Frugal GM Review: The Cave Hideout

One of the reasons I like to do reviews, aside from adding content to the site, is to make the things I try to create better. Not only can I mine other creator's content for ideas big and small, but I can (hopefully) look at specific details and see what I think works and doesn't work. I think we are all naturally overly critical of our own works, but if you can develop a good critical eye when looking at other's work....maybe you can develop a sense of fairness towards your own things.

Or at least that is one of my goals. I'll try to share some of my "internal" monologue to show what I mean....

Today I saw a free map on DriveThruRPG that caught my eye. It is the only product/item currently available from Filippo onez Vanzo, the artist. Entitled "The Cave Hideout", the product page is quite bare and the full-sized preview doesn't work. I don't know what format the map is in, which could be an issue.

Now I tend to be a bit light on the download page description myself and I wonder if the problem with the full-sized preview is a publisher issue or a OBS issue. Looking at my last item...neither preview seems to work.

The map is in a PDF file format and 24.54" x 34.72" at 72 DPI.

What sized paper is this? Sounds close to A1, but that is 23.4" x 33.1"....I wonder if the map was created on A1 paper, scanned in, and then pushed out to add the title. Changing the DPI to 300 for printing makes it 5.89" x 8.33"....way too small for much in-game use.

The map is presented as an unsecured/locked-down PDF. Unfortunately the map isn't layered so there is no option to remove the numbers & letters.

Well I could open this up in Photoshop, remove what I don't want, and then import to Illustrator so I could get a vector map before bringing it back in to Photoshop and get the size that I want. That is going to be a fair amount of work and some of the details I want to remove are over details I'd rather keep.

The artwork on the map is pretty good. I love the artist's version of hatching and the room detail is good enough to accurately depict what is in each room without being "too much".

That hatching looks like it'd be a pain in the ass to do.....won't do that, but the trees...I think I can do that. That room detail is right out though as I don't have that level of skill drawing.

Overall a nice map, but I really wish that the identifying details (room letters & numbers) had been omitted, along with the grid. Getting this map in a larger printable size would have been much more useful. As-is I think it serves as a GM aide that would have to be re-drawn if being used at a gaming table. A lot of work would be required to turn it to something I could use with something player-facing.

Most of my maps that are like this one are secondary copies included in the Tweak & Toss-es. Keep on making the large-scale "clean" map 1st and then mark it up and re-size for the follow-on project. Try out that tree method soon and add some more elevation/motion lines to the tunnels and water bits of your map..if/when you go hand-drawn again.

Free GM Resource: Godbound A Game of Divine Heroes

Yes.....I know it is Wednesday and I missed a Free GM Resource on Monday. Still dealing with some personal drama with long-term ramifications, basically life getting in the way.

This week's Free GM Resource is a free version of Godbound, from Sine Nomine Publishing. My ears perk up a bit whenever I hear about these guys and yours should too. They give out free stuff like it was candy, and it's good candy....like full-sized Snickers or Hershey Bars...not like some candy corn or elephant peanuts.....

.....anyway, the RPG Godbound came out this summer and the free edition is interesting. Now I'm not going to review this game or anything (unfair to do without actually playing a few sessions), but I will have to say I'm impressed with the download:

• DRM/Security Free ....bookmarked PDFs
• 193 pages of full color main PDF
• 191 "lightweight" PDF
• Two PDF character sheets...with on being form-fillable!
• Epub Version
• Kindle Version

 Basically these guys didn't half-ass it when it came to offering a freebie version. The paid version is called the Godbound Deluxe Edition and comes with 50 extra pages. One thing I did find interesting is that there isn't an add for the Deluxe version, just one mention in a sidebar. Try the game for free and if you like it......

Frugal GM Review: Hexed Places Crescent Lake

For some odd reason I feel it important to disclose that I'm not a fan of hex crawls. I don't hate them or anything, just not my thing. Normally I wouldn't even want to look at a hex crawl product, but the publisher preview for Hexed Places: Crescent Lake made me think it might be ok to try this product out.

I figured it was a bit of a gamble, but what the heck....good to get out of my comfort zone once in a while.

Hexed Places: Crescent Lake is just one of a line of Hexed Places from PBE Games. This download consists of one 13 page PDF and two roughly 7 1/2" x 7" hex maps in 300 DPI PNG format. One map is for the players and the other the GM. Both maps are also in the PDF, but in smaller format with some space left for notes.

I have to admit I was a bit blown away during my initial flip-through. Sure there are only really 10 pages of actual content, the other three being the covers and a title page, but it is a good 10 pages. The PDF isn't secured/locked down, which might not be that big of a deal for most on a product like this, but it means I could easily open up the two pages of maps and make them b&w or greyscale if I wanted. Heck, the author actually used some of the fields in the PDF document properties. That isn't a big deal to 99% of the people who'd use this, but it is something I try to do with my stuff and I think this is the first time I've seen someone else do it.

What I really liked about this product was its simplicity. The information is laid out in an easy-to-read format and on some levels there really isn't a lot of it, but feels just right for me. Personally I want an low-level of good information that I can add to as-needed. A brief overview of the area, some rumors, and a few NPCs & locations suit me fine. The addition of area-specific wandering monsters is a nice touch.

While there are stats for the NPCs, monsters, & such, the information in Hexed Places: Crescent Lake is pretty much system neutral. This one small supplement could easily be used to populate a "new" area the party happens to stumble upon, like when the take a left down a road you expected them to go right on. Personally I'd keep this handy and use it to back-fill a hole in my campaign I wasn't expecting to fill. I'd not use the hex maps at the table, but tweak it to fit my own space as-needed.

I highly recommend picking up a few of these small area fills to use on the fly.....

Free GM Resource: Library of Congress Map Collections

I thought I'd share another map porn Free GM Resource that has a special meaning for me. The Library of Congress has well over 5 million maps in various collections, but only a fraction are available online. You can check the various online map collections in the Library of Congress here.

When I was a high school Freshman I got to go to Washington DC to compete in National History Day. Being the proper nerd that I was, when we had a day to tour the Capitol Mall I made a bee-line to the Library of Congress and pretty much got signed up for a library card. I had no clue when/if I'd ever be back to DC again, but dammit....I had my access card in case I did...and in nearly 30 years of travelling I never have....

Some good stuff here to check out.....

Frugal GM Review: White Box Omnibus

Yesterday I decided to jump on the Deal of the Day over at DriveThruRPG, picking up the White Box Omnibus for 1/2 off. It was after I picked it up I realized I don't have a copy of the White Box rules to begin with....

So for the time being I have some supplementary material for a game system I don't own. This fact is not being factored into this review.

Free Map#069 Some Hand-Drawn Work

Today I decided, after a good week of kicking a few ideas around in my head, to finally try and do a complete map manually....almost like a real RPG cartographer.

My line work seemed a bit uneven and while I thought I did a good job coloring in the map, when scanned I hated it. So much so that I about wrote it off.

Instead I started playing with my computer tools and figured out how to salvage the map to something a bit better. I'm thinking next time I'll intend to mix hand-drawn work with computer scanning & processing. Better to stick with what I know and take baby steps into new territory.

Like usual you can click on either graphic in the post to go to my Patreon Page for the map, or you can use this link.

Fat Dragon Games Sale Sunday, October 16th

I've mentioned before that Tom Tullis of Fat Dragon is a pretty good guy. I know I've mentioned & reviewed a few of Fat Dragon's products (great stuff) over the years and even promoted the recent Dragonlock 2 Kickstarter, which ended only a couple of days ago. My 12 regular readers might be a bit weary of yet another Fat Dragon post, but I'm going to risk it anyway....

This Sunday Fat Dragon Games is having a sale to benefit a cancer charity. I do not know the complete details, but when I do I'll edit this post.

From Facebook: "On October 4th, the FDG crew lost a long time friend to cancer. Sherilyn Daugherty was a wonderful friend and supporter, and we miss her dearly. Sherry fought her cancer with a grace and strength that will continue to be an inspiration to us all for the rest of our lives. On this Sunday, Oct. 16th, FDG will be running a sale and donating all the net proceeds to her favorite cancer charity, Steps for Sarcoma, in her memory. If there's a terrain set you've been wanting, consider grabbing it this Sunday, get a discount on it, and help a wonderful charity, too"

New Big Dragon Games Unlimited Sale

While going through my morning reading (online), I discovered that New Big Dragon Games Unlimited is having a HUGE sale on OneBookshelf.

Get the five biggest titles available for $1 each!

Some of these items I've reviewed:
     CC1 Creature Compendium (review) (purchase)
     AX2 D30 Sandbox Companion (review) (purchase)
     AX1 D30 DM Companion (review) (purchase)
     PX1 Basic Psionics Handbook (review) (purchase)
     VA1 Valley of the Five Fires (purchase)

The links above are affiliate links that don't cost either the publisher or the purchaser, but if you purchase one of these titles (you should pick up all five) I might get a nickle. I don't care so much for the nickle, but I do care about these awesome titles.....

....sale ends tonight at midnight!