THOUGHT EATER

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Thought Eater Podcast: New Year Gaming Resolutions!

Happy new year everybody! I have a very special show for you today. I reached out to a ton of folks doing RPG podcasts to join me in sharing our gaming resolutions for next year. I hope it will be a fun listen for you!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!!!

If you enjoy my free zine, podcast, and/or blog, please consider supporting my work for only $1 per month.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Free and Pay-What-You-Want 5e DMs Guild Highlights: Three Weeks Ending 1.4.20

Every week, talented creators upload Dungeons and Dragons products to the DMs Guild, pricing them as free or pay-what-you-want in order to reach customers. Dozens of new free and pwyw products are added each week alone. It is a lot to sort through. My hope is that highlighting a few of each week's best supplements will help the designers get the attention they deserve.

You can find previous posts in this series HERE.

Happy New Year! I am glad to be back sharing some cool stuff from the DMs Guild. This installment includes picks released over the last few weeks.

Mike's Free Maps Collection #8 from Michael LaBossiere

LaBossiere again blesses DMs with a free map pack. This one includes ruined towers, bridges, interiors, and more. The pdf also helpfully contains individual links to Michael's considerable catalog of free material here on the Guild.

Hex Dice Vaults from Tabletop Unglued

The latest papercraft creation from Tabletop Unglued allows you to create cool little hex-shaped boxes for your dice. I love these.

Roguish Archetype: The Minstrel from Griffin Porche

This is a perfect example of why I do this series. With the weekly avalanche of products being uploaded to the Guild, it is hard to imagine that many folks noticed this cool rogue archetype, but I think it is great. If you don't want to play a magical bard, but want to add some bardish panache and flavor to your rogue, check this out.

The Murkwater Maniac from Nico Scarpi

Excellent little adventure in which the PCs must track down a psychopathic killer during a city festival. Great layout and maps.

Hagspawn: A Half-Hag Race from Ted Chieffe

Now this would be fun to roleplay! Fight against your nature (or not) as a misunderstood teenage hagspawn. Chieffe is making a name for themselves with a run of creative supplements on the Guild.

Simple Mass Combat from Christopher Heatherington

While I would never classify this as "simple", this is still a very inventive and original take on mass combat. If you don't want to go the traditional wargame route with your large scale battles, check this one out.

A Feast for the Forest from Eric Milton

This is a nice low-level sidequest sort of adventure to sprinkle into your campaign if the PCs are travelling thought a forest. Highlighted by its very helpful layout.

If you enjoy my free zine, podcast, and/or blog, please consider supporting my work for only $1 per month.

Friday, December 20, 2019

Thought Eater Podcast: Five Minute Friday: New Year, New Show!

Hi all. Just a quick show/post today saying goodbye to year one of the Thought Eater Podcast, and saying hello to 2020 and a BRAND NEW SHOW!!! To everyone that has checked out my podcast this year, supported me, given me a like or a retweet, called in, and everything else....thank you so much!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!!!

Hint hint....

If you enjoy my free zine, podcast, and/or blog, please consider supporting my work for only $1 per month.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Humpday Blog-O-Rama Year-End Super Special!

Blogs are an integral, vital part of the RPG hobby. They serve as incubators for new games, sounding boards for fresh ideas, and platforms for up-and-coming talent. They keep "forgotten" games alive, foster discussions, and build communities.

Every Wednesday on the Thought Eater podcast and blog, I take a look at what is going on in the vibrant RPG blog scene. Check out previous Humpday Blog-O-Rama posts HERE.

This has been an amazing and fun first year for my podcast and the Humpday Blog-O-Rama show. I want to thank all of the bloggers and listeners that have made it possible, along with the awesome folks backing me on Patreon. Thank you.

Humpday Blog-O-Rama will return January 8th, 2020!!!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW!!!

POSTS OF THE YEAR

https://breakrpg.blogspot.com/2019/02/icosahedro-map.html

http://roseandkingfisher.blogspot.com/2019/02/bard-spells.html

https://blog.d4caltrops.com/2019/07/safari-card-monster-manual.html

https://csio.blogspot.com/2019/08/my-personal-rules-as-player.html

http://natetreme.com/blog/2019/6/5/wander-a-business-card-rpg

https://www.nonzerosumgames.com/nate-treme-of-highland-paranormal-society-interview/

2019 HUMPDAY HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

http://mesmerizedbysirens.blogspot.com/

http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com/

http://grognardia.blogspot.com/

https://www.frugalgm.com/

YEAR-END MISCELLANY

https://arcaneeye.com/all/best-dnd-gifts-a-guide-for-2019/

https://www.geeknative.com/70017/the-other-best-selling-fantasy-rpgs-of-2019

MAPS

https://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=45621

REVIEWS AND RETROSPECTIVES

http://whiteboxandbeyond.blogspot.com/2019/12/if-advanced-chainmail-existed.html

https://theymightbegazebos.blog/2019/12/15/tegel-manor-has-arrived/

Hinchliffe green martian miniature!

https://osrgrimoire.blogspot.com/2019/12/warriors-of-mars.html

https://rollingboxcars.com/2019/12/11/who-you-gonna-call-a-review-of-the-classic-ghostbusters-rpg/

FREE STUFF

https://dnd.dragonmag.com/

http://deadcyclops.blogspot.com/2019/12/nergals-followers-crypt.html

https://mfov.magehandpress.com/2019/12/circle-of-mantis.html

https://blackbando.wordpress.com/2019/12/10/the-afflicted/

https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2019/12/osr-generic-cult-lair-generic-wizard.html

https://magickuser.wordpress.com/2019/12/13/a-tome-of-weird-artifacts/

http://outspaced.fightingfantasy.net/PDFs/Atlas_of_Titan.pdf

https://doomslakers.blogspot.com/2019/12/that-rpg-folder-we-all-have.html
https://doomslakers.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-rpg-folder-your-uncle-bert-stashed.html
https://doomslakers.blogspot.com/2019/12/that-rpg-folder-you-accidentally-put-in.html

MISCELLANY

https://renaissancegamer.ca/2019/12/13/some-thoughts-on-300-dice/

http://dragons.ie/become-an-airdnd-dungeon-master/

https://thesagedm.blogspot.com/2019/12/using-battlesystem-v1-in-d-5e.html

http://lordgwydion.blogspot.com/2019/12/what-does-gm-guide-need.html

THE POWER OF RPGS (WITH VERY SPECIAL GUEST ROB C OF DOWN IN A HEAP!!!)

https://slyflourish.com/playing_dnd_can_save_your_life.html

If you enjoy my free zine, podcast, and/or blog, please consider supporting my work for only $1 per month.

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Thought Eater Podcast: Froth University Session Five: Goth Kids

Join me on the podcast today for the latest recap of my 1980's horror/comedy Savage Worlds game! Last night's session was really representative of why I love RPGs. The session was filled with fun improvisation, action, tons of humor...and Satan!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!!!

If you enjoy my free zine, podcast, and/or blog, please consider supporting my work for only $1 per month.

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Free and Pay-What-You-Want 5e DMs Guild Highlights: Week Ending 12.14.19

Every week, talented creators upload Dungeons and Dragons products to the DMs Guild, pricing them as free or pay-what-you-want in order to reach customers. Dozens of new free and pwyw products are added each week alone. It is a lot to sort through. My hope is that highlighting a few of each week's best supplements will help the designers get the attention they deserve.

You can find previous posts in this series HERE.

THIS IS THE FINAL POST OF THE YEAR! This series will return January 4th! I hope you and your families have a safe and happy holiday season.

The Wrench's Useless Magic Items from Cita A F

I loved this one. These magic items are all worthless on the surface, but dig deeper and you find that they have some interesting uses. For example, there is a monocle that causes blurred vision...so why wear it? Turns out you get a bonus to charisma checks, because people just look cool wearing monocles. As a bonus, these are done as cards. Very funny and cool.

A Darkness From The Stars from Sadie Lowry

This Eberron adventure is set at an observatory in the Starpeak Mountains. A great mix of roleplay, investigation, and combat.

Three Pillars DM Screen from Ernad Osmic

This far into the life of 5e, odds are you already have DM screen you like, but just in case you don't, you could do a lot worse than this one. All of the charts and tables you really need, helpfully broken down by "pillar".

5e Encounter-Rudolph's Revenge from Stephen Bull