Year: 2017
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Obligatory Year in Review Post
2017 has been an… interesting year for a lot of folks, but it has been a big year for Happy Monster Press – this is our founding year, and the run up to our January 2018 Kickstarter. On the gaming front, this year saw me running ETU and Savage Rifts, improving my Roll20 GM skills,…
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Weapon of Choice: Easy Roller Dice
For the last couple of years, I’ve been running my in-person games using Easy Roller‘s Metal Dice. These are black metal dice with various colored numbers, and are extremely sturdy. They roll with a satisfying thunk, and have nice weight in the hand. Easy Roller runs promotions on a regular basis, and if you want to…
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Minis vs. Theater of the Mind
RPGs have their origin in tabletop wargames. There’s no getting around that history, and the fact that, as a result, miniatures have been a feature of RPGs pretty much from day one. The question, of course, is whether to use them or not, and if so, when. I’ve mostly been running theater of the mind…
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Advice for the New GM
My sister just messaged me to let me know that my tween nephew has ambitions of becoming a Dungeon Master. You know, the kind who runs that other role playing game. While the rule system is different, I think the essential skillset of the gamemaster translates pretty well across to Savage Worlds, so here’s some of the…
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Is There a Plot in a Plot Point Campaign?
Plot point campaigns are one of Savage Worlds’ key innovation. The idea is to provide a campaign framework that doesn’t mandate railroading the players while simultaneously providing enough story to keep the characters interested. Plot Point Campaigns, on the other hand, have some form of beginning, middle and end. Often, they require just as much sequential…
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Blood Rage Minis Part 2: Small Monsters
More of my ongoing paint work for Blood Rage (see Part 1 here).
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Social Conflict in Savage Worlds vs. Real Life
Yesterday was Thanksgiving in the US, a traditional day for overeating, misremembering history, getting stuck at airports, and, of course, family arguments. Fortunately, Savage Worlds has a rule for social conflicts – how would this apply to a tense Thanksgiving dinner? Let’s say that Aunt Thelyria is a staunch supporter of Ugnar the Ruthless, while…
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Sentient Turkeys!
Happy Thanksgiving, residents of the USA! In honor of Thanksgiving, I give you the custom Savage Worlds race, the Sentient Turkey! Small: Turkeys only stand about 4′ tall (-1 Toughness)Ugly: Turkeys are really unattractive until cooked (-2 Charisma)Flight: Despite appearances, sentient turkeys can, in fact, fly (Pace 6, Climb 0)No Vital Organs: Sentient turkeys have…
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Memorable Villains
Nothing makes a campaign more memorable for players than a really good villain. When building a world for adventurers, building a good villain gives the players something to react to, and gives their actions real weight. Here are a few of my thoughts on great villains: Savage Worlds Happens – Don’t Let it Happen to…
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Free Art!
In a previous post, I wrote about where to source artists. However, where can you find great art that you can use for free? This image comes from Pixabay, a site for artists to upload art that anyone can use. Art on Pixabay is available under a Creative Commons 0 license. The terms of this license allow unlimited…