Saturday 24 September 2011

Micro-solo 1: The Creeper in the Temple {T&T}

Introducing Trollish Delver's micro solos for Tunnels and Trolls. Once a month, I'll put up a new solitaire adventure on the blog  that is around 10 paragraphs long. The idea is to create a string of adventures that will constitute a solo campaign that you can run through with your own character. All adventures are 5th and 7.x edition friendly, but each will range in difficulty. All you have to do is roll up a new character, or use the pre-made one below and get playing.

Level 1 Human Warrior
Height: 5'1", Weight: 160 lbs.
ST:    11,   IQ:     8,   LK:    10
CON:   11,   DEX:   18,   CHR:    8
SPD:   12,   WIZ:   15
Adds: 6
Total Armour: 6
Wt. Possible: 1100
Languages: Common Tongue 
Gold: 50 gp
Sax, Dice+Adds: 2+5

Buckler, Hits Taken: 3


The Creeper in the Temple


The Creeper in the Temple is designed for a single 1st level character. You have been travelling for a few days seeking adventure and fortune. You arrive in the city of Yabberesh after a long trek across the Starlip Plains. Your adventure has finally begun...

1

You arrive at the gates of Yabberesh and see fairies and leprechauns wandering in and out. If you are either
of these kindred, you get in free. If not, pay 1 silver piece towards the maintenance of the city.
Once you enter you can go to the Wishing Well Pub (go to 4) or the temple of Sinders (go to 9).

2

You carefully open the cupboard. Inside you find a bound and gagged fairy who's struggling to speak.
You remove her from her bonds and she thanks you. "The Antodile took my money and threw me in here.
Here, take this anti-poison salve. It will help if you haven't already killed the thing."
You can either go back to the t-junction (go to 6) or leave up the stairs into the temple (go to 5).


3

You agree to help Laddy in exchange for a price. He offers you 100gp to kill the creature.
You may try to haggle and make a L1-SR on CHA. If you succeed, he offers 150gp. You then venture
into the temple and down the trap door. Go to 6.

4

The Wishing Well Pub is bustling with activity. Leprechauns and fairies dance to music played
by a bard with a lute and a lovely fairy serving lady is flying around with trays of wine.
You can either play a game with the patrons (go to 7) or go to the temple of Sinders (go to 9).

5

You leave up the stairs and return to the temple where Laddy is waiting. If you killed the
creature then he gives you your reward. If not then he grumbles and tells you to get back down
there (go to 6). If you haven't been to the tavern, go to 4. If you have then you leave
the city and take 50AP.

6

After descending down a flight of stone stairs, you arrive at a t-junction. To the left you can
smell the sweet aroma of wine and to the right you can hear a muffled sound. Turn left? (go to 8) or turn right?
(go to 10).

7

You sit with a group of leprechauns who are playing cards and ask if you can join them.
They say they're playing 5-card Spit, which is a game well-known in these parts. If you would like
to play, bet an amount, roll 1d6 and consult the table below:

1- lose triple the amount bet
2- lose double the amount bet
3- Lose the amount bet
4- win back the amount bet
5- win double the amount bet
6- win triple the amount bet

Once you're finished, you can leave and go to the temple of Sinders (go to 9) or if you have already been
there, you can leave the city and gain 50AP.

8

You enter a small room full of prayer books. In the corner is a large cupboard where a muffled
voice can be heard. Do you open the cupboard? (go to 2) go back to the t-junction and turn right (go to 10)
or go back to the temple (go to 5).

9

You enter a small temple dedicated to the fairy goddess, Sinders. Fairies sit on tiny benches praying
to the large fairy statue on the north wall. A fairy priest welcomes you and introduces himself
as Laddy. He wonders if you might be able to help him with something. Last night, just as he was locking the
temple door, he heard a thud coming from within. He went back in and saw a hideous creaturer run across
the room and dive down the trap door into the basement. It had the head of an ant and the body of
a bipedal crocodile. If you want to help go to 3. If not, you can go to the tavern (go to 4). If you
have already been to the Wishing Well Pub you can leave the city and gain 20AP.

10

You enter a large wine cellar. The walls are lined with racks of wine and there are open caskets
of the stuff on the ground. There is also a sack of money on the ground near the wine rack. Suddenly,
a creature pops up from behind the barrels, the same one that was described by Laddy, with an
ant's head and a crocodile's body, except bipedal. It creeps towards you, hissing. The Antodile has
MR30 and every comabat round you must make a L1SR on LUCK or take 1 poison damage unless you have an
anti-poison salve. If you kill it you find 100gp in the sack and a bottle of vintage wine worth 90gp. You can either leave to
the temple (go to 5) or return to the t-junction and go left (go to 8).

Roleplaying games as art {RPG Philosophy}



The roleplaying game is a strange beast. Right from the get-go we usually have the author of the rulebook describe to us what exactly a roleplaying game is, and it's often along the lines of, 'It's part storytelling, part dice-rolling, where YOU are the hero of the story'. Clearly, the act of weaving a narrative is a traditional art form that dates back to the dawn of humanity; so there's no disparity there. However, a game is not thought of as an art form. You cannot say that basketball or tennis is art, yet there is probably an art to certain aspects of those sports. So are roleplaying games, as part-storytelling, part game, art? 

Firstly, we need to determine the term 'art'. Really, it's an expression of arrangement that evokes emotion and thought. A film constitutes various aspects, such as actors, camera people and the director, arranged in such a way as to present the audience with a product which elicits one or multiple responses. Similarly, a painter arranges her paint of different colours, thicknesses and styles in order to create her painting. The term 'art' has leaked out from these more traditional outlets recently into the digital realm of video games, where the question I'm posing for roleplaying games rages on.

Which bring us to the crux of the matter. If video games can widely be considered an art form, can roleplaying games? After all, they are essentially the same product, just with different modes of interactivity and presentation. A video game is created by a developer who usually creates a story, a character for the audience to control, and interactive elements. Clearly, the main point of the medium is to be a game, like basketball or tennis, but what sets a video game apart from these are the narrative and stylistic aspects.

Roleplaying games are the same. The GM creates a narrative, NPCs and a world. While there is art style in terms of paintings in sourcebooks, most of it comes  from the GM and the players' descriptions of the roleplaying universe they inhabit. Can these games elicit emotion? Of course they can. A player can become sad if a trusted NPC dies, or happy when they finally solve the puzzle. Of course, all good art carries some kind of message, which is something that usually doesn't come into RPG adventures other than 'good is better than evil', unless the game has an integrated setting that is awash with allegory and metaphor.

So yes, the roleplaying game is an art form for all the reasons stated above, but what does this actually mean? To be honest, it doesn't mean much. The reason why the question is such a big one in the video games world is because it's such a massive industry and there are still people who don't see what use it has in comparison to cinema. The artistic integrity of the roleplaying gaming industry is never brought up in the mainstream and really there is no need for it to be. It's just an interesting question where the answer can define how we look at the hobby.

Sunday 18 September 2011

What will D&D 5th edition look like? {D&D}



We're getting to that point in time now when we know that something's cooking in the Wizards of the Coast offices. From book cancellations, the new skirmish game and Mike Mearls' column; it's clear that the company is getting primed for Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition. 

The comment feed on JoeTheLawyer's latest blog post has sparked some cynical conversation about the future of the game, most notably concerning Hasbro's influence on WotC. One commenter recognises that sales can be enhanced by collectable elements, which we can see has happened with Fortune Cards to some extent. However, in my mind Wizards is going to go one of two ways.

The 'Traditional' RPG

Earlier this year Pathfinder surpassed 4e in sales. Now, to be honest this isn't too surprising considering 4e has been out longer, but it's still food for though for WotC. It's R&D department must be taking notes on what has been happening in the roleplaying community over the last year or so, with the emergence of the OSR movement and the emigration from 4e to Pathfinder. If they haven't been analysing these trends, then they have a lot to worry about.

The smart thing for Wizards to do would be to try to appease the players they've lost by going back to a more traditional game, but keeping elements that make 4e a good game. If they begin to focus more on roleplaying and storytelling than dice roll checks, but still keep the dynamic monsters, I think they would reclaim some of their 'lost souls', as it were. Perhaps dial down the emphasis on powers, so the characters have a small but focused group of At-Will, Encounter powers etc, like the recent iteration of Gamma World. Furthermore, they need to make it easy to write characters up by hand or at least type them. Not everyone is going to want a DDI subscription and having to flick back and forth through the Players' Handbook can get tiresome.

The 'Board Game' RPG

Fans are critical of WotC because of their allegiance with Hasbro, which has obvious influences on the way games are made. 5th edition could introduce more collectable elements to the game, such as card expansions to go along with campaign books. While Fortune Cards are currently entirely optional, it's entirely possible that the next edition could go down the Gamma World route and make them compulsory. Now, I don't mind the card elements in Gamma World because they add a great feature that fits in well with the gameplay style, but D&D is fine as it is without them.

A further emphasis on DDI could also emerge with 5th edition, with a deck creator and online tabletop (finally?) to create a more digitally integrated experience. Even boxed expansions could become commonplace, containing minis, cards and the adventure, along with a code for DDI to unlock hidden extras in the scenario.

In the end, WotC is a business and like any other business it needs to make money. Clearly there is more money to be made at face value with the latter approach, but winning back fans could potentially make them more.

What I want to see in 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons


I've sort of outline my feelings above, but here they are in a more concise format:

  • Less emphasis on roll playing and more on DM/ PC imagination in the mechanics
  • Keep powers but trim the fat. Go for the Gamma World approach
  • Character sheets players can write by hand without  taking half a day
  • Official adventures with less of a focus on encounters
  • Sets of miniatures dedicated to sourcebooks 
Of course, these are my opinions and I don't expect everyone to share them. I know plenty of people who love encounters and others who despise them. 5th edition won't please everyone, but the question is: will it please most? 


Saturday 17 September 2011

Want a good encounter? Get tough on your players {4e}



In my last 4e session I had what I think was the best encounter I've ever run. There are multiple reasons for this, including random events (a skiff falling into a building during the fight), a strong reason for the encounter and player co-operation. However, I do think a main factor in the success of the encounter was that it was a bitch.


It's been repeated before throughout the community and I've echoed it here on numerous occasions - it's hard to kill players in 4e. This isn't because we're 'doing it wrong', but because the mechanics are fashioned in such a way that the PCs get distinct advantages over their enemies. Matching levels in an encounter can produce some good results in Heroic, but mid-Paragon upwards things start to get stale.

So last session I threw in a fight that included a monster over 4 levels above the PCs, with other monsters being a couple higher. I did have to dial it down a notch due to the party's tank being otherwise engaged, but it still worked out in the end. It wasn't just the enemy difficulty that I upped though. The PCs had to also deal with re-enforcements appearing and helping innocents to boot. The whole experience brought out the tactical best in my group, who are all intelligent guys with a good degree of strategic know-how, and it was great to see them discuss which powers they need to save and how their abilities can compliment each other.

The next encounter is going to be tougher still, so I expect to see them pull out all the stops to take down their foes and handle everything else I throw at them.

As a side note, I've finally finished my latest Tunnels & Trolls adventure for Elder Tunnels Halloween 2011, which is why I've not been posting this week. It's pretty much a love-letter to Evil Dead 2 and I hope you guys pick it up when it's out and let me know what you think.

Monday 12 September 2011

Some exciting announcements {News}



It's been awfully busy in the troll cave, I can tell you. I've been typing away, scribbling and often sleeping, but now I can make a couple of groovy announcements to you, my good friends. 

Firstly, a scenario I am currently putting the finishing touches to will be included in the next edition of Elder Tunnels - the Halloween issue. The adventure is based on the Evil Dead movies, which are my favourite films of all time. I wanted to bring something different to the table this time around, so this one is a little special. I just hope you enjoy it.

Secondly, I have joined forces with the amazing folks at Peryton Publishing to release a regular series of Tunnels and Trolls adventures starting at the end of the year. I don't want to give too many details away, but I'm massively excited to work with such a fine publisher and I look forward to sharing more with you nearer to Christmas time.

Lastly, because of my workload in the last few months I haven't been working on my DemonLord RPG, which I really wanted to release earlier this year. However, I am getting back on track with it and I'll have a beta release pretty soon. Watch this space.

Phew, that's a lot of announcements. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some words to make.

Sunday 11 September 2011

True Heroes {Heroes}

Most people who read this blog have an interest in escapism and most of the time when we escape we are heroes; whether that be a noble paladin, a Jedi Knight or a super hero.

Ten years ago one of the worst possible things happened. If it were a roleplaying game I'm sure the disaster could have been averted with some die rolls; but we all know that life isn't a game and most of us aren't heroes.


But there were those brave few who selflessly risked their lives for people they had never even met, and some died doing it. These are the true heroes in this world and we owe them our full respect and admiration for what they did ten years ago.

Saturday 10 September 2011

The folklore of trolls

Note: cross-posted from Midnight Folklore




Troll-fever is set to grip Hollywood as Harry Potter director Chris Columbus announced that he intends to remake The Troll Hunter, an independent Norwegian film that recently hit theatres in the UK.

The film is a mockumentary that follows a group of film students who set out to film real-life trolls in the wild. Blood and gore ensues as they run foul of these 50ft beasts and have to fight for their lives.

It sounds all kinds of hilarious and I'm glad we're seeing some folklore on the big screen. Check out the trailer:



It's theorised that the modern term 'troll' is descended from Jotun, a race famed in Norse mythology for being the enemy of the gods.  In these stories the original Jotun was Ymir, who lived in the Ginnungagap, which was a chaotic void. From Ymir's body came other Jotnar who then went on to create a race of frost giants. Odin, Vili and Ve eventually slew Ymir, whose blood drowned all but two of the giants, a husband and wife, who went on to repopulate their species.

Scandinavian folklore evolved the troll from the giants of old Norwegian texts to the more recognisable creatures we know today. It's unclear where the overlap began between the jotnar and trolls, but mythologist Lotte Motz theorised that there were originally four kinds of giants: jotun, troll, risi and purs, and this is where we can see the split in species. Motz's reasoning for this is because these are the four words that referenced to the jotnar in historical texts. She attributes different characteristics to each of these 'species', however her theory has been criticised due to a lack of textual evidence.





It can be agreed, though, that later texts portray trolls as supernatural beings with immense strength and hideous features who often made their homes in the hills and mountains of Scandinavia. Some were said to have multiple heads, no doubt a reference to Ymir's original six-headed son, and would turn to stone if exposed to sunlight.

During the Christianization of Scandinavia, priests would tell tales of trolls who fled when they heard the sounds of church bells and their hatred for Christian blood. The latter is likely where we get the giant's "Fe, fi, fo, fum, I smell the blood of a Christian.' Telling tales like this was a common tactic in conversion, which led to the integration of ideas into folklore.






Trolls are now immortalised across the Scandinavian landscape as rock formation, where they are meant to have been turned to stone by the sun. Some examples of such formations include Reynisdrangar and Trold-Tindterne (Troll Peaks).

Friday 9 September 2011

Weekly wrap-up 8/9/11 {Wrap-up}

This week I've got back into full swing with the blog, so here are the topics I've covered this week:

Crib your adventures from music - what music to use as inspiration for your game
Dwarsome - amazing T&T art by Russ Nicholson
Kalessian Deadlands - a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting
Elder Sign is the solo game you don't want to miss - video of the upcoming Fantasy Flight game
5 ways to create meaningful and dynamic encounters - a guide to making great encounters
4 reasons why Marvel heroes RPG will be awesome - why I'm so excited about the Marvel Heroes RPG

Thursday 8 September 2011

4 reasons why Marvel Heroes will be an amazing RPG {Comics}


At this year's GenCon Margaret Weis Productions announced that it has acquired the rights to one of the biggest properties at the moment - Marvel Comics. MWP has always been at the forefront of licensed games, but Marvel is definitely its biggest and most important to date and I for one cannot wait to sink my teeth into it.

Here are 4 reasons why I'm so psyched about the new Marvel Heroes RPG:

1. Cross-over events
Currently Marvel's big cross-over is Fear Itself, where Odin's nemesis, the Serpent, is released by the Red Skull's daughter, Sin, and takes control of both heroes and villains with magical hammers similar to Thor's Mjolnir. It's a cool idea and I'd love to see it in roleplaying form, but like rival DC, Marvel has a massive library of cross-overs that would make amazing campaigns - from Secret Invasion to Civil War to character centric stories like the current Spider-Island or the Clone Saga.

2. Weekly inspiration
I'm one of those people who buys comics every week, so I have a constant flow of inspiration for a super hero game. There is a massive catalogue of ideas in the Marvel Universe and there are news ones cropping up each week, along with new characters, that make fertile ground for the imagination. If I like an aspect of the current Captain America run, there's nothing stopping me from putting it into my campaign. You could even watch the campaign unfold as the comic does (just make sure none of your players are reading the same one).

3. Playing as my favourite hero
Ok, it's an obvious one, but as a big fan of Marvel characters I think I could get a really big kick out of playing as characters I know inside out. From the almighty power of Thor, to the insane strength of the Hulk and the tough wit of Luke Cage, I know that I can pick a hero and already know tonnes about them, allowing me to roleplay more effectively.

4. Creating dream teams
We may have a large assortment of Avengers to choose from nowadays (Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers and Avengers Academy) but you don't have to go with the tried and tested teams. You can go crazy and make a group consisting of Ms Marvel, Deadpool, Captain America, Sasquatch and Black Panther if you wanted. Or maybe you think that a certain person doesn't deserve to be in one team or that one person really, really does. I can see this being a really fun thing to do, even if it's not implemented into the game.

What about you? Are you excited for the release of Marvel Heroes or couldn't you care less? Let me know in the comments or @scottmalt.

5 ways to create meaningful and dynamic encounters {4e}



We all know that 4th edition D&D has ultimately changed attitudes towards the combat encounter. Whereas once it was the norm to enter a 4x4 room and clear the hellhound or goblin chefs within, the current incarnation favours large, sprawling set-pieces over the humble 50 room temple.

The focus on grand Hollywood encounters makes combat a different beast compared to earlier editions, making it imperative for the players to not only have to defeat the enemy, but also overcome one or multiple goals in the process, otherwise the 1 hour+ fight scene tends to drag.

To put it another way, the combat encounter is a vehicle within the story; something that can either have a positive or negative effect. In order to keep the fight fresh, there are some things that you should keep in mind.

Don't kill the PCs without a very good reason
Controversial, I know, but let's face it - the game has changed. It's no longer just about surviving in the Temple of Elemental Evil, it's about an epic story unfolding and giving your players the satisfaction of reaching level 30 and fulfilling their epic destiny, while the DM can look back on a huge campaign that they themselves crafted. Alright, perhaps if it suits the narrative and the player has consented, a PC could be killed off or the resurrection of a PC would be ridiculous in the circumstance. However, that doesn't mean the players can't fail the encounter. In fact, I find death to be a pretty boring aspect of the narrative. Instead, have something negative happen to the PCs if they lose an encounter, but something they will be able to get out of and feel all the better for it.


Layer on the threats
Rarely should the soul aim of an encounter be to slay the opponents. This kind of combat will only become long and drawn out and more importantly not very memorable. You need to be adding threats left right and centre, and I don't mean just traps. Within 3 rounds that Passion Devil will summon a big nasty demon using a summoning stone unless the PCs kill him or destroy the stone. That sounds simple enough and gives the players another focus, however throw in the fact that there are innocents who are about to have their souls harvested by the other demons puts the players under more pressure. Do they focus their fire on the Passion Devil or the soul-sucking demons? Now you've got yourself an encounter.

Change the battlefield
Usually the arena in which battles take place is a static location. There are walls here, stars there and perhaps some magma pits scattered around. What if there were a 1 in 6 chance of those pits overflowing and covering a wide area, leaving the PCs on a narrow strip of ground? Maybe there's a war in the city streets and a Skiff falls out of the sky and into a building in the 3rd round, creating new cover and destroying old ones. As the battlefield evolves, so do the players' tactics. This is guaranteed to keep them on their toes.


Create a status table
Encounters should have random elements that are entirely our of the players'control, both positive and negative. Draw up a small 1d6 table with some random status effects that could happen. These are similar to what WotC tweets, such as "You hear the Angels Warrior blast his horn, filling you with confidence: gain a +2 bonus to Fortitude for the next round." You can roll the status die at the end of each round, or every other round if you want. You could even use this table to determine events as discussed in the point above.

Give a reason for the encounter
Fourth edition has taken a lot of the fun out of random encounters, at least for me, because combat is now more complex than it once was. Now you should have a clear reason for the encounter you want to run. If there are going to be no repercussions then it's probably not worth doing. Ask yourself 'Do I need to do this?' 'What will this encounter achieve?' If the answer is that it's just to pad out the session, then you need to scrap it or change it so it does have those repercussions.

As always, I'd love to hear your comments. Also you can catch me on Twitter @scottmalt

Elder Sign is a solo game you don't want to miss {Cthulhu}

Fantasy Flight continually pull it out of the bag when it comes to solo play and their upcoming Elder Sign is no exception. Check out the video below for a rundown of the rules and gameplay.

Tuesday 6 September 2011

The Kalessian Deadland {Steal this Setting}



This used to be a vibrant and beautiful place, home to thousands of elves and humans who lived in peace in a lush land. Not any more.

Kalessia lies in ruin. The forests are charred black and the plains are naught but dried grass and dust. The elders of the surrounding lands have come to call this place the Deadland, for nothing grows here. However, that does not mean it is entirely devoid of life, or what passes for it in this wasteland.

After the cataclysm, when a psychotic elven wizard got his hands on an archaic and powerful spell book and summoned a great black fire on the land, few things survived. Some of the people who happened to be in some kind of shelter, down a mine or in a tunnel somewhere were not burnt up like the rest of the population, but were mutated into the hulking Dreadmasks, so named because of their terrifying new visage.

Dreadmask
MR 40
Special Damage: 1/3
Ability: Dread Visage - Anyone who looks at a Dreadmask must make a L2SR on INT or run 10 feet away instead of attacking.

The black fire may have brought destruction, but it also created a new source of magic: Fyrestone. Kalessia is the only place in the know world where this material exists and it fetches a hefty price on the market. The reason it is so sought after is due to its properties of Kremm resistance. Just holding a piece of Fyrestone will make the user resistant to magic equal to twice her current WIZ.

What used to be great mines beneath the mountains of Kalessia are now home to strange and alien beings who hunt wayward travellers and occasionally  Dreadmasks. These creatures are the Kyuss, leather-skinned lizard-like people with four legs and two arms.

Kyuss Warrior
MR 60
Special Attack: 1/1
Ability: Pack Mentality - If three or more Kyuss Warriors are attacking +2d6 to their HPT.

The Kalessian Deadland is also prone to spontaneous geological combustion. Due to the instability of the land caused by the black fire, there is a 1 in 6 chance that the ground will ignite in a 8 metre radius under the delvers, both overland and under it. This explosion causes 1d6 damage unless a L3SR on DEX is made.

Monday 5 September 2011

Dwarsome {Art}


I love this image that Russ Nicholson has posted on his blog. I didn't even know he did T&T art!

Crib your adventures from music {Ideas}





Most of us crib our adventure ideas from some place, whether it be books or film, but I bet few of us look to music for inspiration. 

As I've said before, I'm a huge metal fan - a genre that's rife with fantasy/sci-fi/speculative fiction. You only have to peek into the power metal section of any music store to see that most of these bands are utter nerds like us.

Throughout my own D&D 4e campaign I've made allusions to certain bands that I love; the Forest of the Blind Guardian for instance. Band names are great to use as names of people or places. One of my bad guys was called Marduk, for example - the name of a black metal band.

But if you look in the right places, names aren't the only things you can steal from bands. Take a look at Rhapsody of Fire, an epic symphonic hollywood power metal group known for their bombastic sounds and albums woven around a fantasy narrative. Hell, they even have Christopher Lee on a few of their albums! These guys sing songs concerning the Steelgods of the Last Apocalypse and Akron, the tyrant. Just listening to one of their albums can give you a wealth of cool ideas. Few bands have such a strong fantasy theme, which makes Rhapsody of Fire a great go-to repository for ideas.

So next time you're stuck for an NPC or city name, look to music, or more specifically, metal, for some inspiration. After all, The White Towers of Gehenna or Khold or the Blacklands do sound pretty damned cool.

Friday 2 September 2011

25 RPG Twitter accounts you need to follow

Twitter is definitely my social media of choice. Why? Because it's the best way to engage with RPG fans and industry individuals in a meaningful way. That's why I have created this list of RPG players and creators that you really should follow:

@newbiedm  - aside from having a great blog, Newbie DM is very active in the twitterverse, offering insights and tips mostly for D&D players.

@DnDPrincessAria - this woman is obsessed with RPGs. She seems to play them all day every day! Really friendly and very interesting.

@chattydm - How could anyone forget Chatty? One of the kings of the RPG blogosphere, Chatty is certainly made of grade A awesome.

@Trollgodfather - The creator of Tunnels and Trolls. 'Nuff said.

@MonteJCook - Legendary RPG writer. Creator of Ptolus and Arcana Evolved. Nice chap.

@slloyd14 - Lover of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks and RPGs. Author of Lloyd of Gamebooks.

@tw33t_rpg - Runs an excellent twitter-based RPG where players vote for the course of action. Innovative and fun.

@d20Blonde - Incredibly friendly and highly engaging, Lizzy created the hashtag #RPGChat

@saveversusdeath - Fourthcore maestro and fantastic blogger.

@GeekyLyndsay - creator of Dragon Chow Dice Bags and D&D 3.5 lover.

@muskrat_john - John Kovalic, creator of Dork Tower, Munchkin, Apples to Apples and a host of other neat things.

@Barrok - local gent (lives in my city) and avid D&D/ Pathfinder fan.

@mana_junkie - curator of the Mana Junkie Daily ePaper and all round lovely GM.

@ThadeousC - 4Geeks4e podcaster and cool dude.

@destiny_quest - Creator of the Destiny Quest gamebook, one of the most innovative solo RPGs of all time.

@paulbaalham - D&D enthusiast and recent Lair Assault player.

@blindgeekuk - Geeky gamer dad from my neck of the woods - runs Lair Assault.

@symatt - fantastic artist, gamer and tea lover.

@DaddyDM - one of the nicest guys ever. He regularly tweets huge follow friday lists and the odds are you'll be on it.

@geeksdreamgirl - a matchmaker for us geeks and wonderful blogger.

@Trollitc - The Troll in the Corner himself. A bearded god of gaming.

@DaveTheGame - Editor-in-Chief of the almighty Critical-Hits, one of the biggest RPG sites around.

@ChrisSSims - An editor for Critical-Hits who has worked for Wizards of the Coast on various high-profile projects.

@SarahDarkmagic - 4E blogger and recent Ennie award nominee.

@jonathangreen - author of Fighting Fantasy books as well as Black Library series' and Pax Britannia.

Let us know any other Twitterers that deserve our attention in the comments.

Thursday 1 September 2011

Elder Tunnels Summer/Fall is out {T&T}





I finally have the internet back! Oh it feels good. Now I can get back to doing what I love- shilling stuff I've done!

Elder Tunnels, Peryton Publishing's quarterly Tunnels and Trolls adventure collection, has returned with its summer/fall edition. The new book contains three adventures, two GM and one solo scenario, by Tom K. Loney, Trevor Hudgins and myself.

My own contribution is a GM adventure called Fast Food, which tells the tale of a burger joint that isn't everything it seems - trust me.

If you want to buy the latest Elder Tunnels you can find it at DrivethruRPG for a rather small price.