Always on the look-out for new gaming contests, my brother and I recently stumbled across Here Be Monsters 2: Hell Breaks Loose! HBM2 is a monster building contest which uses the Pathfinder RPG rule-set: something Matt and I are very well acquainted with. This year’s theme required us to design an evil monster spawned from the BOWELS OF HELL. Well, not quite that specific. But definitely...
It has taken a few months of on-and-off work, but I’ve finally finished the terrain reconstruction for the new map of Yavmir. As mentioned in a few earlier posts, the goal of this project was to replace the old Yavmir map, which was no longer accurate and rather bland in style. You can check out a PNG of the map below. Add New What’s next for Yavmir? Well, Matt and I are...
Preface: I imagine that this will likely fall under the “stuff only Mike cares about” category, but I thought I’d share this little thought experiment anyways. Being a big fan of both 2nd Edition AD&D and Pathfinder, I’ve often looked at the differences between the two games and how to transition content from one to the other. One of the big differences, of course, is...
Classes. The backbone of many a role-playing game. Whether you are a brave warrior or an ingenious spellcaster, your class is what defines the things you can or cannot due throughout the course of the game. I’ve always been fascinated with class systems – probably due to my obsessions with Pathfinder, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Baldur’s Gate – and as a result I often toy with the game...
I’m always interested in amateur game design competitions, and the One Page Dungeon Contest is one of my favourites. Submissions are now open for the 2014 iteration of the event so I thought I’d give it a mention on the ol’ blog. What’s it all about? Participants create a complete role-playing-game dungeon within the space of a single sheet of 8.5×11 paper. The...
There’s a general consensus on the Paizo message boards that the two classes with the most problems are the monk and the rogue. While the monk has received a lot of love through the addition of various archetypes and combat style feats, the rogue has been been left out in the cold. Part of this has to do with a dilution of the rogue’s role in a group. Why play a rogue, many ask, when...
WildStar is my most anticipated game of 2013. Although there are a number of MMOs on my radar, WildStar is the only one that seems to possess that magic combination of innovation and rock solid production value I look for. Still, I worry. WildStar isn’t special. It’s not going to be ushered down from the heavens on its launch date, heralded by a cherubic chorus of angels. The game is...
I’ve played a lot of Pathfinder Society. Maybe too much. Scratch that – definitely too much. Although the hours I’ve dedicated to navigating miniature plastic warriors across grid paper could have arguable been better spent on personal hygiene and flirtations with the opposite gender, my time in the world of Golarion has given me a keen insight into the conventions and tropes of...