A website dedicate to games of all favors and varieties, from video games to good old D&D.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
My Favorite - Greyhawk
Over the years, my campaign has set itself apart from the World of Greyhawk in many ways. However, the Isle of Dread is common to both. Someplace south of the Isle is a magical anomaly that provides transit between these worlds.
I would like to do a Glossography and Guide to my world, but I guess I need a name first. The little things.
Friday, June 3, 2016
Module Review - BSOLO Ghost of Lion Castle
Code: BSOLO
Author: Merle M. Rasmussen
Rule Set: D&D
Year: 1984
Pages: 32
Number of characters: 1 - Solo Play
Levels: 1-3
Rating: ★★★★★
This is an impressive and iconic module, meant for one player. Crammed into just 32 pages is a solo adventure complete with special solo rules and sample characters. Lion Castle is a wonderful starter scenario for groups or an introductory game for just one.
The five star rating is for the expansive and creative writing and world-building that appears in this module. Lion Castle gives the player the ability to try out new things in a limited setting. The module pulls no punches, this place will kill you more often than not. Fear not, this module is also there every time you wish to play. In fact, it is suggested that you note where your last character died so that the next one can acquire his equipment.
This is one flaw in the game/scenario. If you run a series of character’s through the Castle and noted where the prior characters fell, you can break the game with equipment and magic items in quantities not ordinarily allowed by the rules.
All and all, this is an excellent module.
Where to Buy:
DrivethruRPG
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Module Review - B2 The Keep on the Borderlands
Monday, December 28, 2015
Google Docs Templates for D&D
Google Drive shared files and templates are a rich find for gamers of all types. Under templates, you can find a ton of D&D resources.
My personal favorite is Benjamin Connell’s 3.5 Character Sheet. I plan on making the standard for my 3.5 campaigns.
As time permits, I will be loading pre-genned characters in the top bar. Right now, I have characters for D&D and AD&D. I also have a link to my own AD&D character sheet for Unearthed Arcana pictured on the right.
Additionally, if you like having secondary skills for PCs or stat'd up NPCs, try my book Zero to Hero: Uncommon Commoners.
Feelies
Right! Now we are going to have company again! (Vampires)
What do you do if you don’t have those things?
Looks like I wasn’t the only one who got lucky last night. |
Holy water is great, but grease and oil are surprising. Lock the door, grease the floor, and upturn a table in the middle of the room. When the vampire smashes his way in, down he goes, ready for a nice stake.
Variation two involves spraying oil under the door as the vampire attacks it. This keeps him out for the short term.
Both of these tricks make vampires respect locked doors.
Always remember the game mechanics that allow you to move other characters. You can’t hurt a vampire barehanded, but boy does the sun sting if you shove them outside.
There are myriad ways of dealing with vampires. Let me know if you have any favorites.
Quick Doodle - Stave Church
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Going Off the Rails – Part Three
Obvious. Or so I thought.
Friday, August 21, 2015
Going Off the Rails – Part Two
Animal traps,
Generic fortification defenses.
“That was awesome.” said another player.
“What do you think he wants?”
“Don’t know. It could be that chalice.”
“Naw, we are going to give it away and a priest is a much easier target than us.”
“Fame,” added a third.
“Yes! It makes sense that someone would want fame and notoriety. Sort of like the guy in the cabin mailing bombs.”
“Ted something, right?”
“Yeah. We should nail this guy before he gets us.”
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Going off the Rails – Part One
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
A Study in Recreation: Fear Itself
Author: Adrian BK
Level: 2-4 (AD&D)
Pages: 18
Price: Free!
Monday, July 20, 2015
The Evil Reversal Hook
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Reposting Peninsula of Plenty (PoP) Maps
Thursday, June 18, 2015
The Fortress Of Potamus Lake (PoP Campaign)
Typical main floor layout. Click to enlarge. |
Map suitable for second floors and higher. Click to enlarge. |
Seventh floor of Gerent's house. |
Alternate roof (accidentally rotated 180 degrees.) |
Sunday, June 14, 2015
A rainy afternoon with Labyrinth Lord
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Observing The Can’t of Thieves
- They were loud and swore around kids, like they wanted to be tough.
- The looked the same. Bald and wearing straw hats. Sneakers but no socks. Shorts and T-shirts. Sunglasses, worn on the hat by one and around the neck by the other.
- They were not identically dressed, but very similar.
- They made eye contact while speaking everyone, except children. They ignored children.
- They looked in all the machines.
- They said not so nice things, but smiled the whole time.
- They went into the kids play area, the bathroom and peeked in the office.
- They never stopped moving or talking.
- Work in groups.
- Have a cover story ready.
- Have a backup plan, hopefully one that matches a cover story.
- Be outwardly friendly, but forcefully offended and easily aggrieved.
- Look tough, but back down with grace if necessary.
- Use respect. Use more than the normal amount of respect to elevate the self-esteem of the mark.
- Dress neatly with flash and style, but be similar to your associates so physical descriptions are easily confused.
- Appear to trust other people, so they will extend the same level of trust.
- Case the joint, the whole place not just the obvious areas.
- Look for treasure everywhere. Anything worth anything at all is treasure.
- Never ask for the whole enchilada, ask for less. This way you can haggle with a mark to part them from their money.
Monday, March 9, 2015
Map - Temple of the Wanderers
I am fooling around with various temple ideas for a D&D campaign.
Monday, December 22, 2014
Maps – The Stave Church
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Reshare – Billiam Brabble and Inked Adventures
Friday, March 1, 2013
The One McGuffin
Sometimes you just have to let things play out and laugh at the mistake. However, I blame many bad endings on The One McGuffin getting loose.
A McGuffin is a device to further the plot. It has no other function and DM’s are well advised not to create and define an item so that it is both a solution and closure to the campaign storyline.
In AD&D, artifacts were vastly overpowered magic items that really should have been left undescribed. Instead, they were tacked on the end of the magic item list, as if they were a viable option.
There is a temptation for all DM’s to use The One McGuffin as a solution to wrap up the scenario. Never, repeat, never allow characters to use an evil item for good. First, it doesn’t make sense for good to use evil for good ends. Second, as a wise man once said, “Power corrupts and absolute power is really, really neat.”
The second pen hits paper and the McGuffin is clearly defined, somewhere deep down inside, you have decided the magic needs to be used. In all cases, this is very much a Deus ex-Machina story ending. If you build the characters up to the pinnacle of power, yet even from that great height, they can’t make a good ending of their own, what is the point?
Beware of The One McGuffin.