Solo Gaming Planned For the Weekend Away

I'm in the Poconos for for the weekend, so no game tomorrow night (the piss poor internet won't support a Hangout). Laptop and tablet if I want to read some gaming material, but Dyson's Delves will be the main gaming related reading material - I plan on using the Mini-Mega Dungeon in my AD&D 1e Campaign.

I would, however, like to get some gaming in while I'm up here, so I brought the two Legend / The Fantasy Trip compatible solos with me that I recently ordered: Shadows in the Dark and Emerald Twilight.

I'll see if my party of four can survive. Even better would be tempting my wife to assist.

Shit, I need to create my party of four. I'll work on that tomorrow morning after the vet visit.

An Overly Ambitious Crowdfunded Project That Has Raised Little Interest - No-Dice.Net

Lets say you do much of your gaming online, perhaps using Google+ Hangouts. Going a step further, we'll say you use Tabletop Forge or Roll20 as your gaming interface within Hangouts - you know, for the dice rolling, mapping and such.

Tabletop Forge is a bit less robust than Roll20, but TTF is totally free, Roll20 has a minimal subscription if you want all of the bells and whistles but can also be used for free.

Do you feel the need to layer yet another program on top of one of these two?

I don't, but if you do, No-Dice.Net is there to fill the niche for you. Alright, maybe not yet and maybe not ever. You see, No-Dice.net is trying to offer a few extra functions using an open API, but TTF, Roll20 and even Obsidian Portal would have to actively support N-D.N. If they don't support it, much of what it offers isn't really going to do much good.

Let me quote their aim:

No-Dice.Net is an ambitious project to modernize tabletop gaming.  It will be a central hub for dungeon masters and players to store character sheets, create battle maps, develop new game rules, plan campaigns, and find groups.

Because of No Dice's rule set creation engine, any rule set can be supported with a little work, but there will also be pre-built sets available for purchase. These rule sets won't cover every aspect of a given game, but they will cover character generation and leveling.

All of our tools will be accessible through an open API to allow easy integration within other sites and applications. 

No Dice, LLC will also be developing a standard XML data format for characters, rulesets, and maps so that other applications can be made compatible.

Yes, it's very ambitious, but I don't see this "central hub for dungeon masters" forming. RPG gaming is fairly divided - just look at the communities on G+. Actually, the communities on G+ do a good bit of N-D.N's Social Gaming goals cover:

No-dice.net will feature many social aspects to connect players. You’ll be able to share your campaign, character sheet, etc with the world, and keep track of your gaming group.

Video Chat/Collaboration Plug-Ins for On-line Play (G+ Hangouts plus TTF or Roll20)
Badges/Achievement System (is this needed for RPGs?)
Campaigns can be marked “LFG” and Searchable (schedule a game and send out an invite via G+)
Integration With All Major Social Platforms (G+ seems to be where the gamers are)

It a hugely ambitious goal they have set for themselves (I've barely scratched the surface with the text I quotes). I'm just not sure how much of what they offer is really needed, or if needed, isn't already being offered by another app or website.

They say if they make their goal of $33,000 this will be ready to roll by December 2013, effectively halving the time to develop it without funding - which would put the unfunded date at 2014. Even with the 2013 date, it is quite likely some of what they hope to accomplish will appear in other apps, including the ones mentioned above.

I must not be the only one seeing it this way, as with 8 days left in the funding cycles, they've raised $265. This is a "Flexible Funding Project", so whatever is raised will be distributed to the organizer of the project upon completion.

The Dangers of the Indiegogo "Fine Print"

We all know the basic Kickstarter rules about project funding - or not funding. If the project fails to fund, those that pledged are not charged. Easy to remember.

It's not the same at Indiegogo.

First off, Indiegogo uses Paypal as the payment processor, so you get charged up front. Big change from Kickstarter.

The other big difference between the two is that Indiegogo has "Flexible Campaigns" as a funding option. Here's the "fine print" many don't read - I know I didn't at first: This campaign will receive all of the funds contributed by Sun 30 Dec 11:59PM PT.

So, whether it hit's goal or not, your money has been taken and won't be returned.

Remember the Iron Age: FRP project  the one that spammed my comments to push their fundraising? Flexible Campaign. $192 of $5500 raised with 10 days to go. Those backers better be ready to get a whole lot of nothing.

Even better. No-Dice.Net, billing itself as an add on to Roll20 and Tabletop Forge. Is seeking $33,000. With 9 days left they've raised $265. You guessed it, another "Flexible Campaign".

These projects are going to be so far off their mark funding wise there is little to no chance for them to give the handful that pledged the items / rewards that they pledged for.

Got to read the fine print.

It's the End of the World and I Feel Fine...

The World ends today. Long live The World.

In case you missed it, it appears the end of the world missed us, which is fine by my reckoning. It did get me thinking tho'.

What if there were some end of the world doomsayers in my current AD&D campaign? Not a majority of the population, but a sizable minority - an End of the World Cult if you will. Add a few minor nobles into the mix as believers (or perhaps even better, as "pretend" believers manipulating events behind the scenes). Throw a few "The end is Near" kooks at the PC party as an urban "random"encounter, then gradually turn up the volume as the supposed event gets closer.

Heck, maybe there actually IS a power manipulating events from the shadows, steering the world to it's premature end. Can the heroes prevent this from happening? If they fail, do I have the proper plan to destroy the world in a memorable way? There is nothing worse than an anti-climatic end of the world ;)

James Mishler Returns With "The Magnificent Miscellaneum" (Troll Lord Games Systems)

I got the following email from the Trolls over at Troll Lord Games earlier today (just gonna snip the relevant part):

But what I wanted to talk to you about today was our new release: The Magnificent Miscellaneum by James Mishler.  Every issue of this ongoing series of supplements contains a magical mix of wondrous wizardry, potent priestcraft, monstrous menaces, mystical magic items, and more. With a touch of humor and classic gaming goodness, the Magnificent Miscellaneum is a collection of various materials for your Castles & Crusades, Amazing Adventures, Harvesters, Tainted Lands, Star Siege, and Fields of Battle games, for both players and game masters. We may have sold 12,000 copies of the Players Handbook and released five separate printings, but it doesn’t mean we all can’t use more! The Crusade goes on!

This first issue includes three new spells for Castles & Crusades, a crazy and weird monster in classic B-Movie style from the Cold Depths of Space, five new monsters in the quick and easy format used in the Castles & Crusades White Box Set, and a mysterious NPC for Amazing Adventures.

Wow.

Haven't seen hide nor hair from James since his self publishing went south. There was never a question of the quality of the work James produced - it was only the highest quality stuff for Castles & Crusades - higher quality than the Trolls were producing at the time.

It's a shame, as I suspect James would have done well in the Kickstarter Era, as it would have covered his cash flow and paid for stuff in advance. Ah well.

So, how is The Magnificent Miscellaneum?

It's pretty good. I like the spells and the flavor text - powerful low level spells with a decent amount of downside or high cost. The new creatures? Awesome flavor. Not sure how much of a chance I'd get to use them, but I love how James' mind works. The character for Amazing Adventures? eh. I don'y play the game and it isn't going to convert so well to the OSR style game of choice.

Is it worth a buck twenty five ($1.25)? Easily. Even at six pages, theres some good stuff here.

My one question - why is such a short PDF weighing in at 13 MBs? Some tablets dont have ever expanding memory, and nickels and dimes add up.

A Kickstarter That Makes Me Ask: "Why?" - Republishing: The World of Synnibarr

Thank you for welcoming me to RPG Addicts: The Collectors meeting this month. This is my first time in a "step program".

I'd like to make a confession.

While I have never purchased or even looked at an actual copy of FATAL, either in person or on an electronic screen, I do own a copy of The World of Synnibarr. No, I have no idea which edition. No, I don't recall why I bought it. Maybe it was one of those "Ebay Lots" with lots of books, where you only are interested in one or two. Still, I have it and looked at it and quickly put it down. Actually, I put it way. It's in storage now, where it can neither tempt me nor hurt me.

There are nights that it calls to me. Those are the nights I drink heavy.

Now, it's back and it's on Kickstarter. It's got a Raccoon with a rocket launcher. It's trying to make a comeback. Someone, please make it go away. I don'y think I could last a second encounter with it.

Hell, even the author says "I have published this by myself, eight times from 1980; I will do it once more. This time I have a GREAT TEAM to assist me; we shall not fail.". Doesn't that say something about this "game"? It's insidious nature? The danger? The fucking endless charts?

Or even the damn pricing: $15 for the core rules PDF, but really $25 if you want the core three rulebooks. I mean, wouldn't you need The Atlas to figure out where the hell you are?

I'm almost ready to support it as a goof - but then I wouldn't have the cash to support something I may actually play.

All that being said, I want to know what Raven has been smoking all of these years. I'd like to try some after I retire - it must be some good shit ;) 

A Kickstarter That Gladly Isn't - Some Mish-Mash Transvestite Anthropomorphic Horror Solo / Group Adventure

I had this dream last night. No, really, bear with me. It was one of those dreams that your mind latches on to so tightly that you fall right back into it after that middle of the night trip to the bathroom. Except that when you fall back into it, everything is the same but different. Fuckin' dreams!

I was having Kickstarter dreams. Or dream. Or maybe it was chapters of the same dream. Someone wanted to me look over a prospective Kickstarter dealing with a transvestite anthropomorphic vampire with a solo quest type set up which was also for group play. It's been over 25 years since I last saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but I'm sure that's where my subconscious was stealing bits of this idea from.

When I first woke up, the ideas to make this into a viable project seemed so RIGHT! Thankfully, the act of fully waking sobered me up, while at the same time smoothing out all the "amazingly awesome" details.

I know where much of this comes from. A shitload of Kickstarters I've been looking at. There the reboot of the Mummy RPG, there's card game and fiction book project that looks intriguing, there's the hangout last night having ideas bounced off me and giving feedback on a project and the reboot for like the 9th time of the anthropomorphic game of animals with RPGs (and I'm not talking role playing games).

Last night was one hell of a trip ;)

Looking at Emerald Twilight for Legends of the Ancient World (The Fantasy Trip Clone)

First off, this isn't some "Twilight" hack, so all the vampy nerds should just avoid this post if google somehow send you here.

Secondly, I've been on a bit of a The Fantasy Trip "Quest" of sorts recently. It's one of the rare, fairly popular for the time, early RPGs that I never bought back in my younger days.

Sure, TFT spawned Man to Man (and Orcslayer) and GURPS for Steve Jackson (I have them all), but I never got a change to play with the original.

Still don't have the originals, but I'm looking at Legends, which is kind of a TFT retroclone. More precisely, I'm looking at Emerald Twilight, which is a programed / solo adventure which assumes a party of four.

I'm going to have to run this next week when I'm on vacation. I'm not so sure about using the combat map or tokens, but I suspect they are an assumed part of the system, so I'll give them a proper workout.

All of which leaves me to wonder - is there enough here to run a short campaign, or even a short story arc?

See, damn me! The historian in me wanted to see how this actually plays out and it it stands the test of time. Can a 9 page ruleset compare to the hundreds of pages the current edition of GURPS needs? Should it need to?

I needed these tokens when I ran
Attack of the Frawgs!

The Legends rules are available for free here. They also came with Emerald Twilight. 

Mini Review - Roll XX (Tables and Tables and...)

You said you needed some tables for inspiration?

Have we got the tables tables for you! (Imagine Cheech Marin in Dusk to Dawn)

Bite tables!

Weakness Tables!

Sorcerous Location Tables!

What's in the Treasure Chest Tables! (it might just be 2,000 Coppers ;)

In Roll XX there's all kinds of tables!

Featuring sections for Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Supers, Modern, and Horror gaming, Roll XX is packed with adventure hooks, NPCs, story seeds, magic items, monster, locations, and setting details!

System agnostic too, so leave your prejudice behind!

Oh shit! The review part.

Okay, this shit rocks.

Seriously. I'm not inclined to roll a D20 on the tables. I'm more likely to pick thru some tables like they were Chinese Food Menus - one from Table A, one from Table B and maybe one from Table D ;)

I really like this.

Between this and Dyson's Delves I don't think I'll be looking elsewhere for source material for my current campaign.

The Sullen Seven - Rings

Because the lowly 7-sided die needs some more uses:

7 Rings:

1 - Ring of Postponed Finality - If someone wearing this ring is killed, their friends and comrades have 24 hours to heal the wearer to a positive hit point total to restore him / her to life. For example, Dunbar takes a major blow and fallsto -13 HP and should be dead. When wearing this ring the party has 24 hours to heal him to a positive HP total to avoid his true death.

2 - Ring of the Sheep - this ring is cursed and makes the wearer more susceptible to Charm type spells. Suck spells are saved against with a -4 penalty. The wearer of a Ring of the Sheep will never willingly remove it.

3 - Rings of the Assassin - these plain rings come as a matched set. When worn on each hand and touched to each other, a magic garrote forms between the two ring. The garrote in question is treated as a +2 weapon.

4 - Ring of Sanctuary - this ring, when placed on the ground and the command word is said, cast a Sanctuary spell. The ring can be used thus once per day

5 - Ring of the Open Palm - in many ways similar to the above mentioned Rings of the Assassin, the Ring of the Open Palm allows the wearer to treat their ringed hand as if it were a +1 sap. Talk about a painful slap ;)

6 - Tenkar's Ring of the Tankard - never one to be without a proper Tankard of beer, Tenkar's Ring of the Tankard can turn into a 32 oz tankard of cold, fresh beer up to three times per day.

7 - Ring of Undeath - This ring appears to be identical to a Ring of Postponed Finality (and will show as such 75% of the time when researched or magically identified), but instead of preserving the wearer's body it will turn the deceased into a Ghoul 1d7 rounds after the wearer dies.

Dyson's Delves in Hand! Dungeons Maps for the Win!

Yep, I had my soft cover version of Dyson's Delves delivered today (the turn around time at Lulu seems to have shortened considerably).

Holy shit but it rocks!

In case no one told you, it includes a mini-mega dungeon. No, I'm serious. The first included adventure is 11 levels deep, about a dozen rooms or so (give or take) per level and balanced from start to end for levels 1-6. I may just have to put my AD&D 1e group through it even though they are mostly level 4 - I guess blowing thru the first few levels could make them nicely overconfident. Did I mention it has wandering monster tables for the mini-mega too?

It has a total of 5 detailed dungeons PLUS 45 additional levels for you to fill in the details. I may not need to open any other adventure or map out anything else for the rest of this campaign... and the next...and the next ;)

Totally worth the investment. Even Ashley thinks so ;)

Come the New Year there should be a nice contest to announce with the help of Dyson himself. We'll probably start working on the details after Christmas. Stay tuned :)

Free Game of the Week - The Thing in the Chimney (DCC Adventure)

Looking to run a Christmas themed "One-Shot" for your gaming group that is heavy on the weird and awesome on the atmosphere? Look no further than "The Thing in the Chimney", A Yuletide Adventure by Daniel J. Bishop.

This sucker is a damn good read and should be even more fun to run and play. Christmas is a week away! What are you waiting for? Grab your DCC RPG (or an other OSR ruleset with little conversion needed) and get to work!

Another Kickstarter Blows Past It's Goal - To Be Or Not To Be: That Is The Adventure

This one isn't quite an RPG - it's more like a choose your own adventure.

It's damn interesting and hugely successful thus far: $387,127 pledged of $20,000 goal.

Personally, I think $25 is the sweet spot, especially with all of the stretch goals that have been met thus far.

Here's some info from the Kickstarter page:


To Be Or Not To Be is an illustrated, chooseable-path book version of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, written by me, Ryan North:

"William Shakespeare" you may know from single-handedly giving us some of our most evocative phrases, such as "all that glitters is not gold", "too much of a good thing", and "the game is afoot" (Sherlock Holmes said this too I guess.)

"Ryan North" you may know from my work on the critically-acclaimed comic Dinosaur Comics, writing the incredibly popular Adventure Time comic book series, or from co-editing the #1 Amazon bestselling short story anthology Machine of Death.

"Chooseable-path" you may recognize as a trademark-skirting version of a phrase and book series you remember from childhood.  Remember?  Books in which... an adventure is chosen??

A Kickstarter That Time Forgot - The Morrow Project

Making the old new again doesn't stop with the OSR it seems.

The Morrow Project was not a game I initially had direct knowledge of back in my early days of gaming. Sure, I had seen the ads in Dragon, I just had little to no clue as to what it was all about.

That changed one day when one of my friends gave me his copy of The Morrow Project.

"Dude, I really want to play this. Read the rules and run it for us. Please!" I tried to read the rules, but they were the usual mess that the small game publishers back then usually put out. I couldn't quite get a handle on the system, and truth to tell, my desire wasn't there. The old group played our last game in February of 1997. Paul was lost when the Towers came down on 9-11-01. Damn shame, because he would have been all over this Kickstarter.

I may have to pick this up solely for the memories of what was and what never came to be. Hell, I  might have to actually run a session this time around. I suspect it will play much like a pen and paper Fallout ;)

(16 days left and its already blown past goal - $22k+ with a goal of $15)

Next RPG that That Time Forgot will be Synnibarr ;)

The Sullen Seven - Trying to Find a Use for Seven Sided Dice - Staffs

Because the 7-sided die is as ugly as they come, I present The Sullen Seven Staffs (say that five times fast ;)

1 - Staff of the Wanderer - this +1 Staff can be used to find true East once per day without using a charge. At will it can find clean drinking water within 5 miles (it indicates direction . distance and general amount of water - too many choices it goes from closest to furthest). Finding water costs 1 charge.

2 - Staff of the Sword - much like a cane sword, there is a sword hidden within this staff. The wilder can switch from log sword to staff at will without using a charge. Neither the Staff nor the Sword have a base magic bonus to hit. Using 1 charge grants the staff / sword a +1 magic bonus for 24 hours, 2 charges grants the staff / sword a +2 magic bonus for 24 hours and 3 charges grants the staff / sword a +3 bonus for 24 hrs. When the charges of the Staff of the Sword are totally consumed, the weapon is stuck forever in the form it currently is.

3 - Staff of Beating - this gnarled staff grants no bonus to hit but does grant a +2 bonus on damage inflicted - the catch is that the Staff of Beating ONLY does subdual damage. It has no charges or other abilities.

4 - The Iron Staff - although this staff has the shape and weight of worked wood, it has the toughness (and conductivity) of iron. Using a charge allows it to change shape into one of the following forms: 10' Iron Pole, Grappling Hook with 20' Chain, Sledgehammer or 10 gallon cooking pot. It remains in it's current shape until willed back to Staff form or dispelled.

5 - Staff of Authority - this +1 staff strengthens the morale of one's hirelings and henchmen. When wielded it grants a +2 bonus to moral rolls for allied NPCs. If hirelings or henchmen fail a moral roll, expending a charge allows them to reroll their morale check (this includes the usual +2 modifier)

6 - Staff of Opening - this +1 staff can be used to open locked / stuck doors by expending a charge and tapping the surface in question. A loud "BOOM" accompanies the opening. When used in combat, a charge can be expended on a clothed / armored opponent. If the struck target fails their save, they suffer an AC penalty of 1d3 points as buckles unbuckle, knots untie, trousers fall down and the like.

7 - Staff of the Orchard - this staff is made from wood of an apple tree. While fairly useless in combat, when the command word is said and the staff's end is touched to the ground it transforms into an robust and fruitful apple tree for up to 24 hrs. The apples from this tree heal 1d2 HP per apple, no more than 2 apples can have an affect on a character per day. Eating an apple also counts as a full day of food and drink. No more than a dozen apples can be harvest from the tree per day. Any additional apples picked will rot immediately. Apples created from the Staff of the Orchard will rot if not eaten within 24 hours.

(not to forget the Sullen Seven Rods ;)

Yet More Thoughts on "Attacking the Darkness" - BAD ASS

Back in October I wrote about my Attacking the Darkness houserule, otherwise known as BAD ASS: Benefits from Attacking the Darkness, Advantages Shared and Simple.

The idea was pretty simple:

When players roll a natural 1 they Attack the Darkness. Roll damage as usual and put it in the Attack the Darkness Pool.

Every 25 points in the pool can be cashed in for various rerolls. Unused points are converted to XP for the players at a rate of 1 XP per point.

After playtesting the rules, I discovered that 25 points was too high a threshold to hit. So I lowered it to 10 pts of damage per BAD ASS Token, and kept the points rolling per story arc (not starting new each session).

I then upped the conversion to expo to 10x per point. So, the XP actually matters. Result?

My players didn't cash in the 2 BAD ASS tokens they earned for a reroll, but the thought did come up. Instead, everyone cashed in the points for 290 XP at the end of the adventure.

I'll need to roll with it for a second arc to see if I need to tweak it again, but I do like it's potential.

Here it is in it's current glory:


BAD ASS - Benefits from Attacking the Darkness, Advantages Shared and Simple


Attacking the Darkness: On a natural roll of 1, the character in question "Attacks the Darkness". Roll damage as if you had a successful hit. These points are added to the BAD ASS Pool.

BAD ASS Pool: Points are placed by the party in the BAD ASS Pool as described above. Points are accumulated in a per session manner, and unused points will be "cashed out" at the end of the game session.

At 10 points (and each interval of 10) the party has the option of converting 10 points into a BAD ASS Token (you can use coins or just make a note of it). The BAD ASS Token, or a BAT, can be used to reroll certain rolls during the game session. Some examples are as follows:

- A single attack roll (but not a natural 1)

- A saving throw

- An initiative roll (group or individual, depending on system used)

- A damage roll for a weapon or spell

- A skill roll, such as a thief's open locks or an elf's hear noise chance.

- A moral roll for a party member's henchman.

Points spent on BATs can't be cashed out at the end of the gaming session. They are gone.

Unused BATs can't be saved between sessions and will expire and the end of the gaming session.

Cashed out points are converted into expo on a 1 pt to 10 XP basis . Everyone in the party gets the full value of the cashed out points - they are not divided amongst the players.

Mini Review - Colonial Gothic: 2e (Colonial Horrorish RPG)

For a bit of background, I have my BA in History, with my concentrations in Early American History and The Middle Ages. You study what you enjoy, as it makes the hard work just a tad more enjoyable. So when I saw that the Colonial Gothic RPG had just released a a new edition of the rules (which I had missed the first time around) I had to take a peek.

I'm fairly impressed.

Under the hood it uses the same D12 system as Shadow, Sword & Spell. (I have SS&S and will have give it a second look at some point, as I have now found the system intriguing)

I like the alternate history of Colonial Times that is shown. I like the idea that you can set a "dial" of sorts for the campaign's horror component - not all groups will be comfortable going "all in". I really like the flavor. I really like the adversary / creature design chapter. Heck, I'd love to do something similar for the OSR (I know of Raggi's Creature Generator, but it doesn't always fit my needs)

The big missing piece?

There's no short adventure to kick things off with. Believe it or not, although they often feel like throw aways, this little pieces often showcase how a game system works and make a good example of game design for the rule system. Coming from my OSR roots, I'm sure I could bang something together but I'm not sure it would good fit for the system.

I guess I'll need to track down an introductory adventure at some point.

From the blurb:


The North American Colonies

The great nations of Europe struggle for control of the New World. Native Americans struggle for their land and their lives. Planters and traders struggle for wealth and position. A new nation struggles to be born.

But look beneath the surface.

Monsters stalk the woods. Angry ghosts and spiteful witches plague the villagers. Explorers search for lost cities and fabled treasures. Ancient evils are awakened.

There is a secret history, and this history deals with events that took place in the shadows. These events played a role in the history of the American colonies and the Revolution that few know about.

The truth is hidden, and plots are afoot. Events are moving behind the scenes, and lurking in the shadows are agents with their own agenda.

War is coming. 

The Siege of Boston is lifted, and General Washington is leading the Continental Army to New York. The enemies are many, but as to who they are, you do not know.

Colonial Gothic is a supernatural historical horror roleplaying game set during the dawn of the American Revolution.

This Second Edition rulebook is fully compatible with all previous Colonial Gothic adventures and sourcebooks.

The Sullen Seven - Trying to Find a Use for Seven Sided Dice

I have a huge appreciation of The Dungeon Dozen. It is many layers of awesome goodness. While it it probable many will not use the tables is written but instead use the site for inspiration, the idea of rolling on the table is damn fun.

On most days I don't have ten things inspiring me, let alone a dozen. Seven things every couple of days? Perhaps. An opportunity to use the ugliest die available? It's got to be awesome!

Previously Undiscovered Magical Rods

1 - Rod of Ungodly Godliness - Using a charge allows one to change their visage to almost godlike - causes fear in creatures 4 HD or less. Higher level creatures may suffer a morale penalty

2 - Rod of Minor Might - Acts as a +1 Club - No charges necessary

3 - Rod of Light - a single charge causes the rod to emit light like a Light spell. Two charges will emit Missiles of Light (as Magic Missile Spell)

4 - Rod of Persuasion - single charge casts a Command Spell. Double charge casts a Suggestion Spell

5 - Rod of Fishing - no charge needed to use as a fishing pole. One single charge will produce enough fish to feed four people for one day. Fish still need to be cleaned and gutted.

6 - Rod of Awareness - one charge will allow the rod to be set in the ground. It acts like a sentry for the next eight hours, and will silently warn it's owner of any creatures larger that 6" tall that come within 30' of the activated rod

7 - Rod of Spoiling - when activated, the rod will spoil food, wither vines, rot fruit, sour wine and beer. Radius is 20; per charge spend, maximum 100' per usage.

DM Fiat Over Skill Rolls For the Win!

My Were-Troll Under the Bridge Was a Bit Taller - and My Party Avoided as Best They Could ;)

Yes, DM Fiat was definitely a big win in last night's AD&D 1e.

Now, let me explain what I mean by DM Fiat in the context of last night's game: I improvised required rolls for actions (or required no rolls for actions) such as:

Required no roll, just effective roleplay, to conduct a fairly successful interrogation of two surviving slavers

Trying to grab a flaming torch held by a magically held bugbear - as the party just had 40 gallons of oil wash down the stairs they were climbing, getting the flaming torch out of the areas was a good thing, especially as two more bugbears had just joined the fray.

Throwing a party member from a bridge into a river by a huge were-troll - not by grabbing the party member sneaking across the bridge all alone, but by grabbing the rope tied to his waist and trailing behind him (which the rest of the party had failed to hold or tie off)

Deciding on the proper saving throw for said "now in the river PC" when the party's cleric cast a Command spell and ordered the were-troll to "Dive" (as it had to take orders from it's master  I assumed it had a basic knowledge of the Common tongue) - said were-troll failed it's save and dove in the only direction it was capable off - the PC in the water. It's a damn good thing he saved.

Required no roll to successfully throw said waterlogged PC a new rope and extradite him from the river with the now floundering were-troll.

Last night had a certain energy to the session which a rules heavy system like 3 / Pathfinder would have held back if run as written IMO. I'm not saying AD&D 1e isn't rules heavy, it certainly is and has a lot of baggage I willfully ignore. It does, however, put more trust the DM to improvise in a fair and even handed manner than later editions of the game which try to have a rule / roll / throw preset for nearly every possible occasion. Are all DM's fair and even handed? Of course not.

I suspect it is easier to run a 3x or 4x game of D&D if the DM has a strong grasp of the rules than it is to run an earlier edition. Or rather, it is easier for an inexperienced DM with a strong grasp of the rules. More experienced DMs tend to allow play that is outside the predefined ruleset, but as the later editions have more defined rules to cover a much larger assortment of possible actions, the ability to go "outside the rules" is greatly decreased. If there is a rule for an action, players expect you to use it. If there isn't a rule for the action, players are usually happy with a well thought out, balanced, improvised ruling.

Last night was a good session of hopefully well thought out, fairly balanced, improvised rulings.

Alright, less DM Fiat than DM Improvisation Ruling ;)

Updated 12/15 - Here's The "Where The F' Are They?" List of (Nearly All) Overdue RPG Kickstarters I've Supported

The below list is of RPG Related Kickstarters that were estimated to ship (I am using the ship date for the physical item, not the PDF if there is one) December 2012 or earlier.  I was going to add Indiegogo projects to the list, but they are so few (and this list got so long) I'll summarize as follows: LotFP stuff that I supported over the summer has not shipped, but Indiegogo doesn't force an estimated shipping date . Barrowmaze II shipped on time!

Updated 12/15/12

Colors for Actual Ship Date are as follows:

Red: Hasn't shipped and is (or will be based on new estimates) significantly overdue. This includes projects that have been shipping in dribs and drabs for months. If all backers dont have what they pledged for, it's in red.

Orange: Late but shipped, or recently missed a shipping date and hasn't shipped

Green: Shipped on time. Holy Shit!

DungeonMorph Dice
Goal: $5,000     Total: $20,620     Funded: May 22, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2011     Actual Ship Date: December, 2011

Adventurer Conqueror King System
Goal: $4,000     Total: $11,648     Funded: August 6, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: November, 2011     Actual Ship Date: April, 2012

Far West
Goal: $5,000     Total: $49,324     Funded: August 25, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: December, 2011     Actual Ship Date: Not Shipped (and has missed interim ship dates)

Far West - last update 11/19 (almost a month ago)- updates approximately monthly -  First the main / lead artist flaked out in the middle of the job (and claimed to have finished work he hadn't completed), then Gareth got sick, "Far West" as a title will now be cropping up in unrelated media, making marketing a pain I suspect - If this hits ONLY the one year late mark, I'll be impressed. Backer portraits were due about a week after the last update - haven't seen it yet nearly a month later.  Cubiclde 7 has gotten involved in the process, so the new guarantee of Dec 2012 for the PDF is hopeful, I've lost fucking hope - but I'm not sold on it. Note - this project will be AT LEAST one year late.

One year+ late and still updates once a month and can't even fulfill it's later promises (such as seeing the new backer portraits - sure, maybe they are on the forums, maybe not, but update via the damn system you used to take our cash)
C&C Classic Monsters
Goal: $4,000     Total: $9,108     Funded: December 2, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: January, 2012     Actual Ship Date: May, 2012

Quantum Roleplaying Game
Goal: $13,000     Total: $47,747     Funded: December 30, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: April, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped

Quantum RPG - last update 12/13 -  beta is now over - time to actully set the rules in stone - To be honest, I'm no longer excited about this project. I suspect when it ships it's going straight to the bookshelf. Still no new estimated completion date

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea
Goal: $6,000     Total: $13,216     Funded: January 15, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: April, 2012     Actual Ship date: July, 2012 and still ongoing completed I believe

Adventurer Conqueror King System Player's Companion
Goal:: $4,000     Total: $20,622     Funded: March 16, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped  

ACKS Player's Companion - last Update 12/6 - Updates approximately twice a month. Updated ship date 1/13 -feedback from early release PDF has been applied and the contents revised - PDF released into the wilds ;)

Story Forge
Goal: $12,000    Total: $21,736     Funded: March 20, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2012     Actual Ship Date: July, 2012

Dwimmermount
Goal: $10,000     Total: $48,756     Funded: April 14, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: August 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped (New Estimate 4/26/13 2013)

Dwimmermount - Last Update 12/14 - Updates Weekly. Absolutely the best thing Travis (and James) have done is give weekly updates. In the Way Way Back, where updates were few and rumors were many, folks were getting might uppity, and with good reason. There was certainly a loss of some goodwill during the Way Way Back Times, and Travis is putting the effort in now, but things would have been so much simpler if updates had been weekly from the start, especially with the wide margin the ship date is being missed by.  BTW, the Progress Graph is annoying and tells me little except to remind me of how late this project already is. Strangely enough, this seems more late that Far West even though it isnt - I suspect that is due to all of the initial hype. Oh, and the "draft" is complete.

King For a Day
Goal: $800     Total: $4,844     Funded: May 1, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: September 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped (new estimate - December 2012)  No F'n idea.

King For a Day - Last update 12/15- Updates Approximately twice a month. Jim has learned that being joking about your project's lateness while announcing your new Kickstarter isn't the way to keep your supporters happy. Late is late. Notice this post and the amount of red? 

Artisan Dice
Goal: $300     Total: $91,542     Funded: April 7, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: April, 2012     Actual Ship date: May, 2012 and still ongoing completed now I do believe - this suffered from overwhelming response. If you are going to be late, let it be because you have too many customers ;)

Adventures Dark & Deep
Goal: $2,500     Total: $7,459     Funded: April 15, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Shipped September, 2012 - I was only in at the PDF level, but congrats for hitting the ship date ;)

Myth & Magic Player's Guide
Goal: $5,000     Total: $24,076     Funded: May 7, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: August 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped

Myth & Magic Player's Guide - Last update on 9/29 was in relation to it's sister project. PDF released to the wild, no hard copies yet. Last update related to this project was 9/21, about 6 weeks ago. Not the way to remain in contact with your customers. TWO MONTHS NO UPDATES! Maybe it shipped - I have no clue

Appendix N
Goal: $1,000     Total: $18,893     Funded: July2, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped (New Estimate Late September November December ? 2012  Pick a card, any card...)

Appendix N - Last Update 11/29 - Updates about once a week - Brave Halfling is like your cousin who is always late to appointments - whether it's a Kickstarter or a pre-order, the quality has so far been excellent, the timeliness has been poor. PDF versions of the releases look to be on time or close to it going forward - physical products is going to be a wait n see in my opinion.

Nystul's Infinite Dungeon
Goal: $2,000     Total: $16,017     Funded: June 3, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: September 2012 (New Estimate October November  2012? No estimate)

Nystul's Infinite Dungeon - infrequent updates - Last update 12 / 13- Estimate for physical delivery is November 2012. greatly expanded offering from initial description. pre-layout version in PDF for backers - no idea when it will release

Dwarven Adventurers Boxed Set

Goal: $1,250     Total: $136,487     Funded: July 25, 2012

Estimated Ship Date: September 2012 Arrived 12/3

Dwarven Adventurers - Shipped

CHAMPIONS OF ZED: Zero Edition Dungeoneering

Goal: $4,600     Total: $8,077     Funded: June 16, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: August, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Shipped

Champions of Zed - last update 11/5 - once this project started running late, the updates stopped. Maybe there is info at the forums, but is it too much to ask for an update via Kickstarter every two weeks?  2 months between updates, but project is now in layout. No new estimates completion date. Someone remind me why I backed this project... I seem to recall someone is working on getting this out the door, but I can't find the link.

Tabletop Forge
Goal: $5,000     Total: $44,413     Funded: July 9, 2012
Estimated Release Date: August, 2012      Actual Release Date: Not Yet Released

Tabletop Forge - Updates approximately every 2 weeks - last update 12/11. Its software. Software doesn't play nice. Updated software looks to be a huge improvement. Process is slow with some members of the original team flaking out. I may need to actually spend an hour toying with Roll20 at some point, as it seems to be much further along.

Race To Adventure
Goal: $40,000     Total: $52,117     Funded: July 24, 2012
Estimated Release Date: Dec, 2012     Actual Release Date: Early 2013 (New Estimate)

Race To Adventure - Last update 11/14 -Updates about once a month - Board Game - Blame the delays on European vacations. No, really -"wouldn't you know it, August turns out to be a time when a lot of folks in our field are off on a vacation. But we're not talking about GenCon here -- we're talking about Europe, where we're going to be having the game manufactured. This sort of nations-wide month long vacation is super, uh, foreign to USA-based folks like us, so we simply had no idea it was coming." BTW, why bother linking digital expansions for us to download when we don't even have the core product yet? It's almost like pouring salt in the wounds.

Fantastiqa
Goal: $10,000     Total: $23,580     Funded: August 9, 2012
Estimated Release Date: Oct, 2012      Actual Ship Date: November 2012

I need to find time to play this with my family. Box weighs a ton and a half ;)

Axes & Anvils
Goal: $1,000     Total: $35,000     Funded: August 11, 2012
Estimated Release Date: November, 2012     Actual Release Date: ?

Axes & Anvils - Last update December7, 2012. It just went past due date. Playtest document available to backers. My guess? Jan / Feb  2013 for release.

Swords & Wizardry
Goal: $10,000     Total: $78,000     Funded: September 4, 2012
Estimated Release Date: November, 2012     Actual Release Date: ?

Swords & Wizardry - Last update December 12, 2012. Updates 3 times a months or so. It just went past due date. My guess? Dec 12 / Jan 13 (there were some missing pages in the PDF, so fixing the PDF means delaying the ship - January at earliest)

There's a crapload of RED now.

If I missed any I'll post them, then add here for the next update.

Just as a quick note, Spears of the Dawn is on track to possibly ship MONTHS early.

If this happens, Kevin should get a special award ;)

Not due yet, but funding is complete:

Horror on the Orient Express: Call of Cthulhu by Chaosium

Tremulous

Numenera

Maelorum, an epic Gamebook

Magicians: A Language Learning RPG

Boss Monster: the Dungeon-Building Card Game

Dungeon Heroes - Your Lunch Break Dungeon Crawl

Agents of Change: The Time Travel RPG

Spears of the Dawn