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| Sure, the new cover art sucks but that's not the point |
“I'm calling you out. Draw, if y' ain't yella'.”
The Quick Draw Duel
Two men. One street. The blink of an eye and the crack of a pistol. A long silence. Justice is served. In StarSlinger there are two kinds of people: the quick and the dead.
The only way to determine who is quick and who is dead is a Quick Draw Duel. But there's a lot more to this than just two intergalactic hombres steppin' into the street and skinnin' their smoke wagons. A Quick Draw Duel has several steps and its as much a test of the gunslinger's gumption as it is his speed. All bonuses to Quick Draw Initiative are cumulative.
Step One: The Call Out
A Quick Draw Duel begins with a formal challenge from one gunfighter to another. This can be as blatant as one of approaching the other and quite literally saying “I'm callin' you out,” but it's usually a bit different in each instance. The more subtle instances are simply when both gunfighters look at each other and nod – they both know the challenge has been issued and it won't be settled until one man is dead. In other cases, it's a large public display where one man insults the other in front of a crowd.
Though player characters can call out NPCs whenever they wish, the referee is the final arbiter of whether or not a formal Call Out has been issued. Once a call out has been issued, both the challenger and the challenged must make a saving throw. They may add their Wisdom modifier to this saving throw roll. Other modifiers may apply based on the classes of the challenged and challenger as well as how well the scene is role-played. If the Quick Draw Duel isn't occurring immediately, this is typically when the time and place of the fight is named.
If the saving throw is successful, both the challenged and the challenger receive a +1d6 bonus to their Quick Draw Initiative. The Quick Draw Duel then moves into Step Two: The Crowd
Step Two: The Crowd
Quick Draw Duels rarely take place privately. The occur out on the street, in the open – a public display of blood and speed. The townsfolk and witnesses to the both the Call Out and the Draw itself have a subtle impact on the Duel. If the townsfolk strongly support one gunfighter over the other, their subconscious hope in their champion's victory can actually grant him a benefit during the duel.
If the Quick Draw Duel isn't occurring immediately after the Call Out, both challenger and challenged can attempt to sway the witnesses to their side. This is done through roleplaying and thematic actions. A heroic gunfighter might try to convince the townsfolk that the time has come to end the rule of a villainous murderer, while a dastardly gunslinger might bribe or intimidate the town into supporting him.
Just before Step Three: Staredown begins each gunfighter makes a Charisma saving throw. Based on their actions they may receive anywhere from a -2 to a +2 modifier to this saving throw. If it is successful, then the gunfighter adds +1d6 to their Quick Draw Initiative.
Step Three: Staredown
The Quick Draw Duel is fought in the mind as much as with the hand. When the two gunfighters face off in the street, they often spend moments staring at one another. They size up their foe or trade hard words before blood is shed. Each gunfighter makes a saving throw, adding his level to the roll. If the saving throw is successful the gunfighter adds +2d6 to their Quick Draw Initiative.
Step Four: Draw!
Finally, the moment of truth comes and lead leaves leather. The moment of truth has come. Each gunfighter rolls their Initiative, applying both their Dexterity bonus and any Quick Draw Initiative dice they have earned. So a gunfighter who succeeded in the saving throws for all three steps would roll 5d6 (1d6 base, 1d6 call out, 1d6 townfolk, 2d6 staredown), plus their Dexterity modifier.
The winner has drawn and fired first. He then makes an attack roll against an AC of 9 [10]. His target is, after all standing still and unprotected. If the attack is successful the winning gunfighter rolls his weapon damage PLUS the total of the initiative roll and inflicts that much damage on his opponent – likely killing him.
If the loser is not dead, he can return fire – but he receives no bonus from his initiative roll. Combat proceeds normally from this point with one exception. If both gunfighters roll the exact same number on their initiative then both draw and fire at the exact same moment and both of them add their initiative total to the damage rolled. In all likelihood, this will leave both of them dead.
House Rule: Quick or Dead
If the referee wants to reinforce the climactic tension and deadly nature of the Quick Draw Duel, he can forgo the attack roll made during Step Four: Draw! and assume that the winner of initiative automatically hits with their attack.
House Rule: Hot Lead, Burning Laser
If the winner of the Quick Draw Duel rolls an unmodified, natural 20 on their attack roll, the damage for both the weapon and the added damage dice from initiative are all doubled - almost guaranteeing a lethal attack.This House Rule cannot be combined with the Quick or Dead House Rule.
The 2015 Dodecahedron Cartographic Review is an 88-page curated collection of most of the maps and descriptions thereof that appeared on Dyson's Dodecahedron throughout 2015. Designed to be a letter-sized spiral bound book, this digital edition also includes a second version of the book where many of the maps have been resized (larger) to better fit the page once all the text has been removed.
Unlike the maps of Dyson's Delves I and Dyson's Delves II, the maps I drew for the Dodecahedron in 2015 were predominantly drawn on letter-sized paper, so a different format of map book was needed for this review of the year's cartography. The PDF edition of these maps is provided as a convenience for readers of the blog and fans of RPG cartography and contains no exclusive content - everything in this PDF can be hunted down on the Dyson's Dodecahedron blog and downloaded at high resolution. What this collection gives you, however, is that material collected in one place, sequenced, and annotated from the notes on the blog.
Now Ant Simulator is cancelled, because his business partners and ex-best-friends spent the "overwhelming majority" of money from both sources on alcohol, strippers and other activities not really related to making a good videogame.Read the story over at PC Games N, including the update with the denial:
"It’s completely false. I don’t know why he’s painting that picture, but the reality is that anything that was spent in a bar or restaurant was very reasonable in nature when you look at any business, including video game companies. It was part of our operating budget, it’s not anything that was excessive. It was all reported to the IRS. The picture he’s painting about that is 100 percent bull****."What a bar or restaurant has to do with creating a video game, I have no idea.
As a Player, have you ever wanted to adventure but couldn’t find a DM?
As a DM, have you ever had players wanting to keep going, but you didn’t have anything prepared?
This is a complete adventure ready to be played through in a single sitting of 2-3 hours. It can be dropped into any campaign, and is designed so it can be played in several different ways;
What it is: This project is a system neutral, solo-play, one-shot, complete adventure module for characters of any level.
What that means:
System Neutral means it is not dependent on any specific rule set or edition, and can therefore be dropped into just about ANY role playing campaign world setting. If your game rules use polyhedral dice, then this will work for you. It was written primarily for the most common traditional fantasy role-playing game settings, but it can be adapted for many other worlds with just a little imagination.
Solo-Play means it can be played by a single person without a DM. It can be played with multiple players with or without a DM as well. It has a flexible design and concept so it can be used in many different ways. Though it was designed to be played by a lone player by themselves, it can be played with a group of players and multiple characters, or even with a DM.
One-Shot means it is able to be completed in a single 2-3 hour sitting. This is also flexible in that you can increase the level of challenge (with more or stronger monsters) to increase the length of play time, or you can decrease the number of challenges to shorten the play session.
Complete Adventure Module means that everything you need to get through this adventure is contained in the PDF, HOWEVER, this is NOT a stand-alone game. SEE ALSO: What it is NOT:
For Characters of Any Level means that this module is scalable. You can increase or decrease the challenge based on the experience level of your character or characters.
What it is NOT: This is NOT a stand-alone Role Playing Game rules set. The rules and mechanics for a Role Playing Game are not part of this. This is just an add-on, like an expansion, for whatever Role Playing Game system you currently use. You will need at least the basic guidebooks for whatever Role Playing System you normally use.
Risks and challengesSo, for as little as a buck you can buy in. 3 bucks gives you the bells and whistles. I almost feel like 3 bucks will give me my entertainment back, whether this is a hot mess or not.
There are no risks at all. Well, let's back up. There is the risk that you may not like the content, or you may not have fun playing it, but the module is already finished! All I need is to get enough funding to support my next project and you get a module for a dollar! So there's no risk that you won't get the PDF.
Art of the Genre is proud to partner with Pinnacle Entertainment Group in bringing our fans Folio #7! After completing the Roslof Keep Campaign it seemed a perfect point to sidestep to Savage Worlds for an adventure in the Deadlands: Hell on Earth setting. It is an absolutely fantastic setting with an award-winning mechanic that I hope all our fans will give a shot.
With Folio #7, we will be blending the same OSR specs that our fans have grown accustomed to with the previous issues while also blending in some aspects of the Deadlands: Hell on Earth design. I truly hope you'll have a much fun playing this adventure as my players did, and as always thanks for taking the time to check out our latest projects here on Kickstarter.
And as always, Instead of making gaming anvils, I’ve drilled the artistry of the game down, found the gems of a fast-paced adventure, and delivered it in such a way that both new and old gamers alike can enjoy and play without taxing their life schedules. In the end, isn’t gaming about being fun for everyone, not just the players? The Folio’s goal is to ensure that, and always give folks the very best quality ‘lean and mean’ adventures we can.
When we left the ship there were three men waiting for us. A little guy who did the talking and two meatheads. I used my Scoundrel skill of attacking before anyone else. Chicago allowed the little talking man to finish his ultimatum before shooting him in the heart. While the little gurgling man lay on the ground, the two meatheads raised their hands and walked off.
Douglas has his session recap over at the Gaming Ballistic Blog.
Hero's Journey is a fantasy roleplaying game written by James M. Spahn and published by Barrel Rider Games. Inspired by Swords & Wizardry White Box, this complete game features six races, fourteen classes and is the result of years of game design. Combining and updating material found in Swords & Wizardry White Box, the White Box Omnibus, and introducing new rules for character races, character classes, character professions, new magic spells, new magic items, new rules for magic item creation, new combat mechanics and new rules for character progression, Hero's Journey is a refinement of Swords & Wizardry White Box that includes influences from Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, AD&D 2nd Edition, and other classic fantasy roleplaying games.
At over 200 pages, this single-volume book will include everything players and referees need to play. Hero's Journey will be available in PDF and 6" x 9" digest format through One Bookshelf. Print on Demand copies will be available in both black and white interior and full color premium interiors.
Scheduled for release in the third quarter of 2016.I'll try and squeeze James for some game-able advance pieces as Hero's Journey gets closer to release. James did tell me it's "more lethal than White Box" ;)
Before the great purge, when WotC removed their PDFs from the OneBookShelf / RPGNow sales platform, one of my purchases was the Original Dungeons & Dragons OCE Boxed Set in PDF. It was handy, even if it wasn't the cleanest copy. After the purge I wan't even able to redownload a copy if I wanted to.
