It discusses the genre in depth - with all its subgenres and inspirations (myth, novels, movies, etc.) - letting you design just the kind of fantasy setting that you want.GURPS Fantasy gives detailed, concrete advice - from the basics of the landscape itself, through its inhabitants and cultures, to the details of believable histories and politics. It also examines the nature of supernatural forces, and discusses the impact of wizards, monsters, and gods. And, of course, it looks at the many different ways that magic and users of magic can work in a fantasy world. And, perhaps most importantly, it advises GMs and players alike on the kinds of characters appropriate to fantasy - including ordinary folks, people with fantastic powers, and nonhumans.Whether your model is Tolkien, Jordan, or Leiber, this book will let create a town, a country, or an entire world. Like all Fourth Edition books

    A large portion of the book's text is reprinted, updated, and revised from the previous version of the Players Guide to fit the Second Edition's rules and formatting style. Notable among the new content in this edition of the Players Guide is the introduction of two new bloodlines, the Daughters of Cacophony and the Samedi, along with their respective signature Disciplines.

    We move the Wheel of Creation on its forward course and counter those who would freeze the wheel in its tracks."Now if we could only cooperate, we'd be in business!"- Porthos, Drui'shi Master of the Order of HermesMagickal Lore of the AgesA Book of Shadows is a journal of the Path, a tome of revelations for the followers of magick. In this Book of Shadows, mage players and Storytellers will uncover lost secrets of the Traditions and their rivals. This is a valuable tome for mages everywhere!The Mage Players Guide includes:* New rotes, Talsimans, Abilities, Merits, Flaws, and details about the elusive Ahl-i-Batin;* in-depth truths about the factions of magick and the Path of Ascension;* Expanded rules for magick, foci, familiars and more!

    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.

    These early chapters show the secret workings of the 'world machine.'• Combat Skills - contains information on use, cost, training, and problems with weaponry. It provides a unique combat system free of ambiguities.• Battle Magic - everyday spells available to all characters. You can enhance weapons or armor, detect items, or combat spirits• Other Skills - available in a wide variety are such useful personal skills as Riding, Tracking, and Picking Pockets.• Rune Magic - provides spells which deliver the power of the the gods to their devoted followers; also discusses the cults which channel such powers and the deadly tribal shamans.• Monsters — from Aldryami to zombies, this extensive chapter gives stat' guidelines for a menagerie of beast (dumb and smart) which can menace players and make life difficult.• Treasure - there are complete guidelines for compiling treasure which is commensurate with the comparative 'toughness' of the monsters to be dealt with.• Referee Notes - useful guidelines for the novice or professional referee, including optional rules.• Charts and Tables - included are play-aids for running a campaign in the Dragon Pass area; among others are encounter, reaction, and experience tables.• Convenient Pull-outs - the center sheets of the book make up a digest of the most important charts, tables, rules, and procedures, which can be lifted from the book for easy access.

    This exciting world is complete with soaring cities, viscious wars, and a gritty mean-streets style that harkens back to the traditions of film noir.The Eberron campaign setting is updated into the 4th edition D&D family with the Eberron Campaign Guide. Featuring all of the character elements from the core rulebooks, this updated version of the Eberron world is a must for any gamer that likes the magic-as-technology, film noir, high-adventure campaign setting that was chosen from over 15,000 game submissions.

    Containing 112 pages of all-new never-published-online comics in dramatic black-and-white, Start of Darkness is full of villainy goodness for any fan of the OOTS. Learn such secrets as: How did Xykon and Redcloak meet? How did Xykon became a lich? Why did Eugene Greenhilt swear revenge on Xykon? What ever happened to Lirian's Gate, anyway? How did Redcloak discover the Monster in the Darkness? Why on earth does Redcloak put up with Xykon's crap???The Order of the Stick: Start of Darkness is presented primarily in black-and-white, similar to our bestselling On the Origin of PCs, but features a special full-color insert detailing the Secret Lore of the Crimson Mantle--in the popular crayon format, first seen in No Cure for the Paladin Blues. Featuring introductions by the author and Miko Miyazaki, paladin of the Sapphire Guard, this book is a flat-out must have for fans of the OOTS plotline, as it fills in missing details in the story of who these evildoers are and why they do evil. Wallowing in unrepentant villainy has never been this much fun (legally)!

    This guide includes suggestions on how to prepare a campaign, running each session, dealing with problem players, how to create memorable NPCs and more.Please note that this is not a basic how-to for role-playing and is not affiliated with any particular gaming system or company.Table of ContentsForeword, by Erica LindquistChapter 1: On StorytellingChapter 2: Before Your GameChapter 3: Building Your StoryChapter 4: Running Your GameChapter 5: Players Player CharactersChapter 6: ProblemsChapter 7: Rules MechanicsChapter 8: Setting NPCsChapter 9: The EndPlease note that this is not a basic how-to for role-playing and it is not affiliated with any particular gaming company.

    In it, you will find: Eleven different Deadworld settings allowing customization of the storyline. A comprehensive zombie creation system to surprise and alarm players. A list of equipment crucial to surviving a world of shambling horrors. Detailed character creation rules for Norms, Survivors, and the Inspired. A full exposition of the Unisystem game rules, suitable for any game in any time period. Open Game License conversion text for porting AFMBE to any modern-day campaign featuring a twenty-sided dice game mechanic.

    The Empire of the Dragon-Blooded -- an invincible colossus -- stands astride the ruins of the First Age. For millennia, the scarlet Empress held the world in her steel grip. But the empress is no more, and the Realm spirals toward chaos and civil war. Its enemies descend -- demon princes, deathlords, skin-changing barbarians and the twisted and inscrutable Fair Folk hammer at the gates. In this time of darkness are reborn the solar Exalted, heroes of legend once slain by the Dragon-Blooded. Will these living legends herald the return of the Golden Age... or the end of creation?Exalted is the latest hardcover rulebook addition to the World of Darkness -- -- but not the one you think you know. You've never seen or even dreamed of this land before, yet it's hauntingly familiar. Become one of the Exalted, one of the heirs to an Age of Heroes, now cast down and disparaged. Will you rail against the tyranny of the oppressive Realm, seek your destiny in the dangerous Threshold, or throw in with the bizarre creatures of the wilds? The fate of this new world is in your hands.

    The well-stocked pages of this book hold an impressive inventory of merchandise to get you into and out of all manner of trouble, including:A caravanload of equipment, trade goods, alchemical items, poisons, mounts, and vehicles. Over 230 magic weapons and armors, such as the flameshroud axe, lance of the unending charge, and vampire hunter armor. Over 125 magic items, including new artifacts, such as elixir armor, rings of the hive mind, the ghost rod, and the bag of endless caltrops. Rules for vehicle combat on land, sea, and air. Within these pages, players and Dungeon Masters will find what they need to outfit their characters for nearly every contingency.To use this accessory, a Dungeon Master also needs the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide. A player needs only the Player's Handbook.

    They are as ancient and infinite as the multiverse itself. Even the bottomless Abyss could not contain their malice, and so they spread out across the planes, corrupting and destroying everything in their path. No living soul is beyond their reach, and with each conquered soul their numbers grow. What can stand against such a terrifying onslaught?This supplement for the D&D® game presents the definitive treatise on demons and their unspeakable home plane. Along with information about the physiology, psychology, society, and schemes of demonkind, you’ll find feats, spells, items, and tactics commonly employed by demons and those who oppose them. This book also provides detailed information on various demons, demon lords, and Abyssal layers.For use with these Dungeons & Dragons® core booksPlayer’s Handbook™ Dungeon Master’s Guide™ Monster Manual™

    But now, with the help of a magic beacon, I’m seeking those who are tainted. The impure. Abominations.Monster girls.But not to kill.They need my help. All kinds of help.I'm more than happy to provide it, to do all I can to keep them safe from the real monsters that exist in the world.

    Science fiction. Role-playing games. People around the globe turn away from the "real" world to inhabit others. Movie fan-freaks design costumes and collect "Lord of the Rings "action figures. Some attend comic book conventions and Renaissance fairs, others play live-action role-playing games (LARPs). The online game World of Warcraft (WoW) has lured twelve million users worldwide. Even old-school role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) are still wildly popular. What could one man find if he embarked on a journey through fantasy world after fantasy world? In an enthralling blend of travelogue, pop culture analysis, and memoir, forty- year-old former D&D addict Ethan Gilsdorf crisscrosses America, the world, and other worlds--from Boston to New Zealand, and Planet Earth to the realm of Aggramar. On a quest that begins in his own geeky teenage past and ends in our online gaming future, he asks gaming and fantasy geeks how they balance their escapist urges with the kingdom of adulthood. He speaks to grown men who build hobbit holes, and to grown women who play massively multiplayer online games. He seeks out those who dream of elves, long swords, and heroic deeds, and mentally inhabit faraway magical lands. What lures them--old, young, male, female, able-bodied, and disabled--into fantasy worlds, and for what reasons, whether healthy, unhealthy, or in between? Our noble hero battles online goblins, trolls, and sorcerers for weeks on end. He travels to pilgrimage sites: Tolkien's hometown, movie locations, and castles. He hangs out with Harry Potter tribute bands. He LARPs. He goes to fan conventions and gaming tournaments. He camps with medieval re-enactors--12,000 of them. He becomes Ethor, Ethorian, and Ethor-An3. He sews his own tunic. He even plays D&D. What he discovers is funny, poignant, and enlightening.

    The option to wait things out disappears when they get attacked by an enormous bear.