Tell me how you've used Ronin Arts pdfs

[JoeGKushner]

Let's see... For me, I've used quite a few of the books. heck, I even have one of the limited edition books that Phil put together a long time ago that was latter updated and released by Bad Axe Games.

I tended to get a lot more enjoyment out of the earlier products as I enjoy the artwork in them, even when it was heavily reused in the same product.

Let's see... some specific examples...

Ran An Evening's Entertainment. Way too quick and short but the players got to kill bugs so they were happy.

I was going to run The Clockwork Heart. I made several notes about how the humans on that world were actually taken over by the Possessors, which lead to the Heart itself turning against humans despite once having protected them. Decided that it was too vague in the end and moved onto something else.

I've used several of the Constructs as NPC's in my campaign though. Now we have some 3.5 versions like the Warforged and the Ironborn. I haven't seen the latter yet, but I've used the Wargored several times.

I've actually used a few characters from the Scrollworks collection. My favorite one has to be the guy whose sections starts, "Now it's time for the big dogs to eat." Some interesting characters in that one.

The Book of Unusual Treasures has some great things in it. While I'm not a big fan of the spell components as I think they're too powerful, I've used a few. I've also used a lot of the mundane treasures.

Some of the books have been useful for adding little tidbits to the campaign like Treasures of Freeport. I think that book could've used some more magic items of a swashbuckling nature, but there were some nice toys in there. Treasures of the Yellow Sign anyone?

 

[x12b20]

As the guy that wrote A Dozen Disgusting Spells, A Dozen Troublesome Spells, Forbidden Arcana: Magical Foods and Forbidden Arcana: Magical Pipes and Tobaccos, I just had to jump in and say how much I am enjoying reading this thread.

Kudos to Man-thing for starting this thread and to all those that have participated so far. I certainly hope to read more.

 

[philreed]

I tended to get a lot more enjoyment out of the earlier products as I enjoy the artwork in them, even when it was heavily reused in the same product.

Unfortunately, sales aren't good enough for us to devote Christopher's energy to a lot of PDF projects. He's concentrating on our bigger-budget ventures at this time.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Well let's go through my stuff.

Most used is very definitely The Campaign Planner, but that is kind of obvious. (I use sheets from both versions, standard & modern, pretty much without regard as to which type of setting I am running - the organization sheets in modern being the most frequent crossovers. (I like having secret societies running around with conflicting agendas...)

I use the expansions for E. N. Publishing's Steam & Steel (Steam & Steel Diseases, and Steam & Steel Expanded Prosthetics) a fair bit in my Iron Kingdoms campaign. most recently inflicting the most frequently recurring antagonist (not a villain exactly, but far from a nice guy - he was also the first person to hire the party...) with Steady Loss, they are caught between trying to get him back in the good graces of the church (he is an outspoken athiest), letting the disease run its course, or finding another, nondivine, cure for him. They were still arguing over which to do at the end of the latest game a few weeks ago. Pretty much a 2-2-2 split.

They know how far they can trust him (he always keeps his word, but read the contract carefully), know he is a cold hearted, ruthless SoB, and like the idea of him owing them a favor for a change.(His SOP is to get them into a situation where they owe him before hiring or otherwise using them, things like using his influence on certain corrupt judges he knows for example, just after the PCs have had a confrontation with the authorities...)

Using the diseases and prosthetic modifications as plot points has gotten me a lot more mileage than just having them as hazards and equipment. (Another was one of the PCs not knowing that there was a compartment built into his prosthetic arm, nor what was inside it, or for that matter why there were people following him after the creator was murdered...) He should have wondered why the craftsman allowed himself to be argued down on the price.

I use the rules for limb loss outlined in Swashbuckling Adventures in regards to why you might need prosthetics. (Basically if a PC takes enough damage to kill him from a critical hit he can instead accept the permanent disabling of a random body part. Called shots can also be chosen instead of criticals, with a varying degree of difficulty.) So far only one PC has lost a limb, when the Musketeer/Bodyguard took a shot from an ogre sized gun.

Next on the agenda is 101 Occult Events, which I am using in my OGL Steampunk game in areas around the Places of Power (places where the membrane between the world they are in and the eldritch realms is thin, spell users can gane power there, but sometimes things break through... it is also the only place where elfs can heal themselves from something that I call The Wasting, a slow erosion of their Con and Cha, they are not from the mortal realms, and magic is slowly being driven out.) A few will become plot points, while others are just there to indicate general strangeness in the area - if they don't figure it out, oh well...

I was intending to use The Pumpkin Patch this Halloween for my Iron Kingdoms game, but because of moving the game got cancelled.

The Auld Grump

*EDIT* Heh, I just realized that I hadn't gotten around to buying Pumpkin Patch... after rooting around for half an hour on my hard drive trying to find it... But it is enough to push my order over the minimum at RPGNow.

 

[Man-thing]

Well let's go through my stuff.

Most used is very definitely The Campaign Planner, but that is kind of obvious.

Heh, I just realized that I hadn't gotten around to buying Pumpkin Patch... after rooting around for half an hour on my hard drive trying to find it... But it is enough to push my order over the minimum at RPGNow.

I use the d20 Fantasy campaign planner and really appreciate the forms version so that I can enter material as I'm planning on my computer. Then when a sheet is ready I can print and store it in my campaign binder.

Fantasy Players Companion: Contacts had a good number of influence, knowledge and skill contacts that I've been slowly tricking into my game. The 1 page format with areas for variation allow me to slip it my campaign binder as well.

I was also thinking about the "rooting around for the product" comment and can't expressed how pleased I was when earlier this year Ronin Arts released the compilation of Forbidden Arcana to all owners of the individual pdfs. Now I can go to one source instead of looking for a series of files.
[Hopefully, A Dozen... will eventually become a compilation as well, and Athenaeum Arcane]

 

[philreed]

I was also thinking about the "rooting around for the product" comment and can't expressed how pleased I was when earlier this year Ronin Arts released the compilation of Forbidden Arcana to all owners of the individual pdfs. Now I can go to one source instead of looking for a series of files.

That collection was a massive job and, so far, not exactly worth it. Since release the collection has sold 27 copies in PDF (and 0 in print).

[Hopefully, A Dozen... will eventually become a compilation as well, and Athenaeum Arcane]

There may be a collection of the "A Dozen . . . " series in the future. So far, though, the market has proven to me time and again that large projects aren't worth the effort. It's as I expected, people like the shorter PDFs since they can buy only the information that they want.

 

[jaerdaph]

The Ronin Arts Modern PDF collection, especially those dealing with the occult, aliens and conspiracies, *is* the d20 Modern Dark*Matter campaign setting we Dark*Matter fans have been clamoring for.

 

[arwink]

I've recieved a bunch of items from the 101 treasures series in a game I'm playing in.

I've used the pumpkin wardens from the first Visions PDF in my last campaign (a kind of planar Wizard of Oz adventure).

Various modern occult items are slowly filtering their way into my d20 Dark*Matter game.

And I'm currently putting together a one-off Motocaust adventure so I can try out the system over the holidays.

 

[Geron Raveneye]

I almost forgot about that! One of my players is utilizing on of the special priest (Sun), I think. It's provided a more depth and a 2nd specialty priest feel back to the cleric without resorting to prestige classes.

I think Michael Hammes is writing the pipeline this week. (Since, they switch a week at a time).

Hey, Phil will there be a way to get an extension on my pipeline subscription next June or so. That way I can continue to get the material?

Specialty priests? Could you give me a few more details, please? That's something I've SO been looking for for D&D, and still haven't found? It's one concept I really miss from AD&D 2E.

 

[philreed]

Specialty priests? Could you give me a few more details, please? That's something I've SO been looking for for D&D, and still haven't found? It's one concept I really miss from AD&D 2E.

These can also be found in the monthly PDF collections of the Pipeline. These are basically variant versions of the cleric's class features.

The two with specialty priests should be:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3730

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3540