Sunday, November 22, 2015

Dungeons in Blue: The New Stuff

It's been quiet here since the TPK in the Wilds, and the last Tile of the Week post in the series, at least for now. It's nice to have a posting break, especially since work's been a bit hectic lately.

I took a look at my schedule of releases for 2015 and realized I need to push out some new products if I'm going to make my goal for the year. Here's a quick update on new Dungeons in Blue releases on DriveThruRPG.

I've added three new expansion sets: Set D, Set E and Set F, along with the discount bundle that contains all three. Expansion sets are collections of varied geomorphs that include all the features and tunnel styles available in Dungeons in Blue. You'll find sewers, mines, extra wide corridors and caverns and cross-tile water features in these products. You'll also start seeing tiles that include...

Lava! There are already lava tiles in Dungeons in Blue, but the new Lava Flows geomorph sets add cross-tile lava rivers and lakes that are perfect for a volcanic dungeon or a visit to the plane of fire. Lava Flows One, TwoThree and the discounted Lava Flows Triple Pack kick off this fiery addition to Dungeons in Blue.

Here are a few preview images (one-third scale), to show you what these tiles look like.

Expansion Set E Preview
Lava Flows Two Preview
That's it, for now! Thanks, as always, for reading!

Monday, November 16, 2015

The Wilds - An Ending, of Sorts

So, last week saw the end of my Wilds play by email Labyrinth Lord campaign. The party was completely wiped out in the depths of Blackpool Maze. This is just a final note to put a bow on the package, so to speak.

Friday, November 13, 2015

Tile of the Week #100

One hundred tiles. That can't be right, can it? I guess so. Here's the latest Tile of the Week geomorph. It's a four-way intersection with a built-in elevation change.

Player Version



All Tile of the Week images are free for private use. You can download the images above using right-click/save as. Each tile is a 100px per five-foot square image, sized for compatibility with Dungeons in Blue geomorphs. The entire Tile of the Week Collection is also available as a pay what you want bundle if you're feeling lazy.

With 100 tiles in this set, I'm going to take a break from new tiles, at least for a while.

Monday, November 9, 2015

Wilds - Death Count Holding (For Now)

In which, the party continues to stand in the middle of the prepared ambush slugging it out. It does not go well, but no one else is dead, yet.

Saturday, November 7, 2015

The Wilds - Tasty Cleric!

Things are getting complicated for the party. One dead, one held, and one being dragged off by giant lizards (OK, he's dead too). This fight is getting pretty complicated and deadly. It started way back here.

Friday, November 6, 2015

Tile of the Week #99

Here is today's Tile of the Week entry, a corridor corner and pillared chamber with a fountain and two staircases.

Player Version



All Tile of the Week images are free for private use. You can download the images above using right-click/save as. Each tile is a 100px per five-foot square image, sized for compatibility with Dungeons in Blue geomorphs. The entire Tile of the Week Collection is also available as a pay what you want bundle if you're feeling lazy.

Friday, October 30, 2015

Tile of the Week #98

This week's Tile of the Week entry is a well-defended dungeon passage. Plenty of arrow slits and a couple secrets make for tough going here.

Player Version



All Tile of the Week images are free for private use. You can download the images above using right-click/save as. Each tile is a 100px per five-foot square image, sized for compatibility with Dungeons in Blue geomorphs. The entire Tile of the Week Collection is also available as a pay what you want bundle if you're feeling lazy.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

The Wilds - Death Pit, Round Two

This is a double-header update from The Wilds. The last turn involved a lot of maneuvering to little effect, but that all changed today.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Minecraft City Builder: Stage IV Report

Stage four of my Citybuilder Challenge city is now done. This was a fairly easy stage to complete because most of the groundwork was in place when I started. I also had a bunch of materials stockpiled so the building was fast. As I mentioned in my last report, I upgraded my existing town hall to the city hall, and I'd already started on some of the fortifications. So, without further ado, here are some progress shots:

Friday, October 23, 2015

Tile of the Week #97

Here is today's Tile of the Week entry. This is a simple four-way intersection with a pool in the center. A number of statues are scattered around the central chamber.

Player Version



All Tile of the Week images are free for private use. You can download the images above using right-click/save as. Each tile is a 100px per five-foot square image, sized for compatibility with Dungeons in Blue geomorphs. The entire Tile of the Week Collection is also available as a pay what you want bundle if you're feeling lazy.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

The Wilds - Knock Knock Necro

Finally, the party gets moving. There's absolutely no chance the enemy has set an ambush after they wasted time wandering around, spiking doors and searching bodies...

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Wilds - Two Steps Forward

The party has fallen into one of their periodic we move 10 feet and see what happens cycles, which I find kind of annoying, so this is a pretty short turn. I may have to implement the RFED (*) stress track for this game to get the group to move faster.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Minecraft Citybuilder: Stage Three Fini!

No, I haven't given up yet. Stage three of my Minecraft Citybuilder Challenge is now done, with some extras in place that put me part way through stage four out of the way too. Of course, that might be cheating, but I'll have to see how I feel about pushing through to the final stages of this challenge.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Tile of the Week #96

Here is today's Tile of the Week entry. A bit of a change of pace, this full-sized geomorph shows a surface area with a few simple buildings and a mine entrance.


Player Version



All Tile of the Week images are free for private use. You can download the images above using right-click / save as. Each tile is a 100px per five-foot square image, sized for compatibility with Dungeons in Blue geomorphs. The entire Tile of the Week Collection is also available as a pay what you want bundle if you're feeling lazy.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

The Wilds - Mop Up

Things are looking pretty good for the party, but there are still a few loose ends.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Wilds - Broken Ambush

The party was off to a shaky start, with a few people getting hammered hard by the giant lizard ambush. It didn't help that they lost initiative every round. Maybe things change.

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Minecraft Citybuilder: Stage Two and Beyond

I'm still progressing on my Minecraft Citybuilder Challenge. Looking over what I've built and written about to date, I've realized I never posted about completing stage two. Guess what? Stage two is done!

City Hall at Night

Friday, October 9, 2015

Tile of the Week #95

Here is today's Tile of the Week entry. This week's entry is a somewhat simple half-tile dungeon corridor, with stairs down to a sewer complex.


Player Version



All Tile of the Week images are free for private use. You can download the images above using right-click/save as. Each tile is a 100px per five-foot square image, sized for compatibility with Dungeons in Blue geomorphs. The entire Tile of the Week Collection is also available as a pay what you want bundle if you're feeling lazy.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Making NPC Decisions with the Mythic GM Emulator

The Mythic Game Master Emulator is a well-known system for running RPGs without a GM, or for providing extra plots twists and scene detail for GMs that lack planning time. It uses an ingenious scene, chaos and table system to spin out answers to yes/no questions and insert plot twists into the game as you play. I use Mythic GME quite a bit, both to inspire myself as I run games or for solitaire play.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

PBE Games - August/September Review

Time for another update on PBE Games releases. This post covers products published in August and September.

First on the list are two new Uncommon Ground textures: Grated, a roughly hatched pattern that includes some funky color variants, and Fabricated, an abstract cloth pattern. Both these textures include four different versions and are licensed for private and commercial use.

Next up are several Dungeons in Blue tile packs. I've released three new Expansion Packs, standard tile sets that use all the various corridors, waterways, sewers and other features found in previously released specialty packs. Expansion Packs are available individually or in a triple pack discount bundle. I've also released Border Bits, a collection of edge tiles to tidy up the dungeon perimeter.

Expansion Set A Preview

Finally, I've published the first discount bundle of Hexed Places. This product contains the first five Hexed Places outdoor encounter areas.

The next couple months should see six new Expansion Packs, five new Mega Tiles, more Small Dungeons and a set of lava-based geomorphs for Dungeons in Blue hit the shelves. I also have a couple new Uncommon Ground textures and at least one more One Page table in the queue. I have more Hexed Places in the works too, but my progress on these is slower than I'd like, so no promises on delivery dates yet.

That's it for now. Thanks, as always for reading.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Wilds - In the Dark

Raúguey says, "Did we come here to get the necromancer or hide? What's the plan? We're not running again, are we?"

Grendor takes the lead, “Form up everyone, we’re pressing west. Normal marching order. We’re heading to the northwest diagonal corridor and then south down West Hall. We’ll engage the enemy when we spot them, but keep your eyes open for possible ambushes. Let’s not let them decide where the battle is joined.” With grins on their faces, Strom and Raúguey move up to start the push.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

The Wilds - Tactical Retreat

Last turn, the party discovered an ambush set by a pack of kobolds in the pit. The kobolds fired once, retreated and barred the doors behind them. Confused party is confused.

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Minecraft - Citybuilder Stage One: Complete!

First Settlement
The first stage of my Citybuilder Challenge is now complete. It took more time than I'd hoped, mostly because I was too lazy to upgrade my house while I messed around with the town wall design (you can see it in the background of the image above. Let's check the list.