I’ve written a 4e D&D suppliment that allows players to play as a possessing spirit.
You can get it here.
The PDF contains
A podcast of a 4e D&D campaign I’m currently running. In this podcast, the players begin as prisoners in a workcamp rebuilding an old keep. After an exciting escape they learn of, and decide to persue, a powerful artifact called The Slaying Stone. The characters are listed below.
Toler Stonebeard – The Dwarf Cleric of Moridan
Tzarra Quun’uhl – The Drow Assassin and worshiper of Zehir
Ahriman Goldclaw – The Dragonborn Sorceer (Cleric of Io)
Dea Septima – Tiefling Fighter and worshiper of Ioun
Skye Vesperious – Gnome Wizard
I’ve written and published a 10th level adventure for 4e DnD. It’s on sale for $.99 and should provide a good end for a heroic tier campain. Check it out here.
Sho’vossth, known as the Slithering Monsoon, was the greatest of the Yuan-ti kings before they were stricken with madness. He was imprisoned by his high priests; put into suspended animation, and sealed in a forgotten temple. They spent their lifetimes searching for a way to put right their king’s chaotic mind. When they failed, their king lie forgotten… at least for a time.
Now, a group of cultists have discovered this temple, and the Yuan-ti king. It is up to the players to brave many obstacles, and stop the ritual that will unleash this Slithering Monsoon on the unsuspecting countryside.
The Slithering Monsoon is a short dungeon crawl for DnD 4e. It is for 5 10th level characters and contains five encounters. It features full monster stat blocks, and has been laid out with ease of running it in mind.
I’ve got more stuff on the way, so check back here, or at my store. Thanks for your support!
Redneck Life is a simple board game with a humorous theme and laissez faire mechanics. It, goodheartedly, pokes fun at an American subculture; it is genuinely funny, especially if you are, or know people who fall into that subculture. Redneck Life produced a lot of laughs in my gaming group, and is an easy game to pick up and play.
Unfortunately, there are very few meaningful choices for you to make in the game. You roll the die and see what happens. The entire game is almost entirely random; character generation, what occupation you have, and most of the various events that take place throughout the game are entirely random. You don’t have much control over the outcome of the game, and that limits its replayability.
Redneck Life can be fun, and it doesn’t require much thought, but its appeal wears off fast. Redneck Life is more of a ride than a proper game. It is a fun, hilarious ride, but one that you will likely only take a couple of times before boring of it.
You can find Redneck Life here, on Amazon. The game is for 2-6 players.
Rick ‘SniperSnake’ Martin
I missed my review on Friday; it’s finals week. I’ll be posting a review and a free rpg supplement today.
I’ve put together a Fate Deck for 4e DnD. You draw from it every time a 1 is rolled. On the card will be a number ranging -3 to +3. These are fate points, which can be spent to reroll attacks, skill checks, saving throws, ect. Depending on whether fate is favoring the players, the DM can take out any number of plus, or minus cards they wish. Take a look, and let me know what you think.
To print it out in Adobe Reader, change page scaling to “Multiple Pages Per Sheet” and pages per sheet to “3 by 3″.
The file is here.
Rick ‘SniperSnake’ Martin
Zombie Dice is a simple game; a parallel to the simple life of a zombie. Zombies do one of three things: eat brains, chase brains, or get shot. In Zombie Dice you live this simple existence. The mechanics are simple, and the game plays quickly and supports 2, or more players.
On the surface Zombie Dice is a simple “press your luck” style of game. Play it as such and you’ll find it to be a fun diversion for fifteen minutes. Dig a little deeper, however, and you’ll see that Zombie Dice is a way for you to tell your own zombie stories. Make up scenarios, and victims based on the dice fate hands you. Tell a story about how you’re making your way through a small down raiding libraries and nursing homes looking for brains, until you meet your grisly end at the gun shop. Get crazy and creative, and you’ll be rewarded with a fun, laugh filled, time. Zombie Dice is like anything good in life; the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.
Rick ‘SniperSnake’ Martin
Here are four items for DnD 4e. Two rings, and two neck items. Give your players a Troglodyte Stink Sack, or a Ring of Insubstantiality. Enjoy!
Rick “SniperSnake” Martin
T
he Binding of Isaac has put me in a decision loop I have never found myself in. Its game play is a wonderful mixture of rogue-like and Zelda that wholly satisfies my old-school gaming sensibilities. On the other hand, the themes and symbolism in the game genuinely makes me feel uncomfortable. I cannot decide whether to play it again.
During play I’m in heaven, while poor Isaac is wading his way through hell. The Zelda style dungeon, controls, and gameplay work perfectly; but the addition of the following elements make for a truly engaging and unique experience.
The dungeon is randomized in every way. The enemy and item placement, as well as the layout itself, is different every time you play. Sometimes a floor will have a miniboss, personifications of one of the seven deadly sins, and sometimes it won’t. Power- ups are random, and when using them for the first time, their effect I unknown. There might be three locked doors on your floor, but you’ve been given no keys. I don’t see the latter point as a flaw, but more of a fascinating addition to the game’s theme. Life is not fair to Isaac, and the game is not fair to the player. It’s this sort of unpredictability that makes me want to play the game hundreds of more times.
And yet, I am hesitant to boot the game up again. The game makes be uncomfortable. It begins with Isaac’s mother hearing the voice of God ordering her to kill Isaac. Isaac escapes in a trap door in his room, into a dungeon filled with feces, blood, and disturbing monsters. Isaac is naked, and armed only with his tears, that he shoots at enemies, as he must survive this hell and defeat his mother.
The power ups in the game are perhaps the most off-putting of all. Some power-ups provide ongoing benefits: Isaac can piece his skull with a coat hanger to make his tears more powerful. He can use a whipping branch to make him run faster. I won’t go over them all because I think you get the jist. Other power-ups are one time use, and these come in the form of pills. The first time using a pill, you have no idea what its effects will be. Perhaps you can see why I might be uncomfortable playing The Binding of Isaac.
Gamers have a keen ability to separate context from mechanics. This applies to me as well. While actually playing the Binding of Isaac, I can glaze over the context of my situation. I’m dodging bullets, and killing enemies; the fact that those bullets are tears of blood and that those enemies are aborted fetuses can be pushed away. Of course, I am not oblivious to this fact, or unsympathetic to it, but I can appreciate that there is more to this game than meets the eye. I feel that much of this game world may be metaphorical, or symbolic. I do not believe that the game creator is endorsing the killing of children, and that, for me, is the line between smut and art. I think an artist’s intent finds its way to shine through the medium, whether by conscience, or unconscious thought.
I don’t think that this game is being malevolent with its theme. I can see it as a biting satire, an examination on religious fanaticism, even an examination of disciplining a child. One message I got from the game that stood out was, that punishing a behavior excessively in a child could cause that child to act out the behavior once pushed too far, or once the fear of the punishment was gone. I do think that this game is a work of art. I have passed several hours in thought over the game’s theme, symbolism, and message, and whether or not it even has a message.
This is not the first time I have taken the time to think about these things for a game, and it is not the first time a game has made me uncomfortable. However, it is the first time I have done both. Usually when game makes me uncomfortable is when it is saying that despicable things like racism, murder, or rape is ok in game, and out in the world. Those games get know, and deserve no, deliberation on my part; I simply never play them again. However, in the case of art, just because I’m uncomfortable with it, doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t want to have experienced it, or have others experience it.
So, do I recommend this game? Not an easy question. The mix of familiar game play concepts is superb, and it provided an amazing amount of game play for its meager price tag. It’s a game I’m glad I experienced, but it is wholly unique, and not for everyone. I recommend at least trying the demo here. The full game is available on Steam.
The first free article I’m posting is a Full Metal Alchemist campaign setting to the FU RPG. I’ve talked about the core system before, and I’ve already posted by “Slasher Movie” adaptation to it. Now I’ve written rules based on the first animated series; so you can now easily role play in the world of Full Metal Alchemist for free.
I’ve provided additional rules for character creation, the use of alchemy, gaining levels, as well as pre-generated characters for some of the characters from the show.
Download the PDF here.
My Slasher Movie Mod is here.
And the core system is here.
