RPG Bloggers » Fluff/Inspiration

Written Sketches from Justin Achilli

jachilli — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:16:33 +0000

I recently started using Day One, a journaling app that’s sleek and fun and has a popup feature whereby the app tells you, “Okay, write something.” I’ve been using it mostly for sketching — a paragraph or two at a time just to keep the words flowing without any real thought to where they might [...]

Verdan Incognita I from Emergence Campaign Weblog

The Emergence Campaign Logs — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:44:15 +0000

On Verdan, the “Civilized World” mostly consists of Eurasia – and not all of that. Much of the southern reaches of Africa, and the North and Eastern reaches of Asia, remain partially unknown. Much of the vast, frigid reaches of Siberia’s subarctic forests and tundras remain the domain of an assortment of dangerous creatures and [...]

A canticle for leibowitz from Blog of Holding

Blog of Holding — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:07:40 +0000

And what makes you think the Memorabilia is completely free of pap? Even the gifted and Venerable Boedullus once remarked scornfully that about half of it should be called the Inscrutabilia. Treasured fragments of a dead civilization there were indeed-but how much of it has been reduced to gibberish, embellished with olive leaves and cherubims, [...]

News from Around the Net: 3-FEB-2012 from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:41 +0000

February!?! Where’d January go? Geesh!

Here in Colorado, the snow started to fly last night and we are in the first real winter storm in 2012. What does that mean for yours truly? Not much really… I work from home. But it will hopefully give me some time to work on a few side . . . → Read More: News from Around the Net: 3-FEB-2012

Quadrotor Swarm: Evil? or am I just being paranoid from roleplay-geek

Roleplay Geek — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Don't you just hate it when someone invents something with the best of intentions and all you can think about are it's potential evil uses.

Doomsday Preppers Premieres February 7 from The Savage AfterWorld

The Savage Afterworld — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:41:00 +0000

The newest in a recent line of apocalyptic reality shows (Apocalypse Man and The Colony), National Geographic channel brings us Doomsday Preppers, premiering February 7.From the website:Doomsday Preppers explores the lives of otherwise ordinary Americ...

[Beyond Dragon Age] Mystara Adversary Compendium I from Dragon Age Oracle

Dragon Age Oracle — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:08:40 +0000

Dragon Age Oracle collaborator and AGE System wiz Byron Molix hits it out of the park once more with his new project, the for AGE. You will remember that Byron is the author of Mystara: The Known World, a campaign setting that brings the classic D&D world to the AGE System. Now Byron unleashes a […]

A Twist in Time: Alternate Histories in RPGs from Campaign Mastery

Campaign Mastery — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:08:31 +0000

The latest iteration of my superhero campaign has just gotten underway. Being set (mostly) on an alternate-history Earth, it holds a number of elements that may be of interest to readers, especially if I explain the thinking that led to the various choices that were made and my approach to the construction of a detailed [...]

My points of light… from Stargazer's World

Stargazer's World — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:17 +0000

Who knew that former US President George H. W. Bush was a Game Master, and a groundbreaking pioneer at that! He spoke about points of light campaigns in 1989 almost twenty years before D&D 4th edition. What’s that? He didn’t mean that? Let me l...

Photo: Machu Picchu Temple of the Sun from D20 Source: Dungeons & Dragons Blog

Jonathan Drain's D20 Source — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:33:39 +0000

The Machu Picchu Temple of the Sun, an Inca ruin from the 1400s. Its dry stone construction still stands to this day. Photograph released into the public domain by Fabricio Guzmán.

Verdan Arcanis – Technology and Magic II. The Biological Sciences from Emergence Campaign Weblog

The Emergence Campaign Logs — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:13:50 +0000

To continue with the state of the sciences on Verdan… On the biological side, the structure of the body is reasonably well understood, as are the nature of physically-based diseases (a few seem to be lux-based in nature). Even relatively modest spells can notably improve resistance to particular mundane diseases – making most of them [...]

EN World Review – Review of They Shall Be Paid In Coin of the Realm by Taurus Twelve from NEUROGLYPH Games

Neuroglyph Games — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:25:30 +0000

Happy Humpday, fellow gamers! We’re halfway to the weekend, and this week cannot get over soon enough to please me. I’ve got not only my regular local Friday night game this week, but also my bi-monthly D&D campaign down in Toledo! So I’ve got two nights of D&D in a row this weekend, plus a [...]

Kubo from Alex Schroeder: RPG

Alex Schroeder — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:57:44 +0000

Through luck and courage, Kubo saved the day and managed to kill the half efreet.

Dungeons of Adel: The Hellmouth from The Spirits of Eden » RPG

The Spirits of Eden — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:28:39 +0000

One of the Arch-Dungeons of Adel, the Hellmouth is a member of a family of massive, seemingly living spaces that exist beneath each Nation of Adel (and the Abyss Isle and Noshiki), their exact positions shifting, shrinking and growing as they are sealed or “destroyed” and thereby forced dormant, until such a time as their [...]

A to Z of UK RPG in the 80s: J is for Judge Dredd from roleplay-geek

Roleplay Geek — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

2000AD hit the newstands in 1977 and its most popular and longest running character, Judge Dredd debuted in Prog 2. The vision of writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, Dredd is a product of late 1970s pop culture, economic stagflation, a...

Verdan Arcanis – Technology and Magic I from Emergence Campaign Weblog

The Emergence Campaign Logs — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:54:59 +0000

The presence of magic has had two effects on the development of science and technology. It makes it MUCH easier to test things and to sort out what’s going on on an immediate, local, level. You want to look at something very small? A simple charm will do it. Rough spots in a prototype, minor [...]

Iz from Alex Schroeder: RPG

Alex Schroeder — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:06:10 +0000

I was listening to Canon Puncture the other day and they talked about the new segments they want to do and started thinking back to the player characters in my games, the ones I remember best. Let me tell you about Iz the goblin assassin, played by Flo...

Tuesday Magic Item – Dragonpoint from Sea of Stars RPG Design Journal

Sea of Stars — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:53:54 +0000

Our contact was furtive, more so that usual for a dealing in black market magical weapon, which said something. One he was certain that we were unobserved and he had lit a ward candle. “Let me see the money,” he hissed. Mokmarly opened the small iron box, half full of gold coins. The weapons dealer [...]

3 abreast in a 10′ Corridor: Photographic Evidence from J E Holmes from roleplay-geek

Roleplay Geek — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:56:00 +0000

Jeff Rients recent post jogged my memories of playing with old school 25mm minis and this plate from Dr Holmes' book "Fantasy Role Playing Games" seems to support it. Citadel and their 1 inch plastic bases have a lot to answer for.From "Fantasy R...

I Need Help: An Appeal from The Spirits of Eden » RPG

The Spirits of Eden — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:38:01 +0000

The long and short of it, is that I’m in trouble. I’ve hit bottom, and I don’t know what to do. I’ve exhausted all other options. I want to ask for your generosity and empathy. I’m uncomfortable just asking for help. I’m willing to work for it. If you want me to do something, I [...]

Introducing: Blazing Spear from Dagda's Workroom

Dagda's Workroom — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:19:00 +0000

High time to pull back the curtain, I think.Blazing Spear is the tentative name for an original bronze age weird fantasy setting I and two others have been working on since early 2011. There are numerous influences (from 300 to Fringe), but a particula...

No Assembly Required: Wobet from This is My Game

This is my game — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:58:00 +0000

Welcome to the January 2012 Edition of No Assembly Required, a monthly column that provides DMs with a ready-to-use monster for a Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition campaign. The monster can... Read more »

How to write a free RPG – Chapter 8: Publish from The Free RPG Blog

The Free RPG Blog — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Finish your game. Finish your game. Finish your game. Stop procrastinating and finish it. The act of creation can be exciting and a struggle but if you don't finish it, you'll never know if it was any fun to play. Publishing is what you do once you hav...

Book Review: Unusual Suspects: Guide to an Interrogation Session by Robert Oglodzinski from Library of Ancient Scroll from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:54 +0000

When I started working with Robert Oglodzinski a few months ago, I reviewed Walls Can Talk, which collects a few “legends and adventure ideas” for fantasy and horror games. The layout, done by Michael Wolf (Stargazer of Stargazer’s World), was simple and effective to put the focus on the stories at hand. I thought . . . → Read More: Book Review: Unusual Suspects: Guide to an Interrogation Session by Robert Oglodzinski from Library of Ancient Scroll

Inspiration Viewing – A Bad Day at Black Rock from Sea of Stars RPG Design Journal

Sea of Stars — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:11:27 +0000

A Bad Day at Black Rock is fascinating movie set in 1946 in the small, isolated California town of Black Rock. The train stops and a man gets off, a stranger to the town. This is notable as this is the first time the train has stopped there in four years. But Black Rock has [...]

Switched at Birth – An Origin Story from Dungeon's Master

Dungeon's Master — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:30:37 +0000

A good background should help define who the character is, especially early in the adventurer when he’s relatively inexperienced. Your PC’s backgrounds should do more than just provide him with skill bonus or a free minor power. I encourage players to be creative when coming up with a back-story. I’ve learned that the more detailed [...]

Spellbooks as Physical Accessories from roleplay-geek

Roleplay Geek — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:30:00 +0000

Over at The Tower of The Archmage, Tim posted some inspirational images of spellbooks. In my campaign world, The Lands of Dual, I've always insisted that players whose PCs are spellcasters, create their own spell books (or in the case of Clerics,...

Supplement Review: Caves & Caverns (PFRPG) by Creighton Broadhurst and David Posener from Raging Swan Press from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:33 +0000

Just about every fantasy campaign I’ve ever played in has involved a cave system or cavern at one time or another. And though I’m a fan of dungeons, I really like it when there’s more of a natural element to them. The “Five Room Dungeon” technique I first learned about in Johnn Four’s Roleplaying . . . → Read More: Supplement Review: Caves & Caverns (PFRPG) by Creighton Broadhurst and David Posener from Raging Swan Press

Verdan Arcanis – Historical Development from Emergence Campaign Weblog

The Emergence Campaign Logs — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:37:32 +0000

Mankind’s early Eurasian history on Verdan resembles events on Earth relatively closely up until around the Age of Discovery. Yes, Verdan has some magic, and even relatively minor magic has an impact – but where fewer children died of minor illnesses, contraceptive charms meant fewer were born. Where genuinely functioning curses were hurled at rulers, [...]

Ancient Scroll’s Secret Room: To Punish and Enslave (or “Being Lawful”) from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:15 +0000

Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. - Albert Einstein

One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community . . . → Read More: Ancient Scroll’s Secret Room: To Punish and Enslave (or “Being Lawful”)

Taug (TOOK) Maciver from Risus TOTM

Risus TOTM — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:10:37 +0000

Vagabond Scottish Tinker with a knack for inventing things out of scraps (4)Former priest seeking redemption (3)Self-sufficient outdoorsman (3)Taug Maciver is a failed priest from Inverness-shire, Scotland who left for America when he was excommunicate...

Verdan Arcanis – Basic Magic from Emergence Campaign Weblog

The Emergence Campaign Logs — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:49:01 +0000

With the Star Wars game winding down thanks to some exceptionally clever maneuvering by the players, it’s time to start setting up the next one – and, thanks to a series of player votes, it’s going to be the Baba Yaga system with a quasi-victorian setting with some magic where much of the world is [...]

Deviant Friday – Marcio Takara Edition from THE LAND OF NOD

Land of Nod — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:46:00 +0000

Marcio Takara has a way with tiny - I've featured his tiny superheroes before as being great for folks looking for cheap paper miniatures of superheroes for their RPGs. He's also pretty slick with larger fare, with a clean, smooth line style and great ...

New Monster – Deep Miner from Sea of Stars RPG Design Journal

Sea of Stars — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:57:32 +0000

DEEP MINER A sickly green glow lights the corridor as an emaciated specter of a dwarven miner emerges from the wall. The wreckage of a dwarven soul mutters to himself, his eyes unfocused until he sees the gold ring on your finger. “Gold!” it cries, a spectral pick appearing in its hand as it charges [...]

The Art of the Small—Fluff here! Get your hot crunchy fluff here! from Dungeon Mastering

Dungeon Mastering — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:00:37 +0000

…this info…invit[es] the DM to seed his adventures with references, clues, and mysteries pertaining to the party […], or for players at the table to press for the meanings and leanings behind such... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my w...

They don’t sparkle, period! from Stargazer's World

Stargazer's World — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:49 +0000

I know I am late to the party, the Vampire the Masquerade 20th anniversary celebration was last year. But I did not catch the anniversary bug until this year. My relation with Vampire is a complicated one. I was in college and gaming actively during th...

News from Around the Net: 27-JAN-12 from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:00:17 +0000

Hope everyone has had a good week! Mine has been interesting… We’ve been dealing with getting some water damage assessed and fixed in our house after a small overflow in an upstairs bathroom resulted in a family room waterfall through a spinning ceiling fan. Who needs Vegas and the Bellagio fountains? I had one . . . → Read More: News from Around the Net: 27-JAN-12

Arkham Horror begats Call of Cthulhu from TEMPLE OF DEMOGORGON

Temple of Demogorgon — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:15:00 +0000

Being down three players last night (Dan Dan the Power Game Man is overseas for awhile, Little Ben has to take a month or two off suddenly, and Big Ben had a cold), we decided to finally play Paul’s copy of Arkham Horror he got for Xmas instead of my...

EN World Review – The Breaking of Forstor Nagar by Rite Publishing from NEUROGLYPH Games

Neuroglyph Games — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:30:28 +0000

Greetings good Readers and fellow D&D gamers! Today is the first day of the DDXP convention down in Indiana this weekend, and I understand that some of us have had a chance to try their hand at D&D Next. In fact, EN World has a transcript of excerpts from the D&D Next Seminar from the DDXP [...]

Myriad Characters: Athael, Angel Coordinator from The Spirits of Eden » RPG

The Spirits of Eden — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:11:00 +0000

Authorizing extermination of all Class: [ADELIAN] lifeforms in the vicinity. Fulfilling the Directive. All non-Human life is to be purged. Should any show signs of willingness to cooperate, exterminate them as well. Adelians have collected untold thousands of artifacts from the Lost World, but none seem to shine light toward the enigmatic origins of the [...]

The Compact: Post-apocalyptic Campaign from Stargazer's World

Stargazer's World — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:00:17 +0000

Michael’s recent post about his upcoming campaign has lit a fire under me to work on a couple of campaigns I’ve had on the backburner for a while. He always tells me I should post about my game sessions, campaigns and the prep I am doing but I alwa...

The Gassy Gnoll: What Makes a Location Fantastic (RPG Blog Carnival) from Game Knight Reviews

Game Knight Reviews — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:00:04 +0000

Once in a while a question crops up via a RPG Blog Carnival topic that makes me scratch my head and ponder for a bit. And yes, before you ask, most Gassy Gnolls are predominantly pondering people. We like to ponder just as much as we like to plunder, but nobody bothers to look . . . → Read More: The Gassy Gnoll: What Makes a Location Fantastic (RPG Blog Carnival)

The Chronicles of Heavenly Artifice Session XXXIX – Gates of the Third Circle from Emergence Campaign Weblog

The Emergence Campaign Logs — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:35:29 +0000

Hala’s little reverie hadn’t taken up much time – although she would like to know what caste her bondmate was… After twenty thousand years there was no easy way to find out much about who’d had your exaltation in the first age – or who your bondmate was. Lytek was about the only reliable source, [...]

Tuesday Magic Item – Venturer’s Friend at Court from Sea of Stars RPG Design Journal

Sea of Stars — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:17:25 +0000

First crafted by the bard Rufus Friend of the Commons for a delegation of simple villagers to the court of the King; a keen-eyed dwarven venturer sniffed out the magic behind the commoners’ excellent manners and commissioned one for himself and his companions, who often had trouble dealing with nobility. Since then, the use of [...]

World Building and the Campaign: How Far into the weeds? from Ostensible Cat

Ostensible Cat — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:02:00 +0000

So, I have a gaming group and I'm digging the whole DMing thing again. As I've mentioned, we are running through a heavily modified version of Keep on the Borderlands using OSRIC. So far, we've explored a bit of the keep and the kobold sect...

How to write a free RPG – Chapter 7: Testing from The Free RPG Blog

The Free RPG Blog — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Your game needs to be tested before it’s devoured by the general public. Testing ranges from simple mechanics tests all the way through to a full blow campaign play test. If you do not have a group to test with and cannot find a kind group to test it...

My 10 Favourite Sci-Fi Posters from roleplay-geek

Roleplay Geek — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Thanks to Davis Chenault for his post highlighting the IGN 25 Top Sci-FI Posters.

Here's my top 10 (in no particular order) with some alternate versions thrown in for good measure:

1. MAD MAX

Original Theatrical Poster	UK Poster

I love the graphic simplicity of the original release, but the UK poster (which I remember from my childhood) makes me wanna see the movie NOW!.

2. DUNE

UK Poster

Japanese Poster

The haunting alien vista of the UK poster is infinitely preferable to the car crash of bad airbrush art that is the Japanese version. Who is Paul Atreides supposed to be kissing, cos it sure doesn't look like Sean Young.

3. BLADE RUNNER

Original Poster

Directors Cut Poster

The crazy angles and harsh edged look to the original composite are given a more sympathetic and dreamlike treatment for the directors cut. Much better poster IMHO.

4. THEY LIVE

Original Poster

Marc Palm Homage Poster

Rowdy Roddy Pipper eyeballs your "alienness" in the original, but there's a nice subversive edge to Marc Palm's "Hope" version.

5. STAR WARS

Original Poster

Olly Moss Homage

The original is a masterpiece of both composition and oil painting, even if the blasters seem to be firing light-sabre beams. The Olly Moss homage is an elegant piece of graphic design genius. I'm officially torn between the two.

6. ALIEN

Original Poster

Polish Poster

The minimalist original has it all, black for space, weird cracked egg with green glowy yolk, scary byeline and alien eggbox landscape. The poor poles have no idea what they're letting themselves in for with their bizarre blood vessel drawing of what I can only presume is a facehugger?

7. ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

Original Poster

Special Edition Poster

The Big Apple has gone all to hell in the iconic (if a little cliched) original as the characters are caught in a spot of mid escape terror. The Special Edition looks like one of Snake Plisken's holiday snaps, posed right after he's brought down the Statue of Liberty in some sort of explosive mayhem.

8. SCANNERS

Original Poster

Italian Poster

In the definitive original, Michael Ironside's about to explode!!!. But I love the comic book style and vivid fiery reds in the Italian version.

9. GODZILLA VS MEGALON

Original Poster

Alternate Poster

Godzilla is kicking Megalon's butt in the original and classic poster. In the alternate version The Lost Continent of Mu has been given the boot in favour of a battle on top of the Twin Trade Towers which due to the exaggerated scale makes both these Kaiju look a bit puny by comparison. Nice idea, poor execution (and the typeography lets it down as well)

10. THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN

Original Poster

Ken Taylor Mondo Poster

The arthouse style original with its dirty steampunk qualities are eschewed by Ken Taylor for a heavily inked composite illustration evocative of a Hammer Horror movie poster.

The Chronicles of Heavenly Artifice Session XXXVIII – Out of the Umbra from Emergence Campaign Weblog

The Emergence Campaign Logs — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:46:00 +0000

Sadly, despite Mr Montagues calling them in, the Nocturnals hadn’t been able to help out with the analysis much; there was just no way of knowing what WAS “normal” for a young primordial! Nobody even knew how they came into being outside of “they appeared in the Wyld”. Still, Jose had been quite relieved when [...]

Listen to Your Characters from Dragonlance D&D Game Blog

Dragonlance D&D Game Blog — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

As a follow up to my previous post, "Let Your Campaign Talk to You", I've been thinking about new ways to approach developing character backgrounds, and looking at various techniques from literature and television. Rather than what I suspect is the standard approach, that of drafting the background and incidental details all at once, and typically before even the first game session has taken

More details on my new campaign from Stargazer's World

Stargazer's World — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

On the weekend my girlfriend worked on the campaign world for our upcoming Shadow, Sword & Spell game. I am actually very happy with the result so far and aside from a proper map I have almost enough material for the next step. The next step will o...