GWAR does D&D

It came to my attention though a post by Zak over at http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/ that an adventure called Towers Two has recently been published for Lamentations of the Flame Princess.  While this would be interesting news to me under normal circumstances, in this case I was even more intrigued since it was written by none other than the late Dave Brockie, perhaps better known as Oderus Urungus, lead singer of GWAR.  It turns out that Brockie was a big D&D fan, which isn't really that surprising I guess.  The adventure involves demented twin brothers living in opposite towers with some dungeons underneath.  People are disappearing and horrible screams are coming from the towers.  Some local merchants hire the players to investigate, and no doubt hilarity and gore ensue.  Not necessarily in that order. 

I saw GWAR in concert in the spring of 1994, and it was memorable to say the least.  They played in a converted roller skating rink, and we left that place drenched in fake blood and other simulated fluids.  I can't say that the music was good, but it was a hell of a lot of fun.  Good times, those.  So I really couldn't pass up an adventure written by Dave Brockie.  Of course, written by is perhaps a bit of a loose term since Dave died before he could finish it.  The adventure was completed by Jobe Bittman, but Dave's original draft is included as an appendix.  I have the PDF but am waiting for the physical copy to actually give it a full read through, so I can't yet comment on the adventure itself.  Having skimmed though the PDF though, I will say that the biggest draw for me is the artwork done by Dave Brockie himself.  There's a lot of psychedelic goodness there.  I plan to write more on this once I've read through the entire thing.  Much like that concert way back in 1994, I'm not sure that I expect it to be good, but I do expect it to be entertaining.  Long live GWAR!

d100 Table: Perilous Places (Free PDF)

I've created a new random table of Perilous Places.  This one gives 100 random perilous adventure locations.  So the next time you find yourself stuck trying to come up with a location for an adventure, feel free to give one of these a try.  I mean, who wouldn't want to send their players to The Indomitable Observatory of Exploitation?  Hopefully someone will get some enjoyment out of this.   I know that I have a lot of fun making them :-)

Also, feel free to check out last Friday's table of Magic Items.

Weird Adventure Idea Wednesday

Here is this week's weird adventure idea.  If you're looking for an adventure seed, why not give this one or one of the earlier ones a try?

On an autumn afternoon you are confronted by a flatulent troubadour sitting beside the road.  The troubadour tells you a rumor that 4 weeks journey to the northeast, over the Blighted Peaks of Smoke, was built the Deadly Burial Mound of the Tyrant.  It is alleged that deep within the mound lay the Depraved Tungsten Buckler of Poisoning.  But beware, for the troubadour tells you that it is whispered that the Rotting Tentacle Flayer of Endless Sins dwells there!

Terrain Tuesday: Diorama Beginnings

The walls base and stairs for my diorama are complete.  Now, I just need to add some room dressing like statues or pillars and maybe a fountain.  I'm intending to keep this all modular so that I can use it in games going forward.  I'm also thinking of getting self-adhesive felt like the old Dwarven Forge resin sets had and attaching it to the bottoms of the pieces to keep them from sliding.

The Rune Inscribed Plutonium Scythe of the Despot (Cursed? Magic Item for DCC)

     My random magic item generator spat out "The Rune Inscribed Plutonium Scythe of the Despot" yesterday.  I liked the name, so I decided to illustrate it and write it up just for fun.

The Rune Inscribed Plutonium Scythe of the Despot

    The Rune Inscribed Plutonium Scythe of the Despot is an artifact from an ancient kingdom whose history is lost in the mists of time.  The scythe is an unstable and dangerous weapon for both friend and foe alike.  Its blade is made from a shimmering greenish metal, and the crimson runes which adorn it are of an alien origin, resembling no known language.  A deep violet aura surrounds the blade providing an eerie light equal to that of a torch.

     The scythe acts as a magical polearm and requires two hands to wield.  It deals 1d10 + 3 damage on a successful hit, but the cutting damage of the blade is only the beginning.  Upon a successful hit, the target must make a Willpower save or suffer additional terrible effects.  If the target fails their save, they must roll on the effects table below.  Regardless of the target's save results, they still suffer the weapon's normal damage.

     If the target makes their saving throw however, the power of the scythe will be channeled back to the wielder, and the wielder will be required to make a Willpower save to avoid the scythe's baleful effects.  Failure to save requires a roll on the table below.

Effects Table (d100):

01-25 : Victim is stunned for 1 round and all attacks against them are made at +1

26-50 : Victim is blinded for 1d4 rounds

51-70 : Victim must roll once on Table 5-3: Minor Corruption (All results are permanent)

71-85 : Victim must roll once on Table 5-4: Major Corruption (All results are permanent)

86-95 : Victim must roll once on Table 5-5: Greater Corruption (All results are permanent)

96-99 : Victim is engulfed in a flash of green radiation and obliterated

00 : Bothe the wielder and the target are obliterated by the scythe's radiation

     Of course, no one in their right mind would use this thing, but I can imagine it causing a bit of fun in a zero level funnel...

Kickstarter: Conan RPG

The Conan RPG Kickstarter from Modiphius is closing in on $300,000.  I backed it based on the Quickstart rules.  There are some definitely interesting ideas in the rules, but I haven't had a chance to try them in actual play yet.  In any case, it's good to see Conan making a return to the RPG scene.

Kickstarter: World Architect Cards

Simian Circle Games, creators of the wonder RPG Far Away Land are doing a Kickstarter for their
World Architect Cards.  The cards are designed to allow you to quickly create overland maps, and there is still plenty of time to get in on the action.  If you haven't checked out any of their products. head over and have a look.  They make great stuff, and the artwork is fantastic!

Weird Adventure Idea Wednesday

Here is this week's weird adventure idea.  If you're looking for an adventure seed, why not give this one or one of the earlier ones a try?

On a stormy morning you happen upon a flamboyant soothsayer near the docks.  The soothsayer excitedly explains to you that 13 days ride to the east, deep within the Withered Wilderness of the Savage Winds, stands The Ancient Chapel of Oblivion.  It is whispered that there is hidden the The Transparent Ceramic Saber of Gelding.  But beware, for the soothsayer advises you that the Mad Barbarian Volgrag the Skull Trampler slays any that dare to approach the chapel!

Terrain Tuesday: New walls

Here is a shot of a couple of more walls that I finished over the weekend.  I like this archway a lot better than the previous one that I made.  It didn't hurt that I used my hot styrofoam knife to incise the blocks around the arch, giving much better delineation to the archway stones and making for an overall better look.  I've almost got enough pieces for my planned diorama now.  These definitely aren't Dwarven Forge quality, but being a bit taller, they work better as photographic backgrounds for miniatures, and they certainly are fun to make.

d10 Items of Mystery

I was making some updates to my adventure and item generator and one of the test runs spit these out, so I decided to post them as a short random table:

1. The Toxic Bronze Box of Infinity

2. The Bark Haversack of the Obscene

3. The Eternal Hood of Life

4. The Lurid Kilt of Aging

4. The Ruby Flail of the Bloodthirsty Poet

6. The Secret Onyx Decanter of Mists

7. The Plasmatic Sapphire Tunic of Delirium

8. The Gigantic Star-Metal Chisel of the Spiny Warrior

9. The Glistening Gorget of Beguiling

10. The Jade Mail Coat of Protection

Free Conan RPG Quickstart Rules!

Modihpius, which will be publishing the upcoming Conan RPG has put the Quickstart rules up on DriveThruRPG.com, and they are free!  It looks like the Quickstart contains an introduction to the rules, 7 pre-generated characters and an adventure.  I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but I will admit to being curious as to how their 2d20 system works.  For those interested in the full game, the Kickstarter for the full game is still ongoing, and can be found here.
Being a huge Conan fan, I've downloaded the Quickstart and will post more on it later when I've had time to look through it.

Terrain Tuesday

I've long wanted some stairs that could be used to handle miniatures at varying elevations.  The stairs that I have from Dwarven Forge are very nice, but really only represent miniatures at three elevations.  So, with this weekend, the weather being snowy and cold, I set about making my own foam board stairs to go along with the other dungeon terrain that I've been making.  I think that I could have done a better job smoothing the sides, but I'm generally pleased with the results.

Miniatures Monday

A just completed well monster.

I started assembling this Well of Doom miniature from Reaper Miniatures back in November of 2008.  Here is one of the original assembly photos.

I had been planning to do a step-by-step assembling and painting article on this one, but then nearly seven and a half years got in the way.  I had it primed and partially painted early on, but wasn't comfortable with my ability to paint the water, so it languished on my shelf until just a week or so ago, when I finally decided to suck it up and finish it.  Overall, I think it turned out a bit better than I was expecting it to.

Nothing good can come of this...

The most recent version of my random item generator spits out some rather uncomfortable sounding pieces of clothing:

The Burning Loincloth of the Maliciously Fanged Maw

There's not enough Gold Bond on earth for that. :-)

d100 Table: Items of Wonder and Woe (Free PDF)

I've put together a d100 table of Items of Wonder and Woe.  It's up to you to stat them out for your particular game system, but the next time you need a goofy sounding item to foist upon your unsuspecting players, feel free to try one of these.  Also, if anyone does use any of them, I'd love to hear how it turns out!  :-)