Archive for Role-playing Games

Miniatures Games News – 07/07/2010

Today’s Miniatures Games News:

  • RedBrick Limited announced yesterday that Shards Collection Volume Two is now available. This is a collection of five stand-alone adventures for Earthdawn, designed to challenge Novice through Journeyman adepts. It requires the Player’s and Gamemaster’s Guides.
  • The TooFatLardies web site posted an article today about how to create a realistic looking cabbage field using some inexpensive party supplies.

RPG News 07-04-2010

Following are the role-playing game (RPG) news items I found today:

Game News 06-20-2010

Today’s news, broken down by gaming topic and typed one-handed (until I get rid of this sling!)…

General Gaming News:

  • Funagain Games is offering $100 grants to schools, libraries, community organizations, game groups, and U.S. military personnel deployed overseas. These reportedly are often going unclaimed.
  • Jolly Roger Games lists a few new products on their site for June, including Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Essays on Role-playing, ROPE, The Chicago Way, A Nation on Trial, and Fire Brigade: World War Two Miniatures

Board Game News:

  • Phil Pritchard’s Lensman Game web site says they will have copies on hand for purchase at Origins. Less than 100 will be there, at a list price of $79.95 each.

Miniatures Gaming News:

  • Scarab Miniatures has listed several products for June, including Rate of Fire (from Crusader Publishing, a set of WWII skirmish rules), a German Tank Crew pack, French Dragoons pack, and others.
  • Black Cat Bases is having a 20% off sale on all ranges until June 23, 2010.
  • Aberrant Games is taking pre-orders for two upcoming Warlands Surfer minis.
  • Wargames Supply Dump lists new 28mm Pulp Sci fi scenic items from Frozen Planet Studios
  • Wargamesminis.com lists as a new product the Britannia 20mm Artillery Crew.
  • Warpath Games lists a new Firrestorm Armada fleet, The Directorate, as available now.

Wargame News:

  • Critical Hit has reduced the price of ASLComp Afrikakorps: Second Time Around to $9.95.
  • Decision Games has found all the play testers they were looking for but will consider other applications.

RPG News:

  • Morrigan Press’ Talislanta site says a scan of The Chronicles of Talislanta First Edition is available for free download.

Site News:

Added approximately 1,076 new sites to my monitoring list yesterday. Added the following today, with more to come:

1.2.3.games
12spiel
1745 Trading Company
1A Spiele GmbH
2 Hour Wargames
Jim Corn Games
2F-Spiele
2K Games
3 Man Chess
3-Hirn-Verlag
3J Games
3mg Inc.
4J Enterprises
4Kids Entertainment
4Kidz, Inc.
4R, Inc
555 games
5vs5
5°Dimension International
93 Games Studio
93 Made Games
999 Games
9th Level Games
@games online
A & A Game Engineering
Abacus
Abel Games LTD.
Aberrant Games
Abstract Games (magazine)
Abysse Corp.
Academic Gaming Review
Academy Games
Acclaim Entertainment Inc.
Ace Murder Mystery
Ace of Brains
ACE Pelit Oy

Goodman Games Offers Gen Con Trade-in Deal

The Goodman Games web displayed the following offer when I checked today:

If you’re attending Gen Con this year, make sure to visit Goodman Games! You can save up to 50% at our booth when you trade in your used 3E books. We’ll have seven new releases, including a number of convention exclusives, as well as two big announcements.

Adamant Releases “The Imperial Age” for True20

cover art

The Adamant Entertainment web site posted an announcement on July 9, 2009, about their new role-playing supplement “The Imperial Age“, for the True20 Adventure Roleplaying system.

This genre book contains the information you need to run games set in the late Victorian era, circa 1880-1900. It is designed to be used as a toolkit. You can add or discard as much of the information as you like.

This 270-page book features genre information, an overview of the Victorian-era world, a timeline, an in-depth look at London, hero creation rules, fighting styles appropriate to Victorian heroes, dramatic rules for chases, and more.

There are chapters covering Victorian-era adventure stories, detective stories, horror stories, steam stories, and more. As of this writing, it’s priced at $9.95 U.S.

0One Games Releases “Dungeon of Terror #5″

cover art0One Games has released the fifth installment in its Black & White “Dungeon of Terror” series of PDF role-playing supplements. Dungeon of Terror #5 depicts the Mad Mage Chambers (West).

The Dungeon of Terror series contains 164 rooms, 8 different zones (each featured in a single product) and is broken into 225 customizable tiles. It can be played as a whole dungeon, or you may extract a “sub-dungeon” or room of your choice for use in an adventure.

This particular product “details the west part of the Dungeon of Terror, another set of unconquered hall designed by Infidus the Black himself. These are very large rooms hiding unexpected dangers. It contains a Referee Map and 28 customizable tiles.”

As of this writing, the product is priced at $1.99 and is available via the link(s) above.

Hex Games Releases “Funkadelic Frankenstein”

The folks working in game design these days are a pretty creative (and perhaps slightly crazy) bunch. Even though I haven’t played any role-playing games in decades, every so often I see a title pass by that amuses me or catches my imagination. Hex Games has just released such a title: “Funkadelic Frankenstein on the Mean Streets of Monstertown“. I haven’t seen this game, but it just sounds like it would be fun to play.

According to the announcement on their web site, “The game allows players to play in the world of 1970′s ‘Monsterploitation’ films as members of the famous and funky Prometheus Jones Detective Agency.” It’s designed for use with the QAGS Second Edition rules and includes a history of Monstersploitation films, rules for creating monster characters, and a complete adventure. It is reportedly available now for just 99 cents at hexgames.com, drivethrurpg.com, rpgnow.com, and yourgamesnow.com.

Funkadelic Frankenstein art

Catalyst Publishing “Masters & Minions” BattleTech Books

On July 3, Catalyst Game Labs posted an announcement about the upcoming release of a BattleTech “Masters & Minions” sourcebook. They describe it as a “book of important personalities” for that BattleTech universe. According to Randall N. Bills, the Managing Developer, “A personality-heavy sourcebook is always a great time to provide a ‘status of the universe’ update. This is even more important with A Time of War: The BattleTech RPG publishing this fall. As a second entry point (a scifi RPG) to the BattleTech universe (after the Introductory Box Set, the boardgame entry point), having a single product that provides a ‘this is where the universe is at’ is important.” For more information, see the full announcement on their site.

0One Games Releases The Great City, Cold Crypts

0One Games has recently released “The Great City, Cold Crypts“, the latest product in its Blueprints like of role-playing supplements. The supplement depicts “a massive ancestral crypt, a labyrinthine tangle of thousands of tombs of ancient nobles, priests, and seers.” As of this writing, the PDF product is priced at $1.95.

cover art

Business Lessons Learned from D&D

On Sunday, Javaworld’s Esther Schindler posted “10 Business Lessions I Learned from Playing Dungeons & Dragons” in which she explains 10 real-world lessons she learned while playing D&D in her 20′s and 30′s. Here’s a quick recap:

  • Feed the Dungeon Master (DM). In other words, treat the person in power with extra kindness. If you take care of your manager, they’ll take care of you.
  • One spell, used well, can be more powerful than an entire book full of spells. Get everything you can out of the tools at your disposal.
  • It’s better to out-smart an orc than fight one. If you can think your way around a challenge or get your opponents to fight one another, that will usually work out better for you than tackling it head-on.
  • “I’m the DM. I’m not there.” Dungeon masters aren’t supposed to tell you things you should see yourself. Learn to investigate and not rely on assumptions.
  • The best quests require a mixture of skills in the party. Find new friends and cultivate ancillary skills.
  • Simple and internally consistent is more fun than random. The fastest way to upset a game is to be completely chaotic.
  • You create your own traps. If you fall into a habit, the universe will bite you.
  • Treasure is not always what you expect it to be. Thought and creativity tend to win out over immediate return.
  • You don’t have to read all the books, but a modest description of the beast you are about to face is better than facing a daemon and trying six dozen spells before finding the right one. Rely on documentation, so you can learn from others’ mistakes. Draw maps as you go to avoid pitfalls the next time.
  • When selecting a weapon or tool, bigger is not always better. Sometimes having a unique weapon or tool can make you a hero, even if it’s not the biggest or best tool out there.

Schindler is soliciting other D&D lessons in the comments to her article.

0One Releases Dungeon of Terror #4 : The Maze

0One Games has released another title in their Dungeon of Terror line, “Dungeon of Terror #4: The Maze”. This product details the west part of the Dungeon of Terror, an old maze designed by Infidus the Black and roamed by spectral minotaurs seeking revenge. It contains a referee map and 22 customizable times.

Paradigm Concepts Sends “Blessed and the Damned” to the Printers

Paradigm Concepts has reportedly sent its “Blessed and the Damned” book, pictured below, off to the printers. It will reportedly be available at Origins 2009 and in stores later in the summer. This Witch Hunter supplement features character backgrounds, talents, rites and traditions, fighting traditions, and more. Witch Hunter itself is a role-playing game of adventure and horror set in a world similar to our 17th Century.

Eden Studios “Conspiracy X Extraterrestrials Sourcebook” Available in PDF

The Eden Studios web site has announced that its “The Extraterrestrials Sourcebook” is now available in PDF form. This sourcebook is a supplement for the Conspiracy X 2.0 roleplaying game. It includes details on three alien races, rules for creating alien Cast Members, powerful alien technology, and more. It’s compatible with All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Armageddon, Terra Primate, CJ Carella’s Witchcraft, and other Unisystem games. The book is now available as a PDF and will be available in hardcopy form in July 2009.

Adamant Releases Venture 4th “Pact of Ghosts”

Adamant Entertainment has announced “Pact of Ghosts“, the newest entry in its Venture 4th series of warlock pacts for 4E. Warlocks forge a pact with ghosts, and can call upon their special nature to phase through solid objects, drain foes of energy, and torment the living with sounds and images. The pact features a full listing of powers from Levels 1 through 30, four new Feats exclusive to the pact, a paragon path, and three new magic items. It’s product number ADM2111 and is currently priced at $2.00 US.

0One Games Releases “Vampire’s Inner Crypt”

0One Games has released “Battlemaps Lairs: Vampire’s Inner Crypt” in PDF format. This $2.99 product contains a referee map, four customizable battlemaps, and six customizable tiles. It provides a setting for a battle with Vardalak, a master vampire who was once lord of the countryside, now bound in his coffin by a powerful archmade.

OWC Requesting Funding for Chill 3rd Edition

On May 19, Other World Creations (OWC) announced that it has begun a Fundable fundraising effort for Chill 3rd Edition. They hope that fans of the game will participate so that they can get the game finished. They’re hoping that the fundraising effort will tell them if there is still enough interest in the game to finish and print a limited edition full color hardcopy edition of the game. Their web site has more information, including a link to download a Quick Start document for Chill to get an idea of where they’re going with the game.

If you’re not familiar with Chill, it’s a horror themed game in which you play an envoy, an agent of a secret organization dedicated to studying the “unknown”. In the game’s world, the “Unknown” spans horrors that are familiar or alien. Your envoy gathers information, weapons, and allies in the fight against the Unknown.

0One Games Releases “Dungeon of Terror #2: Assassins’ Brotherhood”

0One Games has released the latest installment in its Black & White line, Dungeon of Terror #2: Assassins’ Brotherhood” in PDF format. This $1.99 PDF product is part of their Dungeon of Terror line, reportedly the largest dungeon ever tiled. This product details the northwest part of the Dungeon of Terror, which is the hideout of the famed Brother of Assassins. It contains a Referee Map and 35 customizable tiles.

Reaper to Release Warlord Second Edition

Reaper Miniatures announced the upcoming release of Warlord Second Edition. This streamlined version promises to be faster, more fun, and better than ever. The softcover edition is expected to ship on July 27, 2009. It uses the same RAGE combat system as the previous versions of the game, but features a completely re-invented magic system that allows spellcasters to choose their spells during the game. Streamlining reportedly includes getting rid of rules that didn’t get used or were too complex and a reduced number of damage tracks for faster play. It includes the same 10 core factions featured in the first core rulebook. Remaining factions will be featured in a follow-up book later in the year.

Warlord_Second_Edition_FrontCover.jpg

Open Call at Atlas Games for Ars Magica Grogs

The Atlas Games web site has announced an open call for submissions for its upcoming Ars Magica Grogs book. They’re specifically looking for “developed backgrounds for types of grog, taken broadly to mean any covenant staff who are not companions or magi. We’re NOT looking for stats for particular grog characters, rather, it’s a selection of new backgrounds for the sorts of people who might become grogs: outlaws, heretical scholars, academically or martially inclined women, and so on.”

If this sounds like something you’d like to get in on, see their web site for more details and submit your entry by September 28, 2009.

Adamant Releases “Venture 4th: Pact of the Dragon Lords”

Adamant Entertainment recently released “Pact of the Dragon Lords“, which is part of a series of new warlock pacts for 4E. This new pact features a full listing of powers from levels 1 through 30, four new Feats exclusive to the pact, two paragon paths, and four new magic items. It focuses on warlocks who have made pacts with primal dragons, gaining special powers in the process. Adamant says that “With a simple word a Warlock can blast their enemies with deadly elements, invoke the strength and power of a rampaging dragon, and tap the race’s ancient knowledge.” It’s product number ADM2110 and is currently price at $2.00 US as of this writing.