Review: Enchiridion of the Computarchs

 

Why Buy: IF you think the Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) derived setting you're using needs more options for it's "spell caster" or active computer user class (coughMutantCrawlClassicsShamancough) this book is perfect.

What you get:

• ALL NEW stuff in 97 pages, 8 1/2 by 11, color cover, black & white interior
• 41 NEW programs/spells/wetware/etc.
• spanning 67 pages of results tables
• Table for using with the Mutant Crawl Classic's Shaman
• new critical fail tables & rules
• Rules for Intrusion Countermeasure (ICE)
• A new alternate attribute burn, "Burndown"
• "Programmer Provenance" rules i.e. DCC mercurial magic table for the techies

My two cents: I'm currently running a series of Mutant Crawl Classics adventures and will start using this book immediately with/for shaman characters. For the modest price I think it's a great value given how much use it'll see.

Where to buy: drivethrurpg.com (non-affiliate link) Print on demand is available

Review: How To Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck

Why Buy: IF you are actively interested in improving your ability to run table-top rpg sessions or as the title suggests writing scenarios for publication.

What you get:

• 156 pg hardcover book with stitched in bookmark
• 25 Articles from industry professionals
• Each has an "about the author" paragraph
• 24 of the articles have example encounters/scenarios showing you so it's not rhetoric
• Most of them are ready out-of-the-box to be used in common fantasy rpgs
• Physically the binding, cover, and paper quality are all good and heavy. Official weight 1.81 lbs
• If you buy from the link below you get a pdf copy free as standard.

My two cents: I've read it front to back and I'm happy to have it to refer back to in the future. See also "Why Buy" above.

Where to buy:  Goodman Games (non-affiliate link)

Review: Advanced Labyrinth Lord

Why buy: If you are looking for a one-book osr-retroclone that captures some of the original late 70's/early 80's feel Advance Labyrinth Lord is a good solid choice.

• Classic attributes and saving throws
• Descending armor class
• Race-as-class AND race-and-class options
• 7 races
• 10 classes
• 1 to-hit matrix/table for all of the classes and 1 for monsters
• 53 pages of spells for Clerics, Druids, Illusionists, and Magic-Users
• 78 pages of Monsters
• Monsters each have a "Hoard Class" for rolling random treasure
• The physical copy (see picture above)
• color hardcover and black & white interior
• good quality paper with no ink bleed problems in the copy I received 

Print-on-demand Link

No art/text only free version Link

55 Free Maps

Spellarena on Patreon has post 55 free fantasy maps to share.

PDF Charity Bundles

Cov-19 Doctors Without Borders [BUNDLE]
Total Number of Products: 84
Total value: $659.71
Special bundle price: $19.99
Savings of: $639.72 (97%)
Doctors Without Borders Official Site

Cov-19 No Kid Hungry [BUNDLE]
Total Number of Products: 86
Total value: $618.67
Special bundle price: $19.99
Savings of: $598.68 (97%)
No Kid Hungry Official Site

Cov-19 World Food Programme [BUNDLE]
Total Number of Products: 89
Total value: $625.51
Special bundle price: $19.99
Savings of: $605.52 (97%)
World Food Programme Official Site

Con of Champions

Quoted from Source
THE PROBLEM
Tabletop.Events is the software that runs hundreds of your favorite tabletop game conventions, and it is in trouble, and we need you to be our champions. The pandemic has shut down all conventions for the past month, and the near future, so that means all of our revenue has dried up. But what's worse is that all the canceled conventions meant that as we refunded our fees, our bank account was drained of all past profits as well.

We had announced that we were going to shut down on May 1, but our community has stated loudly and clearly that they do not want us to shut down and that we should run this crowdfunding campaign to help keep us going during the pandemic.

We were profitable and self-funding before the pandemic hit. We just couldn't have predicted that all conventions everywhere would suddenly come to a stop all at once.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help in these ways:

1.Buy a badge to this virtual convention
2.Volunteer to run an event at this virtual convention
3.Sponsor a perk for this virtual convention
4.Promote this virtual convention to your followers

Source: https://tabletop.events/conventions/con-of-champions

Free from Onyx Path Publishing till 6 May 2020

"Onyx Path Publishing has offered up several of their Chronicle Jumpstart PDFs for FREE until next Wednesday! The perfect way to try out a new RPG! Get 'em here:

Trouble on the Steel Pier: A Dystopia Rising Evolution Jumpstart
A Light Extinguished (A Jumpstart for Scion Second Edition)
The Secret of Vinsen's Tomb: A Pugmire Jumpstart
A Festival of Blades: A Cavaliers of Mars Jumpstart

Plus even more over at Storytellers Vault!

Hearts on Trial: Changeling the Lost Second Edition Jumpstart
Legacy of Lies: A V20 Dark Ages Jumpstart
Yours to Keep: A Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition Jumpstart
Tomb of Dreams an Exalted 3rd Edition Jumpstart
Reap the Whirlwind Revised (VtR 2e)"

Source: https://www.facebook.com/DriveThruRPG

Reapercon going Virtual Announcement

50 Free RPG Battlemaps from Czepeku

A couple who makes Rpg battlemaps on Patreon have very nicely decided to give away their first 50 maps for free!

50 Free maps hosted on Imgur

If you enjoy their hard work consider supporting them on Patreon.
*This blog is not affiliated.

Virtual KoboldCon : May 1st - 3rd

"Virtual KoboldCon will feature online tabletop gaming of all types, whether they are board games, role-playing games, or card games! Whether you are interested in running a virtual tabletop game or playing in one of our VTT games, we welcome any and all gamers to join us May 1st - 3rd.

Players with a Chieftain badge (or higher) and ALL Gamemasters will ALSO receive an ever-growing virtual swag bag of goodies from our host, Wizards of the Couch, and provided by our sponsors and supporters:

Fat Dragon Games
Frog God Games Products and Coupons
Kobold Press Products
Total Party Kill Games products
Troll Lord Games Products
Dark Naga Adventures
Winter's Grim Tidings, a 5th Edition Adventure by WizCo Games
...and the list is growing"

Source: https://tabletop.events/conventions/virtual-koboldcon-2020

Drivethrurpg.com : Play It Forward event May 4 to May 17

Along with licensors on Dungeon Masters Guild (Wizards of the Coast, Fantasy Grounds) and Storytellers Vault (White Wolf), we have agreed we can do more. For two weeks in May, we will waive our share on all sales of community-created products on those sites. As a result, all revenue earned for those titles will go directly to the creators.

Source: https://medium.com/oneblogshelf/play-it-forward-event-942aca3175ec

Free Choose Your Own Adventure Book/PDF

As part of Mantic Games' virtual open day on May 9th they are giving away a free choose your own adventure or solo game book today.

Free Download link

Virtual Opening Day Link

It's 2020...

Whoops... reboot is in progress now. Honest, I've been updating the "Rpg & Mini links" and "Free" pages the last couple of days.

Upcoming Posts

* Exilium Rpg Review - A follow up to this post on 9 April.

* Stars Without Number Revised Edition Rpg Review - A follow up to this post on 3 August.

* How to make a folding light-weight portable miniature game table topper.

* 3rd Ed GURPS books reviewed/revisited - I'm going to review GURPS books from the previous edition to show their continued value. Not only are many GURPS 3rd Ed books still useful to 4th Ed players they can be useful to players of ANY rpg. This will be a series of posts.

* Zim - A review of a free note application.

* TiddlyWiki - A review of a personal wiki built into a single html file.

New Year Blog Reboot

I've redone the tabs above and their content, see RPG and Mini Links and Free above.

I've reworked the visual theme of the blog to improve readability.

My goal for the site is to provide simple and useful information in the form of posts and links at a minimum of weekly.

My posts will not be verbose and you will not have to hunt to find the point. If a post becomes lengthy I will include a BLUF(bottom line up front) type statement.

If you have any links I should add, content you'd like to see, or feedback email me at wyrdimere@gmail.com.

Click here for a list of some of the upcoming posts.

Kickstarter: Stars Without Number Revised Edition

Open D6/Mini Six Sci-Fi Kickstarter

Review: TimeWatch Rpg

If you want to run a time travel rpg this book is a fantastic buy. Of 392 total pages 247 pages are of GM advice, guidance, examples examples, and more examples. Even if you don't want to use the Gumshoe rpg mechanics this book could be an extremely useful.

The first four chapters cover setting, character creation, equipment, and game mechanics much of which can either easily be converted to other systems or is valuable system agnostic guidance. The Gumshoe system itself is a simple system that uses a single d6 and an investigative mechanic to help prevent players from hitting a dead end.

Chapter 5: Antagonists
Includes guidance on creating antagonists, a simple system for building them, and 70 examples ranging from guard dogs and thugs to dinosaurs, disembodied brains, and post-apocalyptic time traveling intelligent cockroaches.

Chapter 6: GM Advice
Contains useful advice for new gms and old hands. Also if you play any of the other Gumshoe rpgs it includes advice for how to use TimeWatch with those other settings (Ashen Stars, The Esoterrorists, Mutant City Blues, Fear Itself, Night's Black Agents, and Trail of Cthulhu).

Chapter 7: The Patrol Campaign Frame
Provides more information on the core setting.

Chapter 8: Alternate Campaign Frames
Provide guidance and example of how to run 14 different styles of campaigns.

Chapter 9: Historical Miscellany
Names, descriptions and dates of people through out history that can be used in campaign plots.

Chapet 10: Time Seeds
32 different adventure "seeds"/examples laid out with plot hook, true history, alternate history, a mission, and recommend further reading.

Chapter 11: TimeWatch Adventures
3 different adventures

http://site.pelgranepress.com/

http://site.pelgranepress.com/index.php/timewatch/

Wildstar: Free level 50 character boost

Short Version: If you log in between the 8th(when the next update drops) and the 12th you get a free level 50 character boost.

Long Version: https://www.wildstar-online.com/en/news/2017-03-06-get-a-free-level-50/

Note: Wildstar is a free to play MMO Rpg with a subscription option and an in-game store.

Necron Deathmark WIP/Kitbash

After putting together two boxes of immortals the left arms I had weren't long enough to reach the rifles so I came up with this work around. I used the heads and barrels from the deathmarks on warriors.