Seawolf's Den

Tag: Gamers Codex

Castles & Crusades: A Pot of Broken Bones (& Halfing Broth)

Posted on by Ron McClung

Castles & Crusades: A Pot of Broken Bones (& Halfing Broth) is a new Free RPG Day Adventure from Troll Lord Games. One of the more surprising things about this year’s Free RPG Day was the amount of free full size books it contained. One of those books was the Castles & Crusades Player’s Handbook. Although this is not a review of that, I wanted to say that unlike other Free RPG Day products, A Pot of Broken Bones (& Halfing Broth) does not contain the rules to play the game. This is a full adventure. I assume the intent was that the store owner would give whatever GM ran this adventure in his store the Player’s Handbook to get familiar with the game system.

Read more

Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls Preview Pack

Posted on by Ron McClung

Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls Preview Pack is a new Free RPG Day Preview Pack from Flying Buffalo Inc. I have to admit that I have heard of Tunnels & Trolls in passing but never really been exposed to it. I have not heard good or bad about it. I am going into this completely unfettered and new to this game. I think that is what is intended for any of these Free RPG Day adventures, isn’t it? Also, in the Free RPG Day bundle, there are three games represented that I would say were vying for the 3rd or 4th place in the fantasy RPG industry – and maybe even second place since D&D has seen such a great decline – Tunnels & Trolls, Dungeon Crawl Classics, and Castles & Crusades. Having little to no experience with any of these, I truly wanted to see which one(s) stood out to me.

Read more

Cascadia Adventures 1: Save Our Ship

Posted on by Ron McClung

Cascadia Adventures 1: Save Our Ship is a new RPG Adventure from Gypsy Knights Games. After reviewing the setting book for the Clement Sector, I was very interested in running some games in the setting. Being familiar enough with the Mongoose Traveller rules, I felt I could run a few adventures in the setting rather competently. The first set of adventures is set in the Cascadia Sector, a subsector book I also reviewed.

Read more

RoundCon 2013: A Battle with Adversity

Posted on by Ron McClung

In 2013, JustUs Productions (the guys behind this web site and gaming cons like MACE in Charlotte, NC) was asked to run gaming at a con in Columbia, SC called RoundCon (RC). RC has been around for 20+ years, first started by a gaming club out of the University of South Carolina. Sean Martinez has been the guy behind RoundCon for several years now. Some time ago, Sean took over the con from the ailing gaming club and turned into his own business.

Read more

Dungeon Crawl Classics

Posted on by Ron McClung

So I really don’t play very many RPGs anymore, but with the “old school renaissance” happening I’ve found myself checking RPGs out more and more. After much “huzzahs” and “hey nonny nonnies” from my friend about Dungeon Crawl Classics or DCC, I decided to check it out for myself. When you first see the book, don’t let its size intimidate you, although I still wouldn’t recommend dropping it on your foot. The book is basically everything you need to play. It’s player’s manual, bestiary and magic tome rolled all into one. DCC definitely takes its cue from the original D&D and AD&D, but without THACO.

Read more

Free RPG Day Reviews

Posted on by Ron McClung

There is a local gaming store that actively supports my efforts in area cons and the Charlotte area gaming community. I met Ryan when he wanted to run Warmachine demos for one of my MACE events. He now runs Above Board Games (ABG) in Fort Mill, SC, one of the best gaming stores in the area. Every year, Ryan buys at least one packet for the Free RPG Day and even though something always seems to prevent me from participating, he still gives me the leftovers from what he bought – which is usually a lot, unfortunately. I use it to give these leftovers out as door prizes and SWAG to my GMs at MACE and other events (depending on how long it lasts), which they do appreciate. I really try to give a little extra to my GMs but with my limited budget and limited donations it’s not always a lot.

Read more

Spartacus – A Game of Blood and Treachery

Posted on by Ron McClung

Spartacus: A Game of Blood & Treachery is a new Board Game from Gale Force Nine. Most people that know me will tell you that I am a huge fan of this show. I was heartbroken when it ended, although I knew it was coming and the ending was not going to be a happy one. When I had heard there was going to be a board game, I was skeptical. Many board games that tie in to shows like this are just terrible – not a lot of thought is put into the design, and they are simply trying to capitalize on a new fad. Once the show is over, the game will just collect dust and you have no desire to play it again.

The guys of Card Board Stash demo’ed this game for me, despite my reservations. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can tell you now that this game’s entertainment value can outlast the show considerably. It is a fantastic game and in this review, I hope to tell you why.

Read more

Origins 2013: Mechjocks & Battletech Pods

Posted on by Ron McClung

One of the more interesting and cool items at Origins 2013 that deserves special mention are from the guys at Mechjock.com and Virtual World. Set up in the main hallway in the convention center were 6 (or 7, I can’t recall) pods that just looked awesome. All around it were logos, posters and video screens displaying Battletech ‘mechs and Battletech combat. I thought it was some new Battletech simulator game being released at Origins. However, it turns out that it’s not something new but it is still very cool.

Read more