I am so psyched for the upcoming expansion book for Josh Jordan's Heroine RPG.
The book is called Girls Elsewhere and I was fortunate enough to be one of the contributors for the book!  Josh actually mentioned me in the podcast interview you can find here:
http://rpgbg.blogspot.com/2013/06/interview-josh-jordan.html

Woot!
After playtesting and supporting so many projects before, this could be my first official contribution that will see publication!  Here's hoping this is one of the baby steps forward to me someday actually releasing for publication my own RPG systems.  So far, there's a bunch of positive responses for [...]

Originally posted January 27, 2010.

One of the biggest problems people often see with secondary characters is when their creator doesn't take much of an interest in them. I'm not saying they suddenly need to steal the story, but it helps to spend a little time in their heads, make them more than just caricatures on the page. Empathize with them, if nothing else.

For many, the reason why this happens is being focused on the characters at the center of the action, to the exclusions of the ones outside. In stories, it results in a [...]

Disney's The Lone Ranger is scheduled to open in the UK on August 9, featuring Armie Hammer as the titular hero and Johnny Depp as Tonto.

I'll say it again: healing characters are important. My current campaign party is having the cleric ("prophet" in 52 Pages) sit out for the summer, and boy are they scared. Potions compensate somewhat, but especially on long expeditions, there's nothing like renewable healing.

From 4th Edition, Wizards' D&D has seen this as a problem and compensated with all sorts of innate healing surges and the like. For me, it's an opportunity to take a light hand in the design of the character class, because healers are so damn good anyway.

The new 52 Pages lets a prophet, on [...]

Numenera: Tales from the Ninth World. Monte Cook Games legen langsam aber sicher los.
Das Rollenspiel Numenera soll beim Drucker sein und vorab gibt es via drivethruRPG eine Anthologie (2,99 $ 83 Seiten) von Monte Cook und Shanna Germain, um einen ersten Vorgeschmack zu geben.

“THERE HAVE BEEN EIGHT PREVIOUS WORLDS.

 

Each world stretched across vast millennia of time. Each played host to a race whose civilizations rose to supremacy but eventually died or scattered, disappeared or transcended. During the time that each world flourished, those that ruled it spoke to the stars, reengineered their physical bodies, and mastered form and essence, [...]

I'm helping out with the promotion for the Maelstrom Domesday Kickstarter by Arion games - they're reinvigorating this classic RPG and you can get some great rewards by supporting. Here are the details: After nearly 30 years, the classic Maelstrom RPG gets a brand new edition - complete with new setting and revised rules!

The Maelstrom RPG was first published in 1984 and remains a classic to this day. Fast and innovative mechanics, evocative characters, flexible magic and the preeminent RPG herbal made this a game ahead of its time.

Now it [...]

Trololol!

Last week or so I linked the comments on this blog to Google+. Little did I know that such an action would prompt my dear readers to sign up for an account in order to comment. I have now removed the feature and you may all resume commenting per usual.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

Another week has gone, and first day of summer is only a couple days away! And with Wednesday here once again, I have a new review posted over on EN World News.

Greetings again, Dear Readers and Fellow Gamers, and I thank you for stopping by my Neuroglyph Games blogsite! My trend in reviewing one science-fiction roleplaying games after another seems to be carrying on strongly -- except for my recent review of Neverwinter MMO, of course. I have another space opera to review today from Jolly Roger Games.

PARSEC RPG was the focus of a very successful Kickstarter campaign last year, [...]

Star Trek Continues V03 "Happy Birthday, Scotty" from Star Trek Continues on Vimeo.



In case you haven't seen 'Star Trek Continues' here's a pretty funny little clip from the episode " Happy Birthday, Scotty" that clearly shows what happens when the crew of the Enterprise upgrades their hand phasers.  I was reminded of the many times a party of adventurers in a science fiction game upgrades or levels up through alien treasures or experience points. Especially, Star Ships and Space Men second edition. The various missions of the Enterprise certainly reflect some of the tropes encountered by [...]

Soooo purty!So our 7 girls each has their bases in their own regions they control. But here is where their Camelot is hidden to meet on neutral ground. And Comicbookist does an amazing job once again!

The Maelstrom Arctic Base
by the Comicbookist

 

When building a scenario or other campaign entity, I like to graphs to show in an abstract way how various things link to each other. Sometimes I like to build purely organically, constructing these graphs as I think of the entities, but lately I’ve been taking a page from the eurogames design pattern — build the structure first, then fill in the content. That makes it somewhat easier to prove that everything works, but does have the risk of being ‘overly patterned’ or repetitious in structure.

I want to draw the graphs first, but I want them to simultaneously be uneven [...]

My friday night L5R game is coming off of a small hiatus - we missed last session due to me being sick - and a five year time gap. The fun thing is though that when the time skip began the PCs were all, effectively if politically, banished from the core setting for the game, but I'm not changing settings as we come back. Which, of course, means that the PCs have to get back into the city, now don't they? So, here's the plan.

One Is Already There
Not all of the PCs left. One has gone into [...]

Programming the online version of my Mars game is going more quickly than I expected. It already does the main roll, and updates your Info, Food etc. The next stage is dealing with heat and Green Martians.

Meanwhile, the barbarian prince heads northwest, for the town of Weshor.

Alas, they fear to ask directions from the local peasantry lest someone recognise the prince, and so they get lost.

In the evening the prince hunts again, and gathers 8 units of food.

The Prince:

Combat Skill: 8
Endurance: 8 / 9
Wit and Wiles: 2
Gold: 8

The Priest:

Combat Skill 3
Endurance 3
Gold: 30

Food: 13
Location: [...]

We are now an affiliate with the d20pfsrd.com estore. Get your books through them. And our own books will be sold through there (as well as others) once they’re ready. Use the link along the right hand side of the site here. Or here

Countdown to the Bidet Shoot: Day 3
Fortunately, so far I seem to be the blonde and not the brunette for once.

With all of the primary components at some level of alpha, I’ve been working behind the scenes integrating them into a whole and getting the networking up and running again. Each part, the map tabletops and the editors, was created separately and the unification has been filled with lots of “oh, that should be a singleton,” and “that class should really derived from this other one.”

In there, too, has been a lot of work on the networking functions. Unity uses a client-server architecture that, while is understandable, is often frustrating. All communications have to go through the server and be [...]

Final JudgementLegendary Dwarven Battle Axe
Wielded; Weight 6 lbs.

Beacon: On command, this item sheds bright light in a 10-foot-radius sphere. Darkness within 10 feet of the sphere of bright light becomes dim light. Speaking the command word again douses the light.
Painful: The bearer experiences a lingering ache while wielding the item or has a flash of pain when activating one or more of its properties. The pain has no other adverse effects.  
Property: You gain a +1 bonus to the attack rolls and the damage [...]

I'm going to make a confession. While I was excited about Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG and the things I'd seen about it, I wasn't totally sold on the game. Yes, it seemed like it would be  a lot of crazy fun. Yes, I loved the old school look and Appendix N-ness of it. However, the thing that really sold the system to me was the third party Transylvanian Adventures books written by S.A. Mathis over at Land of Phantoms.

What is Transylvanian Adventures? The game uses its own variation of the DCC rules to emulate the action [...]

I'm going to make a confession. While I was excited about Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG and the things I'd seen about it, I wasn't totally sold on the game. Yes, it seemed like it would be  a lot of crazy fun. Yes, I loved the old school look and Appendix N-ness of it. However, the thing that really sold the system to me was the third party Transylvanian Adventures books written by S.A. Mathis over at Land of Phantoms.

What is Transylvanian Adventures? The game uses its own variation of the DCC rules to emulate the action [...]

pointy ear pansies...
prance under moon with bow and sword;
dancing with the stars

As my four-year-old daughter likes to say, I have some good news, and I have some bad news. I will give you the (relatively, albeit minor) bad news... the blog is simply not a priority right now. I know. You are shocked. Aghast. Flummoxed. Beside yourself with rage.

Whoa. Step off there, Charlie. It is only a blog. "But Mike," (you say) "I love Army Ants, and I'm going through something akin to withdrawal. This is bad news indeed. Bad, bad news."

I'm sorry. I truly am. You'll survive. Okay. I feel better. Now on to the good [...]

Today on Music To Roleplay To we saddle up, hit the ol' dusty trail, and see if our grit is true against the horrors that make the West weird in Deadlands!


First off, Deadlands publisher, Pinnacle Entertainment, has released not one but several soundtracks dedicated to their weird west line:

1. Deadlands Weird Wailin's by Michael Urich
2. Deadlands: Aces & Eights by Medwyn Goodall
3. Deadlands: Toxic Tunes by Gary Everett and Enoch Hain (a post-apocalyptic vibe)
4. Deadlands Noir Original Soundtrack by Harry Mack (a 30's noir vibe.) 

As of this posting, a couple of these soundtracks are on sale for cheap: $2.50 to $5.00 from $15.00. [...]

Very fitting for a Wednesday post and bonus geek points if you know why.

Nerd out Tolkien-Viking style!

God of Wednesday

And because I got another promo email from them FREE shipping from Banners on the Cheap. Hmmm....do I spend my money on toys, or do I order a hexmap? I hate making such grown up decisions.

And this ends adventure two. The party did what they expected and had a nice wilderness treck back (lots of chatting at the table, hence the lack of "getting things done"). There are some bookkeeping that have to take place next meeting and then it's roll roll roll into adventure 3.

Write up follows:

We trucked out of Candlewick, walking south in effort to reach the clearing beyond the Endless Forest. Fergus and Urthar were pulling our laden cart, forcing it both around and over the large tree roots that made up the floor of the forest. As [...]

I have had a break from the in-player game now for two weeks after taking the advice of several readers when we had a bad night.  The advice I received was to maybe take a break from the whole thing and to change things up.  We have done this and I have spoken directly to the people who were most upset and I think we are all OK to move forward.  If a player does not want to play though, this is OK too.  If they aren't having fun then that is fine.  But this post is about me!  All [...]

I've got vacation time coming up from the real job. I'm off the first week of July and the week that covers the end of July / first week of August. I'd like to devote much of that time to reviewing / editing submissions to the Unofficial OSR zine.

What are we looking for? Monsters, adventures, spells, magic items, classes, house rules, design thoughts, series of articles, whatever the fuck is on your mind that your think others might want to read and is OSR related.

In all seriousness, this zine should belong to the OSR community and as such needs to be written by the community. If all you wantred to read was my thoughts, this blog would suffice.

The plan [...]

Fr. Dave does AMAZING work. I am thrilled to report that I just now found out he released another module reimagining!

http://bloodofprokopius.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-caves-of-cormakir-conjurer.html

Seriously, this man’s work with the format and layout and mapping is delicious. I have not even been through this yet, just glanced at it and realized he has gifted us all with another incredible module.

Fr. Dave’s inspirational three column approach to writing the module text, and maps designed to be broken up into pieces so you can see what you’re running, and his reverent but fresh treatment of the material–stop reading this and go check it out!

This [...]

Here's another superhero character background based on a character created by Carter-Ethan Rankin and released into the public domain. The character name and illo is free for all to use, but the rest of the material in this post is presented under the Open Gaming License. Copyright 2013 Steve Miller.

Jimnast (aka James "Jim". Nast)Jimnyst (Male)
(aka James "Jim" Nast)
Brawn 23, Body 14, Brains 5
   Traits: Dumb, Martial Artist, Sense of Honor
   Combat Maneuvers: Backflip, Basic Attack, Kung Fu Face, Murderous Mitts, Signature Move
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded:  Superhero Outfit (Armor, absorbs up to 1 point [...]

Here's the write-up for another character that Carter-Ethan Rankin came up with and released into the public domain. This display image and character is available for all to use. The text in this post is published under the Open Gaming License. Copyright Steve Miller 2013.

Unveiled (aka Soraya Jirrah)
Unveiled (Female)
(aka Saraya Jirrah)
Brawn 22, Body 14, Brains 10
   Traits: Improv Master, Nimble, Sense of Honor, Super Power (Item-based: Super Strength, Super Speed, Flight, Furious Fists
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Castrate, Debate Philosophy, Disarm, Dodge,
   Important Stuff Worn/Weiled: Scheherazade's Wrap (Armor, absorbs up to 6 points [...]

Another super-character for your enjoyment (and, I hope, use in your ROLF! games). Once again, the character concept and the display illo were originated by Carter-Ethan Rankin and released into the public domain. The write-up here is presented under the Open Gaming License. Copyright 2013 Steve Miller.

DMC (aka Dwayne Matthew Charles)

DMC (formerly Fasttrack) (Male)
(aka Dwayne Matthew Charles)
Brawn 23, Body 15, Brains 7
   Traits; Dead-Eye, Improv Master, Nimble, Sense of Honor, Super Power (Natural Super Speed)
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Disarm, Dodge, Double Strike Run Away
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Super Outfit (Armor, [...]

I spoke with +Matt Finch on the Dorkland! Roundtable. A lot of you probably know him as the creator of Swords & Wizardry, but you may not know that as the original developer of OSRIC, he is probably responsible for starting up the whole retroclone trend that has hit gaming. We spent time talking about why retroclones are a good thing, and various bits and pieces about old school gaming. If

Some of the regular comic readers who follow Dorkland! may recognize Cullen Bunn from his comic writing comic books for Oni Press (The Sixth Gun, Helheim, The Damned, and The Tooth) and Marvel Comics (Fearless Defenders, Deadpool Killustrated, Venom, Wolverine, and Spider-Man: Season One), but what you may not know is that he is also a long time tabletop RPG gamer. A recent tweet that he made

I spoke with Anthony Gallela on the Dorkland! Roundtable. As a former Executive Director for GAMA (gaming's one and only trade association), I thought that it would make for some interesting background to talk about that for a bit. Most John Q. Gamers aren't really all that familiar with GAMA and what it does for gaming, so I thought it would make for some interesting listening. We also

This morning, I watched 2011′s execrable Conan the Barbarian. In a perfectly just universe, those responsible for this film would never have been permitted to make the movie, or, at a minimum, they would have to refund the 113 headache-inducing minutes I spent suffering through the cinematic excrement. On the plus side, Conan’s fight against those ninja sand monsters was kind of spiffy. So, in that vein:

The kummuai inhabit desert regions, lurking at the edges of inhabited places. They haunt the outskirts of towns and the routes between oases. In its natural form, a kummua is invisible and incorporeal. They [...]

Say what you will about +James Raggi , but when he connects he hits it out of the park. Better Than Any Man is probably his best release yet.

The art, the maps, the presentation, the fold out cover, the screwed up real life history - 96 pages of James at his best and it's all for free. Alright, it was paid for by Kickstarter funding, but it was available for free on Free RPG Day.

I'm so looking forward to really digging into this. I just got my copy today from Noble Knight Games and have just done a quick skim of this. Didn't even open up the Star Wars Quickstart and the Swords & Wizardry one seems to have been aimed at [...]

Okay, so I bought this system a couple months ago, read through it, started drafting a review, lost my hard drive, and now I'm starting it all over from scratch.  Criminey.  Anyway, so yes the Adventurer Conqueror King System (ACKS) is one of those D&D old school renaissance (OSR) systems.  However, that's not why I bought it.  I bought it because reportedly featured a well-designed "end game" for high level characters, including economic and political elements.  I was hoping that it might be adaptable for my Old School Hack/Fictive Hack game if any (surviving) players get to higher levels.  Since [...]

I received my issue of 6 Iron Spikes & a Small Hammer, Issue #1, earlier this week.  It is written by +john yorio, proprietor of Tabletop Diversions blog. 

The Physical
John's zine is 16 pages long.  This includes the front and back cover.  It is made of 20# paper, not cardstock cover.  It is bound together by some fancy use of floss.  It works really well.

Art
The art is clipped and pasted and gives the zine an old time zine feel.  I think of safety pins, mimeograph machines and inky stuff everywhere. He does provide an [...]

I’ve been working on Adventure Path design recently, in conjunction with my work on my RPG Maker VX project. A couple months back I worked out a basic format for “filling in the blanks” of an adventure path, and more recently I figured it best to test my method on an existing game narrative — Guild Wars Prophesies.

Adventure Path Math (Feb 7, 2013)

I think the mission-based structure of Guild Wars suits the Adventure Path format really well, actually — moving the heroes from one location to another across Tyria, upping the ante through a steady stream of antagonists and plot [...]

Inspired by the treasure tables, magic items and artifacts of the 1st Edition fantasy roleplaying game, Missing Magic offers potions, scrolls, rings, miscellaneous magic, weapons, armor, and more! New feats allow for the creation of potions and wands crafted from higher level spells! Thoroughly bookmarked and now enhanced with links to the Pathfinder System Reference Documents, Missing Magic is compatible with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game!

Available at d20pfsrd

http://shop.d20pfsrd.com/collections/asparagus-jumpsuit

Available at DriveThruRPG

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=4062

Available at RPGNow

http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=4062

Often angelics are guardian figures who advise communities.
(Skyrim)The difference between Angelics and Demonics is the difference between a benevolent relationship with kindly ones and an ambivalent or sometimes malevolent relationships with others.  You see, most monsters in Fianyarr are unabashedly so.  This means that players never have to worry about if they're doing the right thing when they slay Redcaps or other monsters which is a useful quality for a game where characters are expected to kick in the doors and kill things.  If a game loads you up on guilt you tend to stay your hand.

When [...]

I am not one who makes a habit of following Superman. I respect the challenges faced by authors who must write compelling stories for such a complex and powerful character, but other than the foundation of self-control and morality on which he is built, Superman holds little attraction for me as entertainment. All that said, … Read more

This video Saturday Seed is being planted for Call of Cthulhu, in response to several mysterious craters being carved into the very depths of the earth around my quiet home. My Saturday Seeds also reappear onAncient Scrollon random Saturdays~ The seed The seed is built around the usual uncertainties arising from unknown agents with unknown … Read more

This litigious seed is being planted for Mutants and Masterminds, especially on the street level hero scale where the threat of capture by the police is a very real one. My Saturday Seeds also reappear onAncient Scrollon random Saturdays~ The seed The seed involves all those difficult questions about vigilantes, being above the law, being … Read more

To be honest, this GM Prep Tip is just as useful for players, assuming your GM approves.

This tip also assumes that you play using a battlemat or map of some sort, online or off.

In the past I've used soft, flexible craft foam to create spell effects templates. When my DS Invoker (this was 4th Edition HackMaster) started tossing Lightning Bolts and Fireballs around the game could (depending on the GM) crawl to a halt while the GM tries to figure out where the spell effects occur.

Many spells have simple enough areas of effect that [...]

Inspired by Adventure TimeIn the vast cosmos there are many weird entities to encounter and fight. These are three of them.

Hell-Sphere
Small Aberration, Chaotic (LE), Average Intelligence, Gang (1d3)

Hit Dice: 4
Armor Class: 17 [Silver]
Attack: 2 fire whips (10-ft. range; 1d4 + 1d6 fire)
Speed: Fly 30
Save: F15 R14 W11
XP: 400 (CL 5)

Hell-spheres look like ruby colored spheres about the size of a human head. While they look solid, they are in fact only semi-solid, bridging the material and ethereal planes. Hell-spheres move by flying, and can also levitate in place. [...]

“Why are we camped here? I brought this up before! You said you weren’t worried about it. I said that this was not a defensible position and you said you could fortify it! I don’t see any fortifications Andre! All I see is a hole you cut into the wall. A hole that is useless as an escape route because it goes nowhere! We are about to be overrun and you start maintenance on the teleporter! Are you insane?” Jackson lit into the engineer.

“I’m not worried.” Was all that Andre answered.

“That’s it? If I somehow survive this, and I have [...]

Last night's game of Al Qadim went very well. The players continued their forary into the cistern under the Gazebeo and also learned that something else had once occupied the Inn besides the old wizard and inn keeper when they encountered sand skiff tracks and followed them back to a hidden stable that was located within the Inn. Inside the stable they found the long-dead skeletons of two camels and two horses as well as two perfectly intact sand sleds. These are like sand barges like what they have but are single seaters. Inside the room were scattered [...]

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What’s worse than being captive? Being a captive audience.

In this week’s Wizards without Coats, V Shane rises to all new evils!

The post Wizards without Coats: Just kill us already! appeared first on Geek Native.

Dark Souls: a game for the traditionalist, a game for the rising challenger, a game for the old school and a game for the new.  It is a game with a high bar of entry and an even steeper learning curve.  It is a game that turns away many but is deeply loved by a dedicated few.  It has turned heads for its old school resurgence and commitment to solid design and gameplay without [...]

This past Saturday was our group's first session in three weeks, not counting a short Hangout with a handful to test the new DSL at my folk's place in the Poconos two weeks ago. We usually take 30 to 45 minutes to get settled, catch up, tell stories, bitch - all the usual stuff that goes on in a Face to Face game, except we aren't sharing snacks and farts.

This time we never even got to game - we literally hung out for 3 hours just talking and laughing our asses off.

It's been damn near 18 years since I had that happen to a game I was running, and that was with my old high school / college group.

Our [...]