NOD 28
First and foremost - I've put NOD 28 out for sale today as a PDF! It's going for $4.99 - 78 pages, with part one of the Trollheim Mountains hex crawl (trolls, pseudo-Russians, elemental folk, a crazed demigod, etc.), a Swiss mercenary character class, new rules for handling disease in RPG's and a campaign idea for a "World of Atlantis" game drawing from Theosophy's notion of "root races". Tons of fun for $4.99. GET IT HERE or HERE.
BLOOD & TREASURE 2nd edition
I'm about 80% complete with editing and laying out the new B&T Player's Tome, and about 35% complete with the Treasure Keeper's Tome. The 2nd edition will not be a major departure from the first, but I've made some adjustments to saving throw values, XP requirements, I've tried to give the sorcerer some personality and make the ranger the cool cat I remember from youth, streamline any rules that could use streamlining, etc. The goal is still RULES LITE - OPTIONS HEAVY. Most of the work I've done is concerned with improving the layout and incorporating the first edition errata. I've also commissioned new covers from David Williams, which are being colored now. Here's a sneak peek - half of this image will be the Player's Tome, the other half will be the TK's Tome.
If anybody has an ingenious old school idea they think would improve fantasy gaming, let me know and I'll see if I can't incorporate it into the rules.
QUICK MONSTER: GOATMAN
Goatmen live in hidden valleys, deep within forbidding mountains. Half mad, chaos flows through their veins. When the moon is full, they descend into the lowlands, seeking out people to torment or torture.
Goatman, Medium Monstrous Humanoid: HD 1; AC 16; ATK 1 slam (1d6); MV 30; SV F15 R13 W14; XP 250 (CL3); Special-Auras.
Goatmen cause fear (as the spell) to all within 10' of them. Each time a person succumbs to this fear, the goatman grows larger, gaining 1 hit dice (and all that goes with it). At 6 HD, they become large creatures and their aura changes to one of madness (save or go temporarily mad). Each person that goes mad causes the goatman to gain another HD. At 12 HD, the goatman becomes huge, and the aura becomes one of death. All within 10' of the beast must save or die. Each creature that dies increases the goatman's hit dice by 1. At 18 HD, the goatman explodes into shadow and ceases to exist. The land where he explodes becomes permanently blighted and haunted by the souls of those who died.
MYSTERY MEN! Revision
I'm further along with the MM! revision than B&T. The book is laid out, the rules tinkered with, and now I just need to give it a thorough editing. This version will still have the sample Shore City setting and the sample adventure, but will also include several write-ups of heroes and villains.
NEW SPELL: UNWITTING ALLY
Magic-User 2
Range 10' radius
Duration 1 minute
One enemy helps you despite himself. When this spell is cast, one enemy within 10' chosen at random must pass a Will save or become your unwitting, unwilling ally. Every move the creature makes has the possibility of helping you. For each action, roll 1d6.
1-2. The creature's action proceeds as normal.
3-5. The creature's action proceeds as normal, but has a side effect useful to you.
6. The creature's action is twisted to your purpose entirely.
Help, in this case, is up to the referee, but would include things like the monster making a move, but also accidentally tripping or running into one his allies, the monster making an attack, but accidentally attacking an ally as well, etc.
BLACK DEATH
The latest Quick and Easy RPG is Black Plague, which really just needs some editing and it's ready to go. This one is set in the era of Europe's religious wars (mostly the Hundred Years War), and is intended to be grim and gritty - more survive than thrive. This Q&E is a bit heftier than past editions, due to containing a bit more setting info and some rules for disease and damnation.
QUICK MONSTER: LEAF SWARM
A leaf swarm is a swarm of vicious green insects. They descend on a tree, strip it of leaves, and then take their place. When a creature nears the tree, the leaf swarm strikes, surprising on a roll of 1-4 on 1d6. The monster's stings cause blindness. The first save a creature fails blurs their vision (-2 to hit and damage), the second failed save blinds them for 1 minute, and the third blinds them permanently.
Leaf Swarm, Tiny Vermin: HD 4; AC 13; ATK 1 swarm (1d3 + special); MV Fly 60; SV F14 R13 W14; XP 400 (CL5); Special-Blindness.
THE FUTURE
What I'd like to start doing next is producing more adventure material for the games I've written. No more games for me - just fun, supplemental material.
For GRIT & VIGOR I want to do setting books that cover different eras - the historical events that lend themselves towards adventure, the equipment, the personalities. Each book would also have an adventure for that era. These would be trade paperbacks, probably 40 to 60 pages.
For MYSTERY MEN! I'd like to do some short books of heroes and villains, also accompanied by an adventure or two. They might be themed, or they might just be whatever tickles my fancy. These would maybe run 20 to 30 pages, trade paperback.
For BLOOD & TREASURE I'd like to do some adventures, with a few new monsters, new spells, etc. Again, trade paperback, probably 30 to 40 pages.
I also want to start writing supplements called THE LAND OF NOD that would provide hex crawls, mini-adventures and other setting material. These would probably also be trade paperbacks, maybe in a landscape format. Page count here would probably be around 120 pages. The first step would be to collect and revise the old NOD hex crawls.
I still have a revision of Space Princess and Pars Fortuna slated for the second half of this year, and I have more Bloody Basics I would like to make.
So - that's what's on my agenda for 2016. We'll see how far I get. Hopefully, as the revisions and editing slows down I'll have more time for blogging. I have tons of ideas that need to be fleshed out, and God willing I'll start that fleshing process as the year wears on.
Cheers!
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