Spring Break!

I'm out for ten days. Bringing the following on vacation: Wormskin (issues #1-3)StonehellGRIM FORTUNESAdventure Hour!Grim RatsMaze RatsInto the OddJohn's Wick's Play Dirty (1 & 2)DND's Young Adventurer's Guide Collection (the best 5e product, bar none)Hole in the OakWinter's DaughterWaking of Willowby Hall Lots to read, digest, and enjoy! The image is the hint to where …

Advertisement

What it means to outdo someone

"Dodge this." This idea of dueling that has received plenty of positive feedback. It will be receiving expansion in some form. Promise. I've brought the idea to some friends who had great ideas for how to deepen the system and what makes sense to add while keeping it all simple (stay tuned). I've also had …

Duels using Player Skill

Sometimes, we opt to use player skill instead of character skill. It's why we ask players to tell us what their character says in the game, rather than which skill their character uses (like it's some kind of button on a controller). We ask players how they search the room for secrets instead of making …

The Waking of Willowby Hall

The Waking of Willowby Hall is an adventure from Ben Milton of Questing Beast, Maze Rats, Knave, and more. He has the most famous hands in the hobby. He gracious did an interview here about a year ago (Part I and Part II). I backed this one during the last ZineQuest and I'm thrilled that …

GRIM RATS

Fun lich guy... 🙂 After making GRIM FORTUNES and Island Rats, I wanted to revisit both in this hack. HERE ARE THE RULES. What's all new here? Reaction (missing from Island Rats, whoops)New backgrounds (they fall closer in line with classic DnD, plus some pulls from Wormskin and Cairn).No longer married to Hot Springs Island... …

Chronochambers

Before, we talked about DEATHGROUNDS as a means to increase productivity. Here's another method for today. When working, there are plenty of opportunities for distraction. Right now, wherever you're sitting or standing, there are about twenty or more objects or people that could call out for your attention. And some of those objects and people …

GRIM FORTUNES

FIRE GIANT I wanted a game that only uses a deck of cards for mobility and convenience. Something with FAST dungeon-crawling written all over it. It's Darkest Dungeon and Dark Souls (with a smidge of Warhammer Fantasy). It uses the Playing Card Universal system along with the system for conflict. It can make ten unique …

Diceless examples

This stink bug wizard makes me happy. 🙂 "Roll an Athletics check to jump the pit." "Make a grapple roll." *Reaches for the rulebook.* "We'll just roll dice back and forth until we know which army won." We've talked diceless resolution. Let's do it again. Quick summary: give the world/obstacle/enemy the Upper Hand. If the …

Island Rats

The remaster no one asked for! 😀 This is the marvelous Maze Rats with the glorious gunpowder sandbox Hot Springs Island. Friends and I were talking about Hot Springs Island at a party (Happy 21st, Jon!). Made me remember this game (find the old version here). And there were some changes I wanted to make. …

Playing Cards Universal – For Conflict

SNEEEEEEEEEEK FIGHT! I've mentioned this resolution system based on regular old playing cards before. But now I want something a little for substantial for conflict. Conflict being, as the game RISUS points out, any sort of contest between two sides. Things like: Arguments: Combatants wielding logic, stubbornness and cheap rhetorical tricks to make their point.Horse-Racing: …