Tag Archives: RPG

Old School D&D Digitally Reborn

22 January 2013

This day will go down in the history of role-playing.

Wizards of the Coast (WotC) released most (if not all) of their past Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) print products as digital downloads via the popular RPG download site Drive Thru RPG. Yes, everything from the first ever edition of D&D, through AD&D, 3.5 and even 4th Edition is available for you to buy online, right now. That is if their site can handle all the traffic it’s getting at the moment from fans eager to get their hands on out-of-print books.

DriveThruRPG.com
Continue reading Old School D&D Digitally Reborn

Why Do You Play?

Why  do you play games? Do you play because it’s a reason to do something with friends? Is it because you love the challenge? Maybe it’s the pure escapism?

Personally I think it’s a little bit of everything for me, but mostly it’s the escapism. Yesterday I picked up a few Marvel HeroClix figures, including Spider-Man and Iron-Man. Today I played a quick battle by myself and just enjoyed imagining the action.

Continue reading Why Do You Play?

The Cold Heart – Solo RPG Quest Part 1

These are exciting times for solo role-players, with new ideas on solo story telling being assimilated and shared all over the web. I recently played a solo RPG session of my own and here’s what happened.

The system I used is by Spacejacker of tinysolitarysoldiers. He explains the rules on his website with a play report too. Simply put you use dice to determine how the story progresses, asking questions which the dice and your creativity answer. I played using my Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures collection, Dungeon Tiles and for combat I used the Claustrophobia! rules, since I wanted to play test the combat system specifically. I’ve decided to focus on the story here rather than the mechanics, but if you want me to go into more detail on mechanics then let me know.

Continue reading The Cold Heart – Solo RPG Quest Part 1

Pathfinder’s Box – Cracking Open The Beginners Box

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box has been around for awhile now but I figure it’s worth a review. Today we’ll crack open the box and look at the highs and lows of this game.

If you haven’t already bought something from Paizo before then let me put you at ease. Today gamers expect quality and Paizo delivers in bucket loads, both visually and content wise. In fact, Paizo polish would be my main reason for recommending anything they sell. The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, if you don’t know, is actually an improved version of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5. You’re not getting a new game here, you’re getting the next generation of a game that won a place in the hearts of role-players everywhere.

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Concept Art – Claustrophobia!

Today I thought I’d share some of the concept art I’ve done for Claustrophobia! so far. Its been loads of fun getting out the pencils and brushes for this project, mucking about with watercolours and ink again. When I wrote Claustrophobia! I only had 24 hours for the creation process, so the concept art lets me explore the world in more detail. I’m excited to see where it will lead. Continue reading Concept Art – Claustrophobia!

Claustrophobia! – A Short History of Gnomes

Two weeks ago I released Claustrophobia!, the game of gnomish insanity that’s currently in play testing until the end of July 2012. Since writing the game I’ve been thinking back on how gnomes became a part of my life, and indeed Western culture. Gnomes have enjoyed different levels of popularity throughout the ages. Nowadays gnomes even embrace elements of geek culture, as last week’s collection of gnomes illustrates. But what exactly are gnomes, and just how did they become so popular?

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Claustrophobia! – 1KM1KT’s 24 Hour RPG Contest 2012

I love creative role-playing design competitions, like the One Page Dungeon Contest. They’re a great way to push the creative envelope and get work out there for the world to see. I’ve just finished work on my gnome-tastic RPG of subterranean mayhem for the 1KM1KT 24 Hour RPG Competition.
24 Hour RPG Competition 2012
Of course, a competition like this one calls for some out of the box thinking because, as was the case in this years competition, the box was literally and figuratively rather small…
Continue reading Claustrophobia! – 1KM1KT’s 24 Hour RPG Contest 2012

Solo Role-Playing – Starting Out

It’s great playing with a group, but sometimes you just want to hack up some monsters at your own pace, in the comfort of your own home. This series is aimed at helping you get started on some excellent solo campaigns of your own.

 

Choosing A System

The first thing you need to decide is what you’ll be playing. Will you create your own adventure arc or use something pre-made? What system will you use? Often the best system to use is the one you’re most comfortable with. What are you currently playing? There sure are loads of systems to choose from. I recommend heading over to Drive Thru RPG to see what they have available. There’s also some great free stuff up for grabs, like Pokethulhu or Heroes Against Darkness.

 

Choosing An Adventure

There are plenty of solo adventures out there, not least of all our own solo adventure: Sentinels Watching. Of course, each solo adventure will usually be tailored to a specific system, but with some work you can fit most adventures to any system you want. Here is a list of some solo adventures worth checking out:

I’ve played through a few scenes from one of the Fighting Fantasy game books using D&D 4th Ed. It was a good game and something I’ll likely try again, probably with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game system.

 

Creating Your Own

The easiest way to play is to just lay down some maps, some monsters and then duke it out, making up the story as you go. A good idea is to keep some type of Quest Log, either in a notebook or on your favourite word processor. It helps to have reminders of what you’ve done and where you were going. I like to draw out my maps and annotate directly on the GameMastery Flip-Mat: Basic. When I’m done I just take a picture with my cellphone and I’m all set to remember things next time, even if the map gets used in another game in the mean time.

Abstraction Beats Distraction

Simply put, you have to make the game as fun and exciting for yourself as you can. Play the encounters you want to play, skip the humdrum details of travel and anything that brings a yawn. Some players love to micro manage their games, and then do that, but really, you just want to make it an awesome game. You’re the GM now, so you have all the power to do that.

Also, step away from Facebook and e-mail. You know you want to play with dice more than pixels.

 

Learning From Board Games

Look at the average board game today. Everything has a visual representation. So use loads of maps, miniatures, counters and terrain. Everything and anything you can use to map out the action will help you stay involved.

Like board games, role-playing games don’t have to take heaps of time. Sit down and play out a scene, a battle or one session, with a clear start and end. That way you leave the table having completed a nice chunk that’s well defined. You’ll feel more rewarded for the effort.

 

Advice From The Pro’s

Head on over to SoloNexus for the mother load of tips. The site covers a wide range of table top games, not just role-playing.

 

Have any ideas on Starting Out? Please share them with us. Also, don’t forget the Twitter account @RisingPhoenixGM where I share all kinds of geeking.

Pirate Loot – All You Need for High Sea Adventures

“Yo ho ho and a bottle of cheap rum!” Oh how we love pirates! They may be scumbags, but we love them so much! A salty campaign at sea always sounds like a good idea doesn’t it? In fact, I recently finished writing a pirate adventure which our group is playing though at the moment, and through that I did some research into the great stuff available for the sea bound gaming group.

Please note, some of these products have affiliate links so that I can make some money, which helps me keep this site going. However, I’ve only reviewed stuff I actually thought was worth recommending.

 

Treasure Chest
"Arrr, there be loot in that there crate!"

Battle Maps

What are pirates without their maps? And what’s a game session without a good battle map? A decent ship map has to be the first port of call for any piratical GM.

I went onto Amazon and bought the GameMastery Flip-Mat: Pirate Ship. It’s super useful, but there were aspects I didn’t like. One side has a top down view of two ships with gang planks between them while the other side has the lower levels of the primary ship, with parts repeated and parts missing (such as the ship’s wheel). I would have liked to be able to fold the map to reveal only one top view of a ship at a time. A nice aspect is that you can fold the map to show just one level of the ship, however, it is at the cost of multiple views of the action. Also, while masts are represented, there’s not much indication of where all the rigging is. There are some cheaper print and play maps out there that have done a nice job with rigging, so I really would have liked to see that here. My last gripe is about the ship’s texturing. I really like how they did the water, but the deck of the actual ship is a little too fake, in my opinion. That said, the map is fully compatible with the GameMastery Map Pack: Ship’s Cabins and makes it that little bit more useful. Unlike anything print and play, this is dry erase, which means you can write on it with markers – a huge plus.

For a cheaper option try out the Battlemap – Pirate & Ghost Ship, which looks really pretty. It’s print and play.

 

Music

I’ve been listening to the Pirates of the Caribbean Soundtrack as inspiration for my pirate adventure, which I actually got onto because our GM uses it in our current campaign. It creates the perfect mood whether your adventure’s nautical or other.

Also, because I’m a big fan, check out Blackmore’s Night’s – Loreley, which works nicely when timed right. They have a bunch more stuff that I’ve played at LARP’s, so I generally punt Blackmore’s Night whenever I can. I mean it’s Richie Blackmore for crying out loud. Deep Purple… you know. Smoke on the Water. Okay, okay, I’ve had my say.

Another band worth checking out, if only for inspiration, is Turisas, and their song Hunting Pirates.

 

Miniatures

I really like proper miniatures, in metal or plastic, but recently I’ve found paper miniatures to be super useful, especially when travelling to the next game session on a crowded train. I’ve looked at a number of printable miniatures and nothing “pirate” really appeals to me, whereas I really like the Militia Men available from onemonk.com. I think real pirates probably looked more like these guys than the popularised image of pirates. Then again, I was raised on Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play, so I may be biased.

As for metal and plastic figures, there are plenty out there, so I won’t review anything now. I just wish Wizards had released a few more pirate figures with their Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures; I think they only ever did one. Luckily though, there are also hundreds of pirate toys out there, like these, which may fit into your game, even if they’re a little cheesy. My advice: shop around.

 

Props

Pretty much any toy store will carry loads of pirate props – typically hats, eye-patches, pistols and swords. Look around a bit and you might even find pirate loot. Making a map is a pretty neat touch to any campaign and you can do that in a number of ways, from dipping paper in tea to stain it and burning the edges to designing something in Photoshop. Check out this tutorial on Wired.

 

Well, that should be enough to keep you, *ahem*, afloat. Got any other neat ideas? Please share, I’d love to hear from you.