Here we are, well into the first week of December, and many of you are thinking of gift-giving. Not only should you consider what you wish to give your friends and fellow gamers, you may also wish to get a Wish List put together of things you'd really like to get. It seems self-serving, I know, but the truth is most folks greatly appreciate knowing what kinds of things they should get a friend or family member - especially if said friend or family member has off-the-beaten-path hobbies like us. May I humbly recommend the DriveThruRPG Wishlist option, which you can fill in, then post up on social media or send out via email. It makes shopping for you Click-and-Easy. (OK, I am so sorry for that pun...)
Shaintar: Elvish Nation
The nearly-unbelievable tide of Shaintar Guidebooks continues sweeping in with this latest book – Elvish Nation. Everything you’d want to know about Shaintar’s elvish population and culture, including some keen Edges and such. As with all the Shaintar books, anyone playing Savage Worlds fantasy and related genres will find a lot to add to their own games.
The sourcebook for Shaintar’s elves, Elvish Nation takes you deep through the forests of this proud and magical people. You’ll learn about the Unias, Quo-Unias and about the delicate balance between tradition and progress or the older Eldakar vs. the Alakar. We’ll talk about everything from Architecture to Beliefs and rituals.
There’s no nobles or peasants but there are terms given to certain people in this society and they’re here too. There’s also a number of NPCs and story hooks ready for a GM to use to enhance a campaign along with some new edges from the creator of this realm, Sean Patrick Fannon.
Tropicana
Up here, north of the Equator, it’s gettin’ seriously cold and wintry for many of us. GRAmel wants to remind you what it means to be warm… and hot. Hot as an episode of Magnum, P.I..
Once upon a time in the Caribbean…
In Tropicana, characters are adventurers, rogues and troubleshooters, on the narrow border between law and something else.
They are detectives and spies, gamblers and mercenaries, exotic dancers and celebrities in need, traffickers and thugs, pilots and soldiers, surfers and tourists, students and activists. They will surely find themselves in trouble, be hired to handle trouble or actively look for trouble. And trouble in San José is always big, complicated and twisted.
And after any adventure, they like to have boat drinks and smoke cigars together by the poolside.
Tropicana is a game of action heroes, special agents and troubleshooters in San José, a rogue state consisting of a tropical metropolis, its wild jungle hinterland and a small archipelago of paradise islands.
Fight criminals, investigate ancient mysteries, solve cases, seduce the most beautiful men and women!
Now grab your gun and a mojito and join the spies, billionaires and rebels in this gangsta’s paradise!
Elminster’s Forgotten Realms
Quite a few recent Picks have been pretty Savage, so today I am bringing my friend Ed Greenwood‘s efforts to the fore with this rather interesting D&D-related product… that’s not specifically D&D. I mean, it is, but it isn’t. Just… read and see what I mean.
The Forgotten Realms is the most successful and widely known Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting ever created, and it owes its existence to creator Ed Greenwood.
This 160-page book describes the campaign setting as it lives and breathes in the imagination of its creator. Through the alter ego of Elminster, Archmage of Shadowdale, Ed Greenwood presents the Realms as a setting where companies of crazed adventurers are born and have rich lives, and where they get to call the shots. In this book, Ed presents a world where friendships are forged, endless intrigues unfold, and heroes wage war against the monstrous inhabitants of famous dungeons and untamed wildernesses.
Product History [Excerpts]
Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster’s Forgotten Realms (2012) is an edition-neutral sourcebook for the Forgotten Realms. It was published in October 2012.
Farewell to 4e. (Take Two.) Two months before the release of Elminster’s Forgotten Realms, Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue (2012),
appeared as an edition-neutral sourcebook, marking the end of the D&D 4e era (2008-2012). This was a trend that Wizards had also following during the transition between D&D 3e and 4e (2007-2008); it was intended to keep supplements relevant even past the lifespan of a game edition.
Now, Elminster’s Forgotten Realms put the final nail in 4e’s coffin: not only was it another edition-neutral book, but it was also the first book to do away with the D&D 4e trade dress. Its cover and interior instaed mixed elegant blacks with constrained parchments — a big change from the brighter colors and plainer whites used during the D&D 4e era.
…
Origins. Wizards had a simple concept for Elminster’s Forgotten Realms: get Realms creator Ed Greenwood back in the game. They wrote:
“We basically went to Ed and said hey, why don’t you take all your campaign notes, all the information you’ve been putting together for your FR campaign and let’s compile it into a book. Show us the Realms as you’ve developed it in your campaign setting and let’s get that to everybody. It’s our celebration of the Forgotten Realms and pulling back the curtain to show you what the designer of the campaign setting has done.”
Shards of the City
I am very fond of tools that help GMs with the task of preparing and running a game, and Tabletop Adventures has a wide variety of products oriented towards that very goal. This is their latest offering, and it may be one of the best ideas I’ve seen along these lines in quite a while.
Also, they are the kinds of folks who understand the powerful value of a good index!
People are the life of every city. How do you quickly populate a fantasy game city with interesting characters? Shards of the City answers that question! With 25 full encounters and events (including plot hooks to draw the adventurers in for future interaction), and another 50 colorful descriptions, there are more than enough people here to enliven a world for a long time.
Shards of the City focuses on encounters with humans, to make it useful in the widest variety of game settings, but other races could be easily substituted in most of the encounters. In the meantime, the occasional orcish weapons seller or goblin bartender will keep player characters on their toes. All material is system-neutral, and indexed for ease of use.
The 25 major pieces in Shards of the City can be building blocks of a scene or adventures. They each feature a one-sentence overview for the GM, three different perspectives on each encounter (approaching, coming closer, and up close and personal),GM notes as needed, and a variety of plot hooks to draw the adventurers and the NPC or event together for future interaction. The other 50 pieces are descriptions which could apply to most quasi-medieval fantasy cities; GMs should use them purposefully to add color to a scene.
For extra value, a handful of descriptions of “Exotic Locales,” places far from the average European setting. Finally, Tabletop Adventures has again provided a useful index, to help a GM find something specific or just browse for inspiration.
Strange Revelations
This one is specifically for those running Monte Cook Games’ The Strange, as it provides quick, jump-in material for getting a night’s game on. Note that this also makes it a great gift idea for your favorite GM.
What’s the hardest part of running a roleplaying game? It has to be the preparation. You can’t just spontaneously say, “Let’s play a roleplaying game” unless someone’s already spent hours preparing an adventure for the group. But what if running a great game didn’t require any more effort for the game master than it does for the players? What if you could get up and running in—literally—just five minutes?
Strange Revelations makes prepping for an RPG no more difficult or time consuming than setting up a board game, while showcasing the wonder and weirdness of the many recursions lying in the Shoals of Earth. This is a must-have for beginning and veteran GMs of The Strange.
These aren’t adventure seeds—they’re complete adventures in an innovative format that requires minimal prep. Run them as one-shots or drop them into your ongoing campaign when you don’t have time to prep your own adventures. You can even run them together as a campaign for months of effortless play!
Strange Revelations includes:
I will try to not let the holidays throw me off too much, but I will appreciate your patience if a day or two is skipped here or there. We're pretty much staying around the home base, but that still includes a lot of holiday parties and gatherings, as well as a trip out to Blackhawk to experience all they have to offer.
In the shorter term - this weekend - #TheInterestedParties (AKA myself as "Big Irish" and Donavin Santini as "The Big Don") are making yet another appearance at the local NRW event. Now that they are part of the NWA, we expect the overall profile of the promotion to expand.
Tomorrow, we're heading to the Baker Street event at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, followed by an evening of board gaming.
Sunday, I get to run my Modern Gods setting campaign, Storm Wardens: The Lighthouse, with the incredible group I've been very lucky to pull together. This will be Issue #2 - Boots on the Ground, where the team learns just how big their universe is...
The Adventure Continues...
~SPF
Shaintar: Elvish Nation
The nearly-unbelievable tide of Shaintar Guidebooks continues sweeping in with this latest book – Elvish Nation. Everything you’d want to know about Shaintar’s elvish population and culture, including some keen Edges and such. As with all the Shaintar books, anyone playing Savage Worlds fantasy and related genres will find a lot to add to their own games.
The sourcebook for Shaintar’s elves, Elvish Nation takes you deep through the forests of this proud and magical people. You’ll learn about the Unias, Quo-Unias and about the delicate balance between tradition and progress or the older Eldakar vs. the Alakar. We’ll talk about everything from Architecture to Beliefs and rituals.
There’s no nobles or peasants but there are terms given to certain people in this society and they’re here too. There’s also a number of NPCs and story hooks ready for a GM to use to enhance a campaign along with some new edges from the creator of this realm, Sean Patrick Fannon.
Tropicana
Up here, north of the Equator, it’s gettin’ seriously cold and wintry for many of us. GRAmel wants to remind you what it means to be warm… and hot. Hot as an episode of Magnum, P.I..
Once upon a time in the Caribbean…
In Tropicana, characters are adventurers, rogues and troubleshooters, on the narrow border between law and something else.
They are detectives and spies, gamblers and mercenaries, exotic dancers and celebrities in need, traffickers and thugs, pilots and soldiers, surfers and tourists, students and activists. They will surely find themselves in trouble, be hired to handle trouble or actively look for trouble. And trouble in San José is always big, complicated and twisted.
And after any adventure, they like to have boat drinks and smoke cigars together by the poolside.
Tropicana is a game of action heroes, special agents and troubleshooters in San José, a rogue state consisting of a tropical metropolis, its wild jungle hinterland and a small archipelago of paradise islands.
Fight criminals, investigate ancient mysteries, solve cases, seduce the most beautiful men and women!
Now grab your gun and a mojito and join the spies, billionaires and rebels in this gangsta’s paradise!
Elminster’s Forgotten Realms
Quite a few recent Picks have been pretty Savage, so today I am bringing my friend Ed Greenwood‘s efforts to the fore with this rather interesting D&D-related product… that’s not specifically D&D. I mean, it is, but it isn’t. Just… read and see what I mean.
The Forgotten Realms is the most successful and widely known Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting ever created, and it owes its existence to creator Ed Greenwood.
This 160-page book describes the campaign setting as it lives and breathes in the imagination of its creator. Through the alter ego of Elminster, Archmage of Shadowdale, Ed Greenwood presents the Realms as a setting where companies of crazed adventurers are born and have rich lives, and where they get to call the shots. In this book, Ed presents a world where friendships are forged, endless intrigues unfold, and heroes wage war against the monstrous inhabitants of famous dungeons and untamed wildernesses.
Product History [Excerpts]
Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster’s Forgotten Realms (2012) is an edition-neutral sourcebook for the Forgotten Realms. It was published in October 2012.
Farewell to 4e. (Take Two.) Two months before the release of Elminster’s Forgotten Realms, Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue (2012),
appeared as an edition-neutral sourcebook, marking the end of the D&D 4e era (2008-2012). This was a trend that Wizards had also following during the transition between D&D 3e and 4e (2007-2008); it was intended to keep supplements relevant even past the lifespan of a game edition.
Now, Elminster’s Forgotten Realms put the final nail in 4e’s coffin: not only was it another edition-neutral book, but it was also the first book to do away with the D&D 4e trade dress. Its cover and interior instaed mixed elegant blacks with constrained parchments — a big change from the brighter colors and plainer whites used during the D&D 4e era.
…
Origins. Wizards had a simple concept for Elminster’s Forgotten Realms: get Realms creator Ed Greenwood back in the game. They wrote:
“We basically went to Ed and said hey, why don’t you take all your campaign notes, all the information you’ve been putting together for your FR campaign and let’s compile it into a book. Show us the Realms as you’ve developed it in your campaign setting and let’s get that to everybody. It’s our celebration of the Forgotten Realms and pulling back the curtain to show you what the designer of the campaign setting has done.”
Shards of the City
I am very fond of tools that help GMs with the task of preparing and running a game, and Tabletop Adventures has a wide variety of products oriented towards that very goal. This is their latest offering, and it may be one of the best ideas I’ve seen along these lines in quite a while.
Also, they are the kinds of folks who understand the powerful value of a good index!
People are the life of every city. How do you quickly populate a fantasy game city with interesting characters? Shards of the City answers that question! With 25 full encounters and events (including plot hooks to draw the adventurers in for future interaction), and another 50 colorful descriptions, there are more than enough people here to enliven a world for a long time.
Shards of the City focuses on encounters with humans, to make it useful in the widest variety of game settings, but other races could be easily substituted in most of the encounters. In the meantime, the occasional orcish weapons seller or goblin bartender will keep player characters on their toes. All material is system-neutral, and indexed for ease of use.
The 25 major pieces in Shards of the City can be building blocks of a scene or adventures. They each feature a one-sentence overview for the GM, three different perspectives on each encounter (approaching, coming closer, and up close and personal),GM notes as needed, and a variety of plot hooks to draw the adventurers and the NPC or event together for future interaction. The other 50 pieces are descriptions which could apply to most quasi-medieval fantasy cities; GMs should use them purposefully to add color to a scene.
For extra value, a handful of descriptions of “Exotic Locales,” places far from the average European setting. Finally, Tabletop Adventures has again provided a useful index, to help a GM find something specific or just browse for inspiration.
Strange Revelations
This one is specifically for those running Monte Cook Games’ The Strange, as it provides quick, jump-in material for getting a night’s game on. Note that this also makes it a great gift idea for your favorite GM.
What’s the hardest part of running a roleplaying game? It has to be the preparation. You can’t just spontaneously say, “Let’s play a roleplaying game” unless someone’s already spent hours preparing an adventure for the group. But what if running a great game didn’t require any more effort for the game master than it does for the players? What if you could get up and running in—literally—just five minutes?
Strange Revelations makes prepping for an RPG no more difficult or time consuming than setting up a board game, while showcasing the wonder and weirdness of the many recursions lying in the Shoals of Earth. This is a must-have for beginning and veteran GMs of The Strange.
These aren’t adventure seeds—they’re complete adventures in an innovative format that requires minimal prep. Run them as one-shots or drop them into your ongoing campaign when you don’t have time to prep your own adventures. You can even run them together as a campaign for months of effortless play!
Strange Revelations includes:
- Ten adventures on Earth and across numerous recursions, complete with maps, NPCs, and all the details you expect.
- An innovative format for adventures: five minutes of prep gets you started, with no need to read pages and pages of text in advance.
- An escape from a post-apocalyptic cannibal wasteland, a horror-themed board game that exerts bizarre powers over its players, a medieval wardrobe that opens into a hellish realm, and much, much more.
- Great advice on running adventures with little or no prep.
- Beautiful, full-color Show ’Em illustrations to reveal to players during the adventures.
- Six pregenerated characters that get you playing in minutes.
- A handy rules cheat sheet to make things run even more smoothly.
I will try to not let the holidays throw me off too much, but I will appreciate your patience if a day or two is skipped here or there. We're pretty much staying around the home base, but that still includes a lot of holiday parties and gatherings, as well as a trip out to Blackhawk to experience all they have to offer.
In the shorter term - this weekend - #TheInterestedParties (AKA myself as "Big Irish" and Donavin Santini as "The Big Don") are making yet another appearance at the local NRW event. Now that they are part of the NWA, we expect the overall profile of the promotion to expand.
Tomorrow, we're heading to the Baker Street event at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, followed by an evening of board gaming.
Sunday, I get to run my Modern Gods setting campaign, Storm Wardens: The Lighthouse, with the incredible group I've been very lucky to pull together. This will be Issue #2 - Boots on the Ground, where the team learns just how big their universe is...
The Adventure Continues...
~SPF
