Ravenfell Kickstarter

While I haven't pledged yet, I keep coming back to Fat Dragon Games Ravenfell Kickstarter. The project is printable city/village terrain. If you go for the full "Duke" package, which is what I'm thinking about pledging, you get the files for the village, ruins, and sewers.

I own a few FD releases. I have two different ships, a bridge, and an orcish watchtower. I also have a few dungeon set pieces that were included in a 4E Goodman Games DCC adventure. They all look fantastic. I know minis and terrain aren't a necessity of the game, but they are cool additions.

You should check the project out. It's already met it's goal and now they're just working on unlocking stretch goals. I'm pretty excited about Baba Yaga's Hut and Gazebo of Doom being (unlocked) goals.

I also wanted to include this, so that you know how classy this project is.

 

Vore for AS&SH

I watched Beastmaster for the first time in probably 15 years recently. I was kind of afraid to do it. A lot of the stuff I loved as a kid haven't stood the test of time. The Beastmaster did though. Honestly, I think I enjoyed it more than I did as a kid... though the whole love interest revealed to be a cousin thing creeps me out.

I was always bothered by the bird men. They don't give them a name in the film and somewhere I found the name vore associated with pictures of them, so that's what I'm calling them.

This is my first attempt at statting a monster out of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyborea, so it may be a bit off.

VORE
No. Encounted: 2d6
Alignment: Neutral
Size M
Movement: 50 (fly 120)
Dexterity: 15
Armour Class: 6
Hit Dice: 3
No. of Attacks: 1 (Grapple)
Damage: see Special
Saving Throw: 15
Morale: 9
Experience Points: 120
Treasure: C

The vore are mysterious flesh-eating bird men from a bygone age. Those that encounter them, never forget. While some prefer to cook their meals, the primary means of consumption is  quite horifying. The creature will grapple a humanoid and release a flesheating acid, absorbing nutrients through its fleshy wings, leaving only bones.

No one knows the true origins of the vore. Some speculate that they are related to the more common Hyborean bird men, though no one has found any true evidence of this. Other's speculate a connection to harpies. The most common belief is that the creatures were created to be assassins by some now dead or forgotten god of the sky.

Special
* Any creature grappled by the Vore automatically takes 1d8 acid damage on the vore's turn. This continues until the creature is dead or escapes the vore's grasp.

Succubus Sunday - WoW Edition

I don't play World of Warcraft. I have a few friends that are obsessed with it and a couple that are recovering addicts. I played the free version (level 1-20) for about a week and like most MMO's I've tried I got bored with it. I love the original strategy Warcraft games and I love the setting, but the WoW isn't for me. That being said there are succubi in World of Warcraft and I approve.

I believe I need this action figure.

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyborea

I finally drank the kool-aid (or ale as the case my be) and picked up Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyborea. I don't have the cash to get the print version at the moment so I settled for the pdf for now. I realize that I could have grabbed it at a cheaper price had I bought it a week or two ago, but at 10 bucks the game still seems well worth it. I keep seeing all kinds of cool material being posted about it and I think in the next week or two I will try to add some of my own. To get myself "in the mood" I'm watching all kinds of pulpy fantasy flicks. I'm thinking Marique and sand demons from the most recent Conan flick and the bird creatures from Beastmaster will probably be making an appearance on my blog soon.

Crawl! No. 9

If you play DCC RPG, you've probably heard of Crawl! It's advertised in the back of the core book. If you aren't familiar, it's a DDC fanzine created by awesome Dak Ultimate.

I'm ashamed to say that though I thought it sounded cool, I hadn't picked up any issues before. This issue (issue 9 if you couldn't figure out by the title of the post) is primarily made up of the 0-Level funnel adventure, The Arwich Grinder. This story is a Lovecraft-esque story pitting unsuspecting townsfolk with good intentions against a cultist family (the same family they set forth to save).  The adventure is an entertaining read and I hope to get to run it soon.

There's also a two page short encounter that is brilliant and nasty. 

If you play a grim or dark fantasy game these could easily be adapted. I have no problems seeing these ran for something like Lamentations of the Flame Princess.

This issue impressed me and I've read many reviews so I plan on picking up a bundle of the first 8 issues when I get paid.

pardon my craptastic phone's camera

I'm Taking Part In the D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge

I know I just did the 30 Day challenge, but this looks like a lot of fun. Stelios V. Perdios at d20 Dark Ages is hosting a Blog Hop Challenge in honor of D&D's 40th Anniversary.

Lankhmar, City of Adventure

Browsing Half Price Book stores in Columbus (there are five) and I found this beauty for five dollars.

My book is in slightly rougher condition than this pic (I would've took a picture but my camera sucks). My copy still looks pretty good. It has the map and mini book inside. Looking at my 1E collection of adventures and books and it really makes me want to run some 1E. Then again right now I'd just really like to run/play any edition.

I'm curious, has anyone else ever played or ran a game using Lankhmar as your setting?

Succubus Sunday - The Incubus

For this installment of Succubus Sunday I thought I'd switch it up a little bit and post a few D&D incubus pictures.

as far as I'm concerned Graz'zt is an incubus

from Savage Species

from the Demonomicon

Rat Queens

"Who are the Rat Queens? A pack of booze-guzzling, death-dealing battle maidens-for-hire, and they're in the business of killing all gods' creatures for profit."

The series is a darkly comedic fantasy comic. The series is published by Image Comics and as of this post had four issues.  I'm going to be honest, I love these ladies. The group is led by the rockabilly elven wizard, Hannah. Muscle is provided by the dwarven hipster, Violet. Heals are provided by the atheist cleric, Dee (who's parents happen to worship a blood-drinking squid god). The party is rounded out by the sweet and cheerful (not to mention candy and drug loving) smidgen (think hobbit) rogue Betty. 

I've read all of the current issues and none of them have disappointed. Besides the Rat Queens themselves, there are other "mercenary groups" in the series, my favorite being The Daves, a four man adventuring party made up of men named Dave. 

The creator Kurtis J Wiebe has said this comic is more the fan's comic than his. He's encouraged like the comic's Facebook page for early info, behind the scenes stuff, and to share their fan art and cosplay. In the letters section of one of the issues he even asked people to write in discussing what edition of D&D they're playing and to talk about their characters. A few D&D/fantasy themed mixed drink recipes have been included in the letters section too.

If you're looking for something to read check out Rat Queens. With only four issues out, it would be easy to catch up on the series. You can read a free preview here.

King Kong DCC

The other night I picked up the extended 3 disc version of Peter Jackson's King Kong on clearance at a local Half Price Books. I was quite pleased, because the movie had been on my mind (though I'm not sure what brought it up). 

I think Skull Island would be the perfect DCC adventure spot. You could even have a series of adventures there. The characters obviously aren't filming a movie so I think the best way to get the party there is either promise of magic lore (perhaps a long dead archmage had a lair on the island) or the need to retrieve a cure or poison of some sort from a plant or animal only found on the island.  

I was going to stat out the various creatures of the island, but a many already 
have stats in the core book that work.

Skull Island Natives
Use Subhuman stats


Kong
Use Giant Ape-Man stats

Foatedon
Use Giant Lizard stats


Deinacrida Rex 
Use Cave Cricket stats

 

Vile Meat Weasel
Use Colossal Leach stats

Terapusmordax

Use Man-Bat stats



















The only thing really missing would be Vastatosaurus Rex stats. If any of the adventures or books have T-Rex stats, those would work just fine.

In addition the following creatures make sense to add to the island: Giant Ant, Bat, Giant Beetle, Cave Octopus, Giant Centipede, Insect Swarm, Killer Bee, Primeval Slime, Pterodactyl, Giant Rat, Giant Scorpion, Underdark Slug, Giant Snake, Vombis Leech.

The Ultimate Hunters Invade DCC

I'm going to say that this post was inspired by the fact that I picked up a second copy of the DCC core book this past weekend as well as a NECA predator action figure. Here's the idea I had for using a predator in the game. The characters are heading to the lair of some great beast that's been terrorizing a village/city. On the way there they find many of the dangerous wilderness creatures they expected to make their journey perilous already dead. When they arrive at the lair of the beast, they find him already dead. It's at this point that the predator takes an interest in the characters (they were coming to battle his latest prey) and decides to hunt them.

Also, please keep in mind that this is my interpretation of the creatures based on my recollection of the movies and comics, with a little insight from the web. This predator is considered an "average" adult predator. If you decide to use the predators in your game customize them as you see fit.

Predators

Feared by those who know of their existence predators (otherwise known as yautja or hish) are a race of intergalactic hunters. The most common varieties, known as hunters are honorable, but deadly warriors. They believe it is an honor to face a worthy opponent on equal ground. To them the kill is just the end result, the hunt is what is important. Because of this they will ignore the young, weak, and infirm. Their hunting tactics will vary, based on their prey. It should be noted that occasionally a predator will go rogue. These "killers" relish the act of slaughter.

Predator - Blooded Hunter

Init +10; Atk Wrist Blade +8 melee (1d8+4) or Plasma Caster +8  (Damage 3D6 AC 18; HD 6d8; MV 60’; Act 2d20; SP:   Predator Gear (Cloaking Device, Thermal Helmet, Plasma Caster, Wrist Blade)  SV Fort +8, Ref +10, Will +6; AL Lawful

Thermal Helmet: This helmet displays various information about threat levels to its wearer (in the Yautja language). It gives its wearer a +1 to AC. It also provides the user with Infravision 120'. 

Plasma Caster: This shoulder mounted ranged weapon. It can fire the equivalent of a 3d6 damage fireball. Some versions also have an alternate 

Wrist Blade - This bladed gauntlet is composed of a nigh unbreakable unknown metal. It is completely immune to the effects of acid as is considered a +4 weapon for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.

Cloaking Device: This apparatus, sometimes built into the predators gauntlet allows the creature to become invisible.

Some predators have detonation devices they activate upon dying. Once activated the device will go off in 1d4 rounds. This acts as a 100' radius 6d6 fireball centered on the predators body. 

[Note that these items could potentially fall into the hands of your players once the predator is defeated. How you handle that is up to you.]

Addendum:

I was just looking over my blog list and found this recent pic from Super-Team Family.

My Weekend Gaming Haul

 This weekend I spent way too much money on gaming stuff, but I got quite the haul. I hit my favorite local game store, The Guardtower, with the intent on buying a gargantuan skeletal dragon or gargantuan rune giant mini if they had one. No rune giant, but I did pick up the dragon.

He was 40 bucks, but I haven't spent money on minis in a while and I hod no gargantuan ones, so it wasn't hard to talk myself into it. I was getting ready to head to the counter, but decided to check out the clearance section first. Wow, did I find an amazing group of books.

For less than thirty dollars I snagged the following books (all non-used).
Villains and Vigilantes 2.1
Living Legends
Werewolf the Forsaken GM Screen
Invite Only
The Ressurectionists
Aces & Eights Player's Guide
The Rustlers & Townsfolk: Judas Crossing Edition
Doom (Icons Edition)
And the most exciting find of the group... the DCC RPG limited-edition Wizards cover!

 

I already have a copy of the DDC core book, but a second is always nice (especially the variant cover for just 10 bucks!!!!). I don't know if I'll ever use Living Legends of V&V but they were only a buck a piece and I collect supers games. I don't have the core ICONS book yet, but the Doom book (which was also only a buck) has sparked my interest in the game again. I haven't played Aces & Eights,but I love westerns and they were only 3 dollars a piece. Finally new World of Darkness stuff is always nice, especially since I didn't have a screen before this weekend.

 

All in all I picked up all the books (and the dragon) for just over 70 dollars. I haven't really splurged like that in a long time.

 

 

Succubus Sunday - Cosplay Edition

Succubus by Eric-SLYFOX

Succubus 4 by Insane-Pencil

Succubus - Castlevania by Jessiccacicca

Cats (Now With Battle Armor)

The other day I found an interesting post over at Geeks Are Sexy.

These pictures reminds me of the one of the strangest character concepts I had (and honestly would have had a blast playing).

The character was a cat psion. I know it sounds strange, but hear me out (then judge as much as you want).

He was a high level wizards familiar (which is why he had human level intelligence), who's master died in the Underdark fighting mindflayers. Somehow he survived and due to all of the strange radiation of the underdark and energies of the battle with the illithids, his psionic potential was unlocked. He was found by an adventuring party and returned to the surface.

I know, it's a messed up and limited character concept, but I thought it would be fun and remember you could make damn near anything in 3E. Perhaps one day while dm'ing this character will make an appearance as an npc.

Lock Pick Spiders for your OSR game

I want to start by saying my post is inspired by this post  over at Mutants and Magic. If you'd like to see a picture of a lock pick spider check it out.

Lock Pick Spider
Armor Class:7
Hit Dice: 1 HP
Move 60' (20')
In Web: 60' (20')
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1
No Appearing: 1
Save As: Fighter 1
Morale: 5
Treasure Type: O
Alignment: Neutrel

Lock pick spiders are magically bred fist-sized spiders created by a long dead archmage. Their creator imbued them with intelligence and cunning. The creatures have a fascination with locks and are compelled to disable such things. Lock Pick Spiders can Open Locks as a level 5 Thief. If you are using Lamentations of the Flame Princess, the spider has a 3 in 6 Tinker score when trying to unlock things.

-----
I came up with these stats on a whim. My first thought was drow thieves' guild. They're cool little critters and would be quite useful to a party or thieves guild if you could communicate with them and keep them alive (they are quite squishy).

Succubus Sunday - D&D 3rd Era

Succubi were used quite a bit during the 3.0/3.5 days of D&D. Here are some of my favorite pics from the "3rd Era."

Contest Winner

Last month I announced that I'd have a Holiday giveaway. After extending the entry deadline two weeks I had two entries total. I rolled my d2 (a specially number D6 I got for playtesting the Demon Hunters rpg at Origins) and picked the winner. The winner is SeaofStarsRPG! I've notified the blogger, Shane, and will ship out the sealed copy of Lost Crown of Neverwinter and a few other random 4E bits I have soon. Thanks for those (two) of you that participated.

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day Thirty: The Best DM I've Ever Had

Day 30 - Best DM I've Ever Had

In my years of gaming I've had some excellent DM's and GM's. Some I think are better when they're in charge of certain games. However, strictly speaking DM's, I'd have to say the best I've ever had was Wirty Penix.

Wirty's my dude and has been one of my core friends since I was in 8th grade. Unlike me, he came from a family of gamers. His parents both play D&D. We've spent many hours gaming (playing D&D and others). He's a creative guy and really knows how to make memorable npcs.

Several of the instances I've mentioned during the past thirty days have been Wirty related. He ran the evil game I mentioned, stopped a charging minotaur dead in its tracks using an immovable rod, created Gregor, placed the damn intact dragon skeleton in the dungeon, was DM during the craziest thing I've ever seen in game, and was the regular DM when I played Ulic. He also created one of the prominent halfling families in my games.

30 Day D&D Challenge, Day Twenty-Nine: What Is The Number You Always Seems To Roll On A d20?

Day 29 - The Number I Always Seem to Roll on a D20

This one seems kind of an stupid question to me. Perhaps some people feel they roll the same number a lot, but I really don't. If I do, then I don't notice. I don't fumble too often, nor do I crit a lot. I'm going to say I roll around 10 quite a bit, my success depending primarily on my bonuses, not strictly on the result of the roll.