Showing posts sorted by relevance for query barrel rider games. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query barrel rider games. Sort by date Show all posts

Friday, July 19, 2013

More New Classes from Barrel Rider Games

A while back I posted about Barrel Rider Games.
Well they have some more classes out and just like a potato chips they are cheap, fun and I can't stop at just one.
These classes are all for Labyrinth Lord or your favorite Basic Era clone.

Dhampir
The Dhampir is another Labyrinth Lord compatible class from Barrel Rider Games. For less than the cost of a 20oz Mt. Dew you can get a complete class.

LL (and Basic before it) had an interesting artifact of the the original D&D game in that races were also classes. So you could be a 3rd level Elf for example. This book takes advantage of that and gives us a race class that works rather well.
The Dhampir is the mortal offspring of a human (usually female) and vampire (usually male). So think Marvel's Blade of Rayne from the Bloofrayne video games. There are a number of features to this class that give a unique spot in the party. Combine this with a few of BRGs other classes and you could have a kick-ass party of undead hunting experts.
6 pages -1 for cover and 1 for the OGL it has everything you need.

A couple of minor quibbles though.
The HD for this guy are d6. Vampires and Dhampirs have always been portrayed as robust. Honestly a d8 would be better.
The text also says that the Dhampir is not bound for evil, but the powers it gets at 7th and 9th level pretty much mean it is destined for evil. I suppose you could argue that to stay good a Dhampir needs to stop advancing and retire and grow sugar beets or something; such is the tragedy of the character. Doing he was born to do turns him in to the thing he hates the most.

In any case this is a fun class.

Fairy
Another fun class from Barrel Rider Games. The fairy is the counterpoint to the Lost Boy class.
It's a nice combination of thief, elf and magic-user.

Honestly this, plus Lost Boy, would make for a great introduction to LL/Basic for any young children.

$1.00, full class. Art + OGL statement. A steal really.

Lost Boy
What a really interesting concept.

You can play a "Lost Boy". The Peter Pan ones, not the Kiefer Sutherland ones.
The class is, like all of BRGs, classes, simple and easy to read and use.

My only gripe with this is a minor one. The Lost Boy can "Grow up" which is fine, but he gets to convert over to a new class. I say when a Lost Boy grows up he should retain some abilities from his past (but not all) but restart at 1st level.

Otherwise this is a fun class.

Tanuki
The Tanuki is new to me. I have heard of similar creatures from other myths, but this is the first time I have seen this one. So credit to BRG for giving me something new.

I have been following Barrel Rider Games' books for a while now and they have all improved with over the course of their publication, this one being no exception.

Presented here is a class/race that is similar in many respects to the halfling; that is if halflings could shape shift into raccoon-dog like creatures. Everything you need to play is here, XP per level, to hits, saves, and special abilities. Drop this little guy into your games and watch the fun.

Ninja
You can't buy a lot for just a buck these days. But Barrel Rider Games is in the business of giving you a class for a buck.
Not a bad deal really. I used to spend $3 for a Dragon magazine back in the day, often to get a new class.

This time BRG is giving us a Ninja class. Part thief, part assassin and part ranger this class has everything you would expect to see in a ninja class (almost, and I'll get to that). I have been following BRG classes for some time now and each of these pdfs gets a little bit better. So I am pleased to say that the class book here is complete. Saving throws, attacks, xp per level, and all the special abilities of ninja are here and ready for you to drop it into Labyrinth Lord...well like a ninja.

I only noticed one small, tiny thing. Typically with a ninja class we get a number of new weapons. This doesn't have those. I did not down-grade the pdf because of this because it is outside of the scope of the call books and that material is easily found elsewhere.

Shootist
I am one of those guys that despite all real world logic I DON'T have guns in my FRPGS. That being said I do know there is a history (both in game and out of the game) to include them.

If you are playing a "Basic Era" game and want to include guns then this is the class for you. Like all BRG classes you get about 5-6 pages of a class (with cover and OGL) for a buck. Not a bad deal at all really. You also get expanded rules for firearms in this one.
The class itself is solid and has everything you need to play.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

New Classes from Barrel Rider Games

I love new classes.  I love all sorts of new options. So when the chance comes around to get my hands on a new class, especially if it is for my current favorite version of D&D (Basic/Expert) or clone (Labyrinth Lord/Basic Fantasy).

So I have been picking up a few from Barrel Rider Gameshttp://barrelridergames.com/

Barrel Rider Games (and I will admit I love this name) is in the biz (so far) of producing a new class for a buck. Not a bad biz to be in really. There is always a new class that can be made, there is demand and people will part with a dollar pretty easy.

In nearly every case you get a class, some art (usually just cover art), descriptions, and the LL compatibility license and the OGL.  Also, I am afraid to admit they are usually missing the Saving Throws table and sometimes how the class gains To Hit rolls.  This is not a huge deal for most of them since it usually pretty obvious what they should be, it would still be nice if they had them.

Here are few I have tried out.

The Bounty Hunter

In many ways the Bounty Hunter (class) is a better class for "Basic" Era Games than the Assassin is.  The Assassin has a history in the "Advanced" Era and it has it's place, but a game aimed at simpler rules might not be it.   That is why the Bounty Hunter (this book) is a good choice for Labyrinth Lord or any other Basic-era compatible game.

Like all the books from Barrel Rider Games this book presents a class, reasons why it can be used, and the associated skills and tables.  The Bounty Hunter (class) then is part thief, part assassin and part tracker/ranger.  Honestly it might well be the best of all the BRG classes.

Also, though, like the other classes, this one is missing some key information.  Namely this book is missing the saving throw tables and to hit tables for the Bounty Hunter.  I would suggest using the thief tables in both cases.

Other than that, this is a solid class.

The Undead Slayer

I love undead and all the classes and trappings that go around them; so slayers and necromancers are great in my book.

This class is a very specialized one, against other monsters it has the fighting prowess of the a thief (which isn't bad), but it shines against Undead. I felt the powers it received were fine, I think I would have started them at lower levels to be honest. The feel of this class is akin to the ranger. It has some sneaking ability, some magic and bonuses to fight undead.
If the Cleric is modeled off of the Hammer-era Van Helsing, then this class is more along the lines of a Captain Kronos.

The class might be a little under powered in some respects to be honest. But that is only a read-through and the proof would be in the playing. For example it does have some thief abilities that would aid a party in non-undead adventures.

In earlier reviews of products from Barrel Rider Game I mentioned that I didn't see the Labyrinth Lord Compatibility License. That was an error. It is very clear on the same page as the OGL. This book has it.
I also mentioned that in some of the other classes that I could not find the to-hit and saving throw progression for the classes. I also could not find it in this one. There is only about a page and half of text and about a page of tables. I am sure I would have seen it. I suspect that the undead slayer uses the Clerical to hit and saving throw tables.

I would like to try this class out sometime. I think it would work well in the right kind of adventure. Care though needs to be given that it does not interfere with the cleric's role of hunter of the dead.

The Assassin

I don't expect a lot for a buck. Can't buy a bottle of Mt. Dew or a cup of coffee for a buck anymore. But you can buy a class.

This is the classic "1st Edition" class for Labyrinth Lord, but should be compatible with any number of other Old School RPGs.
You get a cover page (oddly formatted, but hey), fours pages of the class and the OGL statement.

The class has what you would expect, tables for advancement and assassinations. Also there is a bit on the use of poisons.

There are, unfortunely a few things missing.

In the missing must haves there is no saving throw advancement tables and no to hit advancement tables. I would use the Thief for these.
In the missing like to haves there is nothing on new weapons unique to the assassin. Nothing for example about the garrote, the time honored classic of all assassin weapons. This is almost a missing "must have" to be honest.
So it has a lot of potential, but the publisher really needs to fix these omissions.

The Dragon

Again, I don't expect a lot for a buck. Barrel Rider Games though gives you a whole class for a buck.

This one is a bout Dragons as a class/race. Not Dragonborn or Dragonfolk, but full blown dragons.
Now my first thought is these characters could be unwieldy in a group of adventurers or even overpowered. That is best left to the Labyrinth Lord to decide really.

The book is five pages: Cover, 2 pages for the class, and 2 pages for the OGL.
This one does have the Labyrinth Lord compatibility notice.

There seems to be a bit missing though.
For starters there is no "To Hit AC" tables for the Dragon. Nor are there any Saving Throw tables.
Kind of need these in order to play the character.  In this case I don't have any suggestions.

I would have liked have seen a little on how to play this character class and what motivates them to adventure.

Smith and Scholar

This book is only a buck and it is very simple. But don't let "Simple" translate into "not worth it". This book is filled with ideas for all the Basic/LL core classes. They are billed as professions, but if you are familiar with the old 2nd Ed "Kits" then these are very similar.
There are 6 per class and all provide some background, history and some mechanical bonus for the character. There is no balance issue from what I can see if everyone in the game opts for one or if there is some sort of DM-enforced obligation attached. For example the Exorcist Cleric should be obligated to investigate any claim of possession he/she hears. The other Professions can work the same way.

These are set out as flavor, but I think in the right hands these can really brighten up what would be an ordinary game into something very interesting.

They have other books that I have not tried yet as well.  The Barbarian, the Swashbuckler, Half-Orc, Half-Elf and Dark Elf.

I say give them a look.




Friday, November 7, 2014

Kickstart Your Weekend: Barrel Rider Games

James Spahn over at Barrel Rider Games has been quietly releasing a steady stream of work for Labyrinth Lord and Old-School Games for a couple of years now.

I have posted a number of times about BRG over the years and reviewed a lot of his work.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/search?q=barrel+rider+games

Where BRG really shines is getting out PDFs of a single class for a buck.   You don't have to buy everything they make, but there is certainly something for everyone.

So it is my pleasure to let you all know about BRG's fund-raising drive to get some new equipment to put out the Class Compendium.  Promising to over 200 pages (and I expect it will be more than that even) the BRG Class Compendium will feature some of class from his catalog with plenty of updates to some of the earlier ones.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/class-compendium-for-labyrinth-lord

He is asking for a modest $550 via Indiegogo.  Which honestly I feel is reasonable.  You are making an investment in his company and getting nice book of classes in return.  Also this means the BRG can keep doing what they have been doing the best; short sweet pdfs for a buck.

I think this is a good cause.  You spend some money, you get a book.

You can also find him on the web at:
https://www.facebook.com/BarrelRiderGames

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Even More New Classes from Barrel Rider Games

I have talked about Barrel Rider Games and their collections of classes before.  Here and here.
I figured with yesterday's posting about Basic D&D this would a good one to do.

Barrel Rider keeps coming out with all sorts of classes.  The idea is simple really, fill in the niches that the four core human classes  (and three demi human ones) don't quite fill.  I think now all BRG needs is a class compendium of all the classes in one edited book.

But until then you can pick up a class for a buck.  All these classes are compatible with Labyrinth Lord or other "basic" old school game.  The Mercenary is actually for Starships & Spacemen, but it is still compatible.
The thing I think I like the most that each release is a bit better than the last. Well that and also I can get a class for a buck.  Good for me since my youngest never wants to play a standard class.

Acrobat
Six pages, 1 for the cover and 2 for OGL. This is more ore less an update of the Thief Acrobat class found in the Unearthed Arcana for 1st ed.  This is a full class, not one that starts at 6th level. It is also redesigned with the LL/Basic rules in mind.  The results are good.  It feels different enough from the Thief (and Buglar and Bandit) to justify being  it's own thing.

Archer
This is an older class compared with some of the others here.  Five pages, 1 for cover, 2 for the OGL.  The archer is exactly what is says. It is a bow and arrow focused fighter.  This one doesn't have the utility for me as the other BRG classes, but my youngest son loved it.  Still I think something like an extra attack per round before level 15 would have been nice.

Bandit
This class is something of a cross between a fighter and a thief.  Think along the lines of Robin Hood or a Highwayman. He has some thief skills, but some new ones like ambush and disguise.  Honestly it would make a good compliment to the thief.

Barbarian
Another fairly self-obvious class.  Your typical barbarian features are here; survival, calling a hoard, and savage strikes. No beserker like abilities though.  I would have liked to seen more details on the Wilderness Survival skill. Does failure mean they don't find food for example.  This is one of the earliest classes from BRG so I am sure an update would clear these up.  Five pages, 1 for cover and 2 for the OGL.

Burglar
This might one of the signature classes of BRG.  The Burglar brings one of the most iconic figures of fantasy to Labyrinth Lord; the Halfling Burglar.  Simply put the Burglar is a thief option for a halfling.  Since Labyrinth Lord is Race-as-a-class then this is required. Otherwise this is a really fun class if you enjoy playing a halfling.

Dark Elf
Another older one. The Dark Elf is exactly that, the Chaotic, underground dwelling, cousin of the the Light Elves. They have some innate thief like abilities and some magic.  On paper they most resemble a thief/magic-user multi-classed character.  All-in-all a pretty satisfying class.

Dragon Slayer
This one I have avoided reviewing since I have my own Dragon Slayer.  Well technically "mine" was written by my oldest son.   The Dragon Slayer has a lot of nice features which actually make the class more useful than some "Single Purpose" classes.  In fact it could be re-tweaked and be any sort of monster hunting class.

Gladiator
The Gladiator is a professional show fighter. There are a lot neat tricks for this kind of fighter say over the regular fighter.  You could of course do some of this with clever role-playing.  Though the rules here are pretty nice and well thought out.

Half-Elf
The Original Basic rules and the games they have inspired have missed one important race; the Half-elf.  This race-as-a-class gives you a 15-level class that is a combination of fighter and thief.  The class to me seems to be missing something, but I am not quite sure what. Thinking back to the Half-elves I have read in tales, this class would work fine.

Half-Orc
Another one of the missing races from the "Basic" versions of the books.  The Half-orc is a fighter with some nice abilities to cause extra damage and fear in others.  Compared the classic Dwarf and Halfling classes this one works quite well.

Halflings: Tales from the Fireside
This one is a bit different. First it is longer than all the other books at 23 pages.  This is guide on playing halflings and what you can do with them.  It is actually a rather fun book.  It even has an evil counterpart in a monster section.

Mercenary
This one is really neat. It's a Starships & Spacemen class for starters. And it works great for that. In truth it is three classes that you can use how you need.  This takes S&S from something that mostly "Star Trek" and makes it more Traveller. What I think is most interesting here is the market this opens up for BRG.  Suddenly LL classes could now be converted to S&S classes with this template in mind.
I noticed the S&S compatibility license but not the OGL.  Might need to add that.

Minotaur
The Minotaur seems to be one of those classes/races that people either love or hate. Myself I am not a fan. BUT that doesn't mean that this is not a good class. It is one of BRG newer classes, so it is well thought out and written. Plus it is a good class. I mean there is nothing about it that says it is unplayable to me and I am sure that the people out there that love Minotaurs will be very happy with this.  For me, I might "skin" it and make a Half-Ogre class.

Plague & Shadow Wererats
All about Were-rats.  Again this is not a class book, more of an indepth monster guide.  There is history, new creatures and magic items.  Not at all what I expected and I mean that in the most positive way. It was much more than I expected.

Swashbuckler
I am not a fan of pirates.  I know people love them, I never quite got it myself.  For me it is always "ninjas" that get the vote.  The Swashbuckler class allows you to channel your inner pirate.  Like all the BRG class the book is not long (5 pages with 1 for cover and 2 for the OGL) but it gets right to the point and delivers a solid class.  If you like Swashbucklers (and this one is more Erol Flynn and less Captain Jack Sparrow) then this is a good buy.

Sylvan Elf (with Spell list)
This is one of the newer classes. Five pages, 1 for cover and 2 for the OGL, this is for wood or Sylvan elves. Like the normal elf, this one is part fighter and part spellcaster.  But in this case the spell caster is Druid.  To support this the package includes a 13 page document of spells. Actually it is really nice.  To date this is one of my favorite of the BRG classes. It takes a very simple idea and gives you a simple (as in elegant) solution.

The King Betrayed
This one was another surprise.  It is an adventure for characters 3rd to 5th level.  The art in this is greatly improved and the adventure itself looks like it is a lot of fun.  Complete old-school feel. At 15 pages it is just about perfect for an afternoon.

Wanderer
This seven page document details the Wanderer class.  It's like a non-magical (and less combative) Ranger. It has some nice skills and powers and would work well in any game.  What struck me is how quickly I was thinking of NPCs to fill this class and sending him in with my current Old School game.  Lots and lots of potential with this one.  Also unlike the other classes with have some archetypes I can relate to earlier editions, this one seems fairly unique to me.

This is a great deal. 16 of BRG products. For 10 bucks you get Halflings: Tales from the Fireside, Archer, Half-elf, Swashbuckler, Half-orc, Dark Elf, Bandit, Bounty Hunter, Undead Slayer, Barbarian, Assassin, Dragon, Smith and Scholar, King Betrayed, Wanderer and the new (and not available separately) Combat Styles. Not a bad deal at all.

So if you have a couple of bucks and like classes then you can do worse than Barrel Rider Games.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Dragonborn Books

My son loves Dragonborn.  He plays Skyrim because there is a "dragonborn" in that.  He wanted to get all the Doctor Who episodes on DVD that feature the Draconians, and in every game we play that is the character race he wants.

Well...not every game has them.  But there are a lot of great third-party publishers that feel the same way.

Good thing for me I know about Goodman Games.
They have two products out, The Complete Guide to Dragonkin (for 3rd ed) and Hero's Hanbook Dragonborn (for 4th ed).

The Complete Guide to Dragonkin
This book is the older of the two, so let's do it first.
76 pages, covers, OGL.  Pretty packed really.  A brief intro and some background on dragon-kin and how they are all connected to each other (an interesting touch).  This assumes that a lot of different races inter-bred with dragons like humans, orcs, goblins and of course kobolds. So we have a variety of bloodlines; half-dragons, dragon-touched and "wyrm-bred".
The Half-Dragon Racial Template is presented and the associated powers.  If you are playing 3.x/Pathfinder and want to play a "Dragonborn" character then this is a great book.  It predates the Dragonborn in 4e and the Dragon bloodline sorcerer in Pathfinder, so a Pathfinder update would be nice to have, but still this is a solid book.
There is a lot in this book. It even covers how these races view, and sometimes worship, the dragons they are related to.  There is a chapter on Dragon magic which includes new spells and "dragon egg sculpting".
There is not much in the way of news monsters, but I think that is fine.  There is a Dragon/Kobold crossbreed that works well as an antagonist. Especially if your players tend to laugh when you throw kobolds after them.
I compare this book rather favorably to their Complete Guide to Fey.  It was because I owned that book that I felt comfortable picking up this one.  I was not disappointed.

Hero's Hanbook Dragonborn 
99 pages, GSL, covers. There is a quite a lot in this book.  While Goodman Games could have used a lot from their previous book (The Complete Guide to Dragonkin) this one has a completely different approach.  Dragonborn are well established in D&D4, so none of that material is repeated here. Instead the book covers different clans and variations of Dragonborn.  There is also a lot of crunch to go with the fluff.  Frankly Dragonborn need a lot more "fluff". Unlike all the other fantasy races, Dragonborn/Dragonkin are really a creation of D&D.  Sure there have been other types in the past, but even in the early days of the game their origin is purely a D&D one. That gives this book a lot of room to run.
There is also a nice collection of items to help give this race a sense of history. Plenty of powers for Dragonborn characters, options and magic items.  If you are like my son and love to play Dragonborn in 4e then this is a great book to have.

This book though suffers from the fate all 3rd party GSL books suffer and that is the material is not in the character builder.

In the process of reading these books I became aware of other ones, not by Goodman Games though.

One of the first is from Barrel Rider Games, The Dragon and it is only a dollar.
Again, I don't expect a lot for a buck.  Barrel Rider Games though gives you a whole class for a buck.

This one is a bout Dragons as a class/race.  Not Dragonborn or Dragonfolk, but full blown dragons.
Now my first thought is these characters could be unwieldy in a group of adventurers or even overpowered.  That is best left to the Labyrinth Lord to decide really.
The book is five pages: Cover, 2 pages for the class, and 2 pages for the OGL and the Labyrinth Lord compatibility notice.
There seems to be a bit missing though. I would have liked have seen a little on how to play this character class and what motivates them to adventure.

Fehr's Ethnology: Dragonblood is another one for Pathfinder by Purple Duck Games, a name I have grown to like.
This one is pretty good really. Nice art, clear easy to read text and 7 pages of content (1 full page art, 1.5 of OGL and ads for 10 total pages).  Simple race rules with not a lot of fluff, but a lot of crunch. There are some alternate racial characteristics and some feats.  There are class suggestions and suggestions on play.  For 10 pages it is really packed full. My son has been using this in our 3.x game now for a bit and we like it the most out of the many free options we have also found.  At $1.25 it is an absolute steal.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

More From Barrel Rider Games

I won't lie. I love Barrel Rider Games.
A full Basic-era class for a $1. Not a bad deal really.

Here are a bunch of my recent purchases.

In nearly all cases the books are 5 to 6 or so pages with a cover, some art and the OGL and Labyrinth Lord licenses in back.

Angel
What is says on the tin. The Angel class is something like a more powerful flying Paladin.  It works and if you like playing divine messengers or celestial ass-kickers of evil then this might be a good class for you.
Limited to 9th level the Angel has such special powers as Heal Touch, Holy Aura, Wings and Flaming Sword.
What I like the most about this class is that it could be used as something akin to a Prestige Class for Basic-era Paladins. That is if your GM allows multi- or dual- classing.

Bard
The Bard is a full 20 level class for Labyrinth Lord. Like the Bards in other games they have the ability to perform with musical instruments and they have some thief abilities as well.  These bards though do not have magical abilities. I would like to see some spell casting with Bards, even if it is limited to just 5th or 6th level spells.

Berserker
The Beserker class takes us back to some of the earliest days of D&D and The Dragon magazine.  The Berserker presented here is different but the feel is the same.  This class is a full 20 levels for Labyrinth Lord and gives the beserker such powers as Terror of the North and Form of the Bear. One can almost hear The Immigrant Song playing in background.  There is a decidedly Norse flavor to this one (as opposed to say a Celtic one) but it works great.

Commander
Commanders feel like they are on the opposite end of the fighting spectrum than beserkers.  They are cool efficient battle strategists.   The Commander is like a Basic-era Fighter, but his "powers" are his abilities to command and bolster others.  For example at higher levels those under his command are immune to fear.
It is an interesting class and has some nice features.

Death Knight
This class is something of a cross of warlock and an anti-paladin.  The Death Knight are not undead per se but do have their life force changed to undead or demonic power. It is a full 20th level class and in addition to fighting prowess the Death Knight has powers and spells.  The class is very comparable to a Paladin only Chaotic of course.  Like some of the alternate classes that used to appear in Dragon magazine the Death Knight works great, and maybe better, as an NPC class.

Explorer
This might be the consummate PC Class.  It focuses on adventuring and that thrill of discovery.  It mixes a bit of thief and fighter with some sage-y abilities (id magical items, read magic) and cast some spells.   If you are missing a class or two in your group the Explore might help feel the missing bits.  Worth it for a look.

Forester
FULL DISCLOSURE: The genesis of the class was based on discussion I had the James Spahn on what sort of class my youngest son Connor likes to play.  All the material in this book is James' own original work, I am just rather fond of it.
The Forester is basically and elven Ranger with thief and hunting abilities thrown in.  It is a 10 level class.  The forester gets a lot of interesting abilities to help it in it's role as a protector of the forests including the abilities to hide in shadows and better fighting abilities when wielding a bow.  The coolest though is the ability to get an animal sidekick in the form of an Elven dog.
Since this was built more or less for my son he has been using the class in our Old-School game.  It plays like a Ranger with a few extra tricks up his sleeve.

Friar
Friars are holy men, like clerics, but are a wandering sort.  They do not get spells but instead a new special ability at each level.  Additionally since they can't wear armor they have a Divine Protection power that keeps them from harm.  in fact the highest level friars can have an AC as low as -6 if they reach 20th level and have a high dexterity.   For those that want a different take on the cleric this is a good choice.

Goblin
Who doesn't love goblins?  Well now you can play one!  This might be BRG's smallest book but there is enough her to play 8 levels of goblin fun.  8th level goblins don't get a special title, but they do get a dire wolf of their own. Which you have to admit is pretty sweet.

Greensinger
The Greensinger is something akin to an elvish Bard/Druid.  Greensingers get some special abilities and can cast spells like that of a cleric/druid.  The idea is a rather cool one and frankly I wanted more.  The forests of Barrel Rider Games seem to be full of all sorts of strange and magical creatures.

Kassai Rider
The Kassai Rider is a mounted warrior similar to the Mongol hoards.  The class is a full 20 levels and has a number of special abilities based on combat on their horses.  Lightly armored and using bows for the most part these warriors are superior on horseback, but I wonder how well they might function in the dungeon.

Pirate
Again, exactly what it says it is.  An interesting class with some thief like abilities the best part is the "Sea Stories" power which gives the PC information in the form of rumor and hearsay that might be beneficial to the Pirate.   The idea that pirates hear a lot of strange tales out at see.

Sword Master
This class might be called a duelist in other systems, but basically the idea is the same; a master of the sword.  The most interesting twist to this class is the inclusion of the Mastery Points.  Each level the Ps hass a certain number of these point they may use to increase their dice rolls. It is a neat mechanic and helps the Sword Master to score hits when he really needs too. There is an appendix for applying this to other fighter like classes as well.

War Chanter
What the Bard is to humans and the Greensinger is to Elves the War Chanter is to Dwarves.  In addition to being fighters the war chanter also has some powers "Songs" that they can use to aid others.  If you are playing a Basic-era game and have more than one player that wants to play a dwarf, have one choose this. It is a pretty interesting class and one that would make good use out a larger group of characters.

Wild Wizard
The Wild Wizard is akin to the old Wild Mage.  It is a Magic-User, but it has a Magical Flux. Magical Flux is summarized as an 1d20 affect table.  It is is an interesting idea, but I think it needs something a bit more.


Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Sleepy Hollow & Katrina Crane

Yesterday I talked a lot about Colonial Gothic and their Sleepy Hollow book. It was a lot of fun but it reminded me that it was not the only Sleepy Hollow book I own.

Last year for Halloween, Barrel Rider Games published their own Sleepy Hollow book.
It also includes the full text of the story.  But like all (or rather now most) of Barrel Rider Games' books this one is for Labyrinth Lord.

The book is 30 pages and contains the complete tale of the Headless Horseman.
Also included are writeups for Ichabod Crane, Katrina, Brom Bones and of course the Headless Horseman.  A new class is introduced, the Scholar (for Ichabod). Rules for flint-lock firearms and some new magic are thrown in for good measure. There are also five adventure hooks for adventures in Sleepy Hollow.
It's all a pretty good deal really.

For just under $3 total you should get both books and have a both characters and maps.

Though neither have much to do with the TV series "Sleepy Hollow" save that all have the same source material.

One of my favorite characters from the show is quite naturally Katrina Crane (nee Van Tassel).  She is a powerful witch sworn to protect the world from evil.  Sounds pretty awesome if you ask me.

Katrina Crane
8th Level Witch Family Tradition
From The Witch

Strength: 11
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 14
Charisma: 17

Saves
Death Ray or Poison: 11
Magic Wands: 12
Paralysis: 11
Dragon Breath: 14
Rods, Staffs and Spells: 13

To Hit AC 0: 18 / 17 (missile)

Hit Points: 22
Alignment: Lawful
AC: 9

Occult Powers
Familiar: Family Spirit
7th level:  Favored Enemy (Demons)

Spells 
Cantrips: Alarm Ward, Animate Tool, Dancing Lights, Object Reading, Spark
First: Light, Magic Circle Against Evil, Consecration Ritual (Ritual)
Second: Augury,Guard Watch, Mind Obscure, Rite of Remote Seeing
Third: Astral Sense, Scry
Fourth: Analyze Magic, Ethereal Projection

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Class Struggles: Class Compendium Books

RPGNow has a big sale going on on various d20 books.


I am not done with the class analysis I wanted to do today so I thought maybe I would highlight some of the books with new classes for your OSR games.  Some of these I have reviewed in the past.  I am sure there must be others, but these are the ones I am most familiar with.  Not all these books are on sale.

A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore
One of the first, this is the book that launched BRW games and Adventures Dark & Deep. Part of +Joseph Bloch's "What If" experiment of a hypothetical Gary helmed 2nd Edition.  I recently went back and reread some of the articles from Gary about the 2nd Ed. game of AD&D that never was.  Interestingly he made comments about a 3rd and 4th edition game too!  This book covers the Bard, Jester, Mystic, Savant, and Mountebank classes.  The mystic was the first class I looked at for the Class Struggles series.

The Complete B/X Adventurer
This is the second book of the B/X Companion series by +Jonathan Becker.  Where Adventures Dark & Deep gave us a hypothetical AD&D 2nd Ed, Becker gives us a Companion set that never was.    This book gives us some extra rules but the main feature are the classes.  The classes are Acrobat, Archer, Barbarian, Bard, Beastmaster, Bounty Hunter, Centaur, Duelist, Gnome, Mountebank, Mystic, Ogre-Kin, Scout, Summoner, Tattoo Mage, Witch, and Witch Hunter. 17 new classes.  New classes in B/X and BECMI related games are a bit more varied since races are also classes.  But there are a lot of great classes here.

Basic Arcana
+Tom Doolan published his first work, Basic Arcana all the way back in 2013!  This is also a "Basic Era" product.  It starts with some "Class Variants"; Dwarf Priest, Dwarf Scout, Elf Sorcerer, and Elf Warrior. For humans we have the Martialist (like a monk) and the Barbarian. All of this and some extra rules on combat and a page of spells.

Magical Theorems & Dark Pacts
A favorite of mine, this book introduces a baker's dozen of new magic using classes and their spells. +Dyson Logos gives us the:  Cleric, Wizard, Elven Swordmage, Elven Warder, Enchanter, Fleshcrafter, Healer, Inquisitor, Merchant Prince, Necromancer, Pact-Bound, Theurge, and the Unseen.

ACKS Player's Companion
ACKS is still one of the slickest look games around.  +Alexander Macris gives us 19 new character classes, including the Anti-paladin, Barbarian, Dwarven Delver, Dwarven Fury, Dwarven Machinist, Elven Courtier, Elven Enchanter, Elven Ranger, Gnomish Trickster, Mystic, Nobiran Wonderworker, Paladin, Priestess, Shaman, Thrassian Gladiator, Venturer, Warlock, Witch, and Zaharan Ruinguard.  So a good collection really. That takes up about 44 pages of the book's 160.  New classes have new spells as well. Best of all is a character class creation guide. It look like a similar idea that appeared in Dragon years ago.  Basically it reduces any class to a set of points and you point buy a new class just like you would in say GURPS or Unisystem.  Maybe one day I'll check out a bunch of classes using this.

Theorems & Thaumaturgy
This is part a class book and of course all the new spells.  It's not part of the sale, but +Gavin Norman offers it as Pay What You Want, so make this worth his while.  The new Classes are the Elementalist, Necromancer and Vivimancer. The Vivimancer later gets his own book, but these are three very solid class choices.

Class Compendium
+James Spahn has been delivering solid classes since the dawn of his Barrel Rider Games.  This is a collection, edit of some of his best selling and favorite classes. The first 166 or pages are dedicated to a Basic Era/Labyrinth Lord compatible class.   Well this book is huge and we are given 52 classes, divided by category.
Arcane Allies: Alienist, Familiar, Thopian Gnome, Wild Wizard
Doughty Dwarves: Raging Slayer, Rune-Smith, Warchanter
Enchanting Elves: Dark Elf, Greensinger, Half-Elf, Sylvan Elf
Heroic Halflings: Burglar, Feast Master, Huckster, Lucky Fool, Tavern Singer
Holy Rollers: Angel, Friar, Inquisitor, Undead Slayer
In Shining Armor: Commander, Dragon Slayer, Knight
Martial Masters: Barbarian, Berserker, Gladiator, Samurai, Sword Master
Monstrous Marauders: Dragon, Goblin,  Half-Ogre, Half-Orc, Treant
Second Star to the Right: Fairy, Lost Boy, Pirate
Traveling Trouble-Makers: Acrobat, Explorer, Fortune Teller, Wanderer
Unhallowed Heroes: Cultist, Damphir, Death Knight. Eidolon
Urban Adventurers: Bandit, Bard, Bounty Hunter, Watchman
Virtuous Victorians: Automation, Investigator, Metaphysician, Shootist

New Class Options
One of the most recent one this comes from Genus Loci Games and +Johua De Santo.  The classes included here are the: Blood Witch, Chesh, Forrester, Highlander, Mermaid of the In-Land Sea, Mythwood Elf, Pixie, Prodigal, Ruca and the Draken-Knight.  I covered the Blood Witch in some detail a while back.

So. Over 120 (give or take) new classes.  Not to bad really.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Basic Library

Migraine today...can't really think.  Just looking through some of my PDFs.

The older I get the more I desire simpler games.  I don't think it has much to do with age as it does with experience.  I have been doing the rpg thing since the late 70s.  Scores of games and variations on the same rules.  I don't really need a lot of detailed rules; I am happy to wing it half the time.

That is one of the reasons I enjoy Basic D&D so much.
Everything I want is there, and nothing I don't want.  Though there are some things it is "missing" for me.
Thankfully I have the OSR.

Here is my Basic Library books.
These are the core of my current gaming.
Dungeons & Dragons: Basic Set
Dungeons & Dragons: Expert Set

What ever is not covered above I can get from AS&SH. Plus it has a lot of great monsters and a good feel for my games.
Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea

Various add-ons presents as a "Book 3" or Companion rules.
B/X Companion
Companion Expansion
Basic Arcana

And some extra spells.
The Witch: A sourcebook for Basic Edition fantasy games

And some books to add bits here and there.
Adventurer Conqueror King System
Adventurer Conqueror King System Player's Companion
Magical Theorems & Dark Pacts
Adventures Dark and Deep Bestiary
All sorts of classes from Barrel Rider Games

And of course a new adventure to take everyone through.
The Shrine of St. Aleena

Ok, so maybe not as simple as I thought.

Friday, April 24, 2015

Kickstart Your Weekend: Guidebook to the Duchy of Valnwall

This week I would like to draw your attention to a new Old school Kickstarter.

Guidebook to the Duchy of Valnwall is set in the same Duchy as the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/665143704/guidebook-to-the-duchy-of-valnwall



This project will detail the Duchy of Valnwall and the surrounding areas.
The book has already been funded and the first stretch goal reached.
It is the stretch goals that are really the interesting features of this book.

Each stretch goal will include an adventure or content by some of the best in the OSR.
Check these names out.

Stretch Goal #1: ($1250)  MET
A mini-adventure by James M. Spahn of Barrel Rider Games.

Stretch Goal #2: ($1,500)
A mini-adventure by Jason Paul McCartan of Infinibadger Press and OSRToday.

Stretch Goal #3: ($1,750)
A mini-adventure by Tim Shorts of Gothridge Manor.

Stretch Goal #4: ($2,000)
A mini-adventure by Joe Johnston of Taskboy Games.

Stretch Goal #5: ($2,250)
A mini-adventure by Tim Brannan of The Other Side Blog.

Stretch Goal #6: ($2,500)
A mini-adventure by author Paul "greyarea" Go.

Stretch Goal #7: ($2,750)
A mini-adventure by cartographer Matt Jackson.

Stretch Goal #8: ($3,000)
A mini-adventure by Jeff Sparks of Faster Monkey Games.

Stretch Goal #9: ($3,250)
A mini-adventure by Erik Tenkar of Tenkar's Tavern.

Stretch Goal #10: ($3,500)
A mini-adventure by Pete Spahn of Small Niche Games.

Not a bad crowd to be included with!

I promise I have something special planned for this, but only if the stretch goal is made.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Kickstart Your Weekend: Valnwall UPDATE

I want to update you all on a Kickstarter I shared last week.

Guidebook to the Duchy of Valnwall is set in the same Duchy as the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/665143704/guidebook-to-the-duchy-of-valnwall



This project will detail the Duchy of Valnwall and the surrounding areas.

It is the stretch goals that are really the interesting features of this book.

Each stretch goal will include an adventure or content by some of the best in the OSR.
Check these names out.

Stretch Goal #1: ($1250)  MET
A mini-adventure by James M. Spahn of Barrel Rider Games.

Stretch Goal #2: ($1,500)  MET
A mini-adventure by Jason Paul McCartan of Infinibadger Press and OSRToday.

Stretch Goal #3: ($1,750)  MET
A mini-adventure by Tim Shorts of Gothridge Manor.

Stretch Goal #4: ($2,000)  SOOO CLOSE
A mini-adventure by Joe Johnston of Taskboy Games.

Stretch Goal #5: ($2,250)
A mini-adventure by Tim Brannan of The Other Side Blog.

Stretch Goal #6: ($2,500)
A mini-adventure by author Paul "greyarea" Go.

Stretch Goal #7: ($2,750)
A mini-adventure by cartographer Matt Jackson.

Stretch Goal #8: ($3,000)
A mini-adventure by Jeff Sparks of Faster Monkey Games.

Stretch Goal #9: ($3,250)
A mini-adventure by Erik Tenkar of Tenkar's Tavern.

Stretch Goal #10: ($3,500)
A mini-adventure by Pete Spahn of Small Niche Games.

Not a bad crowd to be included with!

I promise I have something special planned for this, but only if the stretch goal is made.

Like this? Share with others!

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Class Struggles: The Bard, Part 2 The Basic Bard

My first Bard for B/X, Lars

It has been a while since I had done one of these so I thought today might be a good time to bring it back.  One of my favorite classes has always been the bard.  Back in the AD&D days I managed to get only two characters ever to become Bards.  One very early one who was later killed and another, Heather, who ended up being my last ever AD&D 1st Ed character before 2nd Edition was released. These days though I am all in on Basic-era D&D. Holmes. Moldvay. Even some BECMI.  But those versions of the game did not have a Bard really. Today, thanks to the Old-school gaming movement and clones I have many choices for Bards.

I'll point out that is a continuation of my Class Struggles: The Bard from all the way back in 2015.

The Basic Bard, Review

Basic-era D&D never had a proper Bard.  The version in the AD&D Player's Handbook was difficult to get into and harder still to get DM's will to allow it.  Second Edition AD&D had a Bard that was part of the Rouge Class, but it felt bland for lack of a better word.  I enjoyed playing Bards when I could and I considered doing my own Bard Class to go along with the witch.  Thankfully others have stepped in and up to do all that work for me.

Before I get into my new entries, I want to recap the Basic-era or even Basic-like versions of the Bard from my previous post.  More details can be read in that post.

Richard LeBlanc, over at Save vs. Dragon

http://savevsdragon.blogspot.com/2015/08/new-bx-character-class-bard-version-i.html
http://savevsdragon.blogspot.com/2015/08/new-bx-character-class-bard-version-ii.html
http://savevsdragon.blogspot.com/search/label/bard

and to be featured in the Character Class Codex.
http://savevsdragon.blogspot.com/2015/08/cx1-character-class-codex-update.html

Richard LeBlanc has given this class a lot of thought and energy.  His Version I has more thief skills, his version II has more magic.  I think in the end I prefer his version II Bard.  I tend to like a magical flair in my Bards.  

Barrel Rider Games

James over at BRG has given us a number of Bard-like classes.

Running Beagle Games, B/X Blackrazor

The Complete B/X Adventurer from Jonathan Becker has a "Loremaster" style Bard.

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea

While not "Basic" the Bard from AS&SH 2nd Edition would fit well into a Basic-era game. 

The New Bards On the Block

When the Advanced edition of Labyrinth Lord was released I was hoping for a Bard class, but not unduly surprised when it was not there.  No problem I think, plenty of others (see above) to choose from.  But in the last few years, a bunch of new, Basic-specific Bards have come out.

Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy

One of my favorites is the BX style Bard from Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy.  Part of the Old-School Essentials line delves into the more "Advanced" features and in particular classes.  This is a single class bard as expected and redesigned to fit more with BX D&D than Advanced.  It uses Druid spells and is sometimes known as a "Divine" Bard for reasons I'll detail in a bit. It has language skills like I like and lore and charm abilities, but no thieves skills.  Since this Bard uses Druid spells I like to refer to it in my games as an Ovate.

With the recent OSE Advanced Kickstarter there was an exclusive "Inaugural Issue" of Carcass Crawler a Zine for OSE. This zine included a new Bard. This Bard uses Magic-user spells and has some thieves skills but no charm powers or languages.  Called an Arcane Bard in the zine I tend to call this one a Skald.  Both work great in a game.

Companion Expansion

This is not my first time with this particular version of the Companion Rules for B/X, nor is it likely to be my last.  Like Advanced-OSE above this set gives us a Bard, an Illusionist, a Druid, and Gnomes.  The Bard in this expansion also has the Bard casting Illusionist spells which I rather like to be honest. Something that Gnomes (races as class) also get.  The Bard has some nice features, but what I think I would do is redo the Arcane Bard/Skald from above and have it cast Illusionist spells as per this Bard.

Bard Class from James Mishler Games 

Likely the most complete Bard class this is a separate PDF from James Mishler.  This one is so new that the post he announced it in is still fresh!  This Bard has all the skills I want and like. The spells list is a combination of both Divine and Arcane (Cleric and Magic-User) spells, likely as it should be really. But what REALLY makes this bard a great class are the renaming of the spells. Each spell is named like a song or a piece of music.  Really gives this Bard a different feel.  If I were to import say some more Illusionist and/or Druid spells to this one I'd have to come up with some new names for the spells. 

All three (or four) are really great and I can see each one fitting into the game. 

A final Bard would be the semi-official Bard from Vol.2 Issue 1 of The Strategic Review from February 1976.  This Bard is for OD&D and there are 25 total levels for it.  It can charm and has Bardic Lore. It also casts Magic-user spells.   I use this as my basis of comparison for Bards going forward.

The proof they say is in the playing.  So despite all the warnings, the Internet seems to want to share, I think a party of Basic Bards might be in order just to see how they all work out.  While none are great combatants they all would bring various magical and thief skills to the mix.  Oh! I can see it now. A D&D version of the Beatles OR better still, The Monkees!  I'd use my Hex Girls, but I need four, unless I ignore the Arcane Bard.  

Hmm.

Hex Girls LunaHex Girls ThornHex Girls Dusk

It could work.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Review: White Star by James Spahn

Unless you are living in an OSR-free zone you may have missed the big release this week of "White Star" from Barrel Rider Games and +James Spahn.

BRG had made a name for itself publishing classes for "Basic" era D&D/Labyrinth Lord which is how I discovered them. Recently James has made the switch with some very successful products for Swords & Wizardry. In particular he released the White Box Omnibus to much acclaim.

White Star is a similar quality effort, but represents a serious step up in terms of quality and content from his previous efforts.  This is immediately obvious in terms of the quality of the cover art, but the interior really lives up (and beyond) that first impression.
White Star is Space Opera viewed through an old-school RPG lens. So think Star Wars.  Not the series of movies really, but just the first 1977 movie.
Starting with the basics the book is 132 pages, two pages of cover art, two blank pages and one page of OGL. As usual BRG is very permissive with the content of the books.  So this amounts to 128 pages of content (127 + OGL).  Not a bad deal really.
The book is divided up as expected.  Chapters on Attributes, Character Classes and Races (more on this in a bit), Equipment, Game Play, and Combat.  These chapters are more or less similar to what you might find in S&W White Box. Not a copy, but a re-write to accommodate the style and tone of the book.  The remaining chapters cover the important topics of SciFi; Starship Combat, Gifts and Meditations, Aliens and Creatures, and Advanced Equipment.  There are also chapters on The White Star Campaign, Interstellar Civil War and Kelron Sector, and the Second Battle of Brinn.
As my friend, Greg Littlejohn says, "just enough meat on the bones, yet room on the plate to add some nice sides."  That is 100% true.

Character Classes and Races
The classes of White Star are simple enough to cover a variety of character archetypes.  The classes include Aristocrat (think Princess Leia or Paul Atreides), Mercenary (Boba Fett, nearly every movie in the 80s), Pilot (Han Solo), and Star Knight (Luke).  There are also two race as classes, the Alien Brute (lots of examples), Alien Mystic (Yoda) and Robot. Each class is 10 levels and presented in the same format as S&W.  So one could easily move classes back and forth between the two games with ease.

Sci-Fi Chapters
The chapters on Starship Combat and Alien Creatures are really the star here.  Starship combat of course can be easily ported over to S&W as ship combat.  But there are a lot of really cool nuggets here.  It is also one of the chapters where the pure "Star Wars"ishness of the book fades a bit into some "Star Trek".
Alien Creatures covers a wide variety aliens. Nearly everything is here; Borg, Greys, Fluffy aliens, the lot.  Since everything is S&W compatible you can move anything back and forth from S&W to White Star. This little feature opens up thousands of creatures to WS.  

Gifts and Meditations covers the magical-like powers used by Star Knights and Mystics.  Many of these are re-skinned spells. You could add more powers as spells, but only carefully.  Some spells are not entirely appropriate for a sci-fi setting.

The last three chapters cover roughly a White Star campaign universe.  The Kelron Sector is given some detail. Enough to get you going and enough to give you a good idea of what is going and where you can take it your own.   If you watched any Sci-Fi in the 70s or 80s then you will recognize a lot of the pastiche here.

What can I say about White Star?  It is one of the best Sci-Fi games I have picked up.  The more and more I play, the more and more I like level and class based systems for space opera.  It seems right to me somehow.  I think it is because I discovered Star Wars and D&D right around the same time and to me they always go together.

IF I had one criticism it would be I would prefer Sword and Wizardry Complete rules or Labyrinth Lord. But that is weak-sauce on my part really. I could convert it if I wanted.   I can say it would be perfect for my "Greyhawk 3000" game I want to do.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Class Struggles: The Bard

Spend any time here and you will know I am very fond of music.  So it should also come as no shock that one of my favorite classes is the Bard.   I loved the old 1st Edition Bard. It's wonky class structure and having to be a fighter then a thief (or was it the other way around).  Then finally top it all of with druid magic.

The Bard was the class I was also looking most forward to in 2nd Edition.  It also was one of the biggest disappointments of 2nd edition for me.  The class seemed to have lost some of it's charm, sure it was still fun to play but not the same.  I doubt that I was alone in that feeling, the Bard seems to be the one class that keeps coming up in various OSR games in one form or another.

So many in fact that I am not going to try to tackle them all.  But here is a glimpse of what I know has been done.  Let's start with +Richard LeBlanc who has had a lot to say on Bards recently.

Richard LeBlanc, over at Save vs. Dragon
http://savevsdragon.blogspot.com/2015/08/new-bx-character-class-bard-version-i.html
http://savevsdragon.blogspot.com/2015/08/new-bx-character-class-bard-version-ii.html
http://savevsdragon.blogspot.com/search/label/bard
and to be featured in the Character Class Codex.
http://savevsdragon.blogspot.com/2015/08/cx1-character-class-codex-update.html

Richard LeBlanc has given this class a lot of thought and energy.  His Version I has more thief skills, his version II has more magic.  I think in the end I prefer his version II Bard.  I tend to like a magical flair in my Bards.
This bard switches between lead, rhythm and bass guitar.

Adventurer Conqueror King System
A Basic-era sort of Bard. This is a "campaign class" or something beyond the "Basic 4".  This particular bard takes advantage of ACKs skill system, but lacks any spell power.  It's a good class, but I would see it a more of a wandering Loremaster.

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea
Quick note. I love the spiral bound AS&SH books.  Makes it very to have the book open and lay it flat.
The Bard of Hyperborea is a subclass of the Thief and has a number of interesting things going for it.  For example like LeBlanc's Version II, it can cast both Druid and Illusionist spells. A really nice touch.  It has the countersong of 3.x's Bard. Like most bards it also has a folklore ability.  What might be the neatest addition to the bard is it's ability to Mesmerize.  So there is you Pied Piper and Erich Zahn right there.  The bard of ACKS plays a well crafted lute. The Hyperborean bard plays a flute carved from the legbone of his former master.  He didn't kill his master, but he was there when he died.

Barrel Rider Games
James over at BRG has given us a number of Bard-like classes.
The Bard - This Bard is a full 20 level class. Like the Bards in other games they have the ability to perform with musical instruments and they have some thief abilities as well. These bards though do not have magical spell abilities. This bard plays acoustic guitar.
The War Chanter - What the Bard is to humans and the Greensinger is to Elves the War Chanter is to Dwarves. In addition to being fighters the war chanter also has some powers "Songs" that they can use to aid others. If you are playing a Basic-era game and have more than one player that wants to play a dwarf, have one choose this. It is a pretty interesting class and one that would make good use out a larger group of characters.  This one obviously plays the drums.
The Greensinger - The Greensinger is something akin to an elvish Bard/Druid. Greensingers get some special abilities and can cast spells like that of a cleric/druid. The idea is a rather cool one and frankly I wanted more. This is the lead singer of the group.

The Complete B/X Adventurer
This Bard is of the "loremaster" type with some magical effects to his music.  This bard is interesting since it also allows for the bard to learn more languages as part of his leveling up.  I rather like that.  This bard plays second hand string instrument that he bought with the first few coppers he ever saved.  He can now afford better instruments, but there is too much love in that old one for him to ever let it go.

A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore
Again, this might be the closest we will ever know of an official Gygaxian 2nd Ed Bard.  Having reread a lot of material on the Bard from Dragon magazine back issues I am confident that this is very much like what we would have gotten.  These bards use their own spell lists and have their skills in addition to Verbal Patter.  They also have a Lore ability.  So this one covers all the bases pretty well.
This bard plays a complicated 12 string guitar; hard to master but beautiful to listen to.

Fantastic Heroes & Witchery
This is a Loremaster type of bard with plenty of skills and the ability to play a counter song to disrupt magic.  With their legend-lore, gather information, persuasion and stealth skills this bard also makes for an excellent spy.  This bard can also inspire allie and bolster troops.  No spells, but the ability to read scrolls is nice. This bard plays a violin, viola, or a lyre.  Actually this bard plays them all.

Spellcraft & Swordplay: Monstrous Mayhem
While for the Spellcraft & Swordplay game this Bard will work with any rules that also has a thief class.  The bard is an "elite path" of the thief. Something like a subclass.  This bard has singing/performing ability that has some magic associated with it. Thief skills and lore.
This bard plays the bass.

In any case whatever bard you choose for your games they need to be cool. They are the face  of the party. The sly silver tongued devil that gets the party the best room in the inn, the best food and finds out where the real adventures are.

Conceivably you could run a party with nothing but bards. Load up on heal potions, some scrolls and send them on their way.  Hopefully they don't end up looking like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96A0uyFWQHs

And just because I have a lame excuse to post a Lindsey Stirling video.


Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Class Struggles: Race as Class

My love for D&D Basic era play is well known and well documented, but my love is tempered and not complete.  I have a confession.  I really am not a fan of B/X or BECMI style Race as Class.

In the D&D Basic rules Dwarves and Halflings are basically fighters with level limits.  Elves are multiclassed fighter/magic-users, also with level limits.   While this certainly works, it also seems rather, well... limiting.  I mean really, the archetypical halfling/hobbit is a thief.  This was one of the reasons I think so many people went over to AD&D.  I know it was true, partially, for me.
Over the years of game-play I have worked around this, but I never quite got used to it.

Now one thing I do like is the idea that different races should different class expressions.  So not a "thief" per se but a "burgler" would be cool.  Something special.

The ACKS Player's Companion does a great job of this really. This includes such new classes as the dwarven delver, dwarven fury, dwarven machinist, elven courtier, elven enchanter, elven ranger, and the gnomish trickster.  While these could, at the surface level, be viewed as mere renaming of the basic four classes, there is a little more to play with here in terms of special abilites.
As mentioned in the past, this is also the book you need when you want to create new classes.

+James Spahn's Barrel Rider Games has a number of demi-human classes in the Class Compendium.  These include various dwarven classes; Raging Slayer, Rune-Smith and the Warchanter. Some elves, Dark Elf, Greensinger, Half-Elf and the Sylvan Elf.  And as to be expected, Halfling classes, Burglar, Feast Master, Huckster, Lucky Fool, and the Tavern Singer.

I think there are a lot of options for race-specific classes or archetypes.

Back in the 2nd Ed days we had "kits" for various classes and some of these were racial archetypes. The Complete Book of Elves is a good example.  There is a lot of fluff and some backgrounds, but the real meat comes in when we get into the sub-races.  I was never a fan of the Drow-fetish that plagued much of post 1st ed D&D, but a sylvan elf or something stranger like a snow elf, would have been cool to play.  Heck I even created my own elf race, the Gypsy Elf, to fill this need.  We don't get to any of the class kits till Chapter 10. There are some nice choices but we also get the nearly 'broken'* Bladesinger.    *I say broken, but really I just don't like it all that much, and it was abused a lot in groups I was in.

The books for the Dwarves and the Halflings & Gnomes book are similar.  What gets me though is really how much we are lacking in race-specific classes.  Sure the entire idea behind "Fighting-Man" and "Magic-User" is so they can be generic enough to cover all possibilities. But I think after we got past 0e and certainly into AD&D we would be at a point where there should have been more race-specific expressions of class archetypes.
Something like what I did for the Dwarven witch, the Xothia.  Still a recognizable archetype (witch) but presented through the lens of a specific race (dwarf).    Honestly I would like to see a reason, given in a similar format, for the gnome illusionist.  Why are there gnome illusionists? What are they called?

The Companion Expansion from Barrataria Games does cover gnomes and wild-wood (sylvan) elves, half-orcs, half-ogres and half-elves as race-classes.  Wood elves share the same spell lists as do druids and gnomes share a list with Illusionists and bards.  All for the B/X system.  Maybe something +Gavin Norman and +Nathan Irving could look into for their updates for their respective spellcaster books.

I think in the end I would like to see more racial, or read that as cultural, applications of classes.

Monday, March 31, 2014

New Blog on the Block: Traveling Spellbook

James Michael Spahn is not a new name to the OSR scene.  His company Barrel Rider Games has been producing material for Labyrinth Lord now for a couple of years.

Well he is entering the blog arena now with Traveling Spellbook and he is doing some reviews of his favorite Labyrinth Lord/Basic Era compatible products.

http://travelingspellbook.blogspot.com/

In fact one of his first reviews is on my Witch book!
http://travelingspellbook.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-witch.html

James is huge Tolkien fan so I am hoping to see some posts on that as well.

So go to his blog, add it to your RSS reader or watch list.
I am expecting some really great things from him.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Class Struggles: The Halfling Classes

Welcome back to Class Struggles.  Today I wanted to do something a little different. Instead of focusing on one class or product I wanted to focus on a general theme of classes.
The theme this time is halflings.

I often find that halflings don't get a lot of respect. Maybe it is the size or the fact that they are all universally depicted as home-bodies.  In any case a lot of us owe our gaming career to halflings, or at least one in particular; Bilbo.

If you were like me you discovered Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit around the same time as D&D and RPGs. I think we owe the humble halfling a little better.  Thankfully I am not the only one.

To start with lets look over to +Richard LeBlanc at Save Vs. Dragon and a product that is not even out yet.   The Halfling Warslinger is a D&D Basic/Expert class that will appear in his CX1 Character Class Codex.  The Warslinger is an alteration of the basic halfling class.  This one focuses more on the halfling weapon of choice, the sling.   Now while there are some very obvious David-and-Goliath imagery going on here there is also plenty of flavor text to really make this class it's own thing.  Not only that but it also makes sense with a community of halflings.  The sling taking the place of the yew bow and arrow of Medieval England. The art that accompanies the write up makes it very easy to imagine an army of halflings all armed with slings.  It makes for a compelling picture.

I have also spent a lot of time with Fantastic Heroes & Witchery.  This book includes a couple of different halfling classes.  The Folk-Champion and the Scout.   The Folk-Champion is described as something akin to the halfling knight in shinning armor.  Like the Warslinger, this class gets benefits from using slings, but this class is also more than that.  They also can boost the morale (and some rolls) of their allies and have a bit of luck on their sides.   Folk Hero would be another good way to describe them.   The Scout is the halfling ranger and thief mixed into one.  Though more ranger than thief.   They also have some proficiencies with the sling, but they are also adept to hiding in shadows.
These characters, like all the characters in FH&W can advanced to 14th level.  The scout also has a Legend Lore ability as well, which I thought was very cool.  It makes it difficult not to imagine the Shire being patrolled by scouts but the villages protected by Folk-Champions and Warslingers.

Next we have not only the archetype treasure finder but also from a guy that I think might be a hobbit himself.  The Burglar from +James Spahn's Barrel Rider Games should invoke images of halflings stealing treasure from dragons.  Personally, James is my go to guy when it comes to hobbits/halflings.  Not only does he have this but he is doing some work with Cubicle 7 on the One Ring game.  That is pretty close to being an expert in this field as you can get.  So it goes without saying that his burglar class (more so than any of his other classes) really captures the feel of a new class. Yes..yes you can argue it is nothing more than a reskinned thief, but there is more here than that. I refered to this class as BRG's signature class.  I still stand behind that.  Plus you have to like a class where the artwork looks like John Belushi with mutton-chops.
There are few more in his Class Compendium book as well, but this one is my favorite.

There have been others books of course, the old 2nd Ed The Complete Book of Gnomes & Halflings had the kits.  In that my favorite was easily the Halfling Whistler, a Bard  kit that could be reskinned as a Basic/LL class.

I also presented rules/guidelines for the Halfling Herb Woman, their version of the Witch class.

It is great to see so many choices for halflings.  I think someone now needs to come up with a magic system that is unique to them.  Maybe something associated with singing or music.


Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Class Struggles: The Anti-Paladin

For the month of October I want to focus on classes that have a certain amount of evil or horror associated with them.  So first up is a class that may have been one of the classes that got me thinking about doing a witch in the first place.  The Anti-Paladin.

The Anti-Paladin
Really, if you think about it the Anti-Paladin was a no brainer.  If there is a hero in white or shinning armor, then there is a dastardly foe in black, twirling his moustache and laughing evilly.  My first experience with the Anti-Paladin was finding him in the pages of The Best of Dragon Magazine Vol. 2.  It would have been somewhere in the summer of 1982.  I remember laying on the floor of my parents van reading while we drove to some family function in Southern Illinois.  I had that and the Expedition to the Barrier Peaks.    The Anti-Paladin fascinated me because he was so evil and the class was so detailed.  Several pages in fact. This issue also had other classes; the healer, the ninja (2 versions), the samurai and the berserker.  But this was the one that captured my attention the most.

I could tell even then the class was way over-powered for normal play.  Basically he was a paladin AND an assassin all in one.  I did have an anti-paladin character for a while.  I would use him as an NPC at times too. I played him more or less like I imagined then how Gilles de Rais was; aristocratic, maybe a bit of a fop, and evil to the freaking core.

I still liked the idea of the anti-paladin.  Something so antithetical to good as to be it's own dark reflection.  Something who's mere existence should cause the paladin to either quake in his shiny metal boots or fill him with enough steely resolve to destroy the beast.

Unlike some classes that get reimaged or redone every so often (the witch, necromancer and ninja are prime examples) the Dragon article pretty much became the definitive word on the anti-paladin for many, many years.   Even (maybe especially) during the 2e years that avoided any sign of "evil".
There was a follow-up, the very popular "Plethora of Paladins" article in Dragon #106, over five and half years after the anti-paladin appeared.  Even the Complete Paladin's Handbook for 2e claimed there was no such thing as an anti-paladin.  In fact we would not see an official anti-paladin till the WotC years.

The release of the D&D 3.0 Dungeon Master's Guide saw the return of the "evil" classes the Assassin and the anti-paladin in the form of the Blackguard.  Both were now "Prestige Classes".  The Blackguard was something akin to anti-paladin if he had begun as a paladin and then fell.  As an experiment with the new D&D 3.0 conversion guide I tried to rebuild my old anti-paladin as a new blackguard.  Of course my character never began as a paladin, so a multiclassed fighter/cleric/blackguard was the way to go.  Nice, but not really who that character was.
But the OGL meant the flood gates were now open and we got a number of paladins, alt-paladins and anti-paladins.  The Pathfinder rules might have one of the best "Antipaladins" since it is an "alternate" class of the Paladin.

In the OSR world one of the better Anti-Paladins comes from the ACKS Player's Companion book.  It captures the feel of the Dragon article quite well I think.  It is also given enough reason to exist without being grossly overpowered.   There is also the Barrel Rider Games Player's Companion that presents a number of new class features and, appropriately enough on page 13, the Anti-Paladin.
This class is not as detailed as the Dragon article (but to be fair, little is) but it covers all the basics.

In my mind the idea of the Anti-Paladin was an obvious one, but it seems to me that Baron Meliadus, the Wolf-helmeted villain of the Hawkmoon series by Micheal Moorcock was a good archetypical anti-paladin.  He was part of the nobility, but amoral and debase (some would say those are not as mutually exclusive as we are led to believe).  But he shared a number of qualities with the the hero of our tale, Dorian Hawkmoon.  Hawkmoon was the closest thing Moorcock ever wrote to a paladin in my mind.


How about you all?
Ever play one of these?