Scarefest 2017 Preview – One month away!

It is that time of year again: The air starts to get a bit cooler, the trees on the mountaintops begin to turn crimson, gold, and umber. Scarefest is upon us! This year looks bigger and more awesome than ever with an appropriately excellent theme of a Spooky Carnival. I’m sure given the box office success of IT there won’t be any creepy clowns there, right? Right?! The line up of RPGs and sponsors is better than ever too!

It is great to see the incredible Pathfinder Society schedule of games still going strong as well as more deep and diverse selection of other RPGs: D&D, Dread, Dungeon Crawl Classics, WEG Ghostbusters, Savage Worlds, Star Wars, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Savage Kingdoms, Call of Cthulhu and more! Most of the game sessions feature spooky/scary scenarios that are on theme for the event.

Just announced today: Well Played Board Game Café is hosting the board game area! It will be great to have the newcomer to the Asheville gaming scene providing their expertise for all things board games!

This year there are custom dice celebrating not only this year, but years one and two as well. We all know you can never have enough dice. Tickets are still available, but lodging might be hard to come by on the Montreat conference center campus itself. If you are planning on attending, but haven’t secured your accommodations, be sure and reach out to the event staff.

I’ve got adventures to write and pre-gens to … generate. See you in mountains!

Scarefest 2015 – no filter

March 4th! GMs Day! Mace West Preview!

Happy GM’s day gamers! RPGnow is having a big sale, and many awesome publishers are participating. Get yourself or your favorite GameMaster something cool! I’m celebrating GM’s day by preparing for the games I’m running at an upcoming convention: MACE West 2017! This will be the third year the event will be held in Asheville, NC just outside the Biltmore at the Doubletree hotel, March 24-26th. The first year I attended I had a great time, and each year it keeps getting better and better! This year there are a staggering number of board games, RPGs, and other events listed this year at the OGRe.

The Skyland Games guys alone will be running Dungeon Crawl Classics, Mutant Crawl Classics, Age of Rebellion, Metamorphosis Alpha, Apes Victorious and Imperial Assault. Games are filling up fast, and we are looking forward to another great year at our “home” convention!

Kevin is running the Frost Fang Expedition, a 3rd party published DCC adventure that is almost purpose-built for cons since there is a ticking-clock element to the adventure. The full review is here, but the short version is this: if the heroes don’t succeed, rocks fall and everyone dies. Not everyone in the party, everyone in the town below the crumbling, floating castle. That old chestnut. He is also running one of the Metamorphosis Alpha adventures from the recent Epsilon City kickstarter, and a homebrewed Star Wars adventure called Rogue Two, in which a small rebel commando team is sent to Mytus VII, star’s end, to break out a group of rebel pilots including Wedge Antilles to aid in the assault on the Death Star.

Mike is running a homebrewed Mutant Crawl Classics adventure he will also be running at GenCon, but MACE West gets it first! Where the drowned god dwells looks to be an exciting post-apocalyptic underwater adventure! Apes Victorious from Goblinoid Games is based around Planet of the Apes and looks to be quite the enjoyable romp if you’ve ever wanted to play the role of a 70s astronaut marooned on future earth. This one is also on sale as part of the GM’s day event. If you haven’t played it yet, you can try out Goodman Games Lankhmar with Mike running Masks of Lankhmar, an adventure he was fortunate enough to playtest with the author Michael Curtis at GaryCon VII.

Scott is running three slots of Imperial Assault, and thanks to the hard work and excellent skill of local mini-painter Galen, they will be some great looking sessions! Minis in the front are some of the bones from recent kickstarters, but the back shelves are all Star Wars! There are more games and events than ever before, these are just the few events we are running. Check out the event pages on facebook and at Justus Productions to find out more. See you there!

 

Frost Fang Expedition Review – DCC

The Frost Fang Expedition by Mark Bishop has been released by Purple Sorcerer games for Dungeon Crawl Classics. This beast of a 1st-level adventure weighs in at a digest-sized 72 pages plus a 40-page full-sized digital appendix for printing handouts, maps, minis, and rumors. Also included in the appendix are great tips for judging the adventure in general, as well as ways to fit this into a four-hour convention slot.

The premise is to save the town from a floating earth mote that has been the residence of a reclusive wizard for about 100 years. Recently, lights have started going out in the castle and chunks of earth have fallen into town. The townspeople fear the magic is fading and need brave adventures to summit the peak, cross the rickety bridge, and avert the impending disaster.

This adventure features lots of background information on the town, NPCs, and baddies that inhabit the different locations. Providing this level of detail allows the well-prepared judge to bring the setting and the scenes to life. That being said, I wouldn’t recommend this adventure to a novice judge. If you have about a dozen tables under your belt, you can probably handle the amount of juggling required to keep the adventure running smoothly.

There are two NPCs traveling with the party that want the mission to get to the end goal for very different reasons. This allows a clever judge to use them to drop key hints to the party should they be stuck, but in several scenes will require these NPCs to argue in front of the party about what to do (allowing the PCs to decide the ultimate course of action). This is a really cool device, but may be tough for new judges.

The Frost Fang Expedition also has branching paths within the adventure on the way to the peak. This allows for some replay (and certainly re-run) value as the adventures will have some agency in deciding how they want to approach the summit of the mountain. That being said, the encounters are numbered a bit confusingly. Everything throughout the entire adventure is 1-something, like the typical 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 for denoting sequential encounters in certain areas. I would have liked to see the mountain broken up in to different sections, with the branches named with numbers and letters. For instance, at the end of encounter 1-1, the party must choose the left path or the right path. the left path leads to encounter 1-2A and the right leads to encounter 1-2B. both end up and encounter 1-3. Instead, the lettered encounters represent sub-rooms in a particular location. This makes the order of events and following the path of the adventure for the judge a bit more difficult.

The overall tone of the adventure is fairly lighthearted despite the impending doom of the town, should the adventurers fail. The illustrations (many by the author himself) are similar in style and tone to the Flaming Deathpits of the Minotaur Mage: Descent into Doomfire (which if you haven’t played, you really should).

The final encounter includes quite a bit of juggling (as mentioned in the included appendix) and may be a lot to handle. While there are some simplified spell-duel rules included, I would leave that out for all but the most experienced judges. There will already be a ritual to perform, plenty of NPCs and baddies to run, and a d6 counting down.

Currently on sale for $9.99 for Print+PDF, this is an awesome gaming value for some very memorable encounters. I would highly encourage experienced judges to take this one on for a con, and for home campaigns, stretch it out to two or three sessions! There is certainly a lot of good times to be had on the Frost Fang Expedition!

ScareFest preview 2016

Scarefest 2015 – no filter

Fall is here! That means that AVLscarefest is only about a month away. Last year was a really fantastic time, and the organizers are going out of their way to apply feedback and make this year truly fantastic! From October 21-23 add set in the picturesque mountains of Montreat, NC, the old stone buildings of the campus and convention center set the mood for some spooky games of all types. Beyond the truly staggering amount of Pathfinder Society games, you’ll find thematically appropriate games of Call of Cthulhu, Dread, Ghostbusters, D&D adventurer’s league,  Dungeon Crawl Classics, Lankhmar, Cryptworld, Savage Kingdoms, Bolt Action, and many more! Get your ticket and sign up for games at the warhorn.

Last year I had an absolute blast trying games I had never tried before like Deadlands Noir, Bolt Action, and Shadowrun. I also ran a pretty creepy table of Star Wars which became the impetus to get the Star Wars bounty hunter game going. This year I’ll be running Masks of Lankhmar and two sessions of Star Wars bounty hunters. Mike will be running the Shambling Un-dead and the Arwich Grinder!

New this year is a token system, in which players and GMs are all provided tokens that can be used to reward awesome role-playing, helping out around the con, and can be used at the end of the con to win some awesome prizes from local vendors. This encourages both excellent games and excellent community spirit. I can’t wait to see the results!

Don’t miss out on this fantastic con in the mountains. Try a game you have never played, or bring your favorite game to run. I’ll see you there!

Scarefest Preview

This weekend in Black Mountain, Scarefest 2015 brings an awesome weekend of gaming to the campus of Montreat! Tons of RPG sessions and board-gaming from the 23rd to the 25th, and a $10 pass gets you a seat at the table for all three days. The outstandingly active Asheville Pathfinder Lodge would hold a Halloween-themed costume game event that started as one day at our Friendly Local Gaming Store the Wyvern’s Tale, in subsequent years grew in to a weekend of gaming, and this year has expanded to it’s own location.

Like previous years there will be lots of Pathfinder Society sessions, including the “specials” that are typically only run at big conventions and include coordination of several concurrent tables of players working together towards a common goal. This year, the scope of Scarefest has expanded to include other RPGs like D&D Adventurer’s League organized play, as well as Dungeon Crawl Classics and Star Wars (both run by yours truly), and World of Darkness (can’t get more on-theme than that!), Shadowrun, several flavors of Savage Worlds, Bolt Action, Dread, Numenera, and a truly impressive collection of board games. Once you’ve purchased your ticket, sign up for games on the event’s warhorn.

I’ll be representing DCC with two adventures: The 13th Skull and Bride of the Black Manse.

13th Skull synopsis: Thirteen generations ago, the ambitious first Duke of Magnussen made a fell pact with an unknown power, who asked for but one thing in return: the thirteenth daughter born to a Magnussen duke. Now, generations hence, the daughter of Duke Magnussen XIII is stolen away by a hooded executioner riding a leathery beast. As it wings back across the city walls to drop behind the Duke’s mountain-top keep, all who watch know it alights in the Magnussen family crypts, where the devilish secrets of thirteen generations have been buried and forgotten – until now…

Bride of the Black Manse synopsis: Centuries past, Lady Ilse ascended to scion of House Liis by trading the archdevil Mammon what he wanted most: her immortal soul – and a diabolical betrothal. The triumph proved hollow, for every year on the eve of her fell covenant, she was beset by visions of Mammon and her foul promise. Seeking to save herself, she was buried alive, swaddled in the holy symbols of a dozen divergent faiths. This desperate ploy held Mammon at bay for centuries…but a devil can afford to wait a very long time.

After hundreds of years, the last of the holy wards has fallen. The devil has come to collect his due. Tonight a storm crashes against the ancient manor house and forgotten spirits rise from the muck and mire. The fallen belfry tolls once more, announcing the hellish fete. As the adventurers arrive to explore the Black Manse, Mammon calls for his winsome bride. He will leave with a soul at the end of the night. The only question is: Whose?

The Star Wars adventure I’m running caught my ear on the Order 66 podcast from d20 radio. They created a horror-themed Star Wars adventure that features the “fear check” mechanic, and should be really fun to run! Not many people would associate Star Wars with a creepy Halloween gaming event, but Ice Station Zulu does well to bring some darkness and fear to a galaxy far, far away.

It looks like quite the impressive line-up, and is a pretty awesome value. Come out this weekend and roll some dice! Costumes are highly encouraged, but not required. See you there!

2015 ENnies – Year of the Dragon

2015’s Gen Con En World RPG Awards, or “ENnies”, should really be called the “Year of the Dragon”. Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition product line won 13 Gold and 2 Silver ENnies (out of 23 available). Of those Gold ENnies, they won the prestigious Fan’s Choice for Best Publisher and Product of the Year for the D&D Player’s Handbook. WizKids also picked up two Gold ENnies for their D&D related miniature products. The Dungeons & Dragons products line dominated the RPG world this past year and the awards show that players really liked what they got. It looks like D&D is back on track to become a force in the RPG world once again.

Last year saw Monte Cook Games versus Paizo, Inc., battling it out for RPG domination. This year Monte Cook Games won a Gold and 3 Silver ENnies while Paizo, Inc. won 3 Silver ENnies, with one being Fan’s Choice for Best Publisher. With Wizards of the Coast releasing their products at a brisk pace this last year, MCG and Paizo were simply overrun by sheer numbers. It will be interesting to see what next year holds between the three. What products will MCG or Paizo deliver that will push them over the top and dethrone Wizards from their 2015 throne? We’ll have to see.

Other notable ENnie awards were Best Software won by roll20 for the third year in a row with Lone Wolf Development’s HeroLab and Realms Works taking Silver for two of those years. Another big winner this year was Lamentations of the Flame Princess’ A Red & Pleasant Land. This hardcover won two Golds (Best Writing, Best Setting) and two Silvers (Best Adventure, Product of the Year) and gets praise for its versatility, setting and the art; definitively a book to check out.

Well, until next year!

DCC LANKHMAR!

Do you love Fritz Leiber‘s Lankhmar? Do you love Dungeon Crawl Classics? Then prepare to get your mind blown…

Goodman Games announced at GaryCon that through the Fritz Leiber estate, they have acquired the rights to publish a new way of playing Dungeon Crawl Classics, with the world of Nehwon as it’s setting: DCC Lankhmar.

I was fortunate enough to get in on one of the first official playtests and I have to say it was downright amazing. Michael Curtis and Goodman Games have seamlessly melded the two properties into one. I really don’t want to spoil anything, especially considering that it is still a work in progress, but I think I can go over a couple things that I don’t think will change too much:

• Gongfarmers No More: Unlike regular DCC, you don’t start as a level zero character. You are a hero! Act like one! Go forth, get money, spend that money, get more. Wealth is temporary but adventure is continual!
• Mercurial Magic Minimized: No more Mercurial Magic effects. While you still may not know whether your fireball spell will give you a puny puff of flame or a massive blast of fire decimating the countryside until you roll… the side effects of magic will not be as pronounced. No rain of frogs, no gender swaps, and so on.
• Characters First: There are only three classes: Wizard, Thief and Warrior. However, those classes are not ‘pure’ as in contemporary DCC. You may have a thief who has dabbled in sorcery and is able to cast a magic missile every so often. You may have a Warrior who can sneak and backstab. You may have a Wizard who is so good with his quarterstaff he is capable of Mighty Deeds. A great combination in every character and they have added a new series of quirks to characters that broaden everyone’s horizons.
• Less Is More: Since there are less classes, and the classes available have some overlap, DCC Lankhmar may be ideal for game days when you only have a few around the table.
• It’s Only A Flesh Wound!: Only three classes means no clerical magic to heal you. Are you lucky enough that the blow which you thought was so severe is actually not that bad? The mechanic for this still seems to be a work in progress, but it’s a great amount of fun as it is.
• Do You Feel Lucky? Speaking of luck, there’s more to be had out there! Get luck, spend luck, recover luck and more! Great deeds are not done by just hoping they happen… you must go forth and find your adventure… maybe even go down and carouse the bars a bit and see what happens.
• Pleased To Meet You! There will be new patrons, and new ways of patronage. Ningauble is discussed as a patron in the first release. I can imagine Sheelba will be the second, but there are many others out there as well. Perhaps not a god or powerful sorcerer or thing from beyond: maybe just a crime boss or powerful noble? They are examining new ways of handling patronage and it looks amazing.
• THIS IS NOT A NEW GAME: There is no need to panic. This is NOT DCC 2nd Edition or Advanced DCC. This is the same DCC we all know and love, just kicked up a notch (or five) and re-skinned with some great new setting ideas, great new effects and great new ways or playing and of looking at things. Save the pitchforks for your potato farmers.

Cannot wait for more information to come out and to start my own players off in the “City of Adventure” but I will have to. They will be having a couple more “supplements” like the one pictured and then a box set down the line. I expect an amazing Kickstarter to be launched some time in the future. If you can’t wait and want to do your own, you can get the supplement “Through Ningauble’s Cave” which details a way to get your current players over to Nehwon though the “Gossiper of the Gods” mysterious cavern. It’s chock-full of adventure ideas and encounter samples as well as a patron write-up for Ningauble and a (partial) map of his Bottomless Caves.

Another home run for DCCRPG and Goodman Games!

Warhorn101

Warhorn.net is a great site for convention organizers and Friendly Local Gaming Store event planning. For the uninitiated, it can be a bit confusing to sign up, and reserve your seat at the gaming table. Somewhat recently the site went through a significant overhaul, with one main feature being that once you sign up for your free user account, you can use that same account for recurring game days at a FLGS or a yearly convention, like Asheville Comic Expo.

This is going to be a screenshot-heavy article, as I would like to detail the process on how you sign up for an account, and register for tables. Once you sign up, keep your login credentials handy, and you can use them for any events organized through warhorn. You can even add your Pathfinder Society Number and DCI (WotC/D&D organized play) numbers that will follow your login from event to event, but let’s not put the cart before the horse.

First, go to warhorn.net and sign up for a login in the upper right corner of the site:

Fill out the form with your email, desired username, and password. You can use either your email or your username when you login to the site:

It will now ask you to verify your email address. Clicking on confirm will send another confirmation email (check SPAM filters!):

In your email you should see a message much like this. Click the Confirm my Account link in the email:

Once your account is confirmed, we can use warhorn Event listings to search for events in the area. They are divided into recurring game days (frequently at FLGS) or Upcoming Conventions:

Use the search field just above dates to search for events happening in your area, or an area where you will be traveling:

Click on that event to get more info and register for tables by clicking on the Register for this event button in the upper right. If you have questions you can also email the organizer on the far left:

Once you are registered, check out the Event schedule and sign up for tables:

For both conventions and recurring game days, games are typically listed by start time, and title. Open tables will list a “Play” if you want to be a PC or “GM” button if you want to run that table. It also gives you the option to join a waitlist if the table is already full. If there is a no-show, you are in!

After clicking “Play” the site will ask you to confirm, just to make sure you got in on the right game:

Once you click Save it will reserve your spot at the table, allowing organizers to plan for more GMs if necessary, and allows you a guaranteed seat at your favorite game! If something comes up, or you want to switch tables before the event, you can always click “Withdraw” and sign up for something else:

Be sure and check for recurring game days in your area as well, and support your FLGS!

Hope this helps, and remember, once you’ve created your account you can use it for any conventions or game days organized through warhorn. It’s also a great site to see events in your region you may want to travel for! In less than two weeks, the Skyland Games crew will be running the RPG tables for Asheville Comic Expo (ACE). Sign up at the warhorn, and we’ll see you around the table!