Played in +Nathan Joy's Jade Regent game using GURPS Dungeon Fantasy. We picked up in the middle of the battle that was raging last time. All in all, this will be a short report. Cadmus did a lot of defending. He attacked ineffectually a few times against pretty awesomely skilled defenders. He did break ranks to Heroic Charge a super-duper Skill-30 guy from behind, beheading him. But then I got nailed like three times, and down to HP 0. Fell down, crippled left hand and right leg. Didn't KO. Fast-Draw a major healing potion (house-ruled to 2d+6) and I was back up to 15 of 18 HP (boosted thanks to Righteous Fury).

Still, my next move should be pretty cool if I get to pull it off.

The other guys are pretty much more awesome than me, even though I'm technically a 470-point character by now. The spellslingers are seriously earning their keep, and Mystic Knight continues to be an amazing template, with envy-inducing imbuement skills (the explosive arrow is a real crowd pleaser).

We are absolutely inundated with bad guys. Nate's exulting about finally making us use some of our consumables.

We did the game over Skype and MapTool, and Skype refuses to play nicely with my admittedly sparse setup with regard to webcam, headphones, and monitor-as-speakers output. At least sometimes. Other times, it works fine. No idea.

With the arrival of Stuart Lloyd to the ranks of my Band Of Brothers (and Sisters) we now have 100 Followers on HeroPress, which I don't think is too shabby for a site that has been going for just seven months. Well, seven months at this address. HeroPress as a blog has been active for over seven years (longer than Rachel and I have been married). I'm glad Google hasn't done away

I expect we'll hit 4,000 posts sometime this weekend - Monday at the latest.

Fucking amazing. Scary too. If you've been along the ride for most of these posts, God bless you. If you're relatively new, welcome aboard.

Just think, at the end of May, The Tavern hits 5 years old. That's like venerable in AD&D years.

What are we doing to celebrate?

We hope to have the first episode of the upcoming podcast released by the end of May. No guarantees. I'm talking to the godfather of OSR podcasting tomorrow for advice. Yes, unlike blogging, I'd like to hit the ground running when it comes to the podcast - or, failing that, and least not trip up too badly.

For me 1984 was pretty much my breakout year where it was obvious I was a full-blown nerd. I had played D&D one time in 1982, collected a Moldvay Basic and Cook Expert boxed set by 1983, but had a hard time getting anybody to play. Inflicted a few sessions on my sisters and some distant cousins, but that was about it.

In 1983 I started seriously reading comics, starting with “The New Mutants #1″ and “Uncanny X-Men #167.” Gradually I started reading other Marvel Comics titles.

Then in 1984 TSR came out with this:

the Marvel Super Heroes roleplaying game. [...]

(Is the mid-1990s long enough ago to be kinda retro yet?)

Filed under: Uncategorized

First off- to my players- DON’T READ! Ok- now that has been said…

In my Hubris campaign the players were recently saved by Yelsa, Goddess of Sex and Violenceand were told that they must find out who is killing whores in Fairweather, their purpose, and stop them.

The characters are going to find out that a wizard has found a page of the Book of Vile Darkness (although it’s not a real page- a darker force has sent out copies of certain pages that corrupt the reader, driving them mad) and it shows how to tear open the Void and bring forth [...]

I believe the average game time for most RPGs is in the are of 4 hours of play per session. I don't know if this true or not. My feeling for a sword and sorcery game is that the 'adventure sessions' should run more like short stories and not chapters an book. An adventure should be short, perhaps and hour to two hours.

I like this idea. Sword and sorcery is quick and to the point and action oriented. It is better suited to the short story and novella rather than novel or the dreaded 3 in a series [...]

System Name: Uxtal
Sector: 3-9
Star Number & Type: 1 - K VI
Planet Number & Type: 2 - L, W
Inhabitants: None
Description:
There is little to recommend this small system. The dull orange star burns quietly, orbited by a moderately large gas giant, and a mars sized lifeless rock. While the gas giant has the usual assortment of small moons, it also has one artificial satellite.

Adventure Seeds:

• Ages ago this sector (not this system specifically) was a very minor battlefield of a major war. A relic of that war, in the form of a damaged [...]

Hands down the best of the three Pathfinder Tales I’ve read so far. Gross presents two memorable characters, Pathfinder Varian Jeggare and his bodyguard, Radovan, in an exciting and engrossing adventure through ominous Ustlav.   Written in a style reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes and Dracula, the story draws you in, and, despite several errors, provides […]

U is for Underworld

Eventually the subject of where witches get their powers is going to come up. When it does we often have to deal with the Underworld and who lives there.
It gets called a lot of things, The Ever After (Rachel Morgan), the Never Never (Dresden Files), the Nether Realms (Buffy in one episode), Hell, The Abyss, the Pit.  I have to admit one of my favorites was from the Beetlejuice cartoon, the Neither World.

In my games I typically say witches can't be raised from the dead since they reincarnate.  So if you want [...]

  The Prep in Progress entries are short summaries of my prep for my on-going campaignThe Tales of the Hero Wars.   Sadly, my schedule for yesterday was very fragmented, with four trips into school. Not only did this all take up a lot of time, but it also broke my focus every time, which …

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Great news to HERO fans! HERO games has just announced that they’ll be launching a Kickstarter campaign for Fantasy HERO Complete, an all-in-one book similar to their Champions Complete book that will allow for groups to run Fantasy HERO games off just a single book.

I’m personally a fan of the HERO system, and I have good memories of playing HERO so this is definitely something I’m looking forward to. Check out the full announcement here:

http://www.herogames.com/index.html/_/store-items/hero-announces-fantasy-hero-complete-kickstarter-r26

What is with The Asylum churning out female-fronted action flicks at the moment with titles that sound like top shelf magazines (or dodgy websites)? Names that you dare not Google for fear of being flagged by a Government watchdog! "Kidnapped by a Los Angeles crime syndicate, a group of schoolgirls must fight and seduce their way to vengeance, teaching the criminals a lesson in kicking butt

There are many awesome and inspirational images on the web these days. Here’s a few that were found that you may enjoy and draw ideas from.

Clicking on each image will open it in a new window.

scifi-fantasy-horror.com

TAP

Pinterest

This image feed will show the last 12 images that have been pinned and may change if you return to this post later.

2013 saw the departure of two gnomes, Patrick Benson and Kurt “Telas” Schneider, and the stew pot’s been feeling too roomy without them. Earlier this year we started looking for a couple of new gnomes, and today I’m pleased to welcome Angela Murray and John Fredericks to the blog.

Angela posts here as Orikes, and wrote a guest article in 2013, The Art of the One-Shot Character. Here’s her bio:

Angela has been playing roleplaying games for over twenty-five years, but it’s only been within the last decade that she got her feet wet as a game master. Despite years of playing [...]

The Story of the The 9th Roman Legion has become the stuff of legend. Recently three different movies have been made of the story each slightly different from each other, all worth a watching. The Last Legion (2007), The Centurion (2010), and The Eagle are all excellent fodder for an adventure story line, and damn good movies. I like The Eagle best for this purpose because it is most "quest-like".

Marcus Flavius Aquila and his Brigante slave turned companion Esca set off beyond "the edge of the world" North of Hadrian's Wall on a quest to find the lost golden eagle, [...]

RPG Bugbears - Mobile Phones

The other day I was working on The Keys of Heraka-at and realized that by and large ‘conventional treasure’ is not a major feature of this adventure. The primary reward of this adventure is the knowledge needed to become the new Donnerkonig — the items that are needed, where they can be found, and what needs to be done with them — rather than gold or jewels or even magic items.

That got me thinking, and I wonder: is conventional treasure really that significant a draw in play?

I’ve been playing mostly old school games for the last few years: D&D 5e [...]

The One Page Dungeon entry undergoes some serious revision and late brainstorming.

Like many stories (and adventures), the characters apparently have minds and agendas of their own...

OK, off to bed.  I have an 0400 wakeup.

No category of film exemplifies the struggle between good and evil like fantasy.  My top 10 is only as definitive as my subjective tastes.  Most are fantasy movies I grew up with, although a few I didn't see until later in life.  So, it's not just based on nostalgia.

Animated and muppet films like Heavy Metal and The Dark Crystal were excluded because I had to narrow it down somehow.  After all, how do you compare The Last Unicorn to The Sword and the Sorcerer?  I also had to draw a line somewhere between fantasy with a good [...]

Unicorns in D&D are the classic image of unicorns in literature, a horse with a single horn sprouting from its forehead. Like mythology, in D&D they are magical creatures that are nearly impossible to catch. Human and elven maids of pure heart can tame them and use them for steeds. Some have combined the winged […]

After some thought I have decided to change up my blog.  I no longer will be updating this blog with game design ideas.  Instead I am going to treat it like an open-house social site for discussing game rules and coordinating game sessions. 
D&D 5E is coming out this summer and I will be playing it and adding content to HR3PS concerning game sessions using the new rules set.  I have also been getting familiar with phpBB software and I am going to use that with this blog to organize and recap table top and online play sessions.

Product- Run & Gun

System-Shadowrun 5e

Producer- Catalyst

Price- PDF $25

TL;DR- What fans have been dying for! 93%

 

Basics- Time for the first hardcover expansion for Shadowrun 5e. This book focuses on physical combat. It starts off covering several new weapons ranging from swords to laser guns. Next, the book presents new armor and clothing options. From here, Run & Gun begins to focus on combat heavily starting with small squad tactics and new teamwork combat maneuvers. After team combat, the book spotlights called shot locations, special attacks with different ammo types, and more combat options. Following general combat, the book introduces martial arts [...]

We kick this season off in Daggerford, a smaller town of the Sword Coast where adventurers are drawn to the possibility of treasure and plunder.

Humanoids of all types have been more active in the area and no one knows why. Recently you have heard rumours of confrontations with the Red Wizards of Thay up by Dragonspear Castle: but that was all that they were...rumours.

The characters will travel almost anyplace, such as cities nearby such as Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate (oh no! Not Baldur's Gate again.)

Join Derek, Craig and I on this roller coaster ride [...]

I've had a couple of people ask for a version of the Astral Prison map without the text around the outside of it. Something that serves as a better standalone sheet to place in the middle of the table when a game is underway.

I'm always happy to oblige with such things.



I've also been asked to provide a copy of the map without any altars, treasures or monsters on it...so here's that version.



I hope you all find these useful when you decide to include them in your games.

Well, if Joesky can find the strength to post, so can I. He is the beery wind beneath my wings.

attention must be paid

Ain’t my campaign, but word in the New York Red Box is that co-blogger Charlatan has hit the level cap for his bad-ass Halfling, Cut Coutelain, who has struggled all the way up from Level 1 in a fairly by-the-book B/X game. Strongholds and dominion rules await, if Cut hasn’t blown all his cash building a “burrow boxing” arena for his kin-folk. I don’t follow the blogs enough, but I’m wondering if anyone else has gone from 0 [...]

I recently won a number of random auctions, one of which included a starter box of Circle Oroboros. Those who have been reading this blog for a long time know that I thought about getting into Hordes for the longest time because of the look of this faction.

After everything, and I finally had my own, I must say the sculpts did not disappoint. It is a story I posted two years ago. Though tempted I won't repeat it here.

So this time, it was not new to me. I had experience with the models. It is always more [...]

Well, if Joesky can find the strength to post, so can I. He is the beery wind beneath my wings.

attention must be paid

Ain’t my campaign, but word in the New York Red Box is that co-blogger Charlatan has hit the level cap for his bad-ass Halfling, Cut Coutelain, who has struggled all the way up from Level 1 in a fairly by-the-book B/X game. Strongholds and dominion rules await, if Cut hasn’t blown all his cash building a “burrow boxing” arena for his kin-folk. I don’t follow the blogs enough, but I’m wondering if anyone else has gone from 0 [...]

Full disclosure: Back around the beginning of March, I was researching medieval mysticism, woodcuts, and tomes for my Ghartha series when I came across a blog post by David J. Rodger, discussing the Polanski film The Ninth Gate. It was a well written post (and made me go look up the movie and watch it […]

telomeric: (adj.) relating to the natural end of a eukaryotic chromosome composed of a usually repetitive DNA sequence and serving to stabilize the chromosome

Highbeam Multistellar’s most skilled engineers on Bellatrix have created some impressive weapons over the years, including the Bellatrixian plague fungus and the causality virus. In this grand tradition comes Highbeam’s horrific telomeric gas.

This heavier-than-air gas (approximately as dense as carbon dioxide) acts quickly after being inhaled or otherwise absorbed through a mucuous membrane (or even via the eyes). At this time, the active chemicals in the gas attack the victim’s DNA, overwhelming the telomeres of the target [...]

Hirelings, they come in all shapes and varieties. Some don't last long, yet others through cowardice, luck, or sheer will manage to stick around. Guides are needed to trek through wild lands, as are henchman to haul around loot. And let us not forget the humble torchbearer. When you're packing around a broadsword and heavy shield, someone needs to hold the torch (or lightning rod) for you.

(Imitates Arthur from Army of Darkness) T is for Torch Boy!!!!!

Miles Osgood

Miles was once a normal boy. He had loving parents and a normal farm life. This was before his family was brutally killed [...]

While the following is a new 5-minute adventure it is a departure from a normal 5-minute adventure in two ways. The first is obvious as it is listed in the title of the post and that is tha tI developed the adventure to be usable in both Swords & Wizardry Core (4th printing) and the Next playtest rules of the world's oldest fantasy roleplaying game.

I do not know how well I succeeded in this goal and feedback is greatly needed if I am to improve my ability to both use and develop for Next Playtest and eventually [...]

Look in your heart, you know it to be true...Last year, I wrote a short post about the alignment system present in Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder (which you can find HERE). In that post, I mentioned how I'm rather fond of the alignment system as a concept and like how it gives the player a starting point for their character's personality and personal philosophy. I also like the idea that forces of absolute chaos, good, evil, and law exist within these fictional settings and how mortals who might not meet up to those same standards might interact and align [...]

Satyrs are the life of the party. They are often considered the male equivalent to dryads (or potentially nymphs). Unlike those beauteous fae, they're not particularly pretty. Still they have their charms (literally when you take their pipe ability into account).

Prepare to drink and sing, because S is for Satyr...


Theron of the Clovenflame
"Any festival you can walk way from wasn't worth attending in the first place."

To those that have met him, the satyr reveler Theron is often seen as a force of nature. To be fair to nature, there are natural disasters that are less destructive. The [...]

Via thepidgeonsandpeepsTumblr,Ostium Inferus by deviantART userGrivetart.

The post Wicked-Awesome Art Wednesday: Ostium Inferus appeared first on Age of Ruins.

Previously, I reviewed Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea. I talked about how I liked both the rules and the …

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Our hobby has a nasty side sometimes and when it shows its ugly face it is very difficult to roll high enough to save for the trolls. And some trolls don't go away even if you pour acid or burn them to the ground. That's what happened recently with a Kickstarter project from Daring Entertainment. [...]

The post Podcast episode – The RPG Room: Get out of my hobby! appeared first on G*M*S Magazine.

Redheads! Italy! Motorcycles!

I can watch this one over and over…

Max Brooks and Avatar Press have announced Legendary Television and Digital optioned the New York Times Bestselling Author Brooks' Extinction Parade as an original property for development as a new television series. Brooks is closely tied to the development of the project and will be writing the Pilot episode.

“I only brought the idea to one company, Legendary, because they do the kind of quality work of which any writer would be proud.” stated Brooks.

“Max Brooks is a visionary with an incredible ability to tell stories that deliver a fresh approach to the horrors that haunt our nightmares. His [...]

GM Tips - Failing Forwards
A more interesting way to resolve 'failed' rolls.

I LOVE THE RAT QUEENS!!!

There I said it.

I saw this random panel on Tumblr and immediately knew I'd love the series. Hands down, it is my favorite comic of the last few years (though I will say that Saga is exceptional too). I've previously mentioned the Queens here. The series is a darkly humorous and violent fantasy series with modern aesthetic.

If you don't mind vulgar language (often of a sexual nature) and drug references mixed with your swords and sorcery, then Rat Queens is the series for you. The first five issues are available int he [...]

Up until 50,000 years before the present day of my new world campaign, the landscape of the new world was considerably different.  A basalt ridge left behind from a volcanic eruption and lava flow in the distant past divided the drainage basin of the jungle roughly in half, and what are now the two main tributaries of the Zamonas were separate rivers, the Maita to the north and the Ilyapa to the south.  The Maita fed into an immense coastal swamp, while the Ilyapa snaked through the southern hills before going underground and flowing through a series of lava tubes [...]

COME ON DOWN!!! http://www.kingdom-con.com/ I have the 10AM timeslots for RPGs on Friday and Saturday. Kingdom Con 2014 - RPGS April 24 - 3:00pm Outbreak: Can YOU Survive? Outbreak: Undead GM: Brett Lynam Length: 4 Hours Players: 9 or more It has finally happened; the dead walk and society has crumbled. This is a character [...]

With our escort of the Kindly Ones we made our way through the forest, guided with all speed past the natural hazards of this great place, heading southwestwards; my heart grew heavier as we neared the darkling village and I contemplated what doom the unbelievers and worshippers of the false god had bought down upon all of our heads. Whilst Soctia marvelled at the shining arms and armour of our guides we began to descend into a valley, the air growing soupy and quite unlike the pure clean vapours of our northern home. We stopped a days walk from our [...]

Okay folks, not much new to show off this week so I'll regale you with some of my gaming puns that I regularly tweet (yes I tweet: @GamersTableMike). Hate em or love em, puns have been a staple of my D&D humor for years. Standard apologies if you've hard any of these before. Enjoy (or not)...

• Skeleton armies have a particular skull set.
• Combat tactics: Fallen Footmen need Archer support.
• Alcoholic Genies crawl into bottles.
• Humanoid drunks go to orcaholics anonymous.
• We had to pay to use the Troll bridge because we missed the Faerie crossing.
• On the hole I always [...]

Well, last week was hectic.  You may have noticed the lack of any writing.  I noticed the lack of most things that relax me.  The holiday added extra things to my "to do" list, on top of the unrelenting busy season at the real job.  If those weren't enough, my child was ill the entire week.  I didn't get any writing or gaming time in whatsoever and the regular game was cancelled.  That said, I have gotten some offline work completed this week and I'm almost ready to roll out the first "I Give a Fluff."  Having written that, some [...]

I agree that simpler rules make for easier preparation and improvisation, which is why I love monster design in 4th Edition: it is incredibly easy to make monsters/NPCs of any level and scope (even on the fly), all the formulas can fit on a card, and unlike 3rd Edition it is actually reliable. This also extends to building encounters: I feel much more confident that I can quickly and easily design an encounter, while still making it precisely as difficult as I want.

So why is it that---besides, you know, 3rd Edition did it---they see the need to provide a second [...]

I was awoken during the night by Scotia, the soft sound of laughter and other strange noises filtered through the forest trees that were illuminated but dimly by the flickering embers of our campfire; pulling a burning brand from the fire I blew gently on it, sending a small cloud of ash spiralling into the air and I peered into the patterns that it formed, seeking the will of the ancients in the chaotic swirls of grey.
"They are spirits of the forest" I said, almost as much to myself and to my companions, "we must show these guardians of [...]

What does the OSR mean to you? I'm not asking you to define the OSR, because such a definition is fairly nebulous and arbitrary.

For me, the OSR means making the old new again. Keeping the rules I first found as a teen fresh and relevant 30+ years later.

The OSR means I can find new adventures for my old rules, and new rewrites of the old rules that are easier for these aging eyes to read and this aging mind to follow.

The OSR has given D&D of old the lifespan and vitality of a Tolkien Elf - it will not die even as those that deigned it have moved on to the beyond.

The OSR is. That in and [...]