tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84444254508278081472024-03-05T22:59:52.819-08:00Confessions of a Reformed RPGerA First Edition Guy in a Fifth Edition World.Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-33324689350090000912022-03-01T06:00:00.002-08:002022-03-02T15:28:21.622-08:00New Digs, Patreon, and More<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUqN-2YJcwOTeKw-KPXgbQcfPvQNT6rC6mOe4xX90T2lH3UjosfYiOvmhQmBshgk80vVVHAgEK6ukv8Rhrx5juAlbdaPbz0oEZZGtT3b4KpRYkVdWt6tQbzN5atMf4eqa101MGK9_ZB40m8wWoEdajrMzDNgwsQu-wvX-ouyD2ZrzysuwGMVN2uQb7Rw=s695" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="695" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUqN-2YJcwOTeKw-KPXgbQcfPvQNT6rC6mOe4xX90T2lH3UjosfYiOvmhQmBshgk80vVVHAgEK6ukv8Rhrx5juAlbdaPbz0oEZZGtT3b4KpRYkVdWt6tQbzN5atMf4eqa101MGK9_ZB40m8wWoEdajrMzDNgwsQu-wvX-ouyD2ZrzysuwGMVN2uQb7Rw=w278-h278" width="278" /></a></div>Hey folks, This blog is going to remain up, but I won't be adding to it any more. I never quite got it off the ground and did everything I wanted to do with it.<p></p><div>HOWEVER...I do not wish to leave you all alone to face the End Times with nothing to read. So come on over to the <a href="http://www.northtexasapocalypsebunker.com" target="_blank">North Texas Apocalypse Bunker</a>, and get the personal updates there. Lots of stuff going on and things to see. Please join me. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you're interested in my game writing, <a href="https://www.patreon.com/northtexasapocalypsebunker" target="_blank">I've started a Patreon</a> for just that. Head over there now for the details. You want the inside scoop on Polite Society? New Zines? The occasional war story about working at Chessex in the 1990s? That's your new squat, boyo. </div>Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-16294618544536067782021-02-20T12:21:00.002-08:002021-02-20T12:22:14.856-08:00Zinequest 3 is upon us! Here Are Some Recommendations!<div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Hey, Y'all, I know you're already aware of #Zinequest3 because I've been talking about it non-stop for a few weeks now. Well, <b>Gobsmack!</b> is live and has only a week to go, and it has not funded yet. I know that it's because of the Game of Thrones White Walker Invasion that hit Texas last week, so I'm making a plea for you to check it out and see if it's something you'd be interested in. If you already backed <b>Monty Haul</b> from Zinequest 2 and you liked the content therein, I am confident you're going to dig <b>Gobsmack!</b> as well. Here's the pitch, and the link, in brief:</span></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiIUx2W0j7AaTIX9ej7qP8E6y6T5zJod0iCu5eW7m9LWzJE5ow1SdaNJtz9ztgIiaUvyzf8m7UeXEjijNqkxLA_oTtvTMKE3MvFQo34zQM86VV__rkTGeFVW727ytFhf1JZNC9lTqDnu6i/s2048/gobsmack+cover+working+final+for+KS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1325" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiIUx2W0j7AaTIX9ej7qP8E6y6T5zJod0iCu5eW7m9LWzJE5ow1SdaNJtz9ztgIiaUvyzf8m7UeXEjijNqkxLA_oTtvTMKE3MvFQo34zQM86VV__rkTGeFVW727ytFhf1JZNC9lTqDnu6i/w129-h200/gobsmack+cover+working+final+for+KS.jpg" width="129" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markfinn/gobsmack" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gobsmack!</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a toolkit to help you re-imagine goblins into an urban setting, right alongside your elves, your dwarfs, and your gnomes as denizens of your grand capital city. Use them as random NPCs, contacts, rivals, or enemies! Gobsmack! gives you all of the tables, the tools, and the options to create urban goblin NPCs on the fly, with goblin names, goblin jobs, goblin quirks, and goblin motivations, along with plot hooks, story ideas, and suggestions for integrating these funny, ubiquitous little jerks into your urban campaign setting to bedevil, befuddle and delight your players. It's a one-shot zine with artwork by John "Joltin' Johnny" Lucas!</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #282828;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Right now, there are a bunch of young and hungry (metaphorically speaking) content creators and they are doing the same thing as me; creating interesting and original content for rpgs. There's so many, in fact, that you may feel a bit overwhelmed. Not to fear. This is going around right now, and it's pretty brilliant:</span><br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iEvi4FbMT3yYJ00bPKMyZTWlCxY7WYV_WIFmN9wMuiuuYrybY0ChyrrdmbKKhrdOo-bEQs4Su2ynlfMVO4SVS8g_zWLC-OR0vuhBSlE2h1uurpxSdatNCAzSFb6CBd5k_9g5LmfmkD_w/s1200/28dollars28days.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iEvi4FbMT3yYJ00bPKMyZTWlCxY7WYV_WIFmN9wMuiuuYrybY0ChyrrdmbKKhrdOo-bEQs4Su2ynlfMVO4SVS8g_zWLC-OR0vuhBSlE2h1uurpxSdatNCAzSFb6CBd5k_9g5LmfmkD_w/w400-h225/28dollars28days.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">But what do you back? Please take a minute and click through to these excellent projects. Any of us would be grateful for even just a buck. It really does help!</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/freelance-roleplayer/the-journal-of-fantastic-linguistics/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Journal of Fantastic Linguistics</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - A system neutral Zine presenting a variety of tools, inspirations, and guides for Linguistics and language related content in RPGs. Everything from learning how Dragonborn speak, to how slang and Class-specific jargon can work, to monsters that affect language - all of these and more can be found in the Zine. It’s completely layman friendly, so you can pick up an issue, read an article, and apply what you learned in your games. </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/derekkinsman/in-the-light-of-a-faded-world" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the Light of a Faded World</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - a rules-light post-apocalyptic setting about small animals exploring spaces reclaimed by nature in a future where humankind has gone extinct. Illustrated by Amanda Lee Franck (Vampire Cruise), with prose by Zedeck Siew (A Thousand Thousand Islands). (notes: the included rules are an adaptation of Nate Treme’s In the Light of a Ghost Star, with a splash of Tunnel Goons; the setting at your table is a future version of wherever you live in the world.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jasonboulton/cephalopod-ocean-home/description" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cephalopod: Ocean Home</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - A short Form RPG</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> about escape, alien landscapes and risk. It's also a game about things being funny as hell and having no particular reason behind them beyond that. The aim of the game is to make it to the ocean and be free. The players take the role of different species of Cephalopods who are trapped against their will and need to escape. The game ends when the cephalopods either escape the world they find themselves in or die trying.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chrisangell/hinterland-peoples-and-perils" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hinterland: Peoples and Perils</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a system neutral resource for generating locations and encounters for wilderness exploration in fantasy roleplaying games. Each of the 19 encounter and location types is made up of two or three random tables that combine to create a hundred or more unique and flavorful possibilities! Many of them link to other entries, creating a network of people and places across the landscape. All of them leave gaps for you to fill in with your own interpretations and ideas.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hecticelectron/raccoon-sky-pirates" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Raccoon Sky Pirates</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a story-focused, GM-less tabletop RPG for 3 to 6 players that takes about three hours to play. You and your friends play raccoons in a flying ship made of junkyard scraps. Together, you do your best to keep it together so you can fly to the suburbs, loot a house of all the high-end trash you can carry, and escape into the night. If possible, you want to avoid waking the human residents, evade the Neighborhood Watch, and try to keep your ship from exploding. Flying a ship takes coordination and discipline. Unfortunately, you’re a bunch of raccoons.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/avaislam/errant/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Errant</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a fantasy RPG in the classic style, where you play ne’er-do-wells in search of treasure by any means you can. The game focuses on providing a robust suite of procedures aimed at making gameplay experiences like exploration, downtime activities, and domain management simple, meaningful, and fun.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"><br /></span></span><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stoneworksgaming/the-lights-of-winthrop-manor-5e" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lights of Winthrop Manor</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is an immersive level-0, self-contained adventure experience for 5e. Inside you'll find everything you need to thoroughly terrorize your party and give your players a night that they'll not soon forget.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This zine kicks off our new setting while, at the same time, acting as an ideal 1-shot for those groups interested in delving into the darker elements of fantasy. More reminiscent of Call of Cthulhu than typical D&D, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Winthrop Manor</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> relies heavily on themes of madness and horror. Players will assume the role of 1 or more of the 9 pre-generated characters, each based on new backgrounds and lineages from our upcoming </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dreadlands: The Horrors of Glynn</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> campaign setting. The player characters will need to use a special puzzle box to rotate the rooms of the house in order to try and avoid the Keeper and escape with their lives, if not their sanity. </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #282828;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><a href="http://kck.st/2LIrBb1" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cryptid (Mis)Communication</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is a role playing game to be played outdoors, at a blurry distorted distance. In this game, you and your friend both pretend to be cryptids who just want to catch up. The problem is, if you get too close, you won't be all that mysterious anymore, so you have to keep your distance. To communicate, you need to shout! It is specifically designed with the current circumstances of the world in mind, and will be good silly fun for all ages and friend groups! It is also </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">unequivocally queer</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ;-)</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #282828;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cryptid (Mis)Communication is a fun venture that will make you laugh with your friends... from at least 200 feet away.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #282828;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wythe/subtle-fluid" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SUBTLE FLUID</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is the first print offering from the new sci-fi RPG </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stillfleet</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. After years of work to bring the game and world to life, the team behind this innovative and highly playable RPG is moving into the world of print with an immaculately designed zine about nantotechnology. SUBTLE FLUID offers 24+ pages of rules, art, and hooks that will add dangerous spice to your games of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stillfleet</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, or any other sci-fi RPG.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-17912295340188087002021-01-19T08:30:00.001-08:002021-01-19T08:30:01.516-08:00In Search of a Unified Field Theory for Geek-Movie Evaluation<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8WdzW-Od8WHdtEwnQkOe1fZALGpYQPKqtvetyYNFmpNXstojRscBj5pn4-qmq2mLjViUwEjUX01EXRJWb7cEqETA_DVFF148HMLf4CbC-37Dur-udUeYM_RIMY8jcKjkkvoE5KkbpOG7L/s2048/RM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1341" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8WdzW-Od8WHdtEwnQkOe1fZALGpYQPKqtvetyYNFmpNXstojRscBj5pn4-qmq2mLjViUwEjUX01EXRJWb7cEqETA_DVFF148HMLf4CbC-37Dur-udUeYM_RIMY8jcKjkkvoE5KkbpOG7L/s320/RM.jpg" /></a></div>I want to state up front that this is a working theory and this blog post should not be misconstrued as me signing off on it, or even putting it into practice. I'm asking for field research, here. Okay, to business.<br /><br />Everyone online is wrong about everything, okay? One of the things they are wrong about is the subjectivity of reviews, doesn't matter for what: their premise, the wisdom of the crowd, if you will, is to say that the things that a person does or doesn't like about a film are deeply personal, and so any critical comments regarding the film are, by the associative property, a criticism on the deeply personal things that a person feels or believes.<br /><br />For the record, I do think that legitimate criticism is subjective, owing as much to the reviewer's depth of knowledge as much as the creative work being criticised, but that's not quite the issue at hand. We're talking about being able to praise or trash a movie, without regard to anyone's feelings, and also not hurting them intentionally or otherwise with collateral criticism. <br /><br />This used to not be a problem. Back in the 90's, before the Internets, I could trash <i>Star Trek: the Next Generation</i> and still be called a Trek fan (I never was a Trekkie, but I was always a fan). Back in the early aughts, Rick Klaw and I were on a panel talking about Sci-Fi television and how bad most of it was, and the audience, hostile and flabbergasted in equal parts, kept throwing out suggestions to us, and we'd swat them down like Crash Davis at the batting cage. Afterward, people still bought our books. <p></p><p>Nowadays, you can't throw shade on any franchise for any reason without someone sending you a "Let People Enjoy Things" meme. </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>While distracting myself from all of the tire fires last week, I came up with the system below. I tried it out on a handful of movies and it held up. What I need is some far-reaching examples, so, here you go. Put this through its paces. Try to break it. <p></p><p>But keep something in mind: this is not a system for "Yeah, but..." It's for measurable or at least widely-agreed-upon observable criteria. How a person feels about the movie is immaterial. In fact, it's unnecessary. You can (and you do) like movies that have low scores with this system. And you don't have to justify it, either. You can just like it. It honors the original intention of that snippy little meme without making me want to punch a kitten.<br /></p><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Finn's Cinematic 5X5: A Modest Proposal</h2><br /><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEdyf6Nq6cP_VhUnCuGD9oSXF9rcNHk93UDaB4LZoESkShyphenhyphen7B0xerPfciecBYz4ZMRWoQmVTFkukLyMU0vs6wgC_B67hDtm5s-mueuqQq78XysHANXsKVlq_6zTPVknSUhCoZu0abBHC4E/s755/flash_gordon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="498" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEdyf6Nq6cP_VhUnCuGD9oSXF9rcNHk93UDaB4LZoESkShyphenhyphen7B0xerPfciecBYz4ZMRWoQmVTFkukLyMU0vs6wgC_B67hDtm5s-mueuqQq78XysHANXsKVlq_6zTPVknSUhCoZu0abBHC4E/s320/flash_gordon.jpg" /></a></div>Part 1: the Criteria</b><p></p><p>There are five factors that both inform and imbue a film with greatness. They are, in order of importance but equally judged, as follows:<br /><br />1. Essential Components</p><p>These are the most fundamental storytelling elements: the plot, the story, and the characters. How well do they interact with one another and how interested and well-defined and presented are they?<br /><br />2. Technical Considerations<br />The cast and crew: are they doing their best work in the service of the Essential Components? Is the director doing them justice? Is the music both invisible and invaluable? Is the movie well-shot? Well-edited? The craft, if not the science, of filmmaking.<br /><br />3. Themes and Meanings</p><p>Is the movie about something? Can it also be about something else? Does it make a point, or is it commenting on something relevant? This may be the most wriggly of the five categories, but I think it's important to include in the criteria.</p><p>4. Quotability</p><p>How many quotable lines can you pull out of the movie, and how universal are those quotes? Generally speaking, the wider the audience in which you can deploy said quote and the more situations in which you may deploy said quote are what's important here.<br /><br />5. Re-Watchability</p><p>Can you, after knowing all of the twists, turns, reveals, and secrets of the movie, re-watch it? If so, how many times? </p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6VZ2Ody0ouDox0RgbBJ5lPC6czbpVqhuP8JIEqRgPfhZAGDL8Gn7PAR3GsQanqm5q9LGQ5L-L9hlNA9-qlPqf5huyOpBPokICxXoKSATPIcOzKSuJ1naLIleh7j7H1juuRo_MG_Tfj3Cx/s755/plan_nine_from_outer_space.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="502" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6VZ2Ody0ouDox0RgbBJ5lPC6czbpVqhuP8JIEqRgPfhZAGDL8Gn7PAR3GsQanqm5q9LGQ5L-L9hlNA9-qlPqf5huyOpBPokICxXoKSATPIcOzKSuJ1naLIleh7j7H1juuRo_MG_Tfj3Cx/s320/plan_nine_from_outer_space.jpg" /></a></b></div><b>Part 2: Grading</b><p></p><p>Those are the five factors. They are each graded on a scale of 0 to 5.</p><p>0<span> factor is absent or demonstrably deficient.</span></p><p><span>1<span> factor is present, but badly handled or presented.</span></span></p><p>2<span> factor is trying, really trying, but just not able to pull it together.</span></p><p><span>3<span> one or two instances of the factor shine forth.</span></span></p><p><span><span>4<span> sustained presence of the factor or quality of vision for the factor throughout the movie.</span></span></span></p><p>5<span> the factor is present in abundance, or it exemplifies it in some way, or it redefines the factor.<br /><br /></span></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Utilizing the System</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>You look at a movie, and go down the list of factors, giving each one a grade from 0 to 5. After that, you divide the numbers by 5 and round to the nearest half. This gives you a number from .5 to 5, ten increments, in all. <br /><br /><br /><b>Example: <i>Raiders of the Lost Ark</i></b><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYGel0Yveair5O9U2IR0qgexcC55Z-m9xls2RhXKMhciv1sqLg3atzffXRW2-oC2eCqUz8rw6HhgfWFagb7nzm79SCBmVyfuVOiUMKwgknbltbV_7FB_TrdGyND9BbLMRnRhGxYE6bNsI/s512/raiders+1+sheet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="339" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYGel0Yveair5O9U2IR0qgexcC55Z-m9xls2RhXKMhciv1sqLg3atzffXRW2-oC2eCqUz8rw6HhgfWFagb7nzm79SCBmVyfuVOiUMKwgknbltbV_7FB_TrdGyND9BbLMRnRhGxYE6bNsI/s320/raiders+1+sheet.jpg" /></a></div><br />1. Essential Components - the premise of the film, i.e. Indiana Jones races against his nemesis and the Nazis to try and obtain a mysterious relic that could change the tide of the war is held up by having Indy and Belloq competing for the attentions of Marion Ravenwood. These pulp-esque considerations alone are worthwhile, but the characters are the super stars, here. Indy moves into view, fully formed, and full of mystery and contradictions. He's the kind of character you want to know more about almost instantly. <b>Grade: 5</b><p></p><p>2. Technical Considerations - one of Spielberg's best movies, a career-defining role for Harrison Ford, strong supporting cast, one of John Williams' best early scores, the visual effects are technically adroit, and last but not least, one of the best screenplays by Lawrence Kasdan. <b>Grade: 5</b><br /><br />3. Themes and Meanings - the plot is cut from the same cloth as the cliffhangers of old, but there the resemblance ends. The commentary on the unholy mission of the Nazis, along with the undercutting of every single cliche of the cliffhangers in general (and I can prove this is a post-modern masterpiece with a slide rule and some chalk). <b>Grade: 5</b></p><p>4. Quotability - "Trust me" is a little too broad, but if you can pull the grin and the head tilt off, it comes across for some. The lines in the movie are great fun, but they are pretty situational, and not all of them will play in a crowd of normals and straights. Walking into any geek setting and saying, "Dr. Jones, again we see there is nothing you can possess that I cannot take away. And you thought I'd given up." will always go over big. <b>Grade: 4</b></p><p>5. Re-Watchability - your mileage may vary, here, but I can (and did) watch Raiders once a week for three months or more and never tire of it. <b>Grade: 4</b></p><p>Total Grade: 24 divided by 5 = 4.8, or rounded up, 5. </p><p>I know that was an easy one, but it's sometimes helpful to establish what the edges look like.</p><p>Try it with a few movies you love. Also, try it with some movies you hate. See what you think. I await the results of these field tests with great anticipation. </p>Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-16320794415151718832020-12-18T20:00:00.001-08:002020-12-18T20:00:32.982-08:00Zining 101: A Questionable Top 5 List of Tips<p></p> I’ve been creating zines for 30 years, give or take. I’ve
done lit-zines, mini-comics, micro-comics, micro-pulps, ashcans, chapbooks, and
gaming zines. We can even count ‘zining in an APA, notably the Robert E. Howard
United Press Association (or, “REHupa,” if you will). That’s a lot of
self-expression, even for someone like me.<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwS2k47l4fi0tPfuNyd60JiE5X_Vr3RXb9po-80DXn9oQkelBpydrgGeF_Rk9B2ownk3bTeiJn7e5YGFt2xkHTbc_WgzddhbSm24M_pLDrCtw7fbUDckJKniRxIvjpN-bh4oqRVI4PWZto/s2048/ec02.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1463" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwS2k47l4fi0tPfuNyd60JiE5X_Vr3RXb9po-80DXn9oQkelBpydrgGeF_Rk9B2ownk3bTeiJn7e5YGFt2xkHTbc_WgzddhbSm24M_pLDrCtw7fbUDckJKniRxIvjpN-bh4oqRVI4PWZto/w236-h320/ec02.jpg" width="236" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A zine page from </i>Tales of the <br />Elvis Clones<i>. Warts and all.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal">When I got started, computers were a thing, but not ubiquitous. For me and my friends, making comics in central Texas, everything was still done with Bristol board, pencil, and India ink. We did paste-up with Xeroxes and glue sticks. I learned to letter comics with an Ames lettering guide. We used proportion wheels to calculate how much to reduce artwork for printing. All things that take microseconds to do in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop and InDesign. It was a different world.</p><p class="MsoNormal">But only in terms of production. Today’s all-digital marketplace means that there are no limits to how a project can look; indeed, there are ‘zines being produced now that have production values equal to or greater than a number of game publishers and small press outfits.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Ah…but what if you can’t pull that off? What if you have zero design sense? What if you have little (or no) budget for stuff like art? Buck up, little camper. That shit didn’t stop me (or anyone else) from making cool stuff back in the day, and it shouldn’t stop you, either. I can’t solve every problem, but I do have some general advice that you may be useful to you.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And just for grins I'm including several pages from my early zining days, to better illustrate that anyone can do this. </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><a name='more'></a><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>1. Embrace the Aesthetic</b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGOCbSMYpli9aK3LNlQ5cSoVsRVxsSWOsfSYARIOGU8Ohi-nnFylT6byb6aGwgjO3gmdR0U9gldXF2WFUUcxAJTLalaOb6GE8SUCqHkPx9oGKSx9nyTCIOvg2T0xKZPYAOQedX6j8cgRsN/s2048/ec03.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1442" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGOCbSMYpli9aK3LNlQ5cSoVsRVxsSWOsfSYARIOGU8Ohi-nnFylT6byb6aGwgjO3gmdR0U9gldXF2WFUUcxAJTLalaOb6GE8SUCqHkPx9oGKSx9nyTCIOvg2T0xKZPYAOQedX6j8cgRsN/s320/ec03.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Page 2 of </i>Elvis Clones.<i> Note<br />the "ghosting" from the <br />glue stick paste up.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">The fact that you’re making a ‘zine and not a glossy, printed-in-china hardcover book is to your advantage. Zines are supposed to be small. They’re supposed to be a little rough around the edges. Digitally produced ‘zines can still be rough, too, so don’t worry that your initial effort doesn’t look like something from Games Workshop. No one is expecting it to, especially if you lead with the format, i.e. this is a DIY medium. Zines are small, simple, and (relatively) cheap. It’s okay to be rough. It’s okay to be unpolished. Hell, as long as you are able to easily communicate your ideas, it’s okay to be handwritten!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Look at my sample pages on the right. Granted, that's the master and not the copy, so you can see all of the blue lines and so forth, but that's the point, right there. I'm NO kind of artist, and this effort really shows it. But it tells the story, and sets the tone for the rest of the issue. If I can do it, I guarantee you can do it.</p><p class="MsoNormal">There are a ton of resources out there for you to make use of. Copyright free public domain art (just be sure!) and inexpensive RPG game art are readily available to you. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6-4mD6Ap7sKfTYckmWbf_8DrXyMgOpqlTWoAgEiYkr1d9joHIFmmfgf-4UX7kNAC-tKnH5gREjBPAGDb5NN85jeq7H7NEzFMCQtKgNAhqyD2uL_ZIgPGb4gZm4dZC_N_jF7-wpaOjVUm/s2048/ec04.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1445" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6-4mD6Ap7sKfTYckmWbf_8DrXyMgOpqlTWoAgEiYkr1d9joHIFmmfgf-4UX7kNAC-tKnH5gREjBPAGDb5NN85jeq7H7NEzFMCQtKgNAhqyD2uL_ZIgPGb4gZm4dZC_N_jF7-wpaOjVUm/s320/ec04.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Xeroxes, acetate overlays...I <br />used whatever worked.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>Also, you can find templates and layout advice and a bunch of other useful resources at drivethrurpg.com and elsewhere with simple Google-fu. </p><p class="MsoNormal">A great example of this can be found here: <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/168306/A-Brief-Study-of-TSR-Book-Design." target="_blank">A Brief Study of TSR Book Design</a> by Kevin Crawford. I wanted my zine, Monty Haul, to have a 1st edition D&D feel to it, and Kevin spent an obsessive amount of time backwards engineering the various fonts and layout styles that TSR used from the very beginning to 4th edition. </p><p class="MsoNormal">This lengthy and interesting (if you like fonts and graphic design) treatise is free on DTRPG. Free. Check it out; you’ll see he put in <i>a lot</i> of work, and he’s just giving it away. But that’s Kevin Crawford in a nutshell. </p><p class="MsoNormal">That one document really helped me make a lot of creative decisions that were otherwise holding me up. Now, <b>Monty Haul</b> bears little resemblance to the first edition <i>Monster Manual</i>, but there is something kinda charmingly clunky about it, mostly because of the inexpert ways I laid my zine out and the fonts I chose. I wouldn’t have been able to do that otherwise, and here’s the bonus: now that I am comfortable with those fonts and layouts, I am playing around with them in later zines.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>2. Let Your Freak Flag Fly</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JVN3dg3vRjo_B6OG9R0bY1-ujc3jhM8ip6BhBdfhvB80H-C8ZZgMtQ795WXVpjPKih4Ou6qnPDe79hZcre0H3DFqs3F5LPbOnDz5f94ONFO8E1Z4XcScZ5LHOwpN8DXHsDfxf5zY1FZm/s2048/umgtm+02.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1601" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JVN3dg3vRjo_B6OG9R0bY1-ujc3jhM8ip6BhBdfhvB80H-C8ZZgMtQ795WXVpjPKih4Ou6qnPDe79hZcre0H3DFqs3F5LPbOnDz5f94ONFO8E1Z4XcScZ5LHOwpN8DXHsDfxf5zY1FZm/s320/umgtm+02.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A spread from a quarter sized zine<br />I created in the 90s. </i></td></tr></tbody></table>I don’t know if you have done a search on Kickstarter or Google for #zinequest, but you should, and for one good reason: there is a plethora of wacky stuff out there. Some of the zines that got funded were frankly out of this world, or more specifically, out there where the busses don’t run. My favorite example of this is a zine created by J.R. Goldberg called <i><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rainonacongadrum/rain-on-a-conga-drum-a-townes-van-zandt-rpg-collection" target="_blank">Rain on a Conga Drum</a></i>. It’s a zine full of games based on the song lyrics of Townes van Zandt. </p><p class="MsoNormal">I mean, who even <i>does</i> that? How creative and cool! There were a lot of interesting zines that played with mechanics, with format, with subject matter, and there were also a shit-ton of OSR game content as well as system neutral stuff. One of the people doing incredible work in this regard right now is Philip Reed, a veteran of the rpg business. His zine, <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/philipreed/delayed-blast-gamemaster-2" target="_blank">DelayedBlast Game Master</a>, is chock-full of crazed nuttiness that you can roll up and stat on the fly, or plan things out with a little forethought. But his ideas are really different and interesting and have a great old-school feel to them. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Don’t be afraid to experiment. The more out there you go, the better. Push yourself. Don’t save your good ideas; put them in your zine. And this leads me to the next piece of advice:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><b><br /></b></b></p><b>3. Find Your Voice</b><o:p></o:p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSB4IhHdrGNxkwr4MII7S_LnxQZSB8uYzNaxFqIkc6uzCwRG1C2Ub5P_zJXrchDtZ0eJYOPvO7qpRkTWOHZh7803sPfbvQr1cdwqwM0z7yIvqfAdpH3RU0Dx_hjDi4qB3ZE7kC0ZkgjbJf/s2048/umgtm+01.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSB4IhHdrGNxkwr4MII7S_LnxQZSB8uYzNaxFqIkc6uzCwRG1C2Ub5P_zJXrchDtZ0eJYOPvO7qpRkTWOHZh7803sPfbvQr1cdwqwM0z7yIvqfAdpH3RU0Dx_hjDi4qB3ZE7kC0ZkgjbJf/s320/umgtm+01.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The cover, again, unaltered to show<br />all of the paste up that went into<br />something so disposable.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal">I think this may well be the most important thing I have to offer. Zines, both then and now, are always best when they are little cults of personality. The best zines have a voice, and it should be yours. Your point of view is what makes the zine unique and readable. And frequently, it’s your voice and your tone that people will respond to the most.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Look, writing for game manuals is essentially technical writing, in that you’re trying to communicate concepts as simply and efficiently as possible. But the extra challenge for RPG game books is that you have to include flaming swords and wizards and shit. It’s a balancing act that a good percentage of people within the industry fail at doing.</p><p class="MsoNormal">So don’t try. Old school ‘zines like CometBus and Murder Can Be Fun were all about the tone. Gaming zines can (and should) also be a window into your personality; I mean, otherwise, why write anything? Present your ideas in your own way. It’s more honest, and it’s easier on you because you don’t have to pretend. Be yourself.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>4. Stay Under Budget</b><o:p></o:p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexy_MPIsdS1lJS6RCJ6xe5otro0ILfh4BLct7q0tA6SOaNCXGJfonDL7qSeA1fPOqcogb7YlVP5OYOmnM60vgsc0NL31vOAg1XCx_6uIFLaLoYvKGF2wLp4Dn4zCIaIQlAkPOgJuUhLFC/s1549/micro02.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="1549" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexy_MPIsdS1lJS6RCJ6xe5otro0ILfh4BLct7q0tA6SOaNCXGJfonDL7qSeA1fPOqcogb7YlVP5OYOmnM60vgsc0NL31vOAg1XCx_6uIFLaLoYvKGF2wLp4Dn4zCIaIQlAkPOgJuUhLFC/s320/micro02.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>These micro-comics were folded into halves,<br />then quarters, then eighths. Double sided.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal">This hobby, this cottage industry, this DIY activity? It’s a zero sum game, at best. There are folks out there that have parlayed their zines into books, and their books into fiefdoms unto themselves, which is fantastic and uniformly well deserved. That ain’t you. Not yet, anyway. You probably have little (or no) money to spare. Even though this isn’t a traditional publishing venture, it DOES tick all of the same boxes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The goal here is to not lose any money. Breaking even is awesome. Making a little scratch? That’s heavenly. And the best way to make a little money is to not spend a lot of money. That might mean you have to use free public domain artwork instead of hiring your favorite <i>Magic: the Gathering</i> card artist.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GvROr5BNqdK0sGJLtaUxbuBHuM-YKY8fEzyWWQtu1JZj6Ms7589jdfzoDHb8RxXM1A65dJMBTSq2GOU-9u79Q4ilcUo9lxSctTfCpkBdQ0jT5GJnArodjQsElhyM-krwbBLnZCkkx2Gg/s2048/klops+master+01.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1587" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GvROr5BNqdK0sGJLtaUxbuBHuM-YKY8fEzyWWQtu1JZj6Ms7589jdfzoDHb8RxXM1A65dJMBTSq2GOU-9u79Q4ilcUo9lxSctTfCpkBdQ0jT5GJnArodjQsElhyM-krwbBLnZCkkx2Gg/s320/klops+master+01.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of the micro-comics, unfolded <br />and untrimmed. We were insane. <br />But the cost was only 10 cents.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal">You also might be worried that you don’t have enough content for a zine. Partner up! Find someone else who wants to put a zine out and see if they want to contribute. There are even artists who will work with zine creators and take large cuts in their usual rates to provide artwork because they love the hobby and want to give back. <br /><br />The caveat to this is not to promise something you can’t deliver (like fat stacks of cash) and be honest and up front about what the work entails and how you can compensate others for it. Note: comp copies of your zine are akin to coin of the realm, here. Everyone likes to see their name in print. Sending a few copies to your contributors spreads the love around.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The other reason to keep costs down is so you don’t have to charge $37.83 per copy. A low buy-in will ensure that more people have a reason to pick it up. These days, it’s not uncommon for zines to price out at $10 or so. Digital editions should be much less, at least half your print zine price. And you absolutely should offer both. Digital editions almost always have a larger profit margin built in because there’s nothing to print or ship.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>5. Join the Community</b><o:p></o:p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj97l-kBbb2ODFubsxJM8vMGeM1vcYjJ1Vfqf6KM0aB187iDq2tbiuQOqjUeijYLezYZUyGnssCJ4aTaUGNhwAESFwZeFI5UFU-Qxn9rv-1P9TRL2ya2HVd_z4gxlfE47wNuZ2FyLx01V2l/s2048/klops+master+02.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1489" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj97l-kBbb2ODFubsxJM8vMGeM1vcYjJ1Vfqf6KM0aB187iDq2tbiuQOqjUeijYLezYZUyGnssCJ4aTaUGNhwAESFwZeFI5UFU-Qxn9rv-1P9TRL2ya2HVd_z4gxlfE47wNuZ2FyLx01V2l/s320/klops+master+02.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The other side of </i>Klops! #1<i>. <br />Once folded, the top edge was<br />carefully trimmed and viola! <br />A 16-page comic the size of<br />a business card. </i></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal">This last piece of advice is also self-evident, and also increasingly essential in the 21st century. Using whatever platform you are least opposed to, make your presence known and seek out other zinesters. Hashtags are your friends, as are Facebook groups (there’s a great group on FB called RPG Zines). Network with your peers. Make friends. Do stuff together. This is really important because the DIY community and the zine community are very supportive of one another. They will help you, and you ostensibly should help them, like any thriving community.</p><p class="MsoNormal">It sucks to have to market yourself; most people are bad at it. The skill sets for marketing and game design are located in opposite hemispheres in your brain. So, if you can’t be Stan Lee and flog your own creations actively, do it passively. Hashtag your tweets. Add links to your signatures on message boards (do they still have message boards? I may be dating myself.) Change your profile pic to the cover of your zine. There’s a lot of little things you can do to keep your project close to your digital self.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Of course, if you can build a website, do that! Shopping cart software is baked into a lot of DIY websites right now. Use the site to build a list of emails you can blast when you do a new project (don’t spam!) and let folks know where it can be found. The downside is that these types of things do cost some money to set up and maintain. It’s the cost of doing business these days.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I hope this has been somewhat useful. There’s never been a better time to start creating RPG zines. Take a deep breath and cannonball into the pool; the water is fine.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><br /><br /><p></p>Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-75710401355251132692020-06-25T12:03:00.001-07:002020-06-25T16:30:03.869-07:00A Memo To the Meme-Makers of 'Merica: Please Think Before You Do ItWe interrupt the blasted hellscape of 2020 to re-arrange some deck chairs on the <i>Titanic</i>. This will not make anything better, and it won't solve any problems. All I know is this: I get disproportionately incensed at the little things, because I really can't do much about the big things. There's currently a surplus of bile in my stomach from all that's going on, and shit like this doesn't help. <div><br /></div><div>What am I going on about this time? I'll tell you what. <br /><br /></div><div>It's that "Pop Culture Pick-Your-Car" Meme.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you have a nerdy friend, you've probably seen it scroll by on your Facebook feed. If you know only nerds, then you've likely seen it a dozen times. It's this damn thing, right here:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinz7vxvEeXDjeINYIQSrPgJXYjvyfpttYrSWZqlzjaiRur3Dt3lg3AQOQsjFow41i4IXV6gUj94JFCdhgRp144atTHLEa1PmhkWKWSNqptj65mMEfDwblsf7uoxrINVGR3rPVZoOQ84b4i/s955/Car+Meme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinz7vxvEeXDjeINYIQSrPgJXYjvyfpttYrSWZqlzjaiRur3Dt3lg3AQOQsjFow41i4IXV6gUj94JFCdhgRp144atTHLEa1PmhkWKWSNqptj65mMEfDwblsf7uoxrINVGR3rPVZoOQ84b4i/w502-h640/Car+Meme.jpg" title="One of these things is fucking NOT like the others." width="502" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />See it yet? I'll give you a big hint: Every single one of these cars is a car except one. No, it's not the Hearse. It's not the panel van.<br /><br />It's the mother-fucking time machine. <br /><br />Why this irritates me, I don't know. But if the point of the meme is to pick a fun cool car, then the whole list has to be cars. We're allowing for Ghostbusting, for pop up machine guns, and for AI robots in the hood. But it's all still cars. The Delorean from Back to the Future is a time machine that can fly. Thus making the rest of the list superfluous. <br /><br />"But Mark! It's still a car! God, you're so pedantic!" <br /><br />You know what else is a car? The 1966 Batmobile. Surely it's got a place on the list, yes? Or what about the Trans Am from <i>Smokey and the Bandit</i>? Steve McQueen's Mustang from <i>Bullitt</i>? The British Flag Jaguar from <i>Austin Powers</i>? The Bluesmobile!? I'd argue that any of those cars, or a dozen others you could come up with would, in fact, be a 100% better fit on this list than the TIME MACHINE.<br /><br />I know, I know. This is supposed to be harmless fun. A distraction. A way to check out for two minutes and think about movies and TV shows that made you smile. I can't do that. I just can't. I stare at the list and think, "WHY WOULDN'T I CHOOSE THE TIME MACHINE!?" <br /><br />The irony of this is that I think it's a fun idea for a meme. I do. And I like these things, in general, because they are harmless, sometimes spark fun discussions, and make for a pleasant five minute distraction until the real world comes rushing in and we all go back to day drinking. I just want the people who make these things to not...suck at it so badly. It's a good idea, but take a second to think it through, please, for all of us anal-retentive types out there. <br /><br />And don't ever think that I'm one of those guys who likes to point out problems but never any solutions. Thirty seconds of Google-Fu found the original source for this meme and what do you know? The Batmobile WAS on it! Along with Herbie the Love Bug, but hey, no one is perfect. <br /><br />So I reconfigured a few cars to get the Batmobile on the sheet. The fixed version is here:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodkY4eamGNcS-iOV4QrNomzvLPvwxRq8MvGXoNu62H2jg8_r-wOT4BD16EHo2H5gugzj5TigZ3wKuUwnCem_msGwnXWPfdEKAblgZRjWHRZ-XkZQERsrxM0QRzf8hdJ0sZU5iloj77Lab/s825/legendary+car+meme+fixed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="715" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodkY4eamGNcS-iOV4QrNomzvLPvwxRq8MvGXoNu62H2jg8_r-wOT4BD16EHo2H5gugzj5TigZ3wKuUwnCem_msGwnXWPfdEKAblgZRjWHRZ-XkZQERsrxM0QRzf8hdJ0sZU5iloj77Lab/w433-h500/legendary+car+meme+fixed.jpg" width="433" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br />Now we can have a more nuanced conversation. And the Batmobile? I Gotta say, it' s not my first choice, here. Street parking in that thing would be a nightmare. But's it's nice to have been <i>considered</i>!<br /><br />For those of you who don't like the above list and want to make your own, there's this big-ass poster to cut and paste:<br /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5CbHyApMM2j-VORuW_hbvAK04XMiJN1gNYlG1ZQjzu5uztvs-LS1CjV5FwafJ3XcW_UXmjjyL5bAUVqItrcNFnxIqNbLMFj6Twqost4S6_rcz8kNnK8tqC4yjWg5BElxOvqdxxbv6xbvt/s1728/big+car+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="1152" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5CbHyApMM2j-VORuW_hbvAK04XMiJN1gNYlG1ZQjzu5uztvs-LS1CjV5FwafJ3XcW_UXmjjyL5bAUVqItrcNFnxIqNbLMFj6Twqost4S6_rcz8kNnK8tqC4yjWg5BElxOvqdxxbv6xbvt/s320/big+car+poster.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />Just promise me you'll keep the Delorean off the list, okay? For me? </div><div><br /></div>Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-19558432685981470872020-06-10T10:00:00.001-07:002021-01-18T07:46:42.310-08:00Stop Talking About 6th Edition Or I'll Burn This Place to the Ground: A Rant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://i.imgflip.com/44l7rh.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="666" height="179" src="https://i.imgflip.com/44l7rh.jpg" width="320" /></a>I am starting to see it more and more, now: despite the fact that there are no stated plans to do this, a small but insistent clutch of Internet pundits and YouTube Personalities are calling out for a 6th edition of <i>Dungeons and Dragons</i>. <a href="https://www.cbr.com/dungeons-dragons-6th-edition-fans-want-dont/" target="_blank">Nate Howe's article on CBR</a> and Professor Dungeon Master on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD6ERRdXrF2IZ0R888G8PQg" target="_blank">Dungeon Craft Youtube channel</a> are the most vocal champions, but there are a lot others out there. I'm no Internet influencer or Big Name Personality in the Gaming world, or any other world, really; I'm just a guy with a small following and a 'zine I am working on. But I have to say this, as respectfully as I can, in the hopes that my small cadre of fans might see fit to amply my voice with the following directive: please shut the fuck up about this.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlP7S55rzxrLBTyePYHQZEATOUwNk9F9oZ2bj9mLVSCsmGsK7NO8lgI0ztTyti5RMWwV3XZ__GYKyXzK-ZJ5WPYAuv8uuiUxULDxr9AGhfaYwcwya_nbnKDs6-oX7VnslFh4S0gTCSn-UU/s1600/5e+players+handbook.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1211" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlP7S55rzxrLBTyePYHQZEATOUwNk9F9oZ2bj9mLVSCsmGsK7NO8lgI0ztTyti5RMWwV3XZ__GYKyXzK-ZJ5WPYAuv8uuiUxULDxr9AGhfaYwcwya_nbnKDs6-oX7VnslFh4S0gTCSn-UU/s320/5e+players+handbook.jpg" width="240" /></a>What's <i>wrong </i>with these people? It can't be that they are always chasing the next big thing, can it? That seems too reductive. Are these nattering nincompoops made entirely of money? Do they think <i>we're</i> made of money? Why would you want to scrap close to a thousand dollars worth of hardcover gaming manuals and branded accessories to address your problems with the initiative system as it currently stands? It's ridiculous, and here's why: there's nothing wrong with 5th edition.<br />
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Oh, there may be things you personally don't like about it. You may hate how the tactical stuff from fourth edition went away. Or the ten thousand nuanced character path options that made 3.5 such a delight, he said sarcastically. Or THACO. Maybe you don't like challenge ratings, or experience points. I don't know what your problem is with 5th edition, but I do know what you can do about it: fix your own shit.<br />
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For forty-five years now, we've been quite adept at banging away at the rules, taping off the stuff we didn't play with, and building work-arounds to service the way we wanted to play D&D. We limited character options, ignored encumbrance rules, re-wrote spell-casting and critical hits, and in short beat the hell out of <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> in the service of our ongoing campaigns. Forty years later, that DIY spirit has become a cottage industry all its own. As it ever was, so shall it ever be.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WKwDRtVTzdv2ctrTQ9ktucK3qqJI1ZMlwjCloi5ELV77xmkC4su3sUDN7IMUIYlCH8wifzACYHQFEB_qqB1LZXAi7hWAP10FgEwKktSHM3lv-wQfXGj1FPY9T0i0qfSbGB2-ERpQXjIt/s1600/Essentials.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WKwDRtVTzdv2ctrTQ9ktucK3qqJI1ZMlwjCloi5ELV77xmkC4su3sUDN7IMUIYlCH8wifzACYHQFEB_qqB1LZXAi7hWAP10FgEwKktSHM3lv-wQfXGj1FPY9T0i0qfSbGB2-ERpQXjIt/s200/Essentials.png" width="200" /></a></div>
This hew and cry for a 6th edition is a solution in search of a problem. The game is still selling well, hand over fist, in fact, and all it really requires is some upgrading and organization. Update the rules to include some of the new ideas. Slightly reorganize some of the earlier releases so that they are more user-friendly. Most of the complaints being raised about what they want to see fixed in this mythical, epic 6th edition can be addressed with simple hacks. And ironically, Professor Dungeon Master's YouTube channel is more or less dedicated to discussing his various hacks and workarounds for D&D, so, what's the problem, exactly?<br />
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If you really can't wait to to drop money on another damn hardcover book, here's my proposed workaround: <b>The Dungeon Master's Codex</b>, a book full of nothing but 5th edition modifications. Alternate systems for experience, initiative, skills, challenge ratings...whatever little problems you may be having with D&D that's not currently allowing you to live your best life. Just slap it all into a single hardcover and let's get back to it, okay?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAzF6n874SPAQhyKXvlIB7PN6EJjVcr4bhSbBzX0Tu_os5dFh42jg5cjtxdY-x3FeVV7NrnaUiQxU8I11D7nzOx7oy3hr7VkVJQh0anQT295cNZwKKXoQLiofMSUlvL7FYPvu6s4tmZH_/s1600/IntoTheBorderlandsCover-768x994.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAzF6n874SPAQhyKXvlIB7PN6EJjVcr4bhSbBzX0Tu_os5dFh42jg5cjtxdY-x3FeVV7NrnaUiQxU8I11D7nzOx7oy3hr7VkVJQh0anQT295cNZwKKXoQLiofMSUlvL7FYPvu6s4tmZH_/s320/IntoTheBorderlandsCover-768x994.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
And even if there's stuff you don't like about 5th edition (and there certainly is for me), they got far more right than they got wrong. For the brand of D&D as a commodity, a known thing, this has all of the stuff you need and want out of a D&D game without resorting to experience charts, THACO, and all of the other things that have, over the years, come and gone.<br />
<br />
I mean, Wizards is JUST NOW, five years into the release, figuring out how to put a decent campaign book together. And other people like Goodman Games are doing Original Adventures Reincarnated, a series of super sweet hefty-sized tomes that take the classic 1st edition AD&D modules and update them for 5th edition with lots of bonuses and extras. And honestly, this project is something Wizards should have had already cued up for the 40th anniversary anyway, as it's the perfect advertisement for the robustness of D&D in general and a testament to how strong the core concepts are. I'm glad Goodman Games is doing it, though, as I really like their products and their production values.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivO2G_QIHrrHma2ig155ykpsq60gURP7RTZgG6TigFJ-OXCPNfJbXacli15WYc4JejR7hH8KAYe96Ixp5SScpZOIxO-HI5shyH8J7FLuMtjU4GE7UkpQUxBXbNVLb0CKupJ7E9wVT14lXL/s1600/Swords__Wizardry_Whitebox_ml.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="604" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivO2G_QIHrrHma2ig155ykpsq60gURP7RTZgG6TigFJ-OXCPNfJbXacli15WYc4JejR7hH8KAYe96Ixp5SScpZOIxO-HI5shyH8J7FLuMtjU4GE7UkpQUxBXbNVLb0CKupJ7E9wVT14lXL/s200/Swords__Wizardry_Whitebox_ml.png" width="153" /></a></div>
If you <i>really </i>can't stand the current edition of <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>, but still want to have lively debates about the nature of orcs, there are literally shelves of new versions of the old rules that cover every version of D&D from the White Box to the Blue Book, all the way up to AD&D 3.5, and it's all for sale right now, waiting for you to dive in, you little contrarians, you <i>kvetching </i>hipsters, so you can declare, "Well, I play D&D, but I have major problems with 5th edition, so I play a game based on an earlier system...(sniff)...you've probably never heard of it..."<br />
<br />
Awesome, sparky. Now tell me about your vinyl collection. Your stash of VHS tapes. Dazzle me.<br />
<br />
Just stop asking for Wizards to start another complete game reboot from scratch, with all new art, new rules, new everything, and gently suggest to millions of people that this is the new and improved version of the game, because I know what's going to happen, and so does everyone else: they'll fix whatever concerns you may have, but in fixing those issues, I <i>guarantee </i>they will break or delete other shit you love and had no problem with, and then it's a countdown to demanding edition 6.5 or worse, 7th edition. You don't need another edition to fix your problems. Take a cue from one of TSR's old slogans and go and do likewise: These games are "Products of Your Imagination." Try having a little.Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-3677522139034259282020-06-06T19:55:00.004-07:002020-06-06T19:55:46.921-07:00Monty Haul #1 is Alive and KickingYou can scuttle over to DriveThruRPG right now and <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/316014/Monty-Haul-1?src=hottest_filtered" target="_blank">pick up a copy here!</a><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNXNthp-j7Cg-m-Z59bVd8X618XH2i-fmetsaUEnI4EQcr_ooU1D2w2UPXRRJl02NzC5agYehyxXlbKgOWI83Okia7oORPtIQ61JPaucfNBjUQm4ck9ks1NOLOevshO7-0rv4MltkOhIm/s1600/Monty+Hall+01+Cover+thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="854" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNXNthp-j7Cg-m-Z59bVd8X618XH2i-fmetsaUEnI4EQcr_ooU1D2w2UPXRRJl02NzC5agYehyxXlbKgOWI83Okia7oORPtIQ61JPaucfNBjUQm4ck9ks1NOLOevshO7-0rv4MltkOhIm/s320/Monty+Hall+01+Cover+thumb.jpg" width="210" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Monty Haul #1 is a 'zine dedicated to expanding your options for fantasy table-top role-playing. Issue 1 focuse on magic-users and includes campaign notes on creating magical cities that feel magical, new archetype options for warlocks (the King in Yellow patron), sorcerers (Eldritch Ancestry), and Wizards (the school of Things Man Was Not Meant To Know). </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Two new backgrounds are aslo including, along with a new rule set for dealing with alchemists and apothecaries. A rules light NPC reaction system and a collection of magical pests to plague your mages with rounds out the issue. 48 jam-packed pages in all!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">It's a kaleidoscope of usable options, written in a conversational style and grounded in the gaming days of yore. If by "yore" we're talking about the early 1980's, that is. Monty Haul is suitable for discerning DMs and players of the fifth edition of the world's most popular fantasy rpg. </span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">If you pick up a copy, please let me know what you think. Also, please consider writing a short review on the site. It really does help. Okay, I'm working on issue 2 as we speak! Lots to format. I may not get everything into the issue...what to do, what to do? </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span><br />Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-2715469949664815702020-05-11T07:00:00.000-07:002020-05-11T07:00:01.422-07:00The Problem With All of this Gorgeous Artwork<br />
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While working on the<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markfinn/monty-haul-fifth-edition-zine-with-an-old-school-vibe/description" target="_blank"> Monty Haul ‘Zine Project</a>, I’ve been revisiting
the aesthetics and materials of the 1980s gaming scene and I stumbled across
something that I think is missing from the current version of the game: scale.
Especially where the monsters are concerned. This is all the more galling
because D&D has never looked better, but for some reason, the monsters have
lost some of their oomph, and I think I know why. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Early D&D, from the blue box to the original AD&D
hardbacks, featured illustrations that were, shall we say, varied in both tone
and technique. A few of the illustrations in the rules were outright jokes,
little more than single panel gags. But the various rulebooks, and later the
modules, managed to convey a sense of genuine menace in their depictions of classic
D&D monsters that are lacking in today’s game. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ll give you an easy example: The umber hulk. Classic
monster, right? One of the chinasaurs, allegedly. But either way, a thing that
only exists in the hallowed halls of D&D. Here’s what the current version
of the umber hulk looks like. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEWxt7R90x4iUgbSilp9vvATVHAJCpDYI0Py012XrjE1TOI_y9ofoM3kORSEW4h3SMUO3n5SVKAFg3_zLVapHyjrtQidFg5rGYpu-UoWWwFUKKEluDzwHl2dM0WIC39NaFRZz9gweoEX_/s1600/umbrt+hulk.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEWxt7R90x4iUgbSilp9vvATVHAJCpDYI0Py012XrjE1TOI_y9ofoM3kORSEW4h3SMUO3n5SVKAFg3_zLVapHyjrtQidFg5rGYpu-UoWWwFUKKEluDzwHl2dM0WIC39NaFRZz9gweoEX_/s320/umbrt+hulk.png" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lovely piece of design work by Cory Trego-Erdner.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<o:p><br /> </o:p>Okay. That’s cool and all, but it’s not really hulk-y. And
it’s more insect-y, like a mutated praying mantis.Not as chunked out as the original Umber Hulk. Here was our
first look at the monster.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRt6EsxHJqryFpcXgbvJMOJY-ApTaF3NovAe-d0J4iCikQ3bSgQJmNVUlnWjb-2qPwtK0dsT0JoHHM-zm15ZbWveiT7N_9sMyYUvRZKft5sHTnF_vbVPFXN6y4Jr3sEfSKSTvK8uIjuOI_/s1600/MM+umber+hulk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="636" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRt6EsxHJqryFpcXgbvJMOJY-ApTaF3NovAe-d0J4iCikQ3bSgQJmNVUlnWjb-2qPwtK0dsT0JoHHM-zm15ZbWveiT7N_9sMyYUvRZKft5sHTnF_vbVPFXN6y4Jr3sEfSKSTvK8uIjuOI_/s200/MM+umber+hulk.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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The thing about the AD&D Monster Manual was this: all of the artwork was
approximately the same size. That means that the dragons have the same real
estate on the page as the pixie. That little space. A couple of inches square.
And to be honest, from the angle, the umber hulk looks more cute than terrifying.
Like a gremlin. The stats said it was large, 8’ tall and 5’ wide, but we really
couldn’t picture it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Then the module <i>The Ghost Tower of Inverness</i> was published. And this was
one of the best things about the modules; they almost always featured artwork
of a party of adventurers getting the shit kicked out of them by monsters. I
cannot stress how useful this was, especially when dealing with things like,
well, umber hulks. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s Jeff Dee’s take on the umber hulk. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGQ-awIiQUzNk_TbYU64f8zT0cgR3vBmE0DC65GWyR9yb4OYay-zork8pwjIN3u99Ns8X-NCfj_XDBCHRDxHuH-6Tjnz1-mZp52Lf39pg21J6RYmHowxP3hKjvhZXpLGSe6Z74x2bgeEP/s1600/Dee+Umber+Hulk+attack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="753" data-original-width="1092" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGQ-awIiQUzNk_TbYU64f8zT0cgR3vBmE0DC65GWyR9yb4OYay-zork8pwjIN3u99Ns8X-NCfj_XDBCHRDxHuH-6Tjnz1-mZp52Lf39pg21J6RYmHowxP3hKjvhZXpLGSe6Z74x2bgeEP/s320/Dee+Umber+Hulk+attack.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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That fighter? He’s toast. And the umber hulk suddenly looks frightening,
and that fighter looks completely out of his depth. Best of all is the scale that he clearly shows. Now you know why it's called an umber hulk and not an umber insect. </div>
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But just in case you aren’t
convinced, here’s Erol Otus’ version of the umber hulk encounter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBMm1UE9A_b1WTJSPjMW2WGoBFbsKCpOwkityF_Fn5_pQmFsLO-qOVGV6zpLA4rCU_CSahtPQsK613uq6gza8iDNdNd1v0zHZrb_HE76p88-ak4kjXVmAwKYSxGg9lpP18bc5VD1VJ87W/s1600/Otus+Umber+Hulk+party+kill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1061" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBMm1UE9A_b1WTJSPjMW2WGoBFbsKCpOwkityF_Fn5_pQmFsLO-qOVGV6zpLA4rCU_CSahtPQsK613uq6gza8iDNdNd1v0zHZrb_HE76p88-ak4kjXVmAwKYSxGg9lpP18bc5VD1VJ87W/s320/Otus+Umber+Hulk+party+kill.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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That’s a three on one fight and it looks to me like someone’s
going to bite the dust before that umber hulk is slain. Now <i>that’s</i> a D&D
monster. Now I’m interested in sending this against my party and watching them
freak out when you show them the picture. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There are many instances where the original art teams got it right. The action scenes give these monsters a context that most of us didn’t have. For a generation of kids, the Monster Manual was the first bestiary we’d ever seen. Dragons, we got. Goblins, no problem. But the owlbear? What the hell was that?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCUJI7a6VAC0KbqdEwFyO6n0lEOGwAiJwVGIRSXJYrWjj-ni2xSO35P62NI_jAWYhz93sAjpDVlne8bqItMMlmrbAPw-ZwyujFCxPt7wtR9s_YMcv9lhv94FjYiXiQnjst-A-DKszCnln/s1600/MM+owlbear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="621" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCUJI7a6VAC0KbqdEwFyO6n0lEOGwAiJwVGIRSXJYrWjj-ni2xSO35P62NI_jAWYhz93sAjpDVlne8bqItMMlmrbAPw-ZwyujFCxPt7wtR9s_YMcv9lhv94FjYiXiQnjst-A-DKszCnln/s200/MM+owlbear.jpg" width="173" /></a></div>
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
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We know now, of course, but back then, it just seemed a
little silly. That is, of course, until Jeff Dee (again) showed us what we were
really up against. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0FR3TiE2Azzxputr27S0azTyJ7sXu6cz_jJClvF78aax9qaIF1awoW4_5_6rODgXv6hcQD97LulBB5JqpDJbXZJguhesJkbkvBupRwZPHLsJ5B0VoYDG77ka0wr0n-PJolmuWLg9i1MrV/s1600/thieves+are+assholes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1077" data-original-width="1600" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0FR3TiE2Azzxputr27S0azTyJ7sXu6cz_jJClvF78aax9qaIF1awoW4_5_6rODgXv6hcQD97LulBB5JqpDJbXZJguhesJkbkvBupRwZPHLsJ5B0VoYDG77ka0wr0n-PJolmuWLg9i1MrV/s320/thieves+are+assholes.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side note: This thief is an asshole.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br />Now whenever I see a fifth edition owlbear, I think, "Nice artwork," and it is. But that's not scary. Not to me. Not like this big-ass-beak, bear-bodied, what-the-hell-man monstrosity scares me. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLC1iuNVhR1ZxZR1udDrY0-6oN1F45LOKWFrLtUwqxd8_mZni5XR8DnOeHEwkz9o_Gn8heb5zpcqR3trik1Ts2dnckUf2JzWptKJmsCmCWHexgqmpNn4gpj3_vTLIxYL-jH4bvfxy_rZe2/s1600/owlbear.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="813" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLC1iuNVhR1ZxZR1udDrY0-6oN1F45LOKWFrLtUwqxd8_mZni5XR8DnOeHEwkz9o_Gn8heb5zpcqR3trik1Ts2dnckUf2JzWptKJmsCmCWHexgqmpNn4gpj3_vTLIxYL-jH4bvfxy_rZe2/s320/owlbear.jpeg" width="260" /></a></div>
<div>
And again, I want to say, the artwork in 5e is almost universally incredible. It's technically adroit, with lots of character and excellent design. Maybe the owlbear above isn't my favorite owlbear, but it's not the fault of the artist, Brynn Metheney, who is responsible for some killer work elsewhere in the book. I don't know who is to blame. </div>
<div>
<br />Maybe they think the pop culture zeitgeist has done the heavy lifting for them, i.e. "oh, everyone playing D&D knows about owlbears, so we don't have to define the terms." All I know is, back in the 1980s, I was relying on context clues because there wasn't a place to google "owlbears" and get a treasure trove of information to parse. I was at the mercy of TSR. And sure, some of the early artwork wasn't particularly sophisticated, especially when compared with today's computer-painted graphics, but what it lacked in polish, it made up for in evocative imagery. And when even that failed, there were other illustrations to show you how things might be put into practice in your games. For example, Bill Willingham showed us all how a medusa could get the drop on a couple of characters by hiding her snake hair under a cloak. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_6x3zHpqmNToFN850mqVWIArK-2YRV35HgcmGqpVgSLUct0D_urOrcpKRho1vUK3mj1g7BIn430l1K3Kbl15sVPEqhx04_xhJsAkUgyKJXvI0i9XQVRXl67EbWncYXBFiH7KUL9f_p1M/s1600/willingham+medusa+attack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_6x3zHpqmNToFN850mqVWIArK-2YRV35HgcmGqpVgSLUct0D_urOrcpKRho1vUK3mj1g7BIn430l1K3Kbl15sVPEqhx04_xhJsAkUgyKJXvI0i9XQVRXl67EbWncYXBFiH7KUL9f_p1M/s320/willingham+medusa+attack.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br />And Dave Trampier showed us why it's not a good idea to try and fight those goofy (and obscure) monsters like the catoblepas.<b> </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytSFdIrZ28byXLxPopMH0WqepNIof3pdLadEPLVVxZQUeiVDZTjz0olEl0KPzXhi3aSSVm79b8qEG1dJo7FyMpuWK0M8ZWeOeRebgRKRqVHdLAvL_tyz4ufbkzty4QG9DM4AryD2yTjAd/s1600/DAT+swamp+monster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1600" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytSFdIrZ28byXLxPopMH0WqepNIof3pdLadEPLVVxZQUeiVDZTjz0olEl0KPzXhi3aSSVm79b8qEG1dJo7FyMpuWK0M8ZWeOeRebgRKRqVHdLAvL_tyz4ufbkzty4QG9DM4AryD2yTjAd/s320/DAT+swamp+monster.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Even mundane animals were challenging for a party of adventurers that were foolhardy enough to take them on. </div>
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We, as fledgling DMs, would not have considered herd animals dangerous. Or frogs, or any of the other mega-fauna and seemingly silly things that are crowded into the monster manual and sprinkled throughout the early modules. We needed these illustrations to make sense of this strange new world. Maybe that's not as strong a consideration in 2020, with exponentially more sources to draw inspiration from, but I miss it in the new game, all the same. </div>
Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com2Unnamed Road, Vernon, TX 76384, USA33.972522205964957 -99.4042972500000138.4504877059649566 -140.71289125 59.494556705964953 -58.095703250000014tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-17281190853780325742020-04-13T11:16:00.000-07:002020-04-13T11:16:41.544-07:00Monty Haul Zero Issue now available!For those of you were on the fence about whether or not to back my recent Kickstarter campaign, you can now take a look at what I was driving at: Monty Haul #0 is now digitally available.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXzcloxRgNHqTPstIanCByI0KVqTpSrGCAfbGwqWri58iy46FBrijpF-29DchPZ2ga-e_FHrHTpb8X7ScVgrYJ13ZxEIlCJ3-BuOseKrCnFLvRMEojSZcgU3XsUNgV2Pkm19L2VvBcRiq/s1600/Monty+Hall+00+1.2+Cover+thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1370" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXzcloxRgNHqTPstIanCByI0KVqTpSrGCAfbGwqWri58iy46FBrijpF-29DchPZ2ga-e_FHrHTpb8X7ScVgrYJ13ZxEIlCJ3-BuOseKrCnFLvRMEojSZcgU3XsUNgV2Pkm19L2VvBcRiq/s320/Monty+Hall+00+1.2+Cover+thumb.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Monty Haul #0 is a Proof-of-Concept issue, full of assorted optional rules, backgrounds for characters, and more! Featuring a new take on familiars, two new cleric domains, a simple and not-so-deadly critical hit system, the Divine Archeologist archetype for rogues, and several new backgrounds including an expanded trio of options for the noble: dilettante, disgraced noble, and knight errant! Also included is a Noble Family House generator to quickly design interesting families to plague your nobles.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">It's a cornucopia of usable options, written in a light and conversational style and grounded in the gaming days of yore. If by "yore" we're talking about the early 1980's. Monty Haul is suitable for discerning DMs and players of the fifth edition of the world's most popular fantasy rpg.</span><br />
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You can get it here, <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/305349/Monty-Haul-0" target="_blank">on DriveThruRPG's website</a>.Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-11492194683617405232020-03-16T13:23:00.000-07:002020-03-16T13:23:39.840-07:00Top 5 Ways to Weather the Global Pandemic<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbak-Yvlp5lDUDRxHD27lslUqkI2JMjZtG1QWrjLU1vI29xHvzx1hKebO1e96TGhTpCRcUe0ySEzDRWugsbQdbREPtbYVOXpCms5pKyIY_7c2dcdvodEiBMhdL4Zn-TQqEvqSj5k0mnNN1/s1600/pandemic+board+game+box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="520" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbak-Yvlp5lDUDRxHD27lslUqkI2JMjZtG1QWrjLU1vI29xHvzx1hKebO1e96TGhTpCRcUe0ySEzDRWugsbQdbREPtbYVOXpCms5pKyIY_7c2dcdvodEiBMhdL4Zn-TQqEvqSj5k0mnNN1/s320/pandemic+board+game+box.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I’m sure we’ve all seen the meme by now, the mock headline
that says something along the lines of “Nerds Everywhere Awaken to a World
where Sports Are Cancelled and Everyone Stays Inside Playing Games” or
something to that effect. Har-de-har-har, Alice.</div>
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As a guy who owns and operates one of the very places the
media is begging you not to visit, I’m of two minds, here. On one hand, stay at
home, yes, do that. On the other hand, um…me and the missus and our dog need to
eat, okay? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Suffice to say, I need a few distractions, and I suspect you
do, as well. For example, I’m working on <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markfinn/monty-haul-fifth-edition-zine-with-an-old-school-vibe?ref=user_menu" target="_blank">my Kickstarter campaign project, Monty Haul</a>, and
it’s going as well as can be expected. I’m also playing my first D&D game
on Roll20 with <a href="https://arcdream.com/home/" target="_blank">Shane Ivey</a>, <a href="http://www.darkerhuestudios.com/" target="_blank">Chris Spivey</a>, and <a href="https://www.theredactedfiles.com/" target="_blank">Megan and Aser Tolentino</a>. If you’re
interested in hearing it play out, you can check out <a href="https://arcdream.com/home/2020/02/arc-dream-presents-swords-and-sorceries-actual-play-the-heart-of-iron-session-zero/" target="_blank">Session Zero on the ArcDream website here</a>. We’re playing through one of Shane’s <i>Sword and Sorceries</i> adventures, and so far, it’s
very cool. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But what if you don’t have a lot of irons in the fire? It’s
easy; just build a fire, and stick some irons in. I’m only sort of kidding.
Even if you just do some spring cleaning, like culling old games and sorting
dice and organizing shelves, you’ll feel better, more productive, and less inclined
to climb the walls, wall crawler. Idle hands, and all that jazz. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Here are my top five suggestions for Getting Your Game On
and staying safe. I’m not going to mention Roll20 or playing online; you
already know that. Rather, this is about refilling your braincase with stuff to
use when all of this Fauxpocalypse stuff blows over and we can all greet the
daylight again like squinting morlocks. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQsuvZ_Neu-4PoCrYy3Qsu762sraFONWdkVpjq-db3JFiuHUe4Xs7_P02QYp7vHL2UdiaRRhARr7xYlXgiZhKoY-DzwKu60juonh0hP7Gbplq3zlJDkjxpryS_tmNE6tzUN1UZNyuXYmaG/s1600/Session+Prep+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQsuvZ_Neu-4PoCrYy3Qsu762sraFONWdkVpjq-db3JFiuHUe4Xs7_P02QYp7vHL2UdiaRRhARr7xYlXgiZhKoY-DzwKu60juonh0hP7Gbplq3zlJDkjxpryS_tmNE6tzUN1UZNyuXYmaG/s200/Session+Prep+01.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>5. Session Prep!</b></div>
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I know this seems obvious, but if you’re like me, you never
seem to have enough time to dot those T’s and cross those I’s. Well, there’s no
time like the present. Recharge your lists of random events, make a new table
of NPC names, print out the good maps, etc. One of the things I love is random tables; however, I'm not a big fan of rolling stuff on the fly. So I use my random tables during session prep to create interesting encounters and pre-designed treasure. One of the best places to find a LOT of free tables to drive your creativity is the Reddit channel <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/BehindTheTables/wiki/index" target="_blank">BehindtheTables</a>. Their wiki is worth a visit, even if you're not a Redditer (?) and the volume of tables they have created is impressive. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSHW1MUaMZ2D3YQSWH9mmQ4jLefjaO_t45uWkrna9fmPtarTqaCfYoDcxqEc5ywPjCc0tNOREhZVEi_Y4abRM9wgK_dyJw0a4K2X1jK7dALC2Wty8oHA-VSY4_ltJwBE_nDzipvxZC8_G/s1600/Barrel+Mound+DMs+Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSHW1MUaMZ2D3YQSWH9mmQ4jLefjaO_t45uWkrna9fmPtarTqaCfYoDcxqEc5ywPjCc0tNOREhZVEi_Y4abRM9wgK_dyJw0a4K2X1jK7dALC2Wty8oHA-VSY4_ltJwBE_nDzipvxZC8_G/s200/Barrel+Mound+DMs+Map.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>4. World Building!</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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This is one of those things that flummoxes everyone: how to
build a world. How much do you create, and what do you absolutely need to make
it stand up? There are a lot of great resources to get you into drawing up new
campaign plans (seriously: google “world building resources” and get a large
cup of coffee and spend an hour just browsing). But with extra time on your
hands, you can include details and extra bells and whistles that often get
skipped when working on the fly. If you're interested in trying your hand at a map or two, you have GOT to check out <a href="https://inkarnate.com/" target="_blank">Inkarnate</a>. It's the easiest mapmaking tool I've come across, and it's pretty robust and getting more Reubanesque every week. Here's one of the maps I made using their software.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Z7iEWAppYQx845cGi87PakZOQGq4oQu2IzX07VUZNa-VjwKr88YgUtLPbZTRFYmczKFc-hYch9tF4IiuzJRkMEnlTPa_BAxy23RQX-SPEukIqj1jIsfRSyQ6xQk6SqAtFX3shxUlFzRT/s1600/Maelstrom+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1129" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Z7iEWAppYQx845cGi87PakZOQGq4oQu2IzX07VUZNa-VjwKr88YgUtLPbZTRFYmczKFc-hYch9tF4IiuzJRkMEnlTPa_BAxy23RQX-SPEukIqj1jIsfRSyQ6xQk6SqAtFX3shxUlFzRT/s200/Maelstrom+Cover.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>
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<b>3. Try a New (or Old) Game!</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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The volume of gameable material in the world is incalculable.
We’ll never play them all, and we probably shouldn’t try. But what about that
OTHER game…you know, the one you keep seeing mentioned on YouTube? Or the one
your friends keep asking about? What about your own “What if” questions, or “Wouldn’t
it be cool if…” queries? There’s a ton of great resources out there to acquire vintage
games on the cheap, cleaned up and erratta’ed, in many cases. DriveThruRPG.com
is awesome for this, and so is my pal Allen Varney’s page, <a href="https://bundleofholding.com/" target="_blank">Bundle of Holding</a>, which
puts together new and old game systems in affordable clumps. Here's one from the 1980s that I never heard of! But I'm checking it out. Know why? 'Cause I can. Think about that for a minute. Just because I can. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWU-Ws9ZE1ZHg2rEAwO7Kj7ORBfQFZGyzO-BNAPTaK8naZpgmfvRkIawvdRxZS5mu1h5ZhBOcR38EdbdrUbRwQiarNCkP49xWRGy1rCJvRFhKTPubsj3YZkTIpLySKBtpMZqJd675jumE/s1600/Lieber+Swords+Deviltry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="753" data-original-width="450" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWU-Ws9ZE1ZHg2rEAwO7Kj7ORBfQFZGyzO-BNAPTaK8naZpgmfvRkIawvdRxZS5mu1h5ZhBOcR38EdbdrUbRwQiarNCkP49xWRGy1rCJvRFhKTPubsj3YZkTIpLySKBtpMZqJd675jumE/s200/Lieber+Swords+Deviltry.jpg" width="119" /></a></div>
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<b>2. Appendix N!</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Read a damn book. <o:p></o:p></div>
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No, really, read. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Videos are cool, and movies are great, and TV shows are,
well, most of them suck, but some are okay. But the original source, the Ground-Zero
inspiration for the birth of role-playing games, is books. The AD&D <i>Dungeon
Master’s Guide</i> included a list of inspirational reading, the now-legendary
Appendix N. D&D Fifth edition has published their version, Appendix E, which is all
of the stuff included in Appendix N plus some new additions from the intervening years. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Few things will help your DM skills better than a good book.
It will stimulate your language centers and make narration and dialogue easier,
you’ll get so many great ideas for bits, and set pieces, and plots, and
characters that you’ll cramp your hand, writing them all down. And best of
all,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you’ll get to see how the sausage
was made, especially if you cleave closely to the stuff on Gygax’s original
list. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqKEz2_3XuD_UgmbrIqAFeSoYbgDoWz5jS9DIayKcxlA0VUdQf9-wMwLJvajpscwbqRvYknNErxU_ljMP2S1HKQuWBRs7gXhsdjJqza0L5lJCO_TUabszywxSun5WSnLLFyaE8aeDPdJp/s1600/Crafting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="360" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqKEz2_3XuD_UgmbrIqAFeSoYbgDoWz5jS9DIayKcxlA0VUdQf9-wMwLJvajpscwbqRvYknNErxU_ljMP2S1HKQuWBRs7gXhsdjJqza0L5lJCO_TUabszywxSun5WSnLLFyaE8aeDPdJp/s200/Crafting.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>1. Get Your Craft On!</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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DIY, anyone? Who didn’t love rainy day craft blitzes? Making
weird shit out of paper plates and Popsicle sticks and melted crayons? You have
a golden opportunity here to put that pent-up energy to work, making props for
your game, cool terrain for your tabletop battles, <a href="http://rpgconfessions.blogspot.com/2019/09/diy-corner-tokens-for-your-tabletop.html" target="_blank">DIY counters</a>, dice boxes, custom DM screens,
or whatever you might need that’s a little off the beaten path. YouTube is your
friend for this. Check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Rlv-ug-mtnXuMwlpcqFgg" target="_blank">Black Magic Craft</a> and also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/theDMsCraft" target="_blank">DM Scotty’s</a> channel for great places to start. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This whole Covid-19 thing just sucks, and it’s going to be a pain in the ass for everyone.
BUT…that doesn’t mean we can’t use this time to our collective advantage. Take
comfort in knowing that the April game sessions are going to be next level
awesome, y’all. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Stay safe out there. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-5107885439817689012020-03-14T17:12:00.001-07:002020-03-14T23:28:50.862-07:00Elder Dice: The Color Out of Space dice reviewed!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpolaUt0rIjWrV_yWC8m_v2m300cLdRwW4Z1uI0Mop1mqRLZ1x48pQT4Ka0hhcwW_52JiMYBM6ENXEP_3m__cftLIfBggZXizcfhIN1MMq4V7vfFUC5gHSbd05YCkSvSoORFshu0Yccek/s1600/COS+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1208" data-original-width="1600" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpolaUt0rIjWrV_yWC8m_v2m300cLdRwW4Z1uI0Mop1mqRLZ1x48pQT4Ka0hhcwW_52JiMYBM6ENXEP_3m__cftLIfBggZXizcfhIN1MMq4V7vfFUC5gHSbd05YCkSvSoORFshu0Yccek/s320/COS+01.jpg" width="320" /></a>I have written about Infinite Black's Elder Dice before, and commented here, and I've even used their dice to highlight things like <a href="http://rpgconfessions.blogspot.com/2018/09/dice-delve-power-of-theme.html" target="_blank">the importance of theme and contrast.</a> With three wildly successful Kickstarters under their belts, and having sold hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dice, their latest release, The Colors out of Space (nicely, if unintentionally timed, I must say), it was their largest, most ambitious, and also their most confusing and chaotic KS campaign to date.<br />
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Now that the dice have finally made their way stateside, a great number of fans are posting pics, and taking to social media to express their feelings about their new acquisitions. I am, it seems, no different.<br />
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I won't get into the peripheral things that ended up showing up in the box for two reasons: 1. I have real, deep, and tangible buyer's remorse over the amount of money I spent for things I not only don't need but will <i>never </i>use, and 2. The dice are all that really matter at the end of the day. So let's get into this and see what's what.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The Colors out of Space Dice by Infinite Black</span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">SCORE: 3.5/5</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Clarity...Yes</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Heft...Yes</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Color...Sorta</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Theme...Yes</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Value...No</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfYRMbjSmGxA3HTAYlv7vEDT0HGf4-l3bXpuM__y-m0RdWcSatTYtN_FY5aXLaKroCAARxwxKaUX1uMXEmuTWUALnjSzkhyphenhyphen-uIr9ponEdPoGJ17N_72L_CV00kcnFILifLbCcGoMP89oi/s1600/COS+03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfYRMbjSmGxA3HTAYlv7vEDT0HGf4-l3bXpuM__y-m0RdWcSatTYtN_FY5aXLaKroCAARxwxKaUX1uMXEmuTWUALnjSzkhyphenhyphen-uIr9ponEdPoGJ17N_72L_CV00kcnFILifLbCcGoMP89oi/s200/COS+03.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
These are the tubes of d6 dice I bought, mostly because it was included with my pledge group. I specifically got the Mark of Cthulhu dice in green because, well, Duh! And I've got other games that use the d6s, so these will work just fine. Between the three campaigns, I have forty-five d6 dice from this company. That's...quite enough d6s.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1dH2c32Oqw3fqpjuxpe71TJvmsLE3ev1oFLbO-Jj1wvjXgI-w86PQYalx0nr98nXDgLfUmJrqSKCh5U_Ydxt_BV9kUyJmzO3cxvkztUVAJ8r5kqco-mF8rYplJwnRDzrZqQQMmfA3BvM/s1600/COS+04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1dH2c32Oqw3fqpjuxpe71TJvmsLE3ev1oFLbO-Jj1wvjXgI-w86PQYalx0nr98nXDgLfUmJrqSKCh5U_Ydxt_BV9kUyJmzO3cxvkztUVAJ8r5kqco-mF8rYplJwnRDzrZqQQMmfA3BvM/s200/COS+04.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Of course, the packaging and presentation continues to be top notch with Infinite Black. All of the boxes look like mythos tomes, and there's a protective sleeve over the box to allow for all of the retail stuff you need, and none of that once the product is home and on your shelf or gaming table. Cool.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFrT-G2S51GSnHrQwtNauAsd899HbgmQVsuGwrB8tFfKr7ebFuoVp2kExmDndlVwwVtS36o_sYDNcJKHqLImP3Y2YP_hq7q0kuz9UwcZ3ZOdsy3gjeWnsUg_rz6z3SQR1_wvYsgp0_lU4/s1600/COS+05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFrT-G2S51GSnHrQwtNauAsd899HbgmQVsuGwrB8tFfKr7ebFuoVp2kExmDndlVwwVtS36o_sYDNcJKHqLImP3Y2YP_hq7q0kuz9UwcZ3ZOdsy3gjeWnsUg_rz6z3SQR1_wvYsgp0_lU4/s200/COS+05.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Packaging inside is, also, top notch. Dice are sealed and also come with a ziplock bag for those of you who, for some reason, don't want your dice rattling around in the box. Kinda defeats the purpose, if you ask me, but you do you.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhExSqJ1AtX9op4oZrOmq_9aM31ctRBNF1n9A1LpV8H44tzZlynmxtm2kuKp6Gi2edJTA2teGD8D1vXAYmVLaHGoov4wTu70p1g0GCyNf1EU120Emjb78h7IEDv2sW3MzzIFAszh6MZWxRK/s1600/COS+06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhExSqJ1AtX9op4oZrOmq_9aM31ctRBNF1n9A1LpV8H44tzZlynmxtm2kuKp6Gi2edJTA2teGD8D1vXAYmVLaHGoov4wTu70p1g0GCyNf1EU120Emjb78h7IEDv2sW3MzzIFAszh6MZWxRK/s200/COS+06.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
You get a set of nine dice, including 3d6 for old school characters (right?) and a "Lore Card" that relates to the symbol on the face of your Elder Dice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPugcFVOcs78GR_ZXgXzFZ24UZHKmhQYONn2cG8db-IgHapiqJcGM42wrM_5aCWbArgOplsHlQV6nL23N_3_VD0830ALEqC8yQgG6kI1p44aANa1TWkU-y4UWTHbH7YNXgg1W-QxEfmCqB/s1600/COS+08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPugcFVOcs78GR_ZXgXzFZ24UZHKmhQYONn2cG8db-IgHapiqJcGM42wrM_5aCWbArgOplsHlQV6nL23N_3_VD0830ALEqC8yQgG6kI1p44aANa1TWkU-y4UWTHbH7YNXgg1W-QxEfmCqB/s200/COS+08.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
This is nice, but it's wasted on me. Granted, it's well done, but I'm never going to use this for anything except maybe a book mark if I really need one. I'm sure there are game-based uses for it, but I won't try to invent them.<br />
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I feel this way about the "Lore" GM screen, too. It's a stellar product that I will emphatically not use, unless I paste four completely different sheets of information on the inside. It's just Not For Me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMC2TzoLvBDVlxr8BHsVuq5lOsIL0Y0eIQ2iWlJBrTFVSZF6OmYDyEe4eK-eqwhLnXIiA8VIC8dSGb9SoRb2kC-2Q2vI10DxYX_GTsROHqI-WNnJsn9crnpY_pEDqIoPK2uQMkrZDMHI6J/s1600/COS+09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMC2TzoLvBDVlxr8BHsVuq5lOsIL0Y0eIQ2iWlJBrTFVSZF6OmYDyEe4eK-eqwhLnXIiA8VIC8dSGb9SoRb2kC-2Q2vI10DxYX_GTsROHqI-WNnJsn9crnpY_pEDqIoPK2uQMkrZDMHI6J/s200/COS+09.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
In addition to the Drowned Cthulhu dice, I got these, the "Astral Elder Sign" dice. The first version of these were blue. These are purple. They are lovely, very purple-y and very visible and easy to read. Yay!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlFiwRXg51KkLE-SY6TMfdOUdIrTHAomRW9fmOuxhAHA1gCl8KTFzrSq8yYNlzrX2hEA3-OdEAi9jVsmBP4BMbMBZ3EaqQo6MBr_heGJyZzcPUVlZjE1PB28MtebTHzC9TRxg3yZWqWn1/s1600/COS+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlFiwRXg51KkLE-SY6TMfdOUdIrTHAomRW9fmOuxhAHA1gCl8KTFzrSq8yYNlzrX2hEA3-OdEAi9jVsmBP4BMbMBZ3EaqQo6MBr_heGJyZzcPUVlZjE1PB28MtebTHzC9TRxg3yZWqWn1/s200/COS+10.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Finally, I got the redone King in Yellow dice, which look a lot like Mardi Gras dice in the purple, green, and gold color scheme (which actually works great for the King in Yellow). These are about 100% better than the first try, which was <a href="http://rpgconfessions.blogspot.com/2019/02/dice-notes-beating-dead-horse-literally.html" target="_blank">yellow ink on black and yellow dice.</a> I will use these in games.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3xuC0cmWnlZ_46ZJQ_AdfYfgk_N-dbCXXaUCEnul5RFCZHnOUFYeeKNQeChSHmZGmFmvJN2tDrHR59BU8dupML0ME9sZDzhYGWwqYUqApOs6og0tM0QNlpqNr_-HDsEi8Rcfu0qXHaSM/s1600/COS+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3xuC0cmWnlZ_46ZJQ_AdfYfgk_N-dbCXXaUCEnul5RFCZHnOUFYeeKNQeChSHmZGmFmvJN2tDrHR59BU8dupML0ME9sZDzhYGWwqYUqApOs6og0tM0QNlpqNr_-HDsEi8Rcfu0qXHaSM/s200/COS+11.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
This set of dice is their Doom Edition, and we all had to eat a lot of veggies to get to the dessert. Basic, simple, clean, iconic. Black dice, red ink. Boom. Done. Looking at these, I really have to wonder why they didn't start with this, and work up to the nutty stuff. I feel like this would have been much easier to source and also sell.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeGaiEoGUGHF3lx9ERDlOJ8gyiilxRRSi8_gcnCcdDgbeSqMSmLj9Dxwfc6YTtUUHI5b3ZPLjSVFlm7E6D9tOKROAzxGGfUjoOzDAKdONNoYuvyx28UaIH-Lb7X_2AjBcP3Y2A3fZAx4L/s1600/COS+17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeGaiEoGUGHF3lx9ERDlOJ8gyiilxRRSi8_gcnCcdDgbeSqMSmLj9Dxwfc6YTtUUHI5b3ZPLjSVFlm7E6D9tOKROAzxGGfUjoOzDAKdONNoYuvyx28UaIH-Lb7X_2AjBcP3Y2A3fZAx4L/s200/COS+17.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
One thing I noticed: there is a difference in plastic between these dice and their swirly-twirly counterparts. It's a slickness, almost a sheen, that I can tangibly feel.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-OJ3S1xp1Ba3O5FpVDkVV9NZsVDh2ws0E9ic2SDObK5JT4DXLRXRKPWwFVkGj0GI2FtuEBCHNsj7S7wr9ipEMiFpFLpARZGyJq7AX6d6i-wGErFtWXXlOGeVXdOPszkw_9wwi0RP3bza/s1600/COS+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-OJ3S1xp1Ba3O5FpVDkVV9NZsVDh2ws0E9ic2SDObK5JT4DXLRXRKPWwFVkGj0GI2FtuEBCHNsj7S7wr9ipEMiFpFLpARZGyJq7AX6d6i-wGErFtWXXlOGeVXdOPszkw_9wwi0RP3bza/s200/COS+13.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
In the end, I ended up doubling up on the sets I wanted, and not getting a lot of the sets that were offered. I wish I'd not done that, because I already have a shitload of these dice to begin with. If you're a collector, though, this is your jam, because of all the styles and colors and boxes and what not.<br />
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I just wanted some cool eldritch dice to roll. That's all.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBbbnQgmOIxWwCPRXGVBsvrRUDg5P5uELrLUEQr3g4KCZWOuMxEm7wYEw52PRDArZtkSj8IFYZ1hpJ3FHkEpO5zhshDbwI0xejooq-1v2linjVFgNlcgUu3FL1cU4iST-x4HKi-4Lhr3wG/s1600/COS+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBbbnQgmOIxWwCPRXGVBsvrRUDg5P5uELrLUEQr3g4KCZWOuMxEm7wYEw52PRDArZtkSj8IFYZ1hpJ3FHkEpO5zhshDbwI0xejooq-1v2linjVFgNlcgUu3FL1cU4iST-x4HKi-4Lhr3wG/s200/COS+16.jpg" width="200" /></a>I really hate these things. There's no such thing as a "d2." It's stupid. That said, I like these "d2" coins better than any of the others I've gotten. Mostly because of the size. But mind you, I won't use it in a game. This goes into the jar of dice oddities, never to return.<br />
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It didn't cost me anything, so I'm not bummed about it. But I would have been remiss to not include a picture.<br />
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So, after three of these campaigns, what did we learn?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaE4_AkJHlrUZTrPbEwSS6CzWapvM6c-OYD7FINNackGSFbD9NrqJ6FTDIG8c3ZsElUmJtci3pJ0CoYSsDP83gNGpYKuHCwZ1jOUU5hFVGYcVYsGu3W0RtjxzDRLQACAijwnWXVKGg3wn/s1600/Dice+Delve+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaE4_AkJHlrUZTrPbEwSS6CzWapvM6c-OYD7FINNackGSFbD9NrqJ6FTDIG8c3ZsElUmJtci3pJ0CoYSsDP83gNGpYKuHCwZ1jOUU5hFVGYcVYsGu3W0RtjxzDRLQACAijwnWXVKGg3wn/s200/Dice+Delve+01.jpg" width="200" /></a><b style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The Good</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">: They make good dice, with a few caveats. The color options were great on the dice that I chose, but I also ordered the unlocked stretch goal dice to correct past purchases of the same style, and that, to me, is a zero-sum gain. Packaging, presentation, and theme are spot-on, and have only gotten better. Superb design work, with easy to read numbers and nearly always legible symbols. If you want Cthulhu-Themed dice, look no further.</span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The Bad</b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #6b6b6b; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">: That said, these boogers are not cheap. $25 for nine dice. Granted, they are the least expensive when buying during the Kickstarter Campaigns, but if you want the bonus dice, the extra dice, the dice that you REALLY want, you may find yourself having to buy dice you don't want or need. I know I said I wouldn't talk about it, but I take it back, I feel kinda bamboozled.</span></span></span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The Ugly:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> Unless something changes, I doubt I'll be buying any more dice from Infinite Black. They simply cost too much, and for what I got in my shipping box, I was decidedly underwhelmed by the add-ons. Again, it's all high quality stuff. It's just not the stuff for me.<br /><br />I suspect the next Kickstarter campaign they do will be to publish their role-playing game system (presumably one that uses all of these friggin' dice). I only hope that the next campaign they do is something more basic, more simple, and easy to follow.<br /><br />But if they wanted to do more dice, here's my unsolicited advice: ditch the swirls. Make a line of opaque dice with the same symbols. One color of plastic, one color of ink. You could do them all in black plastic, with different colored inks: bright green for Cthulhu, Yellow for The King in Yellow, Orange for Azathoth, etc. Dice are all heavy black with no stunt colors. Ink is high contrast with no surprises. I would buy all of those, and I bet you a plugged nickel everyone else would, too.</span><br />
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Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-52004695020593917472020-02-19T14:03:00.000-08:002020-02-19T14:03:05.127-08:00DIY Corner: Storage for PolyHero Rogue Dice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89sdelJDhFUzHezJleA7iAbEnsA7R67PYgHU8uE03HmTWiObEFsrgIkOyr_3110yLQi2sVtbPWYvUfx7xeU2wTJCwjMG_wuUB-nBTJucZQ8UicP94hsN1KturOrWKUrO574-HtoTnpRy5/s1600/DIY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="288" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89sdelJDhFUzHezJleA7iAbEnsA7R67PYgHU8uE03HmTWiObEFsrgIkOyr_3110yLQi2sVtbPWYvUfx7xeU2wTJCwjMG_wuUB-nBTJucZQ8UicP94hsN1KturOrWKUrO574-HtoTnpRy5/s200/DIY.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Ever since <a href="https://rpgconfessions.blogspot.com/2020/01/dice-delve-rogue-dice-by-polyhero.html">I reviewed PolyHero's Rogue Dice</a> set a few weeks ago, I've been wracking my brains trying to figure out how to get the somewhat delicate Lockpick d20 dice to the table and back without breaking the pick off with my bear-like clumsiness. It's too cool a gaming tool not to take good care of, but as soon as I saw it come out of the clamshell, I thought, "Ruh Roh."<br />
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Thankfully, the Lock and Pick d20 came with a plastic insert, molded to cradle them just so in the package to avoid the very breakage I was trying to stave off. That insert came out of the clamshell, and I realized I could make a custom carrying case, built around holding that plastic cradle.<br />
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<br />Now all I had to do was find a box. Easier said than done.<br />
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The cradle was 3" wide (or tall, or deep, or howthehellever you want to measure it). I was initially looking for a 3" x 5" or 3" x 6" box that I could decorate. You might think, as I did, "Pfft, no problem, how hard can that be?"<br /><br />The answer: a real pain in the ass. The only boxes that have measurements listed at 3" x 5" are recipe card boxes, and they will not work for this. There are no 3" x 6" boxes, not in wood, nor plastic, nor anything else. I had just about consigned myself to getting a larger box and somehow padding around the plastic cradle so I could make it usable, and then, last week, I was cleaning off my desk, and I picked up a black obelisk and said, "what the hell is this?"<br /><br />It turned out to be the box my smart phone came in. That black, featureless mass of firm, strong cardboard. I opened it up and looked at the interior and saw that, underneath the useless instruction book, the box was bisected with a cardboard insert. The left half was solid, and the right half divided horizontally, to hold the little fiddly bits and then the clouds parted and radiant light shown down on my fevered brow.<br /><br />It was EXACTLY the right size for what I wanted to do. I mean, I couldn't have designed a box in CAD better for this.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5gVsSCyGrECZAVdbnER94DK6quGBPBkwPFkkFEch-BvfLxOA2HfUTVGvk9p-QHLj5N-dmPNBUV7exgFU7eQ3vCfkMGsc4Kal9tzQlk1LtyKzRS3otnfl7Xz8kFL4YRbgEdxz6v_l77FAq/s1600/20200215_134305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5gVsSCyGrECZAVdbnER94DK6quGBPBkwPFkkFEch-BvfLxOA2HfUTVGvk9p-QHLj5N-dmPNBUV7exgFU7eQ3vCfkMGsc4Kal9tzQlk1LtyKzRS3otnfl7Xz8kFL4YRbgEdxz6v_l77FAq/s320/20200215_134305.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Here's the box. I covered the lid with scrapbooking paper that looks like old leather. It was the only thing I could think of without resorting to paint, which may have warped the box.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZEBJ0Oi7TY64YcprHNlzUsNiwTB9Am-uRFCMx5Y-CXDvYlSAmF2_rr_IVjPfIxM1tsYN1vy9YwcOJobYXXbMATcwGwuQI7Ro2QbnJy9Iuw_IpKUMWhqJ5sTzrSFZ_XR0lKbg0NNoxvpm6/s1600/20200215_134342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZEBJ0Oi7TY64YcprHNlzUsNiwTB9Am-uRFCMx5Y-CXDvYlSAmF2_rr_IVjPfIxM1tsYN1vy9YwcOJobYXXbMATcwGwuQI7Ro2QbnJy9Iuw_IpKUMWhqJ5sTzrSFZ_XR0lKbg0NNoxvpm6/s320/20200215_134342.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
As you can see, it's a little chunky, but again, it can't be helped because I was keeping the plastic cradle. But it's certainly not unmanageable.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8l06fLf7cujbKranOZaBYb5FdUqnagJXo_0UXNTrhyphenhyphenNEqTSa3L7g4RZfJ1gQ4Tekzu01UzAFm5W_lEEaBjl5fkm6pJY35MpG4uQB6igH37LXqeQGLsTfou_5ScoF3HMt7cW36S2pKrx9/s1600/20200215_134359.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8l06fLf7cujbKranOZaBYb5FdUqnagJXo_0UXNTrhyphenhyphenNEqTSa3L7g4RZfJ1gQ4Tekzu01UzAFm5W_lEEaBjl5fkm6pJY35MpG4uQB6igH37LXqeQGLsTfou_5ScoF3HMt7cW36S2pKrx9/s320/20200215_134359.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I only covered the lid, because the box itself is completely hidden except for the bottom, which is black.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh897QacLLZ7iPWRGCVsALPrtu8sLcm7kpnY5BioLCyPRhVGrrK3MpIqGEGpz3Z66nNih8Re1eUjehAXsD3vvUuc9jvs6i_8HEOzgExS0cWALLy2_F8Z8lv0ZloWvHGEdSYgw0CtbzAdo_8/s1600/20200215_134405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh897QacLLZ7iPWRGCVsALPrtu8sLcm7kpnY5BioLCyPRhVGrrK3MpIqGEGpz3Z66nNih8Re1eUjehAXsD3vvUuc9jvs6i_8HEOzgExS0cWALLy2_F8Z8lv0ZloWvHGEdSYgw0CtbzAdo_8/s320/20200215_134405.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I put the velour bag inside to both cover up the loose dice and to provide a "landing strip" when I unbox them. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqr9sqO9TZOyM6fjODAmy4xcwhi-bMivCzB44eMUnfp4taFZt0ybtV2M9atGzp6trXLLCk_zKX7lCUMjNxTuUA4sWVKFfQzu2smaQvMD-E_RfkZBCqx7zEjuYRTJ4_8u03H4kWeSTLroK4/s1600/20200215_134414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqr9sqO9TZOyM6fjODAmy4xcwhi-bMivCzB44eMUnfp4taFZt0ybtV2M9atGzp6trXLLCk_zKX7lCUMjNxTuUA4sWVKFfQzu2smaQvMD-E_RfkZBCqx7zEjuYRTJ4_8u03H4kWeSTLroK4/s320/20200215_134414.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Here we go: This box holds one of everything, including the burglar's bundle. I included that stupid gem d12, but for reals, I can't see myself ever using it for anything in a game. This is just to show you it <i>can </i>all fit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT22TRGnIKEsyt-hzP6uN7FPS9sE3MTkqlffqlgQ3XYAR0EjSTs_CCkTdqqIq2iBJi59xgTD0D9yWp9ihYoboMuYN76etc0kYDdiWPEMKUHTkLF6Dl9pA_-btz11AVWNKCBeP7q60qd534/s1600/20200215_134457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT22TRGnIKEsyt-hzP6uN7FPS9sE3MTkqlffqlgQ3XYAR0EjSTs_CCkTdqqIq2iBJi59xgTD0D9yWp9ihYoboMuYN76etc0kYDdiWPEMKUHTkLF6Dl9pA_-btz11AVWNKCBeP7q60qd534/s320/20200215_134457.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
With the bag out, you can put everything on there, to keep it all from rolling hither and thither. A custom piece of cloth might be better: a small foldable dice pad! But I like the bag, personally. It's more roguish.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMLLXxVWZI5FDQsvZ_iqAfz2BjjzCz7RmO8JkIoeBZq2aSnhtJZXBr58J7O9jnWvCwk6IYZsIswiCArmzwad38JyzaYKaUq6lXxgyKaNjfRCjytL2jxOcPvrMxuSKZI4xvBoiOAw8QBYD/s1600/20200215_134521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMLLXxVWZI5FDQsvZ_iqAfz2BjjzCz7RmO8JkIoeBZq2aSnhtJZXBr58J7O9jnWvCwk6IYZsIswiCArmzwad38JyzaYKaUq6lXxgyKaNjfRCjytL2jxOcPvrMxuSKZI4xvBoiOAw8QBYD/s320/20200215_134521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Here's the inside. I did not modify the cradle one bit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtN6KHp58euMunN7l22S8o6GMYqhgVvI-OAGX7jQONLYi9hj7k_jTpNGrXw_5E93u2P04LBYenrbVkxqjQDeDnybC73aJLXhyphenhyphenQHYWWLYh5LjVDvPazV05KwTY_u-NxhsRZb5dyzlhn7Ryb/s1600/20200215_134539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtN6KHp58euMunN7l22S8o6GMYqhgVvI-OAGX7jQONLYi9hj7k_jTpNGrXw_5E93u2P04LBYenrbVkxqjQDeDnybC73aJLXhyphenhyphenQHYWWLYh5LjVDvPazV05KwTY_u-NxhsRZb5dyzlhn7Ryb/s320/20200215_134539.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
When it comes out, everything inside stays in place. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibOKxexgLXY7lor-YlRn52-7ZrknWq6K5UZ70bh1Vtnntjf2dezpWfS0p-IMFMrUyAZMHsIJeyjFrIgwKiXd2Ffero9WWKldVVvyJvhvXdBbKoU8lhFp1e9edgTRdZUUTILncQZjYHMFVX/s1600/20200215_134631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibOKxexgLXY7lor-YlRn52-7ZrknWq6K5UZ70bh1Vtnntjf2dezpWfS0p-IMFMrUyAZMHsIJeyjFrIgwKiXd2Ffero9WWKldVVvyJvhvXdBbKoU8lhFp1e9edgTRdZUUTILncQZjYHMFVX/s320/20200215_134631.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Here's the insert. As it came, there was a lot of extra folded cardstock, and it was longer. I trimmed off all unnecessary parts, and then meticulously trimmed it down until it fit alongside the plastic cradle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwLJlcTORsUfopcMXtdABNBMbBj9qgltTgNv8xDPsnNCuNKUHWxcqz5jA9lPABQPrqhKicuufRTjlMbaWGr8fv-NFd8rHDnPHp5hQjHZ3h2NCr9wEdpq9FQK3nb49CYSiBFszsoaMdciu/s1600/20200215_134651.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwLJlcTORsUfopcMXtdABNBMbBj9qgltTgNv8xDPsnNCuNKUHWxcqz5jA9lPABQPrqhKicuufRTjlMbaWGr8fv-NFd8rHDnPHp5hQjHZ3h2NCr9wEdpq9FQK3nb49CYSiBFszsoaMdciu/s320/20200215_134651.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
As you can see, I didn't do anything else to the box: I just removed what I didn't need.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMyM-BKDIxYqdouJQ1KrafkAlNPtRfKcukRkTMrlUVFTZ_njyL-CWkuA3Xce2E-y2vAg2_7gSMImh0jgLZOKLtspuL6IIubHm7Y9lsSgtln0cagYva4TBUvmLv9yTkvNS2-ixNOkWELHbf/s1600/20200215_134811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMyM-BKDIxYqdouJQ1KrafkAlNPtRfKcukRkTMrlUVFTZ_njyL-CWkuA3Xce2E-y2vAg2_7gSMImh0jgLZOKLtspuL6IIubHm7Y9lsSgtln0cagYva4TBUvmLv9yTkvNS2-ixNOkWELHbf/s320/20200215_134811.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The paper wrap may need reinforcing on the corners. I glued it firmly down, but a coat of Mod Podge would really seal it. Or I may just use tape. My options are limitless, here.<br />
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The best thing about this project is that, in addition to being super useful, it upcycles something that I hate throwing away; especially those cardboard boxes, as they are very nice and sturdy. You've probably got one laying around, and if you don't, I am willing to bet the local cell phone dealer has empties they would be happy to give you.<br /><br />Now, you can take your dice to the game and not worry about breaking your lockpick at a crucial moment!<br />
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<br />Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-1726046215270781832020-02-13T16:35:00.002-08:002020-02-13T17:18:42.769-08:00And Now For Something Completely Different<br />
Cathy and I have been watching a lot of The Office, lately. A LOT. As in, probably too much. This is by design, as we frequently don't have the emotional reserves to watch anything heavy. And we love the show, very much. But it got us thinking...<br />
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Could you make a drinking game out of it?<br />
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Yes, you can, and yes, we did.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9g0WceGihZNALuYCMbpM-sRs4JXcAtoDQrwwjH0k8w8IlE6R1EdX1d99H7FF9LdGXHqw6ke2Qf4FWJ2Rfui6v5HYGoQLjVGQN7OSPer1zW0hwh6bXbOOI5cDCilUWZ7nFTnc97Y7ECqb/s1600/2013-03-office-cast-main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="1104" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9g0WceGihZNALuYCMbpM-sRs4JXcAtoDQrwwjH0k8w8IlE6R1EdX1d99H7FF9LdGXHqw6ke2Qf4FWJ2Rfui6v5HYGoQLjVGQN7OSPer1zW0hwh6bXbOOI5cDCilUWZ7nFTnc97Y7ECqb/s640/2013-03-office-cast-main.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's great, too, not to put too fine a point on it. <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=15_E6Mym86-HEvfmA1DSN2Ci4iuf36cFQ">Here's the game, right here.</a> Simply download the pdf and print it out on paper (double sided if you want) and fold it in half (on cardstock if you want) and then call up a few friends and you are good to go!<br />
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This game is fun because you get to use dice, and also, if you don't drink, you can still score each episode on what we feel is a really comprehensive and robust index of maximum Office-ness. Or you can get snockered and fall asleep on the couch like a lush. Your call.<br />
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But you better hurry: it leaves Netflix at the end of the year. Binge early, binge often. On the show, not the booze. Watch the show manically, but drink responsibly.Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-83410087661357401202020-02-09T11:03:00.000-08:002020-02-09T11:03:46.169-08:00Monty Haul Design Notes: Alchemy, Herbalism, and Poison<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDfWe6A0zEfpjfWwH7B-5pYPPJOWGsG2vhv3B_uOWKyWj4pLrQLdJs_EfEExjUn_Qf766KTmHPptfdm_nmV9V7WuRQK4AO5knb2MkoxKqP5eClBvCdxAxNIGI7JTyjShhxCyyXc9ZXIVmo/s1600/Alchemist+Heating+a+pot+by+David+Teniers+pd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1050" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDfWe6A0zEfpjfWwH7B-5pYPPJOWGsG2vhv3B_uOWKyWj4pLrQLdJs_EfEExjUn_Qf766KTmHPptfdm_nmV9V7WuRQK4AO5knb2MkoxKqP5eClBvCdxAxNIGI7JTyjShhxCyyXc9ZXIVmo/s640/Alchemist+Heating+a+pot+by+David+Teniers+pd.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of David Teniers; many paintings of medieval alchemists</i></td></tr>
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I'm going to put a quick PDF doc here (because I like how it's formatted, and blogger will just make it look ugly, see) about what my thinking process was that led me to write new rules for alchemy in 5th edition. I wrote it originally for this blog, and so it's in my conversational style. I did this for a few reasons:<br /><br />
1. for those of you who don't know me, here's a pretty good snapshot of how I write, and also, how I approach game design.<br />
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2. Alchemists and Apothecaries are going to be one of the feature pieces in Monty Haul #1, and here's a bit of a preview.<br />
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3. The pdf is easier to distribute as a formatted object and it lets you download it now and read it later. Well, I do that; I don't know if anyone else does. But that's how I think, so, there you have it.<br /><br />Here's the PDF link from my Google Drive: <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=1skHW9_SR_BlHur83t2dGdwUjKRqj-w2a">Design Note on Alchemy</a><br />
Feel free to snag it and check it out at your leisure; it's a quick read. And if you are so moved to <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markfinn/monty-haul-fifth-edition-zine-with-an-old-school-vibe">back my 'zine, </a><b><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markfinn/monty-haul-fifth-edition-zine-with-an-old-school-vibe">Monty Haul</a>,</b> that would be great, too! It's already funded and right now I am flogging for stretch goals.Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-32651917650809509342020-02-07T17:10:00.001-08:002020-02-07T17:10:36.362-08:00Running a Kickstarter is Hard WorkI now know what a helicopter parent feels like. I've been hovering over my computer, hitting the refresh wheel so much it's now just perpetually spinning like the top from <i>Inception</i>.<br />
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But there's a reason for the hovering: people expect updates, and things move pretty fast. It's not really scary, but it's certainly daunting. Oh, and there are questions to answer, as well. But it's all for a good cause, because...Monty Haul is a go!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir5Hw96-Q8MM-ryJBpxjD_BXCHwyOvgmtJCfwfPDJpQalZByg99aNWhxjd36ar99o-XoNo0AVKM4LxvSrXMEnnTCee9bsWv54UbOmAqyK66c8l3uAuw0065TLyIKLlbwfN8uF6ARc64uGn/s1600/cover+page+art+020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir5Hw96-Q8MM-ryJBpxjD_BXCHwyOvgmtJCfwfPDJpQalZByg99aNWhxjd36ar99o-XoNo0AVKM4LxvSrXMEnnTCee9bsWv54UbOmAqyK66c8l3uAuw0065TLyIKLlbwfN8uF6ARc64uGn/s640/cover+page+art+020.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markfinn/monty-haul-fifth-edition-zine-with-an-old-school-vibe?ref=40qvp6">Go check out the campaign now.</a> The updates are public, so you can read them all if you like. I got nothing to hide. If you like what you see, please consider throwing some ducats my way. I think this is going to be a really cool project, something that fellow DMs and D&D players will really like and actually use.<br /><br />I'm going to try and put some Kickstarter-related campaign essays on here to maybe drive a little traffic to and from both sites. If any of this is of interest to you, please share it. Some of you have already done so, and I really appreciate the support.<br />
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If this continues apace, there is a good chance that all four issues will fund. If that happens, I have some plans involving future issues, and also making the 'zine more of a shared community space. No sense in putting the cart before the horse. I really hope we get the horse, though.<br />
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<br />Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-79914179834605229742020-02-05T04:08:00.003-08:002020-02-05T04:11:49.285-08:00Kickstarter is Live!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhusc1Aq6ipdjgCq334GC9Dbyyfyi0lSgPrPJSty-C70h8XkrPmJm7ilxVhBgIL81RVI1RDelKx8pHOdGXXOKLNkQrUX_Y-x_1T505vM7sTMsJ-XKfbssI6qwP1XTF-Jh8e1UbRtfijibz8/s1600/KS+main+graphic+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhusc1Aq6ipdjgCq334GC9Dbyyfyi0lSgPrPJSty-C70h8XkrPmJm7ilxVhBgIL81RVI1RDelKx8pHOdGXXOKLNkQrUX_Y-x_1T505vM7sTMsJ-XKfbssI6qwP1XTF-Jh8e1UbRtfijibz8/s640/KS+main+graphic+005.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
And despite a rookie mistake at the beginning (which not a lot of people saw since it was the middle of the night), we have pledges, too! If you'd like in on the action, you've got two weeks, starting today: <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markfinn/monty-haul-fifth-edition-zine-with-an-old-school-vibe">https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markfinn/monty-haul-fifth-edition-zine-with-an-old-school-vibe</a>Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-84760668521113428512020-02-04T08:40:00.000-08:002020-02-04T09:11:04.310-08:00The Kickstarter is Nigh!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7Pfhk9rzXkrwIm35-Lp15uOgaFta1Rkae7xym3jPm5lGR7IqVRP1tz9n03rhNSB6pv2Xis8DB0PaQdwppR3l41gPR8C-vU-eCCRVKlko9SJGoHIjcIibwGv21AsLZ7wzujuaOeOIpxgK/s1600/cover+page+art+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7Pfhk9rzXkrwIm35-Lp15uOgaFta1Rkae7xym3jPm5lGR7IqVRP1tz9n03rhNSB6pv2Xis8DB0PaQdwppR3l41gPR8C-vU-eCCRVKlko9SJGoHIjcIibwGv21AsLZ7wzujuaOeOIpxgK/s640/cover+page+art+010.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I love using "nigh" in a sentence, don't you?<br />
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Hey, just in case you missed the first notification, here's another one for you: the Kickstarter for Monty Haul, an old-fashioned RPG 'zine for 5e, starts on Wednesday, but YOU can get notified when it drops so as to not miss out. All you gotta do is follow the link below and throw your email into the gaping maw of the Kickstarter beast.<br />
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<a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markfinn/monty-haul-fifth-edition-zine-with-an-old-school-vibe">http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markfinn/monty-haul-fifth-edition-zine-with-an-old-school-vibe</a><br />
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I will post major updates here, but if you want to stay tied into what's up with the KS, please back the project (even if it's just for a buck) and you can follow along with the updates I will be (hopefully) posting regularly in the next couple of weeks.<br />
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Thanks, oh my gentle readers. I'll see you on the other side.<br />
<br />Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-16991481505682253112020-01-30T17:05:00.001-08:002020-01-30T17:05:39.975-08:00Dice Delve: Rogue Dice by PolyHero<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDBm-K8CFMg05MMn0FWsnDF7j_2ovOwp_e2YzOM4_4QEOaQ_arUzri50f5sy7NjsSnSX3cfq4ruDrCbGfNiO0DkeuojzmhoIphsIfQ9wGuSVsaAXf3wXFURVWMcNXQKzHAxCssu9IxtkM/s1600/RD02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDBm-K8CFMg05MMn0FWsnDF7j_2ovOwp_e2YzOM4_4QEOaQ_arUzri50f5sy7NjsSnSX3cfq4ruDrCbGfNiO0DkeuojzmhoIphsIfQ9wGuSVsaAXf3wXFURVWMcNXQKzHAxCssu9IxtkM/s200/RD02.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I just got an overstuffed and slightly damp plastic envelope of dice, all the way from China, in the mail that I've been waiting on for a good long while, now: Rogue Dice, Polyhero's latest release, is finally here. I backed this Kickstarter her a while back...<i>two years</i>, nearly...I did it mostly on the strength of one of their dice, which would be a Kickstarter-Only Exclusive. Crom Give Me Strength. More on that later.<br /><br />Anyway, they are here, now. And so because in my previous review of their Wizard Dice, <a href="http://rpgconfessions.blogspot.com/2018/09/dice-delve-power-of-theme.html" target="_blank">I kinda brushed them off,</a> what follows will surely be my longest and most extensive review to date, with a ton of pictures. Are you ready? Let's get into it, then.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqxH1H4nj2wJZE8D9QX8pQnpftY8lFF3ouCNQRI19zTB8-WkHLFQ6rrKTNNpyCgGm1QZ0LMRC7CU0fV8-aYV7mw_kOl-3KU659UTnqPvekzY16dOgSoe1pBEkgseDcAelaHxC6mQm5xhK/s1600/RD24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaqxH1H4nj2wJZE8D9QX8pQnpftY8lFF3ouCNQRI19zTB8-WkHLFQ6rrKTNNpyCgGm1QZ0LMRC7CU0fV8-aYV7mw_kOl-3KU659UTnqPvekzY16dOgSoe1pBEkgseDcAelaHxC6mQm5xhK/s200/RD24.jpg" width="200" /></a>Rogue Dice by PolyHero<br />
<b>SCORE: 4/5</b><br />
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Clarity...Sorta<br />
Heft...Yes<br />Color...Yes<br />
Theme...Yes<br />
Value...Sorta<br />
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These wonderfully sculpted objects purport to be dice, and they are the third such set that PolyHero has produced (after the Warrior Dice and the Wizard Dice). It's certain that Cleric Dice are next, since they have already shown some mock-ups of what they would look like. Conceptually, it's a wonderful idea: multi-sided "dice" that are shaped to thematically align with the four big D&D classes. Each set is different, with original sculpts that are unique to the set and the theme.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3RKMVRfnvpCNrmOnwEqc4Epha3P3DDhZRnTKjst5aRbkZ3gBiQOX1GSVzd_WMbT19M63v9w-xCDKWTBc6wO_qLIYtfOEEL2Az-lv5TOkwqLwYlYmEsJIPjmrQjCGj5nwSxm8V2-sExtZM/s1600/RD04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3RKMVRfnvpCNrmOnwEqc4Epha3P3DDhZRnTKjst5aRbkZ3gBiQOX1GSVzd_WMbT19M63v9w-xCDKWTBc6wO_qLIYtfOEEL2Az-lv5TOkwqLwYlYmEsJIPjmrQjCGj5nwSxm8V2-sExtZM/s200/RD04.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
These sets are Kickstarted, because of the immense start-up costs of sculpts and molds and international shipping and so on and so forth. I get it: a lot of work goes into these little boogers. And as with any good KS crowd funding campaign, you get access to a bunch of extras that unlock and allow you to throw even more money at these people, because that's who we are and how we roll in the twenty-first century.<br />
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This is the whole set, including the Burglar's Bundle and the d20 Lock and Pick. You can click these pics to enlarge them.<br />
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I'm going to go through the whole set, Die by Die, and talk about what I like and don't like about it. I think this is useful because these things are so unique and whether or not they work as dice, a lot of artistry and effort went into their manufacture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhP1jpU5gTGj-GvO0yeHzEDWWF0fj8YzVj6pFB_WE89MvuDtt7h3blbw0euV8PZNFsczKBUxIKXvZMnfvo2vBvbJ-NpSCNSI4nfexjwST0Qkhb_JKfCt_LGsa2vPQHf8FdoMpbkZJab4l3/s1600/RD05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhP1jpU5gTGj-GvO0yeHzEDWWF0fj8YzVj6pFB_WE89MvuDtt7h3blbw0euV8PZNFsczKBUxIKXvZMnfvo2vBvbJ-NpSCNSI4nfexjwST0Qkhb_JKfCt_LGsa2vPQHf8FdoMpbkZJab4l3/s200/RD05.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Here are the most fiddly of the bunch, the d4 (dagger), the d6 (poison bottle) and the d8 (crossbow bolt). As sculpts go, they are nice. They look enough like what they are supposed to be that you don't have to imagine anything. But check out the dagger on the right. I turned the Y...I mean, the G...I mean, the 9...sorry, the 4 so it was facing up. I really wish there was a little less pizzazz on the numbers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAo9IMkQG38qYFMRaoLewaMj61sXl0eZMtWnAhkPKmFQnBf2GA8y0R6EH0wuq8OPqGOFUGpk33NUs-wvIYZHXVbw9ZQfanUQcZ2PGibHlDcof6HXFW1-YFZ6c03bhh_780T077YGfjnmH/s1600/RD06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAo9IMkQG38qYFMRaoLewaMj61sXl0eZMtWnAhkPKmFQnBf2GA8y0R6EH0wuq8OPqGOFUGpk33NUs-wvIYZHXVbw9ZQfanUQcZ2PGibHlDcof6HXFW1-YFZ6c03bhh_780T077YGfjnmH/s200/RD06.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
This d8 is hard to roll. You have to just drop it, maybe adding a little back spin, to get it to randomize. And you have to look straight down at the number to see what you rolled.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCtlfYCKHlOBJiPYcwZL3wqco6LdHToiYqeN1FqDL7L-FQwwHNe2Y3bJhMqgLevjMsa3P_ymaTJcgN5p4kG0KlfaXwcnPP3zpr6FF25qseZFf5mv7_EtIwfbMvLoJA3wartr7XxkPtaKJT/s1600/RD07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCtlfYCKHlOBJiPYcwZL3wqco6LdHToiYqeN1FqDL7L-FQwwHNe2Y3bJhMqgLevjMsa3P_ymaTJcgN5p4kG0KlfaXwcnPP3zpr6FF25qseZFf5mv7_EtIwfbMvLoJA3wartr7XxkPtaKJT/s200/RD07.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
This d6 rolls better than the d8, but it's still lightweight and requires a bit of English to get it to spin enough that you don't feel like you're just setting it down on the number you want. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGPDNdIed1mV3WkE-WLtwGg8BS6PLMh5Clvb4xxhK2ADVkDHN7UGBV1d0cHr7m2M-8nKiJiF_dyb2__S4XE2Oqd4dpgFo9_pN73LzUAe3htTdEb5X-zJNCx5rWadNZJx8I_2QROXHDa8y/s1600/RD08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGPDNdIed1mV3WkE-WLtwGg8BS6PLMh5Clvb4xxhK2ADVkDHN7UGBV1d0cHr7m2M-8nKiJiF_dyb2__S4XE2Oqd4dpgFo9_pN73LzUAe3htTdEb5X-zJNCx5rWadNZJx8I_2QROXHDa8y/s200/RD08.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
The d4 is just like the other two. Also, there's a strange skew to the shape of the die. It's not a stretched out pyramid, like you'd think. It's slightly flattened to give it more of a dagger shape. This doesn't seem to affect the rolling ability; in fact, it appears to be well balanced, but it gave me pause when I first felt it.<br /><br />All of the above dice are very much like the other PolyHero dice in this respect.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8pdA1UKaKjiNjAX-Irc31pRNNB056n41dHTzyYTJ-uv2lQV6A9nHBV-aH74vXcBsEzL0k1WHyL2FVsTvTnINSA1M9z8-upbdqvROlD27C36ac0FjQrUZ9w9pXt0aZi5HuAwRWbMEDHqOJ/s1600/RD11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8pdA1UKaKjiNjAX-Irc31pRNNB056n41dHTzyYTJ-uv2lQV6A9nHBV-aH74vXcBsEzL0k1WHyL2FVsTvTnINSA1M9z8-upbdqvROlD27C36ac0FjQrUZ9w9pXt0aZi5HuAwRWbMEDHqOJ/s200/RD11.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
These chunky monkeys are the d10 dice, and they are supposed to represent a loot sack and a gunpowder pouch. The bag with the dot under the numbers is the 10s d10, so you can glance down and see what you rolled. But I also like that these sacks are different enough in shape and size that I don't have to do that. These dice DO roll, however. Again, if you have a tray, you should use it. And also be prepared for them to sometimes stop halfway between two numbers.<br />
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I do think this design is an improvement over the percentile dice for the Wizard Dice set.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yokGJ9uZAbwNWbJygvOfWZ2ikuA6lWl_q1JlPhuH0MTn3wQGlRCuV0mfKy6SQThvSKSg5tG9OpK7476EkfQdUx2I8SKMZenWSbn4nzwIk3izkC3hpygsQpx-mtQgsOS_2GhYK3BGciPl/s1600/RD13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yokGJ9uZAbwNWbJygvOfWZ2ikuA6lWl_q1JlPhuH0MTn3wQGlRCuV0mfKy6SQThvSKSg5tG9OpK7476EkfQdUx2I8SKMZenWSbn4nzwIk3izkC3hpygsQpx-mtQgsOS_2GhYK3BGciPl/s200/RD13.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
This gem is the d12. Ugh. I have the same problem with this d12 that I did with the pointy Wizard Hat d20 last time: this rolls around and around and stops facing away from you, forcing you to hold the number steady with your finger and slide it around. I'm still not sure if I'm supposed to look at the top number or the number that is flush with the table. No idea. This shape is such a bad idea for dice used in a game. You have to train yourself to re-roll this thing a very certain way. On the other hand, it IS the d12, so how often is your rogue going to need it?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiErObXQglC4MD73kKz9Yoog_60ChWZHSOwwli_OUzBfR9rbTKfHJQtJbY7fLe9TXm8GBQilhb6JDNZmS-t92u-pm4Idn6Ba9mXTUG7i47DR14pC_UzjOG5zkgLmbL7G42ziAMLW2Daz-/s1600/RD14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiErObXQglC4MD73kKz9Yoog_60ChWZHSOwwli_OUzBfR9rbTKfHJQtJbY7fLe9TXm8GBQilhb6JDNZmS-t92u-pm4Idn6Ba9mXTUG7i47DR14pC_UzjOG5zkgLmbL7G42ziAMLW2Daz-/s200/RD14.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Here's the goods, right here: this is a powder keg d20. And it's a monster. If you're playing D&D or any iteration thereof, this is the die you're going to need most frequently. As such, it's really the stand-out of the set.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7g-grHbdnxSqifu4xGgTMHdV9rW9kzk6Fchqx87Qvxe_gmnnnVgg-HsCNN02ESYlQMAcdp9zW3hzzvwZdLNULH1DvsjFqPEdkxZVpzZ6AsiyCXJUZUZNTrSFVfHyZAKb9_xbFp4GH_2UE/s1600/RD15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7g-grHbdnxSqifu4xGgTMHdV9rW9kzk6Fchqx87Qvxe_gmnnnVgg-HsCNN02ESYlQMAcdp9zW3hzzvwZdLNULH1DvsjFqPEdkxZVpzZ6AsiyCXJUZUZNTrSFVfHyZAKb9_xbFp4GH_2UE/s200/RD15.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
This cylinder shape has been used before, so it's not ground breaking, but it may be table-breaking if you're not careful. This thing hits the table with a *thunk!* Heavy. It rolls wonky like all of the other dice, and sometimes comes up cocked (and one time, it hit the side wall of my dice tray and stood upright), but the heft and feel is so great that it's almost worth all of that to have them in play.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbqdCM4A_UGakOXooNet_KizsVyqtgJAcjC-e8xBZvVpZuD0Fra7i6QIXHhxMREfmjrPHRFrbG9Gpdj_dtsC5iu7N1R2klmSHGe7i8u049s0zQ-JAuzeLjieNwr4rPW0lrQqsNam2pWe-4/s1600/RD16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbqdCM4A_UGakOXooNet_KizsVyqtgJAcjC-e8xBZvVpZuD0Fra7i6QIXHhxMREfmjrPHRFrbG9Gpdj_dtsC5iu7N1R2klmSHGe7i8u049s0zQ-JAuzeLjieNwr4rPW0lrQqsNam2pWe-4/s200/RD16.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Kickstarter bonus number one: The aforementioned Burglar's Bundle, a d2 (skeleton key), a d3 (grappling hook) and a d4 (coil of rope) that would only be available for pre-orders. I gotta tell you, I was pretty jazzed about this set, even though the odds of me needing a d2 or a d3 are slim and none. It was the d4 coil of rope (in a rope color, no less) that made me buy three of these packs. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinY7SWQPogbrbxDmZgBgp15hSXHnM-lPbnzO6zyqBWbkrhT72hpZK2QpZ_M0R7dh3Rx1LGsDsNKlL25d4ZtMpGW8no26MdTqP6vhTjtNVN303AZ5rQv0fTUVVr22sk1YyANA9RL7-qrI4T/s1600/RD17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinY7SWQPogbrbxDmZgBgp15hSXHnM-lPbnzO6zyqBWbkrhT72hpZK2QpZ_M0R7dh3Rx1LGsDsNKlL25d4ZtMpGW8no26MdTqP6vhTjtNVN303AZ5rQv0fTUVVr22sk1YyANA9RL7-qrI4T/s200/RD17.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Again, none of these roll. They flip. They skitter. They spin as they fall to the table. But if I'm playing a rogue in a game, I want these at the table for no other reason than the immersion they offer. A rope and grappling hook...as DICE? Come on!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIv-mYfvwVJAVcTkKQB7-lXnurvfoM73QRAF9NSGAIoSVisJkp0zuaQ6q817BlClwhyiwgBYePbYvq5eE9OiDpiL-Qhw5h0KoFuxOlEwDGKE6Ufsiyc505Su5R5y_GrTg2neg_XdUkk4Z_/s1600/RD18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIv-mYfvwVJAVcTkKQB7-lXnurvfoM73QRAF9NSGAIoSVisJkp0zuaQ6q817BlClwhyiwgBYePbYvq5eE9OiDpiL-Qhw5h0KoFuxOlEwDGKE6Ufsiyc505Su5R5y_GrTg2neg_XdUkk4Z_/s200/RD18.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
This, however, is what made me pledge the Kickstarter. This is the Lock and Pick d20, and it's the single greatest thing PolyHero has come up with, period. Look at that. It's a lock, with a pick sticking out of it! Yeah!<br /><br />But wait...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfmVI8_BG783YDrUWnWNSyEoHxrJh5hOl7Oaeo90DGU7ZcdK2Zjmezp28zAhgpPOfvWoyyRk2sAy2GMORMo8yChh-SepmMyltPsnohzFZA4v_OYVf6oVHDemzCOLIBuvg4SpEvGZrDDCsR/s1600/RD19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfmVI8_BG783YDrUWnWNSyEoHxrJh5hOl7Oaeo90DGU7ZcdK2Zjmezp28zAhgpPOfvWoyyRk2sAy2GMORMo8yChh-SepmMyltPsnohzFZA4v_OYVf6oVHDemzCOLIBuvg4SpEvGZrDDCsR/s200/RD19.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
This is what it really looks like. It's a spinning wheel with a lock cover on top of it. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyDAkJYe_UN2PVd31rin-jIRGJEqPd41nvPw5HCX58GrJxDCq50AgOWzLBBd280l-SAvWc5X4LiVV7IumNMnJekx6PyOAlPP0R_vXd2JCGNkxllsIGMYUxLEER4R7nKTAwO7REO4K7cI2Y/s1600/RD20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyDAkJYe_UN2PVd31rin-jIRGJEqPd41nvPw5HCX58GrJxDCq50AgOWzLBBd280l-SAvWc5X4LiVV7IumNMnJekx6PyOAlPP0R_vXd2JCGNkxllsIGMYUxLEER4R7nKTAwO7REO4K7cI2Y/s200/RD20.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
To use this in a game, you slide the cover on top of the pick.<br />
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Make sure that the lock is flush with the table and the wheel underneath moves freely.<br />
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Then you grab the pick and give it a spin.<br />
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Can you see? The top part of the keyhole is round. That's what is causing the pick to spin.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQRMYssHto_oeY5BDF97DfhUqnA3vQAst8AEoawAgRnUOEbHYDDmU87aHUw114w09AYMzpAc877eyHWZt611amS-KXIFOAx1w6_xlLMqJ0UT2yHAGC_uwKHWKl4zvBQUfzuW_rjtM7LpPE/s1600/RD23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQRMYssHto_oeY5BDF97DfhUqnA3vQAst8AEoawAgRnUOEbHYDDmU87aHUw114w09AYMzpAc877eyHWZt611amS-KXIFOAx1w6_xlLMqJ0UT2yHAGC_uwKHWKl4zvBQUfzuW_rjtM7LpPE/s200/RD23.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
When you're ready to see if you found any traps (or disarmed them), lightly touch the end of the pick and pull it down into the square portion of the keyhole.<br /><br />The dial underneath stops spinning and pops the number up into the hole for you to read. A nineteen! Boom! Take that, Grimtooth!<br />
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You can see how this is the greatest thing ever, right? For a rogue? I would be walking through the world, actively looking for locks to pick and traps to disarm.<br />
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The lock and pick d20s were not available in the fancy colors, so I got one copper and one iron. I also switched the picks, like in this photo, for greater contrast. Because that's how I roll...er, I mean, spin.<br />
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I ended up with two sets: nightshade with gold, and midnight blue with silver. Both ink options on the dice were a nice contrast. And while I don't really like these dice as dice, I really love them as totems for a character or a particular type of adventure.<br />
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They do present a storage challenge, especially the Lock and Pick d20s; you can't throw them in a bag or you'll snap the pick. I have saved the plastic cradle these dice come in, and I'm eyeing a box option where I can glue the plastic in and use it as a permanent holder when I'm not obsessively spinning the pick at the table and irritating the other players.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXmtPwvf5JnFjDGMFwb0tRIvG5ad_lZyaitq8NrEBREzQEm_rDgVz26leEtaXb2wJzfyckhSVGS4XdsfOpYa9Kgyyf7z2zXycw5ZWD6fTWlB_fmaWz77FC_xBbQbBp_A05yY-RhaHZmTw/s1600/Dice+Delve+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXmtPwvf5JnFjDGMFwb0tRIvG5ad_lZyaitq8NrEBREzQEm_rDgVz26leEtaXb2wJzfyckhSVGS4XdsfOpYa9Kgyyf7z2zXycw5ZWD6fTWlB_fmaWz77FC_xBbQbBp_A05yY-RhaHZmTw/s200/Dice+Delve+01.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>The Good</b>: Each new set PolyHero makes is better designed than the last and these are the best yet.<br />
<b>The Bad</b>: There is still some usability concerns with some of the more common dice.<br /><b>The Ugly:</b> manufacturing time is way, way long, especially considering that these are molded plastic, which is the number one thing that China does at the moment. PolyHero was very transparent about the process and sent out regular updates, but that's still a long time from start to finish.<br /><br />My recommendation is, if you like what you see, and have no illusions about "dice balance," then form outweighs function and you will be the envy of the table at your next session. Practice rolling these things ahead of time, especially the d20s; you are responsible for your own dice management in the heat of battle.Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-14076087860660171382020-01-30T07:00:00.000-08:002020-01-30T15:28:45.744-08:00Introducing my 'Zine Quest 2 Project: Monty Haul! Last year, Kickstarter surprised everyone with a cool little event called Zine Quest, a celebration of the early days of Role-Playing Games and the 'zines that jump-started (and for a while, sustained) the hobby.<br />
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Their intention was simple: don't think, just do. Make a 'zine, old school, with folding and stapling and drawing and paste-up and so forth. Take two weeks to raise money for it. Then print it and move on to the next issue, or whatever your jam is.<br />
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It was very cool, and it produced some really interesting projects. <a href="https://medium.com/kickstarter/the-quest-continues-a-look-back-and-ahead-at-zine-quest-b4341034f280" target="_blank">I'm not the only one who thought so, either</a>. In a stunning move that surprised absolutely no one, they are doing it again. And this time, I'm doing a 'Zine of my own. <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markfinn/monty-haul-fifth-edition-zine-with-an-old-school-vibe" target="_blank">Meet Monty.</a><br />
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Ever since I got back into Dungeons & Dragons, I've been both strip-mining my old campaigns and creating a lot of new content to slot into my current fifth edition game. For every single thing that has hit the table, there's a stack of stuff that hasn't. Monty Hall will be that crucible where I hammer these new ideas into shape, or better still, publish the stuff that I know works so that you can use it in your game.<br />
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Not surprisingly, a lot of my stuff is tethered creatively to the sword and sorcery glut of the 1980s, as well as being informed by all of the fantasy I was reading at the time, a mix of classic Appendix N stuff and new books that were being published (although many of those left me cold, for they were merely clones of Howard and Tolkien and quite mediocre, at that). There were also those wonderful, terrible movies, too. So my aesthetic lies somewhere between Robert E. Howard and Fritz Lieber, with a good dollop of Michael Moorcock and Jack Vance in the middle. So, my 'zine will be flavored, very much in the style of, vintage 1980s gaming materials. I'm a first generation gamer, and that stuff is still a potent influence on my thoroughly modern, fifth edition D&D game.<br />
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The campaign starts next week. If you like it, please consider backing it, particularly if you enjoyed the content I published here during the <a href="http://rpgconfessions.blogspot.com/2019/09/rpg-day-2019-post-mortem.html" target="_blank">30 Day RPG challenge</a>. Of course, you are welcome and encouraged to share it with anyone you think will dig what I'm doing. If you want to sign up and be notified when the campaign launches, just follow this link: <a class="ksr-green-500" data-test-id="project-link" href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markfinn/monty-haul-fifth-edition-zine-with-an-old-school-vibe" style="border: 0px; color: #009e74; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markfinn/monty-haul-fifth-edition-zine-with-an-old-school-vibe</a><br />
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That's all for now. I'm looking forward to this.Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-63084420110807431892020-01-07T18:27:00.001-08:002020-01-08T06:52:34.054-08:00D&D: Your Dice Will be the Death of MeIn anticipation of the newest hardcover book to drop out of the Official Hopper, the rocket surgeons over at Hasbro have let us in on the newest Official Dice Set that is dropping alongside of the book. Here is a picture of that product.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOiWi6975Sdw-ctVQye1LALOsFFIkEtQR4g9P_qNAeSvWJqZRfv482nJUwXpBWJ1z3845T6gFFLTT-_GQt3iilekX1E43jmVW61nJoptO7EkIq6jegK4fzIkjvY1LhE6B1WKjoHIaIkbyH/s1600/New+D%2526D+dice+set.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1499" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOiWi6975Sdw-ctVQye1LALOsFFIkEtQR4g9P_qNAeSvWJqZRfv482nJUwXpBWJ1z3845T6gFFLTT-_GQt3iilekX1E43jmVW61nJoptO7EkIq6jegK4fzIkjvY1LhE6B1WKjoHIaIkbyH/s200/New+D%2526D+dice+set.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
It's nice, right? Good packaging, and clearly based on the last set to come out, which was the Avernus dice for last year's book. Red dice, for devils, and with a felt-lined box and with some bonus cards or a map or some other damn thing that no one cares about. But, whatever. This is fine, right?<br />
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So, why do I want to <i>Thunderwave </i>whoever is in charge of their dice program?<br />
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Let's back up a bit. Strap in. This is a dice rant.<br />
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I bought a Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition Starter box back around 2013, with the intention of playing with my niece. This set came with some dice, which was, you know, sorta expected. It came with these dice, right here.<br />
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These...six dice.<br />
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That's probably the first thing to jump out at you, and you'd be right. Shouldn't there be seven dice?<br />
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Yes. Yes, there should.<br />
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Then I noticed something else...something odd about the one ten-sided die they included. It was numbered 1 to 10, as opposed to 0 to 9.<br />
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At the time, I honestly thought this was a snafu. I mean, how could you be so stupid? I thought I'd gotten a bag pack of dice, but I didn't say anything about it, because I already had a shit-ton of dice and could have cared less. No worries.<br />
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Then fifth edition came out, and it was becoming clear that I would need the starter set for that, since it was going to be a fairly radical do-over. Also, other people in my life were expressing an interest in learning and I thought, "why not?" So I bought the Starter Set. This is the one you can still buy, is still available, and as far as I can tell, has the same dice. These dice, right here.<br />
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These...six dice.<br />
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Granted, they did manage to include a proper d10 and not a World of Darkness Storytelling d10, but come on! There's percentile dice rolls all throughout fifth edition! Why would you do that? Who hurt you as a child by throwing tens d10s at you?<br />
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To this very day, it makes no sense to me to include an incomplete set of dice in the game that you are using to hook new players.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiihEM3oRrSmzbUzRaIgZ6c30a-K_v0eV-mTFVbfrJz8j2u6EWzOgVsFYWdDBkMUKd5jON9ApQI1tMxyeMOSL0vlo36mnN-MXerakYbySBpL_z3ugCDyqcw9mSYLcZtpOvxhp-GRfxz_MId/s1600/D%2526D+Tomb+of+horror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiihEM3oRrSmzbUzRaIgZ6c30a-K_v0eV-mTFVbfrJz8j2u6EWzOgVsFYWdDBkMUKd5jON9ApQI1tMxyeMOSL0vlo36mnN-MXerakYbySBpL_z3ugCDyqcw9mSYLcZtpOvxhp-GRfxz_MId/s200/D%2526D+Tomb+of+horror.jpg" width="200" /></a>But no matter! Pish Posh on your dice concerns, good sir! Fifth edition came out and promptly sprang back into prominence in a way that, I feel, is unprecedented in this day and age. A forty year old property satisfying multiple generations of fans with a mixture of nostalgia and innovation? Such a thing has not existed before and I suspect will not again. Truly lightning in a bottle.<br />
<br />
In fact, things were going so well that they didn't try to do another dice set until 2017, as an accessory to the reworked Tomb of Horrors/Annihilation. This set of dice was interesting in that it was the first ever D&D dice set to include four d6 dice! I know! 2017! Why did it take them that long? Who the hell knows.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMKWdS_qgcarC_cQPWdFl9BAulbQPpOboSh76Wu6Ywtk-pRvdmyLzO1HKYOWsQ4RsLs2aV-uViKM2R06WijwEzN69FoMB5ePWp769L-Ot93oU3WDavsYxKtB-h3CZkMm1fSRWDM422tx98/s1600/ToA+dice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMKWdS_qgcarC_cQPWdFl9BAulbQPpOboSh76Wu6Ywtk-pRvdmyLzO1HKYOWsQ4RsLs2aV-uViKM2R06WijwEzN69FoMB5ePWp769L-Ot93oU3WDavsYxKtB-h3CZkMm1fSRWDM422tx98/s200/ToA+dice.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
These dice were nice. They were a matte finish olive green, really unusual in style, and they felt really interesting. Some people didn't like the differently colored d20, most especially since it seemed to be made of glow-in-the-dark material, only, you know, it wasn't, and it didn't. It was an odd choice, I thought, but if you were reaching into the pile of dice for a saving through, you had no trouble picking the d20 out.<br />
<br />
Here's when I first noticed something about the dice they were acquiring from China or wherever. The six and nine on most of their dice were mixed. Some of the sixes and nines were underlined, to better tell what number was showing at a glance. Some of the dice used a dot. Specifically the d20, the d10, and the d8.<br />
<br />
I went back to my other freebie dice that I didn't pay for and saw that, yep, they too had this dot. I like the dot. I like it a lot. It's elegant, simple, and smart. Why were the d12 and d6 dice underlined? Why weren't they a matched set?<br />
<br />
The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. They could be a matched set. Hasbro could pay for a set of molds that are exclusively their dice, all with dots. Or, you know, all with underlines. I don't care. I just want them to match. But no matter, I am about to really lose my shit.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFHV3XWDHlM4EwGQTGVL_zJHBn-EAIhKMwVGte-BsFJgmkR8lyUzJHT1QZ9k8X4fX07_ApnXtoyDc1hI2C8sBWnE9VEVrtA1FsfPEmajgO-bCgpIniwxO4MDW9fas6ov4maAawQEGPLfIp/s1600/dragon+heist+dice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFHV3XWDHlM4EwGQTGVL_zJHBn-EAIhKMwVGte-BsFJgmkR8lyUzJHT1QZ9k8X4fX07_ApnXtoyDc1hI2C8sBWnE9VEVrtA1FsfPEmajgO-bCgpIniwxO4MDW9fas6ov4maAawQEGPLfIp/s200/dragon+heist+dice.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
The Dragon Heist Dice came next, in late 2018. I won't bore you with a rehash of <a href="http://rpgconfessions.blogspot.com/2018/11/dice-delve-d-waterdeep-dragon-heist-dice.html" target="_blank">the coal-raking I already did for this set in an earlier review</a>, but I am going to re-post the picture that shows all of the problems all at once. Okay, I can't stand it, let me also sum up:<br />
<br />
1. Why is the d20 so much bigger than the other dice?<br />
2. Why is the color scheme so muddy?<br />
3. Why do I need a life counter?<br />
4. And why is only one of the d20s bigger?<br />
<br />
This release should be a master class in how to do it wrong.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKRer-mLsMKHdeJw-Wfj5wEBUTjEC91rQW1AKzweNbCiWcCm5b3SYDS1cNeS_iwGHStekb63dgEMZxmlqBMBjBr0e-xlSBjfcZPzDr-SiArfGKa9u8Hcfg-FdIXa8pgBFJ6f92Fbt0sNHz/s1600/Ravnica+dice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKRer-mLsMKHdeJw-Wfj5wEBUTjEC91rQW1AKzweNbCiWcCm5b3SYDS1cNeS_iwGHStekb63dgEMZxmlqBMBjBr0e-xlSBjfcZPzDr-SiArfGKa9u8Hcfg-FdIXa8pgBFJ6f92Fbt0sNHz/s200/Ravnica+dice.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
But what do I know? These obviously sold well enough to warrant another dice set. This one comes to us from Ravnica, which is a Magic: The Gathering thing that I don't care anything about. That said, it didn't stop me from buying a set of the dice. Oh, brother.<br />
<br />
While not nearly as problematic as the above set, it's not perfect, either. The color scheme is really interesting, and it looks pretty good, like ice. I'm guessing this is thematic to the world. Again, couldn't care less. We got 4d6, which is nice, but we're back to 1d20. In a game where rolling 2d20 is a major component. Right.<br />
<br />
<br />
What did they include instead of a second, useful d20? I'm glad you asked.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqS8zyo2dWI0CXoPjCuuGDKtcNt8Poig9O7Yb3cZkarHPRd8pjcn_tDvEO5FIiZPLZ1UgmkZXR8Ce10-Hui0e_0jMQysa14W8OL_J8DpWcjSe03cILaeYuWGDVkY8yEA0c1pqIlJdfg-h/s1600/Clan+die.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqS8zyo2dWI0CXoPjCuuGDKtcNt8Poig9O7Yb3cZkarHPRd8pjcn_tDvEO5FIiZPLZ1UgmkZXR8Ce10-Hui0e_0jMQysa14W8OL_J8DpWcjSe03cILaeYuWGDVkY8yEA0c1pqIlJdfg-h/s200/Clan+die.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
We got this.<br />
<br />
That's a single d10.<br />
<br />
On its faces are the clan or guild symbols (I reiterate: don't care).<br />
<br />
This is so you can randomly, um, roll a guild? Yeah? With a d10 that can shatter a windshield.<br />
<br />
Don't believe me?<br />
<br />
Here, I'll show you.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicB0SkDaGrxus3JokYxXTrq1bt3IYbcAzY63M628W9l7iIq9H-gZm5B3xRIDDmsDhpJnpN5XWtO5dVMgjBSLybWu_3LTtdtvC3ceQVfbNrJ_P7C8PkT48AXUxoNlzOn241apRpVr76auAj/s1600/clan+die+for+comparison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicB0SkDaGrxus3JokYxXTrq1bt3IYbcAzY63M628W9l7iIq9H-gZm5B3xRIDDmsDhpJnpN5XWtO5dVMgjBSLybWu_3LTtdtvC3ceQVfbNrJ_P7C8PkT48AXUxoNlzOn241apRpVr76auAj/s200/clan+die+for+comparison.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Same die, with a normal d10 for scale.<br />
<br />
Now do you see?<br />
<br />
I don't understand the thinking that went into this. This huge ass d10 with custom sides cost a lot of money to produce, starting with a from scratch mold that isn't good for anything else but this d10. How many times are they going to go back to press on this, I wonder? No, I don't wonder; I know the answer: ZERO times.<br />
<br />
Now, consider this: for a fraction of the cost of making this d10, they could have put a second d20 in the set and stuck the landing.<br />
<br />
Then, earlier this year, a miracle happened. The Essentials Set was released, and I bought a set. I did this because it had some extra and different stuff in it from the Starter Set, and the two boxes are kind of a package deal. But no matter. An amazing thing greeted me when I opened the box.<br />
<br />
DICE! Simple, usable DICE! Translucent red with white numbers, easy to read, smart looking, and wait, what's this? Four d6s? AND 2 d20s?! Holy shit, it's a Christmas miracle! No weird dice, no tchotchkes, no gewgaws, no nonsense. Usable dice. <i>Well</i>, I thought to myself, <i>maybe they finally figured out what they are doing up in...wherever they are</i>.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HPf3QtJB1QhCYVXo5vABCDYbWZ5h1aX7iTd-V95KBTsSUra5eH2AGhuDR0_z2PfVbH2Ns7_ylOIcw4JbVA2NhPbtnynv8ZEa0csdRZEyKdgdL5MefxmxzuV-9zVa9VIiAblko0fHEpM5/s1600/D%2526D+dice+Avernus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HPf3QtJB1QhCYVXo5vABCDYbWZ5h1aX7iTd-V95KBTsSUra5eH2AGhuDR0_z2PfVbH2Ns7_ylOIcw4JbVA2NhPbtnynv8ZEa0csdRZEyKdgdL5MefxmxzuV-9zVa9VIiAblko0fHEpM5/s320/D%2526D+dice+Avernus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
When the Avernus Dice dropped, I thought long and hard about picking up a set. And maybe I still will. I noticed, right away, that all of the nonsense was in the extra items, like the demon cards and the felt lined box. Not in the dice. 2d20? Check. 4d6? Check. Reasonable. And look at those d6s, too. Those big, chunky numbers that you can clearly see in the package.<br />
<br />
Granted, it really makes the underline stand out, and thus the dots versus underlines battle continues in my head, and probably no one else's, but that's my personal damage to bear and I do so with the help of booze.<br />
<br />
Now, I'm a Rick and Morty fan, but I didn't know for the longest time if I wanted their intro to D&D set. I don't need it at this point. Then I look over at my shelf and realize that I've become a collector again, despite my best efforts, and I got a boxed set. Know what it came with? Yeah! Dice!<br />
<br />
And these dice, while ugly as hell, followed the model of the Essentials kit! Four d6! Chunky d6 numbers! 2d20! More of these ugly dice to love. I won't complain about them, because at this point, I'm just glad you get the right amount and combination of dice and they are all usable.<br />
<br />
Until yesterday. Until this showed up. Here we fucking go again.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKvkrwmUqOflJKu6XwsBYedVKprzyFSdTFYPvJyzhs5GK9FJWzGTX-1HYgAyWCMKM3q-J-aL6UOxTm9m5Gl_5qhKnLmYYk_q_5QmR03UPsEBid57s3pYzE53gvuJbZ6qrYWIiFpEQkfsK/s1600/New+D%2526D+dice+set.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1499" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKvkrwmUqOflJKu6XwsBYedVKprzyFSdTFYPvJyzhs5GK9FJWzGTX-1HYgAyWCMKM3q-J-aL6UOxTm9m5Gl_5qhKnLmYYk_q_5QmR03UPsEBid57s3pYzE53gvuJbZ6qrYWIiFpEQkfsK/s320/New+D%2526D+dice+set.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
If I live to be a thousand years old, I will not understand their dice
philosophy. Why are the two d20 dice so big? Huh? As in, not so big that
someone won’t be tempted to roll both of them at a clutch moment in the
game, but definitely big enough to bounce out of the dice tray and go
skittering across the floor and come to a stop right under the
refrigerator in the kitchen. Why would you DO that?<br />
<br />
You have a nice
color, watery in theme, reasonably inked, the correct number of needed
dice (because in the past, you didn’t think we needed two d10, or you
included one d10 numbered 1 to 10 instead of 0 to 9)...and then someone
walked into the room and said “Oooh, we should totally made the most
frequently used dice in the game way bigger than the other dice in the
set.” Probably the exact same person that said, “You know what this dice
set needs? A clicker!” Or that said, “Have we considered a clan die
that’s so big you would need a trebuchet to roll it?”<br />
<br />
Find THAT person and fire them. I don't know who it is and I don't care. This set of dice is retail thirty bucks. THIRTY BUCKS! They are getting more expensive, but they aren't getting any more useful. A box that doubles as a dice tray? Flash cards? What the hell?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM85dPMQKeqFqo0XHS71nf9T9_G0zJs2xTHndB1fJX3d9Fp1_UJshwcXI1skIa0xOUZEsWNKKAKdywZYzIIcNCpZs6P9V2lTMsftjK8ND7LA2uYfee3qQjP9FwFcyY4nqKLFCiCILuchkD/s1600/all+in+a+row.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM85dPMQKeqFqo0XHS71nf9T9_G0zJs2xTHndB1fJX3d9Fp1_UJshwcXI1skIa0xOUZEsWNKKAKdywZYzIIcNCpZs6P9V2lTMsftjK8ND7LA2uYfee3qQjP9FwFcyY4nqKLFCiCILuchkD/s320/all+in+a+row.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I can't make Hasbro do anything, obviously. I should be able to just walk away from all of this; if I swallowed one of my dice a day for the rest of my life, they'd be putting a bag full of dice on my chest at my funeral. That's how many damn dice I have. I don't need these dice. That I kinda want them anyway is currently tempered by the notion that I'll drop both of the d20 into my Oddities Jar and never use them, thus sidelining the rest of the dice because now I don't have a matched set. At least I could ditch the guild die from the Ravnica set and still use the rest of them.<br />
<br />
Yes, this IS the shit I think about. And it's the shit that bothers me so much that I'd write this post about it.<br />
<br />
Hasbro: stop trying to be clever with the dice. You have a style that is unique right now: put dots on all of the dice. Leave the d6s alone if you want; they are cool because they are so big. Make a standard set: 1 d4, 4d6, 2d8, 2d10, 1d12, 2d20. Make it in some sort of normal color. Black with red numbers. Red with white numbers. Matte finish. Whatever. Go nuts. But make that your evergreen set of dice that you always have on sale, with a branded dice pouch, for $19.95. When new books come out, you do the same damn set in interesting plastic that is evocative of the milieu. That's it. Screw the boxes, the tins, the cards, the clickers, and those giant-ass stunt dice. Give us something we can use.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-89539205544231308512019-11-15T10:01:00.003-08:002019-11-15T10:01:48.870-08:00Have Dice, Will Travel<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxxNUyaf75Jss__Is9UfkMZl5K-ymd9Thle16DJOei8-QavmrGdKzs7QA-ecHg8ZphbHMyejo4aM-fIJ5yiWnylCa8XICZQ-25ad2M9Uur4leko7U3uQscY0xQjMzrOJiA0Hnr0Zuz6-/s1600/DM+Pro+gig+04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1219" data-original-width="1600" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhxxNUyaf75Jss__Is9UfkMZl5K-ymd9Thle16DJOei8-QavmrGdKzs7QA-ecHg8ZphbHMyejo4aM-fIJ5yiWnylCa8XICZQ-25ad2M9Uur4leko7U3uQscY0xQjMzrOJiA0Hnr0Zuz6-/s320/DM+Pro+gig+04.jpg" width="320" /></a>So, this is a thing that happened; I just did my first gig as a professional DM.<br />
<br />
This has been a long time coming. I've been teaching D&D to people for years--decades, really, and using D&D to promote language arts, stimulate communication skills, and encourage role-playing and creative problem solving. I have also taught the game to lots of people who want to swing swords, cast spells, and kill monsters. So, win-win.<br />
<br />
The professional Dungeon Master sits at the intersection of today's Gig Economy and the rise in Geek Culture. A lot of people are intrigued by Dungeons & Dragons, and would like to play the game, but there is still something about the game, no matter how well-written the current rules are, that make it an activity that is better taught by someone who knows what they are doing instead of puzzled out for oneself. YouTube has helped, somewhat, but honestly, there's no better learning experience than roiling the dice for yourself.<br />
<br />
I suppose now I'll need to formalize a price sheet, and maybe put it on this site, and very likely update that, as well. Can't have a blogspot address, after all. Doesn't send the right message. Or does it? I make a point of stating I've been doing this for a while. I wonder if I can still get an Earthlink account?<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBhPQGYwGgrsVIv2GOcuK4kucjM0L8A7EyGZlcBI_SPT_ezbTfBDaSkKoO-6rGQuNeq7V_I1fjWC61wABCgoUnCgKCBKOlRae_DqTdzYBvub1C3mBd9wYSLZZim2DhkGCE94lSCY2omY7/s1600/DM+pro+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBhPQGYwGgrsVIv2GOcuK4kucjM0L8A7EyGZlcBI_SPT_ezbTfBDaSkKoO-6rGQuNeq7V_I1fjWC61wABCgoUnCgKCBKOlRae_DqTdzYBvub1C3mBd9wYSLZZim2DhkGCE94lSCY2omY7/s200/DM+pro+pic.jpg" width="200" /></a>I wrote an original intro adventure for this group, complete with handouts and other cool stuff. For teaching tools, I'm using a variety of items available commercially, including the cards from the Essentials Boxed Set, because they are sweet and easy to understand. In the future, I intend to write some special adventures that utilize famous literary characters, so people who want to, say, have a Narnia-Themed Bachelor Party (!) could run around in Narnia on the Dawn Treader. Or hang out in Lankhmar with a certain sneak-thief and his barbarian pal. Those would be for experienced players, though.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFKo05Oh7glOkC5RE-YSilave4coMv-pnX9szCraJmjMn97Z4VXUOYTs2MZU9IzLdFcqqmqWvHr63q2JkdpJYK9_5TuiMwOz18-p9BBBrdjMbhBoJmWSjgWqZnM5oby8XEldU_cOLavH1/s1600/DM+Pro+gig+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFKo05Oh7glOkC5RE-YSilave4coMv-pnX9szCraJmjMn97Z4VXUOYTs2MZU9IzLdFcqqmqWvHr63q2JkdpJYK9_5TuiMwOz18-p9BBBrdjMbhBoJmWSjgWqZnM5oby8XEldU_cOLavH1/s200/DM+Pro+gig+01.jpg" width="200" /></a>The game was fun, and it is always cool to see your players solve the puzzles you created for them. The game ran about four-and-a-half hours, not including breaks. Great game; everyone had a good time. One of the kids wasn't too clear on the concept of team play...or the idea that they were playing good characters...and he required a little extra reining in. Everyone else took to the game with great aplomb. Spells were cast, Sneaks were snuck, and axes did a lot of damage and required extra gory description. I can't help it; it's the law of critical successes.<br />
<br />
North Texas isn't New York City, but I think I can pick up some weekend gigs. Maybe not enough to quit my day job, but surely enough to splurge on groceries once a month.<br />
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<br />Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-70572816315975498572019-11-13T07:00:00.000-08:002019-11-13T07:00:01.462-08:00Dice Delve: A Duo of Dueling Diffusions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFKPjvqdVV0CdYZTZAewN058GVzntKcwylsjywAF2EBiExk8XpzdxvTmtJkXHxsERVyS9iC-6cOaznh8ZYZ_CxMvIv8xRBOLVuAxJ25DgEdJUA_V5Wk4zCHmchZwbfIBJHF9WVbH9DtB5Z/s1600/KS02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFKPjvqdVV0CdYZTZAewN058GVzntKcwylsjywAF2EBiExk8XpzdxvTmtJkXHxsERVyS9iC-6cOaznh8ZYZ_CxMvIv8xRBOLVuAxJ25DgEdJUA_V5Wk4zCHmchZwbfIBJHF9WVbH9DtB5Z/s200/KS02.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
The artisanal craft dice market continues to expand and contract like the big bang model of the universe in its own teapot tempest of a cottage industry. It's gotten so widespread and self-referential to have spawned the appearance of trends, I swear to Crom. Trends! For Dice! Lately the up and coming seasonal trend seems to be a spin on the glitter dice of old, only with confetti-sized sparkly-stuff suspended in clear acrylic, like a frozen snow globe. I won't be reviewing any of those dice.<br /><br />But I did pop for something that was quite the rage last season, and that was clear dice with a second translucent (or two) swirled into the clear acrylic. As one of those "Oooh pretty" ideas, several (as in, many) dice companies dove into coming up with clever name and color combinations seemingly overnight; these things hit all at once, and there were actually concurrent Kickstarters running for two different company's iterations of these dice. I made the executive decision to get the same kinds of these "Diffusion" dice or "Ethereal" dice so as to better compare like with like. The question was, of course, "do I like?" That all depends.<br />
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Both of these companies (and maybe all of them) had their share of bumps and hurdles. Kraken in particular was very good about communicating delays and even went so far as to reopen their pledge manager when it was apparent that they weren't going to be able to deliver the dice as shown in their promotional photos. That was a a nice thing to do, and I was one who took advantage of that. And since Kraken showed up first, I'll start with them.<br />
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The Mythical Iconic Collection from Kraken Dice<br />
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<b>SCORE: 3.5/5</b></div>
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<br />Clarity No<br />Heft Yes<o:p></o:p></div>
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Color No<o:p></o:p></div>
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Theme Kinda<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Value</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Yes</span><br />
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These dice were offered in a crushingly-complete line of colors, swirls, and mixes. I ended up ordering a set of Banshee and a set of Kraken. Those are color combinations, just so you know.<br />
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The sets came with a slew of extras, as per any KS you pledge these days, including two sets of metallic glitter dice, two sets of rainbow stickers (in the color schemes of the new releases), a velour dice pouch, and a metal Kraken coin in the shape of a d20.<br />
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These are all very nice, but none of them were the reason why I ordered these dice. Why did I order these dice, anyway? Oh, yeah, the mystical ethereal diffusion effect.<br />
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Well, this was a problem and Kraken copped to it early; color saturation. This is a d20 from the Banshee set, and I think you can tell it's not as colorful when held up to the light. Both of my color choices involved green and while it was more noticeable on the Kraken dice, it was much more...subtle...on the Banshee dice.<br />
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This is not to say that the dice are bad, or ugly. They are good, and they are attractive, if you like these kinds of things. Since their website shows these dice against a black background, I thought I would do the same.<br />
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Here are the Kraken dice, and you can certainly see the green here, but I must confess, in both the picture and up close and personal, the green reads like a tint instead of a wispy smoke-like effect. I also don't think that the gold inking on the dice helped that impression. Up against a dark background like this, the dice are clearly readable, but the color scheme is something of a mess.<br />
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The Good: you get a lot of dice; 2d20 and 4d6, as well as one of their "d2" dice, which is great for branding but in my opinion a waste of plastic. The dice are solid, have a good weight to them, and Kraken likes to throw in the stickers and other <i>tchotchkes </i>to appease any magpies or goblins out there.<br />
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The Bad: maybe future runs will correct this, but I found the color within the clear dice to be wildly uneven. It wasn't a deal-breaker for me, other than the simple fact that these dice didn't quite meet the promise of the photos in the KS updates. Kraken was transparent about this (heh--transparent!) and up front, so this is not a dig. But I really liked the dice they ran the KS on and wish I'd gotten those instead.<br />
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The Ugly: These are a little high in price, unless you just absolutely love the way they look (and you might, at that; Here's their website to check out: <a href="https://www.krakendice.com/kraken-originals/kraken-resin-dice-sets/mythical-iconic-collection/?sort=featured&page=2" target="_blank">Kraken Dice Mystical Iconic Collection</a>) and don't mind your d20 dice branded with their Kraken corporate logo on the 20-side (I don't, at least not for the Kraken color, which I am much more likely to use).<br />
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But there was another set of clear-with-color-inside dice on my horizon. Let's see how they compare:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkK2BQsj93RcInb2XFdBwgrkbEdyn56duI1aN22k3AM-bpsUkHLsNwHLYGTpHqodEL8OfthVImlYnrDzBtvuBOGUxEun6qtJ4gr4At7uN3KdJQgeyt2YgWbQhwoQ00YJ0jUqfPMOChH_c/s1600/DifD07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkK2BQsj93RcInb2XFdBwgrkbEdyn56duI1aN22k3AM-bpsUkHLsNwHLYGTpHqodEL8OfthVImlYnrDzBtvuBOGUxEun6qtJ4gr4At7uN3KdJQgeyt2YgWbQhwoQ00YJ0jUqfPMOChH_c/s200/DifD07.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Diffusion Dice from Role 4 Initiative<br />
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<b>SCORE: 4.5/5</b></div>
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<br />Clarity Yes<br />Heft Yes<o:p></o:p></div>
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Color Yes<o:p></o:p></div>
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Theme Kinda<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Value</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Yes</span><br />
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Role 4 Initiative made a sensible decision to only drop one color into the dice, and while they have fantasy-themed names, there is a more workmanlike sensibility to these sets that, I think, helps sell the idea of the "diffusion" in the dice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0movBqIe1zAEgoYHysQJbIUqNLTkLWjUfJ0yzyRaiL8_u2IgR1hQ19z7VPjv720FpLdBtzQ7yWVWkU_zhNFAvSQpxu4FUuAB2pScZ7e3QTfpRBOQ1lstmakt5W3BaRVXVd5ZG9A2WAOer/s1600/DifD02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0movBqIe1zAEgoYHysQJbIUqNLTkLWjUfJ0yzyRaiL8_u2IgR1hQ19z7VPjv720FpLdBtzQ7yWVWkU_zhNFAvSQpxu4FUuAB2pScZ7e3QTfpRBOQ1lstmakt5W3BaRVXVd5ZG9A2WAOer/s200/DifD02.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I bought one set, Dark Forest, and I was not disappointed. Right away, I noticed that the saturation on the green suspended inside the clear acrylic was much more dense, and thus, more colorful. Also, the color was more uniformly distributed throughout the dice themselves. See what I mean? Click the picture to embiggen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbPq7sC9M_cVkv8aDE5_8Zz26Nl1yQgQx4eRUi8b9iIt4Bgqea_qVet8EGg2NuiufuJdkHQZGdxODySmX5LNOb3rt516x_jr3Lf8_uO5YtSjvC8qoRt5nVqJ1fy1AVpZowwPAnuadgh0Pa/s1600/DifD04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbPq7sC9M_cVkv8aDE5_8Zz26Nl1yQgQx4eRUi8b9iIt4Bgqea_qVet8EGg2NuiufuJdkHQZGdxODySmX5LNOb3rt516x_jr3Lf8_uO5YtSjvC8qoRt5nVqJ1fy1AVpZowwPAnuadgh0Pa/s200/DifD04.jpg" width="200" /></a>The set for this particular KS was a thing of beauty and a joy to behold; it may have been the reason why I initially backed them. Look at what you get in a set! 3d20! 4d6! 2d8?! WTF?! And 3d4! Your first level wizard can cast Magic Missile on the first day of gaming with no borrows or loaners! It's like a Christmas miracle.<br />
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Bonus: the dice show up in this innocuous container that made me instantly feel like I was buying edibles at a Canadian Marijuana Dispensary.<br />
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Role 4 Initiative doesn't do a lot of knick-knacks, but they did something very cool with this KS: they made a quantity of these special d4 dice in a configuration I've never seen before: nested U-shaped sides. I got two of them just for showing up, and I want more! They are absolutely stellar; they have heft, they actually roll, and they are a different shape (as opposed to a d8 numbered 1-4 twice, or a d12 numbered 1-4 three times).<br />
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Why these d4 dice aren't industry standard is a mystery to me. Maybe they are hard to tumble? Nah, that can't be it.<br />
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The good: The overall quality of the dice is fantastic. These dice are slightly larger in size, which makes the numbers bigger, and they are inked in white, and while some people may scoff at that choice, let me just say this: the white numbers make the diffusion color pop. You notice the green more because it's not having to fight the gold color to be seen. There, I said it. Gold ink is more trouble than it's worth. You can see all of their line currently for sale right here: <a href="https://role4initiative.com/collections/dice-diffusion" target="_blank">Diffusion Dice</a>.<br />
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The bad: More dice equals more money. I mean, that's just a fact, and these dice will set you back a bit, but it's still under $20 for their set of 15 RPG dice. Also, you have to buy their special d4 dice separately, but again, not a dealbreaker for me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimogWnz0izg8dFNUqCUB1G6D7eBdup-PI6qZiz4Jb1iykVdUFo2AzCy2jMSaifdWm0eCruDCeoo34q8_Gh8_uiztI9L9zJlAxTQfqhAc4XJS6ZwPKq3FKxJf_i6gi8QYBPgMc2XW8MWNwm/s1600/KvsR4I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimogWnz0izg8dFNUqCUB1G6D7eBdup-PI6qZiz4Jb1iykVdUFo2AzCy2jMSaifdWm0eCruDCeoo34q8_Gh8_uiztI9L9zJlAxTQfqhAc4XJS6ZwPKq3FKxJf_i6gi8QYBPgMc2XW8MWNwm/s200/KvsR4I.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Kraken on the Left, R4I on the right.</span></i></td></tr>
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The ugly: The presentation isn't particularly sexy, but who cares? I can read their dice from across the room and the special effect that they sold the dice on can be clearly seen.<br />
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I don't think R4I is as slick as some of the other dice manufacturers out there. I get an old school, utilitarian vibe from them that translates into a nice, solid line of dice in some unique colors and ink schemes (check out their line of opaque dice to see what I mean). But what they may lack in panache they make up for in customer service and usable products. Of the two lines I reviewed here, I'm more inclined to buy more Diffusion dice from R4I, based on color choice, inking choice, and those awesome U-shaped d4 dice. </div>
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Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-24732229709643043042019-10-25T09:00:00.000-07:002019-11-17T16:13:55.977-08:00DIY Corner: Condition Markers ( A Tabletop Tokens Add-On)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89sdelJDhFUzHezJleA7iAbEnsA7R67PYgHU8uE03HmTWiObEFsrgIkOyr_3110yLQi2sVtbPWYvUfx7xeU2wTJCwjMG_wuUB-nBTJucZQ8UicP94hsN1KturOrWKUrO574-HtoTnpRy5/s1600/DIY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="288" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89sdelJDhFUzHezJleA7iAbEnsA7R67PYgHU8uE03HmTWiObEFsrgIkOyr_3110yLQi2sVtbPWYvUfx7xeU2wTJCwjMG_wuUB-nBTJucZQ8UicP94hsN1KturOrWKUrO574-HtoTnpRy5/s200/DIY.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
This isn't a full-on DIY Corner, but rather a Supplemental add-on to the post I previously made about <a href="http://rpgconfessions.blogspot.com/2019/09/diy-corner-tokens-for-your-tabletop.html" target="_blank">making your own tokens for your tabletop</a> tactical play. This method is cheap (relatively) and lets you customize your tokens to match your campaign style, your personal aesthetics, and your part preferences. Also, they cost out to about 27 cents a token. Pretty cheap.<br />
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I'm using them and the players are loving them. But I have three spell casters in my group and they are constantly casting hold spells, chromatic orbs, and all of that jive. For large battles and small, you need some condition markers.<br />
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Whilst tooling around on the Interwebs recently, I stumbled across a site that was selling pendant supplies (the cabochons and epoxy stickers I use for the tokens being, in the parlance of our times, otherwise known as "pendant supplies"). As I was glancing down the page, I noticed the glass cabochon embedded in a colorful ring, you know, to make a pendant.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfhyphenhyphenPrrPwR1vik8nxrWWbxvXVGbLWNc_imyXuI4NHolk7GgEGvWdsx5hLRClYmZ2b8zzCzWF8oXGx0XkZoFs3M16aGBXGJyRf9BRi3z8Xe-jiUAknm5NHrAdSRzc6iIE3KtZ1DwoMcUheg/s1600/CM02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfhyphenhyphenPrrPwR1vik8nxrWWbxvXVGbLWNc_imyXuI4NHolk7GgEGvWdsx5hLRClYmZ2b8zzCzWF8oXGx0XkZoFs3M16aGBXGJyRf9BRi3z8Xe-jiUAknm5NHrAdSRzc6iIE3KtZ1DwoMcUheg/s200/CM02.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
It was these. They are bottle caps, painted a solid color and flattened into a crimp so that they can be used for crafting. Or in my case, poisoning player characters.<br />
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There are basically two kinds of conditions you need to keep track of; that master list that is printed in every DM screen and on every cheat sheet that exists for D&D these days. And then there's the special effects that get applied to characters like Rage and Hunter's Mark. I haven't added them all up but it's roughly twenty or so, depending on what you need help keeping track of.<br />
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These things are easy to get in bags of 100--more than you'll ever need, but if you want a wide variety of colors, you may need to truck over to eBay, where several sellers have multitudes of colors for not a lot of money.<br />
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All you have to do is mark them with a Sharpie (and use a fine tip, here, because the regular Sharpies are a little too fat to use on such a small space). In fact, I dropped the past tense on a lot of my tokens and wrote "Poison" instead of "Poisoned." You might think two letters doesn't make a difference, but trust me, unless you have tiny handwriting, it does. And I don't need to tell you to use a light colored Sharpie on the dark caps, do I? Please tell me not to worry.<br />
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Once marked, a handy cheat sheet (color coded) clips to your screen and you are all set.<br />
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To use, let's go to the tactical simulation. Oh, no! Looks like Padraic the Cleric of Knowledge and his trusted man-at-arms are engaged in combat with a Deep One and a Cultist. Jinkies!<br />
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Padraic is quick to cast a curse on the cultist in order to help out his buddy. So the cultist gets the metallic orange condition marker, and it's just that easy.<br />
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But the Deep One bites Padraic, and now he's poisoned, so he gets the bilious green condition marker and all of his rolls are at disadvantage now! And he keeps that ring until he can clear the condition. Thankfully, a quick prayer to Minerva and he's back in business.<br />
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And what about those pesky large (and larger) tokens we've heard so much about? Here's our hapless duo all entangled with a skeleton horde. That's gonna leave a mark!<br />
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Good thing Padraic brought his holy symbol on this little jaunt. A quick turn undead attempt and the skeletons back off and start running for the exit. Take that, boneheads! Just put the condition on top of the token and it's the same thing. You can even stack these condition markers up.<br />
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Note that if I wanted to, I could totally make a condition marker for Turned Undead. If I wanted to. I do not. But if I did, I could. I'm not even joking about this. I just pick a colored bottle cap, grab a Sharpie, and blammo. Please and thank you. Done and done. But I do not want to do that.<br />
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I made five of each condition just to keep everything nice and even. On the off-chance that you care, I will list what colors I used for each condition. You do you, though; pick colors that make sense in your brain.<br />
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Blessed--Metallic Gold<br />
Blinded--Black<br />
Charmed--Pink<br />
Cursed--Metallic Orange<br />
Deafened--White<br />
Frightened--Yellow<br />
Grappled--Light Blue<br />
Hunter's Mark--Dark Green<br />
Incapacitated--Dark Blue<br />
Invisible--Metallic Silver<br />
Paralyzed--Maroon<br />
Petrified --Gray<br />
Poisoned--Light Green<br />
Rage--Red<br />
Restrained--Orange<br />
Stunned--Purple<br />
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There's plenty of other one-off conditions and lots more colors. I only did what I needed, and I'm going to wait until I need another condition before committing a color.<br />
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I really like the home-made feel to this solution. I remember when we had to make our own character sheets. We made our own dungeons. We scrounged everything we were using to play the game. I love all of the accessories that are available for D&D these days, but sometimes, it's better to DIY.<br />
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<br />Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-35335919041121737052019-10-16T07:00:00.000-07:002019-10-16T07:27:37.851-07:00Dice Delve: Black Plague DiceOh, Halloween, with your banquet of delights, how I love you almost as much, if not more, than Christmas. Especially when people you like put out stuff that you love that lands in October like it was planned all along. I'm talking about Black Oak Workshop and their latest offering, Black Plague Dice.<br />
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Those of you keeping score at home know that I love Skull Dice, so much so that <a href="http://rpgconfessions.blogspot.com/2018/10/dice-delve-skulls.html" target="_blank">I did a little write-up about them</a> last October. Well, lookee what I got in the mail the other day! Cool stuff for my ongoing collection! These are not my first Black Oak Workshop dice, either. How do these stand up?<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
<b>Black Plague Dice by Black Oak Workshop</b></div>
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<b>SCORE: 5/5</b></div>
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Clarity Yes<br />
Heft Yes<o:p></o:p></div>
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Color Yes<o:p></o:p></div>
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Theme Yes<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Value</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: "roboto" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Yes</span><br />
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I've backed several of their Kickstarter campaigns right now, and I've been very happy with the results every time. These folks do great design work, at an affordable (for an Artisanal Craft Dice maker) price, with great customer service and quality materials. You can't go wrong with them. You just can't.<br />
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These are their Black Plague Dice, with the iconic and also unique skull design. The Kickstarter unlocked the dice bag and the pin, too. All quality items. I'm keeping all of my dice in Black Oak bags at the moment.<br />
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Their Kickstarter was initially only for d20s , but enough people pledged that they were able to swing making a complete set of seven dice. This was awesome for me, as there are currently no other sets with the skull motif on them in so prominent a fashion. And none of that noodly-fiddly stuff around the edges, either (gives Q-workshop the side-eye).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2dbpiZ7G9SmlkUyk-pT7xxxfko92yD15DVHggsDpxmyu0aTgfjoNaMQ1OVfYAR6oI13BEQdsoSpSUmytuCh7QIYZ8L3fe4B1UMRKe5mx_AnzLf6uSOsxhQZURr4U6ufZ69FutKPUL5DV/s1600/BDD03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2dbpiZ7G9SmlkUyk-pT7xxxfko92yD15DVHggsDpxmyu0aTgfjoNaMQ1OVfYAR6oI13BEQdsoSpSUmytuCh7QIYZ8L3fe4B1UMRKe5mx_AnzLf6uSOsxhQZURr4U6ufZ69FutKPUL5DV/s200/BDD03.jpg" width="200" /></a>In addition to a readable design, these dice are also slightly larger than the average polyhedrals. That means these clicky-clacks can be seen from across the table. Easy to read. No problem. An old grognard's delight, to be sure.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkgBsl5xhzJ3BcbN7uOq4wLtBv8A8Q90_Bbp2QUL23rPcHxO19CIuumDmowh2uaMH1M8G6CwDE3Vtd0KruTqpJ3ZxAEjpXWZ1_u4CF9s2g1COJghEcK84JArw0PgLX1wCuxe__pK2XzLm/s1600/BDD01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkgBsl5xhzJ3BcbN7uOq4wLtBv8A8Q90_Bbp2QUL23rPcHxO19CIuumDmowh2uaMH1M8G6CwDE3Vtd0KruTqpJ3ZxAEjpXWZ1_u4CF9s2g1COJghEcK84JArw0PgLX1wCuxe__pK2XzLm/s200/BDD01.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Here's a Gatekeeper d20 for size comparison sake. Their d20 dice are about a millimeter larger than Chessex dice, so you can really see the difference in size with the Black Oak dice here. Substantial. By the way, the Black Oak solid color polyhedrals have great heft to them, as well. These are now in my current DM bag.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIQS6vnc-sfEjQ2jql_7LSon383oNcF1-PnH2qz-PMPrvlzu_npaUrVWrD7sBvBgCIQDhhXaZMHHJNFHskKY14Z_qk65FNXwUvTy8QlkjTHXxn6HoxPedKy_tm-fiI6gDPPfRQ8eNEY0hp/s1600/BDD05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIQS6vnc-sfEjQ2jql_7LSon383oNcF1-PnH2qz-PMPrvlzu_npaUrVWrD7sBvBgCIQDhhXaZMHHJNFHskKY14Z_qk65FNXwUvTy8QlkjTHXxn6HoxPedKy_tm-fiI6gDPPfRQ8eNEY0hp/s200/BDD05.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
As I said earlier, the bags are a delight; large, with excellent embroidery on the outside and satin on the inside. Available in a ton of styles. This is my new Skull Dice bag. I'm doing that little happy goblin dice dance inside right now.<br />
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The Good: Follow these guys on Kickstarter so that you know when the next campaign is going to start. And <a href="https://www.blackoakworkshop.com/" target="_blank">visit their website</a> to check out their line of Lovecraftian bags and other great stuff.<br />
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The Bad: only when their stretch goals don't completely make and you can't get a full set of dice. Come on, People! Have a little faith! Craig's turnaround time on his dice is measured in months, not years. And I think he's getting his dice in America, so no worries about Chinese Trade Wars to disrupt your hobby.<br />
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The Ugly: There is no ugly. There is only good stuff. Black Oak Workshop is my favorite dice maker at the moment.<br />
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<br />Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8444425450827808147.post-75008673939568009962019-10-11T08:00:00.000-07:002019-10-11T09:16:42.803-07:00DIY Corner: Inspiration Tokens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89sdelJDhFUzHezJleA7iAbEnsA7R67PYgHU8uE03HmTWiObEFsrgIkOyr_3110yLQi2sVtbPWYvUfx7xeU2wTJCwjMG_wuUB-nBTJucZQ8UicP94hsN1KturOrWKUrO574-HtoTnpRy5/s1600/DIY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89sdelJDhFUzHezJleA7iAbEnsA7R67PYgHU8uE03HmTWiObEFsrgIkOyr_3110yLQi2sVtbPWYvUfx7xeU2wTJCwjMG_wuUB-nBTJucZQ8UicP94hsN1KturOrWKUrO574-HtoTnpRy5/s1600/DIY.jpg" /></a></div>
One of the great additions to 5e D&D is the concept of inspiration, a way to instantly reward good role-playing, puzzle-solving, decision-making, or any other in-game thing a player does that the DM deems noteworthy.<br />
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The current rules suggest using a poker chip to give to the player with inspiration as a token to remind them and you that they get a do-over roll by handing it in.<br />
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You're probably award of the multitude of metal coins available to gamers great and small, ranging from the baffling to the bewildering, in a multitude of styles, and that's not counting the metric ton of inspiration counters, coins, tokens and d20 holders that can be found in all corners of the Internet with a simple search.<br />
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I'm not knocking any of those things. They are great. I've ended up with a few metal coins and tokens as ancillary throw-in items, and again, they look just fine and would doubtless make perfectly serviceable inspiration tokens.<br />
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But I wanted something a little different.<br />
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I love the idea of a durable poker chip, because players are, in very general terms, ill-tempered savages. The only problem is, modern poker chips are liberally festooned with card pips, aces of spades, and other gambling symbols, as well as being colorful and cheerful and oh just never mind. You could special order some chips, but that costs a ton of money. Likewise wooden nickles, although if I had my druthers, I'd use them exclusively. They look and feel old and you can put what you want on them. Now I just need to justify spending a hundred and fifty bucks to get 4 Inspiration Tokens and I'm all set!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBf_Zp0bPgqbGol-y38ZJzqr44METW8eNKI5gOq8IZRNHPQENl4QXiAMO50vMfKQl2UrgRDa1zD3YKg-iASi_JNC8pg2qqv9lJzjPE7ZfDuPDgOZ1GM2sdFLoQuXog1ypHzshSrNntz-0R/s1600/Insp10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBf_Zp0bPgqbGol-y38ZJzqr44METW8eNKI5gOq8IZRNHPQENl4QXiAMO50vMfKQl2UrgRDa1zD3YKg-iASi_JNC8pg2qqv9lJzjPE7ZfDuPDgOZ1GM2sdFLoQuXog1ypHzshSrNntz-0R/s200/Insp10.jpg" width="200" /></a>While we wait for that little miracle to occur, I found a solution in the form of vintage poker chips. I was originally looking for anything that looked old, like something made out of Bakelite, but really quickly I stumbled across these. Look! It's a dragon! Or is that a griffin? They are old clay chips from the 1920s or 1930s. And as you can see, they are perfect.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHt24i0LLVgZPFQ05gQosWVh7wDjXXCFP8rWnr8z6FTDBKIntl7rlfLpG2niVNswAKspvS_n6nbz2XzTqNRb2UOdFGp3WsOzXDs3s6J6Ft7lXS0ZhQkWs_qvvoCH4bC87hDKYm5f5GTDj/s1600/Insp09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHt24i0LLVgZPFQ05gQosWVh7wDjXXCFP8rWnr8z6FTDBKIntl7rlfLpG2niVNswAKspvS_n6nbz2XzTqNRb2UOdFGp3WsOzXDs3s6J6Ft7lXS0ZhQkWs_qvvoCH4bC87hDKYm5f5GTDj/s200/Insp09.jpg" width="200" /></a>There are a lot of other styles out there, moons and stars, owls, laurel wreaths, sailing ships, lighthouses, and so on and so forth. You can find them in groups of 1 to 12 (or more) and they are relatively inexpensive. I scored a lot of around a 140 chips for twenty bucks plus shipping. With so much surplus chip action at my disposal, I decided to experiment a bit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxx20x2_A7VLMHxy2nD59JEqERfaVEKepnV9gj8IcF05BlKFPHXqHns18slpI7fBaSoHWmiq1jatVpnb-44hppSAzzpcdo5liEDxPUUjLAf6G_XzdbnehYZgnly-o1kjjFaC1l6sArjAk/s1600/Insp08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxx20x2_A7VLMHxy2nD59JEqERfaVEKepnV9gj8IcF05BlKFPHXqHns18slpI7fBaSoHWmiq1jatVpnb-44hppSAzzpcdo5liEDxPUUjLAf6G_XzdbnehYZgnly-o1kjjFaC1l6sArjAk/s200/Insp08.jpg" width="200" /></a>Beige is boring. I wanted something that looked like a metal coin; that would be cool. However, I don't usually like the resulting texture of metallic paints, so instead, I used Rub 'n Buff. It's a wax polish with metallic pigment. It comes in a variety of colors, but I'm using silver.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGyMIiaCpTnrYV_aa1VOP5dnTiLhrv_LZi99H5JAuiZhGaQKz9JKAKBNwEEhH9OpPg_Pv6VuCmt01lWynGN1BIc6w5XL89Bul-COmJZUaMB1igLAhuJhr5-U3xu6et7SYookht4vtU0vcD/s1600/Insp07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGyMIiaCpTnrYV_aa1VOP5dnTiLhrv_LZi99H5JAuiZhGaQKz9JKAKBNwEEhH9OpPg_Pv6VuCmt01lWynGN1BIc6w5XL89Bul-COmJZUaMB1igLAhuJhr5-U3xu6et7SYookht4vtU0vcD/s200/Insp07.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
To apply, you just need a little dab. That button will completely cover four chips, and then some. You can apply it with a brush or a sponge, but I think it works best if you do it using your finger. You get a feel for what it does and according to the manufacturer, the more you rub it, the more buff it gets. That feels like a come-on, but you never know with this stuff.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rVf0kwBdEpj7YYOaNyUtM-W36TYEHI3CIeHB0SIJFG6w8kbafpW-ciM8Cl6JV04tjPcXLQI_EHcsHW-2FLH0P7jRtxhb6PiEjV86I78ij93Qgswd_VdLTL07UoJ-09mbxybqYVUl1wVr/s1600/Insp06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rVf0kwBdEpj7YYOaNyUtM-W36TYEHI3CIeHB0SIJFG6w8kbafpW-ciM8Cl6JV04tjPcXLQI_EHcsHW-2FLH0P7jRtxhb6PiEjV86I78ij93Qgswd_VdLTL07UoJ-09mbxybqYVUl1wVr/s200/Insp06.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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I apply the Rub 'n Buff in linear strokes, all going the same direction. This is because doing it the other way makes for an uneven coat. The goal is to lightly hit the surface, ignoring the small grooves that make up the dragon (griffin?). Do one side at a time, waiting for it to dry each time. It doesn't take long. Then you go around the edge and you are done. Unless you don't want to be.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhddONVwfAeGIn8dFEBXNCfIZfDm3lJ7D8P7JqSxmzpUKGF6xVFYWU3ijR2d2rM6AKK71GzYQV9JiJKu5DUsGS17D0EL-Q7v2_D6-Xhh3Uma419OENmHROta-oDAXEHxl92z1SWUZpvQYGk/s1600/Insp01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhddONVwfAeGIn8dFEBXNCfIZfDm3lJ7D8P7JqSxmzpUKGF6xVFYWU3ijR2d2rM6AKK71GzYQV9JiJKu5DUsGS17D0EL-Q7v2_D6-Xhh3Uma419OENmHROta-oDAXEHxl92z1SWUZpvQYGk/s200/Insp01.jpg" width="200" /></a>You can do a thin wash and hit the groove if you want, or you can get a soft sponge and push/press the silver leaf into the grooves, and then smooth it out again. You can even paint the whole chip beforehand. You have options, here.<br />
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Now, let's talk about the aforementioned "variety of colors" that Rub 'n Buff comes in. This stuff is designed to add accents to furniture and other decorative pieces. In a weird fit of pique, I bought a set of 12 different tubes, just to try them out for myself.<br />
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This is one of the many shades of gold they make. They work as well as the silver leaf and look pretty good. I put a black wash on the chip before I applied the Rub 'n' Buff so that the dragon (griffin?) would stand out more.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qwKavwPAh8YL9tqZBDxIZahY-MFjaeVZtW9xFUhWf-aVWHw926NdFRATXxtbIMbQ7BExtZXmUm24kCaOObdjCKIlpKFHINgJCqzccoNGitg7Jd3QcQMongMnyK1hVooXWjMB9387K8TC/s1600/Insp03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qwKavwPAh8YL9tqZBDxIZahY-MFjaeVZtW9xFUhWf-aVWHw926NdFRATXxtbIMbQ7BExtZXmUm24kCaOObdjCKIlpKFHINgJCqzccoNGitg7Jd3QcQMongMnyK1hVooXWjMB9387K8TC/s200/Insp03.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
This is their antique white finish. It's intended to be a highlight for distressed wood. It's not metallic and the results are not good. But this is what it looks like.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqYHO43UdD8mNJQJJjtU60Cvo_6UgbTormIZVghGcwN-MGYJwt4spKy-SFWYyrLcAqZBqZuWwkoRpwjSHkYZiE4iGdvwrl-JY0cjGrN3tyG3gUyZgwPXxpHKOP4BKATenQcjnnrfgFre7D/s1600/Insp11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqYHO43UdD8mNJQJJjtU60Cvo_6UgbTormIZVghGcwN-MGYJwt4spKy-SFWYyrLcAqZBqZuWwkoRpwjSHkYZiE4iGdvwrl-JY0cjGrN3tyG3gUyZgwPXxpHKOP4BKATenQcjnnrfgFre7D/s200/Insp11.jpg" width="200" /></a>This is their Spanish Copper, and I expected it to be more metallic than it was. The light is great on this chip, but under normal conditions, it's very dark and not so great.<br />
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This is another of their gold colors, this time over a red chip (hence the color of the dragon [griffin?]) They have like four different varieties of gold, so it's really just a question of brightness and personal tastes. I prefer the silver, but that's me.<br />
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Here's one I did for my ongoing Eldritch Piracy game. I did a black wash after the Rub 'n Buff dried, and the results were so-so. Better to paint the chip before and then do a light drybrush with your finger to apply the silver.<br />
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There is also a patina color that you can apply over their metallic brass. I tried it, but you have to be very sparing with it, and I could never get it to look right. But if you can, I'd do these chips in Grecian Gold and hit the anchor with a touch of the patina and call it a day.<br />
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And if you want to get really crazy, here's a two-color Rub 'n Buff project, using Silver Leaf and Antique Gold. I primed the chip with flat black, and lightly applied the silver leaf. When it was dry, I carefully, oh so carefully--maybe too carfully--hit the anchor with the gold. It looks okay, and with touch-ups, it'll look super swell.<br />
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The colors of Rub 'n Buff that yielded the best results for this particular project were the silver and gold, hands down. But your mileage may vary. You could even paint them (and seal them) some other color. Silver and Gold are the two colors of Rub 'n Buff you're most likely to find in craft stores. Anything more exotic than that and you'll have to mail order it.<br />
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One quick warning about these chips; they are durable, but not indestructible. I've dropped a chip from a height of about five feet onto a concrete floor and it shatters like rock candy. For flipping across the table, they hold up just fine.<br />
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I think these inspiration tokens add a little something extra to the game; it's not a prop, but it's more than a check box on a character sheet. And there's something tactile about handing it to the DM to get that extra roll. Everyone's game is different, but these suit my play style perfectly.<br />
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<br />Mark Finnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02085303208733639998noreply@blogger.com0