Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Humpday Blog-O-Rama 2.27.19

Blogs are an integral, vital part of the RPG hobby. They serve as incubators for new games, sounding boards for new ideas, and platforms for up-and-coming talent. They keep "forgotten" games alive, foster discussions, and build communities. Not everyone can work for a big game company, command a large audience on Twitch, or get paid for their art or cartography, but every RPG enthusiast can easily create a blog and start sharing their passion with the world. Every Wednesday on the Thought Eater podcast, I take a look at what is going on in the vibrant RPG blog scene.



LINKS FROM THIS WEEK'S EPISODE


MAPS








MAPPING TOOLS




MIXED MEDIA









COOL SERIES






VARIANTS






ZINEQUEST






BLOG HALL OF FAME: ELF MAIDS AND OCTOPI









CLOSING





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Saturday, February 23, 2019

Free and PWYW DMs Guild Highlights: Week Ending 2.23.19

Every week, talented creators upload products to the DMs Guild, pricing them as free or pwyw 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.



Mike's Free Map Collection #4 by Michael LaBossiere



Who doesn't like free battlemaps? Gridded and gridless versions provided. Includes boats, towers, riverbanks, bridges, and more.



Demon Paper Miniatures by Cian Shelley



Paper minis are affordable, attractive options, especially if you are sick of taking your chances with random packs. I know I am. Shelley's artwork is really good too.



Narrative Focused Character Sheet by Clayton Notestine



This is what it says on the tin. Subtle but effective; just shifting elements like traits and bonds to the left hand side really changes the emphasis. Form-fillable options to boot.



Ravnica Guild Spells by Fozmonot



Nice little collection of two new spells per guild. Each spell is inspired by a Magic: The Gathering card.



Adventurers League Reference Sheet (Season 8) by Robert Nguyen



If your eyes cross trying to make sense of the new AL rules, maybe this summary sheet will help. Or maybe it will just make you more frustrated. Either way, it has a nice layout with citations provided.


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Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Humpday Blog-O-Rama 2.20.19

Blogs are an integral, vital part of the RPG hobby. They serve as incubators for new games, sounding boards for new ideas, and platforms for up-and-coming talent. They keep "forgotten" games alive, foster discussions, and build communities. Not everyone can work for a big game company, command a large audience on Twitch, or get paid for their art or cartography, but every RPG enthusiast can easily create a blog and start sharing their passion with the world. Every Wednesday on the Thought Eater podcast, I take a look at what is going on in the vibrant RPG blog scene.

LISTEN TO THIS WEEK'S EPISODE HERE



Here are this week's links in order of discussion:


MAPS



http://blog.trilemma.com/2019/02/the-mouth-of-spring.html

https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=69182




http://eltomocarmesi.blogspot.com/2019/02/el-templo-de-san-dunstan.html

https://www.patreon.com/emenica/posts



https://plus.google.com/+JonathanNewell/posts/a3wonMPGV6h

http://bearded-devil.com/2017/10/12/maps/



Oozy Goodness



http://geekechoes.blogspot.com/search/label/ooze



Stranger Things



https://www.tribality.com/2019/02/13/stranger-things-dungeons-dragons-starter-set/



Card Tricks

https://tarsostheorem.blogspot.com/2019/02/mapping-with-playing-cards-part-1-cities.html

https://koboldpress.com/howling-tower-chase-scenes/

http://www.howlingtower.com/2012/04/chase-scene-variations.html



Blogger Spam

http://trollsmyth.blogspot.com/2019/02/are-you-tired-of-being-human-and-good.html

http://trollsmyth.blogspot.com/2019/02/and-spam-hits-keep-on-hittin.html



4th Edition

https://terminallynerdy.com/4th-edition-was-it-really-that-bad

https://frothsofdnd.blogspot.com/2013/12/heywait-seconddo-i-hate-4th-edition.html



5e Homebrew




https://punverse.blogspot.com/2019/02/opportunity-5e.html

http://walrock-homebrew.blogspot.com/

http://mfov.magehandpress.com/



AD&D Spell Compendium

https://crossingtheverse.wordpress.com/2019/01/26/on-an-analysis-of-2nd-edition-magics/

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1541lcvCZAL5RyBL1yUhla23uzf5t2SCA



Lost Blog: Vaults of Nagoh



http://udan-adan.blogspot.com/2019/02/echoes-and-reverberations-5-small-but.html

http://vaultsofnagoh.blogspot.com/search/label/Mythus%20Monday






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


Saturday, February 16, 2019

Free and PWYW DMs Guild Highlights: Week Ending 2.16.19

Every week, talented creators upload products to the DMs Guild, pricing them as free or pwyw 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.



Power Chord: Kill by Bartholomew Klick



This supplement for the Bard class features several new spells, but the highlight is the axe-wielding, headbanging College of Metal.


Waterdeep: The Plowing and Running by Steve "Jaspor" Orr



DMs wishing to expand their party's adventures in Waterdeep could do a lot worse than this kidnapping mystery set against a festival backdrop.


Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition Character Suite by Allan C. Innes



I download variant character sheets reflexively. Many will never see the table, but I have to say I liked this one. While there is no form-fillable option (at least not yet), this 7 page "suite" offers all of the bells and whistles a player could want, including a mapping sheet.


So, A Wizard's Apprentice and a Demon Walk Into a Magic Shop... by Various Authors



This is a clever collection of plot hooks and adventure seeds based around various NPC customers encountered at magic shops. There is an interactive pdf with high production values. This was written by various authors, and if you like one piece in particular, the pdf provides links to each designer's product page on the DMs Guild.



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



Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Humpday Blog-O-Rama 2.13.19

Blogs are an integral, vital part of the RPG hobby. They serve as incubators for new games, sounding boards for new ideas, and platforms for up-and-coming talent. They keep "forgotten" games alive, foster discussions, and build communities. Not everyone can work for a big game company, command a large audience on Twitch, or get paid for their art or cartography, but every RPG enthusiast can easily create a blog and start sharing their passion with the world. Every Wednesday on the Thought Eater podcast, I take a look at what is going on in the vibrant RPG blog scene.

LISTEN TO THIS WEEK'S EPISODE HERE




LINKS FROM THIS WEEK'S EPISODE

MAPS




https://www.patreon.com/FrankT

https://www.blueswordgames.com/

https://monkeyblooddesign.co.uk/2019/02/09/sewer-map-wip-city-of-great-lunden/


BAD RULEBOOKS

https://tabletopbellhop.com/gaming-advice/bad-game-rulebook/


HYDRA COOPERATIVE



https://dungeonspossums.blogspot.com/


THE PULP-O-MIZER



https://thrilling-tales.webomator.com/derange-o-lab/pulp-o-mizer/pulp-o-mizer.html

https://www.webomator.com/


BUCK ROGERS

http://sorcerersskull.blogspot.com/2019/02/high-adventure-cliffhangers-buck-rogers.html


VARIANTS

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

http://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/2019/02/howardian-healing.html


FINDING COOL BLOGS

http://save.vs.totalpartykill.ca/blog/osr-opml/

https://campaignwiki.org/osr/

https://campaignwiki.org/indie/

Non-OSR game blogs a la carte

OSR blogs  a la carte

https://dreamsofmythicfantasy.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-osr-news-february-9-2019.html



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Saturday, February 9, 2019

Free and PWYW DMs Guild Highlights: Week Ending 2.9.19

Every week, dozens of talented creators upload products to the DMs Guild, pricing them as free or pwyw in order to reach customers. Almost 70 new free and pwyw products were added this 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.



Zoek's Short Adventures by Filippo Columbo



This isn't just one of the week's best; this may be THE best free third party product I have seen on the DMs Guild. Seven fantastic one page dungeons. Tons of gaming. If you have ever seen the one page dungeon contest stuff you will love this. Easily usable with multiple editions. DMs...download immediately.


Eladrin Variants: Arctic and Tropical by Diana Nock



A nice pair of eladrin racial variants. What separated this in my eyes from a lot of similar products was the really strong writing. The Feywild flavor is excellent, and the mechanics are well developed.


The Harvest Festival by Steven Williams



Highly creative take on a city's harvest festival, complete with competitions, game booths, specialty drinks, and more. Can be run as an unusual side adventure or as a fun competition within the party. If you are looking for something outside of the box to run for your group, this is it.


Barbarian's Bashing Tools (and other magic items) by Richard Thompson and Davis Lodzins



I loved this collection of barbarian-specific items. Lots of humor here, and you can tell that the authors probably have the Conan movies memorized.



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




Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Humpday Blog-O-Rama 2.6.19

Blogs are an integral, vital part of the RPG hobby. They serve as incubators for new games, sounding boards for new ideas, and platforms for up-and-coming talent. They keep "forgotten" games alive, foster discussions, and build communities. Not everyone can work for a big game company, command a large audience on Twitch, or get paid for their art or cartography, but every RPG enthusiast can easily create a blog and start sharing their passion with the world. Every Wednesday on the Thought Eater podcast, I take a look at what is going on in the vibrant RPG blog scene.

LISTEN TO THIS WEEK'S EPISODE HERE

I have started doing companion blog posts to provide the links mentioned in the podcasts. I probably should have done these from the start, but I have never been accused of having great foresight. The links are listed below in the order they are mentioned.



LINKS FROM THIS WEEK'S EPISODE

Maps and Papercraft




http://batintheattic.blogspot.com/2019/02/keyed-city-state-of-invincible-overlord.html

http://crookedstaff.blogspot.com/2019/01/more-print-paste-terrain-another.html

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


Dyson's Illuminated Monster Manual



https://dysonlogos.blog/2019/02/05/my-monster-manual-aerial-servant-anhkheg/


Star Frontiers for 5e D&D

https://www.tribality.com/2019/01/31/star-frontiers/


Fighting Fantasy

https://3toadstools.blogspot.com/2019/02/my-heart-is-happy.html


RIP G+



https://followmeanddie.com/2019/01/31/the-end-of-an-era/

http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2019/02/alas-google.html

https://hillcantons.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-world-of-hill-cantons-revisited.html

http://sorcerersskull.blogspot.com/2019/01/omniverse.html


Random Tables

http://cosmicheroes.space/blog/index.php/2019/02/01/diy-discord-gygaxian-democracy-archive/

https://triplesuns.blogspot.com/2019/02/20-forest-locations.html

http://killitwithfirerpg.blogspot.com/2019/02/1d12-osr-rpg-blog-titles.html


Adventure Game vs OSR

http://questingblog.com/adventure-game-vs-osr/

http://www.necropraxis.com/tag/survey/



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






Saturday, February 2, 2019

Free and PWYW DMs Guild Highlights: Week Ending 2.2.19

Every week, dozens of new, up-and-coming authors pop up on the DMs Guild, pricing their products as free or pwyw in efforts to reach readers. My hope is that this series helps put the spotlight on the cool stuff they are doing. Previous posts in this series can be found HERE.


A Thousand Classes + A Thousand More by Vivian Ruby



New subclasses for every core class and almost 100 new spells. There is a TON of material here, so you are bound to find something you like. I thought the Sniper fighter was really cool, and spells like Clot, a necromancy casting by which a magic user can temporarily slow damage, make for cool alternatives to traditional healing. A lot of neat stuff.

Crafting Encounters: Room 2 by Kristian Richards



Cool "puzzle" sort of dungeon encounter, easily slotted into the Dungeon of the Mad Mage, with links to pwyw papercraft tie-ins. Part 2 of a series.

Druid in the Sewers by Stephen Bandstra and Chris Curran



Toxic mushrooms started appearing in town recently, and now they are everywhere. The PCs attempt to unravel the mystery in the sewers below. A short adventure with plenty of fungus.

Inflicting and Healing Lingering Injuries by Wallace Realini



Optional rules like these aren't for every table, but if you want to knock out some teeth and puncture some lungs, this is the supplement for you. I have used lingering injuries in my campaigns for comedic effect, so I enjoyed this one.

Trollskull Manor NPCs by Lady Luthien



Coming up with random NPCs on the fly can be a difficult skill to master. Ostensibly for Dragon Heist, but useful for many adventures, this short supplement provides a list of various NPCs with notes on their appearance, personality, and motivation. Just enough to give the DM what they need to improvise.


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