Gaming Stuff I'm Excited About, Thanksgiving Edition

There is a ton of great things going on now and I know I'm going to miss a bunch, but I'm going to mention as many as I can.  Sit back, grab some left over stuffing and enjoy.

I've written a post about +Douglas Cole's Dungeon Grappling Kickstarter earlier this month, but there's a big update.  Originally, only a PDF product, now available print.  Starting at $18 (plus the shipping) you can grab a softcover, premium color copy of Dungeon Grappling which includes the PDF.

I prefer to read the print copy, but use the PDFs for reference.  If the PDF is all you need, the buy-in is a five dollar bill.  Dungeon Grappling is funded and on its way to becoming full-color.  There are 11 days left, plenty of time to click and buy.

Here are the add-ons (and a shameless plug).
- The Manor, all 8 issues for $12! What a bargain!
- The Guardians RPG, for $7 (an OSR superhero game).

Today I received an email from +Peter Regan that I must share.

"From now until the end of Tuesday you can get 15% off any order placed at www.squarehex.co.uk by entering the code BF16

This is a great chance to pick up print copies of: The Black Hack, Cthulhu Posters, or just to restock your supplies of grid and hex papers."

Peter is the master of Squarehex, a fantastic gaming company that produces extremely useful and creative gaming material.  Black Hack took the OSR community hostage a few months back.  I've played the system and it's quick, easy and fun.  Check out the Black Hack sale and all the other great stuff Peter and Squarehex has to offer.

+Mike Evans, the man with the mighty middle finger, has hit the pole position at RPGNow with his campaign setting Hubris.  He mentions there will be a print version available soon.  He's got an all-star line up of artists that features the likes of +Jason Sholtis, +Doug Kovacs, +Wayne Snyder, +Alex Mayo, and more! Hubris, at 350 pages is $14.99.  If you are a DCC fan, you're going to like Mike's style.

+Gavin Norman made this!  It's available tomorrow so there is no direct link. I am posting a link to Gavin's list of stuff on RPGNow.

+Vincent Florio, +Erik Tenkar, +Glen Hallstrom make up the crew at Old School Blues podcast.  I mentioned them before, gave them a little shit about using the 'blues' name and then playing music that was, shall I say, not blues.  They seem to have succumb to peer pressure and switched their intro music to blues!  Woo!  Well done guys.  But the super cool thing about it is, it is music by our own OSRian +Shane Ward, who you may know from The 3 Toadstools blog and writer of such adventures as The Overrun Mines and The Lizardmen of Illzathatch, to name a few.

Since I have some time off this weekend I've been catching up on a couple podcasts.  Old School Blues is a good one to subscribe to on 'the iTunes'.

Lastly, something more personal, +trey causey, one of the many heads of Hydra Cooperative, a collection of extremely creative and fun folks making fantastic gaming products, helped with freshening up my GM Games logo.  Trey has been posting mock covers that are just amazing so I asked for a little help.  He also 
helped with creating a new look for my zine, The Manor.

Thanks again Trey for your assistance.  I know I've sold a small part of my soul to Hydra for the help, but I consider it a bargain.  I wasn't using my soul that much anyway.

I'm off to write an adventure, draw some maps, make a random table and listen to some podcasts.  It's a good time to be gamer.

What Do You Get When You Cross an Ambitious Clerk with His Double-Crossing Boss Who Sells to an Evil Cult?

Vincent, a particularly hateful and ambitious lowly clerk, is plotting to get a promotion. It doesn't hurt that his boss, a merchant by the name of Horrum, is a thieving, double-crossing, pompous ass.  Vincent has sprinkled rumors in the tavern hoping to find an interested group of adventurers.  He knows Horrum is planning on selling to a new evil cult.  Vincent knows adventurers hate evil cult.  It couldn’t have worked out better.

This low-level encounter is definitely geared toward a fun role-playing opportunity.  You’ve got a loud mouth merchant with a few guards and a friend who is a low-level mage with a Sleep spell, dealing with a pair of new evil cult guys who are trying to get their evil machinations started.  No one is a killer here.  Horrum, while an awful person, doesn’t have the stone to kill anyone or order someone killed.  If Jyvr sleeps the party, Horrum gives them to the evil cult.  Who in turn are happy for it, but after a while not sure what to do with them. 

For my patrons, I plan on writing up a fun, evil cult to plug into your game.  A group of folks who want to be evil, but aren’t sure how to.  

Enjoy the Clerk of Vindicta everyone.  Let me know if you use it in your game.  I’d love to hear about it.

The Thing-a-Ma-Jiggy Goes Into the Whatcha-Ma-Call It

It took four weeks, but we successfully got together for a game night, another session into the depths of +Ken H's Monteport megadungeon.  Introductions are in order.

• GM - the a fore mentioned +Ken H, who is under investigation for arms dealing to the United Fascist Pacifists of Irony.
• Skull - +Rob Conley who to everyone surprise has not gotten naked or peed on anything yet.  His character Skull, not Rob.
• Septimus - me.  The moral compass of this group of malcontents.   
• Allric - The notorious +Chris C. whose crimes against humanity are too numerous to list.  

It Began with Politics...

After a much political discussion, which was actually quite interesting, despite my complete lack of giving a shit one way or another.  That's when you know you have a great group of guys, you can have a discussion on politics without it devolving into the mindless, reactionary bullshit that seems to permeate the news these days.  

The Recap and Start

Then after a quick recap of where we left off because it was a month ago and I couldn't remember shit.  Down two levels, we are headed to the forth level to find a fabled dwarven city.  We check for wounds and begin.

The Cultist in the Hoodie

We left off facing these group of 'gaunts' tall lanky dudes with halberds.  They're squishy, but they hit hard.  They were led by some teen-ager with a hoodie.  We sleep the gaunts, hoodie runs off and gets more gaunts.  We sleep those gaunts and tell the hoodie to beat it.  Hoodie is a follower of Elias the One.  We told him to pound salt and get out of the way.

Fake It Until You Make It

We go down a ladder.  We're now in the third level.  A new section of the map. We are approached by another follower of Elias the One.  Here's the thing.  None of these hoodie wearing fuckers have ever met Elias.  So I start bossing him around as if I were sent from Elias.  I must have been convincing because he and his gaunts hightailed it out of there.  Two encounters no kills.  

The Machine!

We enter a room with this huge machine.  Ken developed an interesting series of things we had to do to get it to work.  We didn't know what it would do once we did start it, but damn it I was gonna push some buttons!  After a few failures we discovered we needed to put an object on this copper plate.  I put my shield on it. Successfully navigate the buttons and wa-la.  

Black Jack is Born

I pick up my shield and it starts talking to me.  Insulting me.  Ken enjoys giving magic items that insult the characters.  Chris said, "You should name it blackjack. Hit me.  Hit me."  That was so bad I had to name it that.  So Black Jack was born.  

The End

With Thanksgiving next week we decided to skip another week.  Arg!  Septimus is only a few experience points away from reaching 5th level in Bloody Basic.  I believe 6th level it the top level.  I am truly surprised he's lived this long.  Interesting sessions with no kills and a big puzzle to solve.  It was good time.   

It's Grappling Time Motherf*#!%@&

+Douglas Cole has begun his Kickstarter, 

DUNGEON GRAPPLING

....APPLING

....appling

....appling

....appling.

About the Author

I've gotten to know Doug over the past couple of years. We've gamed together several times and he co-authored a fantastic grappling article for issue #8 of The Manor.  He's also penned quite a few GURPS articles and has received several accolades for his blog, Gaming Ballistic.  I can personally vouch for Doug and his ability.  The man gets things done.  So those of you who have been burned in the past by Kickstarters, you need not have any worries about Dungeon Grappling's completion...unless Doug blows himself up again. But that's another story.  

Let's Talk About Grappling

Doug has been tinkering around with making grappling a significant part of combat.  None of the games I've played have had a good resolution system when it comes to non-lethal combat.  We won't talk about the grappling systems the various versions of D&D have tried to inflict upon the gaming world.  

Doug has developed an elegant grappling system over the past year.  He's playtested and refined it several times.  Now he's combined these rules into one book.  His grappling system provides a excellent combat option to subdue, disarm, cripple or if you'd like, kill an opponent.  

Why I Like Dungeon Grappling

When I run a game I like to have options available for my characters...good options.  The way grappling stands in most games it isn't a good option and the players don't consider it when in combat.  With Doug's system, combat doesn't need to be all or nothing.  Kill or be killed.  In this way it allows for more roleplaying.  I've never liked the subdual  rules of most fantasy RPGs.  Basically it's a crappy way of patching a hole over something the developers couldn't figure out.  Doug has figured it out.  And it's good.  And it's useful.  And it doesn't slow down play.  

Dungeon Grappling Conclusion

I am not a neutral party in the Dungeon Grappling Kickstarter, my Manors are offered as an add-on.  Also, as I've said, I know Doug and consider him a friend. But because of that I know what he's capable of and the quality if this work. Dungeon Grappling is a fantastic addition to any genre of RPG.  Leave fantasy out of it for a second and think of all the different genres you could use Dungeon Grappling with.  

I wish Doug much success with Dungeon Grappling.  And at the time of me writing this, he's already above the 80% mark.  Check out the video, ask questions in comments and join.  For a buy in price at $5...come on man, that is a no brainer.  

Get Dungeon Grappling so you can put a troll in a headlock or give a bugbear a noogie.  

Mention in Knights from the Dinner Table

+Rob Conley gave me the heads up on being mentioned in issue #235 of KotDT.  The Web Scryer section which Rob provided me a picture.  Not only did I and Rob get mentioned, but so did +Erik Tenkar, +Courtney Campbell, Justin Alexander, +Brandes Stoddard, +Rob Lang  and Bag of Holding.

It's great to be included with this group.  Hey, and a mention in KotDT is fun. Not to brag, but this is my second time in there.  A while back they did an article on zines and The Manor was mentioned.

Just thought I would share this.  Thanks Rob, for letting me know.

Giveaway Complete

I put out the call for some free Teeny Tiny Manors and had quite a few interested.  I said I would do the first 20, I got about double that.  And I also send copies to the patrons I send my monthly stuff to.  Thanks for the interest.  I hope you enjoy that.  

Oh yeah, I hand wrote a unique item on each copy just because I am on vacation and I have that kinda time.

The Teeny Tiny Manor Giveaway

I haven't done a giveaway in a while so here I am with a fist full of Teeny Tiny Manors that need a home.  It is a 4" x 6" index card folded in half.  The contents include a wonderful cover from William McAusland and an adventure site with four detailed areas.  If you are a collector of teeny tiny things, an adventure addict or just curious, drop me an email at elder_sensa@yahoo.com with your address and maybe, just maybe you'll get a copy.  I will do international shipping. 

I am limiting the number of copies to 20.  So be fast!