Oowombe

The horrific Oowombe are undead creatures, created when corrupt primal energies of foul swamps and marshes reanimate the remains of those trapped and slain by sticky bogs or quicksand.

Daruna - A Brief Update and a Map

The Daruna gang are back in town, and settling out their debts and obligations. After selling off their fat, fat loot, they suddenly find themselves with a lot of money. In fact it's an uncomfortable amount to be lugging around, and in their usual non-subtle way, they've not exactly hidden the fact that they have a lot of money.

So they're buying a house.

DriveThruRPG.com - Halloween Sale

The sale is on at DriveThruRPG.com. The sale includes some cool scare-themed stuff, like Little Fears 10th Anniversary Edition, a spooky bundle from Necromancers of the Northwest, Pelgrane Press's The Book of Unremitting Horror, a bunch of scary bits from Tabletop Adventures, and a mess of Cthulhu related products from Skirmisher Publishing. There's also a pumpkin hunt offering some free goodies.

Check it out!

Vault of Eternal Sleep

The Vault is cut from a single block of a mysterious, deep-blue stone, origin unknown. It is a perfect nine-foot cube, with a single square opening three feet wide cut in the center of one face.

Ars Magica - Video Game Kickstarter

This looks intriguing. Ars Magica is one of those games that looked very cool, but I never really had a chance to play. Now it's getting turned into a single-player video game, so maybe soon I can change that.

Island Forge - That Next Step

If you've read any of the previous Island Forge tutorials (like this one or this one), you've probably checked out the results on the Isle of Test. If you've been there, you've probably seen this in the wilderness...

Now What?

Dealing with Coins

Over at the RPG Circus, Jeff questioned the value of encumbrance, specifically with regard to coins. It's a worthy question, with no right or wrong answer, but it's worth thinking about in the context of your campaign.

The Marionette Glove

This item is a single, gaudy glove, made from a mishmash of red, yellow, and blue silk strips and panels. A dozen or so strands of heavy, black thread hang from the fingertips and palm of the Glove, each about six inches long. The Glove's cuff is decorated with fine embroidery done in black and silver thread, and careful examination will reveal a command word written in ancient script hidden in this stitching.

Island Forge - A Guard Tutorial

This is another tutorial on using Island Forge's Island Builder. This time we're going to create a guardian creature using three actors, the guardian, something to appease it, and the person being guarded. You can see this in game by visiting the Isle of Test, and checking out the Guard Bunny, Sir Robin, and the nearby Pile of Grain. Save the grain for last so you can see the guard functionality.

Guild Wars 2 - The Thrill Is Gone

I really want to love this game, but these days it's getting harder and harder. When the game launched at the end of August, I was very excited by the prospect of dynamic events. Instead of dealing with the typical quest-giver model, dynamic events pop up across the map as you travel about, providing opportunities for interaction and combat. What's more, as events succeed or fail based on player action, the world shifts and changes as a result (within certain limits of course).

Therein lies the problem.

Island Forge - FedEx Quest Tutorial

I've been feeling guilty about ignoring Island Forge, especially now that the game's developer has run a successful Kickstarter, and moved to a free to play model. I logged back in this morning, poked around my large-scale island project, and realized I had a lot left to do. That's still work in progress, but I decided I'd do something small and useful too, so here's a quick tutorial on how to create a FedEx style quest.

Homicide - The Truth of the Matter

Gabe Babbett. Our two detectives, Evan Stacy and Jeff Long, were finally sitting across the interrogation-room table from their primary suspect. They know quite a bit about Babbett already; felony record, parole violation, lied on his job application, fingerprints on the murder weapon, witnessed fighting with Marin, ID'd trying to sell the stolen documents. In short, he's screwed.

Island Forge - Now Free to Play

I just received a note from Nyhm, the developer of Island Forge. He's just moved Island Forge to a free to play model, so if you've tried the game out, or didn't because it was fee-based, now's the time to give it a chance!

I wrote a couple of posts about this game a while back. You can read them:

• Playing with Island Forge
• Island Forge: Island Forging

Now I really have no excuse to not finish the island I started...

Guild Wars 2 - Karma Food Vendors

The following is a concise listing of known renown heart vendors that sell food items in bulk. It also lists the food items available from crafting master chefs and city karma vendors. This list should provide access to all karma-based items, though it may not list all vendors (yet). Each entry lists the item and its karma cost, then each vendor, their zone, and the nearest waypoint to their location. As always, corrections and additions are welcome. Just leave a comment!

Homicide - Remote Control

Last time, we had a pretty good lock on the events surrounding our two murders. We still have some loose ends to tie up though. Let's get to it!

Gaming Paper - Better than Expected

During my last Daruna game session I finally had the opportunity to use the roll of Gaming Paper I had received as a gift a while back. If you're unfamiliar with the product, it's a one-inch grid printed on coated paper in a 30-inch wide, 12-foot long roll. It has the same feel as a nice-quality wrapping paper.

Blade of Reflection

The Blade of Reflection is a long, broad-bladed bastard sword. It is fitted with an unadorned, straight guard of blueish steel and a pommel of the same material. The grip is rough black leather wrapped with copper wire. The blade is fashioned from an unknown material, a substance that appears to be pure, polished silver, but rings like fine crystal when tapped. The Blade's cross-section is a flattened hexagon, and its edges never show any sign of wear or damage. The weapon is about 55 inches from tip to pommel.