My New Tumblr

I've undervalued Tumblr for too long. Now that I have a Tumblr I hope to focus this Blogspot entirely on my home brew campaign content. My tangential rants, game reviews, and just anything too bizarre to place here can instead be found on my Tumblr. I hope to write shorter and more frequent posts on my Tumblr, so I can reserve this Blogspot for less frequent albeit more deliberated articles.

Read my Tumblr at http://lividastronaut.tumblr.com/

Traveller

The other day I dropped a post on Reddit entitled, 'Classic Vs. Mongoose Traveller' to determine which edition would most adequately suit my storytelling needs. I've never played Traveller because I've never been able to decide which edition to devote myself to. The following morning the Traveller 5E Kickstarter went live. Odd timing. Now only a couple days in, the 5E Kickstarter has already raised over $34,000.

There have been some legitimate concerns about the 5E Hardback's price tag. Marc Miller suggests his tome will be the "Ultimate Edition" weighing in at around 600 pages. To get an actual physical copy of the game, Kickstarter funders must be willing to pay out $100 + s&h. Unsurprisingly this has raised a fair number of eyebrows despite the fact that Miller exceeded his pledge goal in just two days. 

To be fair a 600+ page hardback for $100 might be more reasonable than it first appears. If this Traveller 5E is complete and without the need of further supplements, then the price actually seems about right. The downside of course is that the 5E content cannot be broken into more convenient separate purchases. But that is because this new hardback aims not be the 'core rules set,' but rather the source of absolutely everything ever, one would need to play Traveller. 

I'm not sure what the Classic Traveller black book box retailed for in the seventies, but a quick kata in internet-fu allowed me to find the original box purchasable, albeit lightly used, for around $40 today. Now consider the price of supplements, there were six more (after the core 1-3) I believe. If you buy all nine, perhaps going the Classic Traveller route might be a bit cheaper, but I doubt by much. Miller notes though, that he is creating substantial never before seen material as well for this new edition. For someone like me, having ALL the content in one hardback book is appealing. And I have to admit, the black cover looks absolutely slick. 

The demand for an affordable PDF reached Miller's ears already. Added today; a pledger offering $51 receives a full PDF version of the 5E. This is still a lofty price tag, but one I think a lot of fence-sitters will be pleased with. I probably will wait to see what happens. The fact that Miller is adding such significant pledge rewards so quickly is interesting. I hope to have the hardback edition one day, but for now I'm waiting to see if Miller throws in more rewards before I pull the trigger. 

What Shelob Taught Me

*THE TWO TOWERS BOOK SPOILERS HEREIN*

A friend (Faylor's player) had just finished J.R.R. Tolkien's The Two Towers and expressed that the reason the book is so fulfilling is because it satisfies a desire for both "high" and "low level" adventure. I thought for a while about what he meant -- the more I did, the more I agreed with him. 

Whenever I witness a particularly mighty character in fiction my first question always is, 'how did he/she get that way?' In one chapter of The Two Towers readers witness powerful heroes capable of dreadful slaughter. But the reader witnesses the separate and pitiable trudge of the remaining fellowship in the very next chapter. But most interesting to me, is the transition or 'leveling' the hobbits undergo.

I've been thinking about how Tolkien's telling of Sam's battle against Shelob informed the original designs of Gygax and Arneson. The hobbits are 'low level' in comparison to the rest of the fellowship. As such they must rely more on guile than force to accomplish their goals. Sneaking past a few orcs is a feat, but slaying a monster as vile as Shelob is an altogether more epic challenge. Such would take much grit and careful cunning.

Perhaps this is why 'magic items' have become such a staple in most iterations of the classic game. The 'Phial of Galadriel' as well as the elven forged 'Sting' are essential to Sam's survival against the psuedo-mythic spider-demon, Shelob. Even a hobbit of Sam's resolve couldn't survive against such a threat without the aid of supernatural means. And though victorious, the battle left Sam exhausted to his absolute capacity in enemy territory.

Both in DnD and LotR, magic items don't substitute hard-won experience. But they do provide the necessary edge to perhaps offer survival in an otherwise impossible encounter. Because all low level encounters are potentially lethal, every decision must be made with the absolute strategic proficiency to prevent untimely character deaths.

Because magic is limited in LotR as it is in DnD -- low level players/ characters are desperate for creative solutions. Sam's seemingly counter-intuitive assault from beneath was just the unexpected strategy he needed to wound the beast. In all likelihood Sam would have been killed had he not eventually driven the beast away with the elvish phial's light.

Oddly the turning of Shelob seemed akin to the DnD cleric's 'turn undead' ability. And yet arguably Sam's first strike is comparable to a thief's 'sneak attack.' Of course, as treasure equates experience, perhaps it's not quite fair to rate Sam and Frodo as low level.

Indeed both have remarkable elvish gifts as well as the Ring of Power. But even if Tolkien's texts dont seamlessly translate into the DnD experience,  the influence is sufficient enough that I personally enjoy 'low level' DnD more than the advanced levels. For me, low level character-growth is more palpable and satisfying.

Post Apocalyptic Pictures

Millenarianism fascinates me. Sine Nomine publishes Stars Without Number, undoubtedly one of my favorite science fiction RPG's. So I'm confident Sine Nomine's upcoming post-apocalyptic Other Dust will impress.

When I hear "Post/Apocalyptic" I first think of Revelation, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, or Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead. But for whatever reason, I also picture ruined barns and ruined boats; images I find oddly alluring. I'm sure this reflects the time I've spent in south shore Ma and in upstate Ny. So I've done some scrounging to find the images that speak to my end-of-times nightmares.

This image is just one of many midwestern 'abandoned places' photographs Tau Zero features:

This one is perhaps my favorite photograph from Tau Zero:

This last one isn't anywhere near me either, but it gets the idea across. Find it with the rest of it's gallery at I09.

Second Roll20 Live

Where will you be in a little less than an hour? I'll be watching the second Roll20 live-stream (At 9PM Eastern). Kudos to my friend Chris for the reminder.

Caterpillar Elevators (Part I)

Gnomish cities (or "skitter dens") are woven of web and sculpted of wax beneath bioluminescent lichen in vast underground grottos. In Cult of Aois the "deep gnomes" are the lords of insects. The deep gnomes' mastery of insect-husbandry is peerless because gnomes are taught at a young age the art of placating and commanding dire bugs. Dire wyrms and dire bees willingly cooperate with gnomes because they all expect to benefit mutually. By residing in the same delve they offer their partners communal protection from would be predators. Additionally, the gnomish presence seems to offer an uncanny boon to colony productivity. Gnome inhabited skitter dens have more resilient bug-labor, finer wyrm-webs, and purer honey than would be found in the natural environment.

Picture Link.

The bugs have long worshipped a bizarre pantheon.  Since joining the gnomes they have steadily impressed the influence of their alien mysticism. Even the dead are offered to the brood -- skitter dens generally offer corpses (both bug and gnome) to it's hungry. As I'm writing this article, I'm realizing that the Dune vibe lingers still. Well, no matter. Gnomes are generally against burial or cremation, and believe salvation is easier found from inside the digestive tract of a 20-foot-long millipede. Skitter dens usually consist of two or three family lines, but it is not unusual for a gnome patriarch or matriarch to have several spouses and dozens of children each. If the players aren't too intimidated by the gnome's inhuman cohorts, they might be able to hire some rather valuable hirelings.

Read Part II. 

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The Numen

Elves call them spirits, men call them demons, dwarves call them gods. The numinous forces of the standing races can be divided into two categories. The first group, called "The Forgotten" are the class of gods which no longer respond to the appeals of worshippers. These are entities so ascendant that even the power of prayer is of little concern to them. These gods are in an eternal political struggle with the other master powers. The Forgotten rarely manifest on the material plane, but send pawn lesser deity's if necessary.

Picture Link. 

The second class of deity are are called "The Singers." These are the mouthpieces of faith and the architects of cults. These are the lesser gods who cringe before the greater gods. But it is the duty and the honor of the Singers to make men bow. Whether through service to the material plane or through its domination, The Singers are the forces that meddle in the affairs of elves, dwarves, and mortals. For a Singer to ascend, they must first enrapture the masses into prayer. The faith-force of the devout directly empowers a Singer. A cult's power grows with the deeds of deity's champions. As the masses are inspired, the deity feeds on their devotion with a dreadful gluttony.

The Eldar

The elves in my home-brew are inspired by several sources, but Frank Herbert's Dune is the primary influence. The elves in my campaign are in the vein of Herbert's fremen; supreme survivors conditioned by the hell-blasted desert. They are mystic warriors who worship martial and magic cults. Though the aesthetic is  certainly fremen, thats really as far as the similarities go. These elves worship magic as men worship gods. Males follow one cult, females the other.  The elves were the first race to hear the whisperings of magic from the spirits. The eldar mother chose the cult of the *Nightblade. The son-father found the cult of the *Spellsword.

Picture link.

The males are not fair elves, their flesh has taken the hue of the red sands, and been shaped by it too. In Dark Sun (I never played it) I heard that the elves stood taller than men, something around seven feet tall if my memory serves me. So too will the elves in my campaign stand seven feet tall. The male's ziggurats are antediluvian pyramid-fortresses where the brotherhood may hone their magics and their steel through monk-like meditative practices.

Underground the female cult extends it's shadowy grip of the underworld ever further into the depths. The spirits of both cults require an absolute separation between males and females except during procreation rituals. Though ancient, the elvish race faces decline. Males are particularly hesitant to participate in elvish consummation because to do so would be to sever the male elf's magic potential forever. The elf may no longer level as a Spellsword, and must instead level as a fighter. Though a different system, this male elf attitude is comparable to the male Giant Spider's attitude in Luke Crane's Burning Wheel.

For this reason males are taught to practice asceticism at a young age. The only woman some males ever encounter is their mother before they are taken and delivered to a surface ziggurat. Female elves follow a more martial path than the brotherhood. As they are dwellers in darkness, their flesh is a light grey, and fairer than the brotherhood's. The sisterhood's cult of deep spirits demand virtue through conquest. Vengeance is the spiritual absolution the sisterhood's ancient matriarchs glean like coins. Breathtaking natural caverns and grottos house the sisterhood. Through magic the natural chambers have been enchanted to be both luxuriant and deadly. Obviously I've drawn some inspiration from the Drow as well.

* The Nightblade is an ACKS class which is effectively a thief/magic-user multiclass for elves.
The Spellsword is an ACKS class which is effectively a fighter/ magic-user multiclass for elves.

Next Session

Intro:

Where are the gods? Elvish sorcerers meditate in ziggurats above a sand scarred desert. Only the desert rivals the elves' callousness. Dwarves dig grand tomb-cities like ants to stabilize their death cult "queen." Humans are the few, they are as weariless as they are desperate. The tribes of men must constantly war with each other and with the desert to compete for scarce resources. And stranger things still lie in the swamplands. The spirits are said to be restless there. But the spoils of dead kings are said to be there too, cursed though they be. But past the fetid wetlands great mountains are said to rise -- some taunting even the clouds. But who is to say what lies beyond? 


Who are you?

I will be running a megadungeon using several sources, but primarily the ACKS. The dungeon will be partly of my own design and partly composed of borrowed modules. We all love a good dungeon crawl, but the evolving political component of ACKS is what we found most compelling. As a subterranean campaign, it will be highly likely that characters will build their fortresses far below the surface. This will be a tale of downwards progress.

Picture link.

Updates soon.

Kid Movies

There are two children's films which peaked my interest in fantasy at a young age. My father read me portions of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, and decided too, to show me the animated 1977 film, also and aptly titled The Hobbit. Today I can only recall fragments of the movie. But one scene is particularly vivid to me, at least visually -- when the party of hobbit and dwarves were imprisoned by the elves. I remember that the artists/ writers chose to portray the elves as blue-skinned xenophobes. Or at least this is the impression I am left with all these years later. I don't think I ever saw the film twice. 

Certainly Tolkien's elves are inhuman, they are such exemplary beings that others marvel at their aura's of splendor. Throughout The Lord of The Rings, Legolas' supernal perception aided the fellowship again and again. LoTR elves are the most superior of Middle Earth's races, or at least were before the age of men. But the film's elves were cruel, malevolent, and their scowls set them as unsightly. Perhaps the film writers or artists sought to adapt the elves to a more abrasive portrayal, one more fully represented by an almost fully dwarven party.

Picture Link

The other film I can only recall fragments of, but has bound me to fantasy nonetheless is The Last Unicorn, animated in 1982. All I can really remember from this film is a scene that I found fully haunting at the time. Before the climax, in a decrepit castle the film's protagonist's are confronted by a sentient skeleton who spoke eloquently but craved wine with absolute depravity. One of the characters remarked something to the effect of, *"but a skeleton doesn't have a tongue to taste." To which the skeleton mentioned something to the effect of, "Just to know that wine runs down my bones brings comfort in memory."* I just remember feeling that this was just such an odd and somehow macabre interaction. I don't want to see these films again because I don't want my perceptions of them to change. I remember them fondly, and hope always to do so.

Picture Link

* Paraphrased.

Roll20 Live Stream

Read the first part here. 


As I'm writing this article, I'm also watching the open live stream of Roll20 on Twitch.tv. But I'm not the only multi-tasker. Riley (GM) is running a 4e DnD session through Roll20 while he and his players answer the questions of onlookers in the twitch-chat. The ability to drop in images or hexed/tiled maps with such an assortment of malleable features really impresses me. There are health trackers, "auras," movable avatars, and a pen to scrawl on screen; all options to expedite the game pace. But as the Roll20 kickstarter suggests, the features never make the game feel like anything other than the pen and paper game it should be. The controls seem intuitive and quick to learn. Most of the text commands seem to be simple simulated die rolls. Music too is easy to implement and adjust as needed. Even if Roll20 doesn't make any major changes, it looks to be a rather impressive product. 

Roll20

There's no friendship like a bond wrought through the fate of a die fall I suppose. Those who find themselves reading this blog can probably claim the same. Unfortunately real life is often more complicated than table-driven fantasy games. Geographical distancing was once an end-all to the campaign. But now technology has all but nullified the distance concern.

Roll20 is a 'tabletop simulator' with an essential video chat component. It is nearing it's final hours on Kickstarter, but has already far exceeded it's initial pledge goal. It's 'story > mechanics' philosophy led me to believe this would be a very worthwhile project, and the promotional videos only further cemented my supposition. Roll20 aims to provide the tools a DM needs, without sacrificing the TELLING aspect of the game with superfluous technological burdens. Better yet, the goal is to release Roll20 to the public for free.

Video chatting is the key, I think. The 'face to face' component is the most fun way to gauge the other players' reactions to what you say. This is why tabletop games have the potential to feel so much more organic than video games; unscripted people react unpredictably. Tabletop gaming is not so much about what is said, but rather how it is said. DnD is about coinciding a group with different motives onto a singular cooperative path. I'm certainly rather optimistic about the project, but my wait for Beta testing will be a difficult one.

Web Comic: The Clandestinauts

When I play a magic user in any RPG, the character usually turns out to be a conniving and somewhat insane individual even if this was initially never my intent. "Ganglion the Grim" from web-comic The Clandestinauts, perfectly exemplifies this archetype. Perhaps Ganglion is mad from power, or perhaps his madness manifests through his warlock's pact. All I know is that Ganglion's pettiness and dishonesty would be amusing assets to any adventuring party (well, assets when they aren't a danger at least).

But Ganglion's true power lies not in his eldritch knowledge. Ganglion's subtleties, his trickeries, prove to be just as potent as his raw magical potential. Playing a magic user in DnD is all about opportunism. With often a very limited albeit potent magical arsenal, spell casters must know when to step up, and when to step back. The magic user in a furious demon-banishing mien is a stark divergence from the magic user cowering in a dark place while his armored comrades cut down evildoers. In a good session of DnD, both of these aspects will manifest in a given magic user.

DnD has never been about being Gandalf for me, but about the impractical journey of attaining such an impossible state. Ganglion already seems too far gone to madness to ever attain a Gandalf or even Saruman state. But The Clandestinauts is still a work in progress, so one never knows. Ganglion and other magic users tend to be very complex characters. Operating the energies of magic catapults the user from the mundane whether they want to be or not. But with such a status, said characters are often torn between magical aspirations and the profane goals of their adventuring party.

But the warrior needs a magicians spells as much as the magician needs the warriors shield. Thus it is possible to be that conniving and vile warlock in DnD, so long as you provide your party sufficient support. But this is not an easy task, magic users should be careful how they behave in front of their comrades, lest these same comrades allow the magician to end up on tips of spear or sword. Menace is the only cloak a magic user must wear. It is a tool best directed at foes, but it must be directed at friends too. A magic user who offers counsel to a nervous party has succeeded indeed. The magic user must convince his party that he knows best what lies ahead, and that he alone must guide them. Ganglion has certainly not achieved this -- but here's to hoping he does.

Burning Wheel

Dungeons and Dragons is excellent for labyrinthine treasure-crawls and engaging class-based fantasy battles. But there are serious reasons you should consider Luke Crane's Burning Wheel Gold for your fantasy campaign instead. Both games are fulfilling but approach fantasy radically different. BWG (Burning Wheel Gold) follows a fascinating logic. There are no "classes" or "levels." Characters are woven directly into the world through a "life path" system which solidifies the character's inclusivity in the world as opposed to implying a certain exemplary or disparate status. To improve a skill, the skill must be attempted in-game. Thus players can improve their characters exactly how they see fit by performing the actions they wish to improve. 

Every player character stands somewhere within an integral social structure within an assumed medieval-esque culture. Character's from different walks of life will react to each other and to situations in different and interesting ways that encourage role-play opportunities (think The Canterbury Tales). The game presents a d6 system that can be as simple or as complex as the situation warrants. But fluidity and cinematic logic take precedence over realism. This game is more abstract than many editions of Dungeons and Dragons, which I find refreshing as someone who likes to story tell as though from a novel rather than a board game (I rarely use grids or miniatures and focus the majority of my attention on narrative pace). But there is a significant "crunch-factor" as well for those who prefer detailed combat. Conflict is handled with mechanical intuitiveness whether in ranged combat, brutal melee, or an argument.

The races really shine in this game. Crane indicates in the character creation section ("The Character Burner") that the races are not balanced. Crane suggests that the "races reflect the literature" (or something to that effect. I've paraphrased). I believe he means to imply that more interesting stories might be told the less common ground the player's share. Difference drives development. This is a game about progress and growth, not necessarily power. Emotional magics are race specific and really impressed me the most out of anything in this game. These magics serve to define the races and encourage players to role-play their character's in a way that fully embraces or defies the archetype. The Monster Burner (a separate book) contains my favorite race however, the Great Spiders. 

The Monster Burner is a Burning Wheel supplement which allows gamers to create exactly the kind of fantasy game they want to play. The Monster Burner provides the essential tools to build custom races and monsters in Burning Wheel. This is an excellent idea, because the available PC races in a game often defines the tone of the game more significantly than anything else besides maybe magic. I am currently reading the Monster Burner and the Magic Burner will be next. But even without the supplements, Burning Wheel Gold is a very ambitious and impressive product. 

- J.B. Geany

Dawn of Worlds

Gamers are an enigmatic sort. As such, gamers frequently find it necessary to adapt to peculiar behaviors in order to more readily seek out the like minded. Irregular sleep patterns are a particularly prevalent oddity. At Pax we spent a lot of time awake. But after the convention center closed at 2AM we were left with Dawn of Worlds. 

Dawn of Worlds isn't so much a "game" as it is a highly entertaining RPG tool. There is no GM because every participant fulfills the role of a god, taking turns to shape the world. DoW presents rules that cover a rather impressive breadth of possibility within a relatively condensed space. The PDF is twelve pages long, a length particularly well suited to newcomers or one-shot pickup RPG nights. This is possible due to the game's adherence to both simplicity and open-ended interpretation. I plan to use DoW with my players so that we can communally build a game world together. I've played DoW several times and it gets more entertaining with each attempt.

The game depends on a communal idea forging process. While it is possible to create nearly anything you can imagine, said creation is subject to the whims of every other god at the table. In other words, it's not a good idea to grow too attached to your ideas. Someone else is likely to adapt or utterly warp whatever you have wrought. The game can be played subtly or overtly. Corrupting a rival's faction, raining fire from the sky, or sending a glorious and terrifying avatar to war are all possibilities well within the game's parameters. Playing God has never been so much fun. 

- J.B. Geany

P.S.

* Thank you to Josh who found this phenomenal game tool in the first place. 

P.P.S.

** Thank you to Tycho for offering a bipedal amphibian race for our game at Pax. 

DnD Next

I'm a sucker for DnD. I got into it as a kid with the third edition box set. Before that I had only played Advanced one time, but it was absolutely that first experience that got me hooked even before I fully understood the fundamentals. I had heard my friend talk about his older brother's cleric like the character was real, someone my friend knew personally. The claims of struggle, leadership, and jewel encrusted weaponry fascinated me, a seventh grader infatuated with the Redwall series and who considered UFO spotting a brave and admirable endeavor. 

As I got older I began exploring DnD's roots. Initially I didn't quite recognize the "old school's" appeal. Now I can't seem to get away from it. Unfortunately my knowledge of old school systems is largely second hand hearsay from various blogs. My actual old school credentials aren't technically credentials at all. My connection to the school is a tenuous one, bridged by various retro-clones. But I've sort of fallen in love with two in particular, Crypts & Things and The Adventurer Conquerer King System. 

At Pax I attended a Q&A session with two Wizards of the Coast DnD game designers. They were keen on reiterating two fundamental points. First, DnD "needs to be about the people rolling dice around a table -- not about rule mechanics." Perhaps this is why Wizards touts 5e as a unifier system. They mentioned that everyone seems to like "at will spells," but no one likes cumbersome rules nor inadequate challenges. 

Secondly, the designers suggested that the new system would be "modular." This is something I find appealing, and especially if they mean the core books will provide an adequate section on advice for creating custom DM content. But as of now it is much too soon to make any rash predictions. The designers noted that 5e is roughly between 15 and 20 percent done. They also mentioned that in the last play-test clerics did not have "turn undead." I found this highly odd, but I laud the design team's willingness to push conventions for the sake of experimentation. 

*I have paraphrased the Wizards reps' statements to the best of my memory's ability. 

- J.B. Geany

Pax East

Pax East is an annual gaming convention in Boston Massachusetts hosted by the Penny Arcade team. Penny Arcade is a popular web comic (and so much more) -- which I found myself reading particularly due to Tycho's (the writer's/ the alter ego's) interest in the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game.  And while a significant percentage of Pax is dedicated to video games, I would guess that the most visited destinations were the Chessex booth and the Reaper Miniatures booth.

I went to Pax East this year because of it's tremendous attention to pen and paper/ traditional gaming. Pax conventions might be the only place you can mistakenly bump into a stranger and they will apologize to YOU at no fault of their own. This relaxed politeness astounded me after my first, second, and third slow-motion collision in the meandering crowd. At 23 I'm ashamed to say Pax East was my first convention of any kind. But after this year's, it will most certainly not be my last. Conventions are inherently enjoyable, but they are equally overwhelming. Pax's pulsing throng offered an irrevocable immersion. The atmosphere was a nerd-Elysium. 

I myself have been a nerd (or geek depending on your jargon preference) since my first run in with Tolkien's The Hobbit more than a decade ago. But to be in a place where the pervasive nerd oxygen drifted so palpably was surreal. It's no exaggeration to suggest gaming of any kind can be a fringe topic under many circumstances, but Pax demolished all my reservations. People walked the convention center in beaming awe of the encouraged eccentricity.

I'm the type of person who would like nothing more than to talk about the tribulations of your orc nomad Dungeons and Dragons character. But I fully recognize the risks and social repercussions involved in bringing this up outside of gamer circles. To be in a place where countless strangers are eager to discuss such topics is truly an indescribable experience. My friend, Mike was struck by the "humbleness" of Pax co-host and writer, "Tycho" who could be spotted perusing the "tabletop gaming" section, and who showed genuine interest when Mike spoke to him about Dawn of Worlds, the RPG we were playing. 

At 2 AM Saturday night, another friend, Josh claimed, "These are our people," after one of us lost his backpack. Josh thought we would find it in the lost in found. Mike and I exchanged cynical, doubtful glances. But Josh was right, someone had returned it. When we were driving south from the city at the end of the weekend, I mentioned to Mike, "I wonder what it would have been like to be alive when Dungeons & Dragons was booming, a few decades back." He answered, "It would be like Pax." 

To read about what we did at Pax just click:

Burning Wheel

DnD Next

Dawn of Worlds

- J. B. Geany 

Best of 2011: Fantasy

Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Grindhouse Edition

  LotFP is perhaps my favorite fantasy retro-clone to date. Grindhouse emphasizes player apprehension and uncertainty. The spell list seems straight out of a great old one's grimoire. Magic items are less prevalent than in other fantasy retro-clones, encouraging players to rely on roleplaying wits rather than powerful weapons. Instead of a bestiary, Grindhouse offers excellent advice on creating custom monsters. DnD 5E will have to be DARN good to tear me away from this. 

Best of 2011: Horror

Vampire the Masquerade: 20th Anniversary Edition

  Okay, Okay, so this isn't a new game at all. But this particular edition is! In high school I played a lot of new world White Wolf Publishing products. But I was thrilled to get my hands on this classic material in PDF format. An absolute wealth of information is packed into this uber-tome. You'll probably never need to buy another VTM product after this one. I love the system, the clans, and the disciplines. This is one of the greats; up there with DnD, CoC, & Traveller.