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

    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

    Reality is not what we think. Around us the world is dark and dangerous and nothing is what it seems to be. Our reality is an illusion, created to keep us captive. We are imprisoned since ages past by a dictatorial creator. The true world, invisible to us, is ruled by creatures who dominate behind the false facades, our prison wardens and torturers. The characters in 'Kult' are dark heroes, governed by Destiny. When the illusions shatter, they face the true reality. Kult is a complete role-playing game and includes 1) The Lie - rules for creating player characters with abilities, dark secrets, advantages and disadvantages and skills. 16 ready-made archetypes (each infull color) will enable you to create an interesting character speedily and commence playing. 2) The Madness: Rules for encountering terror; advanced, realistic combat rules; and a comprehensive, logical magic system 3) The Truth: A consistent background to help you to recreate different horror atmospheres. Our illusion and dark realilty are described in detail, together with the creatures and cults who lurk behind the veil.

    It is played by the light of ten tea light candles which provide atmosphere, act as a countdown timer for the game, and allow you to literally burn your character sheet away as you play. Ten Candles is described as a "tragic horror" game rather than survival horror for one main reason: in Ten Candles there are no survivors. In the final scene of the game, when only one candle remains, all of the characters will die. In this, Ten Candles is not a game about "winning" or beating the monsters. Instead, it is a game about what happens in the dark, and about those who try to survive within it. It is a game about being pushed to the brink of madness and despair, searching for hope in a hopeless world, and trying to do something meaningful with your final few hours left. Ten Candles may be played with any number of players and one gamemaster. It takes between 2-4 hours for an average session. While there are some components that need to be gathered to run a game (such as ten tea light candles), the game requires no addition preparation by the gamemaster. The setting of Ten Candles will change game to game as the gamemaster selects different "modules" to run for an ever-changing lineup of doomed characters and scenarios for them to play within. The antagonists of the game also change, leaving you to fight nightmares in one session only to fight sentient shadows, bloodthirsty clowns, or the gods themselves in the next. Every session of Ten Candles is unique and will present an entirely new tragic story for you to tell.The standard setting of Ten Candles is this: Ten days ago the world went dark. The sky betrayed you. The sun vanished. The fall into chaos was sudden and predictable. The world was filled with riots and fear. You were told that the sun was not gone, and that it was still out there beyond that black sky. Order returned. Five days ago, They came. Now the lights flicker low and the dark is where They hunt. Now you can hear the screams. Now They're coming for you. Keep moving. Don't lose hope. And stay in the light.

    You play these magi, gathered in covenants with your allies and servants, unlocking secret powers and creating wonders. You and your friends will also portray the loyal companions and grogs who stand with the magi, as a buffer between them and the mundane world that often misunderstands their power and motives. When adventures draw you out into the medieval world of Mythic Europe, your stories are the stuff of legend.

    

    Discover lost tombs, fight horrifying monsters, wander the wilderness and build your own stronghold to defend. Forbidden Lands is a legacy game, in which your actions will permanently change the game map, turning it into a living chronicle of your adventures. The unique rules for exploration, survival, base building and campaign in the game play can easily be ported to any other game world.The tabletop RPG Forbidden Lands was named one of the most anticipated RPGs of 2018 by EN World. The crowdfunding campaign raised over a quarter of a million dollars and was the third most successful RPG Kickstarter in the world 2017.With art by the internationally acclaimed artists Simon Stålenhag and Nils Gulliksson, lore by fantasy author Erik Granström, scenarios by esteemed game writers Patrick Stuart, Ben Milton and Chris McDowall and game design by Free League that created the award-winning RPGs Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis: The Third Horizon, Symbaroum and Tales from the Loop.

    You will explore untracked wilds, fight desperate battles, forge bonds with isolated communities, and reveal the secrets of this harsh land.Are you ready to swear iron vows and see them fulfilled—no matter the cost?

    Each class comes with a set of new powers, class features, paragon paths, epic destinies, and more that beginning players can use to build the characters they want to play and experienced players can plunder for existing 4th Edition characters. In addition to new builds, this book presents expanded information and racial traits for some of the game’s most popular races, including dragonborn, drow, half-elves, half-orcs, and tieflings.

    They were released one after another in 2003 and 2004.The books are presented in the form of the fictional writings of Richter Kless, a character of the Warhammer world. The authors take the role of an editor who goes through Kless' works, which contains studies, illustrations and excerpts from other fictional sources. The Liber Chaotica also provides background related to the Warhammer 40.000 universe, written as cryptic records of recurring visions Kless suffered. Being an account of the dark secrets and arcane law of the most terible mysteries and hidden truths of the ruinous powers (Warhammer) This book is the most in-depth examination available of the terrible Chaos powers that so threaten the Warhammer Old World, Games Workshop's grim fantasy land. Each of the four Chaos powers is examined in fascinating detail. This volume combines the classic Liber Chaotica series of background books and reveals more secrets on Chaos Undivided, which every Warhammer fan will be desperate to know. Liber Chaotica: Complete edition collecting all previous books into a single volume and including as well as a fifth volume called Liber Undivided was released in 2006.

    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.

    Food, water, and wealth await heroic adventurers inside an ancient pyramid ruled by a strange race of masked beings.This module includes a cover folder with maps, and a descriptive booklet with a ready-made adventure for the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Basic game. It also includes enough information to continue the adventure beyond level 3, using the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Expert game rules.

    This updated edition of the Origins Award-winning game contains new art, additional Action, Weapon, and Condition cards, and a revised and updated rule book.

    Is it the power of summoned demons? An application of the Blood's mystic properties? The will of spirits? Or is it something else altogether? Only those who master its dark secrets can know.Hidden Lore RevealedBlood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy provides the answers to long-asked questions about this most powerful of Kindred Disciplines and explores a gamut of new possibilities. Included in the book are new paths and rituals as well as details on the lesser known but similar arcane practices. What is it about Thaumaturgy that has allowed the Tremere to ascend to prominence in the modern nights? This book examines the answer.Blood Magic: Secrets of Thaumaturgy includes: A complete look at Thaumaturgy, from its dark origins to its modern practice; A wealth of new paths and rituals; Other path and ritual systems like Necromancy and Koldunic Sorcery

    This 128-page accessory expands the living world of the druid in the AD&D 2nd Edition game, bringing new homes, character kits, personalities, spells, magical items, herbal lore, and a hundred details on druidic society, sacred groves, and high-level aspirations. This book has it all—don't leave the woods without it!