And the PDFs keep on comin'. We have the usual excellent variety of new and interesting PDFs. Along with those we have some more from Frog God Games, WotC rereleases, Adventures and even some April Fool's Day PDFs. The Spotlight: Most Interesting PDF of the Week is from a company that's long been a favorite of rpg fans and they have just released their newest book for their core line, the first one in 4 years, so make sure you check it out.
Paleomythic
This is a Stone & Sorcery rpg game with its own rule system. It is set during the Stone Age where a very low tech civilization (sticks, stone and fur) is mixed with epic magic. It comes with all the rules needed to play a wide variety of character types (including barbarians, cannibals that eat the dead for power, and witchdoctors that raise the dead), the setting of Ancient Mu and even an adventure. I like games that put the players into unique campaigns and this looks like one of those.
City of Clocks
This is a systemless setting spanning 122 pages. It features an ancient city made up of different Houses, each with their own area of control and agenda. Various races populate the city, while humans remain the dominate and numerous race. New powers are being discovered within the human race which looks to unsettle the old established balances of power. The player characters are thrust into the middle of all of this. This looks like excellent setting material and with it being designed as systemless you can layer it over your favorite rule set.
Midgard: Player's Guide to the Seven Cities
In this latest release from Kobold Press' Open Design we have the player's book for their Seven Cities publication. It includes some basic setting information on the Seven Cities, a land where war is an annual ritual and where a lowly soldier can rise to become a lord. This PDF also includes a plethora of new Pathfinder character options covering such things as new archetypes, spells, magic items, bloodlines, traits, and feats. As always, this looks like another useful and first-rate product from Open Design.
Mana Punk
Mana Punk is a fantasy steam-punk game and setting. It looks like it fuses traditional fantasy (trolls and elves are races) with steam-punk (bizarre but effective equipment). The core Game Guide provides the rules and setting for the game. This is a bundle set which includes the Mana Punk: Game Guide, along with two adventures Aria of Sorrow and The Bones of Daragom. Be aware that printing has been disabled for these PDFs and as such you will need a computer to make use of them during game play.
Theorems & Thaumaturgy
This 66 page book looks to add over 250 new spells for the Labyrinth Lords (and other old school retroclones) rule system. Along with the new spells the PDf provides 3 new classes, a new race/class, new monsters and new magic items. If you are looking to expand your old school game this free publication will be of use.
Adventures on Dungeon Planet
Dungeon World has collected a fan base since its release last year. This is a science-fiction rendition of the game system and looks to have a very pulp feel to it. It provides new classes, races, equipment along with systems for designing planets and alien cultures. If you like the Dungeon World system and are looking to use it in other genres, this is the book for you.
April Fool's Day
There are a number of rather suspect PDF offerings that all came out on April 1st. However, since most of them are free you can't go wrong.
Shadowrun Rigger 4 - New rigger gear...sort of. Put out by Catalyst Game Labs the designers of Shadowrun.
Battletech 1945 - Rules for including 1945 mechs, aka tanks, into your Battletech game...where they can be soundly trounced. Put out by Catalyst Game Labs the designers of Battletech.
Scion: Extras - Scion, the game of fledgling gods, provides this supplement of new gods. And by "gods" they mean the obscure ones everyone prefers to ignore. Put out by Onyx Path Publishing, the publishers of the Scion game.
Tacky, Tawdry and Tasteless: The Reality Show RPG - In this game the players design their own reality show, play it out and see how it does in the ratings.
Frog God Games
Following on last week’s prolific number of new PDF releases, Frog God Games has even more this week…
Unusual Suspects - This is a book full of 60 unique NPCs for Pathfinder that cover Challenge Ratings from 1-20. They include stats and complete backgrounds that can be used for jsut anything in your campaign.
Scorned – Frog God Games created a line of adventures designed to be easily inserted into an ongoing sandbox-style campaign called One Night Stands. This Swords and Wizardry adventure details the trouble the characters get into while trying to protect a caravan within a town and is for 5th level characters. It is also available for Pathfinder.
The Hollow Mountain – Along with the One Night Stands, Frog God Games has released another series of adventures, called Saturday Night Specials, meant to be inserted into ongoing campaigns. Whereas One Night Stands are designed for sandbox settings, these are short dungeon crawls that can inserted anywhere. In this adventure, for characters level 8-12, the PCs are tasked with investigating a neighboring tribe and why they have suddenly left the region to live in a mountain. It is for Swords and Wizardry and Pathfinder.
Castle Baldemar – This is a Saturday Night Special adventure for characters level 6-8. The characters are asked to help a wizard exact revenge upon his former pupil…who is now a dragon. It is for Swords and Wizardry and Pathfinder.
Ice Tower of the Salka – This is a Saturday Night Special adventure for characters level 8-12. An ice-bound lost tower of an evil sorceress is discovered and waiting to be explored. It is for Swords and Wizardry and Pathfinder.
The Mires of Mourning – This is a Saturday Night Special adventure for 6th level characters. The characters are hired to escort a prisoner to an insane asylum. It is for Swords and Wizardry and Pathfinder.
The Black Monastery – A full length adventure as the characters explore the lair of an ancient evil order. It is very old school in feel as rationalizations of events are hand-waved and it’s all about the adventure. Again, this is for Swords and Wizardry and Pathfinder (I'm sensing a theme).
WotC Classic PDFs
I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City (1E)
FOR2 The Drow of the Underdark (2E)
PHBR3 The Completel Priest’s Handbook (2E)
Complete Psionic (3.5E)
Complete Classes Bundle (3.5)
Adventures
A0 Crow’s Rest Island – Pathfinder. Level 1.
The Clockwork Wonders of Brandlehill - Pathfinder. Level 4.
The Cosmic Trader - Old School.
A11 The Wasting Way - Castles & Crusades. level 11-13.
The Ruins of Ramat - Dungeon Crawl Classics. Level 0.
Spotlight: Most Interesting PDF of the Week
Mummy the Curse
Once upon a time White Wolf took the rpg world by storm. Their preeminent rpg Vampire took over where TSR had faltered and they moved rpgs into a new era, bringing a high level sophistication to rpg games. Their world of Darkness expanded their portfolio and brought in many new players. Of late they have fallen on difficult times and some began to doubt they still existed as a publishing company. With this release (their first for WoD since 2009) they seek to change that. This is a revisiting of their Mummy book concept, bringing it up to the level of a core book for WoD and allowing it to become its own entity. You can get the core book, Mummy the Curse or their Virutal Box Set, which includes several books divided between Player and Storyteller and a Storyteller's Screen.
Paleomythic
This is a Stone & Sorcery rpg game with its own rule system. It is set during the Stone Age where a very low tech civilization (sticks, stone and fur) is mixed with epic magic. It comes with all the rules needed to play a wide variety of character types (including barbarians, cannibals that eat the dead for power, and witchdoctors that raise the dead), the setting of Ancient Mu and even an adventure. I like games that put the players into unique campaigns and this looks like one of those.
City of Clocks
This is a systemless setting spanning 122 pages. It features an ancient city made up of different Houses, each with their own area of control and agenda. Various races populate the city, while humans remain the dominate and numerous race. New powers are being discovered within the human race which looks to unsettle the old established balances of power. The player characters are thrust into the middle of all of this. This looks like excellent setting material and with it being designed as systemless you can layer it over your favorite rule set.
Midgard: Player's Guide to the Seven Cities
In this latest release from Kobold Press' Open Design we have the player's book for their Seven Cities publication. It includes some basic setting information on the Seven Cities, a land where war is an annual ritual and where a lowly soldier can rise to become a lord. This PDF also includes a plethora of new Pathfinder character options covering such things as new archetypes, spells, magic items, bloodlines, traits, and feats. As always, this looks like another useful and first-rate product from Open Design.
Mana Punk
Mana Punk is a fantasy steam-punk game and setting. It looks like it fuses traditional fantasy (trolls and elves are races) with steam-punk (bizarre but effective equipment). The core Game Guide provides the rules and setting for the game. This is a bundle set which includes the Mana Punk: Game Guide, along with two adventures Aria of Sorrow and The Bones of Daragom. Be aware that printing has been disabled for these PDFs and as such you will need a computer to make use of them during game play.
Theorems & Thaumaturgy
This 66 page book looks to add over 250 new spells for the Labyrinth Lords (and other old school retroclones) rule system. Along with the new spells the PDf provides 3 new classes, a new race/class, new monsters and new magic items. If you are looking to expand your old school game this free publication will be of use.
Adventures on Dungeon Planet
Dungeon World has collected a fan base since its release last year. This is a science-fiction rendition of the game system and looks to have a very pulp feel to it. It provides new classes, races, equipment along with systems for designing planets and alien cultures. If you like the Dungeon World system and are looking to use it in other genres, this is the book for you.
April Fool's Day
There are a number of rather suspect PDF offerings that all came out on April 1st. However, since most of them are free you can't go wrong.
Shadowrun Rigger 4 - New rigger gear...sort of. Put out by Catalyst Game Labs the designers of Shadowrun.
Battletech 1945 - Rules for including 1945 mechs, aka tanks, into your Battletech game...where they can be soundly trounced. Put out by Catalyst Game Labs the designers of Battletech.
Scion: Extras - Scion, the game of fledgling gods, provides this supplement of new gods. And by "gods" they mean the obscure ones everyone prefers to ignore. Put out by Onyx Path Publishing, the publishers of the Scion game.
Tacky, Tawdry and Tasteless: The Reality Show RPG - In this game the players design their own reality show, play it out and see how it does in the ratings.
Frog God Games
Following on last week’s prolific number of new PDF releases, Frog God Games has even more this week…
Unusual Suspects - This is a book full of 60 unique NPCs for Pathfinder that cover Challenge Ratings from 1-20. They include stats and complete backgrounds that can be used for jsut anything in your campaign.
Scorned – Frog God Games created a line of adventures designed to be easily inserted into an ongoing sandbox-style campaign called One Night Stands. This Swords and Wizardry adventure details the trouble the characters get into while trying to protect a caravan within a town and is for 5th level characters. It is also available for Pathfinder.
The Hollow Mountain – Along with the One Night Stands, Frog God Games has released another series of adventures, called Saturday Night Specials, meant to be inserted into ongoing campaigns. Whereas One Night Stands are designed for sandbox settings, these are short dungeon crawls that can inserted anywhere. In this adventure, for characters level 8-12, the PCs are tasked with investigating a neighboring tribe and why they have suddenly left the region to live in a mountain. It is for Swords and Wizardry and Pathfinder.
Castle Baldemar – This is a Saturday Night Special adventure for characters level 6-8. The characters are asked to help a wizard exact revenge upon his former pupil…who is now a dragon. It is for Swords and Wizardry and Pathfinder.
Ice Tower of the Salka – This is a Saturday Night Special adventure for characters level 8-12. An ice-bound lost tower of an evil sorceress is discovered and waiting to be explored. It is for Swords and Wizardry and Pathfinder.
The Mires of Mourning – This is a Saturday Night Special adventure for 6th level characters. The characters are hired to escort a prisoner to an insane asylum. It is for Swords and Wizardry and Pathfinder.
The Black Monastery – A full length adventure as the characters explore the lair of an ancient evil order. It is very old school in feel as rationalizations of events are hand-waved and it’s all about the adventure. Again, this is for Swords and Wizardry and Pathfinder (I'm sensing a theme).
WotC Classic PDFs
I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City (1E)
FOR2 The Drow of the Underdark (2E)
PHBR3 The Completel Priest’s Handbook (2E)
Complete Psionic (3.5E)
Complete Classes Bundle (3.5)
Adventures
A0 Crow’s Rest Island – Pathfinder. Level 1.
The Clockwork Wonders of Brandlehill - Pathfinder. Level 4.
The Cosmic Trader - Old School.
A11 The Wasting Way - Castles & Crusades. level 11-13.
The Ruins of Ramat - Dungeon Crawl Classics. Level 0.
Spotlight: Most Interesting PDF of the Week
Mummy the Curse
Once upon a time White Wolf took the rpg world by storm. Their preeminent rpg Vampire took over where TSR had faltered and they moved rpgs into a new era, bringing a high level sophistication to rpg games. Their world of Darkness expanded their portfolio and brought in many new players. Of late they have fallen on difficult times and some began to doubt they still existed as a publishing company. With this release (their first for WoD since 2009) they seek to change that. This is a revisiting of their Mummy book concept, bringing it up to the level of a core book for WoD and allowing it to become its own entity. You can get the core book, Mummy the Curse or their Virutal Box Set, which includes several books divided between Player and Storyteller and a Storyteller's Screen.
Imagine being both dead and deathless at the same time. Imagine being cradled in the arms of death for years, sometimes decades on end, but all the while knowing that you will eventually not only arise again, but awaken to an unfamiliar world that mostly fears and hates you. Now imagine that your purpose, your entire existence, is bound within this cycle -- that you are chained to it for all eternity. You sleep, you wake, your serve your Judge's will in the lands of the living, and you return to the death-sleep once more. The ancient culture that empowered you is gone, lost to the sands of time... yet you endure.
In Mummy: The Curse, a Storytelling game set in the World of Darkness, you play one of these beings. Those who know they exist, from the cultists who serve them to the dark forces arrayed against them, call them the Deathless.
