Three days left and it's getting close! C'mon, gamer friends...jump aboard!

Even if you're Old School, there's still a lot of great inspiration here...crunch, fluff...whatever your particular slant...there's plenty there to use in your game: old school or new.

Look: I'll tell you the truth...I don't enjoy a lot of plane hopping. BUT...this book has changed my mind, at least enough to incorporate it into my own campaigns.

Trust me on this one...the art is spectacular and the content is amazing, and is being produced by some of the great talents in the biz. GO AND PLEDGE TODAY. They're LITERALLY THIS CLOSE... [NOTE: My fingers are really, really close together.]

DISCLAIMER: I am receiving NOTHING in return for my signal boost, other than the chance to have my pledge fulfilled.

Don't wait; act now! Make your pledge HERE.

Do it. You won't be disappointed.

Planar Kickstarter Goodness!

Hello, my friends:

 

There's a terrific Kickstarter winding up this week, just about $4,000 remaining.

 

A marvelously beautiful and elegant product, supporting Plane-jumping and Planar adventure of any/every kind.

The City of Seven Seraphs has some magnificently huge names attached to it: art, writing, mechanics.

Not only that, but there are some incredible stretch goals that are easily within reach.

Don't wait; act now! Make your pledge HERE. 

You won't be disappointed. I've been allowed to see some of the inside stuff and have had some great conversations with the person behind the project. I know some of my readers aren't in to 3.x stuff...but the ideas and concepts in this book are well worth the purchase, I can assure you of that.

[From the Mailbag] Kickstarter TPK Happiness!

If you've been around the internet for any length of time, I'm sure you're aware that Kickstarter projects are a mixed bag. Particularly, it seems, where RPG materials are concerned. Some are just bad ideas to begin with. Some are good ideas, but don't get the backing they need or deserve. Some are great ideas that fund--sometimes spectacularly--and are never heard from again.

Then there's the good stuff. Ahhh, yes. The good stuff.

Look. There are some good Kickstarter campaigns that make wild promises and never seem to deliver. I think we know of at least one "infinite" example. The names associated with these campaigns become watch-words. Just head over to Tenkar's Tavern and you'll learn about a few from his excellent and often money-saving reviews. There are some campaigns that fund and rush to get a project out the door...and it winds up crappy disappointing less than it could have been. I've seen a few of those.

Then there are those campaigns from individuals and/or companies that you can trust; who will fund, communicate, and provide product ... and will take their time to do so to ensure a quality product.

In my opinion, that's TPK Games in a nutshell.

TPK has a great reputation in my house. My kids know (and fear) the company logo. But they also know that it means fun, creative, and imaginative gaming material. And quality.

This is what I received in the mail just ten minutes ago.

 Yeah. So eager to share that I just pulled everything out onto my lap/keyboard and took a photo. The main product of the KS: Fen of the Five-Fold Maw adventure and chase cards. Thrown in as incentives are copies of Feats Reforged Vols II and III. (I already have Vol. I.) And, as a bonus, a TPK pin. Here's a close-up of Fen and the chase cards (and pin).

Brian and his team over at TPK are great people. Not only are they creative and know how to put out a good product, they're honest and communicate with their customers. Fen was a little late coming out in hard copy, largely because of some production issues on the printer's end. But TPK sent out constant and frequent updates, enough so that I never once pictured them sitting on a beach in Cabo drinking umbrella drinks. I cannot stress this enough: TPK Games stuff is so good and they're such a good company that I'll wait patiently and without complaint for their product. Period. They're currently running a new KS campaign, called Wardens of the Wild. Just as soon as my next paycheck comes in, I'm hitting the pledge button on this one. I trust them enough to do so on this elf-centric product, even though dwarves are more my style, simply because TPK MEANS QUALITY.

And if you haven't already picked up a copy of Fen of the Five-Fold Maw for yourself, hit the link and get one NOW.

Now you'll have to excuse me while I go seek out a cold beverage, a shady spot, and start a read-through of Fen. I'll see you all later.

(Go get a copy. Seriously.)

[From the Mailbag] Kickstarter FULFILLED! Storyteller's Anthology

Today is one of those sadly all-too rare of days: the day when a Kickstarter promise is FULFILLED.

There have been many unfulfilled Kickstarters that have made me wary and choosy about the projects to which I pledge. Several of those actually have my money. Sigh.

But this one.... This one made it to the finish line, and then some.

The Storyteller's Thesaurus is one that I've been eagerly awaiting ever since the initial announcement and KS launch. Chalk that up to my being an (1) English Major, (2) Word Geek, (3) aspiring writer, (4) recreational Dungeon Master, (5) Bibliophile/bibliophage, (6) Dictionary collector.

The tome was supposed to be released in October 2014. To be fair, the PDF was released on-time and I've used it numerous times. However, I note the time-delay issue only for the record. Not only were the publishers more than candid and forthcoming with their frequent updates, I'm more than pleased with the final result; the additional time was certainly worth the wait, considering the product they put out. Here's what I saw when I opened the box:

Imagine my surprise...when I pledged, I pledged for the leather cover AND a softcover. After all, I need one for the home and one for the office, right? Well, somewhere in the intervening months I apparently missed a vote to make the softcover a hardcover. That made me smile in and of itself. Then to see that they added a dust cover for the leather version as well (seen at the upper left, removed)? Magnificent. Of course, the leather cover is itself magnificent; the cloth-bound hardcover is nothing to complain about either. The content? 550 pages of synonyms, from medieval/fantasy weapons to modern military vehicles and firearms. Transportation of all kinds. Animals, real and imagined. Plants, symbols, and descriptive terms usable in ANY genre of storytelling. And it comes with a truly MASSIVE index, helping you find your way through the pages and words.

Truthfully, I'm not sure that I could have (reasonably) asked for anything more. After all, the gilded pages, silken page finders, and the hand-illuminated pages were kinda pipe dreams anyhow. [Tongue currently planted firmly in-cheek.]

Also included were physical copies of a novel by the great James M. Ward, entitled The King's Commission and The Storyteller's Anthology. There's nothing wrong with a little extra reading material, right?

All in all, a nice surprise on an otherwise grey, depressing day. What made it better? It came to the office, rather than my home address...so I could enjoy it earlier!

Not Quite Dark

Yes, I have to admit, the blog has gone a bit dark of late. Not through any intentional act, but suffice it to say that depression, family problems, car problems, career problems, and money problems have all descended upon me all at once and have made it hard to really find any joy in anything right now.

Heck, I even tried to map my way out of it and the result came out looking like...well...it wasn't pretty.

One bright spot was being able to sit in the living room of Tracy and Laura Hickman on Sunday and have a nice 2+ hour chat. Catching up, gossip, that kind of thing. I was also able to pick up my Kickstarter-funder copy of their game, Sojourner Tales. I can't wait to get the families schedules all worked out so that we can sit down and play. The final product looks TERRIFIC. Tracy and Laura know what gamers want, know what board gamers want, and this product fits the bill. Just PHYSICALLY you know that when you pick up the box. This thing has heft.

I believe you could kill a kobold with it. Although that might scratch up the box a bit.

This past weekend was my birthday, too. I received a copy of the Hickmans' latest book, Unwept from some close friends. Couldn't wait and stayed up most of the night to read it.

I loved it.

I'd highly recommend it. Great dark gothic work. I told my wife I kept expecting someone to mention how much Rebecca was missed, or "Look, over there. There's Mandalay." (And I mean that as a compliment. I LOVE Rebecca.) I was truly sorry when I reached the end, because of course, there wasn't any more.

Work continues on the Inaugural issue of the Stronghold. Slowly, but surely. I hope to have some more news for you soon.

[From the Mailbag] One More Snatched from Kickstarter Hell

Yes, I'm one of those stupid, unlucky souls who pledged towards the ever-in-Kickstarter-update-hell Dwimmermount. Add to that my stupidity and lack of luck that caused me to also pledge toward the fallen-off-the-Kickstarter-update-cliff Nystul's Infinite Dungeon. I've had a fairly good track record with Kickstarters, but these two are the infected boils on my Kickstarter butt. I'm not going to grouse any more, or get on a soapbox. I'll send you over to Tenkar's Tavern and elsewhere. Tenkar, especially, does an excellent job of outing and excoriating RPG products that are caught in Kickstarter Hell.

Tuesday night, when I got home, I found a nice little package. One I've been anxiously awaiting for quite a while. In all honesty, it funded back in July 2012 and was slated for delivery in September 2012. The explanation: "We learned a lot about the process. You guys helped us transform our business and I'm eternally grateful. Each time we learned to do something better, we redid it all for the Bleeding Hollow. Needless to say, we now have our ducks in a row and can put out adventures like the Reaping Stone.... This project single-handedly transformed our company from amateurs to a real publishing company." Now, normally this is something that Tenkar would be all over like white on rice. However, I've bought a lot of material from TPK Games, and I've had plenty of interaction with Brian Berg to know that he and TPK are stand-up, reputable entities. Their reputation was the biggest reason that I was patient. Second reason was their traditional high quality. I knew that Brian and TPK would come through. I've already sent in a pledge on a new TPK Kickstarter project. THAT'S how highly I hold TPK.

Of course, that self-professed patience ran out as soon as I heard that the books had shipped. Then I became what Brian likely feels was "a pest." I couldn't help it and hopefully he'll forgive me. I was just really, really eager to see what they had been able to do. A year and a half worth of teasing and I had to wait Just. One. More. Day? Really? ARGH! Kudos to Brian for not ignoring me, or simply blowing his stack and screaming at me to "just sit tight and wait for the mail to come in it's own good time. @#$%!!!"

They're purty, ain't they?

Both are designed for use with the Pathfinder system. Reaping Stone is a nice sturdy paperback while Bleeding Hollow is a really heavy-duty hardcover. I haven't cracked Bleeding Hollow open yet, because I want to take the time and savor them in order of occurrence. I'm already about halfway through a first reading of Reaping Stone, and I. AM. IMPRESSED. I've already started sorting out miniatures in my mind for some of the encounters. This is one Evil (yes, capital 'E' Evil) ... one Evil little creation. Sections of it are truly diabolical. In fact, it's so Evil that on the title page credit is given to Tom Phillips as Designer and Writer, followed by "(Tom is a sick, sick man...)" THAT'S how Evil it is.

Even the "standard" monsters are tweaked to be just a bit different from the norm; the new critters are scary good. In at least one instance, TPK did something I really liked: a minimal stat block for a warren of kobolds, with the following note to the DM: "The kobold warrens are not mapped and their lack of development is intentional. GMs should feel free to expand on the kobold warrens at their own discretion." A nice touch, I thought. And if Bleeding Hollow is anywhere near this quality, it's going to be a ripping good adventure as well.

Also included in the Kickstarter package were two miniatures, characters from the Bleeding Hollow. One's a spellcaster and the other is a werewolf. Really good quality and great sculpts (despite the poor quality of the picture). I particularly like how the werewolf's extended claw seems ready to grab a PC's head and crush it. Now I just have to find the time to sit down and actually paint them.

All in all, I'm getting excited to get back behind the DM screen and throw these adventures at my group. There's enough there to keep us going for months. My final verdict would be 5 out of 5 hammers. My only complaint? My only complaint has nothing to do with the product or with TPK Games. Despite great packaging and plenty of bubble wrap (the minis took me 5+ minutes to unwrap from the bubbles), the great and vaunted United States Postal Service still managed to mangle the corner of the last 26 pages and the back cover of Reaping Stone; they also managed to break--yes, BREAK the corners of both front and back covers of the hardcover Bleeding Hollow. The Reaping Stone I can put inside some clamps, straightening and flattening out the corners of the pages. Not sure I can do much about the Bleeding Hollow. Fortunately, none of the damage will keep me from using the books to kill some PCs for some great gaming.

So, grab these titles as soon as you can. In fact, grab everything you can find from TPK Games; I have yet to find one of their products with which I'm less than pleased. (In fact, I've recently picked up Rawr! - Volume 2: Flame & Wrath, a volume of options, variations, and modifications for dragons, dragon-kin, etc. I'd highly recommend that one too.)

It's the Final Countdown!

Friends, a reminder that there's less than 36 hours remaining on the Kickstarter for my friends Tracy and Laura Hickman's latest gaming endeavor! They're not just friends of the OSR; you may say they help embody the OSR! Plus, they know a thing or two about making games....

I think they've got another home run on their hands!

Let's make a final push toward the finish line; there's some GREAT stretch goals that are well within reach. (These include plastic counters, special dice, and input from author Kevin J. Anderson!) They've already met stretch goals to include a game module written by author Larry Correia.

It's a fun game and a worthy cause.... Besides, you can never have too many board games, right? Best of all, it's suitable for adults, kids, and families.

If you haven't had a chance to pledge yet, jump on board! If you've already pledged, take a moment and check out the great add-ons!


Here's the link: Sojourner Tales Board Game.

Tracy Hickman's New Game

OK, so, I need to throw a shout-out to all my readers about this.

Tracy Hickman's Kickstarter went live last night and I'm pretty excited about it. It's for a new board game...well, that's like calling Buckingham Palace a "house." It's so much more than a simple board game. Put away Clue and Monopoly for a while, in other words. I can't wait to get my hands on it. In fact, I'm hoping to find the Hickmans at Salt Lake Comic Con and sit down for a demo, just so I can say I've played it.

Here's the link: Sojourner Tales Board Game.

From the Kickstarter description:

Sojourner Tales is a board game featuring new, downloadable ebook adventure modules that make the experience new every time you play.
...
In Sojourner Tales, you will use strategy and wits as you discover and collect the pieces of your mysterious story as you strive to be the first to complete the epic adventure. The tale is different every time you play ... or you can download new Sojourner Tales to explore from our website!

Number of Players: 2-6
Playing Time: 60-90 minutes
Age of Players: 12+ (requires minimum reading skills)
Setup time: 5-7 minutes
Teach the rules: 3-5 minutes
...
Unique Ebook Story Modules: The story told in every Sojourner Tale is designed to be contained entirely in the electronic mobi or epub files. You also have the option to download the adventure in PDF format to print out and use with the game if you do not have a tablet or other device that supports the electronic book formats. However, the use of any touch-screen device provides a magical experience in storytelling and helps the game move faster.
Adaptable Design: The game components that come in the box and the rules of the game itself are specifically designed to be adaptive to a broad spectrum of storytelling. Each Sojourner Story Module contains information on which location tiles are to be used on the board with that particular story, thereby changing the look of the game board depending on the story being told. All of the flavor, setting, characters and narrative of the adventure are contained in the downloaded module ... meaning the game can adapt to any story you want to live.
Innovative Storytelling System: The board keeps track of your location in the epic story, making certain that the game flows back and forth between the board and the ebook with the story continuity left intact. For random encounters, an innovative 'Twisted Tales' system lets the players draw two twisted cards and one tales card and then 'stack' them in such a way as to make a phrase -- a phrase which takes them to a specific adventure entry for that combination of cards.
Grass-roots Licensing: We want YOU to write adventures for our game and so we are even providing you with a 'grass-roots licensing option whereby you can not only create your own Sojourner Tales games but (with our license) also sell those adventures on our official website.

Here's the link one more time: Sojourner Tales Board Game. Jump on over and pledge away; there are some great early-bird perks still available.

For now.

So act now, and act quick.

Loads of New Magic and New Spells!

I'm kinda late coming to this particular Kickstarter party on this, but hey...every little bit helps, right? And this one has exploded. With a few more great stretch goals in the works.

There's less than 5 hours left, though. And they need another $2,000 to reach a stretch goal to include Dwarven magic. Reaver magic too.

But c'mon, people. DWARVEN MAGIC.

Head on over HERE. Get yourself a copy of Deep Magic: A Tome of New Spells for Pathfinder RPG. It's for a great cause. Just look at the contributors: Jason Bulmahn, Amber E. Scott, Richard Pett, Wolfgang Bauer, and Ed Greenwood. Yes, THAT Ed Greenwood.

Oh yeah, and Brom.

Look at the stretch goals: blood magic, new archetypes, fiendish Gnome magic, extreme battle magic, ioun stones, and curse magic.

Look at the add-ons: pdfs of divine magic; arcane symbol hand-outs; spell scroll hand-outs; maps; iPad, iPhone, and Android reference apps, and Hero Lab files for the spells.

It's some good stuff. Even if you don't play 3.x, there's stuff in this Kickstarter for you. C'mon. Jump on board.

Y'know you want to.

Kickstart THIS!

Two "new" Kickstarter projects have come to my attention that I want to pass on to the rest of you.

First of all are these Tavern Cards by Hannah Lipsky.

Some of you may know Hannah better as the operator of the random generator site, Chaotic Shiny. Hannah is a friend of mine, one that I've talked about here before. The random generators on her site are terrific and are a great spur for your imagination, gaming, and writing needs. Now she's taken the plunge from digital generators to physical--shall we say "analog"--generators with this Kickstarter.

From the Kickstarter description:

A gorgeous deck of full-color playing cards that you can use to randomly generate a tavern, then win at poker while you're there.

Tavern Cards is a random tavern generator in the form of a fully playable normal card deck....

You can play any normal card game with these cards. Or, you can draw a handful and use those to randomly generate a tavern.

All 54 cards have original full-color art. You can use the pictures as inspiration for your tavern, or just hand them to your players and say, "This is what you see." Many of the cards feature characters which you can use as NPC portraits.

The cards also have some cool features like tarot-style numbering. See the four diamonds on the Burly Bouncers up top? What about the seven clubs in the Gambling Game card? Each card will have some representation of the number and the suit hidden in the art.

Each card also had an adjective on one side and a noun on the other. Combine any adjective with any noun on the cards you draw for a tavern name like the Prancing Pony, Drunken Goblin, Daring Hostler or Crimson Duchess.

As with any Kickstarter, the different support levels offer various perks: multiple card packs, discounts on future card packs, signed art, etc. With nine days left to go, she's about $1,740 away from funding the project. So head on over, find a good support level for your pocketbook and gaming shelf and let's get some of these card packs started shipping out to the gaming community.

This next one happened across my radar purely by accident. I'll let the description speak for itself:

A Gallery of Rogues is a fantasy sourcebook of a criminal guild and its network of operatives. More than just a thieves guild, the provides details on operation, range of influence, adventure hooks, and numerous tools for GMs and Players to get involved right away....

The characters come from all backgrounds, including criminal, civil, and even political. The guild maintains a wide array of members, including at least one wizard and a few politicians — to keep things orderly and all that. Each has a deep background, linked to other members of the guild. This interwoven design promises for a realistic and complex web for your organization. Which in turns means months, if not years of rich game play.

Each character in the book includes game information for old and new editions of the world's favorite fantasy RPG, including Pathfinder, but not 4th.

This one looks pretty cool, if you ask me. Like monsters, I believe one can never have too many NPCs. This one has seven days left and is about $800 away from funding. I'm helping fund and would urge you to do so as well.

So head on over to Kickstarter, throw in a pledge to these two great projects, and then help get the word out!