Ok, there’s only so much excitement one can have about setting up a booth at a convention, but we’re pretty much pushing the limit. Wolfgang, Shelly, Scott, Anne, Sigfried, and Adam will all be staffing the booth for a while, and Brandon Hodge may do a signing of From Shore to Sea and Sunken Empires […]
PaizoCon Report #1: the Booth-ening Read More »
Do you want the ability to “juice the combat”? Do you want a mechanic to smooth over the rough spots, increase PC interaction with the game world, and avoid the occasional character death? Here you go! These five variants on the action point rules—fate points, hero points, kickers, player biscuits, and short takes—are ready for
5 Action Point Variants Read More »
“Inspiring Terrains” looks at encounters—fundamental building blocks that bring together PCs, conflict, and environment. With a little inspiration and a few mechanical bits, it’s easy to make the terrain in an encounter just as memorable as the foes. [Part 1][Part 2][Part 3] ___ For the fourth installment, we endure the stinging winds of the preternaturally
Inspiring Terrains: Playas (Part 4 of 5) Read More »
Power. Few mortals can resist its lure, yet power is ever elusive. Those who’ve grasped it always seem to lose it eventually. Trapsmiths, on the other hand, do not grab power; they trap it. The Orb of Champions (Trap CR 7) In the middle of a perfectly circular room, a marble pedestal stands 3 ft.
Trapsmith: Power Grab Read More »
This doglike predator is covered in a jigsaw of thick brown scars. Three razored tusks jut from its lower jaw. With an ungodly thunder crack, the creature shreds itself into two identical beasts, each swiftly loping forward to encircle its prey. Then each beast divides again… The homely splicer beast can tear itself into duplicates,
What are reviewers saying about Imperial Gazetteer, Open Design’s source for the legions of the dead in Zobeck for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game? … authors Wolfgang Baur and Scott Gable go to great lengths to give each faction within the empire a face, detailing many specific undead nobles’ and generals’ personalities and motivations. I also liked
Imperial Gazetteer Makes Undead More Playable Read More »
What are reviewers saying about Monster Chronicles: The Inevitable? … the text details a rather interesting origin story of the first inevitable, Zurvan, the Iron Angel… … also somehow manages to squeeze in information about the more common inevitables (the kolyarut, marut and zelekhut) and some examples of unique or named inevitables (all of which
Monster Chronicles and Crazed Machine Cults Read More »
Several weeks ago, Ryan Costello made us laugh with his Friday Funny: Charisma Penalties and Dirty Looks. Well, a fan loved the random list so much, he created a randomized Excel spreadsheet for it: Charisma Penalties & Dirty Looks spreadsheet (and an xls version) If you hit F9 when the file’s open, it’ll “re-roll.” From
Random Charisma Penalties & Dirty Looks Spreadsheet Read More »
When it comes to skill challenges, failure is not an option. “Of course,” you say. “No one wants to fail a skill challenge.” But this means something else entirely. Skill challenges are generally meant to represent situations or tasks which move the story forward—nonviolent encounters which carry just as much importance as those dealing with
If the gods and the mortals that worship them had their wish, each and every one of the deceased would receive a proper burial. None would be left to decompose, face down, in sloughing mud or shifting sands. None would have their naked limbs picked at by the myriad scavengers and ghouls that roam the
Hump Day Hazard: Cadaver Gas Read More »
What are reviewers saying about the recently released Sunken Empires (print/PDF)? If you’d like to drop your campaign into Atlantis or Mu you should get this book. You get new Pathfinder monsters like the Coral Drake and the Goblin Shark. New spells like Barnacle Armor and Sea Legs (which would have come in handy when
Sunken Empires: Better than the Big Dogs? Read More »
The hulking black creature, ever so vaguely humanoid in shape, rises from the tar pit. Its small eyes glow red, its body covered with all manner of items—tree limbs, leaves, carcasses of small animals, and even a few weapons. The incorrectly named tar fiend—for it is an elemental, not a fiend—lives in tar pits. It
“As a designer, your work enables new experiences in play for others. If you are doing it exceptionally well, you are inventing new game genres and new play styles; that is, entirely new methods, styles, and systems of play. You use technology, art, and your own vision of what it means to play to create
The Kobold Guide to Game Design Volume III is Here! Read More »
Frequent kobold contributor, Ben McFarland, is very busy. Aside from having a review of Hexographer up this morning right here at KoboldQuarterly.com, he has also decided to take a deeper look at the rules of torture introduced by Hank Woon in KQ#11. Check out Ben’s article “Torturing Player Characters” at the blog Dungeon Mastering.
How Badly Do I Want To Defeat My Enemy? Read More »
In summary: Hexographer creates a map with a more old-school feel, a format familiar to anyone who played TSR modules like Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun—those trying to produce a more illustrated map will find this tool inappropriate for that task. The price is lower than Campaign Cartographer, Dundjinni, or Fractal Mapper, and it includes a
Hexographer Software Review Read More »
PaizoCon 2010 is right around the corner. We’re going. Are you? Here’s our seminar schedule: Breaking Into Game Design Evergreen Room, Saturday 05:00 PM – 06:00 PM Speakers: Wolfgang Baur, Brandon Hodge, et al. Learn about the roads into the games field for aspiring game designers: organized play, blogs, small press, magazines, and patronage projects are
On the Road to PaizoCon 2010 Read More »
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