Well… perhaps empire is a bit grandiose, seeing as how my business only grosses a few hundred dollars a year. But Blue Max Studios (my publishing house) has put over thirty RPG titles out in the last six years, for a multitude of different games. What’s more, I have never lost money publishing RPG and supplements. What’s my secret? I actually can’t lose money as a gaming publisher, because I haven’t spent any in the first place. Everything I’ve done with Blue Max Studios, in all aspects of production and publication, has cost nothing. Want to know another secret? It’s not even that hard… Continue reading “Build Your Own RPG Publishing Empire… with No Money Down!”
DMing Monsters: Animated Objects (Part 2)
Click to check out Part 1 here…
Animated objects have been around forever with the flying rugs, levitating rope tricks, swords that swing themselves and the Golem portrayed in Jewish mythology. More recently there have been the story of Frankenstein’s monster to various self-animated robots and the castle staff in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” For the most part these have always been portrayed as rampaging monsters or played off for comedy. Yet they can be so much more by giving them advanced tactics, teamwork and updated powers; as well as giving interesting places they might be. Continue reading “DMing Monsters: Animated Objects (Part 2)”
DMing Monsters: Animated Objects (Part 1)
Animated objects have been around forever with the flying rugs, levitating rope tricks, swords that swing themselves and the Golem portrayed in Jewish mythology. More recently there have been the story of Frankenstein’s monster to various self-animated robots and the castle staff in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” For the most part these have always been portrayed as rampaging monsters or played off for comedy. Yet they can be so much more by giving them a personality, back story, and goals. Continue reading “DMing Monsters: Animated Objects (Part 1)”
SHADOWRUN HACK OF SHADOWRUN (Downloads!)
“This ever happen to you, chummer? It’s 4 a.m. and you find yourself in front of the SoyFroYoGo machine (again), choosing between pink-blue and orange-yellow (tan? really?). It must be the Stuffer Shack. Suddenly, the door’s AR chimes, and behind you enters a trio of Halloweeners, armed with all manner of ballistic beat-down. Your finger finds the trigger of the sawed-off shotgun beneath your coat. Continue reading “SHADOWRUN HACK OF SHADOWRUN (Downloads!)”
Life of a Big Irish Gamer: Beginnings
Chris Stevens recently asked me if I’d like to write something regularly for his site, the STUFFER SHACK. He didn’t have anything specific in mind, so I gave it some long thought, and this is what I came up with. Continue reading “Life of a Big Irish Gamer: Beginnings”
DMing Monsters: Plants, Slimes, Molds, Jellies, and Puddings!
Most DMs don’t have many encounters with plant monsters, slimes, molds, and puddings. They’re oftentimes relegated to things that players stumble into like traps, side quests, and areas of heavy overgrowth. With a few simple solutions, they can easily take the spotlight… Continue reading “DMing Monsters: Plants, Slimes, Molds, Jellies, and Puddings!”
Shadowrun: Anarchy… What the Heck?!
It’s no secret… Shadowrun (any edition) has not exactly been a rules-lite game. It’s a meaty cyberpunk-fantasy dystopian setting with a very solid fan-base, and it also comes with a hefty set of rules for a very “simulationist” feel. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing (I have my favorite edition and have played many, many hours of it); I’m saying that that type of game isn’t for everyone.
Enter Shadowrun: Anarchy
Shadowrun: Anarchy uses the Cue System (from the same company, Catalyst Game Labs). It’s a rules-light RPG system that is all about getting started quickly and creating a story.
Using Cues, you’ll create a plot and narrate your character’s way through the story. Your character sheet has stats, gear, and abilities, and you still throw lots of d6s to resolve things, but there’s less dice-rolling and much less rules. It’s a simpler, faster, and more narrative system, and it still carries part of the Shadowrun mechanic (throw a bunch of d6s… 5s and 6s count as successes).
Most importantly, everyone is a player at the table, and everyone takes turns as the gamemaster throughout the session. It’s a collaborative type of narrative story-telling, as opposed to the traditional RPG setup. Included in the mechanics are Plot Points with which one can spend to do extra things, but more importantly to further the story.
I imagine that this is definitely not something where you’d be sitting there at the table, waiting for your turn and getting bored, because you’d be too busy leaning forward, engaged in the scenario with your friends. Actually, I don’t think I’d be doing it justice by saying that it’s a rules-lite game (it is); it’s better served to be called a rules-narrative game.
This post is in no way a review; I’m simply blabbing about something that seems cool that came out recently, and I think it could be a lot of fun. Currently, the PDF is $14.99. If you think this could be your thing (this version of Shadowrun), then check it out – I think I will…
Less Map, More Play
Mapping out your campaign world and key locations can be a hassle, and that battle map that took hours to plot out might never get revisited. Simpler maps work fine, are fast to make and get the creativity and improvisation juices flowing. I’ll show you a few simple methods that will get you going in no time… Continue reading “Less Map, More Play”
Anticipation in your Games [mature]
Creating a sense of anticipation is a worthwhile technique no matter what genre or artistic vehicle you choose. However, this blog post is about erotic anticipation (I can get away with using the word “erotic” here because I haven’t gotten to the really sleazy parts yet). I’m talking about my own space opera RPG Alpha Blue, specifically. Although, any game can benefit from occasional titillation. Continue reading “Anticipation in your Games [mature]”
Combat Stunts for D&D Fifth Edition
Combat in D&D is an abstract affair. It has been this way since day one. And, probably since day two, there were those who preferred a more concrete, blow-by-blow, experience, and came up with various house rules for making combat more detailed. This isn’t just a figure of speech; the Perrin Conventions, for example, suggested 10-second rounds and rules for knockback and knockdown in 1978. Continue reading “Combat Stunts for D&D Fifth Edition”