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A New Blog Theme

2024-05-18

Here’s a little update on the blog.
I haven’t been playing games recently, so there are no new blog entries.
But the website won’t go away any time soon, as it doesn’t need a lot of maintenance.

That said, when I wanted to add a few new solo RPG entries today, I realized that the blog theme does not work anymore. (I used the hugo-vitae theme.)

Luckily, my blog engine, Hugo has a big community, so I switched out the theme fairly easily.
So, now the blog uses the minimalist Hugo Bear theme.

Unbelievably, this blog is now more than 10 years old…

Stay fresh, folks!

Jim Murphy: Run Your Games Simply

2023-01-03

Here are some notes about Jim Murphy’s tips on Run your own RPG simply:

What game system am I going to use?
relates to the game world, not necessarily the mechanics
rules give you a basic framework and color
you can also use books (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc.)
it should be simple and quick, people don’t have the patience to play the whole weekend
don’t run the rules, let someone other be the rules keeper
mechanics-wise: ideally everything should be in your mind, you only need a short primer
you don’t need to know all the details, figure it out on the go, embellish, make it up
let the players drive the campaign, you present the world
present 3-5 encounters, set them up in order
the rule system will run itself, the dice will determine the luck: that’s not your job
your job is to present the story and wind it down
if something’s going bad, it’s a chance to add new color
listen to the players: if they want more details, give it to them; if they want less, give them less
throw out something really cool/interesting at the beginning (e.g., a magic item)
you don’t need to know at the beginning of the campaign how it will end
the players always need to feel that they are the ones to make the game happen
make the experience for the players memorable, exciting
keep it simple: a map, a few encounters, a big baddy, a bag full of treasure, maybe a village

Cairn RPG First Impressions

2022-11-14

This is a reading mini-review of Cairn RPG by Yochai Gal.

What Is Cairn RPG?

Cairn is an old-school role-playing game.

It’s not one of the clones that re-create the old editions of D&D (Dungeons & Dragons), but one of the “newer school”.

We’ve seen lightweight games in the last years in the spirit of old games that broke with the classic game design.
Into the Odd by Chris McDowall comes to mind, as well as Knave by Ben Milton.

Yochai Gal, the author, mentions these games in the foreword, together with other inspirations like Gavin Norman’s Dolmenwood setting.
That’s basically all you need to know to get a sense of Cairn RPG.

Cairn RPG is the attempt to marry rules-light game mechanics from Into the Odd and make it compatible with material for D20-systems.

Thoughts and Observations

The game starts with laying down the principles for players and game master (called Warden).
This sets the tone for the game. It also conveys the author’s intent for how the game should be played.
I like the idea that the Warden should be plentiful with information and use the realism of the game instead of defaulting to mechanics.

It reminds me of how old-school D&D was supposedly played: the Game Master as the ultimate arbiter of the rules.
Cairn RPG also encompasses the ideas of the Free Krieggspiel Revolution, a movement that hearkens back to how games were played before D&D was even published.

The advice for GMs (Game Masters/Wardens) is solid and a good reminder of useful guidelines.

The principles for players codify “good gameplay”: team play, exploration, the focus on making the world as real as possible (“treat Non-Player Characters (NPCs) as if they were real people”), etc.

What about the game mechanics?

Characters have three ability scores, hit points, and inventory slots (Diablo?).
The book also comes with random tables for character traits, name and backgrounds and so forth.

The rules are lightweight.

I’ve played Mausritter this week with my kids, and the rules look almost the same as Cairn’s rules.

Combat is deadly, as all attacks hit. Armor will mitigate the damage, but the rest directly lowers your Hit Points (HP).

If your character receives critical damage, they might gain a scar. Scars might alter a character permanently.

NPCs have the same ability scores as player characters.
I appreciate that the author gave some guidelines on how to convert from classic OSR/D20-games.

The rules portion of the book is small. Spell tables (100 spells), gear, and other tables take a significant part.

The game lives from evoking a fairy-tale fantasy feeling without heavy rules.

As a bonus, a vibrant community around Cairn RPG creates supplements, adventures and other material for the game.

Cairn RPG is also available in other languages, also for free.

I haven’t played it yet, but Cairn RPG ticks all the boxes on what I like about old school role-playing.
It will be interesting to find out if it plays as well as it reads.

Links:

Mausritter First Impressions

2022-11-06

I’ve played Mausritter (the German version) with my two children today.

They are 10 and 6. I’ve played Tails of Equestria with them 2 years ago, but it wasn’t a big success.

I now remember why: the younger one doesn’t have the patience for role-playing games.

The older one liked Mausritter. Playing mice is cute, and the rules are easy to grasp and lightweight.

Combat is dangerous.
One of the mice had two hit points. If you fight, you’ll get hit.
Then you’ll need a new mouse.
But making a new character is a fast process.

Luckily, my kids always try other solutions first.

I like how the game handles inventory. It reminds me of Diablo: you have item slots where you can put your gear.
Interestingly, conditions (negative effects like “hungry” or “injured”) also take an inventory slot.

I am a bit rusty as a Game Master.
The game is also lightweight on material for the GM. You’ll get tips on how to run a game, rules for different situations (combat, exploration, creatures, hex crawls), but it’s all rather hands-off.

The atmosphere of the game is whimsical and charming, but it can be a bit darker and fantastic.
The example adventure in the German box has curses and cultists.
(Here’s the link to the English version.)

Mausritter reminds me of Dolmenwood, a weird fantastic setting by Gavin Norman.

Maybe I’ll try to run it solo, I can see myself enjoying the game as a player.

Links:

Thoughts On “Sword Quest Micro Edition”

2021-08-07

Sword Quest Micro Edition is a rules-lite game in the vein of the classic adventure fantasy games of the past.

For USD $2.99 you’ll get a foldable Pocketmod with 6 pages of rules, a cover, and a character sheet.

My first impression was that it was beautifully crafted, with hand-made whimsical illustrations.

image credit: Diogo Nogueira

The game manages to capture the feel of old-school games but has a few modern tweaks.

Players are the only ones who make checks (roll dice). The game uses two six-sided dice. You need to subtract the negative die (ND) from the positive die (PD), then add a few modifiers.

Player characters have 3 attributes: Body, Mind, and Heart. Characters also come with Tags. Think Fate. Namely, what is the character’s problem or their goal?

Gear and spells can also modify a roll. For instance, a small weapon causes +1 damage, a small shield can absorb 1 attack.

In my playtest, I did not like the number of modifiers that I had to add to a roll. For example, in combat, the player had to defend against an attack. To defend, you need to roll vs. the attack score of the opponent.
So, it’s 2d6, subtract one die from the other, add the body score of the character. But the character also has medium armor (+2 Defense), so I’ll add +2 to the positive die. The shield absorbs 1 attack (from the opponent). That means, I’ll compare the player’s result to the attack score of the opponent, but -1 for the shield.
Now, the player might have an appropriate tag that will help (or hinder) them. That adds another d6, but you can only take the best of two (or the worst of the two).

I’m pretty bad at mental arithmetic, so all the gymnastics don’t come easily to me. You could shorten the “shields absorb 1 attack” to “I’ll add +1 for the player”, but I found that a bit confusing.

Edit: I must have misunderstood the rules. The author answered to this blog post with the following:

To be fair, when Defending I just use the Defense as an Attribute and don’t add Body or anything.
And use the shield as an “oh shit button” to absorb 1 attack completely. I don’t do math with it. It just nullifies one attack. :)

If you run the game that way, it mitigates my concern with the math, of course.

What I like about the game is the simple manner in which it handles “monsters” (all non-player characters). Like in classic Dungeons & Dragons, NPCs have a monster level and might have special abilities. That’s it.

I also applaud the advancement mechanics. For example, you can get 1 experience point (XP) when you “make an impact in [sic] the world”.

The game rules are under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0), and you are encouraged to create your own material for it.

With 6 small pages, Sword Quest packs a punch and is a feasible option if you need a lightweight fantasy game. It mixes ideas from modern games (Ptba games) with old-school sensibilities.

Unfortunately, it could not capture my heart. This is not to say that it’s a bad game, it’s just not for me.

Blog Revival

2021-07-25

This blog has been on hold for almost 2 years.

I’ve decided to switch careers and am now in a much better head-space.

That’s why I’ve decided to pick up playing and writing about role-playing games again. It’s such a wonderful hobby.

The pace of the blog will be much slower than before, though.

I’ve kept up the lists of useful stuff during my blogging absence. Unfortunately, over the years, a lot of insightful content from Google Plus has vanished. I’ve tried to find archived links, but for some resources, it was not possible.

If you want to shoot me an email for updated or missing links, you can find my info here.

Discontinued

2019-09-04

Friends, I’ll make it official. I will stop this blog.

A lot has happened last year. And my interests have moved in a different direction.

Thank you for reading my articles and visiting my site. I am grateful for all the support I’ve received from you over the years.

I will keep this website online, and will maintain the popular link lists.

I wish you all the best.

Connect to me on Twitter if you have any questions.

Blog Is On Unplanned Break

2018-08-14

As you might have noticed, I haven’t posted new articles since January.

I still maintain the site and the link lists but I’m currently unable to write new posts. If you’re interested in the backgrounds, you can contact me via email or G+.

I plan to continue my efforts as soon as possible.

I hope that the archives are useful for you in the meantime. Thank you for visiting dieheart.net.

Friday Grab Bag: Spores Of The Sad Shroom, Dungeon World Playbook List, Game Mastering Advice, A New Solitaire Game, Tournament of Daolu

2018-01-18

This week offers tons of free/PWYW stuff for old-school gaming, Dungeon World and story games material, brilliant game-mastering advice and some tools.

Bookkeeping Notes: Some of the links below are affiliate links ¹.

Old-school, OSR, and D&D 5e

Funky Potions from the Slime Pits is a free random table by Dyson Logos.

Do you like Wuxia? Then take a look at The Tournament Of Daolu for Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate (both are PWYW):

[It] is an adventure and setting supplement for Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate. Inside is a complete description of the city, a time-bending scenario through the chronicles of history, and many more opportunities for adventure. Also included are two maps of the city of Daolu: one from the present era and one from its dark past during the reign of the Demon Emperor.

Check out the free one-page encounter collection Toads Eat Toads! by Max Vanderheyden with art by Lu Quade.

Gerald Williams offers advice on Quick and Dirty NPC Stats.

Chris Tamm’s free Goblin Mine Dungeon Zone is full of random tables and looks incredible.

Here is a 3 Hex Map based on Gygax’s “Sturmgeschuetz & Sorcery” by Michael “Chgowiz” Shorten.

Nautilus Prison is a free adventure by Elven Tower Cartography:

This is a short adventure for level 8 characters about a wizard who kidnaps sentient nautili and does experiments on them. Hope you have fun playing it or getting inspired by the lore.

Spores Of The Sad Shroom ($6.66) by Karl Stjernberg: 16 pages, over 20 illustrations, full of spongy weirdness.

Here is a Google+-post with Resources for Swordfish Islands, the system-neutral island hex-crawl.

Jack Shear published his OSR products on DTRPG. Pay What You Want: Gothic Fantasy supplements by Dolorous Exhumation Press.

Dungeon World

Yochai Gal created a website with links to more than 176 playbooks: The Big List of Dungeon World Playbooks.

The ACE Adventure Design Method by Brian Holland is Pay-What-You-Want.

Rules-Lite and Story Games

Norbert Matausch updated his free games Future Punk (Cyberpunk) and Simple Feng (Hong-Kong Action) (note: links are broken). They now use his minimald6 system.

Plus, he made a free supplement called Creatures & Classes (note: links are broken):

[It] is a supplement for classic fantasy games. It offers players 6 new races and 30 new character classes to pick from. It was written with Ben Lehman’s Deeds&Doers and my own minimald6 system in mind.

Minimalist Gaming Doesn’t Exist! is worth a read if you are interested in lightweight gaming.

In the Hell of Jade is a module for Swords Without Master - PWYW.

Bizarre & Adventure is a free hack of Lasers & Feelings by Ewen Cluney:

The world is a bizarre place, full of adventure! It’s a lot like our world, except there are people with strange powers out there, and some of them do bad stuff! […]

And if you’re looking for more L&H goodness, check out this list on Matthew Schmeer’s blog.

Triumph of Death (PWYW) uses the narrative Free Universal (FU) engine:

Triumph of Death is a roleplaying game set in a medieval world broken by plague. Driven from their homes, the player characters must travel the ravaged land, looking for a new purpose and home.

Sounds gloomy but I like FU so I might give this a try.

Game Mastering

I recommend reading Justin Alexander’s advice on his blog. Here is the latest installment: Art of Rulings 13 – Hidden vs. Open Stakes. (First post is here.)

Rob Donoghue’s article about potential risks for a situation is pure gold: Risks.

When I run a game like Blades or Fate, I keep an internal checklist of potential risk categories which might complicate a situation, so that I’m prepared to complicate a mixed or narrow roll in a manner that’s consistent with the fiction.

This Method of Room Description Layout, for Dungeons in Adventure Modules takes inspiration from Blood in the Chocolate and Deep Carbon Observatory.

Solo RPG

You can use this Modular 5-Room Dungeon: The Dark Castle by Eric Bright for solo play.

Tarcisio Lucas has some ideas on how to play The Shotgun Diaries solo: Solo Shotgun Diaries.

Todd Zircher has a neat free plot generator you can use: Tangent Zero Random Plot Generator.

All We Love We Leave Behind is a solitaire writing game inspired by Quill and Apocalypse World:

Focusing on themes of isolation, abandonment, independence, and the passing of time, AWLWLB is a unique solitary emotional experience. The game uses a standard deck of playing card to randomize events in your writer’s life and give you more things to write about to your absent party.

Runehammer’s video is not new but if you missed it, watch it when you have time: Build AI for your Monsters!.

And here is a 47 min video that explains the Best Solo Adventure & RPG Tools for Your Campaign (via Kent H on G+).

Tools/Programs

Here is a free Stars Without Number: Revised Sector Generator.

Misc.

You can get the Cypher System Rules Primer for free.

Bodie Hartley released a new zine: A Guide to Taverns Zine ($10 print):

This guide to fantasy taverns features illustrations and descriptions of fantastical beverages, food, amenities and regular tavern visitors, as well as a comprehensive listing of taverns that you might come across in your fantasy travels.

The New Year, New Game Sale is still running. I enjoyed Hubris and Beyond the Wall, so that might be worth a look.

~~15GB of maps and assets I have collected per the years.~~ removed because of copyright violations

The Dark Times Fanzine Issue #2 is out.

DTF is the newest online free gaming magazine with a focus, still, on the “horror-conspiracyweirdness” sphere along with Modern, Post-Apocalypse and Realism genres.

Here is a free Printable Cipher Disc. It could be a fun gimmick for your game.

Jennifer Fuss does us an excellent service by listing the current crowdfunding projects here: Crowdfunding Collection #64.
I’m not sure if it’s for you, but I’m pondering getting in on the John Carter of Mars - The Roleplaying Game Kickstarter. It gives us the famous Barsoom setting with a stripped-down 2d20-ruleset by Modiphius. Still, the Momentum System not a lightweight game engine. But I heard good things about the 2d20-system from players who enjoyed a more crunchy game.

Do you need some free text graphics for your game? Here are some recommendations.

And don’t forget the free Stars Without Number: Revised Edition Art Pack.

Thank you for reading this article. I don’t have a comment section anymore. But feel free to talk to me on G+ or shoot me an email.
If you don’t want to miss an issue, you can subscribe to the email newsletter or the RSS feed.

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

If you choose to purchase with an affiliate link, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no extra cost to you. But please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you would enjoy them. ↩︎

Tatzelwurm - 2d6 For Old-school Fantasy

2018-01-16

Bookkeeping Notes: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no extra cost to you. But please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them.

I received a free PDF copy of the game. This is a reading review.

I bet you’re a bit like me: you enjoy new games but are fed up with the same old, same old.
Tatzelwurm, a lightweight old-school RPG with a German touch, may offer a breeze of fresh air.
The game comes with a simple 2d6-mechanism. It offers free-form arcane magic and crisp rules for clerics; blending newer OSR entries like The Black Hack and Blood of Pangea into an eclectic mix.

You can buy the PDF for $3.49 here.

Game Rules

Character Creation, Basic Mechanisms

To create your character, you have to roll on tables. These give you a higher probability of playing a human adventurer. But it’s also possible to play a Dwarven Geod (Druid), an Elven Warrior or another class like a Cleric, Wizard or Rogue.

You also have a culture you come from. There are five example regions, e.g., The Central Reich (medieval Germany).

Add some details to round out your character. You can choose skills, but there is no predetermined list.
The only game attribute is Might. It starts at 10; Elves have 8, Dwarves 12.

The game system presents itself as a simple affair. The task resolution mechanism requires you to roll 2d6; base difficulty of 7. You might get bonuses for your background (skills, race bonus, etc.) or if you have a tactical advantage.

I enjoy that the author mentions that not every test requires a roll:

To overcome a Simple difficulty, you just have to roleplay. No roll required.
To overcome a Challenging difficulty, you have to roll 7 or better. […]

Combat

It turns out that the combat rules are also straightforward. Roll 9 or better to hit (Daunting difficulty).

How much damage do you deal? A 7-9 allows you to strike for 1 point of damage, 10 gives us 2 points and so forth.
There is no separate damage roll.
The text provides rules for critical hits and an optional rule for a free attack when you kill an opponent.

What about armor? It acts as a buffer and shields you with more Might points. When you’re down to zero Might points, you die. You can make a save versus a Daunting difficulty (9+).

The rules for restoring your Might score seem to be missing. That strikes me as a grave oversight because Might is your only game attribute. It acts as hit points, mana, and Bennies at the same time. (Bennies because you can use your Might points to improve your die rolls.)
Blood of Pangea lets you recuperate 1d6 Might per day of rest, so that should be the right ballpark.

Mass combat rules are a nice addition. There are two options - large scale battles or skirmishes. Wargamers will appreciate that.

Magic and Miracles

The game offers two distinct rulesets for divine magic (clerical miracles) and arcane magic.

Tatzelwurm approaches clerical magic with a unique take. Clerics need to negotiate with their god to get their wishes fulfilled. What I like most is that the result of your prayer depends on the mood of your god. How do you know if your god is angry at you? You roll on a table, of course.

I also enjoy that the gods are not specialized. So your god can do anything, it’s only a question if he’s willing to do it for you.
Mechanics-wise, you have to spend Might to gain a miracle.

The arcane magic ruleset reminds me of Powered-by-the-Apocalypse-games:

When you work with the unseen forces and gods of the multiverse to make things happen, roll 2d6. On 10+, pick three options from the list. On 7-9, pick two options. On 6-, the judge decides what happens, and it won‘t be good.

Spellcasting also costs Might. Magic is up to the negotiation between player and Game Master (GM). I like free-form magic rules, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

Bits and Bobs

The author also offers guidance on poisons. And there are conversion notes from old-school D&D and DSA (Das Schwarze Auge/The Dark Eye).

Monsters appear to be easy to manage. There are dozens of examples, some typical (Goblin, Basilisk) and some of German tales (Riesenlindwurm, Waldschrat).
Here is the format:

Monster name; Might number, Damage/Bonus: Weapons that the monster uses/+bonus to Judge’s roll

It seems to be painless enough to create your own opponents or to convert them from other games.

The book concludes with a list of equipment.

World Info, Game Master

The setting material fits on seven pages. I don’t welcome the standard EDO races, but the succinct cultural backgrounds are fine enough.

I like the mental shortcut technique:

Donarheym: think of Vikings

For me, the game world is not a selling point, but it offers enough of a framework to place the game in most fantasy worlds. On the plus side, it comes with some unusual regions like fantasy Mongolia.

You won’t find a dedicated chapter for the Judge. Apart from the obvious information about monsters and experience points, the book provides advice on poisons. That’s it. Clearly, this game is aimed at experienced Game Masters.

Do the Rules Support the Advertised Play Style?

The ruleset is simple and leaves a lot open to the realm of the GM. Especially the open-ended magic and miracle rules require a conversation and negotiation between players and Judge - with the Judge ultimately in charge of creating a fair game.

The style feels distinctly vintage. Like Original Dungeons & Dragons, the system is quite deadly. Might points can dwindle fast. You also need them to use magic and miracles. And are one of the few resources to improve your die rolls.

The dice probabilities offer a lot of room for a failed attack roll. While there is a 58% chance against a novice (2d6 needs to meet 7), you will only strike an ordinary opponent with a 28% chance for 1 point of damage (roll of 9). A mighty success (roll of 12) just has a chance of 3%. Players can improve their luck by spending a point of Might to 72% / 42% / 8%.

The combat rules are so minimalist that they are boring. They offer no incentive for the players to engage in combat. I see that as a good thing because it encourages players to avoid conflict. That makes it different from the typical modern RPGs where players get a lot of tools and abilities in combat so that a fight is inherently exciting.

I like how magic and miracles offer some leeway to influence the game as the possibilities are endless - at least in theory. But the game is still balanced as you have to pay with Might points. And as the only game asset and its double-function as hit points, players have to manage resources cleverly.

Look’n’Feel?

The PDF has 60 pages total, including the cover, etc.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t have digital bookmarks. The black and white illustrations, use of fonts and chapter illustrations are good-looking. The book is very readable with a clear layout.

Final Thoughts

Tatzelwurm gives off a distinctive old-school feel by being geared towards a healthy Game Master (GM), use of random tables, and minimalist rules. It reminds me of Original Dungeons & Dragons, but it’s evidently not a retro-clone.

The straightforward task resolution, free-form magic and the fresh take on divine magic are a selling point for me.

Tatzelwurm encourages rulings and a strong Game Master role. For the GM there is minimal overload when it comes to adjudicating this game - at least at the beginning. During play, the GM will have to make a lot of rulings when it comes to magic and miracles.

I’m not a fan of the standard elves, dwarves, humans. The setting information is sparse, but there are some interesting tidbits, e.g., a Tibetan region.

Yet this game has a lot to offer if you like a more open-ended approach to old-school gaming and are looking for something different than a retro-clone.

You can check it out HERE (PDF $3.49).

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

Friday Grab Bag: Runaway Hirelings, Games for Kids, Publishing Material, Random Generators

2018-01-11

I found some excellent resources for D&D gaming this week. Plus, some new story games and games for children are out.
And I’m not sure if it’s for you, but if you’re interested in publishing RPG material, I have some links for you, too.
Don’t forget that you can support these weekly posts on my patreon. Thank you!

D&D (OSR & 5e)

Here is a free PDF by Chris Tamm from Elfmaids & Octopi: Murder Hobo Manual.

Swordfish Islands Flash Sale [BUNDLE]: $10.00 for both The Dark of Hot Springs Island and A Field Guide to Hot Springs Island. I’ve heard good things about it, so you might want to give it a look.

Getting Players Used to OSR Attrition Rates is an insightful discussion on Reddit.

Some cool hand-drawn character sheets by James V. West: OSR Character Sheets Demonic Edition - PWYW.

Here is a post I found on Reddit: A Guide for DMs Running or Considering a Campaign of 6+ Players.

THREE HEXES THE RIP - AN INTERSTELLAR CAMPAIGN is a simple sci-fi campaign starter. This starter comes in handy as the new Stars Without Number: Revised Edition was just released last week - free version here.

Need some plants? There is a free 160+ pages Fantasy Plant Compedium - via Reddit.

And get this inspiring (free) one-page adventure by Max Vanderheyden: The Young Queen. I can see fascinating implications with political intrigue here.

DNDSpeak is a website with lots of d100 lists, e.g., d100 Side Quest Hooks or d100 NPC Character Catch Phrases - via Tarcisio Lucas on G+.

And here is an NPC and magic item generator: NPCbase - found via Reddit: I made a random character generator, and it can now generate over 5.2 million unique background stories. The NPCs have cool backgrounds, so that seems like a neat tool.

Mayim Bialik from The Big Bang Theory tells us about how it is to play D&D with her kids: D&D Therapy.

Publishing

This is an enlighteing read if you want to release stuff for established settings that are part of the OBS Community Program: OBS Community Content Program is terrible (with one exception).

And here’s a video by Matt Finch, Guy Fullerton and Zach Glazar about How to Publish D&D Resources 1: Getting Started.

Story Games, Freeform Games, Gaming For Kids

Runaway Hirelings in PDF for $6 - a zero prep RPG by Thomas Novosel:

Runaway Hirelings is a tabletop role-playing game about hirelings escaping a dungeon, where the dungeon is created as they are escaping it by all the players and the dungeon architect (aka Dunarch, but gamemaster works as well). These hirelings have specific skills which are useful in specific instances, but fighting isn’t even an option they are so bad at it. So the trap-poker may just have to set off some traps as they go rolling down the staircase if they want to stop an ogre from pursuing them into the next room.

This might be useful if you want an RPG for kids: Amazing Tales (PDF ~$6):

It’s a simple and flexible system, written for parent - child sessions. Setting and characters can be whatever you want, and the book comes with four sample settings, the Deep Dark Wood, Magical Kingdoms Long Ago, the Pirate Seas, and Adventures beyond the Stars.

Unlike many of the kids games out there this isn’t about providing a D&D lite experience for kids. It’s focused on creating stories together, building on each others ideas and telling Amazing Tales.

Or you could use something extremely uncomplicated: Heroes and Danger: A Role-Playing Game for Pre-Literate Children is a gratis freeform RPG that uses a single d6. A high roll is preferrable, a low roll adds a complication. The article offers a lot of advice on how to create a good gaming experience for younger children.

Solo RPG

Aerzyk Thomas writes about Solo Gaming: Dungeon Crawl Classics! I like how he includes maps and screenshots of his Rory Cubes. And Aerzyk uses my own Miso system for the solo part.

Don’t forget to check the resources listed above in the D&D section. These are also useful for solo gaming.

Misc

Melodice offers music playlists for boardgames. Awesomesauce!

Crowdfunding Collection #63 by Jennifer Fuss informs us about current new projects. Frankenstein Faktoria, a lightweight RPG, sounds like a fun idea:

In Frankenstein Faktoria you and your friends play a Frankensteiner. One of the tortured creations of Doctor Victor Frankenstein, created out of a composite of body parts from cadavers and reanimated through science and electricity.

Patreon

Brian Holland is another wonderful patron. Brian creates the world-building RPG zine Session Zero. Take a gander, folks.

And a heartfelt welcome to Matthew Gushta and Harrison Swift!

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

Friday Grab Bag: Tons of Games (Tiny Dungeon 2e, Simple Feng, Futurepunk, M20 Fifth)

2018-01-04

Welcome to the first post in 2018!
I’m looking forward to new gaming material for this year. We already have some exciting new releases, e.g., Stars Without Number: Revised Edition, Tiny Dungeon 2e and some Deeds and Doers hacks.

Old-School Gaming

The free one-page adventure The Siege of Felltree Ridge by Max Vanderheyden takes inspiration from the Dolmenwood setting and uses the beautiful Hexkit tiles.

Simple Feng (note: broken link) by Norbert G. Matausch is “a free, complete rules-lite game emulating the old Feng Shui rpg. Based on Ben Lehman’s Deeds and Doers rules.” ¹

And that’s not enough! Norbert also created a cyberpunk/Shadowrun hack with the same engine: FUTUREPUNK (note: broken link). And he wrote a blog post with a sample character, + a fight.

The Phoenix Barony (S&W White Box) is now a free download.

The Phoenix Barony is a concise, campy, light hearted, fantasy adventure setting written to be easily digested and quickly put to use. The document contains enough information to inspire you and get you going…but not so much that it is unwieldy or will bore you to tears.

The product has two very positive reviews on DTRPG, so you might want to check it out.

Dusty Door by Shane Ward is a free adventure for Blueholme.

Lee Barber has some free OSR PDFs here: Lee’s OSR Files (note: broken link). You can find some games, maps, and other stuff.

And Kevin Crawford released Stars Without Number: Revised Edition, the second edition of the premier sci-fi OSR game. A free version is also available.

Dungeon World

Joe Banner released another (free) adventure: Bellicorn of Oldthorn.

Happenings in Christmas Village was a 25-day community collaboration of magical holiday joy for queer gamers. It includes several adventures for Dungeon World and also skins for Monsterhearts. Free download.

Session Zero Issue 4 - The Destroyer of Ages is available for $2.99. It is a dragon adventure.

One more? The Foulness That Came to Dunfell Township - A Wretched Dungeon World Starter by Oli Jeffry is a “Dungeon World adventure of Lovecraftian oozing and Cronenbergian body horror”.

You can find more useful links in the Dungeon World Newsletter: Dungeon World Newsletter Issue #21.

Rules-lite and Misc

M20 Fifth: Adamantine Edition - A microlite version of 5e D&D is a free 17-pages rules-lite game. You can find a print-friendly version and a character sheet here.

Here are 100 Side Quest Hooks for your gaming needs.

Mark Skinner has free gaming maps in his G+ collection: Free Gaming Maps - Talreich.

And here is a free summary of the brand new Tiny Dungeon 2e on four pages: Tiny Dungeon 2nd Edition - Four Pages.

The file doesn’t really do a good job explaining all the workings of the system (read the full PDF for that) but is a perfect reference/refresher cheat sheet and explains everything you need to know.

The full game is available as a Tiny Dungeon 2e Player’s Guide for $9.99 (includes GM info) - or as a full game with micro settings for $19.99.

Are you interested in game design? Then this free online course could be for you: Game Design Concepts Course (via Rickard Elimää).

Solo Gaming

Here is a collection of free gaming books: Chronicles of Arborell (via Noah Stevens).

This blog post about Game Theory Chat: Random Generators sounds useful for solo gaming. The chaotic element of randomization brings a level of surprise and suspense to the gaming experience. With the lack of other players in solitaire mode, it becomes doubly important.

Garnett Elliot made a free solo adventure for Barbarians of Lemuria: Escape From Old Tokyo.

Kabuki Kaiser, the publisher behind solo OSR games like Ruins of the Undercity, has a shadow sale. All PDFs are marked down to $3 - timeframe unknown: Kabuki Kaiser Sale.

Crowdfunding

Enworld lists the 2017’s Highest Grossing English Language Tabletop Roleplaying Crowdfunding Campaigns. I find it interesting that some niche games could bring in so much money, e.g., Spire RPG by Grant Howitt (no. 26).

Crowdfunding Collection #62 by Jennifer F. includes every tabletop project started between 21.17 till 12.31.

Patreon

Mara is another wonderful patron. Thank you!

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

Deeds and Doers is a Pay-What-You-Want nano game. It is straightforward and only uses a d6. ↩︎

Friday Grab Bag: The Last for 2017

2017-12-28

The last post for 2017 - wow. I found some free games and some interesting reads for you.
For next year I plan to write more reviews again (e.g., for Tatzelwurm). Thanks for reading my blog and for your support.
Have a Happy New Year!

To Read

Alex Schroeder tells us What I like about the Old School.

David Schirduans recommends some games for two: Duet RPGs.

Games

There is a nice free one-page Shoalmont D100/Warhammer Fantasy RPG Hack by Max Vanderheyden.

Dungeons & Bananas, the light-hearted dungeon-delving story game by Simon Petterson, got a (liberal) French translation.
What is Dungeons & Bananas?

It’s a cooperative GMless game where the players team up to beat the dungeon. It incorporates short-term tactical risk management (how much Trouble am I willing to risk on this roll?) as well as long-term strategic resource management (should I burn my Spotlight Banana now or should I save it for later?). But the core of the game is the creative challenges it poses the players. How do you get past the guards using your Fancy Hat and Impressive Climbing Skills, and how to you get injured in the process? How to you escape from the Zorgon warship using your Alien Artifact and your Psychic Powers? These kinds of creative challenges are super fun to meet and just as much fun to listen to.

Nathan Carmen created an ultra-lite RPG called Simple Scale System:

The core mechanic is pretty intuitive: Players make up their stats (similar to Risus). When performing an action, they roll a number of d10s equal to themost relevant stat. They choose the best d10 out of the bunch, and this represents how well the character did on a scale of 1 to 10. Check it out if you’re so inclined!

Lizards vs. Wizards (PWYW) “is a little rpg about playing talking lizards in a post-apocalyptic world” by James V. West.

Brian Holland’s The Ho Ho Ho Hack is a free, simple, festive RPG based on The Indie Hack by Scablands Press.

Love & Justice is a free magical girls Lasers & Feelings hack.

Solo RPG

Mythic Variations 2 by Tana Pigeon is out. The original Mythic GME is the granddaddy of solo engines. It is a tad complicated, and thus I don’t use it. But it had great ideas.

James Carr continues his solo play of Swords Without Master. I was always interested in playing this narrative Sword & Sorcery game: Blood Like Roses: Season 1, Episode 1, Scene 1.
And I’m happy to see my own Miso Solo System in action.

Misc

Eric Nieudan made a simple generic character sheet for old-school D&D: Grandaddy’s D&D Character Sheet.

And Max Vanderheyden made another neat small (and free) adventure with Lu Quade: Army of the Demon Ape (note: broken link).

It is the Princess’s birthday; she demanded the court Mage shrink the Royal Army so that she might use them as toys to play war. Before they could be returned to normal size the Mage turned traitor and sent word to the neighboring power that the land is undefended.

If you have an Amazon Echo, you can use it to play old-school D&D: Play OSR D&D on an Amazon Echo?.

#Patreon Michael Prescott is a wonderful patron now! Check out his beautiful adventures on trilemma.com. He has a patreon, too.

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

Friday Grab Bag: Uncanny Echo, Slowquest Zine, Interviews, Blood & Bone Campaign Setting

2017-12-21

Bonsoir, mes amis! This week has some free adventures, campaign settings, interviews, games, and more.

Articles to Read

Courtney Campbell writes On the Secret of Megadungeons.

I found Phil Nicholls’ table interesting for a narrative task resolution: Updated: Yes/No, but Little Wizards.

Using Classic Dungeons & Dragons Adventures With Weird Fantasy Gaming Systems by Eric Fabiaschi helps you to “weird up” old school modules like Keep on the Borderlands.

Maps, Adventures, Tools

Ben Milton posted this map on G+ and I think it snazzy: Ward of Chiezbehrg [City of Guild].

Beyond the Demon’s Web is a free adventure for Swords & Wizardry Continuous Light.

And here are some nifty free NPC Role-Playing Sheets.

The Blood and Bone - Campaign Setting is currently free. I wrote a review of the complete game, and I quite liked the package. You can get the full game for a discounted price ($3 instead of $14.99).

Random Wizard Interviews is a free PDF with interviews with 18 luminaries of the RPG industry, e.g., Zeb Cook and Steve Perrin.

The One-time Journal of Findings in RPG Design (note: broken link) (PWYW Epimas Edition) “features tidbits of game design in the form of articles by Giacomo Vicenzi, Maria Rivera, Michael Siebold, Mel White, Paul Czege, Jason Tocci, and Bill White. Each of the authors presents a work in progress.”

Games And Zines

Uncanny Echo Issue 0 is PWYW.

Uncanny Echo is a serialized roleplaying game. It is based in part on the Apocalypse World engine created by D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker. Games using elements of the Apocalypse World engine are often referred to as Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA)

Uncanny Echo’s aim is to have small, contained stories rooted in mysterious or eerie events that unravel with each issue. Something somewhat normal becomes something else: surreal, unearthly…uncanny.

The creator of the webcomic Kill 6 Billion Demons has released an accompanying RPG on his patreon page: Kill 6 Billion Demons RPG (Full Release). I’m not a patron, so I can’t say anything about it. AFAIK a pledge of $2 should give you access.

Eric Diaz released his Dark Fantasy Basic - Player’s Guide (PDF $4.99). It’s a modular OSR game with six classes, no races.

TL;DR DnD is a free version of the most popular RPG. It’s based on 5e.
Via Bruno Bord on G+:

A more compact version of the DnD main rules, along with a funkload of resources (pre-gens, etc.).

Martin Ralya tells us about Free Talislanta PDFs, And Where To Start.

The noteworthy Dungeon World zine Plundergrounds by Ray Otus has a new release: Plundergrounds #5 ($2).

Speaking of Dungeon World: Here is a new Dungeon World Newsletter.

And you can now download the 2017 Gongfarmer’s Almanac, consolidated edition Vols #1-8, a zine for DCC, for free.

Solo Role-playing

Geek Gamers released their third video about solo role-playing. This time it includes an Actual Play: How to create your own solo RPG adventure PART 3.
(Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here).

Blood Like Roses: Session Zero by James Carr uses my Miso RPG and the rad story game Swords Without Master.

Plus the second issue of the Slowquest Zine is out (via G+).

It’s a fully illustrated fantasy adventure with a bunch of possible endings and pathways.

Misc

Thanks to Teylen we have another Crowdfunding Collection #61.

You can win print copies of Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells here: Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells Giveaway - Adventure Outlines!.

Patreon Campaign

Thank you, Klint Finley, Max Vanderheyden, and Rudy, for joining the wondrous patron tribe.

Max is the guy behind Shoalmont Games where he creates free one-page adventures and writes about his role-playing experiences. Check it out, folks!

Klint creates games at klintron.com.

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

Friday Grab Bag: Solo Gaming Galore, Infested Garden Manor, Snakes & Saloons, Sentinel Comics RPG Starter Kit

2017-12-14

This week has great material for solo gaming (videos and articles). And we have a lot of free adventures and ref sheets for old-school gamers. On the 5e front, Snakes & Saloons is a refreshing idea. The starter kit for the Sentinal card game is available. It’s Epimas. And patreon decided to create an uproar.

Old School Gaming

Here are some free adventures: Free Adventures for OSR/TSR D&D.
Skerples says on G+:

I have no idea if this adventure is good or not, but it’s called VILE VENGEANCE OF THE BEES and it features bees that have learned metallurgy.

Anthony Lewis created a Character creation summary for Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells. SS & SS is a PWYW old school game. Review here.

And here is an informative article about Hot Springs Islands and a Hot Springs Island Reference Sheet by David Schirduan.

Max Vanderheyden from Shoalmont Games created another neat (and free) Yoon Suin One-Page Adventure: Infested Garden Manor.

Ben Milton has another review video: Broodmother SkyFortress: Old School DnD Book Review. I love this book, it offers invaluable advice for an old school Dungeon Master. The PDF costs $9.99 and it’s definitely worth it.

D&D 5e

Mike Schley offers some fantastic free maps: Free Map Downloads by Mike Schley, for example for Tomb of Annihilation.

Snakes & Saloons is a free Western skin for 5e.

Narrative Games/Indie Games

Epimas in the Year 2017: buy issues of Worlds Without Master (an adventure fiction and gaming ezine featuring sword & sorcery short stories), a copy of the same issue will be sent to a recipient of your choosing for free. Plus a coupon.
I like the zine although the games are probably too “indie” for me.

The Dungeon World Newsletter Issue #18 has some interesting entries. The 1001 Fantasy Adventures could be useful.

Dust, Fog, and Glowing Embers is available to the public now! The PDF costs $12. I already have some notes for a future review but didn’t have the time for writing it. I can already say that I like the game:

I love the setting on the cusp of the industrial age, mixed with alchemy, numerology, etc. - it reminds me of the Mistborn novels.
The artwork is impressive, too.
The game uses a simple d6 system. You roll a white die (challenge difficulty) and a black die (your skills etc.). You take the difference and try to score successes with your black die.

Solo Gaming

Alex Yari has some ideas about Using Baseline Assumptions In Solo Roleplaying and How I approach the Player Knowledge / Character Knowledge Dilemma in Solo Roleplaying.

Todd Rokely on G+ found a Solo Gamebook Master Review List.

Tarcisio Lucas wrote a delightful little free solo LARP: One Portal and Some Cars.

Basically, the story is this: In this game, you have been mysteriously transported to a corner street, in a parallel reality slightly different from ours. You have only a vague recollection - a deja vu - that you know is the only thing that can bring you back. >Otherwise, your memories will be replaced by new ones - your mind will adapt to this new reality - and you will simply cease to be “you.
You know that the order in which certain cars will stop at the traffic light will be the necessary condition to reopen the portal and transport you back home.

Daniel continues with his dungeon-crawl using my Miso system: Vorin’s Labyrinth – Second Expedition.

And here is a video on How to create your own solo RPG adventure PART 1. The videographer uses Melee, Wizard, In The Labyrinth and Treasure of the Silver Dragon by Metagaming.

And How to create your own solo RPG adventure PART 2.

Misc

The Core Rules and The Hiding Death, another free adventure for To The Stars, Stellar Cadets! by Jonathan Hicks. To the Stars, Stellar Cadets! is a free, minimalist sci-fi game.

Sentinel Comics: The Roleplaying Game Starter Kit is available for $9.95 (digital version). I am a big fan of the card game which you can also play in solitaire mode. Here are some impressions by M. Hertogh on G+:

It has 6 pregen PCs (3 male and 3 female superheroes from their Sentinels of the Multiverse games). And 6 issues (6 mini adventures that are supposed to feel like a comic books).
The game play a little like a Cortex game, but at the same time it is different mechanically. In essence roll three dice pooled together from different aspects of your character, take the middle result. Special powers allow for variations on that simple mechanic.
I have not played, but it looks very simple to learn. Honestly it is the first supers game since marvel heroic roleplaying that I figure will be worth giving it a go.

For a starter kit I find the price too steep. I’m not willing to shell out ten bucks for an incomplete game. The physical version costs $19.95.

Patreon

There was some upset last week because Patreon decided to change how it processes payment fees without consulting patreon creators first. They outsourced the payment processing fees to supporters and a lot of them jumped ship. My patreon campaign is still small and only two people canceled.

Luckily, patreon did a 180 a few days ago. So, for now, everything stays the same. If you support a creator with $1, you pay $1. The creator pays the fees.

Thanks to everyone who stood by me. Some people even upped their pledges. No hard feeling for everyone who canceled. I understand.

I gained a new patron: Spencer Salyer from the fabulous solo gaming blog Wisps of Time. Give it a look, people.

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

Friday Grab Bag: OSR, Swordfish Island Bestiary for 5e, Henshin!, Pocket Dungeon, and More

2017-12-07

I present to you the weekly news with OSR articles, products and free gaming material (spell books, new settings, etc.), some 5e stuff (e.g., the Swordfish Islands Bestiary) plus some story games (Henshin!). And don’t miss the solo gaming offers (Pocket Dungeon, They’re Onto Me).

Old School Gaming

Esteemed OSR writer James Spahn wrote a Review: Midlands Low Magic Sandbox Setting. It is a setting book for Low Fantasy Gaming.
Midlands Low Magic Sandbox is available as a PDF for $10.

A Book of Miscellaneous Spells II is published! It’s a free PDF.

Inferno Road is a zine for Dungeon Crawl Classics and other OSR games. 15$ shipped to the USA. The pictures look sweet. I don’t have it, so I can’t say anything else about this.

The Horn of Kardos (PWYW) is a campaign starter to be used with Swords & Wizardry Light.

The original Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay First Edition Core Rulebook is now available as a PDF for $9.99.

Fully OCR’d, bookmarked and cleaned up to look amazing […]

And here is more news: New OSR Products at RPGNow/DTRPG — December 6th, 2017.

This article was in Jens D.'s G+ stream: Against Gonzo Dungeons and Total Party Kills (or Some Old-School Tropes Overturned)... I found it to be an insightful read into different play-styles.

Gavin Norman has some thoughts about how to use the hex-crawl Fever Swamp in the mystic setting of Dolmenwood.

I like the idea of the quick A-Z City Key by Elfmaids & Octopi.

Michael Bacon created a simple free Rules Reference for Maze Rats (v0.2). Cool.

Anne Hunter made a free Death & Dismemberment Table for DCC.

And there is a new hack of The Black Hack on the table: The Quest Hack (free, in development).

More TBH? Bonus Episode – Black Hack at Dragonmeet - an interview with David Black and Chris McDowall (author of Into the Odd).

Jayson Gardner collected some Megadungeon Resources.

Last week I reported that a new B/X Essentials product was released - B/X Essentials: Classes and Equipment. It’s now also available as print-on-demand.
Eric Fabiaschi wrote a review: Review & Commentary On B/X Essentials: Classes and Equipment From Necrotic Gnome Productions For Your Old School Campaigns.

Designing D&D Adventures with Kiel Chenier: Old School Academy Ep. 4 is an interview by Ben Milton.

D&D 5e

The Dictionary of Azurth is an “abbreviated (but free) guide to assort people, places, and things in the Land of Azurth”. Azurth is the setting of Mortzengersturm, The Mad Manticore of the Prismatic Peak

How NOT to Teach Newbies D&D is a lengthy article by The Angry GM. I like his stance, but his writing is very verbose.

Someone statted all Swordfish Island monsters for 5e: I created 5e stats for all of the monsters in the bestiary of A Field Guide to Hot Springs Island on reddit - free PDF here.

Story Games/Narrative Games & Rules-Lite Games

Here is a free pocketmod 2-player-game by Scott Slomiany: Wild One.

Blades in the Dark website (including SRD) is live! The SRD is also hosted on Github.

Jonathan Hicks created a free simple sci-fi game called To The Stars, Cadets!. It uses three attributes (Strength, Smarts, and Skill) and a simple d6-system (roll 1d6 + attribute score ≥ 7).

Henshin! is a storytelling game where a group of teens transforms into masked heroes. PWYW PDF.

In Henshin!, players narrate episodes about a team of heroes with dual identities and awesome power. Most participants play a Color, a hero designated by archetypes as described in their playbook. One participant is the Narrator, describing the world and all other characters as needed, in addition to guiding each episode through a satisfying arc.

Solo Gaming

Dan Clark used my free Miso RPG for A Solo Dungeon-Crawl: Vorin’s Labyrinth. Yeah!

This old-school adventure generator was recommended by Alex Yari on G+: CASTLE OLDSKULL - Oldskull Adventure Generator. At the moment, it’s on sale for $0.99.

It has a nice structure to outline adventures, and I thought it could be useful to frame scenes, come up with ideas for NPC patrons, and cool, evocative titles for fantasy adventures.

Pocket Dungeon is a free print-and-play dungeon-crawler. I found it on G+ where Tarcisio Lucas recommended it.

It is a very creative game. One of the great things about it is that this game was designed to be played at work, and it has many tools to “camouflage” the game, including the dice - you substitute dice by a small block of post notes. It is kind of 4 Against Darkness “pocket version”.

Speaking of Four Against Darkness: Spencer Salyer wrote a thorough review of this game on his blog. If you’re interested in this dungeon-crawler, take a look at Review: Four Against Darkness – A Solo Dungeon-Delving Game.

Spencer’s 4AD Game Board is now on DTRPG as Pay-What-You-Want product.

In the free solo game They’re Onto Me you play a conspiracy theorist.

Every day, you will be filming yourself on your phone. Each recording session will be up to a minute long. That is how long you have to talk about the oncoming parasitic alien invasion. The game ends when you’ve recorded yourself every day for twelve days. On the twelfth day, you will decide why this is your last video post.

Flash Fantasy: A series of mini fighting fantasy playable in 5 minutes is a free mini-game based on the Fighting Fantasy books by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone.

In this video a gamer explains how she uses The Fantasy Trip for solo gaming: Melee The Fantasy Trip RPG. (Thanks, Kent H, for pointing this out.)

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

Friday Grab Bag: Adventures (OSR, Dungeon World), Game Aids for 5e, and Other Tidbits

2017-11-30

This week I found some free old-school adventures and games (FASERIP), some gaming aids for D&D 5e (character tents, a time tracking tool), some adventures for Dungeon World. And some other tidbits.

Old-School Gaming and D&D 5e

Spencer Salya shared a List of 450 Old School Games on G+.

The new black & white cover edition of White Box: Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game is now available ($17.99)! The PDF of the game is free.

The Orb of Undying Discord ($3.99) for Swords & Wizardry Light was released this week.

This adventure is designed for use with Swords and Wizardry Light/Continual Light. It is compatible with Swords & Wizardry and other OSR systems. This adventure is for 4-6 characters of level 2-3. Can you brave the dangers and outsmart the puzzles to obtain the Orb of Undying Discord? This is the 3rd adventure in the Undying Orbs series. These will culminate in an anthology after the upcoming release of the Orb of Undying Law.

Here is a free D&D 5E – Time Tracking Tool.

And I enjoy Max Vanderheyden’s one-page dungeons. Here is Temple of the Frozen Steppe.

Mike Hill reminded me of the Free Gaming Material by AntiPaladin Games.

Aaron Gustwiller created a free adventure for Blood of Pangea (review of BoP here): The Wondrous Tower of Arbelsun.

And don’t forget that you can get Marvel Super Heroes (FASERIP) for free, too. Thanks, Gerald Williams.

And these Character & Monster Tents are pretty awesome. There is a free version and an updated version on DM’s Guild for $1.95.

Just Three Hexes - Campaign Starters offers solid advice on how to start a campaign with minimal overload.

You can now buy B/X Essentials: Classes and Equipment for $4.99 (PDF). There is a free Plain Text Edition.

Dungeon World

Keep on the Shining Isle (PWYW) is a dungeon module. It’s system agnostic and thus suitable for Dungeon World. Also available as a printed zine.

And Mark Tygart gave us conversion notes for the free adventure The Prison of the Hated Pretender.

Joe Banner released The Gülish Choir (free adventure).

Nick Nunes has some thoughts about Alternate Damage and HP Systems.

And here are Grim Portents/Dungeon Moves for The Keep on the Borderlands.

Solo Gaming

Zack MacDonald posted an Actual Play of Ironsworn RPG, the new game with a solo/co-op mode (in development, see here).

Wonderful Patrons

Welcome to Zachary Kline and David Nandrin. You are fantastic, and I much appreciate your support for my patreon.

Misc

Teylen delivers the Crowdfunding Collection #59. I’m Kickstarter-wary and don’t plan to support any of the campaigns, though.

Thank you for reading this article. I don’t have a comment section anymore. But feel free to talk to me on G+ or shoot me an email.

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

Friday Grab Bag: Five Parsecs From Home, Ironsworn RPG, Black Friday Sale, Powered-by-the-Apocalypse Games

2017-11-23

This week in gaming offers us some fresh PtbA playtests (Ironsworn RPG, The Company of Monsters), some supplements for supers games, new solo RPG material, and a few interesting reads (e.g., The Invention of Randomly Generated Dungeons).

Narrative Games/Indie Games

Sword Breaker Issue No. 5 - The Folded Lands is out. Sword Breaker is a digital fanzine for Dungeon World. Pay What You Want.

And there is a new Dungeon World Newsletter Issue #17.

You can get the Bundle of Holding’s Indie Cornucopia +5 right now. It includes games like The Sprawl or vs. Stranger Stuff - Season 2.

Ironsworn RPG is a gritty-ish, PbtA-inspired fantasy RPG that supports solo and co-op GM-less play. Currently, there is a free 190-pages-preview PDF available.

Karlsburg (note: broken link) is a free child-friendly RPG setting for the OneDice RPG system.

Elegy for the Lost, A Roleplaying Poem about Memories for 2 or More Players. It is a free short game.

And here is A Mini Review of Headspace by David Schirduan.

The Company of Monsters, a Powered by the Apocalypse RPG by Johnstone Metzger is in public playtest.

The game’s main goal is to let you play this Patreon project’s monthly monsters, instead of just seeing them as antagonists for your murderhobos to massacre. Instead, you play the monsters who kill the adventurers!

Old School Gaming

Someone on Reddit asks about OSR games not focused on dungeon crawls?.

Creature Loot: The PDF is a pretty 96-pages free PDF of loot you can harvest from creatures. Thanks to Jens D. for pointing this out.

Here are the New OSR Products at RPGNow/DTRPG — November 21st, 2017 by Jeremy.

The Invention of Randomly Generated Dungeons is an interesting read by Jon Peterson.

And here are some Alternative Saving Throws Ideas by Michael Bacon.

d100 Secrets of the Murder Hobos on the Elfmaids & Octopi blog.

Ben Milton reviews Veins of the Earth on Youtube.

Solo Gaming

Five Parsecs From Home 2nd Edition is a “solo-oriented campaign game, aimed at providing the sort of Traveller meets Trigun meets Borderlands game play style that a lot of games grasp at.”

Here is a free Four Against Darkness Compatible Game Board by Spencer Salya.

The Zach Bestiary, is a free Google Form document by Todd Zircher.

It’s intended to be a resource for anyone either for NPCs as is or to inspire others.

Free d6 Skirmish Rules by Carsten Rossner.

Quick skirmish rules mixing the Pathfinder tactical options with the simplicity of the In Darkest Warrens engine and adding special abilities from the miniature game for flavor.

Riccardo Fregi created a new (free) game called Daily Quests. You can use this to gamify your to-do list.

Misc

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale has started on DTRPG.
I recommend Dice Roll Zine #1 ($3.32), here is my review.
I have Flower Liches of the Dragonboat Festival, Warriors of the Red Planet Warriors of the Red Planet, Death is the New Pink and Theorems & Thaumaturgy Revised Edition on my wishlist, so maybe I’ll spring some bucks for that.

One-Page Adventures by Michael Siebold: A Night Under The Eelskin Moon and A Fur-Minster’s Grand Affair.

Gaming and BS RPG Podcast talk with Jason Hobbs about Combat Adding to Story.

MoonSylver has a free “source book/Patrol Encounter System + extra random charts for use with “The Vigilante Hack” or your Supers game of choice”: City of Crime.

“The Vigilante Hack” Class Hack by MoonSylver offers 15 new classes for this old-school comic book/modern game.

And A Night On Patrol is a system neutral supplement for superhero games.

Carphaneüm (English) in on Kickstarter. I’ve heard of a while ago when someone pointed out interesting settings and beautiful books by our French neighbors. It is a stand-alone Arabian-Nights-Fantasy game. There is a free Quickstart.

Thank you for reading this article. I don’t have a comment section anymore. But feel free to talk to me on G+ or shoot me an email.

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

Friday Grab Bag: Hammer & Anvil, WINGS, RPG Fantasy Sounds, Equipment Cards

2017-11-16

Here is a short Friday Grab Bag for you with come RPG tools: character sheets, equipment cards, and rules crafting systems, soundboard apps, etc.
There is also a new minimalist RPG and some articles on gaming and publishing.

Jonathan Hicks offers Some tips on describing combat in a roleplaying game.

Here is a Custom Character Sheet and Encumbrance System.

Short Version: Character sheet for LotFP (w/ House rules) and new encumbrance tracking system that uses mini item cards (~1/3 of a 3x5 index) to give players a visual and physical sense of their items. Organized sheet so it was 1-page and relevant info (combat stuff, skills, and languages, etc.) were grouped. Created separate backpack sheet for items beyond what’s on their character’s person.

Hammer & Anvil - Crafting in WFRP2e is a free simple crafting system that you can port to many games.

RPG Sounds: Fantasy is a free soundboard app for gaming. Available for Android and iOS.

Papercrafted Equipment Sets look sweet. The full set costs £7.99, but they have a free template.

Rage, Precognition, Grace (RPG) is a short free retro-clone of The Fantasy Trip by Jeff Moore. (Found via a private share by Paul C on G+.)

Max Vanderheyden released another free one-page-dungeon, this time with “escalating tags”: The Snow Giant. A guy to follow.

I use the idea of “tags” in most games I run, not necessarily linking it to a specific mechanic especially since I make most of these with the casual idea that they are system neutral. In general, I intended for the “escalating tags” to be a useful guide for what direction to take the three groups of NPC’s. If you aren’t sure what move to make, throw one of those tags into play. ¹

You can participate in creating dungeon ideas on Twitter: #SixWordDungeon.

FANTASTIC! EXCITING! IMAGINATIVE! is a new OSR fanzine on the market. The first issue is free on DTRPG.

David Schirduan created some sweet DCC Class Bookmarks.

How To Become A Godzillionaire On Drivethrurpg If Your Name Doesn’t Rhyme With Yon Blick, Clobbert Malwb, Smaniel Locks, Or Blizzard Of The Toast by Cecil Howe is a must-read if you want to know how Onebookshelf works. This G+ Discussion is also interesting.

Treasure Awaits!, a beginner-friendly dungeon-crawling RPG, is currently available for $4.95. I played this solo once, and it was a fun game.

And here is a narrative rules-lite and free RPG: WINGS - Formerly One Sheet RPG by Brian Holland.

And Michael Bacon created a formatted sheet for Fourth Page by Mike Riverso - some random generator/inspiration ideas.

And here is the Crowdfunding Collection #58.

Thank you for reading this article. I don’t have a comment section anymore. But feel free to talk to me on G+ or shoot me an email.

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

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Friday Grab Bag: Games for Stranger Things, Lots of Solo Gaming, OSR Tools, Free Adventurers, Dungeon World

2017-11-09

This week in role-playing geek: Some solo gaming tools, advice for writers, some Stranger Things games, Dungeon World Google Sheets, and some OSR generators and modules.

Dungeon World

Dungeon World Newsletter Issue #16 offers some Dungeon-World-related releases from the last weeks.

And here are some free Google Docs-style Sheets for online gaming by Devin Ekins and Mattie Casper.

Narrative Games

How to Run Stranger Things in The Whispering Road by Brent Newhall, creator of TWR.

The Whispering Road is a storytelling game of cooperation and exploration, inspired by the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.

Speaking of games for Stranger Things, Super 8, The Goonies, etc.: Kids on Bikes, a lightweight narrative game with collaborative world-building, is on Kickstarter. You can read about my first impressions here.

PBTA – Moves overload by Josh Fox is a thoughtful article about PtBA moves and cognitive burden.

World of Troublemakers by daylands.blogspot.com is a neat and small Dungeon World game. (Found on G+ via Paul C - follow this guy!) I never heard of the blog, but I like what I see. For example, the latest entry is 1d6 osr ultra lite + small dungeon.

Gaming Tools and Solo RPG

Solo Gaming Appreciation Month 2017 is in full swing and makes for some influx of actual plays and solo gaming tools.

Here is Predictive Writer, a free writing tool with random words. (Found on G+ via James Smith in the Lone Wolf community.)

English Eerie: Rural Horror Storytelling Game for One Player by Trollish Delver Games - PWYW. Here is an actual play by Justin Gordon on Google Docs.

Ivan Sorensen published his solo gaming tool Blade & Lock Pick ($5.99).

Blade & Lockpick is a role playing engine written with the following goals:
To present a group-oriented resolution system where the party act as a group, not a collection of individuals.
To provide a universal resolution system that could handle combat, mountaineering and research projects equally well.
To allow an interesting game where one player can easily handle a group of characters.

More info here.

And Peter Schweighofer shares his Favorite Resources for Solo RPG Play.

Old-School Gaming

Diogo Nogueira shares his 10 Commandments for Good Refereeing. I like rule number 1: “[…] create a world where players can experience adventures and other shenanigans.”

Murcanto’s Lair (PWYW) by Samwise7RPG is a 50-pages-system-neutral module. Thanks to James Spahn for pointing it out on G+.

Rafael Chandler has some OSR Random Generators on his site.

Max Vanderheyden gives us a fresh one-page adventure called Fortress of the Wolf Mother.

The System is a free RPG system from way back then. Richard LeBlanc, the genius behind the D30 Sandbox Companion, the D30 DM Companion and the CC1 Creature Compendium (PWYW) wrote it when he was 16.

WLB Presents: The Lost and Forgotten Volume One (PWYW) is “a collection of Bonus Monster Cards, Marvelous Items, Gear, and Resting rules not included in The Wasted Hack or Waste-Land Beasts and How to Kill Them.”

OSR: Attack the Sheet is an interesting article by Skerples from Coins and Scrolls.

Here is another PWYW adventure: Under Tenkar’s Tavern, Levels 1-3.

Barrel Rider Games runs a birdhday sale (50% off) on all products until November 17th! Barrel Rider Games Sale - I own several products and the quality is good.

Oakes Spalding relased Seven Voyages Of Zylarthen Electronic Edition: “This new Electronic Edition features revised, consolidated and extensively bookmarked/linked versions of the four original booklets for the now classic OD&D neo-clone.”
I had the original booklets and I found them an interesting read (never played it though).

Wheel of Evil is “a 16-page adventure for old-school characters of levels 3 to 5, plus a full-color cover, classic maps, and handouts.” Currently free. Found via G+, Brian Holland.

Kiel Chenier Double Feature: Jason Hobbs invited Kiel to H&FofOSR #23 – Kiel Chenier to talk about Blood in the Chocolate and other stuff on his podcast.
And Ben Milton talks with Kiel Chenier about Designing D&D Adventures with Kiel Chenier.

Misc.

I didn’t realize up until now that Adventurers! Revised 2Pages Edition is a free download. It offers a rules-lite gaming experience in a tight package.

How to Finish Your Projects is solid advice (note: broken link; removed)

Neil Gaiman’s Advice to Aspiring Writers (via G+ Kabuki Kaiser).

Revolution D100 Raises Money for a Hardcover Edition, 5 days to go. The game is a mix between BRP (Basic Roleplaying) and Heroquest. This review provides a good overview. I’m currently reading through the book and so far I concur with his opinion. Supporting the campaign gives you a cheaper PDF (5 €) than buying it on DTRPG.

Crowdfunding Collection #56 and Crowdfunding Collection #57 by Teylen keeps you up to date with the latest crowdfunding news.

Jim McGarva is donating all his proceeds from the sale of his Strike! RPG in November to the SickKids Foundation, which supports The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Read more here. (Found on a private share on G+.)

Thank you for reading this article. I don’t have a comment section anymore. But feel free to talk to me on G+ or shoot me an email.

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

Friday Grab Bag: Teen Detective, Engines & Empires, Old School Revival +5, Flower Liches of the Dragonboat Festival

2017-11-02

This week is full of free games, both OSR and non-OSR (rules-lite and story games). Plus I found some tidbits about Dungeon World, solo gaming, and RPG design.

Dungeon World

Dungeon World Newsletter Issue #15 is out.

On G+ Aaron Griffin asked about A Collection of Those Starters That Use the Discern Realities Questions as the Basis.

D&D and OSR

This Interactive Map of Sigil is beautiful and useful at the same time.

And here is Rob Conley on Observations on what is Dungeons and Dragons.

Old School Revival +5 is a Bundle of Holding with some recent releases like The Nightmares Underneath, Mortzengersturm or Gathox Vertical Slum. It’s available for $12.95. If you pass the threshold price (currently ~ $26), you’ll also get games like Dragon Kings and Index Card RPG.
(I have some thoughts on ICRPG in this post, and there’s also the list of ICRPG Resources here).

http://lotfp666.tumblr.com/ has some House Rules for Lamentations of the Flame Princess. (Found on G+ via Paul C.)

50 Death, Dying, and Horrible Stuff is a blog post with “a handy-dandy table of horrible things that could happen.”

Stranger Things? ESP & Eyeliner “is all about psychic powers, government intrusion into other realms and getting by in the 1980”. It is a free supplement for The Black Hack.

Here is a Wuxia ghost story sandbox, an investigation adventure, and a setting encapsulated in time compatible with everything OSR: Flower Liches of the Dragonboat Festival by Kabuki Kaiser ($4.00). And here is an interview with Brendan Davis: Kabuki Kaiser Interview (Flower Liches of the Dragonboat Festival).
Kabuki has already created some very alluring OSR GM-less products that solo role-players love, for example Ruins of the Undercity and Castle Gargantuan.

Engines & Empires: OSR Steampunk is “a standalone OSR game, incorporating some of the best innovations and open game content that the OSR scene has come up with in recent years, while still keeping true to that old-school mega-dungeon and hex-crawl feel. It’s a little bit Napoleonic, a little bit Victorian, and all-the-way mad science.” ¹ The PDFs are free. It’s from the author of the fun little 8-bit Retro Phaze.

Valley of The Headless Kings is “a little adventure designed to populate a hex in a hex-crawl. It’s essentially six little vignettes around each of the towers with a climax in the castle in the middle.” Free.

Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Interview.

And here is Bryce Lynch on Fever Swamp: Tenfootpole Reviews Fever Swamp.

Non-OSR Games

My Boss Is A Demon. No, Seriously! - A Two-Page RPG. This is free, too.

Teen Detective is “[a] take on adapting […] the investigative game Cthulhu Dark by Graham Walmsley for the teen detective genre. If you’re down with Cthulhu Dark’s ultra-light ruleset, it’s fundamental trust between players and GM, and you like Veronica Mars or other teen detectives then you should give this a look […]”.
More info here.

Hedge Witch is a free one page RPG about solving the weird problems of a small town with ingredients from your magical garden.

And this site has a list of free games: The Compendium of Free Role Playing Games.

Game Mastering

Diogo Nogueira on How do I prepare adventures?.

Here’s a generator that rolls Hot Springs Island’s location, and dungeon encounters with a single click - found on Reddit, Cecil Howe.

RPG Design

Using CC Artwork with Joe Banner and David Schirduan. Very interesting.

Solo Gaming

Alex Yari talks about what his Perfect Solo Role-Playing Tool would be able to do. And he offers a generator for solo players.

And November is Solo Gaming Appreciation Month 2017.

Patron

Welcome, new wonder-friends: Jason Tocci! Thanks for the support.

Thank you for reading this article. I don’t have a comment section anymore. But feel free to talk to me on G+ or shoot me an email.

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/798dh3/engines_empires_osr_steampunk/ ↩︎

A Look at Dice Roll Zine #1

2017-10-30

I got a free review product from the author. This is a reading review of the PDF.

What Do You Need to Know?

Dice Roll Zine #1 is an old-school D&D fanzine by Hogtown Games. For $4.00 you get a 36 pages PDF. It features a no-fuss layout and excellent b/w artwork.
A print version is available on The Borderlands: $9 for Canada & USA, $10.50 everywhere else in the world.

What’s in It?

I love the material about How to Resolve Anything that Comes Up. It’s a simple 2d6 resolution system for games without skill systems. You use the character’s ability scores and roll on a table when you don’t know what should happen.
This system looks like a neat tiny solo role-playing oracle for old-school games.

There is the Barbarian, a B/X character class with Battle Rage. I like the abilities: Savage Lore (Feral Senses, tracking…), Flesh Like Steel (being unarmored), etc.
But I’m not sure if I want to have the Barbarian as a separate class. A question of game philosophy, I’m sure. For me, it would be enough to play a Fighter and fluff it up. Play the character like a Barbarian. Still, the zine’s take on the class seems like a sensible one.

The author, Steve A. Cook, also came up with optional rules for throwing down enemies and turning undead. You can use these to brush up your game. The Throw Down rule sounds like a neat mechanic. It allows you a boost if successful, e.g., +1 bonus to attacks, damage, saves, and other checks. I can see myself using this rule in my games.

Most of the zine concerns itself with The Purple Mushroom Inn, a science fantasy adventure site for low and mid-level characters.

As a fan of random tables, I appreciate the rumor & adventure seed table. For example, entry #3:

Flumbledorp the wizard-druid tried building his own ‘lost world’ park. He failed miserably. Angry dinosaurs with death ray eyes are ravaging the Fungoid Forest.

The adventure comes off as “sand-boxy”. There is no quest per se. But the adventure has hooks and interesting Non-Player Characters (NPCs). Still, either the Game Master (GM) or the players need to come up a motivation or an inciting incident.

The author also provides a menu and other tidbits for flavor. For example, the intoxicant Bravo Tab “increases bravery and morale (Charisma +1d4) along with its mild high for 1d6 hours, but lowers Intelligence 1d4 points”.

The author gave the content organization some thought. You get a write-up on the inn’s staff, a map with keys and then detailed info on every room with stats. Steve Cook does a splendid job of providing you with the main points, for example how security works. As the GM, you can skim the entries and distill the most critical aspects. The writing is terse but evocative.
I appreciate the entries for the main characters. You get information about personality, flaws, secrets, and motivations.

The science-fantasy adventure is quite hilarious. Depending on your humor or tolerance for silliness this might be a good or bad thing.

There is a holo-suite which you can use to slot in another adventure. I found that to be quite a smart idea.

All in all, you get a lot of tools in this zine: rules for flying an airship, a Chaos Mutants die drop table and a “Random Dungeon Stuff Die Drop Table”. That one is useful, and it would also be cool for a solo role-player.

Roll 1d6 and consult the “Random Stuff?” table below whenever you think random stuff may happen in the dungeon. Whether it’s once per turn, once per hour, once per minute, when the players annoy you … the frequency doesn’t matter.

The tables have some funny items like “Chainmail bikini. Dwarf-sized.” or an egg which hatches a small dinosaur baby. They come with a nod towards 90s films like “Honey, I shrunk the PCs!” or “I ain’t afraid of no ghosts.”.

The zine concludes with some (unkeyed) mega-dungeon maps.

Thoughts

For $4 the zine is a steal. It offers terrific content for a gonzo sci-fi/fantasy old school game and thoughtful rules. Plus, as a solo gamer, I found a lot of practical tools.
I’m surprised about how much I like this zine. It provides a different take than the dark stuff that I prefer in Vacant Ritual Assembly or Wormskin. I like that the author included extra downloads of the maps. And I value that the text is released as Open Content under the OGL.
The layout is friendly and straightforward. That is a feat in itself. Paired with the artwork and the maps, Dice Roll Zine #1 looks nifty. Digital bookmarks would have been lovely. But not having them is not a dealbreaker.

If you’re looking for a useful old-school D&D zine with a comical vibe, you should check out Dice Roll Zine #1.
The print version is available HERE.

Thank you for reading this article. I don’t have a comment section anymore. But feel free to talk to me on G+ or shoot me an email.

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

Friday Grab Bag: Doom Realm, OSR Blogs, Dark Sun 5e Rules, Directions Stortyplaying System

2017-10-26

Indie Games/Narrative Games

Michael Reisner made a free little group storytelling game called And Then.

You can grab a free adventure for Hunters of Alexandria (a Fate-based game by D101 Games) here: Bite of the Crocodile God.
Hunters of Alexandria is on sale through October 31st on DTRPG or D101 Games.

Ever heard of Directions Storyplaying System? It’s a universal modular framework without a GM - in development. Free. The design ideas sound promising.

Tools

Don’t forget to check out the free online multi-user (!) dice roller Roll For Your Party. It’s an excellent tool for online gaming.

A new version of Hextml, the web-based hexagonal cartographer is out.

Here are some music playlists for your game: UPDATE: Curated Spotify playlists I use in my D&D sessions. Organized by mood, encounter, atmosphere, etc..

Solo Gaming

Doctor Who: Solitaire Story Game (Second edition) by Simon Cogan now has more books: an Enemy Booklet, Ref Sheets, and more! (Thanks, Jacob Ross, for pointing this out.)

OSR

Microlite81 Complete Digest/Epub ($9.95) is out:

The Microlite81 Complete Digest/Epub Edition is based on the Basic and Expert (B/X) boxed sets of the world’s most popular fantasy roleplaying game published in 1981. This game takes the popular B/X version of the game and recreates it using the rules-lite Microlite20 version of modern D20 system.

Someone on Reddit asks about Favorite OSR and Systemless Blogs?. Holy crap, there are some good ones there that I didn’t know of.

And how do you go about Combining Yoon-Suin, A Red & Pleasant Land, Vornheim, DCO, etc. into one setting?.

Dungeon Full of Monsters (PDF $15.00) is a modular mega-dungeon for use with Labyrinth Lord and other old-school fantasy role-playing games. It looks great.

Bryce Lynch does a final post on his reviews of all Dungeon magazines: Dungeon Magazine – Final Retrospective.

Midkemia Press has some free adventures, too. They are from 1981. The Black Tower and Towns of the Outlands. (Thanks to Gerald Williams on G+ for finding this.)

Alex Schroeder made me aware of the Triple Secret Random Dungeon Fate Chart of Very Probable Doom by Jeff Rients (from 2008). At the end of each session, any character still in the dungeon must roll to see if they escape.

A Review of Hot Springs Island, a hexcrawl setting, by Ben Milton:

(I really should insist on getting physical copies for my reviews, too…)

D&D 5e

The Uncanny Resurrection of Dungeons & Dragons shines a light on how D&D gains popularity.

Reviews

I found it interesting that Smiorgan from Department V reads some games backward for a fresh look and to avoid making assumptions: Rpg Backwards Look: Daytrippers Core.

RPG Design/Layout

Keith Hann continues with Layout Part III: The Full Monty.

Patrons

A shout-out to the wonderful Rob Abrazado and Justin S. - thank you so much, guys! I appreciate your support.

Thank you for reading this article. I don’t have a comment section anymore. But feel free to talk to me on G+ or shoot me an email.

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

Friday Grab Bag: BuJo, Free Rules-Lite Games, Chromatic Soup 02, RPG Layout

2017-10-19

This week is full of free, lightweight games, most of the OSR vein. I also found two uses for the Bullet Journal method, a nifty solitaire game, layout advice and some articles that I did enjoy.
On a sad note, Zach Best from Conjecture Games has passed. He contributed many neat solo gaming tools to the community, and we are sorry to hear of his death.

Tools

A Bag of Holding Spreadsheet. Because why not?

The Bullet Journal technique is a method to organize your life in a notebook. RPG Tinkerage adopted this style for a Game Mastering journal: Bullet Journal for scenarios.

The free BuJoRPG – The Bullet Journal Role Playing Game uses gamification and the BuJo method to help you to improve your life.

Do you need some music? D&D Classical Background Music Playlists might be worth a look. (note: broken link)

Recipe for Adventure might be worth a try as game prep.

Story Games

Here’s Only the Food, a free horror adventure for Dread by David Schirduan.

Forthright Open Roleplay Core Rulebook was just released for $7.99. I haven’t heard of it before, but it looks like a genre-blending indie game. If you buy it till the end of October, you can get a free PDF copy of the Spark Roleplaying Game by Jason Pitre. Here’s a review of Spark. And there’s also a free CC edion of Forthright (without artwork). So you can check out the game before you buy the full-color version.

D&D (Old School and 5e)

1pot: rules system & house rules for old-school RPGs (PWYW) is a kitchen-sink gritty D&D game. I have skimmed it, and it has some compelling stuff (character creation with random gimmicks, Wizard familiars & magic schools, cool species abilities, a pantheon, lethal damage table).

Slashers & Victims Light is a free slasher-themed hack for Swords & Wizardry Light.

Swords & Wizardry Continual Light (PWYW) is a lightweight 24-pages ruleset, an expanded version of S&W Light.

So It Looks Like You’re Gonna Die (free) is a neat little pamphlet you can throw at your players when they are at 0 HP. With death tables!

Get some free excellent-looking Character sheets for Swords & Wizardry by Karl Stjernberg.

Here is an interesting article about The OSR in Brazil.

Chromatic Soup 02, the illustrated 117-page setting book full of weirdness, is available as a free PDF or at-cost-print.

Norbert Matausch released Tatzelwurm ($3.49), the 2d6-OSR-freeform game with German roots. The game has a magic system, rules for mass combat and skirmishes and a complete setting. It skirts the border between a role-playing game and a wargame.

Laminations of the Flame Printing Press (free) by Paul C.:

A game where office workers MacGyver things and delve into demon-haunted, inter-dimensional office dungeons to do the bidding of a demonic printer.

Shane Ward’s Old school awesome - Oct 13 Edition and Old School Awesome - Oct 20th Edition collect new OSR releases (contains affiliate links).

And people are Curious About Dave Arneson’s Rules.

Lightweight Games

Bento Dungeon by Jesse Cox is a free game for a D&D-esque experience. It has a “lightweight core that needs to be combined with 1-3 supplements to create a full game, but the core and each supplement fit on a double-sided sheet of paper.”

MicroCrunch Universal RPG is a free ultra-lite RPG by David Johnston.

Dungeon World

Navel-gazing: I’m a judge for the Gauntlet Contest.

Brian Holland wrote a One Sheet RPG based on DW, Fate and The Indie Hack. It has a flow chart!

World of Adventures “is an ongoing project to present a simplified, tightened ruleset for Dungeon World that builds on the strengths and themes of the original game, while incorporating newer ideas and designs made popular since the game’s original release.”

The Fourth Page - Monsters is a free random monster generator.

Game Design

Keith Hann looks at the layout of OSR games: The Natural Starting Point and Layout Part II: Send In The (Other) Clones.

Here is David Schirduans’ excellent article about doing the layout with Google Docs: Jalopy Design. Must-read.

Joe Banner pointed out an article about Stock photos that don’t suck.

Solo Gaming

The Ennie-Award-winning blog GnomeStew is looking at Running a Solo Game GM-less.

Sole - An Exploration Game for One Player is a beautiful free journaling game by James Mullen:

You have left the world behind on an almost-fully automated, one-person spacecraft, with the mission to scout the galaxy and see what’s out there. Your craft will navigate you to places of interest and record everything it can via its sensors: your job is to provide the human touch by means of a commentary on how each discovery makes you feel.

Zach Best, the author of fabulous tools like CRGE or UNE, has passed away. Zach’s Book (no affiliate link), is still available as PWYW if you want to support his family. All proceeds go directly to them.

Video games

The Loot Crate Problem is an insightful article about how publishers monetize their games and what it means for you as a consumer.

Crowdfunding

On the Shoulders of Giants: An OSR RPG Setting might be worth a look for fans of Scrap Princess and Lamentations of the Flame Princess or The Black Hack.

The booklet will describe a setting for The Black Hack and Lamentations of the Flame Princess where man is forced to live on the corpses of dead gods, devoid of metal and with scarce food.

James Shields creates Fantasy Stock Art & RPG Minis.

Patrons

A shout-out to the wonderful Dylan Ross, Shane Liebling and Andrew James Huffaker for supporting me on patreon.

Andrew has a podcast that combines two interests of mine: psychology and RPGs. Check it out at The Psychology of Gaming.

Thank you for reading this article. I don’t have a comment section anymore. But feel free to talk to me on G+ or shoot me an email.

Would you like to support me on patreon? Thank you so much!

A Look at Exodus System SRD

2017-10-16

Beware: this is a reading review!

What Do You Need to Know?

Exodus System SRD is an old-school D&D RPG by Jacob DC Ross. It is inspired by games like The Black Hack, Adventurer Conqueror King or Numenera.

The purpose of the Exodus System is to give you a genre-free, easy-to-customize game.

The 41 pages PDF is available for ~~$4.99~~ $1.99 HERE. You’ll also get a Word document that you can use as a base for your creation.

Exodus is only a ruleset document; you get no setting.

Content

Character Creation

Generation surprises me with some new ideas. The system marries the concept of old-school D&D with some ideas from more modern games like Cortex Plus.

Exodus uses the classic D&D attributes (Strength, Dexterity, etc.) but with a twist. Every quality gets a die size. Typically it is a d6, but one stat receives a d8.

I like the next bit: you get to pick some roles. You have one Party Role, Combat Role, and two Flavors to distinguish your character from everyone else.

Character creation is where the system shines. There are no classes.

Party Roles determine hit points and abilities/benefits. Let’s say you choose the Technician. One of the abilities is:

Handy: Choose a type of task that involves using your hands to fix, operate or build something. This can be surgery, computer hacking, repairing machines or anything else. You gain Advantage on that task. Each time you select this ability, choose a different task.

Combat roles determine damage, armor and fighting abilities. Let’s take an example from Sneak:

Vanish: You can disappear by rolling Dexterity successfully. You only need to roll against the highest applicable Action Die among observers. If you select this ability more than once, you gain+1 to the attempt each time.

Flavors remind me of the trappings from Savage Worlds:

These define the source of your power and help to inform your abilities. Flavors set you apart, mechanically and story-wise, from other characters.

You get two Flavors at character creation. Examples include Aware, Mutation, Companions, Noble, Speed or Energy. Flavors appear to be a mix between “superpowers” and backgrounds.

The book comes without mechanics for species. It asks you to use Flavors and descriptions.

Exodus also has a simple skill system. You get three skills at character creation. But there is no list of skills; you need to come up with yours. In this regard, Exodus reminds me of games like Whitehack.
Each rank gives you a +1 bonus to its associated tasks.

Leveling uses a milestone/story-reward system. No XP for gold.

Characters are more competent than in a standard old-school game.

Task Resolution and Combat

Basic System

Attribute die + skill bonus vs. Target Number, roll higher.

This strikes me as elegant. I like roll-over-systems, it feels natural to me. Exodus also uses the Advantage/Disadvantage mechanism.

Interestingly, you can see the influence of the story game Free Universal in Exodus. Crits and Fumbles result in a “yes and” or “no and”. So, the Game Master (GM) will offer you a benefit for a crit or complicate your life with a fumble. The “and” is up to the discretion of the GM. There are no premade solutions.

I also glimpse some ideas from Index Card RPG. For example, with Complex Tasks, you whittle down the “hit-points” of the task and make progress that way. Exodus also has Task Timers to enforce a sense of danger and urgency.

Combat

The author stresses that combat should not be the default solution. I appreciate that, and it fits the old-school tradition.

Having fragile characters enforces this principle in other OSR D&D systems. I’m not sure how Exodus wants to accomplish it. Characters are more heroic from the get-go than typical.

The game is standard D&D with combat rounds, initiative, etc. It uses hexes as a measure of distance. 1 hex = 2 m/6 ft. That reminds me of The Fantasy Trip.

Attacking usually means rolling against your enemy’s Action Die. Roll four dice, one to represent your Dexterity or Strength Attribute, one for your enemy’s Action Die, one for damage and one for any Armor. If you exceed your enemy’s roll, you do damage equal to your Damage Die result minus what the enemy rolled for Armor. The process is the same for defending against an enemy’s attack except that you only use Dexterity as your dodging Attribute.

I applaud that Jacob included a combat example. So characters have their gimmicks, but it still feels much like D&D. The game looks fun!

And What Else?

Monster have HD (Hit Dice) and an Action Die like player characters.

Here is an example:

Swordsman, 5 HD, d8 Action Die, 1d12 Damage, 1d4 Armor. Special ability: Step up your Action Die by 1 when attacking with a club.

Damage and armor value depend on Monster HD.

Gear uses the Usage Die mechanism from The Black Hack to model attrition.

The vehicle rules look neat. Every vehicle has an Action Die, and everyone chooses a role.

I welcome the tools for the Game Master. For example, we have an encounter generator, enemy generator, and an adventure site generator with traps.

I didn’t understand the rules for how to create an Enemy Roster.

Look, Layout, Misc.

The text could be more precise at some points.

The game falls short on the layout. A little bit of attractive styling with a beautiful font would have gone a long way. No digital bookmarks, no table of content. For a price of $5, I expect more. ¹

The Black Hack sets up a good example: the PDF ($2) looks lovely, but you can also get a free plain text/markdown SRD version.

On a positive note, the complete text falls under the OGL.

Now What?

I have respect for the author, Jacob DC Ross. He strikes me as an enthusiastic role-playing gamer and philanthropic member of the G+ RPG space. (The Zach Best Benefit Bundle comes to mind.)

Yes, the ruleset delivers on being simple and genre-neutral (geared towards slightly heroic antics). I love the open design: no classes, free-form skills, mix character roles. I like the task resolution and the combat system. Within its scope, it offers a lot of flexibility.

It pains me to say: I don’t find the game worth the price of $5. Exodus System SRD has some neat ideas. With its lackluster presentation and the high amount of alternative (free) games, it still falls short.
Edit: Jacob lowered the price from $4.99 to $1.99, so I’m inclined to be less harsh.

I would have liked to see it as a Pay-What-You-Want product. Then add a “premium PDF”. It could have a nicer style, some artwork, digital bookmarks and “exclusive content” (e.g., more roles).

Again, this is a reading review, so take it with a grain of salt.

Go HERE if you want to take a look and form your own opinion.

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Jacob lowered the price to $1.99 as a reaction to this review. ↩︎