A Role Playing Games Blog
Freebies
Free Stuff Friday: Oldschool Hack
3February 18, 2011
It’s Friday and it’s time to give you some more free stuff!
This week’s Free Stuff is: Oldschool Hack
I love a free RPG. I love collecting them too! Check out Oldschool Hack! It’s free!
On Oldschool Hack’s website they wrote this stuff up: A table-top roleplaying system that’s a hack of a hack of the original Red Box version of a certain popular hack-and-slash fantasy game. That’s a lot of hacking.
Then download the character sheet here.
And be sure to thank the folks over at Oldschool Hack for the free stuff!
Free Stuff Friday: Mutants & Masterminds Character Sheets
2February 11, 2011
This week’s Free Stuff is: Mutants & Masterminds: Character Sheets
Character Sheets for Mutants & Masterminds.
On The Green Ronin Website They Wrote This Stuff up: Character sheets for the third edition of Mutants & Masterminds are now available — in black & white and in color!
So get your copy of the Mutants & Masterminds Character Sheets free today. Then be sure to thank Green Ronin for their free stuff!
Free Stuff Friday: DC Adventures Hero’s Handbook Errata
0February 4, 2011
This week’s Free Stuff is: DC Adventures Hero’s Handbook Errata
Did you know that Green Ronin released Errata for the DC Adventures Hero’s Handbook? They did! Best of all it’s FREE!
On The Green Ronin Website They Wrote This Stuff up: The DC Adventures Hero’s Handbook errata file is now available!
Got to love it. Short and sweet. So get your copy of the DC Adventures Hero’s Handbook Errata free today. Then be sure to thank Green Ronin for their free stuff!
It’s a good time to be a supers fan!
4February 3, 2011
Warning: This post is a mixed bag, part reflection on my current campaign and the lessons I’ve learned from it, part an overview of recent sources of inspiration and sharing a handout I’ve developed for the game.
Last night I played the 8th session of my group’s newest RPG campaign, Dawn of a New Age, about which I’ve written about before. I’m using the Mutants & Masterminds 3rd edition rules as they appear in the DC Adventures RPG. After 8 sessions I can say I love the system. There are some things I still need to look up and not all the players feel that they master the rules but so far this has been the best experience with any super hero based system. The rules are complex enough to satisfy the crunch factor we expects, while simple enough that once everyone has created their character, everything runs smoothly.
I had read M&M 1st edition and played in a 2nd edition campaign, but never Game Mastered it. I have thoroughly enjoyed it! Admittedly the players are a big part, they have embraced the game and I have strived to fulfill their expectations based on the questionnaires they completed before the campaign begun and ongoing feedback. So lesson #1 would be: Like in all relationships, a game flows better when there is effective communication. The rules really encourage a super hero game, from the changes in attributes, to the Complications and Hero Points.
Kobold adoptions going on right now! Free Kobold Quarterly #11…
0February 1, 2011
Kobolds! Some of those little humanoids, that went from being the pesky scaled doglike bane of 1st level PCs to dragon blooded opponents of the modern adventurer, so renowned that they have a publication named after them, need a home! The wonderful people at Open Game Design are putting issue #11 of Kobold Quarterly up for adoption; will you find a home for it?
Ok, enough with the melodrama, let’s get to the good part. Just like last year, you can download a free copy of Kobold Quarterly as a PDF, specifically issue #11, until February 9th. Michael has reviewed issues before, and I recently reviewed issue #16. This issue from the fall of 2009 is up to par with their usual quality, excellent layout, a great diversity of articles, and a format reminiscent of the bygone magazines of old. If you are a fan of D&D 4th edition there is a good spread of articles for you here covering insanity, wishes, and paragon paths for monstrous creatures. For D&D 3.5 fans, and I know there are many of you out there, you’ll find some gems like an alternate dwarf, playing were-creatures, and (my favorite article in the issue), the Ecology of the Vampire. There is little material for Pathfinder as this was back when the game was still coming out, but most of the material for D&D 3.5 are perfectly usable for Pathfinder fans.
What they DO have for Pathfinder is the spell-less Ranger. This seems to be something fans always want, a ranger that casts no spells, like a certain ranger from a popular fantasy series… This was the selling point for me and the reason I got this issue on the first place when it came out. This has been part of the available classes for my Pathfinder game ever since I decided to switch my homebrew to that system. Besides what I just mentioned there are advice columns from some of the biggest names in game design, book reviews, and a city write up, with accompanying map.
If you are unsure whether to buy Kobold Quarterly, here is your chance to try it out for free. Download it, read it, I bet you’ll like it. Navigate your way to the KQ Store and use the coupon code KQ11Gift to download it. Once you read it, be sure to come back and let me know what you think. I’d like to know if my opinion matches those of our readers.
PS – I went through a few possible titles for this post before finally writing it down. The one that actually became the title and the caption accompanying the post are just two of them. Some of the other titles were:
Have Kobold, will download!
The good, the digital and the Kobold…
Wrestling History in the making… Kobold Mania #11
Kobold Evolution…
Resolute, Adventurer & Genius has been released!
6January 17, 2011
Blue Hex and Stargazer Games are proud to announce the release of Resolute, Adventurer & Genius, a roleplaying game of pulp action and adventure written by Andrew Modro and Jason Cabral, with visual design and layout by Michael Wolf.
RAG uses the Wyrm System, popularized in Michael Wolf’s Warrior, Rogue & Mage, a lightweight engine that bases character attributes on archetypes of the genre. The system has been adapted, with tweaks to combat and expansion of the Talent mechanic to present a range of powers and abilities that set characters apart from normal people.
The document includes character creation, resolution and combat and a range of skills and powers that can provide for a full game experience, but are also easily expanded. Like WR&M, RAG is a free game released under a Creative Commons license. It is available for download at DriveThruRPG as a 36-page PDF.
Free Stuff Friday: Vikings & Valkyries
0January 14, 2011
Some of you probably know Mazes & Minotaurs the old-school game which is much younger than it claims and which is set into Mythica, which is a mythic version of ancient Greece. Today my good friend Andrew pointed out a thread on theRPGSite to me that mentions Vikings & Valkyries, an alternate setting for M&M.
When I was a kid I loved reading ancient myths. While I probably read thousand times as much stuff from ancient Greece I always had a soft spot for Norse mythology. With Vikings & Valkyries there’s IMHO now a perfect way to experience adventures in the mythical world of Midgard, rubbing shoulders with dwarven sorcerers, strong vikings and perhaps even Odin himself.
The 50-paged free PDF contains the setting of Midgard, new player classes, new combat options for the M&M rules, rules for drinking and games, new creatures, and a couple of mythic items including Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. If you are into old-school gaming and Norse mythology you definitely should check this out.
Please note that V&V is not an exact depiction of viking culture and history. It’s more like Hollywood’s version of the vikings with horned helmets and all that stuff. If that doesn’t turn you off, you’re definitely in for a ride!
You can download the free M&M rules and the V&V setting from the official Mazes & Minotaurs site.
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