Weekend Buybacks for June 19th

Well, I already posted some freebies from last year's Free RPG Day, and I hope most of you either got to your local gaming store or ordered from an online store that will send you some free swag, cause free swag is what today is all about.  Still, for those looking for something a bit heavier, larger in page count for their free fix, we present The Dark Horizons Universe Campaign Setting for D20 Future.

If you thought man's past was dark, wait until you see his future.

Welcome to the Dark Horizons universe. This campaign setting for d20 Future expands on the universe introduced in the critically acclaimed video game by Max Gaming Technologies.

In this setting, the year is 2610, and the universe as you know it has changed. Mankind has conquered the the galaxy; technological breakthroughs such as the Core Implant, the quantum electrino drive, and cybergenetics have altered his way of life forever.

Anything is possible in a Dark Horizons universe campaign.

Here are just a few examples of characters you might play:

-- A Myrmidon, equipped with the latest powered armor
-- An Emergency Nano-Tech using nanotechnology
-- An Encoder accessing systems with your drone
-- A Free Trader piloting your starship
-- A Valence Enforcer with innate bio-electrical weaponry
-- A Cy-Gen Genomorph altering your physiology as you fight
-- A Nomad Huntsman striking terror into your prey

This setting introduces 8 new Advanced classes, new weapons, gadgets, vehicles, and powered armors, as well as Tech Programs (a "replacement" for traditional magic systems found in other d20 settings).

Grab it for free.

Today is Free RPG Day

So why aren't you at your local store getting free swag?  Or are you like me and you just hit Noble Knight Games for it (one freebie per $15 spent... so I got like 6 freebies).  The only problem with ordering online is the lack of immediate gratification... but I can wait.

Some availalbe in PDF freebies from Free RPG Day 2009

Dragon Warriors:  Introductory Book

Grab the Cache


This was not part of the 2009 Free RPG Day, but it is free and full of awesomeness...  The One Page Dungeon Codex 2009, Deluxe

Now that's a Dungeon!

Holy Crap!  This makes me want to get my Face to Face group back together.  Like yesterday!



You can find the products here.

Alright, I feel dirty after watching that vid.  I also expect I will soon be a little lighter in the wallet.  Where the hell would I store all the pieces?!?

First vid I've ever posted on this blog.  In over a year of blogging.  Actually, how come I never came across this company and its products before?

It Takes a Community...

To create a community. Much thanks to Scott S from the Old School Jump blog for the excellent sketch of the Blue Knight. Just click on the Knight to read more of the Blue Knight. Actually, there isn't much there yet, but there will be as time goes on.

I've got a few tweaks in mind for the blog. If they don't work I'm sure I'll read it in the comments ;)


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Behind the Knight and Other Thoughts

As many of you know, I've drawn upon my own past as inspiration for the Blue Knight snippets.  I'm quite sure at some point they will take upon them a life of their own and go far afield from their source material.  If they don't, the Knight will have problems, as there is only a finite amount for me to draw upon personally.  Sitting at a desk as his career winds down, generating paperwork and thinking about his retirement pension will not make for an entertaining read  ;)

Because of that, I'm trying to think of a rule set to stat out Tenkar and a few others, game-wise.  I'd prefer to avoid anything with levels, as I find level work great in gaming, but make it nigh impossible to stat out fictional characters in a way that different experience or power levels are viable with each other.  Besides, it makes for a fun mental exercise ;)

I do have my GURPS for Dummies, Barbarians of Lumeria, FATE, BRP and I'm sure a few others I can draw upon.  Just need to decide on which.

That being said, any game related info will almost certainly be in a format usable by Labyrinth Lord and other OSR games, because that is what I play and how I think... heh.

Oh, and that break down of quickstarts I'm planning to do?  Give me a bit to work on it... the list is far from small.

iPad Update

So, I've had my iPad 3G for about a month and a half now and I hardly ever mention it like I did the Kindle DX. Why? Because it has become so integrated into my daily routine I forget what it was like before I had it.

Want to read the latest news? Turn on the iPad.

Check some blogs? Turn on the iPad.

Read my latest RPG purchase? Turn on the iPad.

Check mail, the weather, stock price updates. Yep, the iPad.

Whereas I previously would rate a PDF on how compatible it was with the Kindle DX, with the iPad they've all looked great. I'm sure I'll note if I come across any difficulties, but vie been pretty happy so far.


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Bits N Pieces

I've got a few things I want to work on, not the least of which is figuring out a fun and fair way to give out some prizes to my readers.  I suck at contests tho, at least when it comes to being a participant, which doesn't make it any easier when you want to run one.  Maybe a contest to decide on a contest ;)

Anyhow, I'm also looking at doing a fairly complete listing of available quick-start / fast-play / playable previews that are available for free download in PDF form.  Although I find I rarely use them as written, they are an excellent way to get a peek at the various game systems.  Much easier to break out the wallet when you have an idea you might actually enjoy the full game in question.

I need to go back to checking out the VTTs that are out there.  Fantasy Grounds 2 is going strong as always, but iTabletop 2 / Pandoren is getting closer to a full release and is looking damn nice.  Give the videos a peek to see what is in store (links are at the bottom of the page linked above.  That sounds nice and awkward... heh).  It's getting so I can almost taste it ;)

I also need to update Battlegrounds RPG and Maptools to see where they are at.

Interesting.  The Opera web browser plays much nice with Blogger then Firefox.  I think I need to change browsers for real now.

I'm also trying to find the time to give Legends of Steel - Barbarians of Lemuria Edition a nice read through.  I have had the Barbarians of Lemuria (Legendary Edition) PDF for a bit.  BoL (LE) reads real well (haven't had a chance to use the rules in action) and has a near perfect 5 star score (9 of 10 reviews are 5 star, the other is a 4 star) at RPGNow.  From what I can gather, its the same rules with a setting change.  Should be fun to compare the two.

Tales of the Blue Knight - June 15

Tenkar stood next to the recently deceased elf, a crossbow bolt still embedded into the side of its head.

"Lad, you notice the raspberry jam pooling in his hair? He ain't been dead longer then two hrs, three at the most." The observation was made by Stryker, Senior Watchman. He continued to prod at the wound with a small stick.

"Ten, wanna give this a sniff?" Stryker practically shoved the end of the stick into the young watchman's face, who responded with a quick turn of the head and violent retching.

"That's alright lad, clean out your gullet. First one is always the worst. Hey, at least he's young to death. Give him two days in this this heat and he'd be ripe as a sewer"

There was a ritual to any investigation into a violent death and the first step was always an attempt to shock the rookie Watchman assigned to secure the scene. In truth, the rookie was there for little more then to secure the scene, keep the curious at a decent distance and any other menial task that could be thought of. Although Tenkar lacked the experience to be little more then an item of amusement to the more experienced members of the Watch, He did his best to regain his composure as he wiped his mouth clean with his sleeve.

"Alright lad, I need you to go through our friend's pockets. Don't forget to remove his ring. Might be useful in identifying him later, and if we leave it on him the *Necers will just steal it".

Tenkar gingerly went through the victims pockets, putting the removed items in a pouch the older Watchmen held open for him.

"Gods lad! He ain't gonna bite you and he certainly no longer is attached to anything on him. Except maybe that ring. I think our friend put on weight in the years he owned it. You might need to break the finger to slip it off. Don't give me that look! I think the hole in his head would be a more pressing issue for him, if he weren't dead already".



*Necers work for the the Guild of the Dead. They pick up the bodies of the recently deceased and bring them back to a guild location for viewing and later burial. They frequently hold dual membership in a Thieves Guild, although this is not common knowledge (it is often suspected though). Their constant dealing with the dead gives them a twisted perspective on life. Living people are just dead people waiting to happen.





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It Was FATE

FATE, the best system I have never played.  Heck, I'm not sure if I can get my group (reformed from my college years) to play it... or anything at this point.  It would have to be via Fantasy Grounds 2 or iTabletop v.2.  Kinda hard to sit face to face when your group sits on opposite coast of the U.S. and in between.

In any case, FATE has a couple of incarnations.  Which is great, because not everyone wants to play Pulp Era games (this is where FATE came into its own).

Lets see what FATE shall bring us...

Legends of Anglerre  from Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd. - Complete Fantasy game using the FATE system (20% of using the June Promo Code "JunePodBlogDriveThru2010" at RPGNow)

Starblazer Adventures also from From Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd. - Complete Sc-Fi game using the FATE system (20% of using the June Promo Code "JunePodBlogDriveThru2010" at RPGNow) - Based on the British comic book, NOT the Japanese animated series many American may remeber.  Still way cool. 

Diaspora from VSCA Publishing.  Another Sci-Fi game, this one is geared more towards hard sciencish-ness and includes tools to create your own setting.  abit "sandboxish" if you like.  My latest FATE related purchase BTW.

Spirit of the Century from Evil Hat Productions. Stand-alone pulp role-playing game.  For many (like me), this was the first time they had heard of FATE.  Excellent production values and a great read.

The Dresden Files RPG also from Evil Hat Productions.  This was the one I had been waiting for.  The opportunity to run a game in Harry's world.  I'm still trying to digest the books. ;)

Hmmm, that's all the FATE I own (plus the free SRD, which I linked above and will again here).  I need to do a fuller search i think.  If any know of settings / games I missed drop me a note please.

Weekend Buybacks for June 13th

Sometimes you have a plethora* of free releases on RPGNow, sometimes you don't.  This time is somewhere in between, certainly closer to "don't have" tho'.  In times like this, we dig back a bit for our free gaming fodder.

ARTIFACTS: Ducks of Ultimate Doom from Le Games.  20 pages

Listen, with a title and cover art like this, how the hell could I pass this up?  It might be worse then sh!t on a cracker, but who cares? 

Darwin's World 2: Gazetteer from RPG Objects.  32 pages

If you run a Mutant Future game, or any other type of post apocalypse type game, there are some great ideas to borrow and rip.  If you run a Darwin's World 2 game, obviously you are set ;)

Altus Adventum Core Rulebook From Sacrosanct Games.  154 pages

This product is the core rulebook to the Altus Adventum fantasy RPG. It contains everything you need for both the GM and players to run a full campaign, including detailed combat rules, four distinct magic systems, many arcane treasures, and over a hundred fantastic creatures in the bestiary.

 The game is designed to bring back that old school feel of "kill them and take their stuff!" while not giving anything up in storyline or gameplay. The combat system is designed to move very rapidly, while at the same time offering a tremendous amount of flexibility to the player.

Does it count as Old School?  Probably not.  Can you lift and steal from it for your own home game?  Certainly.




* A superabundance; an excess.  Yes, I had to look it up.  I knew what it meant... in a kinda, sorta way of it

Corralling Stray Thoughts

Like I suspect most gamers who hit their gaming prime back in the 80's and early 90's, I read a lot of Fantasy and Science Fiction. I still do, but my patience and free time have cut that down by order of magnitude.

During my summer breaks in my College years, it was not unheard of for me to read a full length novel in a day, sweating up a storm as I laid out on the same enclosed porch I am currently sitting in. When I wasn't reading, I was gaming. If I wasn't reading or gaming, I was probably writing.

Truth to tell, my "Writer's Voice" back in those days pretty much mirrored the author(s) I was heavily reading at the time. Which isn't a bad exercise in writing, but it's a piss poor way to write anything of consequence.

These days, the only author I follow with any regularity is Terry Pratchett; I simply can't get enough of his writing. I'll read Neil Gaiman's latest if I can grab it on my Kindle and I'll occasionally read some short fiction. Which isn't to say I hardly read, I just read less fiction these days. I'm quite sure that tide will turn again.

It does mean that when I write Tales of the Blue Knight it is truly in my own "Writer's Voice". Forgive me as the voice falters and cracks, I haven't tried to use it much in years. It will take a few tries for it to find it's range.

It's not that I lack ideas to write, it's just that the pieces are currently half finished as new ideas pop into my head. I'm fairly sure this over-abundance of ideas isn't infinite, and I'll be able to pick thru the chaff to get to the good stuff in semblance of a timely manner. Or not ;)





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Words in the Clouds

I've posted to my blog from my desktop, laptop, net book, iPhone and iPad, never really given much thought to the device I was using. That is, until I started with the Tales of the Blue Knight column. I've found that I have ideas that need to be put down without being fleshed out at the moment. I also need to be able to access those pieces from any device.

Therein lies the joys and strength of Google Documents, cloud computing at it's best. A free office app that is accessible anywhere you have Internet access? Priceless!



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An Abudance of Gaming Goodness

I've got a virtual stack of PDFs to review, even if it is just to give it a quick once over.  Sean over at OneBookShelf / RPGNow / DriveThruRPG was nice enough to set me up as a featured reviewer, and while I'm going to try and do the privilege justice, I'm sure to overlook a lot of stuff.

I did get to skim through some recent acquisitions while serving Jury Duty these past two days, but the free time was no where near as I remembered in the past.

I do have vacation coming up at the end of the month, and I suspect that with the exception of the holiday weekend it will be a Stay at Home vacation... so much reading, writing and posting will fill the downtime.


One product I did get to spend some serious time with the past two days was On Silver Wings for Witch Hunter: The Invisible World RPG.  First and foremost, I do not own a copy of the RPG rules, so I'm keeping my review to the story itself.  I was immediately drawn in by the cover, which I find to be an amazing piece of artwork. (see below)

It is a very compelling story, which read very well even without me having a grasp of the system underneath it.  It's hard to go into without giving up some of the story (and this adventure would suffer if the story were leaked).  It is deep in roleplay with a nice horror angle to it and little is as it seems... if bugs make your players squirm this is a good fit.

Most of the paths the party may take seem to be covered pretty well. The Witch Hunters should have their hands full, but smart play should rule the day for them.  I highly suspect a decent GM could convert this to run with the Solomon Kane RPG without too much effort.

As for the (virtual) physical presentation of the adventure, the layout is spot on, the artwork is professional and evocative of the story and I didn't notice any editing issues.  A lot of adventure is packed into 32 pages (plus front and back covers)

Overall it served me well during my two days of Jury Duty.  When time frees up I may have to pick up the rulebook itself.  The system seems to be full of roleplay opportunities.

The Duty, Day Two

Waiting on the lawyers to arrive so they can get back to questioning more of us prospective jurors.

Even got feedback on yesterday's Traveller freebie on Facebook. There is something about Traveller that makes it THE classic game. My problem with it was the lack of character advancement. I need to dig up my copy of the Mongoose Traveller pocket rules and see if that changed. Advancement is a big carrot in the "keep player's coming back" scheme of things.

Time willing I'll work on the next entry of Tales of the Blue Knight while I kill time.

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Happy Hour at the Tavern June 9

Short and sweet today. 

Spent the day at jury duty, heading out to a retirement party in a few, then back to jury duty tomorrow.  So today's offering is just a single item.  It's a cool one tho'.

Campaign 1: Secrets of the Ancients for Traveller from Mongoose.

I doubt I could explain this better then RPGNow does:

Welcome to Secrets of the Ancients, a completely free, downloadable campaign for Traveller that will see your players cross the stars and uncover some of the deepest, darkest mysteries of the universe...

Secrets of the Ancients is a ten part campaign, with a new part being available for free download every few weeks (if you play once a week and start right now, you should find that a new part comes available just as you are completing the last). It will build into an epic campaign of huge proportions which should keep your gaming group going for many months!

The new Secrets of the Ancients campaign is based on the Classic Traveller Adventure #12, Secret of the Ancients. Like that adventure, this campaign delves into the dark past of the Third Imperium setting, and the legacy of a race of incredibly advanced and powerful aliens. Over the course of this campaign, the haracters will see sights no human has ever dreamed of, meddle with powers beyond understanding, clash with secret factions within the Imperium, and ultimately help shape the destiny of all Charted Space.

A free campaign for Traveller with a new part released every few weeks.  What Traveller fan could ask for more?

My But Things Have Changed

The last time I served jury duty was over 8 years ago. The jurors waiting room was hot and sweaty, the chairs were uncomfortable and the entire experience was a real PITA.

Today the A/C is kicking to the point I am tempted to put my jacket on, the chairs are large and comfy, free high speed Internet for your laptop or iPad (and computers for you to use if you didn't bring your own), widescreen TVs... This is not the Jury Duty that I remember.

With New York States no-excusal police, I can't help but think how much fun it would be to have a superhero serve jury duty ( in his secret ID) for a villain he arrested / apprehended. Might make a decent solo supers adventure of sorts. Not that I play supers (I do have the Icons PDF and it is tempting) but I do find the concept interesting.

Anyhow, we've already been told we will be here until 5 pm. Gonna be a long day even with distractions to be found.


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My Number Came Up...

I report to Jury Duty tomorrow.  Boo!

On a plus note, it keeps me out of work for at least a day, and I will draw my full salary as I surf the net, read my emails, write some blog stuff, read some gaming material... thank god for my iPad.  It will start paying dividends tomorrow at 0830 hrs ;)

I'm currently trying to figure out a method (or methods) for giving out the free (with a coupon code) PDFs that OneBookShelf has been kind enough to give me to reward the readers of this blog.

Leaning towards rewarding my Google Connect Followers with a prize or two for a random follower, but I'm open to other ideas.

The Most Dreaded Duty of All

I'm on telephone standby jury duty.  New York State doesn't have blanket excusals from jury duty these days for certain professions, and my number literally is up.

I escaped today, and I'm not needed tomorrow, but I'm 150 names away, and they grabbed about 700 for tomorrow, so I figure I'm going on Wednesday at the very least, longer if I get picked (and I have a habit of getting picked)

The jury pool rooms have free wireless now (I confirmed that with my phone a few months ago).  So now I'm busy putting together a bag of reading material:

Maximum PC
Mac Life
Some recent Pathfinders
Loading up my iPad with some PDFs to review

I'm sure I'll be bloggin' from the jury pool as I wait.  JoetheLawyer probably
does this crap for a living ;)

Tales of the Blue Knight - June 6

Tenkar peered through the spyglass at the dimly lit  street below.  He kept his body bladed, so that the window curtain would partially obscure his presence from the curious.  The room next to him was filled with the noise of young romance, but that was little if any distraction.

"Male Hobbit" he signed with his right hand.
"Tan leather coat." 
"Right hand". 

Most of the buyers would take the clack with their right hand and hold onto it for dear life.  Others would push it deep in a pocket, possibly ashamed of their addiction.

His message was read by the two uniformed watchmen below.  They casually yet quickly made their way within view of the buyer.  They would follow him for a block or two before making the pinch.  Even at this late hour of night, there was enough foot traffic to make the sight of them fairly common.

That's the sixth buyer we picked of tonight.  Will the Sarge give us the order to grab the dealer, or is this going to be just another exercise in numbers for the Watch Commander to show the City Council?

This precinct in the city had more then its share of crime, much of it driven by the pursuit of illegal narcotics.  Many of the addicts committed petty crimes to fuel their addiction, and the dealers and suppliers frequently turned violent on their rivals.  It took Tenkar some real effort to remember that over 90% of the population, while poor, was law abiding and generally good folk living in a bad situation.  He grew up in this city, but not in a neighborhood like this.

"Ten, give the signal.  Grab the dealer.  We have enough bodies pinched tonight to make this one stick."  Tenkar's hands were still passing the words on as the sergeant went downstairs to oversee the ending of the night's operations.

Hopefully the perps we pinched will allow the Cleric on staff to cure their addiction, but even then more then half will be right back.  Apparently the Gods can only cure the body, not the mind.


Game Rules (just a tad more harsh then real life)

Clack - Highly addictive narcotic.  Cheap to get started with. 
Save vs Poison with each use until failed save, at which point addiction sets in.  Once addicted, the drug must be used daily.  If unable to pay for the clack, character in question will steal / kill for clack / money for clack.

Within 2 weeks of addiction, CHA and CON drops 1 point.  It drops another point each following week, until a maximum loss of 8 points is reached.  At this point, 1 HP is lost per week permanently.  Upon reaching 1 HP left, save vs. poison each week or death.

Cure disease will cure the physical addiction and restore all lost attribute points / HP at a rate of 1 per day (just one casting is needed, the body needs time to heal).  A save vs spells (WIS bonus applies) must be made to be able to fight of the mental / emotional addiction

(with thanks and blame to scottsz)

Weekend Buybacks for June 6th

Yep, some more goodies to be found.  This weeks weekend offerings only number 2, but we had some freebies mid week, and a 20% discount yesterday... besides, these two have a nice page count.

This week's freebies are from Vajra Enterprises.  Both are playable versions of their respective games, but they lack options available in the full product.  Still, for a try and (possibly) but later, they are very good options to take a peek at.

Fates Worse Than Death: Spare Change Edition -  Fates Worse Than Death is a game of violence, fear and hope on the streets of New York City in 2080 -  The Spare Change Edition only has character creation options and setting information for creating and playing characters who are street people.  As usual, I find free products are ripe for ripping and stealing for other games even if I don't use them as printed.  241 pages.

Tibet the Role Playing Game: Monastic Edition  - Tibet is a game of war, intrigue, magic and mysticism in 1959 Tibet. The Monastic Edition only has character creation options and setting information for creating and playing characters who are monks. 169 pages.  There is enough here to help you decide if the game is to your liking or not.  Both are way more then a quickstart, yet less the a full package.

That's all for now.  Cranking away some other writing.

Oh, and received my 5 copies of Dark Dungeons in paperback from Lulu.  Little surprise for the seasonal gathering of my old gaming group.