[Spes Magna] Making Craft Work (see last post)

[Mark Chance]

The PDF Versatile Performance Redux entered the final editing stages today. It will be available to Quid Novi? subscribers this Sunday, March 21.

Huzzah!



This new subscriber-only PDF presents an alternative system for Versatile Performance that draws upon terminology related to music, dance, and acting. For example, a bard could learn Accelerando. This ability lets the morale bonus provided by Inspire Courage apply to Reflex saves instead of saves against charm and fear effects. Furthermore, when the bard reaches 6th level, affected allies gain a +5-foot bonus to base speed.

 

[Mark Chance]

It's official. I've completed Versatile Performance Redux, a 7-page PDF freebie for Quid Novi? subscribers. Quid Novi? VII has the download link, and it ships to in-boxes everywhere shortly after midnight EST, Sunday, March 21.

 

[Mark Chance]

Every issue of Quid Novi? features some recommended reading. I posted March's reading recommendations over at the Spes Magna site.

Enjoy!

 

[Mark Chance]

What's new with Spes Magna Games? Good question! Pop by the site to find out.

 

[Mark Chance]

I'm going to perform rhinoplasty on myself starting tonight. Yes, that's right. Do-it-yourself nose-jobs. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Read about it at the Spes Magna Games site.

 

[Mark Chance]

The next Quid Novi? newsletter comes out this Sunday. If you're not a subscriber, now's a good a time as any time to become one. Subscriptions for Quid Novi? are always free (excepting the cost of an email address in order to sign up).

I recently started reading W. B. Yeats again after finding my paperback collection of his works. This poem provides inspiration for a short adventure synopsis featured in the next newsletter:

"The Song of Wandering Aengus" by W. B. Yeats

I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread;

And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.

When I had laid it on the floor
I went to blow the fire a-flame,
But something rustled on the floor,
And some one called me by my name:
It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And faded through the brightening air.

Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.

Read more about Quid Novi? at the Spes Magna Games website.

 

[Mark Chance]

Until midnight on Mother's Day, Rewarding Roleplaying can be purchased for 75 cents instead of the normal $1.50 cover price.

The discount code is mater. Click to visit our Purchase Page.

 

[Mark Chance]

Purchase two PDF products for $0.75 US. Latina Facta includes 15 new feats based on Latin sayings. Versatile Performance Redux introduces an alternate Versatile Performance class feature for Pathfinder bards.

Here's the relevant link.

Caveat: Latina Facta and Versatile Performance Redux were previously available for free to Quid Novi? subscribers. If you're one of the lucky ones who've already downloaded these, there's no need to purchase them.

One-half of sales from Spes Magna products are donated to help the Mission of Yahweh, a faith-based shelter located in Houston, Texas, that empowers, enriches, and restores the lives of homeless women and children and provides outreach services to low-income families in our neighborhood.

Remember: Quid Novi? subscribers get one-third off the cover price on all Spes Magna products, and everything we sell has a money-back guarantee.

 

[Mark Chance]

Yes, you too can enjoy Spes Magna Games PDFs in the privacy of your own home!

Two Products in One!

Purchase two PDF products in one for $0.75 US. Latina Facta includes 15 new feats based on Latin sayings. Versatile Performance Redux introduces an alternate Versatile Performance class feature for bards.

Here's a sample feat from Latina Facta:

Lux et Veritas (General)
Light and truth.
Prerequisite: Ability to cast any spell with the light descriptor.
Benefit: When you cast a spell with the light descriptor, you gain a +4 bonus to Perception and Sense Motive checks as long as you are in the area of effect of the spell.

And here's a sample bit from Versatile Performance Redux:

Faking (Ex) Faking is a term used when someone actually does a legitimate move, but does not understand what took place. A bard uses Faking and 1 round of Bardic Performance to feint in combat with a Perform (dance) check instead of a Bluff check. A 6th-level bard can use Faking as a move action rather than a standard action.

Caveat: Latina Facta and Versatile Performance Redux were previously available for free to Quid Novi? subscribers. If you're one of the lucky ones who've already downloaded these, there's no need to purchase them.

Help Your Players Be Better Roleplayers!

Spes Magna Games also offers Rewarding Roleplaying for $1.50 US. This add-on works with nearly any d20 System game. Rewarding Roleplaying links player-defined roleplaying goals with a robust Action Point system.

Rewarding Roleplaying has received nothing but positive feedback so far (visit here for examples), including this review (excerpted from this thread):

A no frills, but excellent written release I must say. I've always enjoyed using Action Points in a game (originally introduced to them via WotC's Eberron Campaign). This product offers an alternate solution by using action points to reward players for roleplaying instead of XP.
It recommends certain social contracts between the GM and the PC on a per session and also at the campaign level and if met, APs are awarded. It offers a twist on the the way it is expended and regained that is a variant of what some of you may be accustomed to from other settings that use them.

When I say there's no frills, it isn't meant to be disparaging. Simple b/w artwork, single wide-column, but aesthetically readable font-type. Mark has a writing and presentation style that is polished and concise. After a good introduction, you get the feeling that you're really learning something (I picked up a few new words in latin based on their etymology) as well as examples and a couple of footnotes. If you make a Perception check, you can notice that there's a (sl/dr)y sense of humor subtly peeking through the contents.

You can tell that the author has an editorial and teaching background easily upon the first read of this release. Once you've finished it (11 pages, but 8 being the main context), the concept he proposes is easy enough to comprehend and worth giving it a shot.

This is primarily a release directed toward GMs, but if you're one of those individuals that have been frustrated by how a campaign (whether from the position of the GM or the PC) has been going based on XP awards being slanted toward certain types of players, then this is the release for you to acquire and perhaps even build on from it.

.... It's a five star from me.

Visit Our Purchase Page Today!

Both PDFs can be purchased at the Spes Magna Games Purchase Page. Remember: Quid Novi? subscribers get one-third off the cover price on all Spes Magna products, and everything we sell has a money-back guarantee.

 

[Mark Chance]

Our latest PDF, Gazae et Monstri: Treasures & Monsters of Greek & Roman Myth, is now available for a mere $0.99 US. Here's the Purchase Page.

Information about Man-Day's new "We're Not In Kansas Anymore!" campaign has been posted at the Spes Magna Games website. This new campaign takes five normal, 21st-century people and transports them to the fantastic land of the Four Communities.

On site, you can now find...

...a summary of the first session.
...a rough map of the Four Communities.
...a summary of what the PCs have learned about the region's major factions.

In other news, Spes Magna Games will soon have its own storefront at Paizo.com. The initial paperwork is being processed. Look for the announcement of this earth-shattering event in a future blogpost. More hyperbole may also be included.

I've also completed another column for Game Geek, this time looking at some common defenses against the supernatural that can be included in just about any d20 System game.

Moving over to non-game stuff, I've posted Secrets of Marriage Men (Part 3) and continued with my Houston Religion & Politics Examiner series of articles.

Enjoy!