Share anything you'd like (comments, links, etc.)I blame it all on the high blood sugar. More seriously, I realized that I didn't have a "catch-all" blog series for gaming stuff...so, err, here's one: Carpe Blogiem. This installment has me musing on Sicatra (my new fantasy campaign) and what roads I...
2015-02-16 03:17:13 +0000 UTC View PostShare anything you'd like (comments, links, etc.)I'm really sick right now (diabetes crap), so here's a session report from the vault. I'll try to have something more substantial next week (ish). 2015-02-12 20:40:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Today is Patreon Day - the day that I say thanks to all my patrons for helping to keep my blog (and myself) going. This special is sure to drive you mad. Introducing a new way to track sanity as a form of "mental" fatigue points. Read on...
2015-02-10 23:27:52 +0000 UTC View Post
"I'm a real wild one. Well I'm just outta school Like I'm real, real cool Gotta dance like a fool Got the message that I gotta be A wild one Ooh yea, I'm a wild one" Besides being the best Idol song behind "Eyes without a Face" (don't try to convince me otherwise - just go dance with yourself), I t...
2015-02-10 23:20:42 +0000 UTC View PostToday is Patreon Day - the day that I say thanks to all my patrons for helping to keep my blog (and myself) going. This special is sure to drive you mad. Introducing a new way to track sanity as a form of "mental" fatigue points. Read on... Edit: It's not letting me upload right now for some reason...
2015-02-07 19:53:11 +0000 UTC View Post
I have nothing witty to say here except I was dared to GURPSfy this...so I did. Part gorilla, part elephant....sooooo majestic. http://www.ravensnpennies.com/2015/02/triple-threat-gorillaphant....
2015-02-03 17:18:25 +0000 UTC View Post
"It's more an art than a science" is one of those phrases you need to beware because it is much beloved by bullsh*t artists the wide-world round. But sometimes it really does apply and this is one of those times. Making NPCs for your campaign is like a balancing act using someone else's hands and yo...
2015-02-01 17:46:14 +0000 UTC View Post
Sha na na na - sha na na na na Every morning about this time The cleric gets me out of my bed a-crying Delver, get a job! "But my job is to adventure!" he cries. "But you haven't gone underground in weeks!" she says. "Ever since that wereworm in the Caverns of Death..." he replies. "Then you must g...
2015-01-29 18:29:00 +0000 UTC View Post
"I know Kung Fu!" "Show me." *beats senseless* "Ouch. That hurt." GURPS gives you a lot of options when it comes to combat and unarmed combat is no different. Sometimes too many. So how can you simplify it more? Well, if you must consolidate all the unarmed combat skills in GURPS down to two you mig...
2015-01-28 02:02:07 +0000 UTC View PostAnother session report from the vault for my Dungeon Fantasy campaign. http://www.ravensnpennies.com/2015/01/sicatra-water-sellers-daughter-game.html#.VMUcSP7F_Cs
2015-01-25 16:41:09 +0000 UTC View PostToday is Patreon Day! The day where I say "thank you!" to all of my patrons and backers with a little something special just for them. This month's post is all about the Adjustable Clothing spell - a standard magical spell which I've found a little bit confusing - so I've clarified it some. Yes, I k...
2015-01-24 16:46:32 +0000 UTC View Post
Fantasy airships have only become more and more popular as the years have gone by. Blame steampunk, Final Fantasy, or any other number of popular culture bits, but don't deny its popularity. I won't lie, airships fascinate me. I grew up on Final Fantasy and even in my early gaming days of Dungeons a...
2015-01-23 02:17:03 +0000 UTC View Post
"I'll give you three gold pieces for that horse!" "I wouldn't give it to my mother for less than four!" "Pah! You know nothing of horseflesh, it's teeth are terrible!" "It's teeth are brighter than your gold my foolish friend..." Haggling is fun, both in game and out of it. When I play or run I love...
2015-01-20 07:20:56 +0000 UTC View Post
"They come with the cold and are the cold. The Witko walks but does not walk. It cannot speak, but its voice is the wind." Some of the more terrifying wendigo myths are not so much about it eating you - no; that's too easy. It's about it calling the cold to kill you slowly. But not just you - everyo...
2015-01-18 07:09:46 +0000 UTC View PostOne of my session reports from my new (and current) campaign. http://www.ravensnpennies.com/2014/11/sicatra-tomb-of-al-aksar-game-session-1.html#.VLfdMCvF_Cs
2015-01-15 15:32:40 +0000 UTC View Post
GURPS has a lot of skills - so much in fact that it can be outright overwhelming for most first-timers (and many experienced players too!). So how do you get your skill list where you need it? Or, a better question, how do you get the skills you must have for the genre/TL? I've got a few ideas and I...
2015-01-13 19:21:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Back in the late 90s a common phrase at my gaming table was "I break my staff of the magi for a retributive strike, roll to see if I go to another dimension." So I figured "Hell, just because I don't play DnD anymore doesn't mean I can't have me a nuke on a stick in GURPS!" So here is a artifact wri...
2015-01-12 07:12:22 +0000 UTC View Post
Continuing my "Assembly Required" series (now with new picture!), this time I'm talking about outlining what sort of character traits your campaign might have. http://www.ravensnpenn...
2015-01-09 09:52:51 +0000 UTC View PostGuys, What sort of topics do you want to see covered in the next few installments of the bi-weekly specials? Please comment in this thread and let me know.
2015-01-08 10:53:06 +0000 UTC View Post
He's always got the right spell at the right time. You need a potion of Fortune? He just happens ot have one. The Master of the magical gewgaw, the Jack-of-all-Mages is prepared for every situation and has everything he needs right when he needs it. Is it blind luck or brilliant preplanning? Probabl...
2015-01-08 09:35:51 +0000 UTC View Post
The key to Gamemastering (I have found) is that like all things in life, communication is the key. Your players must understand you and what you are trying to do and vice versa. Here are a few things I've picked up over the years as real problem causing issues. 2015-01-06 05:50:44 +0000 UTC View Post
So here's all the highlights of last year - good and bad. http://www.ravensnpennies.com/2015/01/2014-year-in-review.html#.VKjrGCvF_Cs
2015-01-04 07:27:49 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm a pretty huge fan of Final Fantasy. I actually have managed to play all of them (and beat them) except for the two latest. But my favorite is, and will forever be Final Fantasy 6 and "Treasure Hunter" has long since been in the vernacular of my gaming group when referring to thieves. Anyways, I ...
2015-01-02 00:39:26 +0000 UTC View Post
It's been given multiple treatments in multiple editions of GURPS books. Within the last ten years, it's also become one of the more popular monsters and is slowly getting morphed from its original roots (like the wolfman when Hollywood got of a hold of it). I grew up listening to all kinds of stori...
2014-12-30 07:40:41 +0000 UTC View PostYet another entry from the vault - which will wrap up my backlog for my urban fantasy campaign. http://www.ravensnpennies.com/2014/12/the-chronicles-of-ceteri-silent-as-dead_28....
2014-12-28 08:14:53 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm a huge fan of Wildcard skills. I use them often in games I run just because they are so freaking cool. I mean, one skill to rule them all (well almost all)? Come on. They clean up a character sheet nicely and it's easy to GM "Your Beaver! skill lets you make dams that are impressive and bite at ...
2014-12-24 00:06:11 +0000 UTC View PostLooks like we hit another goal. Thanks everyone! So, starting February 2015 I'll be releasing not one, but TWO Patreon Specials a month (I've already got January finished up and queued). These Specials will be released on the first Saturday of every month and the third. Thank you again everyone!
2014-12-23 23:45:59 +0000 UTC View PostAnother session report from the vault. http://www.ravensnpennies.com/2014/12/the-chronicles-of-ceteri-silent-as-dead_20.html#.VJZqm14BA
2014-12-21 07:37:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Today is Patreon day! The day I say "Hey, thanks!" to all my patrons for supporting my blog. Today I'm talking about getting weird with ritual path magic. What do I mean when I say weird? I mean weird. For all my patrons - you know where the new post is, for those of you who aren't, consider becomin...
2014-12-20 08:05:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Again, sort of GURPS related, my new laptop came in Wednesday and I've been customizing it since then. I'll probably be fully up and running by the weekend and I've already written some new stuff on it (it. is. perfect!). Thanks to everyone who helped me get it and for putting me back to work! 2014-12-20 00:26:24 +0000 UTC View Post