Arbiter of Worlds: A Primer for Gamemasters


Alexander Macris - 2019
    This primer will teach you how to build living, breathing worlds for your players to explore; how to host game and manage game sessions; and how to create powerful experiences of adventure that your players will talk about for years to come. Learn the secret to becoming a judge, an adversary, a worldbuilder, and a storyteller and become an arbiter of worlds! “Every Macris campaign starts with a rich, open world; the edge of a massive map; and the ability to find adventure in any direction. After playing in a dozen of his campaigns, I can assure you that Macris is the best prepared, most thorough GM on the prime material plane. He balances “deadly adversary” and “the party’s greatest supporter” perfectly. I’ve been lucky to contribute to some renowned video game worlds, and to discus world design with some of the most accomplished writers alive. And I’m honestly not sure there’s been someone more thorough at and passionate for world building than Macris since ... maybe Tolkien? (Okay, maybe G.R.R. Martin, but he’s not as organized or efficient.) It takes organization, creativity, and careful technique to build a massive world efficiently and deliver it effectively, and Macris can show you how he does it.” - Dr. Michael Capps, award-winning videogame executive, writer, designer (*Gears of War*, *Fortnite*, *Unreal Tournament, Unreal Championship*) “Armed with decades of experience as both a player and a designer, Macris cuts to the marrow with razor sharp insights in an unapologetic and often painfully insightful analysis of every imaginable facet of being a Game Master. From implication of play inherent in a game’s design, to world building, to the often delicate nature of unspoken social contracts inherent in the hobby, the guidance found in Arbiter of Worlds is a much-needed breath of fresh air to veterans of the hobby and a forged-in-the-fire bootcamp for those taking their first steps behind the screen.” - James M. Spahn, Ennie and Origins Award Winning RPG designer “A superb read. He makes his points the way you would expect a Harvard-trained lawyer to do. If you read this book, you are going to come out knowing real things you did not know before that will help you run games at the table…” - Courtney Campbell, Hack & Slash

Street Samurai Catalog


Tom Dowd - 1990
    A predator-for-hire in the savage urban world of Shadowrun. You've devoted your life to honing your combat and martial skills. The tools of your trade are airfoil grenades, form-fitting body armor, and an Ares Crusader machine-pistol. An expansion for Shadowrun, the Street Samurai Catalog will let you outfit yourself with the latest equipment available on the black market: retractable hand razors, ultrasonic sights, enhanced reflexes, and maybe a rangefinder for your cybereyes. Whatever you need to get the job done, you can find it here, but it won't be cheap. And remember to watch your back before someone decides to make you yesterday's news.

30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D Retrospective)


Peter Archer - 2004
    100,000 first printing.

Candlekeep Mysteries


Graeme BarberSarah Madsen - 2021
    Historians, sages, and others who crave knowledge flock to this library fortress to peruse its vast collection of books, scribbled into which are the answers to the mysteries that bedevil them. Many of these books contain their own mysteries—each one a doorway to adventure. Dare you cross that threshold?Candlekeep Mysteries is a collection of seventeen short, stand-alone D&D adventures designed for characters of levels 1-16. Each adventure begins with the discovery of a book, and each book is the key to a door behind which danger and glory await. These adventures can be run as one-shot games, plugged into an existing Forgotten Realms campaign, or adapted for other campaign settings.This book also includes a poster map of the library fortress and detailed descriptions of Candlekeep and its inhabitants.

Heroes Unlimited


Alex Marciniszyn - 1994
    Trade Paperback. Book Condition: Good. The cover does show some normal wear. Fraying on lamenation along edges of front and back cover.

The Burning Wheel: Character Burner


Luke Crane - 2004
    The Burning Wheel is an award winning fantasy roleplaying game in which player take on the roles of vibrant, dynamic characters whose very beliefs propel the story forward.

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!

Dark Sun: Campaign Setting


Timothy B. Brown - 1991
    This box contains several booklets:Rules Book - 96 pagesThe Wanderer's Journal - 96 pagesthe adventure 'A Little Knowledge', consisting off:A Little Knowledge - 16 pages fiction written by Jerry OltionSpiral bound Dungeon Master's Book - 24 pagesSpiral bound Player's Aid Cards book - 24 pages

Dread: A game of horror and hope


Epidiah Ravachol - 2005
    This book contains all that is needed for two or more play, except for paper, pencil, and a block-stacking puzzle like Jenga.Winner of the 2006 Gold ENnie for Innovation.

The Grand History of the Realms


Brian R. James - 2007
    Although not a game supplement, it serves as a handy reference guide for players and Dungeon Masters seeking information on specific historical events. In addition, the book features an exclusive Forgotten Realms short story by best-selling author R.A. Salvatore and new revelations for Realmslore aficionados.

Ars Magica, Third Edition, First Printing


Ken Cliffe - 1992
    

Faiths & Avatars (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms, Campaign Expansion/9516)


Julia Martin - 1996
    Detailed in this 192-page core supplement are the most prominent religions and deities of the Realms. Each divine power is covered in depth by an entry that includes information about the deity's appearance, personality, worshipers, portfolio, aliases, domain name, superior, allies, foes, symbol, worshipers' alignments, avatar, manifestations, church and specialty priests. The information on each religion includes its core dogma, day-to-day activities of priests, holy days and important ceremonies, major centers of worship, affiliated orders, and the priestly vestments and adventuring garb of members of the clergy. Finally, each entry contains spells specific to each of the religions - some new, some long unavailable or hard to find and some updated to conform with the current AD&D game rules. Faiths & Avatars includes: • All the greater, intermediate and lesser deities of the Faerûnian pantheon • The honored dead, including Bane, Bhaal, Moander, Myrkul and Leira, among others • Expanded and clarified specialty priest classes and specific spells for all religions with priesthoods • Color illustrations of priests from every faith in ceremonial dress • Four additional general priest classes now official to the Forgotten Realms campaign setting: crusaders, monks, mystics and shamans.

Kobold Guide to Plots & Campaigns (Kobold Guides Book 6)


Margaret WeisRobert J. Schwalb - 2016
     Kobold Guide to Plots & Campaigns shows how to begin a new campaign, use published adventures or loot them for the best ideas, build toward cliffhangers, and design a game that can enthrall your players for month or even years. Want to run an evil campaign, or hurl the characters into unusual otherworldly settings? Want to ensure that you're creating memorable and effective NPCs and villains? We've got you covered. Complete with discussions on plotting, tone, branching storytelling, pacing, and crafting action scenes, you'll find all the tips and advice you need to take on the best role in roleplaying--and become an expert gamemaster, too! Featuring essays by Wolfgang Baur, Jeff Grubb, David "Zeb" Cook, Margaret Weis, Robert J. Schwalb, Steve Winter, and other game professionals.

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.

Pathfinder Adventure Path: Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition


James JacobsMichael Kortes - 2012
    An attack by crazed goblins reveals the shadows of a forgotten past returning to threaten the town—and perhaps all of Varisia. The Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path begins with this goblin raid and takes players on an epic journey through the land of Varisia as they track a cult of serial killers, fight backwoods ogres, stop an advancing army of stone giants, delve into ancient dungeons, and finally face off against a wizard-king in his ancient mountaintop city. This hardcover compilation updates the fan-favorite campaign to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game rules with revised and new content in more than 400 pages packed with mayhem, excitement, and adventure!Celebrating both the fifth anniversary of the Pathfinder Adventure Path and the tenth anniversary of Paizo Publishing, this new edition expands the original campaign with new options and refined encounters throughout, incorporating 5 years of community feedback.The Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition contains:- All six chapters of the original Adventure Path, expanded and updated for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.- Articles on the major locations of Rise of the Runelords: sleepy Sandpoint, the ancient Thassilonian city of Xin-Shalast, and others.- Revelations on the sinister magic of Thassilon, with updated spells, magic items, and details on tracking sin points throughout the campaign.- A bestiary featuring eight monsters updated from the original Adventure Path, plus an all-new terror.- Dozens of new illustrations, never-before-seen characters, location maps, and more!Cover art by Wayne Reynolds