North Texas RPG Con Report: Day 2

For the overwhelming majority of the conventions I've gone to, it was generally to "work", so getting in any gaming was a bit on the rare side. So far I've managed two games....two!

Frugal GM Review: Metal Dice from Easy Roller Dice Co.

This is the third and final review of dice & dice accessories I received from Easy Roller Dice Co. I had to save the coolest items for last.

I received two sets of their metal dice and I have to freely admit that I've seen metal dice before and due to the price they never really interested me. Who wants a bunch of heavy-as-hell dice that easily run $35-$45 for a set?

Great Deal on a New Game (Limited Time Offer)

North Texas RPG is fun and all, but the majority of my 12 readers probably aren't here right now...and the rest of the world spins along while the lucky few sling dice here.

Not a brag, just a realization.

Earlier today I ran into DM Vincent (from the Roll For Initiative podcast). He let me know that DriveThruRPG had his new game Mazes & Perils Deluxe Edition for a buck.....$1!

I saw the hardcopy proof of the gamebook....pretty good stuff, definitely worth more than a buck for the PDF. Vince told me the sale ends on Sunday.

North Texas RPG Day 1 Report

After some brief, but unavoidable, drama and most of a day of travel I was able to get down to Dallas/Ft Worth for North Texas RPG. With an attendance cap of 350, this is probably tied for the smallest "real" con I've gone to*.

On the quick walk-through looking for the registration table, which my sleep-deprived brain didn't notice in the obvious location for such a table, I saw a bunch of legends in the RPG world.

Lucky for me I also ran into some great folks that I've only known virtually/online. Just in the last 24 hours I've managed to put faces to names and work on making new friends.....

New d30 Table up on DTRPG: Random "Painting" Generator

My newest d30 table has been posted on DriveThruRPG (and OBS).

This is the last d30 treasure table, rounding out the small series of alternate treasure tables for OSR games. I seriously considered making one other set of tables of monster treasure types, but I thought that might be way too close to infringing on other's IP.

As-is these tables can be used to generate alternate treasure in place of standard gems for any fantasy RPG.

This last table covers paintings and other illustrative arts. Assuming you use the one sub-table, most of the works generated will be paintings, but you could also end up with tapestries, sketches, and a couple other types of illustrative art that might prove challenging to the party to monetize.

To get to the PWYW d30 table, just click on either graphic of this post, or use this link.

Free GM Resource: Four Free Virtual Battlemaps

I didn't post a Free GM Resource yesterday because of the "holiday", so I'm putting this up today.

Virtual Battlemap is a program for making some pretty cool 3D dungeon maps that you can print off to 2D for tabletop or Virtual Table Top (VTT) use. Unfortunately the freebie isn't the program itself, as it isn't quite available yet...

....but if you are interested in the software there is some voting on Steam to get this project greenlighted (or is it greenlit?)

The Free GM Resource available now (and for free, obviously) is a collection of finished maps. As of this morning there are four maps linked right on the Virtual Battlemap homepage. The maps are available as Dropbox downloads.

Frugal GM Review: Dice Tray and Dice Cup from Easy Roller Dice Co.

This week's Frugal GM review is a bit of a twofer because I'm reviewing two separate products that just seem like they belong together. I'm still working on the small treasure trove of review material I received from Easy Roller Dice Co.

The first item is the P/U Leather Dice Cup. I have no clue what "P/U" stands for, but the cup is on sale for $12.95 on the Easy Roller Dice Co. website, but $1 cheaper from them on Amazon. I'll get back to this....

The other item is the Dice Tray, which is only available on Amazon right now. I'm told they put up new items on Amazon to see how they are received before stocking their own website.

Neither of these items are something the average gamer "needs", but I'm willing to bet there are quite a few occasions that they come in damned useful. You know that guy (there is always "that guy" somewhere in everybody's history) who likes to palm the dice to tweak a result or is always rolling their dice and if they get a good result, no matter where it lands, they try to pass it off as their next result?

Using a dice cup and a DRZ (designated rolling zone) can cut down on a lot of problems.

A Quick Update

You might have noticed that this week is a little sparse on posts......

This is because I'm working a lot this week and my free time is prepping for North Texas RPG. Thanks to the generosity of Tenkar's Tavern I'm getting 1/2 of a dealer's table at the Tavern's room.

I'm printing up the game aids I've made over the last couple years and trying to tweak some things into a new format. I also have to prep some reviews and posts while I'm gone in case I cannot find the time while there.

I also have a few "special projects" I'm working on, mostly gifts for some of the community. I'm planning on having some freebies to give away at the con and I need to finish those up as well.

This morning I received a request to pimp someone else's Patreon campaign. That really isn't my thing, but if it is something I'd contribute to personally that is a whole different deal. This morning I did add The Forge Studios to the +12 Links of Helpfulness page. I'm pretty sure I've reviewed some of their product in the past (yes, I'm too lazy to look that up), and I know for certain I have some of their product in my DTRPG wishlist.

What took the request from "screw that" to "sure thing" was that I dig not only their cool black & white maps, but that they often include 1st person view illustrations of map locations. Being able to describe a location in-game is one thing, but having a graphic to show the group takes it to a whole different level....

.....yeah, I had to get in on that campaign. It puts me over my budgeted monthly Patreon support, but I think I'd regret not partaking in this one.