Tag Archives: Dungeons & Dragons 5e

General

D&D and Dying of the Light

The Dying of the Light is an adventure for Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play (first edition), originally published by Hogshead Publishing. I’ve owned my copy for twenty or so years and finally led a party through it this year. The catch? I converted it to Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition and ran it for a high-level party. That was tough and enlightening.

The Dying of the Light
The Dying of the Light, a WFRP 1st ed. adventure about the Apocalypse.

I’ve owned my WFRP books for more years than I haven’t and never played through the adventure from cover to cover. WFRP was a great game, but it’s mechanically dated and cumbersome when compared to newer games like D&D 5e and Pathfinder. (Heresy!) A group of D&D players asked me to run a game for them, so I figured I’d bang a square peg into a round hole and mash the two together.

The Basics

The first task was to convert checks into DCs. This I mostly did on the fly. WFRP skills were converted in the same way — find the D&D equivalent of a skill and you’re good to go.

NPCs and monsters were pulled from the Monster Manual or the Dungeon Master’s Guide, as appropriate. For the skaven I used wererats, while the fimir I replaced with monsters I had miniatures of. Whatever happened to the fimir beyond WFRP 1st ed anyway? I also created a bunch of new creatures to fill out the ranks.

The Problem

The tough part of this little undertaking was using the rules for a “hopeful fantasy game” like D&D to run a game set in the grim Old World. I added diabolical monsters to coerce the PCs, and I’d suggest using the rules for sanity and madness from the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

Still, D&D characters are far more powerful than an ex-rat catcher from the sewers of Nuln could ever hope to be, so plan accordingly. The Dying of the Light is probably best run for characters around 3rd level.

Did You Know: Chris Pramas, who wrote The Place of Testing, is the founder and president of Green Ronin Publishing.

The Secret Sauce

We’re GMs, we improvise. Nothing in The Dying of the Light is so sacred that it can’t change to fit a different system, your players, or your maniacal ambitions. Let Moorslieb swallow the sun and plunge the world into darkness — for Khorne!

Rodney Sloan
Rising Phoenix Games

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Don’t forget about our big Pathfinder sale on at Drive Thru RPG. Ends very soon!

Uncategorized

The Manual of Masks

Masks are eery and mysterious — even a “funny” mask can seem ominous and threatening. Masks can represent a culture or tell a story — there’s so much to these objects that can inspire your game, and that inspired me to write the Manual of Masks, a supplement for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons, now available on the DMs Guild.

Manual of Masks Cover Preview

Recently I gave you a sneak peek at two of the player options featured in the book. The Manual of Masks also includes new adventuring gear, including the alchemist’s mask, armored hoods, and the infamous iron mask. There are also rules for headshots, called shots, and hit locations. Rounding everything off are 12 new magical masks.

Manual of Masks Layout 1

M.T. Black, a best selling creator on the DMs Guild, called the book “Very creative and well written. There is something in this little supplement for everyone!”

The book is $1.25 on the DMs Guild.

Buy the Manual of Masks

Future Plans

I’ve already started work on the next 10 pages of the book, and the plan is to upgrade it later in the year. The update will likely include a section on Mask, the god of thieves, some cursed masks (so much fun to be had!) and some mask related adventure seeds. I’d love to add more class options, so featuring Mask will be a great way to offer more options for the cleric class.

Rodney Sloan
Rising Phoenix Games

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Tips and Tricks

Role-Playing for Two

Role-playing is important.

I’m not going into it now, but, partly, it’s about relationships.

Many of us have spent hours role-playing with groups of friends, but couples can have just as much fun rolling dice and creating shared stories together.

Photo by Alex Chambers
Photo by Alex Chambers

Role-playing for two provides a uniquely creative, shared experience that’s hard to find elsewhere.

My wife and I have played several campaigns together. She loves a great story just as much as I do, and we’ve found that RPGs are a great way to spend time together and hang out with friends.

A while back, we started playing an undersea campaign. Just the two of us. She played a mermaid, while I GMed.

It was a blast.

But, for some reason, it took a lot of effort.

We never finished the game, and I have to ask… was it worth it?

I realize it took effort because, like anything worthwhile, it takes planning, commitment, and sacrifice to keep a game going. We had to make the effort to play, instead of taking the easy option and watching a movie.

We probably could, if we were 100% honest, have made the time to play.

But it was worth it.

Any chance for me to get closer to my wife, to understand her, is worth it.

When we played, I got to see inside her head in a way that I never could elsewhere. We created a shared world, with shared adventures.

And there was no audience.

It was our private little wonderland.

And every part of the adventure was tailored to suit our tastes. If it didn’t, it was a chance to talk about and learn what those tastes were. (Apparently, she’s not keen on gory monster encounters. Good to know.)

Would I run a game, just for her, again?

Yes, totally!

There’s even a Jane Austin RPG that could make for a really fun, romance filled game.

And, if you’re looking for adventures that support role-playing for two, then check out our Choose Your Destiny line, which is built for 1-on-1 and solo play.
Death Queen and the Life Stone is the first book in the series, followed by Forest of Secrets. You can support our Patreon to subscribe to the series and get the third book when it comes out.

Rodney Sloan
Rising Phoenix Games

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General

Rising Phoenix Games Does Patreon

For a long time I was against using Patreon. To me, it was just a way to ask for money.

Still, I was starting to see a bunch of Patreon campaigns that had a great offering, that gave customer something special, and that were worked as an invaluable part of the business for the company or individual that was running it. On top of that, I’ve come to realize that Patreon is the perfect platform for offering a subscription service.

And, we make adventures we’d like to publish monthly.

Sounds like a great fit to me.

Now we can offer a subscription for our products similar to what Paizo does with many of their product lines. That’s exciting, because it also means we can better connect with you, our fans.

www.patreon.com/RisingPhoenixGames

We’re in the early days of launching our Patreon campaign, but now is a great time to jump on board and help us chart this new course. We’ve set up some tiers we think you’ll really like.

Spark Backer

Patreon Tier 1

At this tier you’ll get a page or two of game mechanics, and 2-3 wallpapers from Bob Storrar, usually including art from our latest release.

And it only costs a dollar.

Bring the Heat Backer

Patreon Tier 2

If you’re a fan of our Choose Your Destiny solo and 1-on-1 adventures, then check out our Patreon and ensure your copy of the next installment in the campaign at this patron tier.

So far we have two adventures in the series out, with another two in editing. Three more are on the cards.
All the adventures are compatible with the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, through the SRD and OGL.

Rodney Sloan
Rising Phoenix Games

Subscribe to our newsletter for monthly updates and visit us on our blog, our Facebook page and on Twitter.

General

Your RPG Resolutions for an Awesome 2018

What are your RPG resolutions for 2018?

How was 2017?
Even if you didn’t achieve everything you set out to do, don’t lose heart. These last few days of 2017 have taught me that success in anything is about chipping away until you achieve your goal.
One day you’ll get there, or, as the Dead Man Fall song Bang Your Drum goes, “keep banging on your drum, and your day will come.”

Rising Phoenix Games was born on New Year’s Eve, 2010. This year, 2017, saw us cranking up the heat, and publishing more titles than ever before. The plan is to burn hotter in 2018, and we’ve got some great things planned.

Your RPG Resolutions for Better Adventures

I asked Twitter friends for their New Year’s RPG Resolutions. Here are some of the answers I got.

Make Your RPG Resolutions Today

My 2018 RPG Resolutions are straight forward:

  1. GM more one-shots and demo games.
  2. Run a Stranger Things game with the vs. Stranger Stuff rules.
  3. Up my ability to run fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons.
  4. Buy Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play 4th Ed. Convince my friends that it’s awesome.

If you’re a GM, then you’ll probably have similar goals.
For players, your goals might be to play you character better, or to contribute more to the fun at the table. If so, I recommend the excellent Player’s Companion, just released on the DM’s Guild.

The Player's Companion Will Help You Achieve Your RPG Resolutions
The Player’s Companion Will Help You Achieve Your RPG Resolutions
A Ton of Player Options — Helpful For Achieving Your RPG Resolutions
A Ton of Player Options

Besides a ton of character options, the book provides excellent advice on playing your character, and on combat tactics. Included in the Better Gaming chapter is a section on action economy, which I’d never considered before but made a huge impact on how I play.

Excellent Advice — Up Your Game in 2018
Excellent Advice — Up Your Game in 2018

So, what are your RPG Resolutions for 2018? Share yours in the comments below — making your intentions public is a great first step to achieving them.

Rodney Sloan
Rising Phoenix Games

Subscribe to our newsletter for monthly updates and visit us on our blog, our Facebook page and on Twitter.

General

Ashirai, Queen of Death

This is our latest cover, a piece for our first product in a new line of solo / 1-on-1 adventures.

Bob Storrar did the art and layout, and you need to see inside this, because it’s beautifully done. The guy has real talent.

So, who is she and why does she matter?

Ashirai was once a fair and beautiful queen, who turned to necromancy to secure her power. That power came at a price, as she slowly lost her famed beauty to the corrupting energy of her magic. She took to wearing a cobra hooded mask carved to resemble her as she once was, and became known as the Death Queen, a powerful ruler with legions at her command.

And then, she died, or so it was thought…

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Have you got the skills? Write for us!

Rising Phoenix Games is looking for freelance writers.


Project Length: 3,750 words
Pay Rate: A 25% cut of sales. (25% to the adventure writer, 10% to the player options writer (Rodney Sloan), 25% to the artist/layout artist, 35% or less to the vendor and the rest to the publisher. )
Additional details: Rising Phoenix Games is looking for writers to produce solo and 1-on-1, choose-your-own-adventure style adventures for the Dungeons & Dragons 5e ruleset. Excellent examples can be found in the D&D 4e Beginners Box and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginners Box. The adventure should be tailored to a Cleric or Fighter of level 1 to 3 and should scale appropriately. Familiarity with Twine is recommended, but not essential.
750 words of the project are reserved for extending the adventure (such as adding random encounter tables, or modifying the game if played at night, etc).
Please send a 200~300 word pitch and a writing sample to the email address below.
We are looking for 3 writers for this assignment.
Respond to: [email protected]
Respond by: February 17th, 2017
Assignment Deadline: To be discussed. We’d like to release 1 adventure every 2 months beginning early April.