Free GM Resource: A Twofer of Names for or From Random Tables...

This week I thought I'd do a bit of a related twofer for the Free GM Resource, and technically neither one of these is a random table...although I think this lead-in graphic is still the most appropriate..

The 1st resource is the relatively simple "List of Random Names" and it is a quick and easy online generator for coming up with "human" names. There are options for quantity (5,10,20,30, & 50), names by gender (or mixed), first names only, and alliterative names. For me the alliterative name option is a pretty cool feature I could see being useful for general writing purposes.

The 2nd resource is another simple website that is just a listing of a bazillion names from around the world. 20000-names.com claims to have 20,000+ names from around the world, which is significantly less than the bazillion I've claimed, but there are a LOT of names to go through. If you are like me and you like to use real-world ethnicities to enhance your game (all my Dwarves have Icelandic names, for example), then you will get a ton of mileage out of this site.

What to do When You're a (Wo)man Down.....

I tell you....I'm jonesing for a game right about now. My home group hasn't played in probably a month of Sundays and I need to sling some dice.

Unfortunately our GM is out of town, which means that even if I was to belly up to the table we are down a player. In a large group missing one player might not be an issue, but in a small group like mine, one player down makes the game a no-go.

The rest of us will probably get together and play board games, but even as much fun as some games are, it is a poor substitute. I could see maybe running a one-off of another game system for shits & giggles, letting the two players have two PCs each for a four PC party, but I think they feel as I do in having more than one PC in-game.

I guess the real issue is how much the social aspect of game night means, vs. enjoyment of ......since the game is more than just slinging dice (and kicking ass &/or taking names). I tend to miss the social aspects of playing as much as anything else, so I guess board games aren't too terrible a fate if we can't have a regular game.

Is there anything else your group does if you can't get together for your regular session? I remember going out for a meal or a movie being popular options.....

 

Frugal GM Review: Return of the Mad Hermit by Small Niche Games

This week's review is on the Small Niche Games release of Return of the Mad Hermit.

I have to admit that I picked this adventure up based on the cover artwork by JV West, and on my initial quick glance I was a bit disappointed in the adventure. This really isn't an uncommon feeling for me, so I don't put a lot of emphasis on the initial impression, which is usually due to some specific expectations.

The PDF adventure is 26 pages long and after you cut out the cover, credits, and license you have 21 pages of content. The only illustration is the cover, but there are seven pages of maps. I personally didn't look forward to reading fourteen pages of text and figured I'd probably wasted my $2 on this purchase.

Luckily I know that I tend to be a bit negative on these 1st passes, and I haven't even read the thing yet, so I figured I'd at least give the adventure a read.....

....and I'm glad I did. I'm planning on using this at my table in a couple of months, so there won't be any spoiler details in this review.

Is Your GM "Out to Get You"

This morning I was fortunate to have a long talk with an old gaming buddy who lives out of state and part of our conversation was about various "complaints" he had with a particular game system and the GM for his home game.

Nothing major, pretty much run-of-the-mill stuff. The system didn't have this or that in it and the GM....well a lot of players think their GM is screwing them on this, that, or the other. Aside from one instance where I had a GM also playing a PC/Multiple PCs (not NPCs!), I haven't really experienced a GM screwing over the players.....

Free GM Resource: For Gold & Glory (2nd Edition AD&D Clone)

This week's Free GM Resource is another RPG system, but this is one we are probably familiar with. A lot of love gets thrown at the 1st Edition of the "Popular Role-Playing Game" and we have a bazillion (I may be overstating it a bit.....) retro-clones. There is much love for the even earlier editions as well, but the 2nd edition?

Not so much.

This is where Justen Brown steps in with For Gold & Glory, which "gives role players a complete reference to 2nd
Edition 'core material' and allows publishers to release original
or new material using 2nd Edition rules."

At 382 pages long, For Gold & Glory is a well put-together PDF with pretty much everything but dice, pencils, and players needed to game. I'm not planning on reviewing this as I have to many RPGs in my review list as it is, but I'm thinking I'd be hard pressed to find some things to suggest improvement on and I'd give this five stars for sure.

If you are even remotely interested in playing in a 2nd Edition game, you need to pick up For Gold & Glory. This is pretty much a no-brainer.....

Do You Play Multiple RPGs at Your Home Table?

The last couple of years I've made the major shift of being predominately a GM to predominately a player. I still GM, but usually when our group's GM needs a break, which is usually during the "Retail Hell" period of the year.

In talking with other GMs and gamers I'm finding that our general situation is the same. Most group basically have one "main" GM and maybe some fill-ins when that GM is either burned out or just too busy to take up the shield.

I think the average group has their main "go-to" RPG and that's usually what they play. When another GM picks up the shield then they might try a different RPG...might. From what I've gathered it is about 50/50 of thing being just a different campaign of the same RPG (like we do) or a brief switch to something else.

It is far from secret that my favorite game is the current edition of HackMaster. I've got a small roster of RPGs I need to run/play for review purposes and I'm trying to get my group to do some one-offs as a change of pace and to help me through this backlog since my con season is over until next year (I think....)

I was wondering just how many gaming groups take the time to "change things up" just for the experience. Honestly if it were for wanting/needing to review some other RPGs I doubt I'd stray too far from my main game, definitely not at my home table.

Frugal GM Review: Outpost Owlbear (One Page Zine)

I wanted to get this review up in time yesterday, but life got in the way......you guys know what I mean....life...that thing that happens when we aren't gaming....

Tony T won that paper mini contest I had, which meant he also got my address. While this is something that anybody can easily find with little effort, most folks don't want (or need) this info. Tony T decided to send me all three issues of his One Page Zine Outpost Owlbear.

I'll have to admit that I was kind of excited to get a piece of "real" mail. Outside of holiday cards I'm used to junk mail and bills. I can't remember the last time I had real mail.

Reading the Outpost Owlbear issues I was a bit all over the place as to how I felt about it, and I'm assuming that might be some of those outside "life" issues creeping in. My 1st thoughts, outside of the elation of "real mail" was that this One Page Zine was a quick & crude version of what I was trying to accomplish with my Tweak & Toss adventure "things". Of course this line of thought really isn't fair to the Zine.....

I read through the issues and let them stew for a bit.....

...and I definitely came around. Each issue is a quick two-page adventure setup for new/low-level PCs. I can see easily stepping things up, without difficulty, for mid-level PCs. They are good reads and even with the hand-written format, I think for a buck there is actually a lot of production value here.

Initially I thought that maybe these issues were printed out on custom paper stock, as if Tony had custom paper made and then printed the issues onto that stock. After a closer inspection I'm thinking he printed a letterhead out on a color printer, wrote the issue, and then scanned it in to a PDF and printed it out on colored paper. Either way he printed in color (basically just blues and black).

$1 for two pages color printing & mailed out....I don't think Tony T is likely to be breaking even.

The Outpost Owlbear blog is a little light on the details....like we don't know what the intended frequency is, but the fact there is something for this new endeavor I take as a good sign. While I'm giving Outpost Owlbear 4 stars, this is one of those few items I'd rather encourage folks to try out for themselves. At only $1 you can get some real mail and make your own judgement.

Me? I'm looking to see where this thing goes. It makes me want to look at more One Page Zines......

My Reaction to the Recent WotC News

Man, this news I just don't get.

Wizards of the Coast is choosing to shut down what they consider to be a "former foundation" of their online community....their forums.

On October 29th, 2015 at 10:00 AM PT they are pulling the plug on their forums. I think this is a big mistake. Yes, I get that a lot of the conversation about games is migrating to other social media, but you know what? When you go to places like Facebook, your company information is just a small sliver of the crap-ton of "stuff" being pushed in front of your fan base. So much "stuff" is out there that the owners of those social media sites have to use algorithms to determine how much of what to show.

In other words, you are choosing to bury your content in a pile of other "CLICK ME" content and then handing the reigns over to someone else to dictate what your fans/customers see.

Now I think it would be stupid to not have a social media presence, but they should augment, not replace, your own information/marketing efforts. Company game forums have long been the absolute best place for fans to get information about your products and connect with like-minded individuals. On company forums you get to determine the layout of your sub-forums and you get to decide what is important to get in front of your customers.

Forums can be used to help create a sense of community in a manner that I just don't see from social media. I just don't see this announcement as good news....