Frugal GM Review: Fantasy Maps #3 from The Forge Studios

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I had added The Forge Studios to the +12 Links of Helpfulness page because I started funding their Patreon campaign.

Initially Maciej Zagórski had reached out to me regarding some of the free stuff he made that had been featured as a Free GM Resource. He wanted me to know that he was working on revamping his webpage where said freebies were stored. After some back & forth emails I learned about his Patreon and he sent me some PDF files for review. The most appropriate file for review was Fantasy Maps #3.

Some Pictures and Commentary About North Texas RPG Con

Is it just me, or does everyone have a bajillion things to do before a convention vacation and roughly half as much to do after a convention vacation?

Playing catch-up on regular life when you were pretty much away from the world is tons of fun. Regardless, as promised, here are some of my pictures from North Texas RPG Con, pictures of my "loot", and some general commentary. Since there are more pictures than normal, I'll start with them after the break....

North Texas RPG Days 3 & 4

My intention was to post small daily con reports the day after but that kind of infringed on actually doing stuff at the con.

Saturday had me manning the booth all day, with little to no visitors, and one evening game. Having a table in the side room was a mixed blessing. I didn't really expect to have a lot of sales anyway, so getting to chill and listen to some stories from the early days of TSR was quite the way to spend the day.

Taking a Second Look at a Free GM Resource: Donjon RPG Tools

I'm trying something new here when it comes to the Free GM Resources in that periodically, no more than a handful of times a year, I'm going to take a second look at a previously featured Free GM Resource.

A lot of times these freebies are one shots that eventually "disappear" from the interwebs, or they get updated. A couple weeks ago I was contacted by the creator of a featured resource (not this one, btw) and I was informed that they'd be making a massive update "soon".

Donjon RPG Tools were a huge collection of online random table generators that was originally featured on Christmas Eve of 2012. Since that was 3 1/2 years ago I'm thinking that post has been buried deep on the Table of Contents page. While there were a lot of tables back then, there are quite a few new ones available now and if, like me, you haven't been to the Donjon RPG Tools page in a while, well you are missing out.

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.....