One of the joys of a monster design contest for me is always seeing monsters at the low end of the CR spectrum. It is much easier to design a monster at a medium-to-high power level, because you have more options: the creature can have more powers, more magical fallbacks, and elements that only a […]
Judge’s Commentary: Monarch of the Monsters 5—Low CR Design Read More »
Like many Kobold Press projects, the Southlands Kickstarter offers great gaming and great adventure at a good price. But if you’re looking to throw a few extra platinum pieces our way, we will try to make it worth your while. Two of the higher-pledge rewards are the Special Editions and the private forums for design
Special Editions and Forum Discussions: Southlands Read More »
Come learn more from Wolfgang about the Southlands and its Kickstarter in today’s blog installment about gnolls. One of the best elements of the Southlands, from my point of view, is that it features a hefty dose of hyena-like gnolls and their half-demonic, half-trickster-ish ways. Gnolls and I have been friends since the days of
Gnolls! Raiders and Slavers Read More »
It’s a not-so-secret fact that I’m a total monsterholic. The Monster Manual was the first hardcover book I bought for AD&D, the Bestiaries from Paizo are totally my gaming addiction, and I am always excited to get new and original monsters in my hands, whether it is from a design contest, a book of mythology,
Let There Be Monsters! Read More »
For those who love high adventure in mysterious places…lost mines and desert tombs…mighty viziers and powerful djinn…jungle valleys where white apes and dinosaurs guard fabulous treasure…. the Southlands Kickstarter is here. Allow me to confess my deep and abiding love for all things wild and free, dangerous and ancient, roguish, magical, and lost in a
Why I Love the Southlands Read More »
The kobolds arrived from near and far, and built a nice booth. It includes two convention exclusives, including a new T-shirt option and an entire Goblin Brewery adventure available to the first fifty visitors. We give them until Friday afternoon before they are all gone. When the last of them disappears, we will have a
Gen Con 2014: Setup and Exclusives Read More »
The annual ENnie Awards have posted their list of nominations plus their Judges’ Spotlight awards — and the kobolds are in the running! I’m honored and delighted to see the Kobold Guide to Magic and the Midgard Bestiary: 13th Age Compatible Edition nominated. It’s always gratifying to have a book nominated that’s designed to bring new
ENnies 2014 Nominations Announced Read More »
Let’s get down to the basics: The Cult of the Dragon is one of the longer-running and more interesting villain organizations in the Forgotten Realms, and I was delighted to hear that Wizards of the Coast wanted the first big adventures for the new edition of D&D to feature these bad guys. My first thought
Tiamat Tuesdays: The New Cult of the Dragon Read More »
The Kobold Guide to Magic is written by a star-studded cast of designers and authors. In this preview of an essay titled “Why I Hate Teleport Spells,” the chief Kobold himself, Wolfgang Baur, tries to talk you out of using teleportation magic in your games.Pre-order the Kobold Guide to Magic at the Kobold Store! Here’s
Kobold Guide to Magic: On Teleportation Magic Read More »
Today has been one of those dream days. The moment before go-time is always a little anxious. I hit the button on the project at 6:30 a.m. and said, “I sure hope everyone loves spellbooks as much as I do.” An hour later, the doubts were gone. Your support for the Deep Magic Kickstarter has been incredible!
Deep Magic: Holy Cats! Cherry on Top Read More »
Today the Deep Magic Kickstarter launches. It’s pretty much my dream project for RPG crunch, which is to say: it’s all about the fire spells, baby! I’ve always loved wizards and clerics, and nothing makes me happier than fireballs coming online, that flame strike spell hitting, or (if I’m feeling especially sneaky) casting the fire
Kickstarting Deep Magic: A Possibly Fireproof Tome for the Ages Read More »
This blog hosted “Penny Dreadfuls: Against the Nostalgia Fetish in Fantasy Roleplaying” yesterday, a pleasant-but-perhaps-confused rant against nostalgia in roleplaying game design, and in favor of progress and modernity. Maybe I’m just old enough to see the upside of the conservative worldview, but let me be the first to say “bah, nonsense!” and offer this
1,000-Word Rebuttal: Against the Fetish of Progressive Design Read More »
The turnout on the Castlespotting Contest was excellent, and I was amazed by your clever deductions and by strong Google-fu of many of the entries. Fortunately, many of the Castlespotting images were submitted by readers and not available online, and that’s where things got interesting… I was flat-out impressed at how many people got 20
Castle Contest Winners! Read More »
Greetings, fellow architecture mavens! It is I, Wolfgang Baur, eccentric game designer! I’ve enjoyed the Castle of the Week contest on the Midgard Facebook Page so much that I’ve decided to take it to the big time here on the Kobold blog. Your challenge: Identify the most castle pictures from the set of 23 images
Castlespotting! A Kobold Contest Read More »
It’s a fact that in every fantasy roleplaying game, whether it’s Pathfinder RPG, Dungeons & Dragons, or Castles & Crusades, a kobold’s life is short. They’re wily and quick, but they have few hit points. Sooner or later they go down — fighting. That day has come for Kobold Quarterly magazine. After five years of
Kobold Quarterly Folds, A New Adventure Begins Read More »
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