X-Wing

I resisted getting this game for quite a while, but my friend at work got it in an auction at a con, and we played it last week. Super Fun. The boys absolutely loved it, and were wanting to get new ships before we even finished playing our first game yesterday.

So now in addition to the Basic Game, we have an A-Wing, Second X-Wing (Wedge is insane), Tie Interceptor, Tie bomber and an HWK-290.

I ended up getting a Y-Wing and Advanced TIE fighter with my XMas credit (in addition to The Adventures of Brisco County Jr DVD box set

DCCRPG @ Pair-a-Dice Games 27/28th December

I will be running DCC at Pair-a-Dice Games on the 27th and 28th of December.

I will be running Sailors of the Starless Sea funnel tomorrow, December 27th,  around 12 Noon. (closer to 1PM now...kids)

December 28th TBD (waiting on a friend to confirm a time)


Pictures from Session 8 

My wife's lovely shade of green hair...honest, it's natural....she's half-sylvan elf...

Sean looking at his character with the 4 str and 5 Luck...ended up being named Cannoon Foddaer, and was #1

2d20 action dice in a level 1 funnel? See below for dead characters.

And they....and they...RAN AWAY!!!

Found the Stash...but not quite.

And they...and they...RAN AWAY!!!!

3 Deaths, and only halfway through!!! Illustrations of deaths by Sean & Ian

Session 9!! (WOOT)

Added more players for the next session today.

Prepped and ready to roll.

After revisiting some of the upper areas, the characters finally made their way down to the Ziggurat, via the longboat. (good thing they made the detours back because they picked up a certain couple items that prevented a TPK)

The characters fought most of the beastmen from the longboat after shooting at them with the longbow.

This was a REALLY fun adventure to run, and was definitely the one with the most available treasure. 7  0-levels survived from the 23 total (topped everyone up with characters when the new players arrived.)

Earthdawn 4e

Can't say much because of the NDA, but I'm on the dev team for the 4th edition of Earthdawn I blogged about last week! This being due to the open call which FASA Games had put out in November. There are some very cool changes we're discussing.

IndieGoGo Campaign for ConTessa

Fundraising for Additional ConTessa!! 8 days remain on the IndieGoGo campaign, so get out there and suppport your local girl.

Here's a little bit on it, and you can read the rest on IndieGoGo

About ConTessa's Founder

Stacy Dellorfano has been kicking around the tabletop world since her days as a delinquent band geek in High School, skipping class to hide in the band room and play AD&D with her friends.

In the late 90s and early naughties, she worked in the video games industry, spending her late nights patching up games like EverQuest and writing translation tools to make awesome games in other languages. While her day job is now outside the gaming industry, she is also pursuing her newest secondary job as a publisher of tabletop RPGs and related merchandise and events, including her own RPG, Precious Dark.

Getting more women into tabletop RPGs is near and dear to Stacy's heart. Her passion is bringing the ideas, talent, and enthusiasm of all of those women out of the shadows and into the light, where they belong. She's dedicated to not only bringing the RPG industry into the modern world of web and software development, but also providing platforms for new and up-and-coming designers and developers to showcase and expand their amazing work.

About ConTessa

ConTessa is an apolitical space for women to lead their own tabletop gaming convention, deciding which games they want to run and which panels they want to moderate. ConTessa is a celebration showcasing women who play, create, and love tabletop games.

In addition, it provides women with an outlet to experience gaming as gamers, setting aside for a few fun-filled days the women's issues discussions that often dominate our time and energy in the hobby. While women run all aspects of ConTessa, anyone can join in the fun - playing in games, joining a panel, or watching events. The convention is held online, spanning the globe, open to all. Google Hangouts keeps things accessible - no need for a high-end computer or expensive specialized equipment, just click and play.

ConTessa Registration Central

This year, we're adding a new tool that allows you to view events, sign up to play or attend, and manage your schedule - all from a central location. Modern and user-friendly design is important to us, but it takes time and skill. Your support will help us build the best version possible, using modern web development practices and technologies. You can check it out, here, now, and register new events early!

ConTessa Blog & Archives

The ConTessa Blog is home to all of our news and announcements, as well as a central clearinghouse for news and updates about women in gaming. The blog also stores the archives of our previous games, panels, and events, allowing people to watch at their leisure. You can help with maintenance costs by supporting this ConTessa campaign.

We strive to make ConTessa professional and polished, and that includes paying for high-quality artwork and marketing to deliver a one-of-a-kind online gaming experience. It isn't the cheapest way to go, but we think it is worth it to broaden the appeal and attract new players to online gaming.

ConTessa merchandise makes great door prizes. Our swag was extremely popular during ConTessa 2013, and we're expanding the program this year....

Earthdawn 4e Announced

PRESS RELEASE FROM FASA GAMES

FASA Games is pleased to announce Earthdawn: Fourth Edition, coming in 2014.


For the past twenty years, Earthdawn has built a loyal fan base as an original and engrossing fantasy gaming experience. As the game enters its third decade, we are taking the opportunity to update the game, revisiting the core systems to find a balance between the game’s legacy and more recent developments in game design.


We are also taking this opportunity to advance the game’s timeline. Earthdawn: Fourth Edition will be set about five years after the end of the Second Theran War. The Therans have largely been driven from the province of Barsaive. Throal has narrowly avoided civil war and has turned inward. The Denairastas clan continue their plans to dominate the province. And the Horrors, as always, lurk in the darker places, feeding on the pain, fear, and uncertainty the war left in its wake. More than ever, the world needs heroes.


In preparation for the release of the Player’s Guide and Gamemaster’s Guide—currently slated for Summer 2014 release—plans are under way for a Kickstarter campaign in early 2014 to fund the printing and new artwork for the core books.


Development is also under way on new, original sourcebooks -- the first since 2011. Currently in the works are books about the city of Travar, a closer look at the Passions and their Questors, and the elven nations outside Barsaive.


More information about upcoming releases, the Kickstarter campaign, and teasers about some of the changes in store for Earthdawn: Fourth Edition, can be found on the Earthdawn Developer’s Blog at www.fasagames.com.


ADDITIONAL POST FROM LINE DEVELOPER

So by now you have probably seen the announcement that we are working on Earthdawn: Fourth Edition, with plans to release the core books next summer. No doubt there are a lot of questions, so let's get too it.

What about the Revised Gamemaster's Guide?

The book is not going to see print. The decision to move forward with a Fourth Edition is probably the biggest decision I had to make so far as line developer. I know that people have been waiting for this book for some time, and I am sorry to disappoint them, but let me try and lay out some of my thinking.

I don't think it is any secret that the last few years have been rocky ones for the public face of Earthdawn. Revised is tied to that history, and is pretty much Third Edition with a different skin. Fourth Edition -- hopefully -- represents a fresh start with a new hand at the helm. It doesn't make much sense to rush the Revised GM Guide to press, only to announce the new edition shortly after that. Not only would this hurt sales of the book, but I don't like the image it presents.

Honestly, I didn't find any of the options to be ideal. I believe the game needs a new edition, and I think it is better to be up front about that -- even if it does mean some disappointment and bad feelings.

What about the time jump?

This is another decision that represents a step forward. When FASA closed up shop on First Edition, Barsaive at War was in early stages of development. While Living Room Games made an effort to address it in Second Edition and advance the game's timeline, RedBrick's Earthdawn Classic rolled back the timeline to before the war, and Third Edition largely maintained this state of affairs.

One of the more common criticisms of the Earthdawn game over the past few years has been the lack of development in the setting. "The War" has been hanging over the line for a while, and Fourth Edition allows us to establish a new status quo. We may revisit the war in future products, but in Fourth Edition it has happened, allowing us to explore the consequences.

More details about how the war has affected Barsaive will be the subject of future posts here.

What can we expect from Fourth Edition?

Other than the setting changes? We're currently working on going through the rules, examining the core concepts and underlying assumptions with an eye towards what works well, what doesn't work so well, and what could simply use some polish. The core dice mechanic -- the Step System -- will remain largely unchanged, and the concepts of Disciplines, talents, thread magic, and other such fundamental game concepts will also remain.

Where we are looking to improve the game is to try and simplify some of the more complex rules, at least with regard to their explanation if not in actual execution. We're also hoping to bring a bit more attention to some of the game aspects that are important to certain character concepts, but are not very well supported by either the rules or GM advice.

There will be the inevitable revisions to individual talents, or the talent selection available to individual Disciplines. Some spells and magic items will see tweaks. All of this is being done with an eye toward helping actual play. Game balance is a nebulous thing, and is a little different for every group, but it is my hope that the books will give you a good set of tools to play Earthdawn.

As with the setting changes, I'll be going into more depth over the coming weeks.

Oh, and you can expect new art.

Hence the Kickstarter campaign?

Exactly. There was new art introduced in some of the Second and Third Edition books, but there has been a lot of recycled artwork -- along with other material -- in the line, and that is another thing that will help mark a fresh start for Earthdawn. A successful Kickstarter campaign will help cover those costs.

I've been going on for a while, but I've hit the high points. If you have questions, you can post them on our forums, or email me (josh at fasagames.com). I may not be able to go into huge detail at this stage, but I will do my best to keep up with the discussion and answer the questions I can.

Machinations of the Space Princess - S3 Conversion Part 4

So I have been converting stuff, I just haven't had a chance to post them recently, so here will be SEVERAL "Monsters" now.

Mind Ravager (Race)
-4CHA -4STR
Creatures of nearly pure intellect, they appear as a brain with legs, tiny eyestalks can be seen protruding from the front. They feed upon mindwaves.

Traits:
Tiny (Small)
Parasitic (Parasite & Host)
Psychic (Psion Power: Sleep & Mindbolt)
was  Intellect Devourer

Doppler (Race)
-4CHA, -4COM

A Naturally psionic race, all Dopplers exhibit the Pheromones Psion Mark (+2 Cha, +1 Com.) While most are true psions, some of the race are killers, hunting in a purely physical manner. The race is very disconcerting to observe in their natural form and are greatly feared throughout the galaxy.

Traits:
Silcon Based (Goo Body)
Shapeshifting
True Shapeshifting
Psionic Power: Beguile

was:  Doppelganger 


Police Robot XP 250 (Goon)
Close Defense: 12
Ranged Defense: 14
Armour: 1d4
Hit Dice: 6+6 (33hp)
Initiative: +0
Movement: 13m
Attacks: 2/+2
Damage 1d4 Tentacles/1d8 laser blaster
Saves: 5 (6 toughness)
Skills: Law: 1

Traits:
Robot (painless)
Armor 1d4
Electroshock (tentacles)
Tentacles

This is a police robot from the adventure, I had to tone it down from the adventure, because those things have WAY too many powers to fit well into MotSP.

Kickstarter - Advanced Bestiary FINAL HOURS!

 Passing this along, a repost from the kickstarter updates. As you remember I backed this as the early bird, I was one of the first backers even...and now it's coming up on the 50k MARK!

"I would encourage you to post on your favorite boards and social media like Facebook. You would be surprised how many people actually don't find out until it is too late. Or, how many people mean to pledge but forget. Or, how many people are on the fence and just need a little nudge. We're at the stage where just a handful of people make a difference. Here's some points to tell your friends:

* It's been a trusted third party publisher resource for years and will continue to be so.

* Backing now instead of buying later means more content for everybody and a better book.

* This book increases the value of the monster books they already bought. It's like getting a handful of new Bestiaries."

BACK THIS BOOK!!!

I'm not Dead...

OK it looks like I've been slacking on the blog, and in a sense I have, but I have good reason, I just went to see my dad before he passes. I'll be getting back on track here soon, the holidays are upon us. Work is in crunch mode currently and that means a lot of OT, which combined with Working out, means something's got to give, thus, the blog.

But  I do have some stuff to share I just need to transfer it to the blog instead of pencil notes.

so PLEASE STAND BY!