Achtung! Cthulhu to become a movie

Image: Modiphius Entertainment

There haven't been many successful adaptations of Lovecraftian stories, but there could be something great on the horizon with the news that Modiphius's successful roleplaying game Achtung! Cthulhu is becoming a film.

7 new poisons for your Tunnels & Trolls game

Image: Kittymccourt at Deviantart

Poisons! Fun for the whole family. Mix them in you porridge, sneak them in your pudding. Now have ten new poisons for your T&T game, although you can simply convert them to your favourite system.

Peakvale setting: The Port of Middenhall

Three days north-west of Peakvale's capital, Thornguard, lies the town of Middenhall. A port town, Middenhall crests the waters of the Barren Sea where fishermen make livelihood and where the threat of pirate attacks are all too real.

What do you think of Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition?

Image: Wizards of the Coast

Most early adopters have now had the chance to absorb the rules for D&D 5e, whether that's through the free Basic PDF, Starter Set or the newly released Player's Handbook. Hell, some of you will have already got your teeth into some games.

Support me on Patreon

I've created a Patreon page so that those who want to support my RPG work can do. This is to ultimately help me pay artists, designers and editors when it comes to writing new USR books, including setting books like USR Galaxy and USR Mythos. I really appreciate anything you're able to give to help me make better games for you.

USR Galaxy: The Novorian Empire

"Praise be to Novoria, Queen of the Stars. May her wrath bring galaxies to their knees," - Novorian prayer.

The Alpha System is home to the sprawling Novorian Empire, a vast theocracy consisting of a multitude of alien species, including many humans. The grand city of Vandria on the planet Xian stands at the heart of the empire, with The Holy Vessel ruling over all. The Novorians are dedicated to their goddess, Novoria- a vengeful and terrible deity who demands personal sacrifice and utmost reverence.

Should we care about encounter balance?

Most games I run have an eye towards balancing encounters so that the players actually stand a fighting chance of making it out alive. Fourth edition Dungeons & Dragons practically held encounter balance as a mantra, loading up the maths so precisely that as a DM you know exactly which creatures to slot into your brawl to give your players a decent time of things.

Grab a free Legend of Drizzt audiobook complete with all-star cast

Now this is a pretty sweet deal. Audible is giving away a 10+ hour collection of stories centred around the famous Drow adventurer Drizzt, with an all-star cast including Felicia Day, Sean Astin, David Duchovny and more.

Drunk post Friday! Witch Robots for USR

Ok, so there's a reason why I don't usually post on a Friday. I go out after work with colleagues and drink lots of beer. However, in my effort to post every day I want to go ahead and, well, make a post. So welcome to the first Drunk Post Friday! I have no idea what I'm talking about, except I'm talking about WITCH ROBOTS. Yep, cram that in yer maw.

USR Cyberpunk: The Surgeon

The surgeon probably isn't, let's say, qualified, to do what she's about to do. Sure, she has the know how - look at the way she sharpens that scalpel. That's a pretty big scalpel, come to think of it. Never you mind, the Novocaine will kick in soon.

USR Galaxy: Sketh Warmaster

This post continues a series looking at USR Galaxy, a space opera setting for USR 2.0. Today we will be looking at Sketh warriors - in particular the fearsome Sketh Warmaster.

Star Wars Episode VIII director: audiences hit by CGI "critical mass"

It looks like the next Star Wars trilogy is going to be more reminiscent of the originals in terms of special effects, as writer/director Rian Johnson has commented on the practical effects in Episode VII.

Gen Con 2014 draws biggest crowd ever

As much as I would love to have gone, it's good to know that Gen Con is only going from strength to strength. Forbes reports that the world famous tabletop gaming convention last week drew a crowd of 56,614 - a 14% increase on last year and double that of five years ago.

Free USR Mythos adventure: The Serpent Ring

To celebrate H.P Lovecraft's birthday tomorrow I have written a short, free adventure for USR under a new setting USR Mythos. It's a pretty straightforward one, but hey, it's free so enjoy.

Peakvale setting: The Slumberer Beneath

This continues a series of posts looking at the Peakvale campaign setting for Tunnel & Trolls. 

The Dhezereth Dwarves have long lived in the awful knowledge that something exists below them. Deep in the heart of the Dhezereth Mountains something sleeps - something huge. The Keepers of the Underlore have spent many a night discussing emergency plans for when the Slumberer Beneath eventually awakes. Indeed, many have suggested to Councillor Ghazamm Rrockcracker that he should begin a mass exodus from the mountains to Helm Peak, fifty miles west of Dhezereth. But the councillor does not heed these warnings as he, along with a large population of dwarves who inhabit the mountain, do not believe the Slumberer exists. After all, there is no evidence of a creature in the heart of the world - it's a mere bedtime story to tell dwarf children so they are quiet at night.

I want you to star in a new USR adventure

Do you want your namesake to be in the new urban fantasy adventure for USR, Full Moon Defence Squad: Box of Tricks? All you need to do is join the USR Google Plus community. I will be selecting a few people to star in the new adventure that will appear on Trollish Delver throughout the month and get printed later in the year.

I will be choosing the winners by midnight Friday 22nd August.

Check out the introduction to the adventure here.

What's your favourite D&D 5e class?

Dungeons and Dragons has returned in a big way with 5th edition and no doubt people who already have their mitts on the Player's Handbook have their favoured class. So what is it? Share your most beloved class from 5e in the comments below and maybe a bit about the character you have created.

Full Moon Defence Squad: Box of Tricks [Introduction]

This is the first post in a series that will form the Full Moon Defence Squad adventure, Box of Tricks, for use with USR 2.0. Every week I will write a number of posts that flesh out and continue the adventure until at the end of the month you have a finished adventure. If you want your GM to run this adventure then don't read on.

The most valuable comic in the world is on Ebay

Got a spare few million dollars just hanging around? Well, that rainy day fund could go towards Action Comics #1, the single most valuable comic around. What makes it so special? It's the first appearance of Superman and the comic that started everything.

USR Galaxy: Magna, Pride of the Empire

This begins a series of posts looking at USR Galaxy, a space opera setting for USR 2.0. Today we will be exploring the planet Magna, the prosperous hub of the Delta System and seat of the New Earth Empire.

Frog God Games offers limited free Razor Coast download

Image: Frog God Games

Frog God Games is celebrating its silver win at the ENnies for Razor Coast: Heart of the Razor by giving away the Freebooter's Guide for free.

2014 ENnie winners announced, Numenera and Pathfinder take the glory

It's that time again, boys and girls, when the ENnies are awarded to the best of the best in the gaming industry.

Peakvale Campaign Setting: The Wyrd

On the shores of Lake Bloodmoon there exists an inter-dimensional rift in space and time - a gateway to new worlds and realities. Wizards and scholars from Thornguard University have studied this phenomenon since it was discovered by Elmore Tusker, an adventuring sorcerer in 435WE (Wondrous Era). He was resting on the yellow sands of Bloodmoon when he found a strange glowing rock. After further searching he discovered more of these small rocks and decided to investigate them. He realised days later that these were normal stones affected by some magic that hadn't been recorded in this reality. It was evidence that something magical was leaking into Peakvale from some unknown dimension.

Lone Wolf Adventure Game destroys target on Kickstarter

Cubicle 7 and Joe Dever have already smashed their funding target of £15,000 with the Lone Wolf Adventure Game, a tabletop RPG based on the Lone Wolf gamebooks.

Trollish Delver's top 10 podcasts

I am super into podcasts, guys. They've been a common fixture in my daily routine ever since podcasting became a thing and I've been through a tonne of them. But which would I recommend to you, my good friends? Note that the majority of these aren't shows about tabletop gaming - there are all kinds of genres on the list. Feel free to tell me what your favourites are in the comments.

Wizards drops free Dungeon Master's rules

Image: Wizards of the Coast

Much earlier than I anticipated, Wizards has decided to put on their website a companion to the Basic D&D rules for 5th edition, the Dungeon Master's Basic Rules.

The new free PDF details encounter building, a bestiary and some basic magic items. This coupled with the newly updated Basic rules means that you can pretty much get a campaign going for absolutely nothing. Like, seriously - go and do it, you massive cheapskate.

Halberd Fantasy race: Sira Dwarf

Lately I've been working on the new edition of Halberd Fantasy Roleplaying, drafting out what I want from the new rules, taking the feedback from the current edition. Something I want to add is some variety to character races aside from specialisms. One of the great things about the current set-up is that you can pretty much make an race on the fly because you're bolting on specialisms. However, I also want races to be even more defined in the future edition.