With this book, you can make your PCs the boss of their own mafia. It contains rules for creating and maintaining mobs, operating the mobs, and of course, GANG WARS! But, this is no regular old 4E “every book looks alike” job. These are new rules to make an almost entirely new game out of 4E. And really, it is just skinned with 4E for a workable setting (and it can easily be used in any flavor of 4E). If you are willing to find/make your own stat blocks and tweak the rules of what skills are tied to what, you can run this game in any system, because the mob rules are unique and not 4E dependent. In fact, the author has stated that he will be doing a free conversion for the new upcoming DCC RPG.

The book itself is 96 pages. The first chapter deals with creating mobs. The second deals with activities/crimes your mob can commit as well as punishments if things don’t go as planned. This chapter also deals with bounty hunters and assassins, the upmost punishment for the noisy crime lord. Chapter three is the operations of the mob. It gives the actual rules for a mob taking a turn. Chapter four deals with the rules for gangs fighting. Chapter Five is campaign ideas for the DM. Chapter six has 6 scenarios a DM can use to get a location established. Chapter seven contains 3 pre-built, ready-to-use mobs. There are also several appendices containing stat blocks, a thieves dictionary, maps, and tools to build up neighborhoods.

This is a really flexible products. You can use it to introduce a DM-run mob that acts as an antagonist in your story. You can use this to make one or more of your PCs an actual mob boss, running their mobs concurrent to their adventuring careers. Or, you could make a game of just having a bunch of mob bosses fighting it out for control of a city.  This is the perfect product to build that feeling of Cersei, Littlefinger, Maester Pycelle, Varys sitting around a table cordially chatting as their spies and thugs duke it out to win them control of the Seven Kingdoms in the background.

This is a must-have product for anyone who wants to run a unique 4E game or anyone who is interesting in implementing a fantasy mafia (for any setting).

The Goodman Games website has a 7-page PDF preview of the Introduction chapter and an 8-page PDF preview of the Mob Turn Chapter.

This book is available now in PDF or Print from Goodman Games Online Store, your FLGS, and various other retailers. It carries an MSRP of $21.99. But, it is worth its weight in gaming gold!

Stuart

Looks like a great, low cost idea to instantly build dungeons.  Click on the link below for more information on the project.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

History was a trash bag of random coincidences torn open in a wind.  Surely, Watt with his steam engine, Faraday with his electric motor, and Edison with his incandescent light bulb did not have it as their goal to contribute to a fuel shortage some day that would place their countries at the mercy of Arab oil.

This is exactly how I like to run events as a DM. I like to have the players encounter a series of events with seemingly harmless (or sometimes seemingly good) outcomes. But those outcomes add up to something far more sinister.

However, back to the topic at hand; using history in the RPG. Many DMs put a great amount of thought into the main “bad guy”, the arch-nemesis. However, most times they do not give much thought to where their antagonist resides when he is not tormenting the players. If there is a man of such evil, why would people not gang-up and hunt him down?

History can help us here. Not many an evil foe has ever had such an advanced system of lairs as Adolf Hitler during World War II. They were called the Führerhauptquartiere. A new book by Osprey Publishing titled The Führer’s Headquarters – Hitler’s command bunkers 1939–45 by Neil Short does an excellent job of of showcasing these 14 known fortifications. It is amazing that in such a short amount of time, Hitler went from simple air raid locations to massive concrete structures able to withstand heavy firepower.

This book details the design and development of these bunkers, talks about each location specifically and includes photos and illustrations of the layouts. The operations of these facilities and how they tied into the war are also discussed. And of course, important events like Operation Valkyrie, which was recently made famous by a Hollywood/Tom Cruise movie, are also brought up.

Sure, this book is not an RPG book, and it will not give you an instant base of operations for your bad guy. However, by utilizing a book like this, you can start to get inside the head of your villain and start thinking about the bigger picture of your campaign. History books like this will help a you become a better DM.

So when you are at your FLGS with some cash burning a hole in your pocket, instead of heading to the RPG section. Maybe every once in a while you should head to the back of the store with that little turn-style rack that has some quality campaign ideas at a decent price.

The Führer’s Headquarters – Hitler’s command bunkers 1939–45 was released on October 19th. It is available in game shops and bookstores or you can order it from Osprey or Amazon (among other places).

Thank you to Osprey Publishing for providing a review copy of this book. My evil masterminds just got a little slipperier.

Stuart

Bibliographic information

The Adventures of Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer: Shadows of Mirahan

The Adventures of Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer: Shadows of Mirahan arrived today and I decided to give it a review.  Whether they know it or not, almost every geek is familiar with the artistry of Frank Frazetta. In addition to his fantasy and science fiction paintings, his work has graced the covers of novels, comic books, posters, and even several 70’s rock band albums.

In 2007, Image Comics put the story of the Death Dealer into a graphic novel, and it became their #1 hit that year. Being a fan of Frazetta, and being a fan of gothic/horror fantasy, this was a must read for me. And it was great! The dialogue was a little campy at times, but the story was classic and the artwork was AMAZING! It earned its place as one of my favorite graphic novels.

Along comes Goodman Games, and their adaptation of that wonderful graphic novel into a 4E D&D adventure.

Let me just say, that this is one of the hardest reviews I have ever had to write. There is SO MUCH cool stuff in this book that I want to tell you about, yet I know I can’t because I don’t want to spoil the fun for you! This book is pure genius. It is one of the best adventure publications that I have seen for 4th Edition.

Story:  This is the highlight of this adventure. Going into it, I was trying to figure out how they would adapt the story of the Death Dealer for a group of people (the PCs). The story line shoots off in several directions and locales, which would be hard when you need a mostly linear plot for an adventure. What the author ended up doing, is placing the PCs into the story as their own sub-plot. All of the plots in the original Death Dealer story are happening around what the PCs are doing. This is great, because it still creates a new adventure for those familiar with the Death Dealer story. You get to play in the story instead of play the story.

Artwork: I don’t need to even cover this. Frazetta’s work is amazing. Jay Fotos and Nat Jones’ work in the Graphic novel is amazing. And this module pulls most of its artwork straight from those sources. The layout of the adventure is straight forward and easy to follow and the text is easy to read, even with a darker page background.

Challenge Level:  Folks, you need to bring your A game and a bit of strategy and smarts to this adventure. If your table is a bunch of mooks, you’re going to have your heads decapitated by the Shadow Horde. The combat in this adventure is deadly serious, as appropriate to the world of the Death Dealer. The author has made some advanced rules that you can adopt into 4E. They cover an expanded and alternate use to action points, increased critical ranges, and my favorite, critical effects charts to make those critical hits more deadly. The adventures supports characters of level 7 to 9.

World Info: In addition to the appendix of advanced rules, there is another that talks about the world of Iparsia. This adventure could easily be adapted to any campaign setting. However, if you wanted to run it in the true world of the Death Dealer, this adventure gives you the tools. It talks about the different lands, giving you racial traits for each. There are also a few new feats that melee characters will lust for.

There is also an appendix that has all new monsters. This book is worth its weight, just to bring 4E life to the horrific and evil creatures of the Shadow Horde. I so desperately want to tell you about Dazaka!  Those familiar with the graphic novel know what I am talking about. But I can’t. I don’t want to spoil your fun.  Good luck against that one. :)

Another appendix gives you pre-generated characters. And these characters are straight from the graphic novel. You have Adelia, Lambau, Owen, Rian, and Lorthos.

The Death Dealer: It is recommended that the players should not play as, or fight the death dealer in this adventure. As the adventures states, “The Death Dealer is an engine of destruction that is nigh unstoppable by anything short of divine intervention.” In keeping with cannon of the story, there is no way for the Death Dealer to be on a level playing field as the PCs. However, he has stats at the end of the book for the GM to do with as they please. I don’t think it would be spoiler advice to tell any potential PCs who run into the Death Dealer to NOT piss this guy off.

The bottom line: This is a must-have 4E product.  If you can’t find someone to run this adventure for you, you need to run this for someone. And any DM, even if they don’t want to run it, can use it for its resources. In addition to the great monsters and advanced rules, I suggest implementing Chapter 1 into whatever adventure you are running. It is great fun.

At $9.99, it is not going to break your bank. and at 96 pages, it will keep you entertained for hours. And if you buy the book, Goodman Games gives you a code inside to download the PDF for free.

I personally hope that this product is successful and that it spawns more adventures in the world of Iparsia.

Side Note: Amazon.com has the hardcover Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer by Image Comics on sale as of this writing. The graphic novel  enhances the game experience with this adventure and is worth a read..

Reviewer Disclosure: I received the PDF version of this product gratis from Goodman Games (though I would have bought it anyway).

Haaldaar

I will not promise any exciting reading in the archive, but it is chock full of cool game materials and realia. Whenever a king releases an edict regarding maritime law, inheritance of property  or, my personal favorite, rules  for  Trail by Ordeal, you can actually use the real thing. Fun!

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

PaperBack Swap

Hello fellow LivingDice readers,

It is Haaldaar, your friendly Holy Knight of Haruspices!  I thought I would take some of the load off of Trask for the night and tell you about Paperbackswap. Now, this website isn’t solely focused on gaming, but there are a lot of fantasy and gaming books available in this book club. And of course, I don’t know any fantasy gamers that don’t like at least the occasional fantasy book! This place has a BUNCH! They even have RPG books, though the demand for those is currently larger than the supply (something we can remedy by getting a bunch of gamers to join.)

So here is the premise. You post your used books into the system for others to order. Even though it is called paperback swap, you can also use hardcover books and even audio books. You earn a credit every time someone orders a book from you (and you send it to them). Then you spend your credits to get the books that you want from the other members.

Registration is free! To join the club, you create an account with a valid mailing address. Then you offer up some of your old books to get things going. They currently have almost 3 Million books available!  There is no spam, no advertising, no gimmicks, and no gotchas. It is really is as simple as that.

There is currently a special. If you post 10 books to the system for others to order, you get 2 FREE book credits. That is basically two free books for joining.

I have been using the this site for over  a year now. I have received about 40 books from other members and have sent out 45 books. Just to show you some of the offerings on there, here are some of my recent books:

• Wizard’s First Rule (Sword of Truth, Book 1) by Terry Goodkind
• A Clash of Kings (Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2) by George R. R. Martin
• I, Strahd: The War Against Azalin (Ravenloft) by P. N. Elrod
• The Descent by Jeff Long
• Elminster in Hell by Ed Greenwood
• The Dragon King by R. A. Salvatore

Check out PaperBack Swap for yourself.

Full disclosure: I do get a free credit if you use my link and sign-up with ten books. But I will use that credit to keep a fresh supply of fantasy books churning through the system.

An interlude from Trask: with any luck I can con…err…convince Haaldaar to write reviews on some of said books.

Enjoy,

Haaldaar

Most of the locations have both original images that show them in their prime, maps and modern images that show the ravages of time. This is one of the best gaming resources I found recently. The maps and images would make great supplements to any modern or post-apocalyptic game.

If you want to see what is available, this link takes you directly to the “good stuff,” but check out the entire site. It is chock full of gaming goodness.

Bunkers and Installations

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

Somewhere, probably in a garage or basement is the next great gaming idea, waiting to see the light of day.   Today’s post is my small contribution to the next great idea. I did some research on companies that make game components, the individual pieces that combine with a great idea to make a game.  These companies are not “gaming” companies in the strictest sense.  They are printers, box builders and token molders. They are the nuts and bolts of any game.

I thought it a good idea to put together a list of helpful links for a budding game designers. Perhaps it will inspire someone to move a great idea from their basement into the bright light of my “friendly-local-game-store.”

I  am not endorsing these companies or their services.  I do not receive any benefit from sales this post may produce.  I would like to hear from anyone who used these (or any similiar company) in the past.

AWUSA

This is a printing company. They seem to work a lot with decorative and laminated papers. Scratch cards, like for a lotto, are also in their catalog.

FRVGROUP

They claim they can produce your board game from start to finish. You need to contact them for a quote.

ROLCOGAMES

This token manufacturer produces a variety of spinners, dice and plastic token houses. Main things that caught my eye were the custom 3-d tokens. Here is a sample of their work. So if you need little men, this is the company for you.

They also had an interesting “Game Inventor Kit ” with a variety of tokens for game development. Cheap at only $20.00.

GEMACO

Printers of custom playing cards and poker chips. If I read the site correctly, the smallest order accepted is 10 decks of cards.

POKERCARDS.COM.CN

Card printer based in China. Also handle blister packing.

YAQUINTO PRINTING

Trading card printers. They print a variety of card products, including collectible card games (CCGs) and trading cards. The work looks great in the photos and they apparently print the Naruto CCG.  Board game production is also listed in the catalog.

GENERAL BOX

Big surprise, they sell printed boxes.  You need to request a catalog from them. The site has very little in the way of samples to look at.

MEGAMARBLES

Seller of marbles and glass counters.

I am sure there are many other companies providing these services, feel free to post any company that is in the same vein.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

The Cary Collection of Playing Cards

This is the fun link, which takes you to the search engine for the archive. Be warned, the search engine is a little rough to use. You have to enter something in the first line or it will not work. Once you get the hang of it, there are an assortment of interesting cards to check out. The art alone is worth it, but the fact it was used for gaming makes it even better, at least to me.

The Cary Playing Card Archive Search Engine

Here are a couple of cards in the archive I found interesting. There are literally hundreds more.

Joker

King

I just wish I could get some of the older sets. They are far more elegant than the set I have with bicycles on the back. :-(

Trask, the Last Tyromancer

The books is split into three parts. The first and second sections deal primarily with witchcraft practices and behaviors. These are clearly meant to aid in a witch’s capture. The last section covers trials, witnesses and evidence needed to convict a witch.

Although dry and dull as a lich’s tongue, the book literally brims with tidbits to liven up any gaming witch hunt! Specific examples of evil deeds perpetrated on the faithful, magical effects and witch hunting techniques all appear in this tome.

Besides its value as gaming/campaign inspiration, the primary reason I am directing you to this document is its historical value. Skimming the “Malleus” gave me some real insight into the thought process of men with no foundation in reason, only fanaticism. There are examples of people being burned alive because a hailstorm disrupted a wedding to which the “witch” was not invited!

Take a look and get a feel for the true meaning of “Inquisition.”

Full Text of the Malleus Maleficarum

Trask, the Last Tyromancer