Posted by Stargazer | Posted on 15-03-2010
Category : Gumshoe System, News, Reviews & Culture, Other Systems, RPG
I just read about this on Simon Rogers’ LiveJournal blog:
All of our GUMSHOE PDF products are on sale over at rpgnow.com at a 15% discount until 19th March. Our average rating over 22 reviews is over 4 out of 5. So that’s Trail of Cthulhu, Mutant City Blues, Esoterrorists and Fear Itself. Get them while you can!
I just LOVE the GUMSHOE System, and so I took the opportunity to get the Esoterror Fact Book for just $12.71! If you haven’t done so, you should at least consider getting the core rulebooks for Esoterrorists, Trail of Cthulhu and Mutant City Blues. They are definitely worth it!
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This interview originally appeared on Polyhedral Dreams on January 27th, 2010. There have been a couple small edits. → Continue
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Posted by Stargazer | Posted on 10-03-2010
Category : Just my two cents, News, Reviews & Culture, Other Systems, RPG
I almost overlooked yesterday’s post at Purple Pawn. But then I scrolled back and read the headline again: “It’s Alive: The Iron Kingdoms RPG Lives!"
I have to admit I had to rub my eyes and reread everything, because I thought I was dreaming. But as is turns out, Privateer Press will be releasing a new Iron Kingdoms RPG. While we shouldn’t expect it before 2011, it could pretty much be what a lot of gamers have been waiting for. And luckily the decided to drop the d20 System and use a proprietary system, probably one based on the Warmachine Mk2 miniature game. Matt Wilson revealed Privateer Press’ plans during yesterday’s interview which can be read over at Obsidian Portal. Part two of the interview should be out later today.
That’s great news. I love the Iron Kingdoms setting but I never felt that d20 was a good match for the setting. I had some ideas for converting the Iron Kingdoms campaign to Savage Worlds, but a proprietary game based on the Warmachine battle system, will save me a lot of work. And I can finally put my Warmachine miniatures to good use that way. 
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Posted by Stargazer | Posted on 09-03-2010
Category : Freebies, News, Reviews & Culture, Other Systems, RPG, Storyteller
I just found out that the World of Darkness rulebook is available for free on RPGNow in celebration of “Read an E-Book Week”. This 224-paged PDF is the core rulebook for all “new” World of Darkness settings like Vampire – The Requiem or Geist – The Sin Eaters. But since the updated Storyteller is pretty versatile I am sure an experienced GM can easily run his own urban horror campaigns with this book. Here’s the blurb from the RPGNow product page:
Where the Shadows Grow Long
We live our days completely ignorant of the true terrors lurking around us. Only rarely do our experiences draw back the veil of shadows and reveal the horror in our midst. These glimpses into the supernatural can cause us to retreat into comforting lies – ‘There are no such things as monsters’ – or stir our morbid curiosity. Only a few, however, can overcome their fear and dare to look deeper.
Abandon Hope All Who Enter
The World of Darkness Rulebook introduces a version of our contemporary world where the supernatural is real. Players join to tell tales of mystery and horror, where theme, mood and plot are more important to a character’s experiences than his weapons or equipment. Inside are rules for character creation, task resolution, combat and any activity your character attempts as he delves into the shadows.
If you don’t own this book, you should definitely head over to RPGNow and download it now. It’s definitely worth it!
3 people like this post.
Posted by Stargazer | Posted on 08-03-2010
Category : Dungeonslayers, Freebies, News, Reviews & Culture, Other Systems, RPG
Finally the first official supplement for the Dungeonslayers game has been translated into English. Forgeworks by Christian Kennig is a 4-paged PDF containing new weapons, armor, and magic items for his free roleplaying game.
The Dungeonslayers core rules didn’t include that many items for your characters and we all know how important loot is! Aside from tables for generating random magic treasure, Forgeworks also has a small list of “named” armor like the Hide of the Healer which grants the wearer +1 to Healing spells or the Robe of Power which increases its wearer’s Mind by 1.
If you need some more loot for your DS campaign, Forgeworks surely comes in handy. The PDF can be downloaded from the official website and is – like all other Dungeonslayers books – free.
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Posted by Stargazer | Posted on 04-03-2010
Category : Game Design, Gears, Other Systems, Random musings
While developing Gears I have encountered many situations where I was not sure if the direction I am taking with the game is the right direction. While working on the combat section of the Gears rules I have the problem that the basic mechanic, which I love, is getting in the way all the time. I sometimes wished I had chosen a different base mechanic. There a moments, where I believe changing the system to something like “3d6 roll higher” or even a dice pool system, would make the game much better.
While this change would force me to come up with new solutions to problems I’ve already solved, it would make combat and perhaps even my planned powers system much, much easier to design. There are quite a few things that currently just don’t work as I hoped. The problem is that I have already put quite some work and effort into the current version and changing something basic like the dice mechanic will probably force me to start from scratch. On the other hand struggling with something I am not entirely happy with seems like a waste of time.
What would you do? Would you try to keep with the current mechanics, no matter what? Or would you change the game’s basics in order to give it a fresh start? I have to admit I am pretty much torn at the moment. One thing is sure, I want to finish that project and release a product that not only I am happy with but which will be picked up and played by at least a few other gamers.
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I just read about this on Simon Rogers’ LiveJournal blog:
