Roll 1d100. The BIG Spell Table [1] Not a spell- but a spell failure! This arcane formula is incomplete or intentionally flawed. Whatever you thought the spell might do; find the nearest corresponding School of Magic on this list and roll on its subtable. If not applicable, roll on the Spell Cataclysms table. [2] Not a spell- but a method to acquire spells. Roll on the Cruel Executions for Magic…
Original art @Ariel VH I think There are a small set of character archetypes or "conditions" like vampirism or lycanthropy that can be attached to characters which keeps them human, but subtly different. Enough that they would still have "human" on their character sheet, but may have different abilities or a life that is significantly different from the other people in the same world. Much of…
All pairs of Magic Sandals start with; Two identical, mostly-indestructible shoes that fulfill all the function needed for basic footwear. Count as "Magic" Advantage to rolls when dealing with slippery terrain, crossing over ground-based hazards without hurting yourself (like pools of acid or caltrops), and rolls to avoid getting caught in quicksand, slipping on grease, or in snares. Deals 1d4+1…
This concept is named after the final chapter of Rockstar's Bully, which is the freedom chapter with no story missions where the player is allowed to explore the entire world and complete all of the side content they didn't finish during the main campaign. But I first felt it strongest during the post-game of Neversoft's GUN for the PS2, which was coincidentally the first "Cowboy GTA" before…
Yeah I said it. Let's get real for a second. I think it's pretty obvious that this blog is kinda "furry". I consider myself a furry as well. Despite this, I have a sort of inherent dislike of things "trying too hard", the furry-fatigue saps my interest in a setting or piece of media. Things "too furry" ruin it for me; like a fantasy setting with humans, elves, and then ten different beastfolk…
When it comes to TTRPGs and their video game cousins, the obvious D&D inspired games come to mind first. But one thing I find weird is the seeming rarity and lack of "very low number" games. Paper Mario & Thousand Year Door are the most prominent; along with their more modern offspring like Bug Fables. Specifically; games with turn based combat, small scale battles with few characters or units,…
Don't worry this isn't some clickbait "the 2005 Wonka Movie is better then you remember" sort of thing. Given its age, the Tim Burton film fails squarely in that shitty cgi "reimagining" and first wave of bad-to-mediocre remakes (I don't know if this one is bad though I'm not a critic). I have a lot of nostalgia for this film, as it's the one I watched as a kid. I never saw the 1964 film (but I…
The holy trinity of combat roles in cooperative video games (popularized by MMOs) are the Tank, DPS, and Support. Later on, these roles became more commonplace in competitive and cooperative games; even designing game systems around them such as Overwatch or Marvel Rivals with its hero shooter elements with characters in dedicated roles. More flexible games may allow characters of various classes…
Path of Exile does it, Diablo 2 does it, Torchlight does it, Last Epoch does it, Titan Quest does it, Grim Dawn doesn't do it but kinda but that's game weird so who cares. Basically; these games have miss/hit chances when you attack enemies and when enemies attack you. (And also Morrowind and pretty much all CRPGs and every roleplaying game which shares its DNA with the you-know-what dragon game.)…
Vampires are incredibly powerful magical creatures; however they have several unique traits that sets them apart from other fantastical beasts like dragons, ogres, beholders, and so on. That being that they are intelligent, humanoid and/or ex-human, capable of using tools, similar in size to a standard adventurer, and have a limited ability to blend in with normal humans. Depending on the exact…
Diablo 2 getting DLC 25 years after the fact is not something I was expecting any time soon. More interestingly was the class they decided to add; the Warlock. While I haven't played it myself (given that Blizzard has lost basically all good will), I think the general design of the class is interesting as it really does attempt to fit into an archetype not present in base Diablo 2. But how true is…
So recently I did something I normally don't do; and that is look at indie RPGs coming out. Lands of Eem was one such game. Personally, I don't really vibe with the overly nice, colorful, or "cute" type of games like this based on art style and approach, but I think the design of some of the creatures and races are cute. Nothing too remarkable; UNTIL I got to the Wug. I fucking love Wugs. Just the…
Note: Writing this blogpost in January when the update first dropped. By the time this is out the characters will likely already all be released and the hype will have worn off. Despite how much I like Deadlock at the minute, I still kinda liked the old patrons. "Street Mother" and "Hidden King" don't have the same ring to it IMHO. The "Patrons" I felt had a very supernatural, mystic aura with…
Maybe private security for the world's elites, your order of John Wick assassins, tacticool operators who you want to be slightly more plausible then action-movie heroes in how they survive and thrive in multiple firefights? You want your only-slightly paranormal investigators to be able to survive battles with the crocodile-sewer-people? How do you do that in a way that fits a modern setting and…
While running an experimental one/two/three shot dungeon crawler with some new players who had limited experience in TTRPGs; I decided to forgo normal game mechanics in favor of a more streamlined OSR-ish experience. No skills or classes, just basic character stats and most importantly, items. Starting as nobodies with limited starting gold; the players had to make tough choices early on like to…
In this episode of "I thought I wrote this blogpost like 5 times over the past decade this blog has been around", I could have sworn I made this before. But time and time again I realize I never actually did. Time to amend that. Team Fortress Mercenary Generator - (Roll Once per category unless otherwise stated) Combat Role (Roll 1d10) [1] Reconnaissance [2] Mobile Infantry [3] Shock-Troop /…
In the mystic underground; Magick changes with the times. Because of the nature of post-modern magick being hand in hand with popular culture and the human experience, the changes that come upon society are reflected back into the world of the weird. For Adept schools, people who are obsessed with a singular magickal idea or paradox and can gain power from it, this can hit especially hard. With…
So while recently running a campaign for newer players; I came onto a problem my own First Aid Rules caused. Truthfully, it's been something I've thought about for a while. I really like the healing system; allowing players to do plenty of out-of-combat healing allows you to keep individual combats dangerous (since you can balance them around being vs a full strength party instead of an HP tax),…
Whenever you are in a dungeon, out in the wilderness, or in an adventure location, you can take a short rest (exploration turn) to perform various actions. One of these is healing . In order to heal another party member, you must expend bandages (or healing herbs ) to heal them. You heal them 1d6 + your Intelligence modifier and the healing item is consumed. Your character can also be trained in…
Art @Nick Gindraux I've always been real curious about how blasters from Star Wars are supposed to work. I think they're probably one of the most staple and iconic sci-fi weapons (besides maybe the lightsaber); works as a perfect general energy weapon gun replacer. But I always felt the element of what color or the exact explanation of how the bolts work was somewhat lacking. Red for the common or…
So I wrote a bunch about my favorite tower defense game(s) ever in this previous blogpost, and in a very rare move for this blog I actually went back and edited it to add more of my thoughts to it, but I decided that STILL was not enough so here I am writing even more. This concept sort out branched out from me thinking of what I wanted out of my "dream" new Gemcraft game. Since the developer…
Weird, isn't it? About 5 years ago, I was much more active in producing content for this blog, and part of that was trying to find things to write about. One such concept was with AI. The oldest AI generation tools out there were really new, and for me? An interesting way to produce some content for the blog. The idea being to put in some keywords and try to get something useful to interpret out…
Art @BHVR Interactive So I've been playing a lot of Dead by Daylight over the past few years. While not the sole reason this blog's been neglected and rotting away, it's definitely a factor. If you somehow have never heard of it, it's grindy game-as-a-job pay to win garbage, don't play it. But it is pretty fun. One interesting thing about playing a game that's been around for such a long time,…
The richest part of Garden. Wealthy, high class, every street you peek down you'll see several movie and radio stars, giddy socialites and young promising business men. It is ruled by the hides-in-plain-sight group; the Sequin Society. To even get on this street is a challenge, as it requires either a golden membership card (without an escort, the elite can take guests if chaperoned) or a hefty…
1) Magic is a purely genetic or "superpower"-like ability that is manifested wholly from the body/person using it. For me, magic needs to have some component of spiritual or mental acuity to use it. I don't have a problem with magic being heavily tied to a person's bloodline, even if it's "unfair" in the world its in like if it's only available to superhuman elves or spirits or whatever, but magic…