The Dungeoneering Dad

Troll Lord Games try another Kickstarter-style Pre-Order

2012-01-04T12:48:00.000-05:00

TLG has another Kickstarter-style pre-order up: Rune Lore. This one isn't through Kickstarter, but they have it set up the same way (see the reasoning here: link). Worth a gander for any fellow C&C fans:

Helping a Dice Brother Out...

2012-01-02T23:20:00.002-05:00

Brian from AwesomeDice.com just made me aware of his dice-themed blog and site, so I thought I'd share. If you're looking for dice, take a gander. Looks like a good selection.

Update: Just to clarify, I'm not affiliated with AwesomeDice.com and didn't get any kind of kick-back for the plug. Just like to help out anyone trying to make a living in the gaming industry.

My New Year's Resolution

2012-01-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

This sums it up:

(Thanks to Monte Cook for sharing this on Google+.)

Kindle Fire and Dropbox

2011-12-06T15:08:00.001-05:00

I love my Kindle Fire. All the gaming PDFs I've been amassing are much more useful and all those great books that seemed kind of pricey in hardback are now great as PDF options.

I've been using Dropbox on my various devices for a while now and it's a great way to make gaming stuff available on your computer, your phone, what have you. Strangely, Dropbox isn't available from the Amazon App Store yet.

If you Google for instructions on how to load Dropbox onto the Kindle Fire, you'll find many complicated ways to install it (via the USB port, etc.). Here are a couple simple ways to access your Dropbox account from the Fire:

1. Use QuickOffice (which is pre-loaded on the Fire) or QuickOffice Pro: You can associate your Dropbox account with either of these apps and, bam, instant acccess. QuickOffice Pro doesn't have its own PDF reader, so it will prompt you to choose one from those already on your device. This might actually be a plus over QuickOffice Pro if you don't care for QuickOffice Pro's PDF reader.

2. Use the Dropbox Android app: In order to do this, you first have to go to your Kindle Fire's "Settings" screen, select "Device," and then toggle "Allow Installation of Applications" to "On." Then, download the Dropbox Droid app right from the Dropbox website: link. Ta-da. You now have the Dropbox app on your Kindle Fire.

Alternatively, you could just use the SugarSync app. It is available from the Amazon App Store and seems to be more or less the same thing. I didn't use it because I didn't want to go through the hassle of switching from Dropbox.

Why the Kindle Fire is Old School...

2011-12-05T12:37:00.001-05:00

... because it's digest-sized!

An assortment of digest-sized awesomeness.

The Only Cyber Monday Deal on Amazon Worth a Damn...

2011-11-28T16:34:00.001-05:00

.... is: Twisted Sister - A Twisted Christmas: LIVE

or the non-live version, if for some reason you want less tracks and less Dee Snider commentary: link

(okay, okay, there is Lulu.com sale going on too).

Happy (Very Belated) Thanksgiving!

2011-11-26T15:38:00.001-05:00

Here is a link to last year's Thanksgiving Day post and probably the only Thanksgiving-related D&D adventure in existence: The Feast of the Gobbler

It's for 3.x, but if you're an OSR guy, you should be able to strip it down anyhow since it is 1.) by Casey Christofferson (the guy behind several great C&C products) and 2.) was released by Necromancer Gamers.

Oh, and this seems appropriate for the holiday:

Kindle Fire for Gaming PDFs?

2011-11-25T08:26:00.001-05:00

Anyone have a Kindle Fire? If so, does it work well for gaming PDFs?

Castles & Crusades Session XP Calculation Sheet

2011-11-22T16:44:00.001-05:00

A month or so ago, I worked up an Excel spreadsheet to help me calculate XP earned by the party after a game session. I shared it over at the Troll Lord forums and folks seem to be digging it. Figured I'd share it here as well:

C&C XP Calculation Sheet

All you do is enter in the various XP info for critters slain (base XP + XP per HP), gold value for treasure, and any kind of story award you dished out. Then enter in the number of characters and, ta-da, XP for the session for each character involved.

I keep a separate Excel file for each session just in case I need to see what was dished out before. You could also just keep each session in the same file, but on a new sheet.

2011-11-17T19:55:00.001-05:00

I am Bow... and I am FABULOUS!

I've been watching a lot of She-Ra on Netflix with my girls. It's actually a pretty good kids show, especially for girls. Nice to see the female character kicking ass instead of waiting to be saved. Her male sidekick, Bow, is proof-positive on why I think bards suck. I mean, can anyone be more NON-metal?

GASPCon 12 - A Summary

2011-11-15T14:41:00.001-05:00

Need I say more?

Troll Lord Games gives Kickstarter a Try for a New Monster Book

2011-11-03T12:29:00.001-04:00

Troll Lord Games has had a Classic Monsters book in the works for quite some time. Today, they just announced they are releasing it via Kickstarter. This should be an interesting experiment. I don't recall seeing another game company do this (hobbyists and such, yes, but not an entity's whose bread and butter is the game product).

The Dungeon Bastard's Awesome Jack o' Lantern

2011-10-31T16:12:00.003-04:00

More pics here: link

Happy Halloween!

How my girls roll...

2011-10-26T14:41:00.001-04:00

This about sums it up:

Crypts & Things: Conan, the OSR way

2011-10-24T12:43:00.003-04:00

There are a ton of retro-clones out there, but I couldn't pass up on this one. Crypts & Things tweaks the Swords & Wizardry rule set for some Conan-style greatness. If nothing else, it should be useful as source material for my C&C hex crawl, which has a nice sword and sorcery vibe going for it.

It's available from IndieGogo site, some kind of Kickstarter clone (I can't tell any differences). I chipped in $30.00 (and that includes S&H) for the softcover edition. Hopefully, he reaches the goal.

Digest-sized Monster Goodness / Lazy Friday Fantasy Metal Post: Warlock - "Burning the Witches"

2011-10-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

The Warlock has cooked up some digest-sized, OSR monster goodness... snag it here: link

Oh, and I can't let an easy Warlock reference pass without some video goodness, especially when it is just in time for a Lazy Friday Fantasy Metal Post.

Gaming Deal: Wargods for $10.00

2011-10-20T13:05:00.000-04:00

I am not a huge miniature games player, but I do enjoy them from time to time, especially at conventions. I don't like ones that are overly complicated and if it takes a life-time to play a battle, count me out.

However, one of my favorite miniatures games is Wargods by Crocodile Games. Combat is relatively fast and furious. One of the cool aspects of Wargods is that players use counters to pre-plot their squad movement before each turn and then have to stick with it. It gives the game a more realistic feel and seems to speed up play. You just lay out the counters in the path you plan to move and then go with it.

Right now until 10/23/11, the core Wargods rulebook is on sale for $10.00 (it's normally $30.00): link I believe the S&H is only $5 or so. Definitely worth checking out.

Everything in my campaigns turns into a dick joke.

2011-10-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

The Dungeoneering Dad preps for his C&C session.

I don't know what it is, but every campaign I GM involves a metric ton of Freudian slips. These, of course, spill over into nonstop snickering by my players and, hell, myself. The dialogue at my game table sounds like it came out of a Kevin Smith movie. I am fine as hell with that and die laughing just about every game session. (I love me some Randal. "I'm a firm believer in a ruling class. Especially since I rule." Sounds like a good DM motto to me.)

In my previous Rappan Athuk campaign, every map I drew on my white board had at least one phallic appendage.

Here are but two examples from last Friday's session of my Castles & Crusades Wilderlands hex crawl:

What it was: A huge obelisk with a pulsing, red tip. Why it was that way: I was describing how something labeled the "Dawn Obelisk" on James Mishler's awesome Southern Reaches map glowed red when the dawn sun hit it. What my players got out of it: A big, red-tipped cock standing erect in the desert.

What it was: A inn named the "Shrieking Queen." Why it was that way: I used Zak's great Vornheim book to generate much of the town of Sacred Rock and randomly rolled up that name. At the time, I thought it was a great name for a bawdy, rough and tumble inn. What my players got out of it: It was faaaaaaaaaaaaaabulous!

This has potential to be a regular post topic here, so stayed tuned until next time.

The players react to my description of the Dawn Obelisk.

I don't always play RPGs...

2011-10-06T16:22:00.001-04:00

DiceCAM - Use your real dice for online play

2011-10-02T22:34:00.000-04:00

I was browsing Kickstarter today and came across DiceCAM.

In short, you roll dice in the box, a camera in the box can read the dice rolls and, ta-da, no need for an online dice roller.

I don't play online myself, but I know that it's pretty popular, especially with ConstantCon going on. I did have two players roll up their characters online for my in-person C&C campaign via an online dice roller and that just didn't feel the same.

Anyhow, just figured I'd give this thing a plug as it seemed pretty cool.

Hot Castles & Crusades Action at GASPCon 12

2011-09-20T16:21:00.001-04:00

I will once again be running some Castles & Crusades at GASPCon 12 this November. If you're in the Southwestern Pennslyvania area, be sure to check out this convention. It's small, but very friendly and a lot of fun.

GASPCon 12

My event will be on Saturday at 7 PM:

RPG - Castles & Crusades - Crypt of Istaris (RPG)Come play Castles & Crusades, a rules light, bare-knuckled, D&D variant. Can you survive the Crypt of Istaris? An evil cult has magically rigged the crypt to detonate at midnight, taking the surrounding town with it unless a ransom is paid. Can your band defuse the situation? Come play this tournament-style dungeon crawl and enjoy some old-school fun.

Lazy Friday Fantasy Metal Post: The Sword - "Night City"

2011-09-16T12:59:00.001-04:00

I've been jamming to The Sword a lot. Their albums make an excellent soundtrack to the Wilderlands.

There is a place where the losers win
A port of call for desperate man
It is known by many names
We come and go but it remains
Nobody cares, nobody cries
If you're scared or if you die
That's the way it goes
You should know...

You're in the place they call the Night-side
In the shadows where the killers and the
pirates hide
Stick around if you think you
can survive
in the city on the Night-side

Running scared through endless night
Too afraid to put up a fight
They shackle her wrists
It's too late to resist
Scanned for weapons and transmitters
Sold at auction to the highest bidder
That's the way it goes
Now you know...

You can find us on the Night-Side
In the shadows where the killers and the
pirates hide
Come around if you think you
can survive
in the place they call the Night-side.

Troll Lord Sale Going Viral - Keep this thing going and spread the C&C love

2011-08-23T14:36:00.003-04:00

Troll Lord Games, the fine makers of Castles & Crusades, have a great sale going on right now and will keep it going as long as folks keep spreading the word (details here: link)

For $20.00 (plus S&H) you can get a copy of the C&C Players Handbook, Monsters & Treasure, and a module (Shadows of Halfling Hall). Normally, all this would cost $56.00. link

Note, these are the hardcover versions of the books. My group (who are recent C&C converts) took advantage and placed a large order.

You only need the PH and the M&T to play, so this is a great starter pack (the Castle Keeper Guide mainly has optional / supplemental rules).

If the combo deal is not up your alley, you can get just the PH for $15 (link) or M&T for $10 (link).

2011-07-28T15:57:00.002-04:00

Wow. It sure is dusty in here. I'm still around. Still alive. Just been busier than a one-legged man in an arse-kicking contest.

So, quick update: After a summer sabbatical, I'm returning to the DM Screen... only this time I'm running Castles & Crusades. Running a group of 8 or so players under D&D 3.5 is just too damn slow.

My group might convert their PCs and continue with Rappan Athuk or we might just start completely anew. I'm letting my players vote on that. Right now, it's looking like a complete reboot.

More when time allows.

Lazy Song with a D&D Reference Post: Radish - "The You in Me"

2011-05-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

In the opening lyric, nonetheless.

Pictures from Behind My DM Screen

2011-05-27T08:10:00.001-04:00

My dice, ready to roll and take PC life.

Mid-session madness.

Remember What Thor Says...

2011-05-25T23:37:00.000-04:00

I like this.

Castles & Crusades at StruebCon V

2011-05-24T18:53:00.001-04:00

I ran Ruins of Ramat for a group of five players at StruebCon V (thanks again to Polymythic Steve for hosting this kick-ass event). I had some nice goodies from the Troll Lords to hand out, including rule packets and a free Players Handbook for one lucky player. It was a blast and I highly recommend Ruins of Ramat to anyone looking for a short old school adventure. It's available for both C&C, Original Edition (aka Swords & Wizardry compatible), and Labyrinth Lord.

Hans snapped some photos as we played and here they are:

A nice shot of the Castle Keeper Screen. The players seemed to be a fan of the archer for some reason....

Yours truly preaching the good word.

I love this shot. This sums up what great gaming is all about for me.

Behind the screen.

Hans's poo-flinging druid.

Blog Update and Cthulhu Has Good Taste in Beer

2011-05-22T19:03:00.000-04:00

Life has gotten rather hectic and I can't update this bad boy nearly as much as I'd like. So, in the mean time, I will be posting a few photo dumps and perhaps some audio recordings of a Savage Worlds game in which I play.

Also, Cthulhu has good taste in beer:

Bill Cavalier - Adventure Coach

2011-05-13T16:17:00.002-04:00

Saw this on Monte Cook's Twitter feed. Freakin' hilarious!

Lazy Friday Fantasy Metal Post: Spellbast - Goblin's Song

2011-05-06T09:56:00.000-04:00

Full Length Conan the Barbarian Trailer Released

2011-05-05T08:22:00.000-04:00

This one looks much better than the teaser trailer (I still can't believe they basically did the whole "In a world..." thing in that one). I have my doubts about their being much of Robert E. Howard's Conan here, but it at least looks like a solid fantasy flick.

Nice Finds at Michael's

2011-05-04T09:56:00.001-04:00

I stopped by Michael's the other day and saw these sitting on a shelf. They might make great terrain for D&D, miniatures war gaming (the palace in particular looks great for Ambush Alley), and so on. They were about $7 to $9 a piece.

UPDATE: These things are actually birdhouses. You can also find them on eBay if you search for "unpainted wooden castle." I can't find them on the Michael's web site.

Con on the Cob giving out a Free Hotel Room

2011-04-22T12:11:00.000-04:00

According to its Facebook page, Con on the Cob is giving a way one free hotel room to one lucky person who registers by May 1st.

I have never been to this convention, but have heard it's a blast.

One Dungeon Generator to Rule Them All

2011-04-21T07:01:00.001-04:00

Yesterday Dyson Logos and Mike from Gutter Cult pointed out what is perhaps the end-all-be-all of the online dungeon generators: Dave's Mapper.

It uses geomorphs from a ton of sites (see here) and let's you pick and choose those you want to include in the generation. It also includes options for city or village generation. Very cool.

They *only* thing I see some of the other ones I posted having over this one is that they provide monsters, traps, etc. However, if you just want a spiffy looking map to populate, Dave's is the place.

On a side note, thanks to Kevin for sharing his Random City Intersection generator. That could be handy for modern/super campaigns.

A Handful of Sweet Arse Dungeon Generators

2011-04-20T12:14:00.003-04:00

I've been collecting random dungeon generators for a while now. The funny thing is that although I love them, I never use 'em. Guess that is because I've been running a published module for so long. Anyhow, although some of these have stats for particular versions of D&D, they really are suitable for whatever version you play. Enjoy.

Donjon's Random Dungeon Generator - Pretty neat in that it provides monster stat blocks, a dungeon map, etc. Tons of options, such as map style, layout, etc. It even generates a wandering monster table. The link there is for the d20 version, but there is a 4e one at that page too.

Myth Weaver's Dungeon Generator - Lots of options here and it populates the dungeon with monsters and treasure as well. Some times it dishes out d20 stats for specific creatures. It provides stats for the traps, too.

Gozzy's Dungeon Map Creator - This one only makes a map (which might be a plus for some). Plus it includes a random room map creator as well.

Paratime Design's Maps - This page doesn't have a generator, but does have tons of free maps for castles, dungeons, buildings, cities, etc. Pretty sweet.

Dyson's Random Morph Map - One of my favorites as the maps created look sort of hand-drawn. It puts together the map based on geomorphs from the A Character for Every Game blog. This guy made a cube out of it.

Risus Monkey's Random Map - This one is very similar to Dyson's (and the site notes it was inspired by it). Again, I like the feel of these maps because they are based on geomorphs and the result looks hand-drawn. Troll and Flame created an interesting Dungeon Geomorph Cube Project based on this site.

Note: I suspect the last two ones served as inspiration for the awesome DungeonMorph Dice Kickstarter project. EDIT: The man behind Inkwell Ideas (see below) is also the creator of the DungeonMorph Dice. He does indeed cite the two sites, and many more, as inspiration.

Dizzy Dragon Games Adventure Generator - This one generates a populated dungeon level and encounters based on d20 Pathfinder, Moldvay/Cook/BX, or Moldvay Basic (although it doesn't create stat blocks). The dressings can come from the 1st edition DMG.

The Wizards of the Coast Random Dungeon Generator - This one is pretty great for d20 (I'm not sure if there is a free 4e one out there from WotC). You can select which monster sources (e.g., just the core books, or add in the other Monster Manuals, Fiend Folio, etc.). It even provides boxed text, if you are into that kind of thing.

Inkwell Ideas - This guy has a ton of generators of various kinds (not to mention excellent mapping software).
- Dungeon Generator
- City Generator
- Village Generator
- Inn Generator

If anyone knows of more map or dungeon generators, please share!

Jocelyn Dawnseeker - Ranger/Horizon Walker

2011-04-07T13:20:00.002-04:00

Continuing along with Honoring Dead PCs, (after an overly long delay) here is Grim Jim's Ranger/Horizon Walker, Jocelyn Dawnseeker. (For those who don't play D&D 3.5, a Horizon Walker is sort of an ultra-ranger-like prestige class. It allowed Jocelyn to specialize in various terrains and environments (such as "underground").

Unlike most (if not all) of the other PCs in the Rappan Athuk campaign, Jim's character actually had a background:

Jocelyn is searching for a childhood friend Templeton (who is dead in Rappan Athuk).

Templeton was Jim's first PC in the campaign. I don't mind that the other players didn't bother with backgrounds. We play a beer & pretzels game and the death rate is rather high (sort of sucks to make up an elaborate background only to have your PC snuffed out the next session). Still, it was a nice touch for Jim to do this.

Here are some of Joclyen's career highlights.

Being a critical hit machine. Seriously, he could produce them on demand. I never thought about it at the time, but being an archer lends itself to this. Simply put, when you're rolling more d20s each round (i.e., one for each arrow), you simply have more chances to roll a crit. Jim made good use of the ol' Critical Hit Deck.
Lighting up a troll with one flame arrow for a whopping 49 points of damage.
A failed Survival check (ala Wilderness Lore) lead to one of the funniest, ongoing in-game jokes of the campaign. At one point, while exploring the wilderness around Rappan Athuk, the party encountered a stronghold of bugbears. Because the PCs start at 6th level in this campaign, I figured the ranger would have a chance to know what these creatures were. More often than not, I would have just hand-waved it and said the ranger knows what they are, but I guess I was feeling sassy that evening. Jim critical failed the Survival check, and so he, and thus the rest of the party, became convinced the bugbears were actually "gnolls." Now, what do you think happened when the party first encountered gnolls? I couldn't resist and called for another Survival check. Yep, the ranger was damned sure these new, hyena-headed creatures were "bugbears."
My personal favorite was when the party encountered a maiden in the bowels of Rappan Athuk. Naturally, she was a succubus. Like everyone else who's played D&D more than a couple of times, Jim suspected as much and when the maiden came towards him, he started to roll for his volley of arrows.

Me: "Uhm, Jim, you're firing on the lady?"
Jim (matter-of-fact tone): "Yes."
Me (laughing): "Jim, you have to at least try to role play this."

Naturally, she tried to kiss him next round, and then he brought the pain (although she did escape).

Race: Half-elf
Gender: Male
Class/Level: ranger/horizon walker/10th/1st

Initiative: +4
Speed: 30 ft
HD: 11, HP: 72
BAB:+11/+6/+1
AC: 20 (22 with shield), Touch AC 14, Flat-footed 16 (18 with shield)

Attack: long sword +14/+9 (1d8+3), dagger +14/+9 (1d4+2), composite longbow +16/+11/+6, with point blank shot +16/+11/+6, with magic +1 arrows & point blank shot +17/+12/+7 (1d8 or 1d10 with broadhead arrows)

Attributes:
Strength 14
Dexterity 18
Intelligence 11
Constitution 12
Wisdom 14
Charisma 11

Saving Throws: Fort +10, Reflex +11, Will +7

Alignment: Neutral Good

Skills: Climb +8(+10) [-2 AC Penalty], Concentration +2, Diplomancy +5, Jump +5-2AC penalty, Handle Animals +2, Hide +6, Listen +9, Knowledge (geography) +8, (nature) +7, (dungeoneering) +2, Move Silently +9, Ride +6, Search +8, Spot +10, Swim +8 -2 ac penalty, Use Rope +10, Survival +12(+2)(+2).

Languages: Common, Elvish, Giantish, & Abyssal.

Feats: Weapon Focus (longbow), Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Manyshot, Iron Will.

Class Abilities:
Ranger: Track, Wild Empathy, Endurance, Distracting Shot, Woodland Stride, Swift Tracker, Evasion.
His favored enemies are: Giants (1st), Constructs (2nd), and Undead (3rd).

Horizon Walker: Dark Vision 60'; +1 to hit & damage against creatures with Underground as their terrain location.

Equipment:
Elven Chain +1, Light wooden shield +1, Keen Adamantine Long sword +1, composite longbow +1 w/ +2 Str Bonus, Quiver (magic, 300 arrow capacity) with 75 regular arrow, 45 broadhead arrows, 14 silver arrows, 2 fountain head arrows, 1 sleep arrow, 10 cold iron arrows, 3 subdual arrows, dagger, 2 sunroads, Rations 10days, waterskin, 50' silk rope, flint & steel, 2 vials holy water, 1 everburning torch, 1 piece of chalk, potion remove fear, Ring of Sustenance, potion neutralize poison, potion water breathing, Helm Comp Language, Amulet Vermin Summoning (Centipede).

Castles & Crusades Players Handbook for $5.00! (PDF) until 10:30 PM ET

2011-04-06T21:09:00.000-04:00

Like I said, the Troll Lords have sales all the time these days. This one was too good not to share:
Castles & Crusades Players Handbook PDF for $5.00

Sale lastes until 10:30 PM ET.

Scored myself a copy.

Lazy Friday Fantasy Metal Post: Rosae Crucis - Bran Mak Morn

2011-03-25T09:30:00.000-04:00

Gamerati's Loot - A new place to blow your hard earned cash on games

2011-03-22T09:04:00.000-04:00

This new "Loot" site by Gamerati seems to be the gaming equivalent of Woot. No invitations or such required. Take a gander and be tempted.... Loot

Prepping for game night

2011-03-18T18:46:00.001-04:00

Bard's Gate Wilderness Area (The Lyre Valley) Player's Map

2011-03-17T23:57:00.002-04:00

My players are exploring the wilderness area north of Bard's Gate, known as the Lyre Valley. There isn't a player's map available, so I worked up one via Hexographer. It's not the greatest map, but I thought I'd share. Here is a download link: Lyre Valley Map

UPDATE: Leadjunkie at the Necromancer Games forums reminded me that Clark Peterson's original DM map was available. I updated this to match it (it was much easier to read than the one in the book itself). I also added in some town names.

New Conan the Barbarian Teaser Trailer.

2011-03-12T20:08:00.001-05:00

I'm still not sure about this, but the quote at the end gives me hope.

Nifty Condition Markers

2011-03-12T10:29:00.001-05:00

My buddy John had a great idea for DIY condition markers: use those plastic rings from milk jug caps. Simple. Brilliant. Need different colors? Buy different kinds of milk!

Lazy Friday Fantasy Metal Post: Finntroll - Trollhammaren

2011-03-11T08:00:00.002-05:00

HOT ELF CHICK WITH UNREALISTICALLY LARGE BREASTS

2011-03-10T14:16:00.000-05:00

Okay, so my Old School cred is suspect since I DM D&D 3.5. I do think I DM in old school fashion and I tried to explain what old school D&D was all about at the GASP forum.

So, you might ask, why am I explaining myself? So I can get in on James's sweet bandwagon over at the Underdark Gazette! Sorry, it was just too fun to pass up.

As my contribution to the old school D&D movement, I'll share what I posted at GASP:

"In my opinion, if there is any unifying element to "old school", I think it's the acceptance of the DM as a referee and adversary rather than the GM as a story teller."

So you if you hit this post, uhm, unintentionally, but are actually interested in old school D&D, check out the OSR (Old School Renaissance/Revival/Rules/Rectum). You can find a much better write up of it over here: the ChicagoWiz's RPG Blog.

Oh, and here is what you are actually looking for (be sure to stick around for the NSFW link below, you perv).

magic gloves on an elf chick by *cyborg76 on deviant ART

And if those aren't large enough for you, check out this NSFW pic: link

I kid you not, I found that with a Google Image search for "elvish chick" on the moderate safety level.

Plum Blossom - Rogue/Monk

2011-03-10T09:54:00.002-05:00

artwork by the player, Dave "the Knave" White

Plum Blossum was Dave the Knave's second character (his first being a warlock that died fairly early on). Plum started off as a cat burglar with questionable fighting prowess, but by the end she was kicking ass with the best of them.

Plum, however, was known more for her seemingly endless supply of DM annoyances. And thus, let's begin her career highlights:

Repeatedly used mundane magic items to thwart supposedly uber tough villains. Cashe in point: she all but nullified a high priest of Orcus during a temple battle with a freakin' tanglefoot bag.
Used a Quaal's feather token to drop an anchor on an evil centaur's back (while riding said centaur).
Freakin' tumbled unscathed through a blade barrier cast by a rather high level goblin wizard.
Impersonated the Great El Goblino.
Became an alcoholism enabler to the party's resident faerie dragon.
Was at ground zero for a Necklace of Fireballs malfunction (she was resurrected, but lost just about all her gear in the fire. It was glorious.)
Pinned a black skeleton to the ground with an immovable rod.
After years of heckling by the DM and fellow party members for use of shurikens (keep in mind his PC had a strength penalty), scored a triple critical with a shruriken, burying it in a bugbear barbarian's kidney (we use the Critical Hit Deck).

Race: Human
Gender: Female
Class/Level: Rogue/Monk/6/5

Initiative: +3
Speed: 40 ft.
HD: 11, hp: 55
BAB: +7/2
AC: 21, touch 18, 22/19 vs. dodge target, 23/20 vs. traps, 25/22 vs. AOOs provoked by movement, 26/23 vs. dodge target AOOs provoked by movement

Attack: unarmed strike +10/5 1d10-1 (20/x2), or flurry of blows +9/9/4 1d10-1 (20/x2) or masterwork shortsword +11/6 1d6-1 (19/x2)

Attributes:
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 17
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 8

Saving Throws: Fort +7, Ref +12/14 vs. traps, Will +10/12 vs. enchantments

Alignment: Lawful Neutral (Evil)

Skills: Balance +18, Climb +10 (+12 with climbing kit), Disable Device +16 (+18 with masterwork tools); Disguse -1 (+9 with cloak of chameleon power), Escape Artist +16, Hide +14 (+24 with cloak of chameleon power), Jump +18, Listen +15, Move Silently +16, Open Lock +16 (+18 with masterwork tools), Search +16, Sleight-of-Hand +4, Spot +10, Survival +3 (+5 to follow tracks), Tumble +18, Use Magic Device +1, Use Rope +3 (+5 to bind person)

Class Abilities: Evasion, Flurry of Blows, Ki Strike (magic), Purity of Body, Slow Fall (20 ft.), Sneak Attack (+3d6), Still Mind, Trapfinding, Trapsense (+2), Unarmored Speed Bonus (+10 ft.), Uncanny Dodge (never flat-footed)

Feats: Ascetic Rogue, Combat Reflexes*, Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike*, Mobility, Spring Attack, Stunning Fist*, Weapon Finesse

Equipment:
bracers of armor +3, brawler gauntlets, cloak of chameleon power, Heward's handy haversack, immovable rod, masterwork short sword (cold iron), masterwork short sword (silver), periapt of wisdom +2, ring of protection +1, robe of eyes, rust monster gauntlet

In Haversack: flask of acid (x2), flask of alchemist's fire, flask of ghostoil, flask of gravebane, flask of holy water (x4), flask of oil (x3), potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of flying, smokestick (x3), sunrod (x3), tanglefoot bag (x3), thunderstone (x2), climbing kit, pitons (x9), chalk (x10), fish hooks (x3), fishing net, flare stones (x3), sling, magnet, money pouch (350 gp), masterwork thieves' tools, signal whistle, small steel mirror, snorkel, soap (x2), torches (x10), flint and steel, block and tackle, iron pot, portable winch, silk rope (100'), trail rations (x10), waterskin, wine and cheese (x3), winter blanket

On Heavy Horse: bit and bridle, courtier's outfit, entertainer's outfit, feed (x10), riding saddle, saddlebags

Honoring Some Dead PCs

2011-03-09T23:38:00.001-05:00

Let's face it – no matter how tough of a player you claim to be, it blows when your character bites the dust. The pain increases exponentially based on the character's longevity. My next few posts will detail a few of the veteran characters from my Rappan Athuk campaign that recently went to their final rest. These adventurers lasted for years, and that is saying something (just ask my players ).

I know not everyone will find the stats interesting or useful (though these would make some sweet NPCs if you do play D&D 3.5), so I’ll be including a list of some of their career highlights as well.

The Aftermath (our group's tribute to Gygax)

2011-03-04T23:45:00.001-05:00

Lazy Friday Fantasy Metal Post: Damh the Bard - The Cauldron Born

2011-03-04T09:29:00.000-05:00

Not to be confused with these guys: link

Lazy Friday Fantasy Metal Post: Savatage - The Dungeons are Calling

2011-02-25T09:42:00.000-05:00

Justification for a Running a Hard-Ass Game

2011-02-14T08:00:00.002-05:00

One of my players recently paid me this compliment:

"When I talk with my other gaming friends, I'm constantly surprised at how... well... candy-ass their games are. Honest to God, I have no interest playing a winged, 27th level paladin and killing 300 orcs."

I must be doing something right.

If you guessed that guy in the middle is a PC, you win the stuffed Orcus.

Troll Lord Games Has Sales Pretty Much Every Damn Day

2011-02-11T15:20:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I probably come across as a corporate shill for Troll Lord Games, but I'm not. I'm simply a fan of two things:

1.) A good deal and
2.) Castles & Crusades.

I like to share these deals with everyone in case they share either of those two qualities. But here is the problem, TLG is having deals left and right these days. As such, this will be my final "TLG sale!" post unless they have something truly exceptional.

If you are remotely interested in TLG products, I suggest you follow/subscribe/read/whatever their blog and/or their Twitter account. Notably, they post a deal every Friday to Twitter.

Blog: The Troll Dens
Twitter: Troll Lord Games Twitter Profile

One particular great deal they have going now is a Castles & Crusades PDF Starter Bundle for $29.55 that has:

The Players Handbook
Monsters & Treasure
The Castle Keeper Screen
Shadows of Halfling Hall (adventure)
Fat Dragon Games' EZ Dungeons

The Skull Survival Trophy Passes Hands... Twice in One Night.

2011-02-08T12:51:00.006-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, our last session was particularly deadly. Three characters dropped, two of which had been around for almost the entirety of the campaign.

My group has a tradition: the player whose character has been around the longest gets to possess the Skull. Sam originally inherited the Skull way back at the start of the campaign when we had a TPK. Well, a near TPK. Sam missed that evening and his PC survived by default (our house rule is if you're not there, neither is your PC). Ipso facto, he got the Skull. When Sam's paladin was brought down by spectres in another near TPK, Grim Jim and his ranger, Jocelyn Dawnseeker, inherited the Skull. Dave the Knave was next in line and has been jonsesing for it for years now.

Well, although Dave's rogue/monk, Plum Blossom (illustrated here: link), was brought to negative HP during the battle with iron golems, she didn't actually die. She lay incapacitated on the battle field. Jim's ranger, however, suffered too many full attacks at the hands of said golems and when he dropped, he dropped but good (i.e., way below -10).

Grim Jim says good-bye to the Skull.

At that moment, incapacitated or not, Dave seized control of the Skull.

Dave the Knave finally gets the Skull... but wait....

Unfortunately for him, Plum was left to rot when the rest of the party beat feet out of the death trap. Sam's wizard, Derbish, was next in line and he now possesses the Skull once again. What a night.

The Skull returns to Sam... they look eerily similar

A Rough Night in Rappan Athuk

2011-02-05T00:27:00.003-05:00

Rappan Athuk brought down three more PCs tonight. We just finished playing a half-hour or so ago. It was a rough one. The PCs went down the well, which was warned against from the start. That being said, come on, when you tell anyone "don't do that" it only entices them more. I'm amazed they held out this long.

What is particularly rough about tonight's game is that two of the three PCs to drop had been around for a while. Plum Blossom (Dave the Knave's monk/rogue) and Jocelyn (Jim's ranger) had been kicking around in the game for three years or more. The third, Bonnie's cleric/fighter/hunter of the dead, had been around for quite some time as well.

Despite this, it was a hell of a night of play. The party put up a valiant fight and did what they could. They cut their losses and bailed, but only at the last moment. More than that, it was a fun night. As bloody as it was, the players were laughing and carrying on just like any other session. The usual dick and fart jokes abounded.

I commend my players. I know this loss stung. Jim, Dave, and Bonnie put in a lot of hours in getting those PCs to their current levels. But did they gripe and moan? Nope. My group is awesome. They really are.

Paizo sale coming up at Deniath

2011-02-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

In case anyone is interested, Deniath is having a sale on Paizo books on 2/8/11. I still have invitations, so if you're interested, hit me up at thebitterfrost a.t. gmail d.o.t. com

They don't reveal quite what the sale is going to be, but looks like the core rule books.

D&D Metal Pandora Station

2011-01-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

A few years back, this fellow named Theron over at ENWorld posted his customized, "D&D Metal" Pandora station. I've been rocking to it off and on ever since. I give you...

ELFCORE!

Lazy Friday Fantasy Metal Post: Cauldron Born - By this Axe I Rule

2011-01-28T08:00:00.004-05:00

Just learned of this band, Cauldron Born, from the Black Gate magazine blog. ... and, yes, by this axe, I do rule:

Long live the king.

Videos from the Showdown in the Upper Temple of Orcus

2011-01-27T11:30:00.001-05:00

I've been really slacking on posting campaign updates. I hope to do so in depth at some point, but just to catch you up to speed: the party finally finished the Showdown in the Upper Temple of Orcus, explored the dungeon a bit more, and, yes, decided to go down the infamous well (they are still exploring down there).

Back when we first started the Showdown, Rob took a view videos. I figured I might as well share them. They aren't the most action packed, and dear lord, do I sound like a tool, but, hey, what the hell? The party had just entered the temple via a magical secret backdoor. Dave's Roxxxor the Chaotic Awesome half-orge barbarian was still alive and had taken the platform above the lava. You can hear his theme music in the background. For those of you playing along at home, he bit it in the next session, being pushed into said lava.

The videos start with the party wizard, played by Sam, fireballing some priests of Orcus and their thug guards. I'm rolling their saves, saying "ash" for those that were incinerated. I think Sam is the one simulating the screams of the burning priests. Oh, and you can hear me bemoaning the players working the neutral alignment loophole to the bone (i.e., they avoid a lot of penalties in Rappan Athuk because they aren't goodly aligned). Yeah, hot D&D action at its finest. Suffice it to say, D&D is much more fun to play than watch.

Oh, I tend to swear a lot when I DM, so be warned.

Troll Lord Games PDF sale

2011-01-26T22:59:00.002-05:00

Just an FYI, Troll Lord Games, makers of Castles & Crusades, have all their PDFs on sale at RPGNow/DriveThruRPG. The sale lasts until February 3rd: LINK

Even if you're not a C&C player, it's worth checking out. A lot of their stuff is usable with just about any fantasy RPG, especially your various old school retro-clones.

Rolling the Dice in '11

2011-01-21T09:22:00.002-05:00

Tonight, my group has its first session of 2011 and I'm stoked. Last session, the party decided to go down the well. Those of you familiar with Rappan Athuk know that this will be a hell of a way to kick off 2010... perhaps with a new bunch of characters.... [evil DM laughter]

30 Things Overheard in a Tavern

2011-01-18T08:00:00.004-05:00

In an effort to put out some usable content, I figure I’ll give the d30 some love. Yeah, I know, the d12 is the true red-headed step child of the dice world, but Al at Beyond the Black Gate has a lock on that die already. Besides, we all know how fun the d30 can be....

The next time your party is in a tavern or inn looking for adventure and you're drawing a blank, give your d30 a roll and see what you get. Hopefully it will serve as an adventure hook or at least a mild chuckle. (I've opted to provide names for people and places because that is the stuff I myself tend to need to make up on the fly. Adjust to taste.)

30 Things Overheard in a Tavern

Roper? I don’t even know her!
Black Raker’s Cove has been swallowing up sailors. Methinks something from the deep is hungry!
As sure as I know anything, orcs are ticklish behind their ears.
I'm telling ye, the cemetery walls are hollow! Back in the old days, they used to entomb criminals in there... alive.
Last week, Jacob of Gutter Lane found some kind of idol or statue underneath that ol' willow tree outside town. I haven't seen him since.
I'm telling you, Daisy McFran isn't dead! She ran off with that sorceress, Lilly of the Lake.
Francis, listen; this is the truth. The city watch has been paying money to a band of goblins to keep 'em from attacking! The watch ran out of money and is now in debt to the thieves' guild!
Hyperion Ale for everyone! Except you, Angus.
At midnight, the beets in old Lady Bervert's garden get up and dance around!
[first speaker] By St. Cuthbert, I heard all sorts of strange moaning coming from that old shack on Blackbird Lane. [second speaker] It's a brothel, you jackass.
That moonshine Old Man Snakebite sells is so strong it drove that poison right out of my system.
I've seen it with my own eyes! Last night, as I was stumbling home, I saw Brother Ardor let a strange lady with dark hair into the temple.
[first speaker] This place serves the best apple pie. I wonder where they find green apples in these parts? [second speaker] Those aren't apples, those are goblin scrotums.
Those weird markings around the town's well? I heard those were some kind of ward keeping something wicked locked at the bottom. You won't catch me drinking from that, by Cuthbert's Cudgel!
Did you get the coffin I sent you?
Something has moved into the abandoned mill down at Wide Rock Creek... and whatever it is is evil, I tell you, evil!
Something covered Farmer Wakely's cows with slime. They seem to be all right, but damn if that wasn't odd. I think I'll be getting my milk elsewhere.
[first speaker] You know what's odd? I haven't seen a stray dog in months.[second speaker] I haven't seen any dog in months.
You know that tabby cat that hangs around this tavern? The other night, when I was coming back from the privy, I saw it change into something! It was a little imp or devil, or some accursed thing! I... I think it saw me....
You're full of horse dung! Rose is a sweet girl. Why would she be eating a dead rat?
Have you ever seen anyone go down to the cellar of this place? Me neither....
You know, I've never noticed that doorway under the bridge near the south gate before. What's it for?
[first speaker] My sister may be brazen, but she's no strumpet! [second speaker] That's not what I heard.
For some reason, the only chickens Hans will eat are black roosters.
[first speaker] Arthur Willings swears he heard screams coming from the temple cellar. [second speaker] Arthur Willings hasn't been sober in 10 years! I'm sure he hears all kinds of voices.
[first speaker] I saw Bernhard Stonesmith bring flowers to a lady in the forest. [second speaker] Oh, was she a cutie? [first speaker] I think she was an ogre.
[first speaker] I don't know what Arnulf feeds his hogs, but they're the biggest pigs in these parts.[second speaker] It must be the same things your wife eats, because she is huge!
That merchant at the end of the bar has a mighty fat purse. Methinks it needs to be lightened.
Who's that stranger in the corner?
Just one more drink and then we'll go get that vampire!

(#15 was actually a line uttered by Dave's character in my RARE campaign. Sort of a long story....)

DriveThruRPG has a Sale Going On

2011-01-10T21:31:00.001-05:00

DriveThruRPG.com is having a sale right now, with over 20 games for $11.00 each (because it's 2011, get it?).
Check it out: link

Some highlights:

Tome of Horrors Returns with a Vengence

2011-01-03T17:05:00.002-05:00

Bill Webb of Frog God Games just announced that they are re-releasing their famous (well, Necromancer Games' famous) Tome of Horrors I, II, and III in one major tome to be called Tome of Horrors Complete: link Perhaps the most interesting bit is that FGG is continuing its double-barrelled approach and releasing both a Pathfinder and a Swords & Wizardry version.

As a Castles & Crusades fan who owns the original 3.0/3.5 books, I'm not sure I'll have much need for these (I can as easily convert the 3.x stats as I could the S&W stats). However, this is cool nonetheless.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Ho! Ho! Ho! I'll swallow your soul!

Who wants an invitation to an Invitation-only Hobby Games Sales Site (i.e., Deniath)?

2010-12-20T14:21:00.001-05:00

Update 12/21/10: I have an unlimited amount of invitations, so don't worry if you might "waste" one.

A while back some guy from WizKids created a new gaming sale site called Deniath: link The trick to this one is that it's invitation-only. I managed to get myself invited when it was still in development (I think Purple Pawn posted about it or something).

From the Denaith About Us page:
Headquartered in Seattle, Deniath is a privately held company offering invitation-only access to exclusive online sales for hobby games and pop-culture collectibles at up to 70% off. Each sale lasts only 36 hours and features limited product from select brands. Founded in 2010, and led by former WizKids manager, Wade Sugiyama, Deniath is determined to provide gamers, collectors, and pop-culture fans a unique and exciting online shopping experience featuring the industry’s newest and most popular brands.

It just started up a month of so ago and has had some good deals on board and card games, including stuff from Fantasy Flight, Rio Grande, WizKids, Mayfair Games, and others.

So why am I telling you all this? As an existing member I'm allowed to dish out invitations to other people. Yeah, I get a kick back ($10 for your first order; it's that whole viral-marketing bit), but the deals really have been pretty good. I have an unlimited amount of invitations, so don't be shy about asking for one.

If you want an invitation, just send me an email: thebitterfrost a.t. gmail d.o.t. com

Gaming Deal: Troll Lord Games 12 Days of Christmas Sale

2010-12-15T21:37:00.001-05:00

The Trolls are having their annual 12 Days of Christmas Sale: link

Perhaps the most notable thing is that at least two of the deals (the 5th Day and the 10th day) include the yet to be released infamously delayed Castle Keepers Guide. For those who don’t know, the CKG has been in development since 2007 (at least the product page for it at Amazon has been up since then: link).

The 5th Day Deal is tempting in a novelty fashion because it includes digest-sized versions of all the rule books.

Questions and answers about the deals can be found here: link.

Given that I just ordered some stuff on Black Friday, I’m going to pass, but this sale is always a good way to get in on C&C if you’re interested.

My Players are Awesome

2010-12-13T14:38:00.003-05:00

Ha freakin' ha.

We had our last session for 2010 last Friday and my players surprised me with a bucket load of Christmas gifts.

Dungeon Master For Dummies (Smart-asses. Yes, that is the correct title; I'm not sure why it's not Dungeon Mastering for Dummies)
A LEGO Jester (I use a Red Jester from the Tome of Horrors II as a reoccuring character in the campaign.)
An Orcus and his followers mini gift pack (an Aspect of Orcus as well as a ton of Orcus priest minis)
AND Oh-hell-no-you-didn't-fuck-yeah-you-did!:

1 GARGANTUAN ORCUS MINIATURE!

Orcus impresses Snow White and Sleeping Beauty with his "wand."

Why do I love WotC’s Pre-Painted Minis?

2010-12-10T10:51:00.001-05:00

Because they’re kid-friendly!

Gaming Deal: Folding Game Table on the Cheap

2010-12-06T20:44:00.005-05:00

A quick note: I will post substantial content here when time allows, but between the work load, the holidays, and family life, I haven’t had time. Until then, consider this a “hey, look at this cool shit!” blog.

UPDATE: The table is now $100.00.
I’m pretty well set for my gaming table, but I got an interesting piece of holiday junk mail today from Sears and figured I’d share. On Tuesday 12/7/10 (tomorrow as of this posting) at 11:00 AM central time, this Sportscraft Parlour Poker table will be on sale for $50.00. It’s normally 200 bones. I’m not sure about shipping and handling (although it’s listed as available for free in-store pickup.)

This is part of Sears’ Chimney Buster promotion. I’m not exactly sure how it works, but I believe they offer a limited quantity (only 10 for this time) at this link (again, at 11 AM CT tomorrow) and I think you have to be signed up for Sears spam to qualify (although you can sign up now). Here is the complete FAQ: link From what I've seen with these deals, the limited quantity applies only for that super low price and then they bump it up to another still-discounted, but not as good, price.

$50 is a good price for what seems to be a quality folding gaming table. Obviously, it’s meant for poker and I have no clue how suitable it would be for tabletop gaming, but the cup holders seem kind of sweet for dice or, well, drinks, ha. Here are the dimensions:

·Table Dimensions: 81.5L x 42W x 31H (inches)
·Playing Surface Dimensions: 72L x 32.5W (inches)

If anyone splurges on this, let me know how it works out.

In case you’re curious about what to get me for Christmas…

2010-12-02T08:00:00.002-05:00

… I would love a set of Skel-a-Gnomes.

Update: Troll Lord Games Black Friday Sale Now Live

2010-11-26T01:03:00.002-05:00

Just a quick update, the sale seems live now. Here are the deals: link

Troll Lord Games Black Friday Sale

2010-11-25T13:32:00.004-05:00

The details are still fuzzy and the sale isn’t up yet, but here is some info from the Troll’s Tusk Newsletter:

“So this is the first year we've actually participated in the Black Friday/Cyber Monday event. As usual we put our own twist on it.

The sale will kick off sometime Thursday night and run through the weekend...mainly because we are too lazy to log on and change it all back. Also of course because, well, really that's the only reason.

So enjoy the mark downs while you can, they will be gone as quick as they appear.

For all the U.S. Crusaders: Happy Thanksgiving.

For those living in Europe, Canada, and Asia, or whereever you may fare...well Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

Trollzah!

Castles & Crusades: The Rosetta Stone.”

Judging from newsletter, looks like the sale will include:

Half-Priced: Gods & Monsters, the Players Handbook, and the Monsters & Treasure of Aihrde
$20 Off StarSiege, and Tainted Lands

I’ll provide an update when I know more. M&T of Aihrde is supposed to be dang cool, so I’ll likely snag that.

My Hill Giant Impersonation

2010-11-19T23:39:00.001-05:00

The Castles & Crusades adventure I ran at GASPCon 11, Dwarven Glory: The Winding Stair, was a bit on the short side, so I added a hill giant encounter. I made the hill giant not-quite right to tie in a bit with the adventure. Here I show how the hill giant acts when he misses with a boulder. (Many thanks to John for the footage!)

GASPCon 11 Footage

2010-11-18T08:47:00.002-05:00

GASPCon 11 was last weekend and it was a blast. I’ll hopefully post more about it at some point, but until then, here is some footage by Tim (the head of RPGing for GASP). He played in my Castles & Crusades game (check out around 3:37 for some video of it). That was a great session and I look forward to GMing more C&C next year.

Anthropomorphic Action at Half Price: Harvesters

2010-11-10T08:00:00.003-05:00

I held off getting Harvesters by Troll Lord Games when it came out last spring, but just ordered it since it’s on sale for half price ($9.00 instead of $18.00: link). The reviews on DriveThruRPG are very positive (check ‘em out) and it sounds like a great game to run with kids. Judging from what I’ve read, it’s basically Castles & Crusades with animals, which is a-okay in my book. No need to reinvent the wheel.

I’m still not sure if my six-year-old is ready for RPGs, but we’ll see. She absolutely loves animals, so this is right up her alley. When asked to bring in her favorite book to school, she took in Mouse Guard and she already wrote her own Cat Guard version. I think we might have a winner here.

Looking for Miniatures for Your Kids?

2010-11-09T08:20:00.002-05:00

… then pick up a Bucket of Dragons! I already picked this up for my girls, but it will be held in reserve until Christmas. It looks like this has already been discussed at ENWorld (link). Since my bucket will remain closed until Christmas morn, here are some shots from that ENWorld thread:

Amazon has it going for $20 or so, but my local Wal-Fart has it for $11.00. It appears Wal-Fart has some kind of exclusive “How to Train Your Dragon” deal going on (we could only find my daughter’s Astrid costume at Wal-Fart as well), so that would account for the online mark up. Strangely, you can’t order it from Wal-Fart online though.

Chaos on Halloween

2010-10-31T17:16:00.001-04:00

My oldest daughter, Chaos, is going as Astrid from "How to Train Your Dragon" for Halloween. The best part? Her favorite part of her costume is the battle axe. Suffice it to say, I am one very proud Dungeoneering Dad.

Lazy Friday Fantasy Metal Post (Halloween Edition): Fastway - Trick or Treat

2010-10-29T08:00:00.003-04:00

Ok, so the "fantasy" element here is suspect, but I do still feel a D&D connection. This song is from an old 80s horror flick called "Trick or Treat" about a kid resurrecting his metal hero, Sammi Curr, by playing a record backwards (check out the trailer here). Of course, Sammi comes back all evil-like and starts the killin’. This film came out at the height of the "Metal is Evil" era which overlaps with the "D&D is Evil" era, so there you have my tenuous connection. These two manias are always connected in my mind and Classic D&D will always have a metal vibe to me. The movie features cameos by Gene Simmons and Ozzy. This was back when Ozzy really was seen as a Prince of Darkness and not some stuttering clown and, in a brilliant move, he was cast as an evangelist preaching against the evils of metal music (see his scenes here).

Now, full disclosure, I have never seen this movie. I was chicken shit little kid when it came out (too young to see it in the theatres, not that my wimpy butt would have gone anyhow). However, my brother did have the soundtrack (completely by Fastway) on cassette and I listened to it all the time. The movie is not on Netflix yet, so I still haven't seen it. It definitely looks like a "so bad, it's good" kind of movie.

Anyhow, without further ado, here is the rocking title track.

Down in the Dungeon at Monster Brains

2010-10-22T10:55:00.003-04:00

Monster Brains has posted some awesome art from the 1981 picture book, Down in the Dungeon, by Don Greer and Rob Stern. Check it out at the blog or the Flickr site.

Here is my favorite from the set, The Trap Door:

Also, check out these excellent maps:

My Contributions to the Too Many T-Shirts Project

2010-10-22T08:00:00.002-04:00

Dave the Knave is still going strong with his Too Many T-Shirts project. He was starting to run low a while back, so I shared a few shirts to help him out (I’m the “Dan” he mentions from time to time). He wore most of these back in September (yes, this post is long overdue). You can find the project at its official web site: link or at Flickr: link.

Here are some of the gaming-related ones:

This one was given to me by Han Scharler for GenCon 2006 (he wrote about it here: link)

Ok, this one isn’t mine, but it’s too cool not to share. It’s a “Roots” t-shirt designed by Wil Wheaton for J!NX. Dave wore it to one of our Rappan Athuk sessions (on a side-note, updates on those forthcoming).

GenCon ‘97…

…and GenCon '98

Back in the day, TSR put out some nice t-shirts at one point. I always loved the cover for the “Death’s Ride” module, so I couldn’t pass this one up.

15 Games in 15 minutes Meme

2010-10-20T20:14:00.001-04:00

Ok, my turn for this meme. The rules for the uninitiated: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen games you've played that will always stick with you. List the first 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.

In no particular order apart from how they popped into my head.

Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D through 3.5)

Castles & Crusades (was tempted to include this above, but kept it separate due to the SIEGE mechanic)

The Classic Dungeon

Stratego

Chess

Necromunda

Magic: The Gathering

Call of Cthulhu

Gamma World (4th edition of GW, not the current one based on D&D 4e which I have not played)

Arhkam Horror

Ambush Alley (made me realize there is such a thing as a rules-light war game)

Battle Tech

War Gods

Nite Life (and old RPG with vampires and werewolves)

Battle Masters (the old miniatures board game)

20-Sided Rhymes

2010-10-13T15:31:00.000-04:00

Hipster, please! has posted a free, downloadable album called 20-Sided Rhymes. Dave the Knave did the sweet-ass album art (he also did the art for Hipster-Free Singles Club Vol. 1).
There are a lot of great tracks. I’m still working my way through them all, but “Random Encounter in the Cereal Aisle” and “Roll the Dice” are my favorites so far.

Front Cover:

Back Cover:

Really Cheap Tact-Tiles Substitute

2010-10-12T08:00:00.005-04:00

A while back I talked about Tact-Tiles, both the kinds you can buy and do-it-yourself ways to make them. For my Lazy Homemade Tact-Tiles #2 idea, I suggested buying a very cheap dry erase kit from LTD Commodities. Well, it no longer appears to be available at LTD, but I did pick up a set myself before they pulled it. I poked around a bit and, man, the kit is hard to find now, but I did find one set on eBay here: link. So, obviously, right out of the gate, this option now has one strike against it. I figured I’d go ahead and post my thoughts on this kit as a gaming tool anyhow. Hopefully someone out there has better Google-Fu than I do and can locate a retailer if they’re interested.

Here is what you get:

The panels are paper-thin, but they are basically big stickers after all.

Each panel is 12 inch x 12 inch and you get 8 panels total. That is a pretty good sized gaming area.

I put the panels down on my gaming table and they covered a large chunk.

I doodled a bit of a dungeon on them and they worked fairly well. Understandably, I had to hold down the panel so it wouldn’t move, but it wasn’t a problem.

So here is the skinny:

If you want a grid, you’ve got some work to do. I know from personal experience,
there really is no way to permanently mark this kind of surface apart from scoring it. These panels are going to turn into confetti if you score them. One possibility would be to mount the panels onto sections of poster board and then score them.
A quick note regarding a grid, keep in mind games like D&D 3.5 and 4e work on a one-inch grid, so you can really just use a tape measure without much trouble (well, I’m assuming that is true for 4e. I haven’t played it). Savage Worlds operates on this grid too and, despite the emphasis on a battle map in the Savage Worlds rule book, the official demo I played at Origins used a tape measure.
The panels stay in place reasonably well. I bumped the table a bit to test this and the panels more or less stayed in place. I’m guessing inadvertent bumps by players might be more problematic. Having not played with the interlocking Tact-Tiles, I’m not sure how much of an advantage they offer.
The panels were covered with a clear film that came off. I initially wasn’t certain if this was suppose to happen. I’m still not sure, but the panels were still erasable after I removed the film (although shadowing did increase noticeably).

The Verdict

You get what you pay for. These panels aren’t as snazzy as the original Tact-Tiles or the current Battlegraph Boards. However, if you can find a set, this kit is a hell of a lot cheaper, especially if you consider the amount of playing surface you get. You get 8 panels for a 2 foot by 4 foot playing area. In comparison, the Battlegraph Boards are $7.00 per 12 inch piece and a set of Tact-Tiles will run you several hundred dollars on eBay (no joke, check the ENWorld forums).
If nothing else, these panels would be handy for those times combat spills off your regular battle mat.

Since I am fine with my homemade battle mat, I didn’t keep the kit for myself. I hung it up in two sections in our kitchen, thinking it would be fun for my daughters. They really liked it, but, whoa boy, was it a bad idea. My girls are six and three and, well, their marker control is still rather suspect. Suffice it to say, they didn’t always stay on the dry erase area. Word to the wise, dry erase markers don’t wash off non-dry erase walls… our kitchen is a bit more colorful now. I certainly do not recommend the kit for its intended purpose unless you have a wall you probably be ok with your kids drawing on to begin with.

My Kind of Friday Night…

2010-10-08T12:40:00.001-04:00

Two growlers of Yuengling in the mini-fridge. My motley crew chomping at the bit to roll dice. New sections of Rappan Athuk to explore. It’s my kind of Friday night.

A Winner is Me!

2010-10-04T08:52:00.001-04:00

So I was perusing my Google Reader today and saw I’ve won a copy of Rite Publishing’s Book of Monster Templates (in PDF and print, no less). Many thanks to Troll in the Corner and Rite Publishing.

Lazy Friday Fantasy Metal Post: Attacker - Battle of Helm's Deep

2010-10-01T12:09:00.001-04:00

This is a pretty sweet fan-made video including a bunch of clips from Ralph Baski's Lord Of The Rings movie. I particularly like 3:24 or so where it looks like Frodo is getting down to the metal music.

Magic: The Gathering Dress

2010-09-30T09:20:00.000-04:00

I haven't played Magic: The Gathering in years, but I still find this pretty damn cool.

From Geeks are Sexy - Magic: The Gathering Dress

I am a Remorhaz. Excellent.

2010-09-29T21:41:00.002-04:00

I saw this over at The Dump Stat and had to give it a try. According to the WotC "What Monster Are You?" Quiz, I am a:

D&D Home Page - What Monster Are You? - D&D Compendium

Excellent. Nothing like an old school, freezing death beast. Appropriate for a guy who often goes by "Frost." Although they spelled it wrong (should be "remorhaz").

Miniature Terrain and Painting, the Polymythic Way

2010-09-28T08:54:00.000-04:00

My good friend Polymythic Steve (not to be confused with Steve the Yuan-ti Party Hound) has posted an excellent “how-to” series about creating terrain and painting miniatures for miniature wargaming. Steve shows how he made his terrain and painted his miniatures for Ambush Alley, but this stuff is applicable for any game involving miniatures. I think the terrain creation is particularly ingenious.

Give it a look:

Let’s See What You Got – The Gestalt World Challenge

2010-09-25T14:23:00.002-04:00

Last year I entered a Castles & Crusades Society contest and managed to win a copy of Brave Halfling’s Ruins of Ramat module (see here: link). The contest took place on the now-defunct C&CS message boards. It was called the Gestalt World Contest and I think Robert Doyel, author of the excellent (and highly underrated) Engineering Dungeons, started it. (A quick side note, if you are interested in Engineering Dungeons, don’t let the fact it’s a C&C product put you off. It is damn near system neutral and well worth $10).

The contest was a lot of fun and generated some great content. I say we bloggers do something similar. It won’t be a contest, but rather simply a cool way to churn out some ideas.

Here is how it works:

1.) Take the name of a person, item, or location offered up by a fellow blogger.

2.) Write up your description for the name and post it on your blog. Include a link to the name’s source.

3.) Include a new name in your blog post for another person to use.

4.) Rinse, wash, repeat.

Obviously the blog-o-world isn’t centralized, so we’ll have some redundancy, but who cares? The worst that will happen is we’ll get alternate descriptions. That sounds fine to me.

I’ll kick this off with the description I used for the original contest.

Manistus the Scrivener

Manistus the Scrivener was renowned for his ability to transcribe magic writings, such as spells and scrolls. His transcriptions were works of art, containing beautiful calligraphy. However, the transcribed texts he provided were not quite the same as the originals: they were superior. A wizard casting spells from such transcriptions was able to empower his magics beyond his normal capabilities. Not surprisingly, Manistus' services were in high demand and he charged a pretty price.

Thirteen years ago, Manistus disappeared. Three wizards, clients of the scrivener, eager to protect their works (and possibly pilfer those of others) invaded his home, a nondescript outpost outside the city of Wavery. They discovered that not only was Manistus gone, but so were all of his instruments: papers, inks, quills, and so on. Much to their dismay, not one page of magic writing was to be found.

Although no proof has ever been shown, dark rumors still circulate as to the nature of Manistus' abilities. Some say that he made a dark pact with a devil. Others say that his transcriptions, often noted for their odd color, were penned in the blood of the innocent.

Next: The Green Gauntlet of Magla Lock

Go for it.

[*Fantasy World by EvilDemonAkira and Blood Ink picture by Minutestocountdown]

Duke Omote’s Castles & Crusades House Rules, Enhancements, and Conversions

2010-09-22T08:45:00.002-04:00

Castles & Crusades Society member and FPQ Member (president? founder perhaps?), Duke Omote has created some kick ass house rules for Castles & Crusades, which he calls Advanced Castles & Crusades. One of the great features of C&C is that it is very easy to house rule the hell out of it. Omote demonstrates this with style with these rules, giving his take on elements of other editions of D&D. Want to add Feats ala D&D 3rd edition? Try his Talents rules. Like those Secondary Skills from 1st edition? Check out his rules for ‘em.

All of his stuff is great for supplementing your existing C&C game or perhaps easing the conversion from another version of D&D (e.g., 3.5 to C&C).

On his Rules Expansions page, he has rules for:

Racial Classes ala Basic D&D
Skills ala AD&D 2nd edition (err, sorry, “non-weapon proficiencies”) and D&D 3rd edition
Secondary Skills ala AD&D
Weapon Mastery ala Basic D&D
Talents (a.k.a. Feats) ala D&D 3rd edition
And, as they say, much, much more.

Many thanks, Omote, for all the hard work and thanks for sharing this with the gaming world.

X Marks the Spot! - The Locations of DriveThruRPG’s Treasure Chests

2010-09-21T09:54:00.002-04:00

If you’re like me, you’re too lazy to find all these DriveThruRPG.com treasure chests on your own. I found these at the Something Awful Forums (many thanks to demota!), except for Number 20, which was found by fellow Castles & Crusades Society member, Treebore (he posted it at ENWorld.org). Get yer booty!
1. d∞ (“d-Infinity”) Volume #1: The Adventure Begin
2. Artesia: The Book of Dooms Volume 1
3. Waves of Blood
4. RuneQuest Pirates
5. 50 Fathom's Player's Guide
6. Fading Suns Players Companion
7. City of Secrets
8 7th Sea: Players' Guide
9. Wild Cards
10. Transylvania (I can’t get this one to work though)
11. Dork Covenant (You MUST have something in your Wishlist to make it appear!)
12. Obsidian Twilight Campaign Setting (PFRPG) (This like takes you to product page, where the price is $0.00)
13. Dead Man's Chest (free Necromancer Games goodness!)
14. Apocalypse Prevention, Inc.
15. Heaven & Earth
16. [PFRPG] The Genius Guide to Feats of Subterfuge
17. E-Z DUNGEONS: Expansion Set 2
18. Instant Antagonist: The Selfish Succubus
19. Cortex System Role Playing Game
20. The Great Below

GASPCon – Rolling dice in da ‘Burgh

2010-09-17T14:50:00.001-04:00

The Gaming Association of Southwestern Pennsylvania (GASP) will be holding its annual GASPCon on November 12 –14. Get all the details here: link

I’ll be running some Castles & Crusades (that is a shock, I know) and the oft-mentioned Dave the Knave will be running Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Weird Fantasy RPG (which has to be the longest RPG title ever).

If you’re in the area, stop by. It’s a great, laid back convention.

DriveThruRPG’s Talk Like a Pirate Day Sale

2010-09-17T08:00:00.001-04:00

Starting today and lasting until September 22nd, DriveThruRPG.com is having a Talk Like a Pirate Day sale. Tons of gaming stuff is on sale, pirate-themed and otherwise. They have 20 hidden treasure chests with links to free eBooks. Give it a look-see and score some booty.

Great Old Spice Body Wash

2010-09-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

It had to happen sooner or later… thanks to Dave the Knave for the link.

Arduino Dungeon Puzzle

2010-09-15T13:46:00.001-04:00

Thanks for Jay at thecapacity for sharing this one. This fellow named Frank Hernandez created a light-up dungeon puzzle for his players using Arduino and Hirst Arts molds.

Give it a look (you can find the project site here: link and pictures on Flickr here: link):

Dungeon Puzzle from CodeSlayer on Vimeo.

Blatantly-Not-Fantasy-Related-Metal-Oh-Hell-Yeah-It’s-Game-Night Post

2010-09-10T09:12:00.001-04:00

We have not played D&D since April 23, 2010. It’s f@#kin’ Friday. It’s f@#kin’ Rappan Athuk. It’s the f@#kin’ last battle in the Upper Temple of Orcus.

Showdown in the Upper Temple of Orcus – An Overdue Update

2010-09-09T08:00:00.010-04:00

[general Rappan Athuk spoiler warning]

[Update: 9/9/10 12:15 PM] After checking my notes again and conferring with my players, I realized I had a few things wrong. I've noted as such below]

[photos compliments of Dave the Knave]

It has been a long time since I mentioned the ol’ Showdown in the Upper Temple of Orcus scenario going on in my Rappan Athuk campaign. The campaign has been on hiatus for a couple months now, but we are firing it up again tomorrow. Dice will roll. Lionshead will be swilled.

Anyhow, here is the second update I promised… back in April.

So after whipping the cadaver collector’s highly-susceptible-to-rust ass, the party added insult to injury, and used it to block one of the doors to the lower-level, hoping to blockade the seemingly unending freight elevator of death. The party had previously used stone shape to blockade the other door, so both were corked at this point. My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I believe the party then healed up, cast buffing spells, and generally prepared for the next wave of baddies.

The party had routed a vampire would-be bad ass last time and he came back with some friends for payback. Here was the hit list:

Mr. Vampire Wanna-be Bad Ass,
his vampire spawn,
two nightmares serving as their mounts. and
a Phantasm (from the Tome of Horrors II)

You’ll note that these dudes all could become incorporeal, gaseous, or ethereal, and as such, were able to pass through the party’s blockades.

The battle was a lot of fun to DM, with the vampires harrying the party from the skies, the fumes of the nightmares thwarting various heroics, and such. However, the Phantasm was a bust. It has this cool magic jar-like ability, allowing it to possess people. But damned if that freaking NPC dwarf fighter, Lady Bombis (known to the group as Lady Marmalade) didn’t make every save to resist it.

I can’t remember too many specifics at this point, but the party eventually brought down the vampires and their mounts (although one or both of the vampires might have escaped). [The vampire spawn couldn't breach the antipathy zone, so he was kind of screwed from the get-go. His mount had no problem, though. It's been confirmed both vampires lived to fight another day. Reoccuring villians, anyone?] I believe Bonnie’s Hunter of the Dead was lighting up the undead with her Radiant Sphere (from the Magic Item Compendium). I had a lot of fun, especially with the nightmares. I can’t recall the last time I used that creature in play and I don’t think I ever have in 3rd edition.

There was a rather funny rules debate at one point when Sam tried to make a case for an AC bonus for being prone. Ha, but his wizard was prone under the flying vampire who was about to toss a shortspear at him, so technically he could have received a +4 versus missile attacks. Suffice it to say, DM logic over-ruled by-the-book accuracy at that point. I’m not sure how being spread-eagle beneath a flying opponent warrants an AC bonus. (To clarify, this wasn’t a heated argument, rather Sam tossing out a rule and hoping the DM would go for it. I did not.)

Eventually one of the divine spell-casters, likely Rob’s Shaman, turned the Phantasm, the nightmares were brought down, and the vampires were ~~slain or~~ routed.

Shortly thereafter, a pair of carcasses (from the Creature Collection III) laid siege to both blocked entrances and finally removed the physical barriers to the room. These things are basically undead transports, being hollowed out giants that carry undead within them. They sound cooler than they are and are kind of a one-trick pony. It was pretty fun to surprise the players and launch black skeletons out of their bellies, though. ~~The carcasses did make attempts to envelope some of the PCs but to no avail. The party made fairly quick work of this assault.~~ [This combat actually just started at the end of the last session, so we'll be picking up with it tomorrow.]

So, there you have it. This Friday we pick up here. This whole showdown has been fun, but I’ve vowed to the group that the next session will be the last encounter. I’ve something special planned for it and have little doubt it will make it a memorable session. I’m pulling out the stops for this one.

Damn, I love this game.

Lazy Friday Fantasy Metal Post: Edguy - Tears of the Mandrake

2010-09-03T10:08:00.000-04:00