Free RPG Day 2019, request for opinions

     So, this year's Free RPG Day was a bit of a bust. I had decided not to run a game and enjoy the Father's Day weekend. My flgs unfortunately was unable to get in on it (apparently it was sold out) and therefore I went to a store that was thirty minutes away, which could have been worse. I had been wanting to have this place as a secondary location for running DCC, so when I got there I asked how they handled people running RPG's. By the way, this is Java Game Haus at 11018 Old St Augustine Rd #103, Jacksonville, FL 32257. For running a game, you pay nothing, get a 20% discount, and recieve one dollar per player. To play, you pay five dollars and get a 15% discount. So what I would like to know is, what are your feelings/opinions on this? I'm torn because not everybody I know has a fiver to toss on playing a game. Does this encourage hot dogging GM's trying to outdo themselves and each other, in order to get players? I could come up with different extremes, but you get the point.

     So for the free part of Saturday, they had a table that I rolled on to determine what I got, and I rolled a one. *Hah* I had a choice between the Pathfinder adventure or a Starfinder die. I chose the die, which you see above hiding behind the D30 I purchased. I asked about the DCC quickstart, and was told they were for the people playing in the adventure/demo later. I would have jumped in on that game, but like I mentioned before I had made other plans. So on one hand I was a bit disappointed to not have it in my hands but then if there were people turning up for a DCC game then I should be alright getting players.

     Which brings me back to you guys, please let me know what you all think of this set up. I am seriously on the fence. Thanks for reading and take care!

Lamentations of the Flame Princess

     So with Free RPG Day came the LotFP adventure Doom-Cave of the Crystal-Headed Children, with it's wildly imaginative plot and craziness. I retrieved my grindhouse copy of the rules from my game shelf and looked through the books. Taken as they are, besides the art there is not much that is "weird" about it, that comes from what the referee puts into it. There is a section, that I suddenly cannot find, where he suggests using the ordinary as a veil for the weird (not in those words, mind you) like travelling trough a small village and having a woman ask for help to find her son named Andrew, and then another, and another. What began as just passing through town turns into a mystery of these women and their lost, identical sons. It escalates from there. The website is here, the game is by James Raagi who currently resides in Finland. The free no art/rules pdf can be found at the site as well.

     The rules have the standard race as class with the four human classes and then dwarf, elf, and halfling. What I really like here is that the thief is called a specialist, and you can actually focus on different aspects, like maybe he is very sneaky, or an expert at tinkering with locks. Basically each class gets better at what it does, the fighter is the only class to get attack bonuses beyond first level, specialists get more points to specialize, magic users more adept at magic, and clerics cleric like no one's business. Oh, and the same goes for the dwarf, elf, and halfling. As lamentations has advanced, I could not really say matured, James has moved towards using historical settings and putting a weird spin to it.

     So now I feel compelled to run at least one game using Lamentations, I want to set it in Italy around 1500. Now if I could get some folks to sit around a table to play. Anyone want to try it out with me?

Free RPG Day: Elzemon and I

     This would have been posted earlier, but I took a nap. Priorities, what are you gonna do, eh? Got to Ravenstone an hour early to get set up for the game. Savage Afterworld's Tim Snider had stopped by earlier, had to return home. Ultimately I had three players who picked from amongst the pre gens Goodman Games provided, and at 2:15 (giving any late arrivals a chance to get in on the game) they began their trek to retrieve the blood drinking box. Talonir the Warrior, Ziwdang the Wizard and Ahlrick the Cleric! They decided to purchase a donkey to help carry the box back to town. Unfortunately throughout the expedition, they were plagued by crappy rolls on their part and shortly after the halfway mark, the wizard got dropped. I allowed him to be revived by being force fed a healing potion, since he was at zero. At the final "encounter", though the die rolls seemed to rally to the cause, the dice betrayed them once again. Naturally the wizard was the first to fall, followed by the cleric. The warrior held on a bit longer, but like his fellows succumbed to grievous wounds.

     Despite my having killed off their characters, they had fun and are looking forward to future events. I am crossing my fingers that there will be more folks joining in to give DCC and other games a try. Gaming is more than D&D and Pathfinder, right? In addition to running the DCC adventure, I picked up James Raagi's Doom-Cave of the Crystal-Headed Children. It has some fun ideas behind it, though I have only read the first part of it. I like it when I see something that takes a different path, and boy is it different! Enough of this, I am running another DCC game tomorrow so I am signing off. Take care all!

Dungeon Crawl Classics/Free RPG Day Reminder

     This Saturday is Free RPG Day and I will be running the DCC game Elzemon and the Blood Drinking Box at 2PM, Ravenstone Games in Columbus, Ohio. Come on down to play or just watch the action. Also I will be running a zero level adventure for DCC on Sunday starting at 1:30 that I am hoping will turn into a regular game. New players always welcome, come on in and try it! Pre-gens will be made available for both events.

Free RPG Day, 2014

   

      Free RPG Day is happening here in Columbus, I credit my ability to bug my local flgs into action. I plan to run Elzemon and the Blood Drinking Box (DCC RPG) that day from 2-6 and I encourage anyone who feels like it to come and run something. Currently there is no Pathfinder Society games planned, so I will have the table up front, but if there is any overlap I am sure something can be worked out. I suspect the fact that it is the first weekend after Origins is why nothing is scheduled at Ravenstone. Since Elzemon is a first level adventure, I am hoping people show up to play June 11th to run that 0 level funnel and have first level characters. Otherwise I will have some first levels rolled up, though I would prefer something the players were a bit invested in.

     Enough of that, if you are in the Columbus, Ohio area and wish to try out Dungeon Crawl Classics or feel like running something else then head over to Ravenstone Games and let them know. The sooner the better. Take care, and happy gaming!

June 1st, getting this month rolling

     Here we are, beginning of June and I am looking forward to it all. Went to breakfast with Boy Assistant #2 at a nearby field office (coffee shop with wifi) when I discovered I had left my tablet and sketching supplies behind. Oh well, just means we get to hang out and chat.

Yep, kind off how it goes with Boy Assistant #2

 

 

     Eventually getting home, I then decided to dig into another illustration for the Deviant Database 2.0. The chitterer, ie. a squirrel headed crab. Here is the rough pencil sketches I just finished up.

Did separate sketches of crabs and a squirrel so I could get a feel for how their bodies work, I gave the hybrid a shot. Next is coming up with a good pose for it and then diving in. Should be a lot of fun.

     In other news I will be helping get something together for free rpg day at my local flgs. The people in charge of the event were able to get something together to send to him, so I will run a game that day and hopefully there will be other games going on. Stay tuned for further updates! Take care, and hope everyone is having a good start to their month!