Hunter and Fox Philippa Ballantine 340 pages, Pyr Paperback, $17.95 ISBN 978-1-61614-623-8 Talyn is a Vaerli, a once powerful race that has had the seven gifts of magic taken from them by the Caisah, a powerful and evil being who controls a world that is constantly changing. When I say “changing,” I mean the environment […]
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The denizens of Zobeck are a diverse polyglot of peoples and traditions. They live a hard but robust life in and around their beloved city. Thus they have skills and abilities not found elsewhere in Midgard. Here are a few uniquely Zobeckian traits to make PCs and NPCs as unique as the city itself.
Thirteen Zobecker Character Traits Read More »
“Man is a tool-using animal. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all.” —Thomas Carlyle Last week, I wrote an article that was effectively a bandage. Equipping animals with humanoid gear is something I have playtested, and it makes an animal more likely to survive the brutal realities of adventuring life. Although the
Old Hat Monsters: Companion Treasure Read More »
Often confused with lay minstrels, fireside storytellers and scoundrels, the troubadour is a highly skilled chronicler of events, an orator, a counselor, and a musician. Relying on his or her ability to weave a convincing story, morality play, or sonnet, the troubadour is often seen among the upper crust of society. The adventuring or wandering
Earlier this week, we posted the entries that the judges chose as finalists in the Kobold Artistry II contest, and we invited you all to vote for your favorite among those presented. The results are in! The voting public chose Druid of Spring by Brittany Smith. Congratulations, Brittany, and thank you for submitting such a
Kobold Artistry II Winner Read More »
Midgard Icons presents some of the Midgard Campaign Setting’s major NPCs as icons for use in 13th Age, the new fantasy roleplaying game from Rob Heinsoo and Jonathan Tweet. Bring them into your 13th Age campaign; run 13th Age in the world of Midgard; or port the icon relationship rules into your system of choice.
Midgard Icons: Free City Council Read More »
So what does a principal of a high school do to increase school spirit and decrease inappropriate behaviors? He lets the students play games. During Spirit Week at Haddon Heights Jr./Sr. High School in New Jersey, principal and amateur game designer Ronald Corn instituted a convention-style activity day for the students. Instead of your typical
Getting Games to Gamers: Haddon Heights RPG Club Read More »
Man is a wingless animal with two feet and flat nails.” —Plato Humans dominate the Earth because we use tools, plain and simple. Animals are limited to genetic and behavior adaptations, while humans can adjust to new environmental hazards with technology. Fangs and claws simply cannot compete with swords and guns. We have even taken
Old Hat Monsters: Lions and Tigers and Bears, Equipped! Read More »
The judges have conferred, and we now have five candidates for the Kobold Artistry II public voting portion of this contest. Take a look at each image and then follow the survey link to pick the one you think should win the contest! Each image below has the name of the piece of art and
Kobold Artistry II: Public Voting Begins Read More »
Working as art director on the Deep Magic project is a blast! In particular, working with cover artist Marcel Mercado was a creative delight, and I am THRILLED with what he came up with. Initially, my direction to Marcel for the cover basically focused on Midgard magic (blood magic, rune magic, shadow magic, and geomancy).
Deep Magic: Crafting the Cover Read More »
In Thunder Forged: Iron Kingdoms Chronicles (The Fall of Llael, Book One) Ari Marmell 300 pages, Pyr Publishing Paperback, $18.00 ISBN 978-1616147730 In Thunder Forged is part of the Iron Kingdoms Chronicles, which are stories based on the Warmachine steam-powered fantasy wargame. I have never played Warmachine (sorry, Pedro), so I was not completely familiar
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The Deep Magic Kickstarter is in its fourth day and headed toward some new stretch goals. Here, the tome’s editor/developer offers some thoughts on how the project has proceeded so far. I have very fond memories of, as a teenager, sitting with my friends and poring over spell descriptions. Something about the mystery, wonder, and
Deep Magic: Meet the Editor/Developer Read More »
For me, magic was all about the handwaving. Unsurprisingly, I spent a lot of time as the DM. Plenty of stories involved an evil priest or foul wizard, or even the clever ogre mage preparing some terrible ritual spell which would unleash a demon or open a portal into the outer planes. My villains were
Deep Magic: No More Handwaving Read More »
“When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes.” ― William Shakespeare, Henry V Fantasy novels love a good cavalry charge, or a hero who fights alongside a wolf,
Old Hat Monsters: Animal Companions, Familiars, and Mounts Read More »
The second stretch goal for the Deep Magic Kickstarter is Labyrinth Magic. A few notes from the designer about this style of magic: Minotaurs have always been one of my favorite monsters in the game, but the one problem is that mazes are actually quite tedious to explore. When Wolfgang asked me to write some
Deep Magic: Dream a Little Maze of Doom Read More »
We didn’t have room in Defenders of Midgard for the enigmatic mage paragon path features needed to round out the clockwork and glyph magic schools, so we’re featuring them here on the Kobold Press website. This book is available at DriveThruRPG and Paizo. Glyph mages, also known as scriveners, master the arcane power of the
The Paragon Glyph Mage Read More »
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