AbattoirianAbattoirians are the nightmarish result of three or more dead bodies fusing together into one hideous creature. Standing between seven and eight foot tall, they are a humanoid being made of a mishmash body parts where smooth skin should be. This might result in an extra head being embedded in the torso or arms sticking […]
Continue readingMonthly Archives: July 2015
Boil and Bubble: Ritual Path Magic Mana Batteries
Ritual Path Magic is one of the more flexible magical systems GURPS 4th edition has yet to produce. It’s got its share of perceived woes (lack of “power stones” or an enchantment system that conforms to how the system itself functions), but it also can shine brilliantly in just about any genre with the right […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: Bottled Magic
“Bottled Magic” was my fourth ever article and I was still finding my voice. My formatting was still rough as hewn stone and even the time I took to learn better editorial skills didn’t seem to make a damn. I’d stopped writing after Pulp Hunters because I felt I might never be able to get […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Dungeon Fantasy Apprenticeships
One of the things I rather liked about Dungeons and Dragons 3.0 was the “0th level” Apprentice rules. I got to thinking the other night…how could I do that in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy? I thought at first I could just use the Mixed Professions rules toned down…but then I had another idea… Optional Rule: Races & […]
Continue readingGURPS101: Lens for Multi-Professions – Flying Blade
Fiction is chock full of examples where the hero throws a knife and sticks it in the bad guy and he falls over dead. In GURPS…not so much. Today’s GURPS101 is about emulating that badassitude. Throw a knife. Bad guy falls over. Or, in this case, throw a knife, monster falls over, take it’s stuff… …if you’d like […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: Pulp Hunters!
My third article ever published had lots of editorial issues, but I was in for some serious OJT. It was also the first time I had a lot of outtakes of material I just couldn’t use. It was a labor of love for me because I really dig the various source material that Monster Hunters draws from […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Apocalypse Features
The post-apocalyptic genre has been steadily gaining popularity in recent years. It was a huge thing during the cold war and about 30 years before that, but waned for a while. Now it’s back and in full measure in pop culture. TV shows like Adventure Time, Revolution, The 100, The Walking Dead (and this summer, […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Wealth as an Attribute
Nathan “Crackerjakk” Joy asked me a couple of weeks back what I thought about Wealth as an attribute. I gave him a couple of answers that settled his questions and he in turn gave me a few ideas. Wealth as an attribute…what an interesting concept. It’s not novel. In fact, it’s been done a couple of times in […]
Continue readingThe Hurt Locker: Drones and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Just a few decades ago, planes without a pilot were science fiction. Now they are everywhere. Known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or “drones,” these aircraft can be easily bought in a store or online for a couple hundred dollars (well, the commercial versions, not the actual war machines). Yet they’ve also changed how we fight wars […]
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