Category Archives: RPG

…and Taxes

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Taxes - AccountantI have not posted anything gaming for a while because I work in the Tax profession. That means from January through April 15 I can be quite busy working long hours and not finding enough time to do other things. We do have a little slow down here in March so that brings me to one realistic aspect that is rarely seen in games: Taxes!

No one likes taxes. They are a pain in the ass to do and the system, at least here in America, is complex and serves to do more than just collect taxes. It is a carrot and a stick system rewarding certain behavior while punishing other types of behavior. The rewards come in the form of refundable credits and refunds while the punishment is a greater tax liability. Can that be translated into gaming though?

I think the better question is not can it, but should it be? In games like D&D that tend to be a bit of a resource management game a Tax system is just pulling gold out of the PC’s pockets. One would also want to tax the magical assets of the PCs and not just the cash on hand. I like the idea but I don’t know a way of doing so that is fun. I would not want to place a tax system into the game and have the players feel like it is just there to punish them. It would be easy to come up with paper work for them to fill out and get them involved in the taxing process but that just seems tedious and a good way for the players to revolt. Paranoia is the only game I’ve seen that paper work is accepted and even there it is easy to go overboard.

So, how do we make Taxes fun? It can’t be just taxes. I think it needs to be an event like Tax day when the tax collector and his armed guards and mages come around collecting from every poor soul they encounter. It could be like in Robin Hood where they just break into everyone’s place and take a large percentage of anything valuable they find. This does put the tax collector in the villain’s role. I think most players would find that acceptable. You can have the PCs make it difficult for the taxes to be collected or even rob the tax collector making the taxes not collected.

That’s when the twist comes in. If not enough taxes are collected then bad things might start happening around the kingdom. The treasury gets smaller without taxes to fill it up so maybe the guards don’t get paid and they go on strike. Or roads and bridges don’t get repaired. We don’t have to make the kingdom good or evil just show that the money is being used for real tangible purposes and when the money goes away it eventually has a very real effect on the setting. Less money in the King’s coffers could lead to inflation. It could lead the King to search out alternative revenue streams and who knows what kind of trouble that could get the Kingdom in.

I would not use taxes as a major plot but I think it would be a good little background detail. If the PCs get great wealth and they pay their proper taxes then the Kingdom might improve. I would start out with a Kingdom that has needs of improvements and then if the Taxes come in show that some improvements happen but if the PCs hinder the tax collection then show things getting worse. Even if one establishes all this it is still very possible for the PCs to really not care. But once they get wealthy if they open a business or buy some property then the DM can hit them up with different kinds of taxes. If they don’t pay them then spend a session taking the PCs though an Audit. They will never complain about going through something like the Tomb of Horrors again.

Chris Gath.  I’ve been gaming since 1980 playing all kinds of games since then.  In the past year I’ve run Pathfinder, Dungeon Crawl Classic, Paranoia, and Mini d6.  My current campaign is mini d6 and we are using that for a modern supernatural conspiracy investigative game.  On some forums I’m known as Crothian and I’ve written a few hundred reviews though I took a sabbatical from reviewing for a few years as it burnt me out.  I was also an judge for the Gen Con awards (ENnies) six times.  Jeff, the owner of this blog, is one of my players and a good friend.

Knights and Their True Reality

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Black KnightIn Pathfinder I love a good warrior with noble intentions. The Lawful Good Paladin riding his noble charger, the glorious Cavalier waving his banner as he leads his companions into victorious battle. These warriors extol the virtues of fairness and defenders of the good. Or so we think anyway. In reality, at the service of a lord or king what were these warriors like in reality? We love to tell tales of the noble and just but in reality, in our very own histories is that how these warriors acted.

The short answer is of course no. The warriors, knights, and cavaliers alike were formidable enemies in their thick armour and with their strength of arms. But they did not care for the rights of the individual or the plight of the downtrodden. In fact it was these very people that often guided the forces that worked against the peasants or even the average man. These individuals served a noble or king in their own right and saw that the edicts of the authoritarian arm were enacted. There were taxes to collect, tithes to receive, crops to be harvested. A farmer or peasant would consider themselves lucky to have a talking to if the crops were late, for in reality the forces under the night would use pressure tactics and at times were downright thugs to get quotas met.

So where does this trope of good and fair knights living by a personal code of honor come from? It comes from the Knight Code of Chivalry that formed out of the Crusades. Chivalry is actually a word with connotations attached to horsemanship and it was attached to these mounted warriors who served in the crusades. From this was born the chivalrous code of the warriors who were mainly attached to the church. They lived to protect the weak (which meant women and elderly of the church), and protect the interests of the church. In their eyes though unless an individual was a God-fearing believer of the church, they were fair game.

The tales of King Arthur in Britain give heed to the idea of courtly behaviour and the notion that Knights protected all of the weak. These tales though never really touch on the lives of the peasants around them, only those that were attached to the court and the like making it clear that class segregation was definitely a clear delineation of the Knight overall.

That leads us to question how we handle Knights and Cavaliers in a game. Cavaliers are a much more clear cut differentiation in Pathfinder as they have their codes already set out for them. The codes are reflective of the fantasy tropes that pervade the fiction. Cavaliers protect the innocent and strike down those that would do evil (of course they are not restricted to good roles but this is the focus) but what of our true Knights, the Paladins of our fantasy world.

Paladins largely serve a god and embody their ideals. These paladins serve Gods that are good in nature and proponents of the law, much like the knights that followed the Chivalrous code. Now if a Paladin in game struck down a peasant due to them not supporting the ideals of their god, where would that place that as a Games Master? Do we make them seek atonement and take their powers from them? But what if that peasant had cursed their God’s name? What should we do? The chivalrous code of real life Knights would have them make war with these individuals wherever they found them. So should we take their powers off them instead when they turn a blind eye to this behavior?

I think the answer to this situation will indeed lie at the heart of your game style. Most would probably take the powers if they struck down the peasant and that is certainly in keeping with the glorified, romanticised version of a Knight. I think I lean more toward the serving of a god’s tenets and striking down infidels which is a much more realistic or gritty style but it adds to the complexity of the role. Let me know what your thoughts are in regards to including the more realistic aspects of character classes are into the fantasy genre in the comments. Until next week, keep rolling!

Mark Knights is  40 year old guy living in a small rural town called Elliott in Tasmania, Australia.  I have been role playing since I was 11 years old playing the original versions of Dungeons and Dragons, MERP, Elric, Dragon Warriors and the like amongst other genre games.  I played D&D 2nd Edition through the 90′s but I ran Earthdawn for my fantasy setting and loved it as a GM.  When 3rd Edition came out for D&D I tried it but found it too heavy on rules.  I ignored the 3.5 edition of DnD in favour of Earthdawn (big mistake) as I thought it was just a money spinner.  When 4th Edition DnD came on my players and I gave it a red hot go but hated what it had dumbed the game down to be.  On a trip to Melbourne to buy some 4E stuff from a hobby store an old mate of mine pointed me at Pathfinder and in a Fantasy setting I have never looked back.

Sharing the Fear

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Spooky CastleThere are some tried and true methods for sharing the fear, or scaring the living daylights out of your audience. These apply equally well in role playing games as they do to other formats of horror as well. From probably the earliest days of sharing a tale around the fire these techniques have been spreading the joy of being scared down through the ages, so pay close heed reader, lest the darkness swallow you before you finish my terrible techniques…

First and foremost is framing the game. You want the player to know upfront this is going to be an adventure filled with horror. You probably wonder at this point if this is the best way to instill fear but consider an example. Say you are running a game where the fearsome krakledon thought extinct for over a millennia erupts from the earth and swallows whole the birth town of our adventurers. If it is unexpected, i.e. the players think they are in a standard game, the players become shocked at this event, rather than in fear (fear may come later but shock is generally the initial response). If you have framed it (and this does not mean specifically saying it was horror but perhaps scary portents on the lead up) then the event will not take them by surprise it will scare them as they realize the krakledon is some great evil emerging from the ground (note, krakledon is a made up creature. Don’t go looking for it.). Some games do this just by playing them like Call of the Cthulhu and Ravenloft. If you are playing that game you are already in the frame of mind that is required because you expect it to have horror in it.

Lighting can be used to great effect when playing a horror game. If ever there is a time to turn the lights out and use candles it is while you are playing a horror game. Spend some time making sure your candles have built up wax drips down the side, new candles can ruin the effect. Also, use a GM screen and have loads of tea light candles burning on your side so the light from them comes from below your face, casting eerie, scary shadows. You can of course take this further and deck out the table like a gothic nightmare and even get some spray on spider webs to play. If you have a stark basement or a dusty attic, put it to use and play there. If you have a shed and live in a windy area that will make strange noises, all the better.

If you have only a kitchen table to play at, investigate getting a spooky soundtrack to play through a sound system. I have several favorites to use. I have one that is as old as the hills with chains and witches, winds and wolves. All great stuff for traditional horror. Being a bit of a horror video game nut I also have several horror video game soundtracks that spook the nerve from my players! I have one in particular that spooks my (15 year old) daughter so much that I have been banned from playing it due to the nightmares that follow! If you can, have a generic soundtrack just looping but if you want to get specialized, cue up the tracks you need and use them at predetermined points in the story to send your players packing!

Narration techniques also come into it. Make sure you overplay your big baddies and have them become unforgiving nightmares in your portrayal. If you want to hit them with something new start describing the leadup a little quieter so the players have to really concentrate on what you are saying and then when you want to surprise them BOOM! Make it loud and use large hand gestures! It should unnerve them. Also with a horror game make sure you are descriptive. Don’t say “You look in the ballroom and see a vampire with his two thralls in tow” say instead “A gaunt pale figure walks to the table. He spies an open curtain reflecting the scene and hisses something to the misbegotten pale man that stands next to a second beautiful but tragic figure of a woman. The pair react quickly and run forward closing the curtain and then move to the table to snuff out two of the candles near where their master will sit. The pale figure then moves so quickly, almost at an inhuman speed to seat himself at the table. He waits for the woman to come forward. She grabs the crystal wine glass and draws out a bottle from inside her cloak, unstoppers it and pours a thick red wine into it for him before withdrawing to the shadows with her male counterpart.” Description is key here. Never, ever, name your creature types. Let the players work it out. They are likely to decide that this is a vampire but they will never be 100% certain because you never stated it was.

Draw on your own experiences. If you have ever been on camp and told ghost stories around the campfire then remember what scared you. That style of tale sharing is the oldest that exists and the tropes it uses are easily translated to the table for scares a plenty. Remember also that people love to be scared. The adrenaline rush they get from having their heart quicken, even the appearance of goosebumps make the player alert, aware and in a heightened state. Don’t tame it down, pile it on!

Give some of these a try at your next horror game and let me know how it went! Until then, keep rolling, but look over your shoulder. Because I heard once that a GM dared to roll the dice in jest of the gods of horror and his soul was sucked straight from him. Now when a GM stands and sits three times while waving his d20 in the air saying Dire Derek Rolls they are struck down within 8 hours by an accidental death. Of course no one can prove that it is this same GM but better safe than sorry, right?

Mark Knights is  40 year old guy living in a small rural town called Elliott in Tasmania, Australia.  I have been role playing since I was 11 years old playing the original versions of Dungeons and Dragons, MERP, Elric, Dragon Warriors and the like amongst other genre games.  I played D&D 2nd Edition through the 90′s but I ran Earthdawn for my fantasy setting and loved it as a GM.  When 3rd Edition came out for D&D I tried it but found it too heavy on rules.  I ignored the 3.5 edition of DnD in favour of Earthdawn (big mistake) as I thought it was just a money spinner.  When 4th Edition DnD came on my players and I gave it a red hot go but hated what it had dumbed the game down to be.  On a trip to Melbourne to buy some 4E stuff from a hobby store an old mate of mine pointed me at Pathfinder and in a Fantasy setting I have never looked back.

Things That Go Bump In The Night

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large_dead_treeMy fantasy games would mostly fall under the headings of fantasy horror if a genre was applied to them. I love the feeling I get when a player is creeped out by my game or they get involved, reacting with fear or horror at the game. It is largely why my favorite fantasy game is Earthdawn (I know I only play it via email at the moment and Pathfinder is my main game) where it is all about the darkness and the things that live there. Not to mention what they can do to you once they find you. This turns me to the point of my blog today. There are two definite streams of horror, the traditional path or the worlds of Lovecraft inspired weirdness.

Whichever style of horror you like is what you should concentrate on presenting to your players. I love Lovecraftian stuff but I do use the more Gothic Horror style on occasion to mix things up. Knowing the difference is the key to the way you get the players involved.

Traditional refers to those works of horror that became widely popular through mass media and literature. These tales were popularised by the Gothic Horror writers in the 18th century but their fodder for their novels was well established by this time. It stemmed from folklore and stories shared with a basis in religion or even pagan ritual. Largely, the novels written at the time were written by women and targeted at women focussing on a female protagonist that was caught in a spooky mansion with elements of the supernatural that tested them.

These initial stories were very popular in their time but few have common appeal today. It was not until Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein that we see titles that are commonly thought of as traditional horror today. Writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson amongst others that turned the idea of Horror into a creature feature, or horror of a deeper darker nature designed to scare the reader to the core. These titles endure to this day and scare every new generation. They endure because at their heart are tales of human vice and virtue played out in a fantastic way.

The traditional horror tack in fantasy games normally takes a known trope of the genre and plays it up to the group of players. As a GM you want the players to recognize the threat early and for the players knowledge of the threat to spur the horror. For example, using a vampire in a game causes all of the players to sit in a group and talk about what they know and what they need to do to survive. They treat every situation with kid gloves and wonder at the power of the creatures that they are facing. Will it die in sunlight? Can we get close enough to stake it? Has it got brainwashed spawn in the local community? The very presence of this type of creature almost dictates an investigation before the ultimate confrontation. Are the players up to the task? As they stare down the vampire they will feel their own hearts in their mouth as they roll the dice for initiative.

An off shoot of this style is to use creatures that has been made famous by the game itself. Consider the Beholder from Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). This creature is now synonymous with the game and nearly anyone that has played even a modicum of D&D knows of the floating eye tyrant. The responses tend to be the same so that we can recreate the idea of a traditional horror experience. I am sure that the first time the Beholder appeared that it was really quite a Lovecraftian style encounter though.

Lovecraftian horror is a newer version of horror and stems from the works of Howard Phillips Lovecraft who was an unsuccessful but prolific horror author whose works are now strong influences on most major horror writers like Stephen King, Dean Koontz and James Herbert to name a few. Lovecraft wrote horror stories that focused on strange, alien forces that had little or no cares for humanity and the madness that they caused in humanity when they found them. Each power was a unique thing that existed with the knowledges hidden in the Universe. Almost all of these powers or creatures were extremely destructive in a way that humans are destructive when they tread on an anthill. That is these creatures are completely oblivious to the suffering or destruction that they cause and even when or if they do notice they have no cares for it. This horror style focuses more on the insignificance and horror of the unknown than it does on fear of a particular type of creature.

As Lovecraft was never a full time author and died young in 1937 it has taken some time for his works to become influential. In fact he was largely unheard of in the 1970’s but started to gain a following as influential authors started to site his name in their list of influences. Lovecraft focused on this alien style of horror but as his creations become more mainstream (e.g. Cthulhu) some of his writing would also work in games of traditional style horror with the more popular of his creations.

But it is this style of game that appeals to me. Lovecraftian horror is definitely a different feeling of horror. It contains an element of the hopelessness of humanity against the never-ending Universe. It highlights how little we know, and when used creatively, how desperate and offensive we can be in pursuit of this knowledge. It is why Earthdawn appeals to me. There are a loosely affiliated group of astral creatures called Horrors. If you want a traditional game you can use a Horror that is common in type but the games that commit to memory are the ones that use the unique, bizarre and most alien. Also these creatures live off emotion and the manipulation of humanity for the purpose of feeding is truly disgusting and alien to take on as well.

Cultists fall into both categories. If they are cultists of devils, demons or angels then they fall much more under the traditional category of horror. This is because these creatures, weird as they are, are all in place around humanity to teach them of sins which are known impulses and urges. Whereas a cultist of a Horror may worship it so that it can turn all snow purple. nobody knows why. But on investigation your hero may discover that the blood of living sacrifices is needed to turn the snow purple. These motivations are alien and therefore the horror much more different and the cultists will be much more random to portray than a devil worshipper.

In my next post I will look at the ways that you can begin to instill this feeling of horror into your game. There are techniques that work really well and get the players to feel the fear that their characters are. The techniques for both of the above streams of horror are largely very similar and I offered the description above as a primer for you. So until next time keep rolling!

Mark Knights is  40 year old guy living in a small rural town called Elliott in Tasmania, Australia.  I have been role playing since I was 11 years old playing the original versions of Dungeons and Dragons, MERP, Elric, Dragon Warriors and the like amongst other genre games.  I played D&D 2nd Edition through the 90′s but I ran Earthdawn for my fantasy setting and loved it as a GM.  When 3rd Edition came out for D&D I tried it but found it too heavy on rules.  I ignored the 3.5 edition of DnD in favour of Earthdawn (big mistake) as I thought it was just a money spinner.  When 4th Edition DnD came on my players and I gave it a red hot go but hated what it had dumbed the game down to be.  On a trip to Melbourne to buy some 4E stuff from a hobby store an old mate of mine pointed me at Pathfinder and in a Fantasy setting I have never looked back.

The Year of D&D

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dnd-logoI have been welcomed back to the Iron Tavern! I am as surprised as you so I thought I would start of with a little diatribe of my prediction for this year. Of course that prediction is all about the up and coming edition of everybody’s best known game, Dungeons and Dragons.

If you are a regular reader of my posts (may Besmara bless you) you will realize the love-hate relationship I developed with the D&D Next material from last year. I liked it a lot because it is no longer a board (bored) game and is swinging back to its roots with some interesting mechanical choices and a somewhat retro feel. You will also recall I could not organize a game of it. Sure, after I declared it dead to me people came out of the woodwork to give me a game but I stayed true. It should not have been that hard to have played a game.

I am now looking at some of the release schedule for the coming year and I have to say it is hard to go past the release of this new edition for excitement and anticipation. I personally have made the decision to not invest in the game as I believe this year will be the year of Shadowrun for me. But the players of my regular Pathfinder game are keen to give this new D&D system a go.

I have to say the release schedule for Pathfinder is looking pretty bleak in the way of major game releases. There are of course the regularly scheduled releases of Adventure Paths and modules, Golarian updates, players companion material but nothing really to enhance the core system in a major way. There is the Advanced Class Guide currently being playtested but will be up for an August release, so some time before I need to spend money. I have to say that the idea of a Class Guide (I have not downloaded the playtest so I may be very ignorant here) leaves me a little cold. There are a LOT of customization options available for most classes already so it makes me nervous to consider what may be in this book.

Release of Dungeons and Dragons will more than likely occur sometime in June, July, or August. I am not sure how the release will be structured. Will they follow the tradition of having a players handbook, a dungeon master guide and a monster manual? Or will they finally change up this tired and expensive process. The site that announces the “Summer” (won’t be summer here) release has no further details and points to dungeonsanddragons.com which is a parked site with no detail on it yet. What would be nice is a boxed set. Just saying 🙂

Of course there are some other fantastic game developments coming up. Pathfinder Online is set to move into testing stages after the next quarter (I have early access – woot!) and there are a bunch of other exciting projects coming to fruition in 2014. FATE turns officially one this year and it seems to still be going strong with a stream of really useful material now out for it. Earthdawn Kickstarter is in its last days and is promising to be a great new start to a troubled title that has floundered for a little too long (Earthdawn is my favorite fantasy game ever). You can still back it though there are only two days to go. The details are here.

2014 is shaping up as the year of the Dungeons and Dragons but what are you looking forward to most? Hit us up in the comments section and let me know what I should be getting excited about! Keep rolling everyone.

Mark Knights is  40 year old guy living in a small rural town called Elliott in Tasmania, Australia.  I have been role playing since I was 11 years old playing the original versions of Dungeons and Dragons, MERP, Elric, Dragon Warriors and the like amongst other genre games.  I played D&D 2nd Edition through the 90′s but I ran Earthdawn for my fantasy setting and loved it as a GM.  When 3rd Edition came out for D&D I tried it but found it too heavy on rules.  I ignored the 3.5 edition of DnD in favour of Earthdawn (big mistake) as I thought it was just a money spinner.  When 4th Edition DnD came on my players and I gave it a red hot go but hated what it had dumbed the game down to be.  On a trip to Melbourne to buy some 4E stuff from a hobby store an old mate of mine pointed me at Pathfinder and in a Fantasy setting I have never looked back.

The Players Speak: Tsanth

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DCC RPG Rulebook Cover w-HeadphonesToday’s post is part of an in-between DCC RPG Actual Play session postings to provide a little more insight into the cast of characters and players that make up the campaign.

Dustin plays the character Tsanth. Dustin has been with the group from the start of the campaign, though Tsanth made his appearance a few sessions in. This week Dustin provides fans of the podcast with some insight behind Tsanth.

Tsanth
Human Male Cleric of Mani

Tsanth came to the initially-named Grand Charter Company of Mustertown during its transition into Satan’s Glee Club, and joined the group shortly after their adventures in Slither’s End. Incidentally, Tsanth began working miracles in Dark Cthulhu’s name, manifested as turning demons away, healing the party, and throwing darkness at weird birds that attacked us. It was a grand time.

As the group became more chaotic, Tsanth found Cthulhu answering less and less of his calls for aid. Before long, even healing the group and ordinary spells became difficult. This became a greater problem when the group faced off against death. Needing the artifact-sword the Argent Falx, the group raided the Temple of Mani and stole the sword. Later, after the group retrieved Gonlex and Meffridus from Death, they adventured in the Sunken City to an abandoned Temple of The Harrower in order to “save” the Argent Falx and turn it into the righteous instrument of badassery it should be.

It was there that the group first met Jargon, a larcenous halfling. Tsanth suffered the disapproval of Cthulhu within the temple when he donned a temple robe as a disguise. By the time the group reached the idol of the temple and made their request to solidify the Argent Falx blade, Tsanth was nearly irate. Cthulhu was answering less and less. As an attempt to appease his uncaring, dead and dreaming god, Tsanth ripped a large emerald from the idol of The Harrower.

The theft of the emerald triggered the collapse of the temple. Most of the group escaped and returned to the Great City, where the group was attacked by mercenaries hired by the Temple of Mani. Satan’s Glee Club quickly dispatched the mercs, then turned the their attentions towards revenge. After hiring some additional muscle, the group holed up for the night in the chapel of Cthulhu that Tsanth had lovingly restored within the city. There, Tsanth made fresh sacrifices to his tentacled god before the big showdown with the followers of Mani.

The showdown was intense. Satan’s Glee Club approached the temple directly, where they battled more mercenaries on the steps of the giant ziggurat. There at the front of the temple, mighty Jargon fell. Tsanth attempted to heal him, but Cthulhu would not answer. Failing in two attempts to reach his god, Tsanth reached down deep and sacrificed his own blood to save Jargon. As part of this “sacrificial life burn,” Tsanth’s holy tentacle glowed red hot, and pressing it deep into Jargon’s chest, the burning fire of Cthulhu rushed into the halfling, scarring him for life but saving him from death.

The bloodied but victorious group pushed their way into the temple, and facing more eunuchs and handmaidens, the group took an early beating. One of the group’s mercenaries turned back time and saved the party, and armed with what MIGHT happen in the future, the group turned the tide of the battle and began to slay those servants of Mani, and seemed poised to wipeout the temple.

But Mani had other plans in mind. Sending a colossal Moon Dragon avatar, Mani began smiting the Glee Club members. Warrior after warrior fell. Soon, only a small retreating group remained while KpNooney-Klaus and Tsanth remained. While KpNooney rained fiery missiles on the Moon Dragon, Tsanth drained all of his remaining power to call upon Cthulhu. With a desperate prayer, he attempted to wrest control of the spirit avatar away from Mani. But Cthulhu did not answer.

With the group smashed and broken, Tsanth turned away from Cthulhu and offered the last thing he had to Mani, this angered Goddess of the Moon – his service. Bargaining for the lives of his friends and companions, Tsanth threw off the yoke of an uncaring and silent god and accepted Mani into his soul. With this, Tsanth promised the restoration of the temple under his influence and supervision, which Mani surprisingly accepted.

Tsanth now serves Mani devoutly. While he initially was cautious, knowing the severity of his and the groups transgressions and fearing dark reprisals from the Moon Goddess, Mani has been close to Tsanth since the transformation – even answering his prayers during his recent adventures with Satan’s Glee Club on another planet. Now, his devotion is approaching zealotry. He now leads preparations for the next Ceremony of the Moon at the temple, ready to bless a new Handmaiden and signal the coming of a new age of Mani within the Great City.

 

Mini Review: The Fantastical Creatures Colouring Book

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The Fantastical Creatures Colouring BookPurple Duck Games recently released The Fantastical Creatures Colouring Book. Just as the name describes this product is a coloring book. This PDF contains 28 images ready for coloring and is priced at $2.

All of the artwork is done by Gary Dupuis. The coloring sheets are the line art illustrations Gary drew before reaching the coloring stage in prep for the Monsters of Porphyra product from Purple Duck Games.

The coloring book is full of a variety of creatures and scenes. From dragons of water, to mechanical men to underdeep terrors there is something that will likely catch you interest.

I am a big fan of coloring books with a fantasy theme. Back on Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day I picked up the S&W coloring book on a good discount. When I saw this one, I was happy to receive a copy of it to review. I think coloring books are a great way to spark a kid’s imagination or to pass the time away as adult.

Since I’ve had the coloring book a couple of my family members have been coloring away. First, my daughter and then my wife took an interest. Below are just some of the samples from the book.

The product is available from d20pfsrd.com, RPGNow, or Paizo.

Naked and On Fire

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photo by Fir0002/Flagstaffotos

photo by Fir0002/Flagstaffotos

Naked and Dead

Back in early 2005 I got a group of people together to play some D&D. It had been awhile since I had played an RPG so I built the group from scratch. There was a guy I was good friends with locally, a guy from work, and two guys found on message boards – one from EN World and one from Wizards. This group is still intact for the most part since its formation with some member changes due to folks moving, etc.

Since I was starting the group I took on the task of DMing. It helped me set the tone for the type of game I wanted to play. Well, my turn in the DM’s chair ended right around six months ending in a TPK (well, near TPK that weirdo wizard with a rat in his pocket fled back into the labyrinth of caves while the arachnid mouther made a meal of the others.)

That probably wasn’t my most glorious moment of running games – though probably my most infamous! In retrospect throwing an arachnid mouther that had 15’ reach and 8 attacks a round against a 3rd level party likely wasn’t the wisest choice. To top it off, that was the first session for one of the players and he lost his character that very first night. (Don’t worry all you folks who are exclaiming how dare I scare someone off from gaming, he is still with the group today).

But that is not Naked and On Fire. That is Naked and Dead.

Learning About Naked and On Fire

Despite not losing anyone from the group, it was decided to not let Jeff run anymore games for awhile. So Chris (a.k.a. Crothian), guest blogger on occasion here at The Iron Tavern, stepped up to run for us. His wealth of RPG experience and memory for things of past dwarfed pretty much what the rest of us had played, run, or knew about RPGs in total.

He brought a homebrew world to the table. A homebrew world with an extensive history shaped by campaigns that had been run in it in years past. He gave us a feat every level. We were rich beyond our wildest dreams by the time we hit 2nd level (like 100,000 plus gold pieces for the party). Behind his back we talked about how this was going to be fun, but man – what a monty haul campaign. We thought we had this campaign locked up!

Then he taught us about naked and on fire. Oh – we didn’t know that is what it was initially. We were too distracted by all these feats! All this gold! Magic weapons getting crafted. Nothing could touch us. Wrong.

No amount of gold or feats could protect us from campaign world decisions by our characters setting off chains of events that shaped the entire campaign. Deals with dragons (we were always making deals with dragons) to keep from dying or to gain in power (though I am not sure it ever really worked like that). Thefts of seemingly innocent artifacts triggering entire wars that spread across the land. And trifling in the affairs of gods. No amount of gold, magic weapons, or feats could solve some of these problems. We were constantly going from one frying pan to another and occasional excursions into the fire itself.

That campaign ended in a TPK around 18th level or so as we fell to a deity, Ftaghn, in battle. Some want to blame Taegan the dwarven cleric, but we know that wasn’t the case (the group doesn’t like it when I play clerics either). The whole campaign was naked and on fire. We still talk about this campaign. We still secretly hope that Chris will show up one game night and tell us our characters that fell to Ftaghn were warped to some other dimension or disruption in time and are still alive – ready to finish what they started.

Running Naked and On Fire

Fast forward to present day and I like to think I run a naked and on fire campaign. The realization sort of hit during one of my online DCC RPG sessions when I commented the group was a bit resource starved and that those times would pass. One of the players immediately commented ‘but Jeffrey, we are *always* starving for resources!” I think that is when I realized I had hit the naked and on fire stride.

Actions in the game mean something. Their effects spread. That sword that was stolen from the crafting wizard’s shop? Yeah – that was being made for a high ranking thieves guild member. Those gems you pried from the statue? Caused the statue to animate and search out the thief – eventually leading to the gems to be returned to the statue. Dead bodies showing up on the doorstep at your favorite local hangout? That can’t be good.

The other element, at least in my game, is a bit of resource starvation. At 5th and 6th level in a DCC game and I am pretty sure my players would love to obtain a magic weapon that did exactly what they wanted. Not one that may or may not be their preferred weapon, with goals of its own.

There is also the always possible element of character death. The characters are high enough level that it takes a lot more to outright kill a character. But the road is tough for the lower level henchman. And we’ve had a wizard or halfling knocked down to 0 off a really good hit or two on just a regular enough basis that the possibility is still present.

Why Naked and On Fire

This style isn’t for everyone.

If you want to always go into a fight knowing your character you built up an intricate backstory for or have adventured with for months and months is going to come out okay on the other side, you aren’t going to like naked and on fire. If you want every problem you face to be solvable or work out your way in the end – every single time – you aren’t going to like naked and on fire. If you want to know that in the end of the campaign you are going to emerge victorious, because that’s how happy stories end, you aren’t going to like naked and on fire.

But if you are someone that ends up on the other side of a fight still alive and feel like they earned it – naked and on fire is for you. If you enjoy complex problems, possibly caused by innocent actions many sessions ago that you have to solve – naked and on fire is for you. And if you emerge victorious at the end of a long campaign and you want to feel like you earned it and it wasn’t a give – naked and on fire is for you.

Naked and on fire can be frustrating at times. But in the end, the campaigns that I have played in or run that have been of the naked and on fire vein have been the most memorable.

The Players Speak: Jargon

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DCC RPG Rulebook Cover w-HeadphonesToday’s post is part of an in-between DCC RPG Actual Play session postings to provide a little more insight into the cast of characters and players that make up the campaign.

Adam plays Jargon the Halfling. Adam joined later in the campaign, but several of us knew him from another online game and meeting up at Origins 2013 and knew he would fit in with the group. Adam writes today about Jargon.

Background

I was fairly late to joining the DCC campaign. I was introduced to Jeffrey and Matt from the early beginnings of a Dungeonslayers campaign. My first actual game of DCC was during Origins 2013, when I got the chance to meet up with Kelly, Matt, Jeffrey, and another gaming friend. A few more one shot sessions were held, and I was hooked. So much so that I bought my first set of Zocchi dice from the man himself on the convention floor.

My playstyle has always been “damage from a distance”, though initially I was not sure what I wanted to play in the campaign. Having a chance to see the player make-up, a Halfling was the only thing missing.

Jargon

Jargon was born from the need for a Luck battery for the party, and as it would seem, was the best choice. His given name is Loford Underfoot, though due to his mushed words as a child, and blatant disregard for repeating himself, the nickname Jargon was given. Through the years, he eventually enjoyed the name and took it as his own. He is an odd little thing, neutral in temperament, though tends to sway easily in the direction of his peers.

Years of ridicule have made him want to be generally accepted by those he holds in high regards (for one reason or another, he looks up to Baptist, no pun intended). As such, he walks a fine line between the neutral and chaotic temperament. He has a secret Napoleon complex, in that he wants to be in charge but only by being a logical voice of reason. He relies on sarcasm and snide comments to make the best of a situation in which he feels he is better than…which happens to be most of the situations in which he finds himself. He is primarily fixated on amassing treasures and riches, and will do whatever he can to ensure he continues growing his own personal coffers.

Combat wise, I play him a bit cautiously and know full well he is a bit squishy. I gained this knowledge during one of the Origins games where I had a Halfling get one-shot and leaving me bewildered at how easily it was accomplished. I prefer the sneak and stab method…or the “shoot the hell out of that short bow” method if the situation can allow it.

Most Memorable Moment

It is hard to boil down just one of the most memorable, even in the short(er) time I have been playing with this group. I would have to say it was the moment Tsanth turned a spell result from himself, and placed it on Jargon. Jargon was dead, as it happens in this session. Fortunately, Tsanth was willing to give the little Halfling a hug of love from the Great Cthulhu. The spell result required Tsanth to brand himself, as opposed to doing so, he placed the brand on Jargon’s chest. It is the first time something like this has ever happened to my characters, and I feel like the snide little remarks that reference the event whenever possible, really play into Jargon’s personality.

Mini Review: The Stars Are Falling

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The Stars Are Falling CoverPurple Duck Games has taken some of their earlier adventures and combined them to form a short campaign arc for Dungeon Crawl Classics. The product was released as The Stars Are Falling and is written by Daniel Bishop, Paul Wolfe, and David Pryzbyla. The compilation includes the following previously released adventures:

I have reviewed each of the above products separately, except for Sepulchre of the Mountain God, here at The Iron Tavern. The links above will take you to the Iron Tavern review.

And though I have not done an official review for AL2, I have run that adventure. It was a great time for the group I ran it for and provided us with a lot of fun. So though it lacks a review here at the Tavern, it is no less great than the other adventures above.

The Stars Are Falling brings all of the above adventures together in one product – available in PDF or Print format from RPGNow, d20pfsrd.com, or Paizo.com.

Two pages have been added to provide a campaign framework for linking all of these adventures together. The suggested order to run these is slightly different than their release order – AL2, AL1, AL3, AL4, AL3 (optional), and AL5.

A 0-level funnel does need to be provided by the judge running this. Portal Under the Stars from the core rulebook is a great candidate for this as a particular event that happens in that funnel can be tied to The Stars Are Falling with minimal work. If your group is already familiar with that funnel, some suggestions are made on how to strengthen ties from whatever funnel you choose to the theme of this product.

The remaining portion of the framework chapter review each component of the compilation and what changes need to be made to tie them together into one campaign arc. These are usually 2-3 bullet points, map adjustments or how to tie legend from one adventure locale to another. These are all easy modifications and do a lot to give the compilation a cohesive feel.

While I have not run these adventures tied together I have run all of them but the finale at some point. They are all great adventures, several of which my players still talk about or haunt them in some fashion. By turning them into a compilation a DCC RPG judge has a great resource they can use to jumpstart a DCC campaign up through 3rd level or so. In addition a great many events will have been set into motion that ideas to continue the campaign should be abundant.

The Stars Are Falling compilation is another great release from Purple Duck Games for the DCC game. Whether you missed out on some of the adventures as they were released or you were looking for a mini-campaign product in adventure path style you will want to take a closer look at this release.