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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.
Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game
Cam Banks - 2012
It's one thing to stop an alien invasion or throw down with the Juggernaut, but sometimes you have to make the hard choices when you're saving the world. With the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Game books, that great power and great responsibility is yours! Based on the Cortex Plus system, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying takes the award-winning events in the history of the Marvel Universe and gives you all of the heroes, villains, key decision points, and rich background you need to fight your own battles and forge a new destiny!
Domains of Dread: Ravenloft Campaign:
Steve Miller - 1997
Features new rules for creating heroes native to the domains, adapting magic to the demiplane, and dealing with fear and horror checks when the characters experience the true terror that dominates the Ravenloft "RM" campaign.Night is Falling. The Mists are RisingEmbrace the Darkness.Enter the dark and macabre world of Ravenloft.But beware -once you begin to walk among the mists and shadows,you can never leave.Domains of Dread is the core rulebook for the second edition of the award-winning RAVENLOFT campaign setting - the original fantasy horror role-playing game. Within the pages of this book, players and Dungeon Masters will discover the darkest secrets of the Land of the Mists, including many never-before-seen features:Detailed guidelines on designing anything from short-term horror adventures to long-running campaigns of twisted terror.Complete rules for generating player characters native to the Demiplane of Dread.Four new character classes specifically designed for use in RAVENLOFT campaigns - the avenger, the anchorite, the gypsy, and the arcanist!An all-new player character race - the half-Vistani!Updated and expanded descriptions of the Demiplane and the foul lords who rule its tortured domains!Revised fear, horror, and madness checks to enhance the terror.New rules for power checks, plus thirteen detailed steps that lead from grace to absolute corruption!Summary of content:1: The Demiplane of Dread: general description of Ravenloft, as well as a history and theories about the nature of the dark powers, and an overview of the technological levels in Ravenloft (from Stone Age to Renaissance)2: Domains of the Core3: Islands of Terror (Bluetspur, G´Henna, I´Cath, Kalidnay, Nosos, Odiare, Souragne and Vorostokov)4: Clusters (Amber Wastes (Har'Akir, Sebua and Pharazia), Zherisia (Paridon and Timor), the Burning Peaks (Vecna and Kas's domains) and Pockets (Davion, The House of Lament, The Nightmare Lands and Scaena)5: Secret Societies - short chapter on nine secret societies - Keepers of the Black Feather, Green Hand, Circle, Church of Ezra, Vistani, Carnival, Kargatane, Fraternity of Shadows, Unholy Order of the rave)6: Fear, Horror, and Madness rules7: Powers Checks rules8: The Path of the Priest - changes in the priest class9: The Way of the Wizard - changes for wizards.10: Mazes of the Mind - changes for psionics11: Forged of Darkness - changes for magical items12: The Whispered Evil - curses.13: Tenets of Terror - discussion about the general nature of Ravenloft adventures and campaignsAppendix: ability scores, character races, character classes (some new: Avengers (paladins), Arcanist (wizards), Anchorites (priest of Ezra), gypsy (bard)
Kobold Guide to Worldbuilding (Kobold Guides to Game Design)
Janna SilversteinMichael A. Stackpole - 2012
It took startling leaps of imagination as well as careful thought and planning to create places like these: places that readers and players want to come back to again and again.Now, eleven of adventure gaming's top designers come together to share their insights into building worlds that gamers will never forget. Learn the secrets of designing a pantheon, creating a setting that provokes conflict, determining which historical details are necessary, and so much more.Take that creative leap, and create dazzling worlds of your own!Essays by Wolfgang Baur, Keith Baker, Monte Cook, Jeff Grubb, Scott Hungerford, David "Zeb" Cook, Chris Pramas, Jonathan Roberts, Michael A. Stackpole, Steve Winter, with an introduction by Ken Scholes.
Tales from the Yawning Portal
Wizards of the Coast - 2017
Some of the yarns overheard by Durnan, the barkeep of the Yawning Portal, are inspired by places and events in far-flung lands from across the D&D multiverse, and these tales have been collected into a single volume.Within this tome are seven of the most compelling dungeons from the 40+ year history of Dungeons & Dragons. Some are classics that have hosted an untold number of adventurers, while others are some of the most popular adventures ever printed.The seeds of these stories now rest in your hands. D&D’s most storied dungeons are now part of your modern repertoire of adventures. Enjoy, and remember to keep a few spare character sheets handy.For use with the fifth edition Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master’s Guide, this book provides fans with adventures, magic items and deadly monsters, all of which have been updated to the fifth edition rules. Explore seven deadly dungeons in this adventure supplement for the world’s greatest roleplaying game.Tales from the Yawning Portal includes the following adventures:*Against the Giants*Dead in Thay*Forge of Fury*Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan*Sunless Citadel*Tomb of Horrors*White Plume Mountain
Deadlands: The Weird West Roleplaying Game
Shane Lacy Hensley - 1996
The American Civil War rages on, neither side able to establish a clear advantage. Most of California has fallen into the sea. The Sioux Nations have reclaimed the Dakotas. And the dead walk among us. In Deadlands: The Weird West Roleplaying Game, players take on the roles of hexslinging hucksters, mad scientists armed with weird, steampunk gizmos, deadly gunfighters, fearless Indian braves, and wizened shamans. In 1863, a vengeful warband called the Last Sons unleashed the manitous upon humanity, and nothing has been the same since.
Sharn: City of Towers
Keith Baker - 2004
The city of Sharn is a source of great intrigue and adventure on Eberron, making it the launching point for most campaigns and adventures. Sharn: City of Towers describes how Sharn looks and works, from power and politics to trade and commerce, and with four-color illustrations throughout. There are detailed geographical descriptions of every part of the city, with a complement of maps for visual reference. Monsters and villains prevalent in the city make an appearance, and there is detailed information on what characters can do and obtain in Sharn to improve their adventuring skills. Dungeon Masters will find a wealth of information on running campaigns in Sharn, and adventure hooks are provided for immediate gameplay.
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Inner Sea World Guide
James JacobsJeff Grubb - 2011
Yet all is not lost, for these dark times provide ample opportunity for adventure and heroism.Inside this exciting and informative 320-page tome you will find:- Detailed summaries of the player character races native to Golarion, including more than a dozen distinct human ethnicities- Elaborate gazetteers of more than 40 crumbling empires, expansionist kingdoms, independent city-states, and monster-haunted wildlands of Golarion’s adventure-filled Inner Sea region, with locations perfect for nearly any type of fantasy campaign- Cultural information and Pathfinder RPG rules covering the 20 core deities of the Inner Sea, plus entries on other gods, demigods, forgotten deities, weird cults, strange philosophies, and more!- An overview of the Inner Sea’s history, a look at time and space, a discussion of magical artifacts and technological wonders, discussions of important factions and organizations, and hundreds of locations ripe for adventure!- Tons of new options for player characters, including Inner Sea-themed prestige classes, feats, spells, adventuring gear, and magic items!- Nine new monsters, including exotic humanoids of the skies and seas, undead and dragons, and an angry demon lord in exile!- A giant 21.75"x33" poster map that reveals the sweeping landscape of the Inner Sea in all its treacherous glory!Cover art by Wayne Reynolds
Clanbook: Malkavian Revised
Ethan Skemp - 2000
From emotionless sociopaths to raving lunatics and everything in between, the Malkavians nonetheless command startling insight. Does what they know drive them to madness or does their insanity allow them too peer into a world the rest of us fear to see?The Method of MadnessAs part of the revised lineup of clanbooks, Malkavian takes one of the classic sourcebooks for the game and brings it into a modern context. All-new information accompanies a re-examination of earlier concepts, allowing you to add as much depth to your character as you like. The sheer volume of information contained in the new clanbooks (each 32 pages longer than the first-edition series) permits Storytellers to round out their chronicles.
Eclipse Phase: The Roleplaying Game of Transhuman Conspiracy and Horror
Rob BoyleTobias Wolter - 2009
Humanity is enhanced and improved, but also battered and bitterly divided. Technology allows the re-shaping of bodies and minds, but also creates opportunities for oppression and puts the capability for mass destruction in the hands of everyone. And other threats lurk in the devastated habitats of the Fall, dangers both familiar and alien. In this harsh setting, the players participate in a cross-faction conspiracy called Firewall that seeks to protect transhumanity from threats both internal and external. Along the way, they may find themselves hunting for prized technology in a gutted habitat falling from orbit, risking the hellish landscapes of a ruined earth, or following the trail of a terrorist through militarized stations and isolationist habitats. Players may even find themselves stepping through a Pandora Gate, a wormhole to distant stars and the alien secrets beyond.
Mistborn Adventure Game
Brandon Sanderson - 2011
It features new official fiction from Brandon Sanderson and loads of never-before-seen material, making it the ultimate resource for fans of the novels and those who want to experience the Final Empire firsthand. Softcover Retail Edition This version of the Mistborn Adventure Game will be available in book and hobby retailers worldwide, but you're also welcome to purchase it here. It features the same contents as the deluxe hardcover edition in a compact, easy-to-carry and use format. It's perfect for that gamer on the go!