Book picks similar to
Vornheim by Zak S.


rpg
gaming
role-playing-games
fantasy

Wormwood


Kevin Siembieda - 1993
    A decadent, violent and deadly world ruled by demonic creatures and evil clergy who control powerful kingdoms of monsters and enslave humans. Inhuman destroyers who command the crawling towers and life force cauldrons to do their bidding. One of countless alien worlds linked to Rifts Earth by the many dimensional gateways of the ley lines.

Dungeon World


Sage LaTorra - 2012
    You and your friends will explore a land of magic and danger in the roles of adventurers searching for fame, gold, and glory.Dungeon World rules are easy to learn and always drive the story forward in unexpected ways. A missed roll is never a dead end--failure introduces new complexities and complications. Life as an adventurer is hard and dangerous but its never boring!Designed to be ready for you to hack, remix, and build new content, Dungeon World includes systems for changing everything to suit your group including creating new races, classes, and monsters.To play, you'll need this rulebook, 3-5 players, some polyhedral dice, and 1-4 hours.Explore fantasy adventure roleplaying in a whole new way with Dungeon World!

Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master


Michael Shea - 2018
    Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master uses the experiences of thousands of GMs to help us focus on how we prepare our games, how we run our games, and how we think about our games. It includes practical steps for focusing our preparation activities on those things that will bring the biggest impact to our game. Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master builds off of the concepts of the well-received GM's guidebook Lazy Dungeon Master, updating that book with five years of new experiences, new approaches, and new observations of the way people prepare and run RPGs. This new book is a completely self-contained work, which does not require anyone to have previously read The Lazy Dungeon Master. Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master offers a new focused approach for preparing and running our roleplaying games. The book includes an eight-step guide for lightweight game preparation and is focused on how we prepare for our games, how we run our games, and how we think about our games. Prepare what benefits your game.

The Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep


Larry DiTillio - 1984
    Horrifying deeds and dangerous sorcery dog those who attempt to unravel the fate of the Carlyle Expedition. The non-linear narrative keeps players baffled and on their toes. This new edition is reset and corrected, and features many new illustrations, four new episodes, added keeper support material, and a new version of the lost Australia chapter.

Eberron Campaign Guide: A 4th Edition D&D Supplement


James WyattScott Fitzgerald Gray - 2009
    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.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Magic


Jason BulmahnRuss Taylor - 2011
    In addition to the brand-new magus class—a master of both arcane magic and martial prowess—you'll also find a whole new system for spellcasting, rules for spell duels and other magical specialities, and pages upon pages of new spells, feats, and more. Because when it comes to magic, why settle for less than absolute power?Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Magic is a must-have companion volume to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. This imaginative tabletop game builds on more than 10 years of system development and an Open Playtest featuring more than 50,000 gamers to create a cutting-edge RPG experience that brings the all-time best-selling set of fantasy rules into the new millennium.Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Magic includes:- The magus, a new base class combining deadly arcane magic with the skills and weapons of a trained warrior.- Words of power, an innovative and flexible new spellcasting system.- New options for dedicated casters, such as alchemist discoveries, alternative uses for channeled energy, druid companions, sorcerer bloodlines, eidolon abilities, witch hexes, and oracle mysteries.- Additional feats and magical abilities for martially oriented casters, including monk ki tricks, inquisitor archetypes, and ranger traps.- New magical conditions called spellblihgts, as well as systems for crafting constructs, binding outsiders, and spell-dueling.- More than 100 new spells, plus detailed guidelines for designing your own.... and much, much more!Cover art by Wayne Reynolds

Blades in the Dark


John Harper - 2016
    There are heists, chases, occult mysteries, dangerous bargains, bloody skirmishes, and, above all, riches to be had — if you’re bold enough to seize them.You and your fledgling crew must thrive amidst the threats of rival gangs, powerful noble families, vengeful ghosts, the Bluecoats of the city watch, and the siren song of your scoundrel’s own vices. Will you rise to power in the criminal underworld? What are you willing to do to get to the top?In this stand-alone game, you’ll find:* Rules to create your scoundrel using the following character archetypes: the Cutter, the Hound, the Leech, the Lurk, the Slide, the Spider, or the Whisper.* Rules to create your crew, built from types like Assassins, Bravos, a Cult, Hawkers, Shadows, or Smugglers.* A robust core mechanic which puts the fiction first—the strength of a character’s position (desperate, risky, or controlled) matters just as much as the character’s ability scores.* A lightning-fast mechanic for planning criminal operations to cut through the usual slog of planning at the game table.Rules for alchemical experiments, gadget tinkering, and weird occult powers—including rules for playing Ghosts and other strange beings.* A setting guide to the haunted city of Doskvol, with all the maps, factions, NPCs, schemes, and opportunities you need to run an exciting sandbox game.

Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss


Ed Stark - 2006
    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™

Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons


Michael Witwer - 2015
    Michael Witwer has written a dynamic, dramatized biography of Gygax from his childhood in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin to his untimely death in 2008.Gygax's magnum opus, Dungeons & Dragons, would explode in popularity throughout the 1970s and '80s and irreversibly alter the world of gaming. D&D is the best-known, best-selling role-playing game of all time, and it boasts an elite class of alumni--Stephen Colbert, Robin Williams, and Junot Diaz all have spoken openly about their experience with the game as teenagers, and some credit it as the workshop where their nascent imaginations were fostered. Gygax's involvement in the industry lasted long after his dramatic and involuntary departure from D&D's parent company, TSR, and his footprint can be seen in the genre he is largely responsible for creating. But as Witwer shows, perhaps the most compelling facet of his life and work was his unwavering commitment to the power of creativity in the face of myriad sources of adversity, whether cultural, economic, or personal. Through his creation of the role-playing genre, Gygax gave two generations of gamers the tools to invent characters and entire worlds in their minds. Told in narrative-driven and dramatic fashion, Witwer has written an engaging chronicle of the life and legacy of this emperor of the imagination.

Troika! Numinous Edition


Daniel Sell - 2016
    Troika! Numinous Edition is the new edition of our popular Troika! RPG, a complete science-fantasy RPG full of critically acclaimed writing, built-in wonder and room for everyone at the table to go wild!Inside the book you will find; a full automated character creation system that generates exciting starting points for players to build upon; weighty lists of spells and enemies to encounter; a baked-in plane-hoping setting which draws you into the world and allows you space to build upon its sturdy foundations.Lavishly illustrated by Jeremy Duncan, Dirk Detweiler Leicthy, Sam Mameli, and ENnie award winning Andrew Walter

Microscope


Ben Robbins - 2011
    Want to explore an epic history of your own creation, hundreds or thousands of years long, all in an afternoon? That's Microscope.You won't play the game in chronological order. You can defy the limits of time and space, jumping backward or forward to explore the parts of the history that interest you. Want to leap a thousand years into the future and see how an institution shaped society? Want to jump back to the childhood of the king you just saw assassinated and find out what made him such a hated ruler? That’s normal in Microscope.You have vast power to create... and to destroy. Build beautiful, tranquil jewels of civilization and then consume them with nuclear fire. Zoom out to watch the majestic tide of history wash across empires, then zoom in and explore the lives of the people who endured it.Mock chronological order.Defy time and space.Build worlds and destroy them.A role-playing game for two to four players. No GM. No prep."Microscope is incredible! A truly brilliant design. Also, the book is extremely well done. Highly recommended."-John Harper, designer of Agon & Danger Patrol"Ben Robbins' Microscope may be the clearest-written game text I've ever read - which is helpful, because it is also one of the most innovative games I've come across in a long time. Microscope engagingly challenges assumptions and upends long-held conventions of play while delivering a singular and satisfying evening of gaming. And "fractal role playing" is no joke - the minute you finish, you'll want to dive back in and explore some interesting sliver of the vast history you just built."-Jason Morningstar, designer of Fiasco"It's been a long time that a game captures my attention like Microscope. Bypass the hype, it's a truly remarkable well-instruction'd game"-Andy Kitkowski, founder of story-games.com

Monstrous Manual


Doug Stewart - 1993
    This will be the perfect, easy-to-use replacement for the bulkier compendiums of the past. Illustrations, some in color.

Power of Faerûn (Forgotten Realms)


Ed Greenwood - 2006
    Ever wonder what it would be like to hold sway as an influential member of the royal court, a mighty general, a powerful religious figure, or a successful merchant prince? Power of Faerûn shows players and Dungeon Masters how to play high-level characters and run high-level campaigns in the Realms. It presents worthy challenges and opportunities for heroes who have had their fill of crawling through caverns and plundering forsaken tombs.For use with these Dungeons & Dragons® productsPlayer’s Handbook™ Dungeon Master’s Guide™ Monster Manual™Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting

Stormbringer: Fantasy Roleplaying in the World of Elric


Ken St. Andre - 1981
    

Al-Qadim: Arabian Adventures


Jeff Grub - 1992