quick Carcosa Wacky Races update
So my caveman Oogah was driving his hell-powered motor-trike across the apocalyptic wastelands of Carcosa when a Hound of Tindalos starts loping after him. This will not stand. I pull into a bootlegger revers[...]Read on >>
Will Kaanga Rue the Day He Met Bwana Black-Jaw?
See what I did there? Kaanga. Rue. Yeah - spent more time on the title than the rest of the post. As always, a hearty thanks to the Comic Book Catacombs for posting this story. Away we go ...Right off the bat, I defy you[...]Read on >>
Game of Thrones (Spoiler Free)
Is it just me or have you found that this season's Game of Thrones seems to jump around too much? By the end of the episode you don't really feel like any single plot line has moved forward, rather it just has a ploddin[...]Read on >>
Call Of Cthulhu: Dark Trenches Characters
I have finally come up with the way I want to create the characters for Dark Trenches... Another little gem... First off, each character is given a basic concept with a character sheet (clergyman, dilettante, drifter, j[...]Read on >>
System Agnostic Writing
When writing down the first draft of your custom adventure, I suggest ignoring all gameplay mechanics. Don’t draw maps, don’t think on how many perception rolls should be allowed, don’t even build monsters. Just co[...]Read on >>
Random Dungeon pdfs sent
I sent emails to backers of the Random Dungeon kickstarter, letting them know that they could download the poster PDFs (and the DM notebook, for $22+ backers). Let me know if you're a backer and you didn't get an email. [...]Read on >>
Tuesday Magic Item – Mace of the Infernal Duke
The warlord styling himself the Emperor of the North paced his throne room, pausing to look at maps and reports. Snapping at servants and drinking rice wine. His trusted lieutenant, his armor damaged and his head banda[...]Read on >>
Castle Greyhawk: Day’s End
Page eight of the Castle Greyhawk graphic novel adaptation is now available at our official blog where you can read it from the beginning. You can also download the latest episode here, courtesy [...]Read on >>
Significance of five
In numerology, the number 5 is associated with many things. Amongst those aspects is adventure. ADVENTURE FREEDOM Etc. The 5th printing of the PHB is up, if you are seeking adventure, join in the fun. That, or go na[...]Read on >>
Gen Con Indy 2012: Kobold Events
The Gen Con Indy 2012 Events Catalog is live, and there are kobolds all over the place! If you want to hang out with Wolfgang and the Kobold minions* at the con, add these to your wishlist: Adventure: Midgard Adventures[...]Read on >>
Space Combat in my SW/Age hack
I originally posted this on my Google+ page, I am reposting it here for those not on G+. I play tested space combat in my SW/Age hack last night, and it went pretty well. I’m going to get into a bit of the crunch[...]Read on >>
Lords of Waterdeep
By now you may already have seen multiple reviews of Wizards of the Coast’s latest Dungeons & Dragons themed board game, Lords of Waterdeep. If so, I apologize for coming late to the party. If you don’t[...]Read on >>
Prepping a Game Session for our Sales Team
Ok, I tend to blend work and games to a fault. So much that I've become rather an alien kind of gamer in the game-o-sphere. I've thrown out rules that don't mix well with what I've observed in my work experience and cont[...]Read on >>
Video: ‘A Walking Song’ from Tolkein
I recently came across the video below, produced by the immensely talented Shadowcat. It is a musical arrangement of part of the Poem, “A Walking Song” from Tolkein’s Fellowship of the Ring. [...]Read on >>
I’ve Got A Lot To Say
Actually I really do have a lot of stuff I want to post today but time is limited so I will simply start with this small, low content, largely just for fun post and get to the really meaty stuff later.Mmmm...meat.Anyway,[...]Read on >>
The Troll Dens 2012-05-15 14:26:00
One of my all time favorite artists, John Buscema. I ran into his art in Davis' Conan Comic book #76...I believe that was the issues, it has Conan on the cover wearing a hawk helmet gripping the claw of a giant hawk...an[...]Read on >>
Do Gamer Dads Dream Of 2:1 Sheep?
Being a father to a little baby was cool. He was all cute and snuggly and I loved the first words and the first steps and all that stuff. I remember getting Sam a "Level 0 Gamer" bib and a couple nerdy onesies before he [...]Read on >>
MINDPROBE: My Super Ex-Girlfriend (repost)
I was a film geek before I even discovered roleplaying games and so it's only natural that I would seek inspiration for one from the other.Mindprobe is going to be a sporadic section on HeroPress where I mine movies for [...]Read on >>
Let us pray, Part 3
William Blake's "Ancient of Days"It's time to wrap up this series of posts detailing the major faith of the realm of Arche on the world of Icosa. I'll tackle the last two steps outlined by Ray Winninger in his Dungeoncra[...]Read on >>
Attrition: New Design Ethos, or, Why Your Design Has Been Found Lacking
I've been kicking around the concept of attrition for overland travel for a while now. Let's re-establish the current foundation for this system.Attrition accumulates per day, according to a base value added to a tempera[...]Read on >>
Tales From the Auction: Cryx Army, Part 1
This post marks the last part of this series of posts on the armies I purchased at Gamers' Haven's auction in January. At the auction, I put my hands on a Cryx basic box. With the Legion, then the Circle done, these guys[...]Read on >>
Jim Zubkavich brings Paizo’s “Pathfinder” to Dynamite
Hot off the presses more licensed comic book action, this time it’s not a video game but Pathfinder! Read on for the details and images. Paizo’s incredible award-winning, best-selling fantasy world, fiction l[...]Read on >>
Whose (#Dnd) Campaign Is It Anyway?
Had this twitter exchange last night and I was left somewhere between amused and speechless. From...[...]Read on >>
On the Problem with Patronage
I am pro-kickstarter.But, I would also like to think I am not an idiot.The world has been around a long time. And there are many different creative fields. And those fields have existed for a long time.Ideas, well, they [...]Read on >>
Giving My Setting, Hubris, a Facelift Part 2- Races
Yesterday I mentioned how I was taking themes and inspiration from Warhammer 2e to give my current setting, Hubris, facelift after getting burnt out on writing it, and various other endeavors. Yesterday I talked about th[...]Read on >>
Lords of Waterdeep as an RPG Adventure Generator
Lords of Waterdeep is a fairly popular board game recently released by WotC. And in my estimation it is fun. However, it would also make an excellent random adventure generator, especially useful on those nights when y[...]Read on >>
RPG Review: Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG from Goodman Games, Part I
May 15, 2012 from Game Knight Reviews
Filed under: design, dungeons & dragons, Game Design, GM, Old School, Reviews, roleplaying, RPG, RPG Hub
A few months back I had the pleasure of interviewing Joseph Goodman of Goodman Games. In that interview, he talked at length about the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game (DCC RPG) that was coming out and now that I[...] Filed under: design, dungeons & dragons, Game Design, GM, Old School, Reviews, roleplaying, RPG, RPG Hub
Read on >>
May DriveThruRPG May Sale
Here are the DriveThruRPG sales for May.You can purchase any or all of these products for 20% off. Please use the following code: DriveThruApril (yes, "April")Savage Worlds Fantasy Companion [Pinnacle Entertainment]Realm[...]Read on >>
Making an Ally of “How Does That Even Work?”
When I’m designing worlds, or more often when I’m basing a plot point on some previously unexplored bit of metaphysics, one of the questions I most dread is “How does that even work?” A lot of the time, w[...]Read on >>
Howling Tower: Cosmic Horror/Cosmic Hero
I just returned from the annual H. P. Lovecraft film festival in Portland, one of my favorite events of the year. As always, that event got me thinking (more than usual) about how the “Cthulhu mythos” can be [...]Read on >>
Legend & Lore: Balancing Wizards in D&D
Fiiinally.Stating that the wizard "casts spells" is basically a 30-year old mission statement. We got that figured out. What I want to know is how, and I would preferably like that how to make sense from a narrative pers[...]Read on >>
Exalted – Geomantic Emulation
And here we have a few more geomantic charms for Exalted. Why? Why not? Admittedly, these are a bit specialized – but they have their uses on occasion. Geomantic Empowerment Cost: —; Mins: Occult 3, Ess 2, Ty[...]Read on >>
Same Character, Different Game – Part 2 – Making It Different
Yesterday we talked about the reasons why a player might want to bring a character they've already played into a different game, or at least four of them. Today I want to look at the player side of things. Namely, I want[...]Read on >>
Wizards Watch: Skillful Rogues, Balanced Wizards, and Countdown to the Next Playtest!
think that everywhere in the D&D Community there must be the growing sense of anticipation, and possibly a little dread, as we countdown the final days to the Open Playtest of D&D Next. On May 24th, many play[...]Read on >>
Cityographer Kickstart
Joe Wetzel: Incapable of sleep I’d like to bring the Cityographer Kickstarter to your attention. This is an Inkwell Ideas project, brought to you by Joe Wetzel, who created (among other things) Hexographer, Du[...]Read on >>
May flowerings from DriveThruRPG
DriveThruRPG has announced the blog and podcast special offers for May, good from now until June 14! Curiously, the redemption code is DriveThruApril—type that into the coupon code field for a 20% discount on this [...]Read on >>
20% Off On Selected Titles From DriveThruRPG!
It’s that time of the month again where DriveThruRPG is giving a 20% discount off selected titles from their massive inventory of RPGs. Check it out! Savage Worlds Fantasy Companion [Pinnacle Entertainment] Realms [...]Read on >>
Icosahedrophilia Special Edition 6: City of Destinies, Part 2
After an unforeseen delay due to family travel, the ending of the standard school year, and the beginning of the summer term, I finally squeezed out time to release the next installment in “City of Destinies,â€[...]Read on >>
Ancient Armory: Brain Wrap
Brain Wrap is a thin -- but dense -- heavy metallic foil. When this material is wrapped around the cranium, it has a profound dampening effect on mental mutations."Brain Wrap" is actually a lead-osmium alloy, pressed int[...]Read on >>
Five Handy Resources For Almost Any GM.
Plotting out a decent campaign can be difficult, especially for us older hands who are used to keeping everything about our created worlds safely tucked away in a few spiral-bound notebooks. Luckily, things have progress[...]Read on >>
Crappy Entertainment
It's fine to enjoy crappy entertainment as long as you realize your entertainment is crappy. According to Sturgeon's Law, 90% of everything is crap. Whether or not that is true you have a high probability of [...]Read on >>
Ultramodern4 Review
Ultramodern4--or U4 for short--is a rules supplement that reminds me of D20 Modern in that it provides rules for a modern-to-futuristic game without an implied settingSince it lacks rules on character building and advanc[...]Read on >>
How to Enchant An Item [Blood & Treasure]
Here's a draft for the whole "creating magic items" bit for Blood & Treasure. Still thinking about this, so feel free to make suggestions and such (unless you think it sucks, in which case keep it to yourself as I ha[...]Read on >>
Getting it out of my system…
This one’s really just for me. While it’s true that all of my posting is primarily, for me, in that I post as a way of getting ideas out of my head and into words that I can then go back to, think about, and get fe[...]Read on >>
Candy Zombies Invade Solomon
Thanks to another one of Trey Causey's inspirational Weird Adventures nuggets, candy zombies invaded Solomon in this past weekend's Buffy: The Vampire Slayer RPG game. Rather than try out new preparation t[...]Read on >>
Monster Stock Art & Stand-Ins (PDF of Minis) Now Available
If you have a need for a PDF of 250 different minis (with great art) spanning nearly 150 different fantasy creatures or if you’re a publisher looking for collections of great color stock art, please do check out th[...]Read on >>
Review: Elves With Shotguns
I’ve been playing rather a lot of Torchlight lately. Partly that is in anticipation of the imminent release of Torchlight II, but also because it happens to be one of my youngest son’s favourite games. That&#[...]Read on >>
Conan the Barbarian
It’s now May 14th, the 30th anniversary of the American release of Conan the Barbarian. It’s not, unfortunately, the 30th anniversary of the world-premier. That was back in March. However, it’s the one [...]Read on >>
The Troll Dens 2012-05-14 20:50:00
Here's an ancient riddle for you language buffs, the phaistos disc. Discovered in Crete in 1908, no one has been able to decipher it. Its a cornerstone to some long ago people and or culture. Probably gnomes. [...]Read on >>
The Troll Dens 2012-05-14 19:08:00
I would like to know the story behind this picture: [...]Read on >>
- Risus Monkey
- Adventures of the Ottawa Warband
- Worlds in a Handful of Dice
- Purple Pawn
- D&D 4th Edition Game Design Goodness
- Brent P. Newhall's Role-Playing Blog
- Casewek: More Internet Ravings
- Tower of the Archmage
- The Dungeoneering Dad
- F1337 Command
- Board Enterprises
- A Hamsterish Hoard of Dungeons and Dragons
- Over 298 Members!
