Book picks similar to
Original Adventures Reincarnated #3: Expedition to The Barrier Peaks by Michael Curtis
fantasy
gaming
rpg
dungeons-and-dragons
Aberrant
Glenn Fabry - 1999
We are the celebrities, the heroes, the villains, the legends, the shining icons of our times. We are novas, and we will bring about a new golden Age... and you will like it.Golden age -- or Hell on Earth? To the residents of the Trinity Universe, the 21st century was a monstrous era when mad gods ran rampant across the world. But is this truth -- or OpNet propaganda? What was the Age of Aberrants really like? Find out the truth. It's not what you expect.Aberrant is a core rulebook and prequel to the Trinity science-fiction game. Set in the early 21st century, before the devastating war against humanity, this new complete roleplaying game allows you to be one of these doomed beings of vast power, and to experience their struggles to avoid the coming cataclysm.
Delta Green: Countdown
John Tynes - 1999
As our darkened globe spins through the eternal night, the lasting legacy of the human race is nothing but a scream - drowned out by the road of the destiny devouring us all. This is your last chance to show the cosmos what it means to be human: The will to fight.Delta Green: Countdown blows the doors of the world of Delta Green, reaching wider and digging deeper to map the terrain of the twisted pulp apocalypse we call the dawning of the 21st century. Brace yourself for the final world order: The Insects from Shaggai, alien parasites subverting the leadership of a nation; PISCES, the UK's attempt to harness the unknown; The Army of the Third Eye, terrorists fighting a bloody battle against alien invaders; GRU SV-8, a band of desperate operatives fighting darkness in the ruins of Russia; The Skoptsi, occult fanatics with an eight-hundred-year legacy; The OUTLOOK Group, where Majestic-12 tests its elite; Phenomen-X, a syndicated TV news show that pokes its camera in all the wrong places; Tiger Transit, a former CIA airline now in the clutches of a Tcho-Tcho drug cartel: The D Stacks at the American Museum of Natural History, where Dr. Jensen Wu classifies the unclassifiable; The Keepers of the Faith, traditionalist ghouls fighting the lean and hungry Heretic ghouls beneath the streets of Manhattan: and The Hastur Mythos, a twisted skein of surreal destruction weaving its way through humanity. Plus: new skills, new spells, new Mythos tomes, rules for psychics, a microbiologist's dossiers on paranormal lifeforms, profiles of international intelligence and law-enforcement agencies, dozens of useful NPCs, two scenarios, a short campaign, and more.
Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D
David Kushner - 2017
Like the game itself, the narrative casts the reader into the adventure from a first person point of view, taking on the roles of the different characters in the story. Gygax was the son of immigrants who grew up in Lake Geneva, WI, in the 1950s. An imaginative misfit, he escaped into a virtual world based on science fiction novels, military history and strategic games like chess. In the mid-1970s, he co-created the wildly popular Dungeons & Dragons game. Starting out in the basement of his home, he was soon struggling to keep up with the demand. Gygax was a purist, in the sense that he was adamant that players use their imaginations and that the rules of the game remain flexible. A creative mind with no real knowledge of business, he made some strategic errors and had a falling out with the game's co-creator, his close friend and partner, David Arneson. By the late 1970s the game had become so popular among kids that parents started to worry -- so much so that a mom's group was formed to alert parents to the dangers of role play and fantasy. The backlash only fueled the fires of the young fans who continued to play the game, escaping into imaginary worlds. Before long, D&D conventions were set up around the country and the game inspired everything from movies to the first video games. With D&D, Gygax created the kind of role playing fantasy that would fuel the multibillion dollar video game industry, and become a foundation of contemporary geek culture.
Magic Item Compendium
Andy Collins - 2007
Presents over 500 new magic items, including affordable items that no adventurer should be without, as well as more than 750 of the best magic items from previously published D&D game supplements and campaign settings, Dragon magazine articles, and articles posted on the Wizards of the Coast website.Each magic item is presented and catalogued in a new, easy-to-reference format that includes a read-aloud text description of the item.
Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
James IntrocasoKate Welch - 2019
You’ve just started your adventuring career, but already find yourself embroiled in a plot that sprawls from the shadows of Baldur's Gate to the front lines of the planes-spanning Blood War! Do you have what it takes to turn infernal war machines and nefarious contracts against the archdevil Zariel and her diabolical hordes? And can you ever hope to find your way home safely when pitted against the infinite evils of the Nine Hells?- This heroic Dungeons & Dragons adventure book takes players from levels 1 to 13 as they journey through Baldur's Gate and into Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells.- Baldur's Gate is among the most iconic locations in fantasy culture. A mist-cloaked metropolis on the Sword Coast, it’s a place of history and a home to heroes.- The book introduces the infernal war machines to fifth edition D&D—battle-ready vehicles, which you can customize as you blast off into the Blood War.- Dungeon Masters will entice their heroes with devils' deals, designed to lure adventurers with the ultimate temptations of power and treasure.
Sunward: The Inner System
Rob BoyleBrian Cross - 2009
Stations and plot seeds are provided for each of the inner worlds and the factions that occupy them. Background and information on the Planetary Consortium, the most powerful political and economic force in the solar system, is also provided.
Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It
David M. Ewalt - 2013
Even if you’ve never played Dungeons & Dragons, you probably know someone who has: The game has had a profound influence on our culture. Released in 1974—decades before the Internet and social media—Dungeons & Dragons is one of the original ultimate nerd subcultures, and is still revered by more than thirty million fans. Now, the authoritative history and magic of the game is revealed by an award-winning journalist and life-long dungeon master.From its origins on the battlefields of ancient Europe, through the hysteria that linked it to satanic rituals and teen suicides, and to its apotheosis as father of the modern video game industry, Of Dice and Men recounts the development of a game played by some of the most fascinating people in the world. Chronicling the surprising history of D&D’s origins (one largely unknown even to hardcore players) while examining the game’s profound impact, Ewalt weaves laser-sharp subculture analysis with his own present-day gaming experiences. An enticing blend of history, journalism, narrative, and memoir, Of Dice and Men sheds light on America’s most popular (and widely misunderstood) form of collaborative entertainment.
Player's Handbook II
David Noonan - 2006
This is the first direct follow up to the best-selling and most used D&D rulebook. It is specifically designed to expand the options available for players by both providing new material and increasing the uses for existing rules. Included are chapters on character race, background, classes, feats, spells, character creation, and character advancement. New rules include racial affiliations that make race matter as a character advances in level, new character classes and alternate class features for existing classes, new feats, tools for rapid character creation, and additional organization and teamwork benefits -- an option first introduced in Dungeon Master's Guide II and Heroes of Battle.
Unknown Armies
Greg Stolze - 1999
Completely reorganized, largely rewritten, and jam-packed with new art, the second edition of Unknown Armies isn't just better. It kicks metaphysical ass! We've remixed the book based on the level of campaign you want to play: Street, Global, or Cosmic. At street level, you're outsiders to the secret world of magick, ordinary people entering a land of mystery and peril. At global level, you're mojo-wielding cabalists in the occult underground, pursuing your arcane agendas and plotting against your rivals. At cosmic level, you're in tune with the cosmos itself, fighting to shape the next incarnation of reality. Background material is divided up as well, so new players in a street-level campaign only read what the GM wants them to know. But the beats don't stop there: Much more information for new players, to get them into the mindset of the game and help them make better characters and stronger campaigns. * New character-creation options, including Trigger Events, Paradigm Skills, and power levels scaled to match the level of campaign you're playing. * Numerous rules tweaks, including a new initiative system, Fuzzy Logic skill checks, player-directed combat modifiers, amped-up martial arts rules, a new experience system, and more, all dedicated to upgrading UA's innovative percentile system into a lean and precise tool for fast play and player empowerment. * More magick for non-adepts: Authentic Thaumaturgy, new rituals and artifacts, and revised versions of Proxy Magick and Tilts allow the freewheeling use of symbolic, sympathetic magick by anyone with the will to make it happen. * Twelve schools of magick (up from seven in UA1) for obsessed adepts, including revised versions of published schools (Bibliomancy, Personamancy, and Urbanomancy) and two new schools (Videomancy and Narcotic Alchemy). * Fourteen avatars (up from eight in UA1) for archetypalists, including revised versions of published avatars (The Messenger, The Mother, The Mystic Hermaphrodite, and the True King) and two new avatars (The MVP and The Warrior). * More resources for the GM, including specific guidance on combat, wounds, skill checks, campaign building, and other critical issues. * New cover art and design, new interior art and design, and a hardcover binding to keep this game in line.
Adventurer's Vault
Logan Bonner - 2008
Whether you're a player looking for a new piece of equipment or a Dungeon Master stocking a dragon's hoard, this book has exactly what you need.The book features a mix of classic items updated to the 4th Edition rules and brand-new items never before seen in D&D.