her Sony Bloggie mini-cam.

So, figure yourselves given "fair warning". It's probably still a while away. I promise to keep them short when they are done - Christian's are always nice and short. Not sure if I can review a RPG in under a minute, but if it can be done, I'll find a way ;)

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

There were certain races that few, if any, chose in the campaigns I ran or played in during my AD&D years.

Gnomes - these misunderstood little buggers were often seen as a cross between Dwarves and Halflings, but lacking in the redeeming qualities of either. Which is really a shame, because, if I recall correctly (my AD&D books are back home and AD&D 2e often clouds my memories) Gnomes could multi-class as Illusionists / Thieves. This is a combo that literally feeds both sides of the combination - the sum certainly is more then the total of the part. Never saw a player play one, myself included. I don't think we ever got past the issue of gnomes as being sissified dwarves.

Half-elves - what could trey do that their elven parent couldn't? Multi-class as a Cleric up to 5th level, not get the elven bonuses to swords and bow, only minimally resistant to sleep and charm - oh, and if memory serves, they could be a low level ranger. Ah, but they could be a Druid to level 15 (class max). So if you were going to be a Druid, maybe it was a no brainer.

Half-orc - unless you were going to be an Assassin (already a red headed step-child) there was no reason to be a half orc. Want 4 levels of cleric with a piss poor wisdom and half expo for the rest of the campaign? Play a Half-orc Fighter / Cleric! It offered very little, and if role-played correctly, even less.

Free OSR RPG - Spellcraft & Swordplay Basic Game

Spellcraft & Swordplay has been around for a few years.  It's an OSR style game that takes OD&D back to it's Chainmail roots - you resolve combat using 2D6, not a D20.  It's extremely familiar in feel, and yet foreign at the same time.  There are more changes then that, of course (spell casting for one), but that is the core.

Elf Lair Games has released Spellcraft & Swordplay Basic Game for free on RPGNow.  It covers the first 3 levels of character advancement, so it is less a quick start and more of a starter book for the full Spellcraft & Sorcery Rules.

If you ever wanted to check the Spellcraft & Swordplay system out before, or if you've never heard of it before, here's your chance to take it for a ride for free.

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

I remember when Unearthed Arcana was released for AD&D. It was a huge expansion of the core rules. Weapon Specializations for the fighter class and sub classes, new spells (some of which added to the Illusionists repertoire as I recall - I think my fav was Phantom Armor), new races and new classes.

The Thief-Acrobat reminding me a bit of the original AD&D Bard class, as it was a class that broke the established rules just by it's very existence. It splits off the main Thief class in the middling levels and goes off on a branch of it's own - kinda like a "prestige class" for those in the 3x state of mind. A Thief-Acrobat had some amazing abilities to move around, but his thieving abilities were stalled. I don't recall anyone in any of the groups I played in choosing one.

Cavalier - The "knight" as one thinks of it in romantic literature, this class and the Cavalier-Paladin were pretty impossible to run as written from a "role playing" standpoint. The thing is, the role playing restrictions and hinderances were there to balance the gameplay bonuses and powers. That never happened in games I played in. Maybe because it was our High School years, these powerhouses were unbalanced as all heck.

The Barbarian - fun as all hell to play as a player - D12 HD, super DEX and Con bonuses, xp for destroying magic items (and a horrible XP chart, so you need all those XP) wont adventure with Arcane Casters - played properly one barbarian could destroy a party from within. Two? We killed a campaign the third session in.

Hmmm, next I'll have to hit upon the races.

There Be Dragons in Walmart!

I was in Walmart this afternoon, buying the usual non-necessities that one finds there when I stumbled across this incense burner -

$10 for the Tower with Dragon incense burner.  They also had a tower w/o dragon and a 5 headed hydra. (dog not included - but she insisted on being part of the picture).

Of course, that doesn't explain the rest of the money we spent, but this is just damn cool.  Gonna give it a try later tonight.

Gaming Memories

I spent many a summer in my High School years playing AD&D with my friends in the country. Actually, we spent many a weekend playing back then also. Twelve hours straight? Done that. Twenty four hours over a day and a half? Been there. When we could game revolved around my time at the family house in the Poconos - I don't think they gamed if I wasn't there, and I was the only DM in the group.

Playing at home in NYC was different. In many ways, I was the catalyst, as my folks were nice enough to allow us to use the basement, the backyard and even the dining room table at will, but I was not the only GM in the group, and the group played more then just AD&D. It was also larger. In the Poconos, it was usually a group of four. In NYC, we could hit ten easy during my high school and early college years.

The group in the Poconos didn't last long past High School - job opportunities were slim back then away from the city (and probably still are). Two in the group joined the military shortly after High School, and the other went away to college. But I still had my New York group for years afterwards. Colleges and jobs were in relative abundance in the metro area - no one left home.

I still see some of the parents of my childhood friends on occasion when I'm up in the Poconos, but I never see the old gaming friends. They've all moved on.

I really need to get the old gaming group from NYC up here to the Poconos for some gaming. That would be perfect. ;)