During a recent character creation session, two of the three players choose a name based on a Latin word or phrase. One ended up discarding his choice later and the other mixed his up so it was a bit more different. But this made me think, “Why is Latin the first thing that pops up […]
Continue readingBoil and Bubble: Spell Kits for Casters – Cryomancer
Fire tends to be the “go-to” element for spellwork that damages the target. But what of ice? Cold can kill just as easily as heat can. It’s the extremes of temperature that kills…so why don’t we see more “cryomancers” in fiction or RPGs? They can make the ground slippery, preserve a corpse, silence an alarm […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Bringing Newbies to GURPS
JMD (who, by the way, is one of my absolute favorite people I’ve met on the forums – he’s the mad genius doing the GURPS Calculator) started this thread asking about why people don’t like GURPS. If you can read through some of the bullshit, check out the Reddit thread. I rather like this little […]
Continue readingGURPS101: Hordes, Hives, and Human Minds
I like to poke my head outside of my own bubble and work on topics that I might not otherwise pick. I think that if you’re going to keep your mind flexible the best way is to solve a problem someone else gives you rather than one you decide needs solving. Over in this thread, […]
Continue readingDesigner’s Notes: Cursed Thou Art
I’ve been thinking about coming up with guidelines for some of the fluffier disadvantages for a while now. And this article was the culmination on the one I felt needed it the most: Divine Curse. Divine Curse is one of those traits that is the equivalent of a multi-tool in the GM’s toolbox. It can […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Overcoming GM’s Block
“We’ll play next week guys…maybe, I just need to get over this block.” It’s happened to all of us at one time or another. Whether it’s for fifteen minutes or 15 weeks, it happens to the best of us. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell you something. So when the ugly aegis of […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Mini-Location – Fantasy Smithy
Sometimes you just need to drop a location into your game that’s already ready to go. It doesn’t mean a GM is ill-prepared, but he can’t predict every player character action. So what’s he to do? Well, GURPS has quite a few supplements out there that can detail specific locations, but what about smaller areas? […]
Continue readingTriple threat: Nemean Lion
This huge lion was the scourge of Nemea until Hercules killed it. Unable to be harmed by mortal weapons, it took Hercules great strength to snap the creature’s neck. Afterward, he’d skinned the beast with one of its own claws and wore it on the rest of his labors. In GURPS, “invincibility” is not something […]
Continue readingThe Hurt Locker: The Golden Monk
Self-mummification is a real (and kind of squicky) practice. But what could possibly be better fodder for a RPG MacGuffin then a statue of a dead monk covered in gold? The following uses generic terms that could fit into any sort of campaign. DescriptionResembling a man sitting in the lotus position, the Golden Monk is […]
Continue readingTriple Threat: Aurumvorax
“A is for aurumvorax and that’s good enough for me!” Aurumvorax (plural aurumvorai? aurumvoraxes? aurumvorae? aurumvorax?) are nasty critters that snack on metal like a junkie on smack. Isn’t that fun? Hell yes it is. Originally appearing in the Expedition to the Barrier Peaks and has since been reprinted any number of times. When I […]
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