Play For Keeps

I grew up in the 90's and Gambit has always been one of my favorite X-Men. This fan film is amazing and is the Gambit film I've been waiting on for years.

Eel Girl

This creepy horror short is very reminiscent to The Shape of Water, though it was released years before Del Toro’s masterpiece.

The Horribly Slow Murder With The Extremely Inefficient Weapon

This comedic horror short is ridiculous and fantastic!

Succubus Sunday - Blood Witch

This Succubus Sunday is a special treat. Bradley K. McDevitt is a prolific and talented artist. He's also a fellow Ohioan and friend. Knowing my love of sexy horror ladies and succubus related things, he let me snag Clipart Critter #600 months earlier than it's Halloween release. This is so she could grace us in a Succubus Sunday post.

I present you the beautiful and deadly, Blood Witch.

If you're a publisher and would like to use here in one of your releases, keep an eye on on DriveThruRPG this Halloween.

Spider-Man Atari Comercial

Enjoy this retro Marvel cheese.

Ten Years of The Halls

I started this blog on June 21, 2010. I had no idea I'd still be at it ten years later. I will readily admit there were some dry spells of posting, but I'm proud that I've kept at it this long. I'm definitely a different man than I was then, but I'm proud of the person I've become.

To celebrate the occasion I'm going to do a give away. I'm going to share this post on The Lone Bards Facebook page. To enter all you have to do is like the page (if you haven't already), like the post, and leave a comment.

On July 1st I will take the names of all of the folks that have entered and randomly determine a winner of these cool prizes:

The Last God: Tales From The Book of Ages #1
Cade's Big Book of Booze (Physical and Digital Copy)
DCC Quickstart Rules (Physical)

Whether you've been here since the beginning or are a new reader, I appreciate you and thank you for encouraging me to create.

Depression

This one is personal. Depression is something I constantly fight with so I thought I'd give it D&D stats. Now maybe I (and others that struggle) can fight it in a different way. Little victories, right?

If you struggle with depression, talk to someone. Don't be afraid to reach out. You are not alone.

The artwork for this post is by my talented friend, Heather, of Dobby's Hobbies.

Deprimere

Medium fiend, neutral evil

------------------------------

Armor Class 11

Hit Points 22 (5d10)

Speed 0 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover) 

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    STR     DEX     CON      INT        WIS        CHA

10 (+0)   9 (-1)      10 (+0)   10 (-0)     13 (+1)   15 (+2)

------------------------------

Saving Throws Wis +3, Cha +4
Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons

Damage Immunities necrotic, poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned,  prone, restrained, unconscious

Senses darkvision, 60 ft., passive Perception 11

Languages can understand and speak all languages of intelligent creatures within 60 ft
Challenge 2 (200 XP)

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Dark Heart, Darker Form: Deprimere can move through solid objects (including living things) without provoking an attack of opportunity. If they move through a humanoid that creature must make a DC 10 Cha saving throw or suffer disadvantage on attacks that creature immediately gains inspiration.

You Are Stronger Than You Know. When a deprimere is defeated all creatures within 60' lose any levels of the exhausted condition. If the killing blow is struck by a creature, they gain inspiration.

Actions

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Not Good Enough. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 level of Exhaustion; if target is immune to Exhaustion they take 12 (3d6+2 psychic damage)

Deprimere are an insidious race of fiends hailing from Gehenna, but most inhabiting the prime material plain. They appear as ghostly humanoids and are often mistaken as undead, much to the dismay of clerics trying to turn them. They feast on self doubt and find no greater delight then bringing a champion low. They have a special hatred for paladins, bards, and artists and seek to eliminate and corrupt them before all others. 

Three Kobolds in a Trenchcoat

I didn’t make this stat block, but I thought it was fun and wanted to share.

You can see the creator’s original post here.

Music Monday - Dark Knights: Death Metal

Check out this wicked little music video promoting the sequel to DC’s Dark Knights Metal. It features Marilyn Manson’s Warship My Wreck. I read issue one of this mini series and it is wild.

Succubus Sunday - NSFW

Eros Thanos by Matsumi Yamamoto

Floridians (5e Race)

Here is another 5e take on those mysterious inhabitants of Florida. Instead of being a human variant like the previous take I shared, this time they are their own race (though still descended from humans).

Whispers in the Dark

Whispers in the Dark: Quickstart takes the 5e rules and uses them to let players take the role of supernatural investigators in the late 19th century.

You can grab the pdf or POD here. The book is 75 pages and uses quite a bit of public domain artwork (which is appropriate). Unlike most 5e games, you don't actually need the core books to play Whispers in the Dark. Everything you need can be found in the Basic Rules. Half of the book is setting rules and the other an adventure.

Before I get into the actual rules and adventure, I want to talk about one thing this book does masterfully. Thought it's a small sidebar, the book does an amazing job of calling out Lovecraft for his despicable ideas. However it also says Yog-Sothothery belongs to all of us now and is more than it's original creator's ignorance and hate. I took a pic and posted it below so you can read the author's words yourself.

Instead of your traditional fantasy races, characters choose an ancestry. This is because all characters are fundamentally human. You can be a normal human (which grants you a feat), Lengian, or Deep Blooded. Unlike standard 5e, you don't pick a class. This makes Backgrounds extra important.  There are eight to choose from. In addition, you differentiate characters by choosing from the 13 Feats. I would have liked to seen more, but this is technically a Quickstart and definitely gives you enough options that party members shouldn't overlap too much.

Of course, the book provides new period appropriate equipment. In regards to those new weapons and things, damage and healing are different. Short and Long rests are much longer and magical healing isn't a thing. That makes combat much more deadly. In addition, when you drop to 0 HP, you potentially gain a lingering wound. There is a short chapter that discusses magic's existence, but that it is beyond the scope of the quickstart. The final rules chapter is an extended look at sanity and madness in the game. Anyone familiar with cosmic horror rpg's know this is a staple of the games.

As mentioned earlier, the latter half of the book is an adventure. While I won't go into too much detail, the adventure is set in New Orleans and requires the characters to stop a horror summoned by an eldritch ritual. The adventure contains two setting specific magic items, which I dug. There is also an appendix that gives an overview of New Orleans. There are seven monster/npc stat blocks that accompany it. The book ends with pregens, handouts to photocopy, and a two page character sheet.

I picked this up because of a recent fiction and setting book released by the publisher, Saturday Morning Scenarios. I'm happy I did. While I know there are other Yog-Sothothory games, I'm a big 5e fan and I think the game adapts the system to the genre nicely.

There are two further adventures and an Investigator's Companion that I will review soon (or at least briefly discuss).

The Last God: Tales from the Book of Ages #1

The Last God: Tales from the Book of Ages #1 is a truly unique D&D sourcebook from DC Comics. Based on the world of The Last God, a dark fantasy comic published by DC's Black Label, it is a 40 page 5th edition setting released in deluxe comic format. What I mean by that, is while the interior looks like a typical sourcebook, the paper quality and dimensions are the same as a higher tier comic.

Chapter One is four pages of setting history. Referred to as "Of the Age of Gods" this short section discusses the factors that shaped the setting. Chapter Two is six pages devoted to locations in the setting, the cradle of the last god. There are some really high quality maps in this section and I'm impressed.

Chapter Three is one of the most useful if you don't actually plan on using the setting. There are 18 new monsters presented with full stat blocks and lore. They vary in power from the goblin-like, maertroll's, to the 600 HP appropriately named Endwraith. All of these creatures are interesting. My only issue with this chapter is the monsters don't have Challenge numbers listed.

Chapter Four is a two page discussion of magic in the setting. Chapter 5 is on nly a page, but contains 5 really cool magic items. Chapter Six is two pages and presents three pc races. The first are the Abyssal nudist Dwarrow dwarves. The graceful Djorruk are godforged creatures made of living stone. Finally, the Aelva, nomadic children of one of the setting's gods.

The final chapter includes subclasses. While there are technically only three presented, there are many more variations than that. The first subclass is the Guild Eldritch arcane tradition. This arcane tradition is further broke down into seven "rings." This is followed by the Oath of the Guardians paladin. This oath is sworn to protect the fey, children of a goddess and the only ones capable of stemming the waves of undead that infuse the setting. Finally there is the Alvan specific Ferryman ranger archetype. These rangers deal with the souls and the afterlife and there are actually three paths you can take with this archetype.

I am going to admit that I hadn't heard of the comic series before this book was announced. I really think it sounds cool though and this sourcebook is fantastic. It's well written, full of flavor and content, and to top it off.... it's only 5 bucks! You should head to your friendly local comic store and see if they have a copy. If so, do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

Frost Bite

If you have time, check out this sweet, but sad zombie short.

Succubus Sunday - Kali Neko

Source 

Kangorous and Kango

Rising from the depths just off the Australian coast, this ancient reptile-marsupial hybrid is the "Destruction Down Under."

Kangorous
HD 7d12
HP:  65
Level: 8
Damage: 3d6+4
Evade: 15
AP: 5
STR: +4 INT +0 WIS +0 DEX +4 CON +2 CHA 0
Luck: 5

• Enemies have Advantage on attack rolls against Kangorous.
• Kangorous has Advantage on all checks and saving throws related to Strength and Intimidation
• Roo Kick - Anyone hit by a Kangorous kick must make a CM + STR vs DC 15 check or be knocked back and lose their nest action. Mini-Bots make this roll with Disadvantage.
• Mother's Love - If anyone attacks Kango, Kangorous gains advantage on attacks versus that target on her next turn.

Kango
HD 3d12
HP:  24
Level: 3
Damage: 2d4+2
Evade: 17
AP: 3
STR: +2 INT +0 WIS +0 DEX +4 CON +2 CHA +1
Luck: 3

• Roo Kick - Anyone hit by a Kango kick must make a CM + STR vs DC 10 check or be knocked back and lose their nest action.

------------------------
Kaiju for Valor Knights

• King Kow
• Kong of Skull Island

King Kow!

You can thank (or blame) this post by my awesome friend, Tim Knight, for this one (and the follow up later today). What is the origin of King Kow? Know one knows for sure, but since his initial rampage in Wisconsin, people have feared the behe-moo-th.

King Kow
HD 8d12
HP:  78
Level: 8
Damage: 3d6+4
Evade: 13
AP: 5
STR: +4 INT -1 WIS +0 DEX +2 CON +3 CHA 0
Luck: 4

• Enemies have Advantage on attack rolls against King Kow.
• King Kow has Advantage on all checks and saving throws related to Strength and Intimidation.
• Death Moo! - 1/combat - CM + WIS vs DC 12 check or suffer or take 1d12 damage. This damage can't be reduced by AP.

------------------------
Kaiju for Valor Knights

Kong of Skull Island

Dark Tides of Bilgewater

Howdy folks,

I've not been blogging much recently, because I've not been in the best mental state. Recent political and social events have exacerbated that. I'm keeping on though. It's a struggle sometimes, but I'm still here. Okay, that personal update aside, here's some awesome new content from D&D Beyond.

The original content has been taken down because the licensing agreement with Riot Games ended, but I've linked a compilation pdf someone made here.

Dark Tides of Bilgewater is a mini-setting that takes place in the world of League of Legends/Legends of Runeterra. It's a pirate city and wretched hive of scum and villainy. The setting includes three new archetypes:

• Path of the Depths - This barbarian path is for those that have experienced the crushing weight of the sea and been changed by it. The path is really cool, giving you a swim speed and the ability to breath underwater. As you level up your body further adapts and changes to suit aquatic life
• Renegade - This fighter archetype lets you play a sly and dashing warrior with swagger in abundance. It gives you some rogue skills and gunfighting ability. It also includes gun tinkering rules and upgrades.
• Wild Card - The rogue archetype allows you to twist fate and is perfect for silver tongue gamblers.

In addition to the archetypes, the setting includes an adventure, 6 monsters, 3 npcs, and 7 magic items. One humanoid described is the turtle-like ironbacks. I'd just make these a warrior off-shoot of the Tortle race.

I know that this is just promotion for another game, but this is quality content and I'd love to see more things like this. I figured I'd end with how I'd use this in established settings.

Eberron 

Honestly this can be used as is in Eberron. I'd place Bilgewater on the coast of or near Xen'drik. That seems like the perfect spot for it.

Exandria

Bilgewater sounds just like Darktow Isle to me (except the Plank King still reigns). I'd just merge the two. Ignore Bilgewater's lore where it doesn't suit you. Honestly this mini-setting is wonderful for anyone with characters in the Revelry. 

Forgotten Realms

Bilgewater can either be the a part o the Pirate Isles in the Sea of Fallen Stars or you can put them somewhere off the Sword Coast. Putting it near Chult would also be an excellent spot. 

Succubus Sunday

Source

Black Lives Matter and Fuck Facism

Art by Claudio Pozas

Music Monday - Zombie Dance

A little rock, a little polka, and a lotta zombie!