Death Mage Review for Flames Rising

Any regular Labs readers interested in new Pathfinder supplements should head over to Flames Rising and read my review of The Genius Guide to: The Death Mage.

The Genius Guide to: the Death Mage is a fourteen page supplement from Otherworld Productions & Super Genius Games for the Pathfinder RPG. The Death Mage is a new arcane spellcasting base class that provides players five paths to choose from: Corpse, Ghoul, Tomb, Reaper, and Shadow mages. The Death Mage also introduces some new spells and a new creature subtype, Unbreathing (a not quite undead creature).

Nevermet Press Releases The Desire

I am proud to announce that Nevermet Press released our first PDF last week. We took the system agnostic web content for our first villain, The Desire, and turned it into a resource for 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons.

While I designed the villain’s concept, the talented crew of Nevermet Press really took the ball and ran with it, creating some fantastic encounters, magic items, and organizations that can easily be plugged into an existing campaign. Not to mention all the hard work done by Jonathan Jacobs to organize and layout out a pretty damn good looking book.

I waited a week to announce it here so I could post some links to some nice people that took the time to review our book. So, if you’re interested, read what everyone has to say about our first outing or go ahead and pick yourself up a copy of Portrait of a Villain: The Desire today ($9.95).

Reviews:

• Uncle Bear: Nevermet Press Debuts with The Desire
• Altern8: What Should We Play – Portrait of a Villain
• Gnome Stew: The Desire, The City’s First Mistress
• D20 Source: Product Review: Portrait of a Villain – The Desire
• Examiner: Review: Portrait of a Villain – The Desire
• Newbie DM: Review: Portrait of a Villain

Listening to: Lollipop Lust Kill – Motel Murder Madness – Knee Deep in the Dead

Pact Magic for Pathfinder

Radiance House Publishing released Secrets of Pact Magic and Villains of Pact Magic a couple of years ago as supplements for 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons. Dario Nardi, the man behind the books, recently updated the series with a free 4 page Pathfinder conversion guide. The guide makes the rules supplements more accessible for groups using Paizo’s successful iteration of D&D 3.5.

Atomic Array and Radiance House were kind enough to provide me with review copies, which I promptly read but unfortunately didn’t have time to use at the table before writing this. However, I did like what I read and these books give GMs and players a very different approach to magic that is actually very easy to integrate into an existing campaign. Spellcasters can easily begin using pact magic by simply giving up spell slots. This makes the rules painless to introduce and test.

Secrets of Pact Magic

The pact magic presented in the book is inspired by real-world rituals such as those found in The Lesser Key Solomon which is pretty interesting. This 330+ page tome has a beautiful cover which has an abstract style not often found in fantasy gaming supplements. The interior uses black and white illustrations, some of which remind me of brushed ink renders.

Beyond the new pact magic and over 100 spirits to bind, Secrets of Pact Magic also introduces new races, base classes, prestige classes, spells, and magic items. What I didn’t expect, but which was very welcome, were the encounters that make for an excellent means to introduce pact magic as well as making pact magic a worthwhile addition to your game.

The flavor and story of each spirit was obviously very important when it came to writing this book, and I’m glad. Every spirit has its own geometric sigil, a well developed legend, and an associated constellation (which is a keyword that many new feats, racial traits, and class features make use of).

I am especially fond of the summoning rules which not only include a binding DC and character/environmental requirements but also the description of how the binding ritual is performed and what the manifestation appears like.

Another good design feature is that no matter what you roll on your bind check, you receive the granted abilities of the spirit. However, if you fail the check, you are unable to suppress the physical signs and your alignment and personality may shift to take on the traits of the spirit. On the other hand, if you succeed on the check by 10 or more, you get a capstone ability, which a bonus granted ability.

Each spirit also confers a tactical bonus to any d2o rolls when any of its listed criteria are met. Spirits may also grant favored allies (I wonder why we haven’t seen more of this mechanic in D&D), favored enemies, and even inspired companions.

The final chapter of the book also gives readers the tools to create new spirits and pactmakers which I think is an importance feature that allows GMs or players to tailor spirits for their particular setting or character.

Villains of Pact Magic

Villains of Pact Magic

Villains of Pact Magic is a 210+ page supplement to the original Secrets of Pact Magic and introduces four more classes as well as new spirits, feats, flaws, and spells. It then gives GMs new challenges to throw at their PCs in the form of detailed organizations replete with lore, adventure hooks, new monsters, locations, and encounters.

Besides the organizations, Villains also has an interesting chapter called Binder Challenges. This chapter contains traps, terrain, puzzles, and rules for stage plays (where the binders must participate in a play that reenacts a spirit’s life. It also includes maps and descriptions of four adventuring sites.

Pathfinder Update

This 4 page document really only has 2 pages of changes that brings both Secrets of Pact Magic and Villains of Pact Magic up to date with the new Pathfinder RPG rules. Most of the changes include hit die and ability score adjustment. The transition appears to be pretty smooth.

Web Extras

Radiance House has a free section on their website that allows you to download excerpts of the books to whet your appetite as well as the Pathfinder Conversion Guide and quite a few web enhancements (including base & prestige classes, feats, and monsters) to use in your game.
Want to learn more about Pact Magic? Read on…

• Atomic Array: Pact Magic (Atomic Array 035)
• Game Cryer: Review by Chris Perrin
• allgeektout: Flavor of Pact Magic
• Creative Anomalous: Secrets of Pact Magic
• Mad Brew Labs: Pact Magic for Pathfinder

Drop by Radiance House Publishing today!

Listening to:  Nine Inch Nails – Broken – Last

The Art of Game Design

Do you want to design games? Are you already a game designer? You need to read Jesse Schell’s The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. It doesn’t matter if you want to design board games, roleplaying games, or video games, this book has tools you can use. In fact, I would say The Art of Game Design transcends the medium of games and is an excellent resource for any type of design. Even Game Masters should find this book very useful.

Schell draws from the disciplines of design, philosophy, and psychology combined with his experience in the industry to provide a set of 100 lenses through which to examine your game to make it better. This book meets my expectations on what an entire game design college program should provide.

The lenses Jesse give his readers are really just a set of questions that a designer should ask about his game to ensure it will meet the expectations of the game’s target audience. These lenses give the designer the necessary perspective that will make games great. Of course, you can’t read a book and expect it to make you a great game designer, or even a mediocre one. That takes years of practice, but applying the concepts presented in The Art of Game Design should help put you on a faster track to success.

In the future I want to revisit The Art of Game Design and take a look at the lenses Jesse Schell has come up with. Right now I want to discuss the first lens, the Lens of Essential Experience.

Lens #1: The Lens of Essential Experience

To use this lens, you stop thinking about your game and start thinking about the experience of the player. Ask yourself these questions:

• What experience do I want the player to have?
• What is essential to that experience?
• How can my game capture that essence?

If there is a big difference between the experience you want to create and the one you are actually creating, your game needs to change: You need to clearly state the essential experience you desire, and find as many ways as possible to instill this essence into your game.

The above excerpt is from page 21 of The Art of Game Design by Jesse Schell.

This lens kicks everything off; posing the first question a designer should answer about his game. What is the essential experience that players should have and how do you convey that experience?  A designer should probably extend this lens and make sure that any element added to the game’s design reinforces the essential experience.

Just a GM

If you’re a Game Master, you might still be wondering why this book would be valuable to you. Well, Game Masters ARE game designers. Sure, you may not be designing the rules, but you are designing the EXPERIENCE. These lenses should help you shape your campaigns into unforgettable experiences for your players. You could think of it as a Campaign Toolkit.

This book gets a full 5 flask rating and my highest recommendation!

Listening to: Testament – The Formation of Damnation – The Evil Has Landed

Best 4e Dungeons & Dragons Blogs

There is no doubt the current version of Dungeons & Dragons is very popular at gaming tables. This also means that 4^th Edition has a strong presence among roleplaying game blogs as well. I want to take the time to recognize a handful of blogs which I believe represents the best that the 4e D&D Blogosphere has to offer.

My criterion does not concern popularity even though these blogs are certainly well read. Nor do I make my choices based upon design and eye candy. I made my decision because the following blogs have actually written material that I have, or want to, use in my own games. I do not like to read content with empty calories, so these blogs deliver the goods.

I present the following five blogs in alphabetical order because I was spending too much time trying to pick which one was better, so readers can effectively consider them all tied for 1^st place in my eyes. I also offer the blogs’ categories (where available) to give a quick idea of the types of content provided. If you think I missed someone that should be on this list, speak your mind in the comments.

At-Will

I remember when this blog was just one guy and he made his mark by doing skill challenges. Quinn Murphy, At-Will’s owner, and I collaborated with The Core Mechanic’s Jonathan Jacobs on a series called The Skill Challenges of War. We had a pretty good time and the three of us eventually laid the foundation of what is now Nevermet Press.

Now At-Will has several contributors and has expanded their repertoire to include things beside skill challenges. Currently there is a strong interest in articles that talk about utilizing Google Wave as virtual table top. Off the Grid gives examples of how to play 4e without the need of the battlemap. I should also mention that the web design and layout is top notch.

Categories:

• 4e and the Art of the Limit-Break
• How to Design a Skill Challenge
• How to Make a Skill Challenge Fun
• In-Play
• Lore
• Off the Grid
• Path to Victory
• Races
• Skill Challenges
• The New Breed
• The Wave’s the Thing
• Time Stop

Dungeon’s Master

Dungeon’s Master is also a multi-author blog, but ran by Derek Myers (aka Ameron) and Neil Ellis (aka Wimwick). The Dungeon’s Master also has a significant presence when it comes to skills. While many new and interesting skill challenges can be found here, the site also has a skill focus series that provides new ways for players to use skills.

One of my favorite series at Dungeon’s Master is their recently revised original Necromancer class, complete with powers for heroic, paragon, and epic tiers. I love necromancers, but regardless of my bias, Dungeon’s Master deserves to be on your 4e reading list.

Categories:

• Book Reviews
• Class Discussions
• DM Resources
• Eberron
• Editorial
• Humour
• Modules
• Month in Review
• Pearls of Wisdom
• Player Resources
• Skill Challenges
• Technology
• Top 10

Newbie DM

The Newbie DM blog is obviously focused on providing advice and support to new dungeon masters. Enrique, the Newbie DM, has had some classic posts of the DIY nature, including how to make your own gaming tokens and most recently a series on creating your own battlemaps by guest cartographer, Jonathan Roberts. One of Enrique’s articles was published in Obsidian Portal’s Guest Blogger feature recently.

The Newbie DM also masterminded the RPGBN Setting, a site where members of the RPG Blogger’s network contribute to a shared campaign setting. I also like his 1d12 Series where he asks a random number of questions (as determined by a d12) of various industry professionals.

Categories:

• 4e D&D
• Advice/Tools
• Cartography
• DM Tools
• Dungeon-Tiles
• Interview
• Tokens

Sly Flourish

One of the problems I always hear 4e DMs complain about is their inability to instill the fear of death in their players. Frankly, I think it’s a lack of imagination or a fear of actually killing the players. I’m not burdened with either, but for those DMs looking to get the most out of their monsters, I point you to Mike Shea’s Sly Flourish.

I love his new Monster Optimization series of articles where he creates encounter groups that complement each other while still making sense. The Bodak and Wight optimization is bookmarked for future reference. Mike also does Twitter Tips, tweets of DM tips that might enhance your game. Did I mention Mike also utilizes the ever bad-ass Dwarven Forge terrain? He has pictures!

Categories:

BAH! Sly Flourish must not have friendly categories turned on. Mike, if you read this, I highly recommend adding categories or tags.

Spirits of Eden

Wyatt Salazar, err Dennis Santana, runs the Spirits of Eden, a blog that details his Spirits of Eden campaign setting. Spirits of Eden is basically a setting framework that gives DMs and players enough detail to get started but leaves enough mystery to allow groups to it their own without becoming tangled in a meta-plot or an overabundance of canon.

I should note that Dennis is also a contributor to Nevermet Press, but that had no bearing on my decision to include his site on this list. Dennis is a superior writer and Spirits of Eden is a fine vehicle to show off his design chops too (which makes me happy to have him on our NMP team). Did I mention he licenses Spirits of Eden under a Creative Commons license? That’s cool.

Categories:

You should really check out the Spirits of Eden basic setting & expanded setting for a table of contents of what’s available.

Listening to: Fear Factory – Mechanize – Powershifter

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