May 23, 2013 / Kobold Staff / Leave a comment
Avarice, gluttony, and wrath. The seven sins dangerous enough to be called deadly are now collected under one set of covers, with all errata and some expanded text to make these Sin Monsters as complete and dangerous as they can be.
The Monsters of Sin Collection includes
- 21 new monsters thematically tied to one of the seven deadly sins,
- 7 templates to bring that sin out in monsters and NPCs,
- complete notes on using sin in any fantasy world,
- 7 Embodiments of Sin to challenge the greatest heroes!
The Monsters of Sin Collection is suitable for multiple levels of play and can be used in any existing setting and campaign, or it can be combined to create a campaign of Sin. Go beyond ordinary monsters, and challenge your champions with threats to mind, body, and spirit!
Available now from Kobold Press!
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May 22, 2013 / Frank Gori / 3 comments
“Every man is a quotation from all his ancestors.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
In many tribal societies, the chieftain leads the social hierarchy (along with sometimes a council of elders), the hero leads war parties, and the shaman serves as spiritual leader. The tribal shaman is sometimes the only member of a tribe with magic, and he or she often serves a conduit to the spirit world.
Given the debate that preceded this week’s article (and its rebuttal), I reiterate once more that gaming is at its best when we mix familiar elements with new—use nostalgia with a twist. My gaming table is happiest when they expect the same old encounter and instead face something similar but different. Make your players respect the old hat monsters again, and I assure you your gaming table will be better for it. Join me after the jump for my last tribal template the tribal shaman (CR +3).
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May 21, 2013 / Wolfgang Baur / 44 comments
This blog hosted “Penny Dreadfuls: Against the Nostalgia Fetish in Fantasy Roleplaying” yesterday, a pleasant-but-perhaps-confused rant against nostalgia in roleplaying game design, and in favor of progress and modernity. Maybe I’m just old enough to see the upside of the conservative worldview, but let me be the first to say “bah, nonsense!” and offer this brief rebuttal in the voice of reason. I fully realize that in doing so, I can expect to insult every active gamer in a slightly different fashion than Mssr. Hebert did.
Yes, roleplaying games in general and Dungeons & Dragons and the Pathfinder RPG in particular do revel in the antique, the ancient, the dusty tomes—as part of the genre, and as a focus for world building. But this is hardly a fetish for nostalgia or a clinging to the outworn and lackluster rules of yesterday. It’s just part of the character of its novels and settings. Fantasy RPG fans also like Renaissance fairs, medieval weapons, and tales that lean toward sagas and hero-quests. Comes with the territory.
Steady Improvement
But RPG fans preferring antique game design? Not at all, and to the contrary. Most gamers are happy to recognize and embrace a core of functional, pleasurable, and workable rules, rather than chasing after every gaming fad and novelty.
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May 15, 2013 / Frank Gori / 6 comments
“My lands are where my dead lie buried.”—Crazy Horse
Tribal cultures sometimes have a different leader in war then when in peace. The tribal chieftain template I discussed last week was for a chieftain who mostly leads primarily by speaking. The tribal hero, or war chief if you prefer, leads by action.
You can represent this by simply applying the advanced template if you want fast, easy, and boring. If, instead, you’d like to challenge your players with a template designed for guerilla warfare tactics, join me after the jump for the tribal hero (CR +2).
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May 8, 2013 / Kobold Staff / One comment
After several months of coding, testing, and review, it is here! Rejoice, Hero Lab users, for all the monsters and templates of the Midgard Bestiary for Pathfinder RPG are fully available as an add-on pack for Pathfinder in Hero Lab.
If you are an existing Hero Lab user, you can pick up this package of more than 100 monsters for just $6.99.
If you want to get started with Hero Lab, you can buy a license for that software right away by visiting the Hero Lab site.
We hope you enjoy this latest venture, and we look forward to your comments!
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