Frugal GM Review: Tavern Workers

I've been toying with the idea of making an NPC booklet for some time now....I know...I know...I need to finish a plethora of other works-in-progress 1st before starting another one, but it's been on my mind, so after last week's review of a collection of Savage World characters, I thought I'd see what else is out there.

Tavern Workers is a collection of "10 Shadowy Characters" for your game table that came out this last week. Right off the bat I was a little confused as to what system this product was for. Now I know that DriveThruRPG lists product information on the right side of the product listing, but I've been burned before and I know how easy it is for that information to be just plain wrong (to make things easier to set up a title you are allowed to copy the basic product info from an existing product, so errors in different settings can easily creep in). The text of the product page or the available previews don't reveal this information, which is a real shame. At a minimum I'd like to to see one of the NPCs to see if this product would meet my needs.....

....as it was I was going in pretty blind, even if I knew that this was a D&D 3.5/Pathfinder product.

Map050 Work-In-Progress

Since last week's free map I've been itching to try again at a better isometric(ish) cavern map.  I've been churning some ideas on how to make the next one better and thought instead of doing the entire map in one go I'd create it in at least two, probably three or four, sections.

Obviously I'm trying to improve my own abilities making maps, but I'm also trying to "cement" some of the things I did that felt "right" so I could do it again in the future.

One of my other "hobbies" is participating in Toastmasters and I always tell those I mentor that when ever taking on a new role they should probably try to do it at least twice in close succession so they can build upon what worked and overcome any challenges identified the 1st time out.

I am one to take my own advice....

GM Prep Tip: Game Master Standard Operating Procedures

This is another one of those "stupid" or "common sense" things that is in reality not dumb at all and definitely not common, but when implemented, has really saved me a ton of grief:
          GM Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)

What is a GMSOP? Simple, it is those sets of rules declarations, player guidance, and GM parameters that are declared to the players before starting play. Invariably players establish their own in-game SOPs and over time the players learn a GM's requirements or how they prefer things, but sometimes the transition is a slightly painful one.

Free GM Resource: Classic Marvel Forever

I know I tend to bestow all my love on the more traditional "Fantasy" Role Playing Games with a dash of SciFi here & there. This week's Free GM Resource isn't so much a single product or even a game system, but a whole fricken genre.

The folks over at Classic Marvel Forever have done what they can to maintain a long-since dead RPG. While their site does have links to downloads of what appears to be the entire non-supported Marvel Super Heroes RPG line, I think you'll find a slew of other resources as well.

Now I'm sure that these downloads violate common-sense intellectual property rights, but I personally don't get to worked up about abandoned properties. If Ha$bro manages to pick up the rights to d a re-print of this game or Di$ney does one themselves, please let me know and I'll delete this post right-quick.*

If these companies don't care enough about the game to make it available to those who want to play, then they don't care enough about these product being available for download. If I'm just plain wrong about this, please feel free to let me know. I've had a few required courses on copyright and trademark law but I've also had a few life lessons on the law vs. reality.


*OK, I'll admit using the dollar signs might be a bit much....

Lessons Learned From a "Bad" Review

It has been my general experience that we gamers can be a rather resourceful lot, but sometimes we can come up short. The other day I got this review on the d30 Quick NPC Generator I put up for free over at DriveThruRPG:

"Enjoy the ease of using this product, ecepecially when you're trying to create a load of npcs. The only problem that I have is that I have had to modify it because I can't find a d30 anywhere around."

Now I'll admit I took this rather harshly, and personal, because I'm human and can't always see the forest for the trees. You'd think as someone who (usually) likes to review RPG products I'd have a thicker skin.....and usually I do. One of the problems is the short general format of reviews on that site and my natural inclination to assume what is written is the rationale for the rating.

Free Map049: Isometric(ish) Cave System Map

I've just put up a few versions of a cave system map over on my Patreon page.

This is my 1st attempt to create an isometric map in my own particular style and I'm pretty happy with the outcome. Usually what I envision and what I can manage are pretty far apart, but this came out darned close. Now I just need to figure out how to get the grid the way I envisioned and then I can start working on incorporating water features.

The free maps are roughly 8" by 10", with and without a grid. As I was posting this maps I had a thought that this might work as a VTT map, so I tweaking things to add a 100 DPI .png file that is 20" by 24". That map still comes in just under 5 MB so it might be too much for a VTT map, but you guys will have to let me know.

My Patrons get much larger versions of the map that are 18.6" by 15.4". That size is much nicer than this preview size:

Frugal GM Review: Savage Characters Volume One

Last week I was offered another Savage Worlds product for review and I seriously considered turning it down, or at least putting it off, because I don't play Savage Worlds and reviewing two Savage World products in a row felt a bit much.....

....then I realized why spend my own money when I want to blow it all on some special deals?

Seriously though, Savage Characters Volume One is one of those products I'd never pick up for myself, for the aforementioned reasons, but I'm really glad this opportunity fell into my virtual lap because I'm highly impressed. There is maybe one real issue for concern with this product and anything...well everything else I could come up with as criticisms is nit-picky....as in I had to really look hard for stuff to suggest for improvements.

Awesome Good Birthday Deal on Heroic Maps Over at DriveThruRPG.

One thing I've noticed as I've gotten older is that birthdays don't excite me nearly so much and I generally enjoy trying to give other people gifts to help celebrate being another year older.

Think about it...should the fact that you've survived another 365(ish) days intact be gift enough? Shouldn't everyone else that had to put up with you over the course of the last year get some kind of reward?

Now I'm not saying that the folks over at Heroic Maps share that same general sentiment with me, but it does seem like they like celebrating their birthday in a similar fashion. Going on...like right fricken now...is a HUGE 2nd birthday sale. From now until sometime Monday (23:39 GMT) all of their maps are 60% off.......60% OFF!!!

You should really hop over to DriveThruRPG right now and pilfer through, I mean judiciously spend all your money on buying up their entire collection. The only thing they could have done better was just make a kitchen-sink bundle for those of you who haven't yet had the pleasure of using their maps.

Happy Birthday Heroic Maps.....now take the rest of my money!








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