Reaper's BaseBoss!!

Reaper minis is at it again with another kickstarter! Don't worry, it isn't for a metric shit ton of Bones minis... this time it's for a metric shit ton of bases!



And, because reaper is awesome, they're doing a contest where they're giving away A Massive F**k Ton Of Round & Oval Bases to 10 winners! It's insanely easy to enter too...

What Can I Do With All Of My Bases?

Man, we can't think of everything but if you have an idea, email it to [email protected]. Here are just a few things you could do with all of your bases

Tile your bathroom
Bring back Pog
Play base Blind Man's Bluff
Use them as poker chips
Cover your neighbors car with them
Mount the most awesome figure you have ever painted on the most incredible base ever produced
Make an engagement ring and get married
Create assorted jewelry and hit a game con
Build a road
Fill your friends swimming pool
Trade them with friends
Perfect gift for that favorite mother-in-law
Anyway, you get the idea and all we need is your support!

[email protected]!

This was one of my entries:

Adding a little base to some overly acidic coffee.

So go! Pledge! Enter!

Under the Blood Red Moon

If you're a huge C&C fan, and you missed this, I'll be happy to send you my copy. Just drop me a comment and it's yours.

Under the Blood Red Moon is the Free RPG Day adventure from Troll Lord Games for Castles & Crusades and Amazing Adventures, their pulp/modern RPG game.And it really is just the same adventure twice. It even uses the exact same 4 room dungeon map on page 5, and it isn't an interesting map either...

From the back cover:

A sword and sorcery adventure!

Matyas is an old man. A long life of adventure has left him satisfied and ready to pass to the Arc of Time and meet his patron, Toth, the Shadow of the All Father. Satisfied, but for one last task. It is in his mind to make a final sacrifice to Toth by placing a magical parchment, reputed to hold the cure for lycanthropy, beneath an Altar Stone of the Temple of Toth. But this is easier said than done, for the Temple is over-run with evil and he is too old to undertake the task. So he turns to his kin, asking one to gather their friends and make this sacrifice for him!

Across the Gulf of Space & Time

An adventure of modern design!

An ancient temple has been unearthed and rumors abound that beneath its Altar Stone is a parchment of amazing power. Reputed to cure lycanthropy, Richard Wilkins, a wealthy industrialist and humanitarian has hired a group of adventurers to bring it to him. He’ll spare no expense, for his need is pressing, Hilda, his daughter has the dread affliction, and without it she’ll be doomed to a nightmarish life. But the Temple is guarded and bringing the ancient parchment out won’t be as easy as they think!

This is very much a quick-start adventure that can be played in 1-2 hours, depending on how much explanation of the game the players need. There's some combat, a tiny bit of problem solving, and a lot of boxed text and no art aside from the cover.

Granted a quick-start adventure is going to have limitations, but this really fails to be anything other than painfully pedestrian, and worse, fails to take advantage of the fact that both adventures take place in the same dungeon years, eons, ages, maybe universes apart. There's really no excuse for that!

In short, if you've ever played an RPG... ever... skip this. It isn't worth your time.

Steel Magic Giveaway!

Want a signed copy of the newest release from J.L. Gribble's alternate history urban fantasy series Steel Empire's series Steel Magic?
 

Leave a comment, and one lucky winner will be picked next Wednesday!

Missed out on the first book in the series? Pick it up here!

Also, I'm still waiting to hear from Elrics about the last contest... If he doesn't respond, someone else may end up with what would have been his prize!

And the winner is...

Rolling randomly from the entries received... The winner of Steel Victory, book 1 of the Steel Empires series is Elrics! Drop me a line and tell me where to send it!

And for those who didn't win, you should go here and order a copy.

Steel Magic Cover Reveal & Giveaway!

So you want a free copy of Steel Victory, in celebration of today's cover reveal for Steel Magic? You've come to the right place!

I've already got a copy in hand! And it's good...  

Just share this post... anywhere! Facebook, Twitter, G+, and paste the link in the comments below, and I'll pick one lucky sod to receive a signed copy of Steel Victory on me. The random winner will be chosen Wednesday evening, sometime around 7pm Eastern.

Want to pre-order a copy of Steel Magic? Easy! Click here!

Funerals are usually the end of the story, not the beginning.

Newly graduated warrior-mages Toria Connor and Kane Nalamas find themselves the last remaining mages in the city when a mage school teacher mysteriously falls ill and dies. But taking over the school themselves isn't in the cards. They're set to become professional mercenaries-if they make it through the next 18 months as journeymen first.

The debate over whether to hunt mutated monsters in the Wasteland or take posh bodyguard jobs is put on hold when a city elder hires them to solve the mystery of the disappearing mages. Toria and Kane's quest brings them to the British colonial city of New Angouleme, where their initial investigation reveals that the problem is even greater than they feared.

But when a friend is kidnapped, they'll have to travel to the other side of the globe to save her, save themselves, and save magic itself.

And here's a much better pic of the cover.

About the Cover Artist:
Bradley Sharp was born in 1977 in Oxfordshire, UK. From a young age he filled many sketch books, so it only made sense to study Graphic Communication at Nene University, where he received a BA Honors degree in 1997.

But the real world called Sharp away from academics, so he traveled around the globe a couple of times, working as a graphic designer. Now he makes a living by designing magazine spreads, but freelances with vector illustrations, allowing him to create something far-removed from what he does in his nine-to-five job.

Sharp finds vector to be an easy tool and believes anyone can use it. "I'd say my artwork is nothing more than glorified doodling. I like the logical inconsistencies of surrealism and find inspiration from many places such as music or the science fiction genre. Dog Star's novels lend themselves well to my style. I look forward to working with DSB in the future, and hope fans will like the imagery as much as they enjoy the words." Find Sharp's work online at http://www.bradsharp.co.uk/

About the Author:
By day, J. L. Gribble is a professional medical editor. By night, she does freelance fiction editing in all genres, along with reading, playing video games, and occasionally even writing. She is currently working on the Steel Empires series for Dog Star Books, the science-fiction/adventure imprint of Raw Dog Screaming Press. Previously, she was an editor for the Far Worlds anthology.

Gribble studied English at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She received her Master’s degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, where her debut novel Steel Victory was her thesis for the program.

She lives in Ellicott City, Maryland, with her husband and three vocal Siamese cats. Find her online (www.jlgribble.com), on Facebook (www.facebook.com/jlgribblewriter), and on Twitter and Instagram (@hannaedits).

Steel Victory Giveaway!

Like I said on Saturday, I'll be giving away a copy of Steel Victory. Interested? Check back tomorrow on how to enter.

Not sure if you're interested? Check out my review from last year below.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced reviewer e-copy of this book from the author, who is both a friend and one of the players in my Friday night D&D game. Didn't stop me from buying a copy.

---

One hundred years ago, the vampire Victory retired from a centuries-long mercenary career. She settled in Limani, the independent city-state acting as a neutral zone between the British and Roman colonies on the New Continent.

Twenty years ago, Victory adopted a human baby girl, who soon showed signs of magical ability.

Today, Victory is a city councilwoman, balancing the human and supernatural populations within Limani. Her daughter Toria is a warrior-mage, balancing life as an apprentice mercenary with college chemistry courses.

Tomorrow, the Roman Empire invades.

---

It's very difficult to pigeonhole this book into a single genre. It's a post apocalyptic story, set in a city at the edge of the american wasteland after some nuclear war (WWIII?).

It's an alternate history, not just because of this war, but also because the Roman Empire never fell, and in the old world its primary opponent seems to be the British Empire, and the city that's the focus of the story is like an independent Greek city-state that serves as a neutral buffer zone between their respective new world colonies.

It's paranormal-fantasy because... well, elves, were-creatures, wizards, and vampires. Thankfully no one sparkles and the relationships mostly tend away from high school level drama, and more toward mature adult.

There's a lot going on in the too short 215 pages including an invasion by one of the empires that happens to coincide with a flareup of humanist activity within the city and the problems that causes. It's a rather on-point topic at the moment, but handled pretty well by the author.

The difficulty in assigning Steel Victory to a specific genre is never once an issue while reading it. You'll find yourself far too engaged in wanting to know what happens next to bother worrying about it!

My only issue with Steel Victory is that the author lets you look behind the DM's screen a couple of times, wanting you to know that there is a reason for this, that, or the other thing. It's something I recognize, since I've done it myself at the table. Feeling the need to prove that I know what I'm doing and not just making it up as I go along (even worse when that's exactly what I'm doing). Learning to have confidence in your ability to manage your table, to trust your players/readers to have faith in you takes some work.

But remember, you already have buy in. They sat at your table, they bought your book. They want to have a good time, and they're willing to go along for the ride, even if they can't see the background work that goes into it!

Steel Victory leads to Steel Magic

Tuesday the cover of Steel Magic will be revealed to the wide world!

What's Steel Magic? It's the sequel to Steel Victory. What's Steel Victory? It's the first book in the Steel Empires trilogy.

To celebrate this milestone, I'll be giving away a signed copy of her first book Steel Victory with the cover reveal, and a signed copy of Steel Magic in July, when the book is actually released! (not necessarily to the same person)

Interested? Check back here on Tuesday! Can't wait? Go buy a copy today!

Contest Entries! (part 3)

This post wraps up all entries in my giveaway contest.

What Is That Elf's Hairstyle?
by C. Vermeers
1) Long, untidy, but tied up with a metal headband/tiara.
2) Ropy dreadlocks.
3) Cut short and plastered tight.
4) Braids (roll d6: 1) 1 braid, 2-3) 2 braids, 4) 2 small braids at the temples, back left hanging free, 5) 2 small braids at the temples, 1 large braid in back, 6) lots of braids)
5) Short and spiky.
6) Long, combed straight.
7) Mohawk.
8) Pompadour.

Magic School Charts PDF from Brian Richmond.


-Teleportation Gone Very Wrong Table- by anonymous

1. The Warden
2. Alpha Complex
3. Vanth
4. New York City (1: 1989, 2: 1922)
5. Barsoom
6. Carcosa
7. Hyboria
8. Middle Earth
9. Grayhawk
10. Blackmoor
11. Planet Algol
12. The Death Star
13. Quintessa
14. Golarion
15. The Planet of the Apes
16. R'lyeh
17. The wild west (with or without dinosaurs, DM preference)

Adventure locale by Mark and Jen

1. Wilderness
2. Dungeon
3. Ruins
4. Tree tops

And finally Daniel Bishop sent this, my favorite entry of a random table.

Contest Entries! (part 2)

So I'm way behind on posting the next batch of contest entries.

First up for batch 2 - Swampcrawl an 8 page PDF by Thaumiel Nerub. I'll be making a lot of use of this one for my Friday night 5e games.

Christopher Dawson wrote up this Random Barnyard Animals table:

Die roll                 Animal

1	1d4 pigs
2	1d20 chickens
3	1d6 goats
4	1d12 sheep
5	1d20 cows
6	1d6 horses
7	1d6 mules
8	1d12 turkeys

Brian Wille did a Random Escape Pod Contents PDF.

Edwin Stahlnecker entered some really Random Events:

Item No.	Item Title	Item Description
1	Hail	Hail begins to fall in 10 minutes, lasting 30 minutes
2	Locus	Swarm of locus approach arriving in 10 minutes, lasting until all food is devoured
3	Mosquitoes	Mosquitoes approach arriving in 10 minutes, lasting until all liquids are devoured
4	Wind	Gust of wind (not the spell) sweeps over the party extinguishing all touches, etc.
5	Bump	Random player character daydreams and bumps their head on nearest surface (wall, ground, tree, etc.)
6	Can’t Find It	Random mundane item will accidentally fall out of random player characters backpack, sack, pouch, while breaking camp the next morning
7	Lizard	A family of small lizards are found inside a random player characters backpack, sack, pouch the next time they reach inside
8	Spider	A spider is fell crawling up a random player characters leg during the next combat action (PC does not know it is non-poisonous)
9	Flash	Random encounter starts off with casting of continued light, this causes a random player character to be surprised if in dark conditions
10	Bang	Random tree limp fans and startles the players characters the next time they pass a tree of 12’ or higher in height
11	Stare	Player character with highest Charisma score can’t help but to stare at the next member of the opposite sex they see
12	Drool	Random player character daydreams and inadvertently drools on themselves
13	Wet	Random player character begins to sweat profusely
14	Oozing	Random player character is unaware they were bitten by a (you make it up) during the night resulting in puss oozing from their ear 12 hrs later
15	Cough	The next time a player coughs, one of their player characters catches a cold
16	Sniff	Rest of party suddenly discovers that a random player character has built up a malodorous scent since the last time they bathed
17	Pfst!	Any players that pass gas result in all of their player characters having a malodorous scent for the next adventure
18	Rip	Random player character rips their pants seat the next time they bend over
19	Raff	Any player that snitches on another who passed gas, has all of their player characters having the most malodorous scent for the next adventure
20*	See Below	See Below
*Odd	Players Rules	Item No. = No. of living player characters
*Even	GM Rules	GM Choice

More tomorrow!

Contest Results!

I had 12 entries in my random table Free RPG Day contest:

1. Christian aka rorschachhamster entered a random Tail Generator
2. c. vermeers offered up D12 Random Table - What Does The Mage Use For Magical Protection
3. Dale Bailey entered Magic Missile Manifestations
4. Matthew Schmeer entered Minor Meddling Immortals
5. Thaumiel Nerub entered a Swampcrawl
6. Christopher Dawson wrote up a random barnyard animals entry
7. Brian Wille did Random Escape Pod Contents
8. Edwin Stahlnecker entered some Random Events
9. c. vermeers wrote What Is That Elf's Hairstyle? as his second entry into the contest
10. Brian Richmond created some Magic School Charts
11. A Teleportation Gone Very Wrong table was entered anonymously
12. And finally Daniel Bishop entered a random table. 

The winners (Brian Wille, Thaumiel Nerub, Dale Bailey, and c. vermeers) were rolled randomly using 4d12, and they each will be receiving either their first of second choice from the prizes. 

These are the first 4 entries. Once I've posted all 12, I will put them all together as a free PDF.

TAILGENERATOR by Christian

W30	Like a	Special
1	Alligator	-1 AC, but ½ damage by unbladed weapons
2	Armadillo	+1 AC
3	Bird of Paradise	Additional attack
4	Cat	Burning
5	Cock	Climb movement as normal movement
6	Cow	Colored like another animal (roll again)
7	Deer	Dazzling display
8	Devil/Demon	Detachable
9	Dog	Detachable and grows into adult monster within 1d6 days
10	Dolphin	Detachable and Reatachable
11	Fish	Diseased
12	Fox	Disgusting
13	Horse	Electric
14	Horseshoe Crab	Ever moving
15	Lion	Fabulous
16	Lizard	Freezing cold
17	Manticore	Grappling
18	Monkey	Has extra eye(s), -2 on surprise rolls
19	Peafowl	Looks odd...
20	Pheasant	Luminescent
21	Pig	Makes threatening sound
22	Rat	Place of brain (instead of head)
23	Scorpion	Poisonous attack
24	Skunk	Short
25	Snail	Showing feelings
26	Rattlesnake	Swim movement as normal movement
27	Springtail	Very big in relation
28	Stingray	Very long
29	Tentacle	With anal scent glands like a skunk
30	1d10+1 tails, reroll	Roll twice

Just roll two times, once for each column, and add a tail to your monster. Or NPC. Or even PC.

What Does The Mage Use For Magical Protection by c. vermeers
1 - A magic circle with crabbed writing around the edge

2 - An amulet carved from a star sapphire, depicting a rooster-headed figure with serpents for legs

3 - A small, sealed bottle filled with urine and iron nails

4 - A crucifix

5 - A small box containing magical writing on paper, fastened to the back of his hand with ribbon arranged in a specific pattern

6 - A human tooth that once belonged to a Saint

7 - A cockatrice bezoar set in a silver cage and hanging on a silver chain

8 - A union suit embroidered with magical symbols

9 - A dog skull engraved with secret signs

10 - A wooden disk with a concave surface, painted black with a red pentagram and mystic writing in white

11 - A circular, concave silver mirror set in a wooden triangle

12 - Roll twice on this table

 Magic Missile Manifestations by Dale Bailey

	A (d6) +	B (d20) +	C (d20) +
1	Fiery	Flaxen	Skull
2	Smoky	Burnished	Eyeball
3	Translucent	Permanganate	Eagle
4	Shiny	Bleached	Horseshoe
5	Pulsing	Sable	Teeth
6	Watery	Celadon	Coin
7		Gamboge	Spike
8		Xanthous	Hammer
9		Carmine	Hatchet
10		Gentiana	Beam
11		Tawny	Stiletto
12		Incarnadine	Arrow
13		Faience	Playing Card
14		Citrine	Thorn
15		Glaucous	Tree Branch
16		Roan	Knucklebone
17		Ivory	Meteor
18		Heliotrope	Ram
19		Skewbald	Ocean Wave
20		Sylvanite	Spinning Saw blade

And finally Minor Meddling Immortals which is a PDF by Matthew Schmeer that's well worth checking out.