Want To Game More But Don’t Have The Time?

Posted in Product Review with tags , on September 3, 2012 by boccobsblog

Check out Conclave. The creators claim you can play at any pace without software. What interests me most is the claim that it can be played from a smart phone.

According to their website:

Conclave is a D&D-inspired RPG that you play with your friends, at any pace, from any Web browser.  As long-time roleplayers, we were motivated to build it when we saw how we, and most of our friends, had stopped playing the tabletop RPGs we all love due to lack of time and opportunity.  So we decided to take the tabletop experience online, and build a game where your sessions can be as long or short as you like, and where you can find buddies to play with anytime – while still preserving story and gameplay.

It is worth a look. Check out their Kickstarter for more info.

Munchkin: The Guild

Posted in Product Review, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on August 27, 2012 by boccobsblog

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Fans of the Guild will be happy to hear that Steve Jackson Games has released a Guild expansion for the wildly popular card game, Munchkin. The folks at SJG were handing out free promo cards at Gen Con and the art (by Len Peralta) looks awesome.

Order your copy here

All images from Worldofmunchkin.com

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True Dungeon 2012 Review

Posted in Gen Con 2012, True Dungeon 2012 with tags , on August 23, 2012 by boccobsblog

It has been a week since my True Dungeon adventure and I’ve had time to think it over and here are my thoughts (in no real order):

  • A ten player party is too big. Each room descends into chaos very quickly. The DMs seem to have no order, and spell casters are quickly forgotten.
  • The trap damage is too high. Our group had taken over 25 points by the time we reached the dragon.
  • The cave village was very cool, as was the new Truecraft option.
  • The dragon looked awesome as did the ghost and the elemental.
  • I was glad that the bar was back. It was nice to have a drink while we waited for the event to start.

This may be the last year I do TD. After paying 40 dollars I expect more than being quickly shuffled from room to room by volunteers too frazzled by long hours to enjoy the game.

Gen Con 2012 Starts Today !

Posted in Gen Con 2012 with tags , , , , , , on August 16, 2012 by boccobsblog

Gen Con 2012 starts today! Here are a few things you should be sure to check out:

T-Shirt Bordello

These guys make some of the best T-Shirts out there. They are high qualty and hilarious.

Booth # 1357

When Zombies Attack

This fast-paced, zombie-themed game from Attack Dice is easy to learn and very fun. It is available at the T-Shirt Bordello booth.

Booth # 1357

Wizard’s of the Coast

This year’s theme is the Underdark, various spots around the con will be converted into spot from a drow city. It should be cool. Also, they are giving out drow-themed dice.

Booth # 1401

True Dungeon

This year’s TD will be the best ever. It is more immersive, will have NPC’s, there will be magic item creation station, and best of all, the tavern is back.

Twilight Creations

The guys from Midnight Syndicate make the best gaming music out there, hands down. They will be in attendance promoting their new album, Carnival Arcane. The Syndicate created the only offical D&D soundtrack (not the movie, the actual game).

Booth # 1319

Fantasy Flight Games

I cannot wait to demo their new X-Wing miniature game (see our article for more info). They have more amazing games than I have room to list on this blog, check them out!

Booth #813, 919, 911, 919, 1107, 1113, 1119

There are so many more highlights, I can’t possibly list them all. Gen Con 2012 will be awesome! I hope to see you there.

Adventure a Week Interview with Jonathan Nelson and Todd Gamble

Posted in D&D 3.5e DM Content, Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder with tags , , , , , on August 15, 2012 by boccobsblog

If you haven’t visited Adventureaweek.com it is a site where new D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder quests are published. As the name implies each week subscribers will get access to original material for their game. Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing the site’s creators, Jonathan Nelson and Todd Gamble.

What is Adventure a Week?

Adventureaweek.com provides a new 3.5 and Pathfinder compatible adventure every single week!

All adventures fully support both systems, so die-hard 3.5 and Pathfinder fanatics alike can sit back and relax!  If a GM is looking to try out our stuff before they commit to a subscription, they can buy our adventures on Paizo.com, RPGnow.com, DriveThruRPG.com, and in our own Adventureaweek online store.

Subscribers get access to a TON of great creative content including high-resolution maps by three-time ENnie Award winning Cartographer Todd Gamble.  Our adventures are available in both PDF format and our famous patented web format, which makes running games so easy all you need is a tablet and some dice!


So far you’ve released series A, B, and C, is there a unifying theme to each series?

A-Series” = Adventureaweek Campaign Setting adventures
We have set it up so you can opt in or out of the setting with a single click.

B-Series” = By Guest Authors
Guest authors include finalists from the Paizo RPG Superstar competition, Michael McCarthy (Dreamscarred Press), Mark Edwards (numerous publishers), Jonathan McAnulty (Kobold Quarterly, Rite Publishing), JP Quinn (partner with Dave Arneson on Blackmoor campaign setting and adventures), the list goes on and on and grows with each passing week!

C-Series” = Classic style adventures
These adventures are created in the vein of AD&D 1st edition Gary Gygax adventures, but with rules and statistics compatible with 3.5 and Pathfinder RPGs.

In regards to the letters matching up with the series: we didn’t really mean for it to happen that way, but hey… it works!


Are the stat blocks in your adventures 3.5 or Pathfinder format?

We actually have taken on the massive challenge of supplying statistics for both game systems within every adventure module.  Yes, it’s a huge undertaking but everything gets easier in time.  We are getting things down to a science and are proud to offer our adventures to both audiences in the same adventure module.


Are your adventures available in print format or solely as PDFs?

Our adventures are available in two formats, but two different from those you mention.  First off we have our patented “web format” which contains “click to open/close” JavaScript boxes containing statistical information so it doesn’t clutter up space as a GM runs through the adventure.  Don’t need an encounter?  Simply continue on your way through the adventure.  Need stats for PF but not 3.5?  Well, don’t open the 3.5 combat boxes!  Just click the Pathfinder boxes.  It’s all very user-friendly and actually designed that way over time through a large play test and from a lot of intensive use in my own game sessions.  It works flawlessly on a tablet and thus decreases the amount of supplies you need to bring to a game.  Really, all you need is a tablet and dice.  Or use your own dice app and all you need is a tablet or laptop.

You can also buy the PDFs individually, or as a subscriber you may download them free of charge.  Granted, monthly subscribers only get 2 downloads per month whereas annual subscribers get unlimited downloads.  This is to prevent misuse and piracy on the site, which is the main problem that other subscription sites experienced.  I actually am a STRONG advocate of sharing stuff that you love with friends, but purchasing that same product if you find that you use it often.  For example, I received a free copy of Wolfgang’s Kobold Guide to Game Design.  Read it, LOVED IT, and purchased all three in print version even though a newer compiled version was coming out.  AaW paid for three ads in Kobold Quarterly and were offered a free print and PDF version; too late, already bought both of them separately with one being purchased from my local game store.  Seriously guys: Support what you love or watch it go the way of the buffalo.


What subscriptions plans do you offer?

If you would like weekly adventures and a campaign setting you can slap down $10 and go for the monthly subscription.  Heck, if you don’t like the site you can always cancel after a month.  At least you had the chance to see what killer stuff we have hidden behind our impenetrable gates!

If you would like access to a lot more (and we mean a LOT MORE), you can save money and get a ton of good stuff by paying $99 a year to become an Annual Subscriber.  As an Annual Subscriber to Adventureaweek.com you obtain access to the following: Every adventure on the site, Free PDF download option for all adventures, Adventurer’s Journal (side quests & maps), Treasure Trove (new magical items), Audio Soundboard (sound effects for your game), Printables (high resolution images for download/printing), Dungeon Tiles (professional dungeon tiles for combat), Monsters (new and original monsters complete with full color illustrations), AaW Campaign Setting – Maps, History, Culture, Races, Classes, Domains, Sorcerer Bloodlines, Spells, Archetypes, Prestige Classes, Locations, NPCs, Magical Items, All AaW content available for HERO LAB.

What is your favorite adventure available on the site and why?

That is a hard question to answer because I honestly have quite a few which vie for the top position.  How about I name off my top three and then give you some info on one that is special to me?

I would say the three contenders for MY favorite adventure are A4: Forest for the Trees (nature vs. civilization), A5: Winterflower (festival with a dance), and A9: Rogue Wizard (inspired by an episode of STAR TREK: The Next Generation).

My most personal adventure is A5: Winterflower, which features Gwendolyn, the most beautiful maiden in the village.  Most of the young men in the village of Rybalka wish to take Gwendolyn to the Winterflower Festival dance.  Some of the men in the village wish to hire the PCs to retrieve rare treasures to win her hand.  There is a lot more to this adventure (which received 5 stars by ENDZEITGEIST), but the reason it’s special to me is that my daughter’s name is Gwendolyn and the adventure was written before she was born.  She is 9 months old now and makes me smile no matter how bad of a day I’m having!


The artwork and cartography look amazing, who is responsible?

Tim Tyler is a phenomenal character artist and has provided the unique and original artwork for most of the characters and monsters appearing in our adventures and campaign setting.  He has been working in the comic book industry for much of his life, but this is his first time doing RPGs.  This transition came easy to him though as he played AD&D 1st edition in his younger days and has always been a fan of the art that used to appear in those old school TSR modules.  Those were the good old days right?  I still love that art too, and Tim’s been bringing back some of that old style with a fresh perspective that only someone in the field of comics and graphic novels would have.  We are stoked to have Tim as an integral part of Adventureaweek!

Todd Gamble is the genius behind the incredible cartography and a TON of the artwork, especially the locations.  Todd has this knack for really immersing you in an environment.  I think it comes from his life experiences visiting different locations and exploring strange places.  He’s told me before that he used to wander around in old abandoned mines just to get the feel for them and map them out.  That’s SO dangerous!  There are hidden sinkholes that go down hundreds of feet.  You see this puddle of water, step in it and *WHOOOSH* you’re deep in some mineshaft underwater!  Crazy!  Todd is a three-time ENnie Award winner, has won numerous ORIGINS awards, and has worked at Wizards of the Coast, Green Ronin, and a dozen other great RPG companies.  He is heralded as one of the world’s best cartographers and designers of model scenery used in gaming and model railroading.  He’s also a damn good friend!


Your site says you accept adventure submissions; do you have any tips for writing hoping to submit their work?

I’ve actually been asked this question more times than I can count.  We get a lot of submissions, some of them great and some not so great.  Many times the “not so great” submissions just need a little work.  In this case, we ask the author to send their creative work to a few friends for feedback and perform a thorough spelling and grammar check.  Sometimes we accept their proposal after they perform a few revisions based on feedback provided by both their friends and us.  There are other times that the adventures proposed just don’t work for our site or are not up to the standards required by a discerning Game Master.  We only want to publish the absolute best adventures, and while “best” is definitely relative, we do have certain standards in regards to quality of story, formatting, and delivery.

For anyone looking to submit material I would recommend reading the following prior to submitting a proposal:

Visit the forum on Adventureaweek.com and introduce themselves as well as read the various posts by other authors.

Download the ACT (Adventure Composition Tutorial) would also get them ahead of the game.

Finally, prospective adventure authors may read more on our guidelines and incentives, as well as submit their adventure proposal here.

Will the AaW team be at Gen Con this year? (If so, booth number?) 

Yes, Todd and Jonathan will be at GEN CON but will not be at a booth. Instead we will be random encounters throughout the convention.  Depending on the date and time there is a 5% cumulative chance of encountering us at GEN CON.  We will be disguised as NERD TREK journalists (my other company) and handing out loads of freebies and coupon codes for Adventureaweek.com.  Some of this stuff is part of a ONE-TIME PRINT and autographed as well, so if you see us make sure and ask us for some of the goods!

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AT GEN CON 2012!  LONG LIVE GARY GYGAX!

Happy Gaming!

-Jonathan and Todd

Adventureaweek.com

Well, I would like to give a big thank you to the gents at Adventure a Week. They have an amazing site and a quality product so be sure to check it out.

-Andy

The DM’s Oh Sh!t Sheet

Posted in D&D 3.5e DM Content, Pathfinder, Uncategorized with tags , , , on August 13, 2012 by boccobsblog

As any DM knows, you can’t plan for every contingency. Many times your players will take you in a direction you did not expect. Every DM will find him/herself in need of a quick name or some treasure for an unexpected encounter. Well that’s where the Oh Sh!t Sheet comes in.

This one-page DM aid contains:

  • 52 male names
  • 52 female names
  • 5 encounters
  • 5 traps
  • 40 pre-rolled treasures CR 1-20

So if you need a name for the innkeeper or blacksmith you didn’t plan for, or when you need a quick treasure roll but don’t want to lose momentuem on your session by stopping to roll treasure, you can use the Oh Sh!t Sheet.

Oh Sh!t Sheet

Be sure to check out our download page for more pre-rolled treasure, name sheets, and and quest ideas.

Monte Cook’s Kickstarter: Numenera

Posted in Gaming News with tags , , on August 9, 2012 by boccobsblog

Monte Cook, one of the chief 3.5 architects has a new project in the works, a science fantasy game called, Numenera. What’s it all about?

From the Kickstarter page:

I’m really excited to announce that I’m working on a new game. It’s called Numenera, and it’s a far future, science fantasy, post-apocalyptic game with streamlined rules that prioritize the story, the action, and the wild ideas. If you’re a fan of outside-of-the-box gameplay such as that found in Planescape, Dark Space, or Chaositech, the far-future stories of Gene Wolfe, Michael Moorcock, or Jack Vance, or mind-blowing visuals like those found in the work of French artist Moebius, you’re going to love Numenera.

The setting sounds interesting:

Numenera is set a billion years in the future. Civilizations have risen and fallen on Earth. Even though the current inhabitants live at about a Medieval level of technology, the leftover remnants of these advanced societies lie all around them. Some of these are extremely helpful: advanced tools, valuable means of communication and learning, transportation, defenses, and weapons. Others are dangerous: genetically altered monstrosities, flesh-warping radiation, creatures transplanted from distant stars, and clouds of out-of-control nanobots, just to name a few. This setting, called the Ninth World, provides all manner of opportunities and challenges to those that call it home.

The game system that drives Numenera is meant to be fast-moving and simple, so that it facilitates the stories the group wants to create, the imaginative places and creatures the GM needs to describe, and the mind-blowing ideas the world encourages. Everything in the game is designed with these goals in mind.

If this game is anything like Monte’s 3.5 books, his Dungeon a Week site, or his Ptolus setting this game will be worth a look.

Cook’s Kickstarter page

Numenera website

Dragonscale Dice Bags

Posted in Dungeons and Dragons, Product Review with tags , , , on August 6, 2012 by boccobsblog

Image from Awesomedice.com

Gamers love dice, and we own far more than we need. If you’re in need a cool place to store your beloved dice, head over to Awesomedice.com. They have the coolest dice bags I have ever seen (and that is saying something, as I’ve been a die hound for over 20 years now). Modeled to look like chromatic dragon scales, they come in Black, Red, and Green.

Here is the description from their website:

Without question this large green dragonscale dice bag is one of the coolest dice bags in the world. This dice bag is hand knitted with green thread and special green anodized aluminum scales are knitted into the bag, giving the appearance of dragon scales. The scales are only on the outside (and not on the bottom) and the soft interior ensures that your dice won’t get scratched or marred. A plastic disc sits on the bottom interior of the dice bag to hold its shape (removable if you choose) and a leather drawstring completes this ridiculously awesome dice bag.

This is a large dice bag capable of holding up to 100 standard 16mm dice. This thing is so ridiculously cool that it is very likely to make you pee your pants. It is also a very expensive dice bag, and is available in a smaller, less costly size.

* No dragons were harmed in the creation of this dice bag. Real dragonscales are much larger than these.

If you need a die bag or more dice, I highly recommend checking out their website; it is impressive.

WoTC to Reprint 3.5e Books

Posted in D&D 3.5, Dungeons and Dragons on August 4, 2012 by boccobsblog

Wizards of the coast is going to reprint the core rule books from 3.5 this Sept.

From Wizards.com:

Earlier this year, we announced the release of the 1st Edition core rulebook premium reprints. And now, we’re further pleased to offer 3.5 Edition Core Rulebook premium reprints releasing this September!

On sale September 18, these 3.5 Edition premium reprints feature new covers and the latest errata — so, be sure to pick yours up at your friendly local book or gaming store!

    • The Player’s Handbook has all the rules players need to create characters, select equipment, and engage in combat with a variety of supernatural and mythical foes.
    • The Dungeon Master’s Guide provides the DM with advice, guidelines, and everything he or she needs to create challenges, adventures, and full-fledged D&D campaigns, including sections on prestige classes, magic items, and character rewards.
  • The Monster Manual contains material that players and DMs alike will find useful. With hundreds of monsters to populate all levels of dungeons, this tome also includes monster creation rules, information on playing monsters as characters, details on monster tactics, and powered-up versions of standard creatures.

Together, these three volumes comprise the core rules for the 3.5 Edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game!

The article also contains a link to vote for other 3.5 books you’d like to see reprinted.

If they were just reprints I wouldn’t be excited, but if they contain new information and updated errata they will be worth it. I remain doubtful of the amount of new material as each book comes in at the exact page count as the previous iteration (320).

They will retail for 50 bucks each (boo!).

Will they be available early at Gen Con? That would be nice.

Article link

E-Mail SNAFU !

Posted in Uncategorized on August 4, 2012 by boccobsblog

I just realized today that there is a problem with the e-mail address connect to the site. It is fixed now and I have begun to reply to your e-mails. I am very sorry that you did not receive a prompt reply. The problem is fixed and I will endeavor to response far more quickly in the future.

Again, a big apology to those of you that e-mailed the site.

Andy