Russ Morrissey

Benjamin Riggs recently revealed this tidbit of TSR history -- Lorraine Williams passing on the rights to Tolkien's works in 1992! "So, in 1992, TSR almost acquired the rights to JRR Tolkien's work. John Rateliff was sent to London to negotiate the deal, missing Gen Con. (Apparently, no TSR employees were allowed to miss Gen Con, but he was for this...) He met Christopher Tolkien at the Harper-Collins offices, where he asked for the rights to make RPGs, merch, and new books set in Middle-Earth. Chris Tolkien said yes to the RPGs, and some merch, but no to the fiction line. Back in Lake Geneva, Rateliff communicated this to TSR CEO Lorraine Williams. Rateliff said, "Her immortal words were, ‘Not worth our while.’” She then passed on the whole deal." Rateliff wrote the book The History of the Hobbit: The Hobbit / Mr. Baggins / Return to Bag-end. https://www.amazon.com/History-Hobbit-Baggins-Return-Bag-end/dp/0618964401

ALCHEMISTS, SAVANTS, MONSTER TAMERS, NOBLES, GUNFIGHTERS, TINKERERS AND MORE! This compilation of the books A TOUCH OF CLASS and A TOUCH MORE CLASS contains 16 full character classes for your 5E games! These new classes are fully detailed with exciting class-themed abilities! Each of these classes also contains a range of subclasses to further customize them. Buy it in full-colour HARDCOVER or PDF format from DriveThruRPG! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/280434/The-Masterclass-Codex-Sixteen-New-Character-Classes-For-Your-Fifth-Edition-Campaign Play as the brilliant savant, the black-powder gunfighter, or travel with exotic animal companions as the monster tamer! Harness the power of your environment as the geomancer, or create wondrous inventions as the tinkerer! Marshall your party as the noble, create exoctic concoctions as the alchemist, change shape as the morph, or teleport across the battlefield as the feywalker. Enjoy a full palette and depth of exciting game mechanics which allows you to explore player options in far more detail than a subclass could. This book contains: A TOUCH OF CLASS (REVISED): The original book has been revised and updated, and includes the alchemist, cardcaster, diabolist, feywalker, morph, noble, and occultist. A TOUCH MORE CLASS: This new book contains the bloodweaver, fatebender, gemini, geomancer, gunfighter, lodestar, monster tamer, savant, and tinkerer. This book contains the following sixteen classes! Alchemist: Scientific Sorcery. The alchemist uses an almost scientific approach to magic to make alchemical discoveries. Will your alchemist become immune to poison, or discover the Elixir of Life? Will you delve into the Science of Creation and build a homunculus, or research the Science of Destruction and devise explosives? We also expand on the alchemist class with three new advanced studies: the Science of Illumination, the Science of Mutation, and the Science of Regeneration. Also included are two new...

The folks making the 5th Edition powered Solasta: Crown of the Magister video game have released a gameplay trailer, and boy does it looks good. They launch their Kickstarter tomorrow, Tuesday 3rd September. I chatted to the developers about the game a couple of weeks ago. I'll update this post with the Kickstarter link when it launches. I'm definitely seeing what they mean by 'verticality' - look at the positions of the four characters in the screenshot below.

Eight months after the launch of Pathfinder 2E, Bestiary 2 will hit store shelves - 320 pages, to add to the 400+ in Bestiary 1. Here's a look at Wayne Reynolds' cover art for the book. "This 320-page hardcover rulebook greatly expands on the foes found in the Pathfinder Bestiary. From classic creatures like serpentfolk and jabberwock, returning favorites like the primal dragons or the Sandpoint devil, to brand new menaces sure to test even the bravest of heroes, this must-have tome of monsters designed to challenge characters of any level is an essential companion to your Pathfinder game! It’s never too early to invite these monsters to your table, so preorder your regular or deluxe edition today!" Here's a look at that Deluxe Edition.

I've created my 11th One Page Adventure - Mama Bear's Revenge, based on the EN5ider adventure by Jeff Gomez! When an orc lumberjack accidentally kills a bear cub, the sentient animals of the forest declare war. Can the PCs reach MAMA BEAR and end the attacks before it's too late? A new ONE PAGE ADVENTURE awaits! To get this, and all 11 One Page Adventures, you can become a patron for as little as a dollar. Please do! I vey much enjoy making these, and they are super-easy to run.