11/14/2015

Frugal GM Review: Tribes Most Foul (GM's Miscellany)

Frugal GM Review: Tribes Most Foul (GM's Miscellany)
OK I said I'd do a review of one of the GM's Miscellany from Raging Swan Press. There were a few to choose from and I ended up with the one that interested me the most, which was Tribes Most Foul.

These supplements are specifically written for Pathfinder, but I'm looking at them more from an OSR standpoint and won't be looking at game-specific mechanics. If something isn't quite right as far as Pathfinder is concerned I wouldn't know anyway. It is my belief that everything needs to be tweaked by the GM for their group anyway....

First off, the supplement comes in two downloads. One is a larger PDF tweaked for printing and the second is a smaller, lower resolution file for viewing on a screen (PC, tablet, etc.). The difference isn't noticeable unless you print the screen version instead of the print version. I do like how Raging Swan treated the print version with the same respect as the screen version. The only criticism I have with the print PDF is I really wish they would have used a different cover. Simply inverting the colors so there is a little black text on a white background is highly preferred to an all-black cover I don't want to waste ink on.

Both PDFs are well bookmarked, with some internal cross-links. The PDFs are secured, but only the ability to edit the documents, assemble a new document, or extract pages is restricted. For the majority of the end-users this is perfectly fine.

Not including things like the covers or the OGL, this supplement had 60 pages of content. There are 25 humanoid tribes detailed in two-page spreads and a nice little 5 page section of creating your own humanoid tribes. I really liked this create-your-own section, but I'm a sucker for large random tables. If you aren't wanting to go through the process of creating your own tribe there is one table filled with 50 sample tribe names. Just grab a name and fill in the background as you will.

What you are really buying with Tribes Most Foul are these 25 pre-generated tribe backgrounds. Each write-up consists of a quick introduction, society & organization, ecology & lair, combat & tactics, notable personalities, and tribal lore. You also get a good picture of a tribal totem or symbol. The overwhelming majority of the "Pathfinder Stuff" is in the stat blocks of the notable personalities. There is a bit in the knowledge checks for tribal lore as well. I really don't think that GMs for other systems will have too much trouble interpreting these stats to their system.

The more generic (system-wise) tribal information is rich with details that really make these creatures "pop". I don't think GMs will want to use this supplement "on the fly" to try and add some interest to their game, but instead plan out possible interactions and possibly work the campaign around these notable foes. There are a few integration ideas presented with each tribe.

Frugal GM 5 Star Review: Tribes Most Foul (GM's Miscellany)
If nothing else, I think Tribes Most Foul can serve as a great template for GMs who want to put together their own custom humanoid tribes. I know if I had tried to do so without some guidance I'd probably have either written up something too small, forcing me to "wing it" during the game, or something huge that would prove cumbersome. Raging Swan Press did a great job of managing this information balance, and I highly recommend picking this one up.

11/13/2015

Free d30 Tables: Combined Height & Weight for Half-Elves

Free d30 Tables: Combined Height & Weight for Half-Elves
The next set of combined height & weight tables are up at DTRPG. This time I've skipped ahead of the list to present what I think is the last of the "standard" races I have: the Half-Elf.

Here is the link to the English PDF and this is the link for the Metric version.

11/12/2015

Corporia Expansions 1/2 Off

Corporia Expansions 1/2 Off
An old friend of mine, who wrote the RPG Corporia (link to my review) decided to put up three expansions for half price. I'm hoping he put out an email to Corporia purchasers, but in case this is one of your games and you missed it....

"It's my birthday month, but you're getting a present!

Starting now until the end of November, you can now get all three Corporia expansions at half price! Simply use the DriveThruRPG discount links below.

Corporia: New Hires (now only $1.50) -http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?discount=908774f8ba

Corporia: Agents of Change (now only $1.50) -http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?discount=908463f0e3

Corporia: Familiar Spirits (now only $0.49) -http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?discount=908658f507

If you get all three, you're getting 80 pages for only $3.49 - but remember, these discounts expire November 30, 2015!

Best,

Mark Plemmons

Brabblemark Press
"

11/09/2015

Free GM Resource: GM's Miscellany Free Previews

Free GM Resource: GM's Miscellany Free Previews
This week's Free GM Resource is a set of interesting product previews from Raging Swan Press.

The free resource this week are the previews for GM's Miscellany:

  • Village Backdrops
  • Village Backdrops II
  • Village Backdrops III
Although intended specifically for Pathfinder, the GM Miscellany Series are hearty GM aides that really flesh out small locales/dungeons that GMs can pretty much drops right into their campaigns. 

Usually free previews like these are little more than an example of the writing and layout that really have no value on their own and are just intended to entice you to pick up the full product. What Raging Swan Press has done is actually put out some useful free content that would entice you to purchase the rest of the product.

For example, the GM Miscellany: Village Backdrops is a 98 page PDF while the free preview is 34 pages. Instead of just putting out a few pages of free preview, what the publisher did was actually provide the 1st 2 pages of content for each of the 12 featured villages. You get a quick background, demographics, notable information and even a map!

Sure it is written for Pathfinder, but there isn't all that much Patherfinder-specific "stuff" to get in the way.

I'm planning on picking up something from the GM's Miscellany line to review this week.

11/06/2015

It is Time for Secret Santicore 2015!

It is Time for Secret Santicore 2015!
It is that time a year again!

Time to submit your Secret Santicore requests. For those of you unfamiliar with Secret Santicore the basic premise is that you make a simple (usually OSRish) RPG request and be willing to fulfill one wish in return. Helper elves mix up the requests and send them out to all participants. The elves also help with editing and assembly and then Secret Santicore delivers everyone a free PDF chock-full of the requested RPG items.

If you want in, please click on any of the links here for the overview blog post and a link to the submissions page.

11/05/2015

Free d30 Tables: Combined Height & Weight Charts for Half-Orcs

Free d30 Tables: Combined Height & Weight Charts for Half-Orcs
It is a busy day at home as my wife heads off to Gameholecon without me...at least I get some extra hours in at work....

Before I drop her off at the airport and start my longer-than-average-day I wanted to get out the next two d30 Combined Height & Weight Charts.

This time around they are the charts for Half-Orcs.

FGM031je is the English d30 table and FGM031jm is the Metric. You can use these links or click on the graphics below to go to the appropriate free d30 tables:

FGM031je d30 Half-Orc Height & Weight Table
English

FGM031jm d30 Half-Orc Height & Weight Table
Metric

11/04/2015

Free Map054: Generic Cavern

Free Map054: Generic Cavern
I have my newest cavern map up on the Patreon site. This map is was originally designed to fit a latter-sized page, and my Patrons get it at 300 dpi. The free version is 100 dpi.

Free Map054: Generic Cavern at 100 dpiI'm working on a GM supplement to make cavern crawling these 2d maps a bit more interesting and hope to have that out next week. Until then, have fun using this map....

11/02/2015

Free GM Resource: Exquisite Corpse Dungeon #2

Free GM Resource: Exquisite Corpse Dungeon #2
This week's Free GM Resource is a highlight of a cool community project called the Exquisite Corpse Dungeon. Technically I'm pointing out the more recent 2nd project, but here is a link to the 1st as well.

The Exquisite Corpse Dungeon is a series of HUGE maps that are broken down into small sections, with each section being drawn by one artist. At best the artist knows just a sliver of the map piece before it, just enough to make the appropriate connections from the old section to the new.

This can make the overall map look like somewhat disjointed, but it does make for an interesting collaborative effort. The final map comes in at a huge 18" x 48". I can't speak for anyone else, but I loves me some big-assed maps.

I can't wait to get my skills up to the point where I could contribute.....well, at least to the point where folks would want me to contribute. Until then I'll be like everyone else and enjoy the Exquisite Corpse Dungeons.