Happy Birthday Traveller-30 years!

Another reason the summer of '79 has a warm place in my heart.

Buy Crom!

One of my oldest online pals, Mike Crawford has a great action figure review site.
MWCtoys.com. This time a round he gives his thoughts on the new Conan figure popping up at a Meijers and Walmart near you!

The city by the Bay

On Saturday evening "She who must be obeyed" and I loaded up the minions and headed to the Bay area to hook up with my brother in law and his family who flew in from Hawaii. His daughters were competing in a Tae Kwon Do tournament in San Jose. After the tournament we spent a couple of days in San Francisco and The Six Flags amusement park in Vallejo. A grand time was had by all. San Francisco never fails to enchant. My wife took the above photo of Alcatraz and the city.

MST3K takes on Serenity

Take this...



Add a little of this...



Shake well and serve.

Special thanks to Pumamanredux at the Midnight's Lair board for the link.

Motivational Monday

Thanks to RPGNet.

On the Highway to Horror

I enjoy a good horror tale from time to time. Although, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, my tastes tend to run more to Boris Karloff and Steven King that they do to Freddy Kruger and Anne Rice.
Brian B. has a Blog called “Spectral Highway” where he shares his thoughts on horror in cinema and literature. The Blog is new, it began in June I believe, but there are already a few choice pieces to read. Brian is a net friend and a player in one of my famous failed PBEM games. He’s a good Joe with some keen observations on his favorite genre.

Spectral Highway has made it to my Blog reading list. I hope you stop by as well.

Ebay cool

When I first heard about EBay I went totally EBay crazy. A misstep or two involving our checking account, and "She who must be obeyed" put an end to my free wheeling EBay days big time.

Now I have my own little EBay checking account and a monthly stipend to go with it. I'm now Mr. Budget EBayer. I rarely go over the $40.00 mark, most of my purchases lie in the $5.00-$10.00 range. I still get that nerdgasmic thrill from sniping an auction with just 3 seconds to go and snatching a trinket out of some newbies hands for just .25 cents more. Every once in awhile I still find a treasure that was listed incorrectly or a diamond hidden in a "lot" of junk items. I have a personal quest to collect all the Mongoose Conan RPG books without paying full price. I'm doing pretty good on that one, I have yet to spend over $11.00 on any of the Conan books I've won.

Yesterday I picked up these little gems for .99cents each.





I have a couple of the Demonwars comics around here somewhere. I never got around to reading them.

I don't particularly care for D20.

Chances are I'll never even play this game. But there might be a few ideas amongst these pages that I could "borrow." And at less than a buck each (Actually around $4.00 with shipping) what self respecting gamer could pass these by?

If any of you guys are familiar with the Demonwars setting,drop me a line and tell me about it.

Motivational Monday

Thanks to RPGnet.

Wow Movies Part II

Braveheart-1995
I had watched a ton of war movies up to the point when I sat in the theater watching Braveheart for the first time. But I had never, NEVER seen melee combat that looked so damn realistic. There is one part where Wallace just *CHUNKS* a pick into some guys head. My buddy and I stayed in the theater and watched it again just for the battles.

The Last of the Mohicans-1992
Another movie with some kick butt fight scenes. But as a gamer what “Wowed” me were the characters of Hawkeye, Uncas, and Chingachgook. From the way they tracked, moved through the wooded hillsides, fought (Hawkeye used a tomahawk in one hand and a hunting knife in the other) these guys were the epitome of what a Ranger in AD&D should be.

Glengarry Glen Ross-1992
Alec Baldwin’s Motivational speech.

Blade Runner-1982 (is it really that old?)
The cityscape shots from the movie Blade Runner make it into my “Wow” book. Unfortunately this moment may be lost to many of you, because unless you are able to see Blade Runner on the big screen you just won’t feel it. The movie does make its way to “art house” movie theaters from time to time. You might get lucky.


Reservoir dogs-1992
Reservoir Dogs is another movie that I applied to gaming. This flick should be required viewing for every gamer that wants to come in your campaign and ruin it by trying to play an evil character. A skill that few gamers can do competently.
All the Evil alignments are represented.
Lawful Evil- Mr. White
Neutral Evil- Mr. Pink
Chaotic Evil- Mr. Blonde
If you allow Mr. Blonde in you campaign, its your own damn fault.


And finally for this round: three great charges.

Gettysburg-1993
Wow moment-The rendition of Lawrence’s…er, uh… Colonel Chamberlain’s defense and subsequent charge on little round top.

The Lighthorsemen-1987
When they charged the wells at Beersheba. Totally kick ass.

Wind & Lion-1975
The climax battle, where the Berbers charge the Sultans “Advisors”.

“The world will never love us. They respect us - they might even grow to fear us. But they will never love us, for we have too much audacity! And, we're a bit blind and reckless at times too.”
Teddy Roosevelt- the Wind & the Lion

More later...

"WOW" movies part I

I’ve watched a lot of movies in my life. I’m not a student of film or a connoisseur of the cinema but I know what I like. There are good films, great films, and films that contain what I call a “wow” moment. A wow moment is when you see something in a film that mesmerizes you, affects you, changes your perspective, or opens you up to a new world of thought. It could also just be something that is so cool it just makes you stop and go "wow".

In no particular order here are a few of my favorite “wow” film moments.

Saving Private Ryan-1998
Two wow moments.
First was the beach landing. Man, what can you say? The terror, chaos, guys dying left and right. You could hear a pin drop in the theater after that scene.
Second, when Cpl Upham is frozen in terror and wont go to PVT Mellish’s aid. I called that little cowardly SOB every name in the book. But somewhere inside me I wondered if I would do the same thing. You want to say “Hell no”. But unless you’ve been in combat you’ll really never know.

Platoon-1986
Another battle. This one was the final battle where the platoon were all in prepared positions waiting for the enemy. When they came, they came from all over, swarming over positions. It was a total adrenaline rush.

Enter the Dragon-1973
Who the hell moves like that? Bruce Lee was amazing! None of my friends or I had ever seen anything like that. He made all the other action stars of the day look slow and plodding. The guy was like water. Can you just imagine if he would have been given the part in the TV Series Kung Fu (which he developed, by the way)? After Enter the Dragon, the action hero bar was set much higher. I wasn’t awed by a martial arts performance in a movie until I saw Steven Seagal snap peoples arms off in “Above the Law” 15 years later.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail-1975
It was British humor- I was 11 years old, and I got it. I credit my intense Three Stooges training regimen (every day after school from 3-3:30pm on channel 40).

The Usual Suspects-1995
It stumped me. Kaiser Soeze you bastard! I’ll get you, if it’s the last thing I ever do!!

The Sixth Sense-1999
This one stumped me too. And if you say it didn’t stump you, you’re a lying sack of shit. This movie stumped everybody.

From Dusk till Dawn-1996
When Salma Hayek took the stage with that big snake, I was floored. That girl was lust personified-that is, until she turned into a snake demon and ripped your throat out.

Planet of the Apes-1968
The Statue of Liberty.

Sahara-1943
When Sgt. Major Tambul and Waco are sitting in the well having a talk about women, this was one of the first times that I remember seeing a movie of that period where a person of color was treated as something more than just a caricature.


The Magnificent Seven-1960
Of course there is always the snooty guy who’s going to pop up and say “Actually, I prefer Kurosawa’s original “The Seven Samurai.”
Yeah? Well bite me, I not talking about plodding, B&W samurai movies with crappy soundtracks.
I’m talking about a fast paced, action packed, full color, western starring a collection of badass dudes the likes of which has never been seen on the screen together before or since. And don’t even get me started on the kick ass musical score.

Ok, by show of hands-How many people know who played the seven Samurai in the “Seven Samurai”? …….ok, now how many people know who was in “The Magnificent Seven”? That’s correct- Yul Brynner, Steve Mc Queen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn,
Napoleon Solo, and those other two guys. Thank you.

Tomorrow, Part II of my "WOW" movies series.

Congratulations Jeff!

My buddy and fellow Jeff, Jeff Rients has created a new adventure module for the Encounter Critical game by S. John Ross. Congratulations Jeff! I shall be ordering a copy shortly. Check out his most excellent website for more details.

Motivational Monday

Thanks to RPGNet

File this under "Just too cool"

As you all know, I'm a big fan of the Sword & Sorcery genre.
One of my favorite RPG's is the Conan RPG from TSR created By David "Zeb" Cook.

Zeb was one of the "Old Guard" at TSR who Co-Authored the classic "Isle of Dread" Module, and had a hand in just about every AD&D product in the 80's.

I'm part of an effort to help revive that Game system as an open gaming system. It has been dubbed "ZeFRS" (Zeb's Fantasy Roleplaying System).

We are working on a website to house the rules, a PDF fanzine, and a messageboard to coordinate efforts.

Imagine our surprise when we got a message from "Zeb" himself. He gave us a big thumbs up for our efforts

It made my day.

Thrilling Places

Thrilling Places
Rob Hudson

Thrilling places is a supplement for the Pulp Hero line from Hero games.
I’ve played Hero System games in the past and I acknowledge the company as one of the pillars of the RPG hobby but the system was never a favorite of mine. That said, The Pulp Hero line offers a lot to any fan of Pulp era gaming. Thrilling Places is the latest, and quite possibly the best product from this line.
Written by Rob Hudson, Thrilling places offers over a dozen separate globe-spanning locations for Pulp era adventures, everything from a decrepit plantation in the Bayous of Louisiana, to a mysterious island home of a monstrous ape-god hidden in the South Pacific. Thrilling Places offers fleshed out locations, environments, characters and adventure ideas. A few months ago I made mention on the Pulp Hero boards that I thought the PDF price was a bit steep for a product that contained only 154 pages. I was wrong. I should have worried less about page count, and considered the quality of what was contained in those pages. Thrilling place is a treasure trove of ideas. Dozens of adventures can be launched from the locales offered in this book. My favorite location is the Grant building, a once grand, ten story office building that serves a variety of businesses such as a private detective agency, a pulp magazine publisher, an insurance company, and of course, “Joe’s Diner” a ground floor restaurant which is a favorite dessert stop for a local mobster. Just reading through the various descriptions, a dozen adventures popped in my head. And it’s the same with just about every entry. All the pulp genres are covered in Thrilling Places- detective, crime fighter, weird science, lost world, exotic adventure, and more. Thrilling Places give the necessary Hero System stat blocks for all the major characters, but this supplement is invaluable no matter what adventure RPG system you choose. Thrilling Tales is definitely worth the price. Two thumbs Way Up!

Is it true?

Not sure but it sure looks cool!
I'd definitely buy the poster...

New KFG Joes!

Coming this August to a Walmart near you!

Motivational Monday

Thanks to Midnights Lair

I'm off to Hollywood!

Just kidding- But what if huh?
It would look a little like this...



My thanks to J.R. over at Midnight's Lair for the link to this cool tool!

Ha! I just found a card maker click on them to see a larger image...

Great minds think alike

I just ran into this little blurb from Rattrap Productions over at the Gaming Report:

After the release of Super Science Tales, I'll also begin work for an early 2008 release of Broadsword Adventures: Savage Tales of Fantasy. Forget all those Tolkien clone games, we get back to some serious Conan-style excitement!

A day late and a dollar short baby... by the way did I mention that Broadsword is #4 on the hot sellers list at RPGNow? Oops! I guess I just did...

Anyway, Go give the guys at Rattrap a look, they have some cool stuff. But if you want "some serious Conan-style excitement" Pick up a copy of Broadsword. And get one for your mother too, nothing says love like a Sword & Sorcery RPG.

Motivational Monday

Thanks to Midnights Lair

HeroMachine Update

If you read this blog regularly you know I love HeroMachine. I think it's simply one of the most fun and creative toys ever designed for the internet. You can spend hours creating new figures with the templates available. Now Jeff Hebert is feverishly working on a 2.1 version, and I can't wait to play with it. Where are the Beta tester sign-ups Jeff?

I’m not a snob, I’m just better than you.

It’s human nature to be a snob. That’s my conclusion based on what I see all around me on this here internet. I have several hobbies that I follow with moderate interest-comics, gaming, action figures, and pulp writing. I belong to forums and message boards that are dedicated to each hobby in general and a few specialized subsets. For instance, for pulp writing I belong to a group that specifically discusses the comic book adaptations of Robert E, Howard’s pulp stories.
On just about every single one of these different forums I find snobs. These snobs are people who feel their manner of fandom is the one true path, and everyone else is either woefully ignorant or just damn stubborn. The message boards start out with the best of intentions-they try to gather together as many people with similar interests as they can to network and gush about their favorite pastime whether it’s collecting vintage GI Joe’s or playing 2nd edition Dungeons and Dragons. But after awhile these small groups start to grow and eventually they run out of positive things to talk about and the bashing begins- the GI Joe guys start bitching that the market has changed and no one under the age of 35 knows or cares about the 12 inch GI Joe. The R.E. Howard fans start bitching that other writers have taken Howard’s Hyborian age and have trampled it underfoot with substandard “Pastiche” works. The gaming guys are some of the worst; they argue and complain so much it begins to look like self loathing.
I really started to notice it this week. I’ve been sick the last few days and really haven’t had the energy to post much online. So I just sat back, watched and read. The amount of negativity on some of these boards is surprising. A new action figure product comes out- it’s bashed. A new gaming system comes out-and is quickly trashed. A new creative effort is released-it’s reviled. Flame wars erupt. People quit the group in a huff vowing never to return (they still do though), and hurtful and hateful comments are slung about in a way that would never happen if we were all in the same room face to face.
I was watching the news with my son last night, the big story was the sectarian violence in the Middle East and I was explaining to him that the Sunni and Shiite’s were different factions of the same religion, despite the fact that some of them spend as much time blowing the shit out of each other as they do praying to God, which has been the way man, unfortunately, has handled religious differences throughout history. My way of worshipping is THE way and you are either to stubborn or stupid to understand that.
That’s basically what they are saying. And that’s basically what I’ve noticed is said on many of these hobby boards.

Motivational Monday

Thanks to RPGNet.

"The things you find when you put in an old data CD-R"

A long time ago, on an island far away,I was once a member of an ancient order now long forgotten- An RPGA ranked Dungeon Master. I had a membership card and everything (member ID#141888). I ran Living City, Living Jungle, and Even Living Death tournaments. I enjoyed the hell out of Living Death. I even submitted an article for Polyhedron. I never heard back from them. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

THE BROTHERHOOD OF ST. GEORGE
A secret organization for use with the AD&D Ravenloft “Masque of the Red Death” Gothic Horror Campaign

"Brother Santiago heard muffled voices coming from the double doors ahead as he moved silently down the mansions dark hallway. as he signaled his team to halt he adjusted the scabbard hanging on his back. He could feel cold sweat on his brow and a knot of fear growing in his stomach. Drawing in a short breath, he whispered a brief prayer in Latin, the fear disappeared, replaced with grim resolution. He was an instrument of the lord’s vengeance, a weapon trained to strike a killing blow against the minions of the Abyss.
These creatures were responsible for the death of several innocent children whose blood they collected to call forth the demons that they served. Even now he could hear the ritual chanting, the invoking of ancient forbidden names of purest evil. He had been told that agents of the church had just recently discovered the existence of this coven, and now he and his fellow members of the brotherhood would see to its destruction.
He signaled to Brother Marcus who then recited a prayer to determine whether the door was trapped or magically warded. As the prayer ended, Brother Marcus gave the “all clear” sign.
Drawing his saber and pistol, Brother Santiago gave the order for the assault. Brother Tobias rushed the doors and with one mighty swing of his sledgehammer smashed them to pieces..."

History
In 1199 AD Pope Innocent III convened a secret meeting of his most trusted Cardinals to discuss how best to combat the growing threat of the Red Death. The Catholic Church had been suffering greatly against the plots of the Red Death, and the brutality with which such plots were carried out. One of the primary reasons for the Red Death’s success lay in the fact that they made frequent use of sorcery, whereas the Church had forbidden the practice of magic on pain of excommunication.
After much discussion and debate the Pope decided that a small, dedicated group of Priests be organized and trained for the sole purpose of dealing with supernatural threats to the church. These young men would be extensively trained in the scholarly, martial and mystic arts. Including the extremely regulated use of magic, for which they were granted special dispensation by the Holy See. The existence of this organization was to be kept secret from all but a handful of the highest church officials.

The first recruits were summoned from all parts of the Catholic world, for the most part they belonged to Monastic orders such as the Jesuits and Michaelites. The candidates were chosen for their intelligence, physical condition and most importantly their unshakable belief in God and his Church. These recruits were taken to a remote monastery in the mountains of Spain where they were subjected to strict physical and mental discipline. Those who successfully met the stringent requirements were given intensive instruction in areas such as theology, Demonology and magical theory as well as swordsmanship and other forms of self-defense.
Using the virtually limitless resources of the church they were given access to an unparalleled library of occult works, mystic tomes, and ancient spell books.
This organization was named the Brotherhood of St. George (after the Cappadocian knight St. George the Dragon Slayer) but is known in cabalistic circles simply as “The Brotherhood.”

Organization
The Brotherhood operates out of a variety of church owned “sanctuaries” throughout the world, a hospital in Bombay, a seminary in California, a dockside warehouse in Shanghai, and a castle in northern England to mention just a few. These sanctuaries are well stocked with the most advanced equipment and weapons available. It’s even rumored that some of these sanctuaries may hold holy relics and items of mystic nature for use in the war against the Red Death.
Once accepted as a member of the Brotherhood the agents are exempted from the day to day duties of average church functionaries. They have no official parish nor do they report to a regular Bishop. They do of course retain all the privileges of the Priesthood (celebrating Mass, performing Baptisms, Marriages and Last Rites etc.) Their time is spent in training, research and information gathering. The Brotherhood is organized in cells of approximately four to six agents. Each cell has a Senior Brother who reports to a special Cardinal at the Vatican, who in turn reports solely to the Pope.
Members bear the mark of the Brotherhood branded on the upper right side of their chest (a serpentine dragon pierced by a cruciform lance) and all clergy regardless of their station are ordered by Papal Edict to give them any and all assistance without question.
Although the Brotherhood is a very secretive organization, there have been times where they have briefly allied with certain other cabals in order to defeat a common foe. They have assisted the Watchers to rid the Russian Royal Court of Doppelgangers and aided the Order of the Crimson Chalice destroy the Cult of Bhaal in Persia. There are also instances where members of the Brotherhood are “seconded” to other groups. And in some cases, leading members in other organizations such as the White Rose are actually Brotherhood agents who secretly monitor the efforts of said organizations to insure that their dedication to the fight against evil remains uncorrupted.




Mystic Kit

Agent of the Brotherhood

Class: Mystic
Ability Requisites: Wisdom 14, Constitution 12, Intelligence 12
Prime Requisite: Wisdom
Hit Die: D8
Attack as: Soldier
Save as: Mystic
Advance as: Mystic
Exceptional Strength No
Spell Ability? Yes
Exceptional Constitution No
Starting Cash: 2d6

Proficiencies
Weapon Slots: 2
Additional Slot: 5
Nonproficiency Penalty: -4
Nonweapon Slots: 5
Additional Slots: 3
Available Categories: General, Arcane, Rogue
Bonus Proficiencies: Religion, Language (Latin)
Recommended proficiencies: Forbidden Lore, Ancient Religion

Description: a member of the Brotherhood is an extremely devoted priest whose sole mission is to protect the Church and it’s members from all supernatural threats. He is trained to take the battle to the enemy and to destroy the minions of the Red Death.

Role-Playing: As the existence of their order is not common knowledge, they will tend to adopt the role of a regular priest or even an average civilian in day to day dealings with others. But no matter how non-descript their appearance or demeanor, they display an unwavering devotion to their calling so that even when “undercover” they will conduct themselves within the tenets of their faith. Brotherhood agents are highly intelligent and resourceful. Because of the nature of their academic training they tend to first analyze a situation rather than rush in with guns blazing, yet they are capable of decisive action when the situation warrants.

Special Benefits: as a result of their martial training Brotherhood agents fight as soldiers of the same level. They are also able to request aid and sanctuary from any members of the Catholic clergy. Note: because the order is a secret one the Brotherhood frowns on agents using this benefit for mundane reasons (a free place to crash while in town or using altar boys as cannon fodder.)

Special Hindrances: Agents of the Brotherhood must be of Lawful good alignment.
As stated earlier the Brotherhood of St. George has been granted special dispensation when it comes to spell use (which is invoked in the form of a prayer), but they are limited in the spheres that are available to them. Only spells from the following spheres; All, Combat, Divination, Healing, Protection, and Sun can be used. Any deviation from this rule may cause a member to be expelled from the order and possibly even excommunicated.
And finally, as a member of the church the agent is always held to their priestly vows especially that of obedience, and as such the church from time to time will make demands upon the agents and they in turn are expected to comply without question.

Broadsword-Sword & Planet expansion

The last time I checked Broadsword was at #7 on the hot sellers list over at RPGNow, which has me more than a little jazzed. So jazzed in fact, that I’m working on a follow-up to it that would expand Broadsword to include Sword & Planet rules and a campaign world useable not only for Sword & Planet adventures but also for a “Lost World” pulp campaign using Dime Heroes or any other type of pulp system. I’m basing much of it on my Swords of Skartaris PBEM. Rather than use Mars or Venus as a backdrop I decided to make the world exist in an alternate dimension. By doing so it would free me up to use many of the aspects of the Skartaris game, yet still have it alien enough to reflect the feel of another planet. I’m going to give myself an August 1st deadline. Let’s see what happens…

And for our Spanish readers:
La vez última que comprobé Broadsword estaba en #7 en los vendedores calientes enumera encima en RPGNow, que me tiene más que un poco jazzed. Jazzed tan de hecho, eso que estoy trabajando en una carta recordativa a él que ampliaría Broadsword para incluir reglas de la espada y del planeta y un mundo de la campaña usable no sólo para las aventuras de la espada y del planeta pero también para una campaña de la pulpa del “mundo perdido” usando héroes de la moneda de “Dime Heroes” o cualquier otro tipo de sistema de la pulpa. Estoy basando mucho de él en mis espadas de Skartaris PBEM. Más bien que uso Marte o Venus como contexto que decidía hacer que el mundo existe en una dimensión alterna. Haciendo tan me liberaría hasta uso muchos de los aspectos del juego de Skartaris, con todo todavía lo tendría extranjero bastante para reflejar la sensación de otro planeta. Voy a darme un plazo del 1 de agosto. Veamos qué sucede…

Broadsword at RPGNow

Broadsword is selling. How cool is that? Now we are talking about a Sword & Planet expansion for the system. Since the release, the Deep7 forums have come alive and people are talking about new titles and settings, both fan-based and published ones.
And most importantly Broadsword is now available at RPGNow.

Motivational Monday

Thanks to RPGNet

Weekend Matinees at the Lair

A couple of weeks ago I was reading an article on movie memories from the 80’s and I got to thinking that my boys have a serious lack of “the classics” –Kid classics to be more precise, the types of movies that made me “Ooo and Aww” when I was growing up. Here at the Lair we have a healthy and robust DVD library but I noticed a lack of movies like Ghostbusters, E.T., and Star Wars (the real Star Wars- not that Jar Jar Binks, baby Darth Vader crap).
Last Saturday we watched “The Secret of Nimh” this Sunday we have “Raiders of the lost Ark” on tap.
Popcorn, S’mores, and the rare treat of soda round out the experience.
Next week- Star Wars.

Mazes & Minotaurs- now looking even better!

A few months ago we told you about a cool game called Mazes & Minotaurs. Well with a loyal fan base and an upgrade to their presentation, a good game just got better. Go check them out. Mazes & Minotaurs is just another reason to "Just say no" to $40.00 games that don't offer half the substance that this labor of love offers.

Motivational Monday

Thanks to RPGnet.

Quote of the day

I found this on Hank's Blog:


“Father was killed by Ninjas. I need money for Karate lessons.”

Placard held by a homeless man in Seattle

A long time coming and way overdue

Noted fantasy artist Jim Holloway finally has a website showcasing some of his marvelous work.
For me Mr. Holloway's art personifies gaming. His works conveyed adventure, action, and humor. His illustrations are filled with life and movement, when you look at a Holloway illustration you often get the feeling you just walked into the middle of something, whether it's a gunfight, a car chase, or a horde of zombies trying to break down a door. Jim Holloway was the first artist that showed me the funny side of lizard men- His illustrations taught me to lighten up, that D&D could be goofy and fun from time to time. During my personal Golden age" of gaming in the 80's I was a TSR fanatic D&D, AD&D, Gangbusters, Star frontiers, Mini games, Dragon magazine, Etc. I bought em all and Jim Holloway's art was in all of it. I was never into the stark,dark and brooding styles of later artists. I gamed to get away from dark and brooding. Although, Holloway could do terror. the opening page of the Chill book proves that - remember,the hand coming out of the grave and the old guy with the pistol- classic.

Broadsword- Barbaric Fantasy

Deep7 is a small independent gaming company started by Todd and Samantha Downing a few years ago. They came out with a real simple yet innovative game engine called the “1 page system”, basically all the rules you use for the game are on one page. With that and a couple of other interesting titles they were off and running. Some small success followed and things were looking good. Unfortunately, Samantha was diagnosed with cancer. After a brave fight, she died in April of 2005. To add to the tragedy of losing her, Todd’s home burned down on Valentine’s Day of 2006. As you can imagine these events, coupled with Todd now having to raise two kids on his own, have left little time for game design. As a fan of Deep7 I wanted to do something to help. With the assistance of James Stubbs from Heyoka studios and artist Jeff Hebert the creator of Heromachine, we created a game, using the 1page system, called “Broadsword.”

Broadsword is a game of Swords & Sorcery. No Elves, no Dwarves, no kindly Wizards in pointy hats, just brawny guys in loincloths and gals in chainmail bikinis fighting demons, sub-human ape-men, and evil sorcerers.
We have donated the game to Deep7 to hopefully spark some new interest in the system and maybe help Todd out a bit. We are asking those of you in the gaming community to join us in helping out one of our own by purchasing a copy of the game. You can find Broadsword available for instant download here at Precis Intermedia’s website and at RPGNow.

Motivational Monday

Thanks to RPGNet
Consider me motivated!

An update on the ZeFRS project

Back in April I posted about a project to bring the TSR Conan game back from the dead.
The ZeFRS project is making steady strides towards becoming a reality. Over half of the core book has been uploaded to a website, there is a PDF copy being prepared, we have a dedicated forum to toss about ideas and discuss all aspects of the Sword and Sorcery genre, and we are preparing a Fanzine titled “Scrolls of the Red Brotherhood”. All in all a very solid effort from a group formed around a three year old discussion thread on RPGNet.


There was a similar effort begun for the FASERIP gaming system a couple of months back- there was a lot of buzz and over $1000.00 was raised to pay Phil Reed to write it. That project has since languished. It seems that Phil got a full time job, and the project we paid him for was promptly put on the back burner, the last update was in April. I’m sure it’ll eventually arrive, but I’m getting ho-hum about it. I’d much rather divert my enthusiasm to ZeFRS.

Motivational Monday

Thanks to RPGnet

Damn near the prettiest gamebook I ever saw!

After months of waiting, I finally have a hard copy of Hollow Earth Expeditions. Words simply cannot describe how mesmerizing this book is, you actually need to hold a copy in your hands.

It is so freaking beautiful, you'll want to just sit down and start reading right there in the store. If one look at the cover of this book doesn't make you whisper "Wow", then I feel sorry for you my friend, cause your gaming soul has died. I have had the PDF of this game, and I am a big proponent of the usefulness of PDF's, but no PDF in the world will prepare you for how cool this game looks in your hands. I gotta go now, I have some reading to do.

State of the lair

Well it’s time I did another one of these. Just so I can gauge myself and what’s going on.
All in all personally and hobby-wise, I’m being kept rather busy.

Gaming
A combination of illnesses, surgeries, and bad timing has brought my tabletop gaming to an end for the present. I remain optimistic, now that the surgery is over and all. My biggest problem is finding one or two more people who I want to game with. And that’s the key, finding people is easy-
finding people you want to bring into your home and around the wife and kids is the tough part.

Legends of Steel
In February I sent drafts out to some trusted friends for feedback and advice. I got tons of both. Overall everyone liked what they saw, but there were a few areas that needed to be addressed. I’m addressing them and plan to send out a Beta to the folks in the LoS review team very soon.

Broadsword
Well I can finally let the cat out of the bag. What was slowing up Broadswords release was a restructuring of the licenses over at Deep7. It really had nothing to do with the game, which was already completed, but it had everything to do with releasing it. Now that has all been cleared up and it’s scheduled to come out by end of May. No really.

Another iron in the fire
One of the points that was brought up during the reviewing of the LoS draft was that the engine I built for LoS has a good chance of holding up in other genres that have the same cinematic flair as Sword & Sorcery, namely Pulp Adventure. Unfortunately it seems that lately everyone and their brother is releasing “Pulp-something”. So I started trying to brainstorm something different and yet stay in the type of gaming I enjoy so much. I finally think I came up with something.

A noted game designer named Ryan Dancey wrote some advice for aspiring game designers. Here is one of his quotes.

“Have a simple, one sentence answer to the question “why should I play this game”. (or its close variant, “what is different about this game”). If you can’t answer that question in one sentence, you’re doomed.”

Okay, so here is mine:

Mission: Adventure! is a Roleplaying game set in a "pulp-style" universe, that re-creates the action / adventure television, comic book, and toy themes of the 60's and 70's.

The key point to wrap your mind around is the time period- 60’ and 70’s.
It’s still Pulp in spirit, but it’s a whole new world setting-wise.

So basically, Broadsword The Sword and Sorcery game using the 1PG system from Deep7 will soon be out. And any spare minutes during my nights and weekends are still being spent on "Legends of Steel" and now “Mission: Adventure!” as well.

A little Romance?

Are you ready for a roleplaying challenge? I mean some serious role-playing? In “Idyll”, Heyoka Studios newest addition to the 1PG system from Deep7, Players enter the world of Romantic Fantasy. Idyll pays homage to the writings of authors Mercedes Lackey, Tanith Lee, and others.

This is a very well defined genre of fiction with a very loyal fan base. But to be honest at first glance I wasn’t too sure how it would play out with a table of gamers. However, the more I considered it, the more possibilities I saw. Romantic Fantasy has all the requirements of your standard meat and potatoes fantasy adventure- the struggle of good versus evil, rousing combat, evil villains, deadly traps and perils, the supernatural- with the addition of a story line more substantive than: “We go to Ork mountain to loot the Warlocks tower.” In Romantic Fantasy the characters are driven by more than material desires, they are driven by passions both good and bad. Revenge and betrayal can play just as central a theme as true love.

There are two requirements that must be fulfilled for idyll to work for you.
The first and foremost requirement of playing in this genre is that you have to buy into the idea of heroic romance. And there is nothing weak or emasculating about romance. Heroes throughout history have done the impossible in the name of love. Men have crossed seas, led armies and toppled empires for the love of a woman.
The second requirement is that when playing a game of romantic fantasy, you must be mature about it. While a little goofing off is a healthy part of any gaming experience, when dealing with Romantic Fantasy the giggling and off-color comments should be kept under control. The payoff is the opportunity for a real intense roleplaying experience.

The game makes good use of the 1PG rules system. There are rules for magic, advice on setting the mood, sex, and love. Plenty of hack n slash equipment; swords, daggers, pistols and muskets, as well as poisons, garrotes and nooses. Skills include: seduction, oratory, shooting, and spell-casting. Included with the 1PG sheet and refereeing material are six individual adventures, each one ideal for an evenings play.

Now remember, this is a 1PG game. Which means that everything in it is dealt with very briefly- roll some stats, get some skills, grab a sword and a brace of pistols, name the character and start playing! And by the way, this is a great way to introduce gaming to a spouse or significant other who may enjoy Romantic Fantasy but never made the leap to roleplaying, not only that but with a little tweaking and imagination Faerie tale adventures for young children could easily be created using Idyll. Adventures like Sleeping beauty or even modern faerie tales like Shrek would be perfect for this fast playing system.

My only minor quibble with Idyll is the absence of any skills or background for the Rogue/ Bandit type character. Skills like climbing, thievery, acrobatics, etc. would have been very true to the genre. But as I said earlier this is a 1PG game and there is only so much you can fit on a page.
look for Idyll at RPG Now.

Motivational Monday

Thanks to Midnight's Lair

Another "Lair" to hang out at

For a couple of weeks I've been hanging out with a few guys over at Midnight's Lair.
Tim K. over at the exceptional and frequently updated Heropress Blog turned me on to their most excellent gaming podcast and I found my way to their forums from there. The podcast is fun and informative- covering gaming reviews, old time radio, interviews, social issues in regards to gaming, hokey jokes, and pleas for more listeners and feedback.

The forums have areas for discussing gaming, comics, TV and movies, PBEM gaming and of course an open forum. from what I gather it's an all male group, most of the active posters are from Canada and the Midwestern U.S. and several of them game together regularly.

The atmosphere at Midnight's Lair is very friendly and welcoming (hell, the first thing they do when they notice a new member is welcome them, which is cool, must be a Canadian thing). Other than good natured ribbing I've seen no indication of flaming or trolling. there are some good discussions taking place from time to time, and no energy is wasted blasting other forums, individuals or game systems. All in all they are a very positive group. If you tire of some of the posturing, posing, and grade school drama found at the other larger gaming forums, stop by Midnights Lair- Come in peace, leave your baggage and attitude at the door- and let's talk gaming and stuff.