Attic Whisperer

Scott Gable's page

Zombie Sky Press. 290 posts (595 including aliases). No reviews. No lists. 1 wishlist. 3 aliases.



1 to 50 of 51 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | next > last >>
Zombie Sky Press

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Calling all fans of psionics...

Psychonaut: A Zine Devoted to Psionics for 5th Edition Games

Psychonaut is a new serial zine from Zombie Sky Press, presenting psionic options for gamemasters and players alike who are looking for something a little different for their game. Everything is fully compatible with 5E.

The first issue contains several fantastically psychical options:

  • Archon. New base class. Hybrid psionics/magic user. Akin to the warlock. Tentatively eight subclasses, including the psychopomp. Will be made available to backers after the Kickstarter campaign for playtesting.
  • Efts. New salamander-like playable psionic fey. (They are masters of fire with lore that ties into The Faerie Ring Campaign Guide.)
  • Psicrystals. Crystalline creatures with a strange, intertwined history with meatbag humanoids.
  • Powers. An assortment of new powers (or "psionic spells"). The power set will be gradually built out so that ultimately it can replace standard spells for those that want it.
  • Plus design notes.

Come join us!

Zombie Sky Press

What if you crossed Archer and Brooklyn 99 with D&D?

Broken Eye Books is publishing the hilarious debut adventures of Clinton J. Boomer’s fan-favorite fantasy gaming party, Team Murderhobo: Assemble. What happens when the lovable barbarian, perpetually high druid, judgy paladin—absolutely no ninjas—and all the others are thrown together? The punchline to all the RPG jokes ever told...

With Team Murderhobo, Clinton J. Boomer has created a series of short, comedic, in-character gaming scenes, composed of all the traditional stock characters of fantasy gaming, interacting with each other in a day-to-day, workplace-style comedy. Lots of gaming jokes and pop culture references thrown in. Rocks fall, everybody laughs. This lovable crew will steal your heart--and your coin purse, so stay wary.

"These little slice-of-life comedic moments draw from shows like Archer and Brooklyn 99," says Boomer. "Larger-than-life characters in impossible, action-packed scenarios who still find the time and energy to b+~$+ at each other about totally mundane crap—​extreme personalities forced to work together, bouncing off one another and creating comedy in friction."

New scenes with the characters are tweeted daily by Boomer (@boomer_kid). Read the collected adventures of the series in the forthcoming Team Murderhobo: Assemble under our Stink Eye imprint, with cover art by Jason Bradley Thompson (@mockman).

>>PRESS RELEASE HERE

From Team Murderhobo: Assemble

Wizard: “Ahh. That FIRST sip of coffee.”
Fighter: “YOU REALIZE WE’RE IN COMBAT, NO?!”
Wizard: “YOU are in combat. YOU idiots kept me up all night, ergo no spells. I’m gonna sit here, drink my coffee, and stab anyone who gets close. Look! LOTS of people have already been stabbed. Some of them enemies!”

Zombie Sky Press

Along the Twisting Way: The Faerie Ring Player's Guide (5E) PDF has been released! (Uploading now to Paizo.com.)

Live the Faerie Tale
The secrets of Faerie have been laid bare in The Faerie Ring Campaign Guide. And now you can play as the fey with the Player's Guide!

The fey are wild and unpredictable, filled to bursting with magic and secrets. Bring your dark mysteries and odd whimsy to life, exploring the storied lands of The Faerie Ring. We've taken the twelve key servitor fey from the Campaign Guide and made them playable with character traits and tons of new subclasses, backgrounds, equipment, weapons, and feats--everything you need to roll up a fey character for your game.

And now you're one of us! Explore the darkness and worlds unknown as one of the fey. Toy with humanity or save its collective ass. Pull the strings in the Courts of Faerie and trade in secrets and memories. Or just explore the vast and wondrous unknown.

Come. There is much to be told:

  • *Tips and character traits for playing each of the 12 fey (bitterclaws, black hats, darklings, far darrig, fir bolg, goodfellows, kitsune, matabiri, norn, putti, teras, and twilight children)
  • *74 subclasses and 23 backgrounds
  • *And a ton of equipment, weapons & armor, feats, and more!

This book is all about the fey, adding new fey options to your 5th Edition game from some wonderful designers (Dan Dillon, Scott Gable, James J. Haeck, Chris Harris, Victoria Jaczko, Jeff Lee, Shawn Merwin, Carlos Ovalle, Kelly Pawlik, David N. Ross, Stephen Rowe, Christopher Sniezak, and more). This is a player's guide, giving you character options for building fun and memorable PCs (and NPCs).

Nail down the furniture, and hide the children... the fey are coming. Get Along the Twisting Way: The Faerie Ring Player's Guide (5E) today and discover your whimsy!

From the Introduction
Welcome to the vast possibilities of Faerie! Do watch your back.

We are here not to play in the realms we know but in the realms beyond, in the unknown, seeking wonder and strangeness in unplumbed proportion. These are the places free from judgement. (Except when they’re not.) And you have a mandate to explore and experiment. (Except when you don’t.) And everything is as it should be. (Except when it isn’t.)

These are the lands of the fey: delightful and fabulous, complicated and exasperating. Oh, you’re in it now, my friend—delight is waiting for you behind every corner. You can’t escape the delight, so don’t even try.

And you’re here to play! How grand. You’re already one of us, so you’re fabulous right from the start. A complex and intriguingly unique sigil scratched upon the fabric of the multiverse. (Along with everyone else here.) You’re already a part of the mystery, a supernatural being with pleasure and misery at your fingertips.

Not to worry, for there is danger enough ahead for even the most wary. For sure, there is plenty of excitement in your future. And you’ll only get exactly as many chances as you need. So go find your joy, your mystery, your salvation. That’s all you’ll need.

Find your whimsy.

Zombie Sky Press is here to create the most delightfully weird games for your enjoyment!

Zombie Sky Press

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Along the Twisting Way: The Faerie Ring Campaign Guide (Pathfinder) major PDF update. (It has been reformatted to match the print release.)

The lands you know are but a speck in the multiverse. Mysteries are but a step away, and strange magics seep from the seams in reality. Faerie is watching you.

Adventure in a World of Wily Fey and Strange Magic
The fey are everywhere, and all paths eventually lead to Faerie.

It's only a matter of time until you encounter these odd, mysterious, tricksy creatures, and you best be prepared. Their motivations can be inscrutable, their politics alien, and their magics wild, and make no mistake, they are not to be taken lightly.
Come. There is much to be told:

  • * Detailed description of the complexity of Faerie and its place in the multiverse and the various planes they call home.
  • * Characters from the very lords of Faerie (like Flibbertigibbet and Moaro) to their unique servitors.
  • * Lore on the politics of Faerie and the demesnes of the fey lords.
  • * Forbidden details of the fey and their machinations.
  • * And much more!

This book is all about the fey, adding new fey options to your game that are fully compatible with Pathfinder 1E (also available for 5th Edition). This is a combination bestiary and worldbook, giving you tons of new fey creatures and NPCs and new locales and artifacts and more. (Hardcover editions available from zombiesky.com.)

Zombie Sky Press

A special Valentine's Day offer for Clinton J. Boomer fans! Order The Hole Behind Midnight or any of Clinton J. Boomer's books from brokeneyebooks.com by February 18 (could be The Hole Behind Midnight, paperback or hardcover, Royden Poole's Field Guide to the 25th Hour, or Tomorrow's Cthulhu), and he'll sign/personalize it and maybe even doodle in it for you.

See link for additional details: https://www.brokeneyebooks.com/news/a-bit-of-boomer-for-valentines-day

Zombie Sky Press

Dangerous Game, a 3rd-Level Adventure by Stephen Rowe for The Faerie Ring.

Our first adventure for The Faerie Ring is now available.

A tribe of fir bolg believes they’ve found a possible cure for the Morrigan’s curse, which transforms pregnant fir bolg into hounds by the time they give birth. The women might call upon the power of the Wild Hunt to trade lives for lives fairly taken, or they may seek a loophole whispered by a mysterious oracle. The huntresses must stalk, with wit and weapon, mortals armed with the same. Should they triumph, the tribe believes they might master the pending transition. However, in so doing, they risk death with no child to show for the sacrifice. This theory remains untested until a group of wayward settlers wanders into their territory.

Soon the hunt begins.

Dangerous Game is a stand-alone adventure (with versions available for 5E and for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game) for 4–5 player characters of 3rd level. The PCs become the prey to sympathetic predators while powerful fey forces move in the background. Can they turn the tables on their pursuers, or are their lives forfeit to the Wild Hunt?

Zombie Sky Press

Our latest title, Queen of No Tomorrows by Matt Maxwell, is now available. Part supernatural horror, part crime noir, and set in eighties Los Angeles (and it might as well be a CoC scenario!). Librarian con artist Cait MacReady forges occult tomes, but her latest creation has caught the attention of something magical and terrible.

Want to know more?

LOS ANGELES, THE EIGHTIES

Cait MacReady spends her days in the UCLA library, special collections, restoring old books and saving them from the ravages of time. By night, she works her real job, making copies of antique and occult texts. But don't call them forgeries. She only gives customers exactly what they want.

When her ex-lover, now business partner, shows up on behalf of some customers who want a book that isn't written yet, Cait gets suspicious. When she discovers they're from the organization No Tomorrows, she gets scared. And when she finds out that their leader, the enigmatic figure called the Queen, wants a book that only Cait has, she begins to wonder what's real and what she's manufactured on her own.

Cait's latest creation, the Smoking Codex, is a work of complete fiction and all her own, nothing but vodka-fueled occult nonsense and heartfelt desire. It's a fake—no history, no power.

Or is it? This book takes on a life of its own, and the police get involved as people start to die. Now Cait must somehow manage to stop a thing that has already happened: the book’s secret god is already known.

And its name has been spoken.

FROM THE AUTHOR

"Queen of No Tomorrows is the kind of book that I want to read," says Matt. "I wrote it simply because of that. Instead of placing things in the arcane and rarified (now all-too-familiar and safe) settings of the old and mannered, I wanted to bring cosmic horror and the uncanny out to the sunshine and neon of Los Angeles. Instead of simply revering a period or place, I wanted to poke at things, to see where the horror might show up in the everyday, even in the simple act of creation itself.

"Besides, there just aren't enough stories that treat crime like magic, or vice versa."

Read it today!

Zombie Sky Press

1 person marked this as a favorite.

There's a new horror book box in town! The boxes are from TwitterStone, and each will feature books from various publishers and also other goodies.

The first of the mystery boxes is scheduled for Halloween and has books from the small presses Broken Eye Books and JournalStone. But there's only a few days left to order. The cutoff for ordering this box is Friday, October 19.

(Our own book, from Broken Eye Books, is meant to be a surprise, but if you want to know, here's a link to spoil it!)

There's a brief description of our included book below as a spoiler. I can't tell you what the other book is, but know that this is a horror-filled box of wonder. You can order single boxes or subscriptions through TwitterStone.

Book Description:

Richard Pett's Crooked is as if Clive Barker wrote Sherlock Holmes. It all takes place in a twisted and Gothic city called Brine with impossibly tall, crooked spires and a giant circular waterfall that powers everything. This is a world where they bring you back from the dead as slave labor, which is not okay with many of its inhabitants. So it's got zombies, it's got Lovecraftian monstrosities tying to break through the mirror into their world, and it's got a good old-fashioned serial killer back from the dead. At it's core, this is a murder mystery with a killer that Jared, former investigator for the church, must deal with again. This is a sprawling world of monsters and politics, of class struggle and revenge. It's terrifying.

Zombie Sky Press

The Kickstarter for Welcome to Miskatonic University has launched! These are modern tales from that most iconic of strange and magical New England institutions, Miskatonic University. In the third of our anthologies exploring a more modern Cthulhu Mythos, this time we're telling tales where it intersects with modern small town life and academics.

This will create a minimum of one anthology, but there were so many great stories that there's a second anthology, It Came from Miskatonic University, right behind it to unlock. And additional goodies, like My Miskatonic, a guidebook to Arkham and the university. So many wonderful contributors, you're bound to already know some but also to find new favorites. You can even have your likeness turned into a portrait illustration by artist Yves Tourigny. Plus there're stickers, posters, buttons, squid hats, critiques, hand-bound special editions, and maybe even another open call.

Authors in Welcome to Miskatonic University:


  • Marcus Chan, "Like Candles in a Passing Breeze"
  • Elliot Cooper, "The Needle’s Eye of Nothingness"
  • Kristi DeMeester, "The Long Hour"
  • Scott R. Jones, "The Steeplechase"
  • Brenda Kezar, "Wyrd Science"
  • Gwendolyn Kiste, "A Lost Student’s Handbook for Surviving the Abyss"
  • K.G. McAbee, "The Official Inquiry into the Waite-Gilman-Carter Antarctic Expedition Sponsored by Miskatonic University and the Unfortunate Conclusion Thereof"
  • Bennett North, "Glory Night"
  • Brandon O'Brien, "Some Muses Are Not Gentle"
  • Joseph S. Pulver, Sr., "Beyond the Surface"
  • Liz Schriftsteller, "Through Cryptic Caverns, the Shoggoths Come at Night"
  • Nate Southard, "Something Beautiful"

Authors in It Came from Miskatonic University:


  • Dani Atkinson, "Between the Holes"
  • Mary Berman, "Ordinary People"
  • Jennifer Brozek, "The Librarian's Handbook"
  • Jacqueline Bryk, "Gills"
  • Richard Lee Byers, "Student Body"
  • S.L. Edwards, "Office Hours and After"
  • Lynne Hardy, "Identity Crisis"
  • David Kammerzelt, "Intermediate Yithian"
  • Tonya Liburd, "Fear of a Black Planet"
  • Matt Maxwell, "The Kingdom of Is"
  • Chuck Regan, "The Secret Trials of Jared Bloom"
  • Angela Slatter, "Reading Off the Curriculum"
  • Oliver Smith, "Mowbray’s Museum"
  • Dawn Vogel, "Hashtag TPE"

And Michael Bukowski did the amazing cover illustration. (Authors are listed alphabetically. The final TOC is still to be determined.)

As we move along in the campaign, I'll be interviewing our creative partners and showing off their work and unveiling new possible designs (whether for stickers or bookmarks or buttons or even new covers or maybe even hats!) and even explaining why I decided to split the stories into two anthologies. I'll also be giving a taste of what it's like building an anthology and show you a little of the behind-the-scenes work.

If you've enjoyed one of our previous anthologies (or other books!) or are just curious about what's going on, I hope you'll go check out what we're building and even become a part of it.

>>COME SEE our Kickstarter - Welcome to Miskatonic University from Broken Eye Books

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1557256029/welcome-to-miskatonic-unive rsity-an-anthology

Zombie Sky Press

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Over 10 years ago, I started writing The Faerie Ring (RPG setting). It was just a thing I had to do. It scratched an itch of what I wanted in my own games, expanding on faeries, adding new oddities. That is, more crazy adventures to strange planes meeting weird creatures but still focused on the fey and built upon centuries of folklore (real or otherwise). But I knew so much less back then, and it took a long while to finish with many obstacles in the way. And it was dangerous to go it alone. So THANK YOU to all the many people that helped this book get here. The first book (for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game) is finished. The 5E version is coming soon as are more books.

(Credits for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game version.)

FOREWORD
Jeff Grubb

LEAD DESIGNER
Scott Gable

DESIGNERS
Wolfgang Baur, J Gray, Victoria Jaczko, Amanda Hamon Kunz, Sarah Madsen, Andrew Marlowe, Monica Marlowe, Ben McFarland/Brian Suskind, Kelly Pawlik, Stephen Rowe, David Schwartz, Joshua Stevens, Todd Stewart, James Sutter, Mike Welham; Additional Designers: John Benbo, Savannah Broadway, Clay Clouser

DEVELOPER
Stephen Rowe; Additional Developers: Liz Courts, Endzeitgeist Sigurðr, Steve Helt

EDITOR
John Rateliff; Additional Editors: Tom Benton, Scott Gable, Micheal McArtor

COVER ILLUSTRATOR
Julie Dillon

INTERIOR ILLUSTRATORS
Eric Belisle, Julie Dillon, Carolina Eade, Lizzy John, Domenico Neziti

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Crystal Frasier, Scott Gable

Special Thanks to Michael Bauer (for those early talks) and BJ Hensley (for promoting the Kickstarter)

Tremendous Thanks to the support of our 315 Kickstarter backers for making this all possible. You’re wonderful.

Zombie Sky Press

3 people marked this as a favorite.

The Faerie Ring: Along the Twisting Way Campaign Guide for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is now available in PDF. Nail down the furniture, and hide the children... the fey are coming! If you've always wanted a "Feynomicon," here's your chance.

(Print and 5E versions and Player's Guide coming soon.)

Dear Titus,

Originally, I had no intention of responding to your query, let alone honoring your request. There is certainly little love between the fey—my brethren—and humanity. And, really, what would it accomplish?

Needless to say, I’ve had a change of heart. I have come to appreciate that sharing my knowledge and insight with you might go far. Not in the useless notion that you harbor of bringing our peoples together, but in instilling the proper respect—and perhaps even a little fear—for us. Humanity knows so very little, after all. I believe they need a glimpse of what is out there in order to better appreciate their own insignificance.

More selfishly, I am limited by the scourge of time—though perhaps not as much as you. The fey are so scattered and diverse that even being one of their own, I could not hope to catalogue them all in one lifetime. Together, perhaps we can learn a bit more about the fey.

So where to begin? Perhaps by laying the foundations . . .

—Zheddo the Bluetongue, Most Knowledgeable Sage-in-Exile of the Darkling Dominance

Publisher, Zombie Sky Press

We've had three new titles release in just the last few short months. All ridiculously good, and all available here at the Paizo store. The authors are mighty, and many are those you know from Pathfinder fiction and other games.

Ghost in the Cogs: Steam-Powered Ghost Stories is an anthology of supernatural steampunk tales from authors such as Siobhan Carroll, Folly Blaine & Randy Henderson, Howard Andrew Jones, Nayad Monroe, Nick Mamatas, James Lowder, and Cat Hellisen.

Tomorrow's Cthulhu: Stories at the Dawn of Posthumanity is an anthology of near-future transhumanist sci-fi tales set in the Cthulhu Mythos from authors such as Desirina Boskovich, Lynda Rucker, Kaaron Warren, Damien Angelica Walters, Darrell Schweitzer, Cody Goodfellow, and Molly Tanzer.

And Royden Poole's Field Guide to the 25th Hour is over-the-top game designer Clinton J. Boomer's return to the world of weird urban fantasy he created in The Hole Behind Midnight. It's a collection of short, foulmouthed, irreverent, darkly humorous tales featuring the over-the-top private investigator Royden Poole. Goes live April 1.

Publisher, Zombie Sky Press

6 people marked this as a favorite.

Our giant source book for the fey just launched!

It's the continuation of The Faerie Ring, and there's powerful fey lords, new fey monsters, fey player races and character options, fey planes and cities, and more. Tons of the wonderfully weird for players and GMs alike.

Play as a fir bolg, bitterclaw, darkling, goodfellow, wyrd, putti, twilight child, black hat, kitsune, matabiri... maybe a sidhe. Bring some plane-hopping fey adventure to your game: Kickstarter for The Faerie Ring

Publisher, Zombie Sky Press

Our Broken Eye Books fiction Kickstarter just launched!

This has been a long time in the making. Do you enjoy the writings of folks like Richard Pett, Clinton Boomer, Dave Gross, Elaine Cunningham, Erik Scott de Bie, James Sutter, and Shanna Germaine? Well, they and many others are involved in this.

Won't you join us for a crazy ride?

Publisher, Zombie Sky Press

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Set course for the weird!

Publisher, Zombie Sky Press

Hooray for the dead! :)

Publisher, Zombie Sky Press

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Halloween is a time for the dead... and for those that love them.

Our long-awaited Mysteries of the Dead Side: Sacred Necromancer rings in this dark holiday. The fruit of our very first Kickstarter campaign, this is the epitome of a devoted necromancer class.

We've also just released our schizophrenic version of the shaitan in Wishbreaker, a Tale of the Shaitan. You can use the creature as a shaitan or as a new genie called a wishbreaker. Either way, it is more than ready to torment PCs.

And one more, our first batch of color prints of Incantations from the Other Side: Spirit Magic and Incantations in Theory and Practice have arrived.

Zombie Sky Press

The latest Tattlebox is out from Zombie Sky Press.

Down, down, down, into the dark we go. (That's where they keep the good stuff!)

  • 2 mini dungeon levels to add in anywhere
  • New ways to envision dungeons, like in the belly of a dragon or without walls
  • Underground hazards just waiting for fresh victims
  • Feats that utilize a character's environment, such as bounding off walls
  • Vermin inspired weapons and items
  • And more new dungeon-delving equipment than you can shake a collapsible 10-ft. pole at!

Now, you too can stab at the darkness.

By Jesse Benner, John Bennett, Thomas LeBlanc, John Pingo, James Thomas.

Zombie Sky Press

There’s no such thing as too many monsters!

These cunning creatures may look like dogs from a distance but the slimy skin, poison, and other strange abilities will change your mind fast. Pack-hunting jungle predators, the wastehounds are on the prowl. And they’re hungry!

  • 5 new monsters—ghulhound, wastehound, wastehound alpha, wastehound exile, and zelodian mutant
  • Ecology of the wastehound
  • Explorer’s camp with detailed color map
  • 3 different mini-adventures of varying levels, featuring wastehounds
  • And tons of hooks!

Here Be Monsters brings you new monsters, their ecologies, and mini-adventures to bring them to life. Each episode focuses on one monster but presents several different types of that monster or closely related monsters. More than that, a full ecology fleshes them out for your game, and a lair or other locale is presented—complete with a map—with one or more different scenarios utilizing the creatures.

Let the killing begin!

Here Be Monsters is a high quality, full-color, web-optimized, 17-page PDF from Zombie Sky Press with convenient links to d20PFSRD.com for common gaming terms. It uses the Open Game License and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility License and is compatible with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and standard 3.5E fantasy RPGs.

Design: Liz Courts, David Schwartz, Joshua Stevens
Illustration: Michael Jaecks, Ashton Sperry
Editing: Scott Gable, Dora Wang

(You can pick up your copy at DriveThruRPG, Paizo, or RPGNow. On sale for a limited time!)

Zombie Sky Press

Tattlbox #3 is out... and there's a SKELETON RIDING A FREAKING SHARK!!!

Come get some Pathfinder piratey goodness...

  • Tales of ancient vengeance on the seas
  • Disappearing islands full of adventure and death
  • Ghostly, black pirate ships, seemingly unmanned and traveling the seas of the multiverse</li>
  • Vicious pirates and the legacy of their dread orc leader
  • Undead of the seas uniting with aquatic variants of some of your favorites
  • Adding ship's positions, like captain and navigator, to your game
  • Playing swashbuckling characters, swinging from the chandelier
  • Piratey gunslinger archetypes
  • Torpedoes! And depth charges! And mines!
  • Horrific hazards of the high seas
  • And scurvy!

Come join our Pathfinder jam session. Ar, I dare you not to have fun!

Zombie Sky Press

The latest issue's out of this new monthly! Grab some alchemy. :)

Zombie Sky Press

The free premier issue of Tattlebox has been available for a year now, but what about the rest? Very soon, Tattlebox will return as a monthly digital release for Pathfinder. Each issue will be tightly focused to a specific topic with articles for both GMs and players. Alchemy, pirates, dungeons, and much more are all coming!

Zombie Sky Press

Many have asked if our incantations would ever see print. Well, now they have! Incantations from the Other Side brings together our work on incantations in one print.

Copies will be on hand at Paizocon and then the online store. Preorder to reserve yours!

Zombie Sky Press

1 person marked this as a favorite.

It's my birthday, and I'm giving stuff away. (That's how it works, right?)

I'm considering what to work on next year for Zombie Sky Press, and I'm always looking for new and interesting challenges. So for Thursday only, I would love to hear what you want to see in RPGs. What would set your mind ablaze?

What system would you prefer: Pathfinder, 4E, Fate, an original game system, other? What content would you like to see? What would excite you? Could be something to do with existing lines or something altogether different.

Three posters, chosen by me, will receive free copies of all the PDFs that ZSP has already published or the next three releases free, your choice.

(You can also post on Facebook and Google+.)

Game on!

Zombie Sky Press

Clinton Boomer, writer of many of the wonderful D&D and Pathfinder RPG products you love, wrote a book! The limited print edition is already available, but Boomer is extending his domination into the digital realm. The ebook version of The Hole behind Midnight will be available very soon through all your usual ebook vendors, including here at Paizo. If you already love Boomer's writing, you won't be disappointed.

The Hole behind Midnight is being published by Broken Eye Books, a brand-new fiction publisher. Become a fan by liking their Facebook page or commenting at the announcing post on Google+, and on Halloween, you might win a free copy of the ebook.

A Broken Eye Books website is coming. Stay tuned for more news on Boomer's novels and other authors.

The Hole behind Midnight

Royden Poole is having a very bad day.

Strong-armed into investigating a break-in, a bizarre theft, two missing persons, and a shooting with no body, and all he wants to do is go back to pretending he's dead.

And that's just a warm up.

Explore behind the scenes of reality in the 25th Hour, a strange world of gods and monsters. A place of wonder and horror, a place of magic. Follow along with Royden Poole on a foul-mouthed, darkly comic, hardboiled romp through the twisted underbelly of the world you thought you knew.

Recommended for mature audiences only.

Zombie Sky Press

2 people marked this as a favorite.

You don't have to go to the stars... they're coming to you!

It Came from the Stars is a new patronage project from Zombie Sky Press, exploring the effects of the weird on your game. Join today!

Beyond the Realms You Know

It Came from the Stars brings the mystery of the unknown and the weird to your Pathfinder Roleplaying Game with new player options, new monsters, and new adventures. Mystery, wonder, and terror from the starry vastness await you. Whether you play in a world that is already aware of what lies beyond or that has been so far oblivious, it's about to get ugly.

Discover bold new options for characters: Fantastic psychic abilities. Strange alien technology. Mindwarping secrets. Will you stalwartly oppose the madness or will you give in? Can you twist the dark whispers to your own advantage?

Confront challenging new foes: For instance, the dreaded star beasts (one is illustrated above). Each star beast is unique in personality, appearance, and power. What can you hope to do if one of these devastating forces comes to your world? Or any of the other new creatures, for that matter?

Plunge into harrowing adventure: The stars are here! Stave off invasion. Discover derelict technologies. Plunge yourself into worlds unknown. How will you fare in the coming confrontation?

Set Sights for the Weird

Join us in bringing the weird to your game. It Came from the Stars comes in two parts, 64 pages each, wondrously illustrated by Roxxy Goetz (The Spoils CCG). The first is full of player options, including new classes, new options for existing classes, and much more. The second is full of new monsters and crazy adventures. Discover strange, new technologies and portals to other worlds. Meet odd monsters and take their stuff. Save the day or die as your world burns. (This product will be supported with Hero Lab, character generation software from Lone Wolf Development.)

Who could bring you such a thing? Only masters of the weird, that's who: Scott Gable (Incantations in Theory and Practice, The Faerie Ring), Colin McComb (Dark Sun, Planescape, and Ravenloft Settings), Richard Pett (The Sixfold Trial, The Styes, We Be Goblins!), Michael Kortes (Entombed with the Pharaohs, Haunting of Harrowstone), Clinton Boomer (Incantations from the Other Side, The Infernal Syndrome). And you! You can join us in this craziness: contribute your designs, playtest the results, shape the final product, and have some crazy fun!

As a milestone, if we can reach 150% of our funding goal, we'll create three parts, instead of just two: the bestiary and the adventures will each have there own 64 pages. (That means a minimum of 192 pages!)

The Stars Are Here!

Maybe the strange creatures are here to enslave! Maybe they're here to eat! Maybe they're here to mate!! Whatever the case, it probably won't be pretty. It Came from the Stars is not a setting but a set of tools for you to add the wonder of the stars to whatever setting you wish. It's an event to up the stakes of your game and shatter expectations. It gives you what you need in order to add an element of the unknown to your game. Mysterious abilities, strange technologies, powerful foes, and mind-blowing adventures. It's about discovering that you're not alone. That there is much more than you had ever realized out there. That you are in terrible danger always.

It Came from the Stars provides the means to launch your game in new directions. Spice up your fantasy with a taste of the stars--some Lovecraftian horror here, some space opera there, a splash of pulpy action. Add some mystery to your ancient cultures, giving them ties to things beyond the stars. Add an unexpected twist to the storyline, upping the stakes and revealing new possibilities. Create rich characters with backgrounds hinting at the stars and powers threatening to consume them. Stave off the invasion forces and discover new worlds.

While a book of the weird, for sure, It Came from the Stars is fun and playable and still the fantasy you know and love. It's intended to shake up campaigns, pushing the limits--whether that's cthuloid squishiness or arcane science or weird psychic powers.

There's weirdness out there. You ready to explore it with us? Follow along with the pre-launch discussion and teasers at zombieskypress.com and Scott's G+.

It Came from the Stars is the first offering in The Weird Cycle. Future offerings under this banner will explore... other weirdness! It Came from the Stars complies with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility License.

Zombie Sky Press

I was going to wait until after everyone got back from Gen Con, but then I realized that some folks--like me--can't go this year. So here's something to help ease the pain!

We're trying out a new community project using Kickstarter. If the project gets funded, you get to help create the sacred necromancer.

Come spend some time with me and the project backers to create the sacred necromancer, a new class for your Pathfinder Roleplaying Games.

With your input right from the beginning and your playtesting, it will be a class that you can't wait to play and that you know will be balanced.

A class worth dying for! ;D

Zombie Sky Press

We're considering something different for the next [i]Mysteries of...[/url] release and looking for advice. (The previous release, Mysteries of the Tengu Road, presents the yamabushi, taking inspiration from the 3.5E warlock and dread necromancer and combining that with the Pathfinder oracle.)

This series is all about player options (primarily through new classes). I love devising new classes--experimenting with new design and sculpting the rules into a thing of of beauty. But I'd like to add an element of patron feedback to the process.

I'm considering developing the next class a little differently: fund it as a small Kickstarter project and have the patrons help me brainstorm and playtest the new class, possibly on Google+.

I haven't pulled the trigger, yet, because I'm still working out the implementation. Is this something that would interest you?

Zombie Sky Press

Yay, the Store Blog! Spreading its love! :D

Zombie Sky Press

Come one, come all...

  • Cast your eyes upon Marvelous Ashton Sperry's Falling Leaves comic
  • Gaze in horror as I try to convince you that splitting the party can be fun
  • Delight at 14 new weapons, including the maul, new chain weapons, the personal ballista, and more
  • Wonder at the new weapons special features, like feint and bull rush
  • But avoid looking directly into the new artifact, the Tattlebox itself, for your very sanity is on the line

Wonders await you!

Zombie Sky Press

Welcome to Tattlebox, the traveling sideshow! Find an assortment of wonders and horrors in this ongoing miscellany for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

In this issue, you’ll find...

  • Falling Leaves: a comic of fey proportions
  • Let's Split the Party!: an essay on why you should split the party
  • 14 new weapons, 6 new weapon special features, a new artifact, and more!

Each Tattlebox presents something for everyone: tips, flavor, crunch. Stuff for players and GMs alike. Add something new to your game!

The first issue will be free for 1 week. Grab yours today!

Zombie Sky Press

The Faerie Ring: Along the Twisting Way #2—Red Jack is now available!

The next chapter of The Faerie Ring is here! Play as as kitsune. Develop your fox magic. And never cross the self-proclaimed avatar of death, Red Jack (an epic-level bad guy).

Check out this snapshot of one corner of the fey worlds!

Zombie Sky Press

Mysteries of the Tengu Road: Yamabushi, the Sublime Transmuter is now available!

Play a new base class, the yamabushi. They are masters of transmutation magic. There's also a new PC race, the daitengu (fey cousins of the tengu). There're also 3 new transmutation spells, a new weapon (the ring staff), and more.

Zombie Sky Press

When else would the fey invade but on the longest night of the year?

The Faerie Ring has finally begun! Check out The Faerie Ring: Along the Twisting Way Prelude.

It uncovers the Preternatural Planes where the fey can call home when not vacationing on the Material Plane, several new subtypes of fey, and fey sovereigns and other power players.

The Faerie Ring is ongoing, combining elements of sourcebook, mini-setting, and player's guide. The next chapters are right around the corner.

We have lots of plans for the fey, but we also want to know what you want to see. Feel free to ask us whatever questions you have.

Zombie Sky Press

Nail down the furniture, and hide the children... the fey are coming!

The Faerie Ring is almost here, but before you meet the fey lords and their servitors within this new series, you need to get up to speed with The Faerie Ring: Along the Twisting Way Prelude. What are the fey? Where do they come from? Why do they torment you so? Find out on 12/21/2010.

Most cultures easily rattle off stories of the fey, portraying them in the most colorful of ways. On the surface, the tales seem little more than entertainment and whimsy, perhaps a moral interjected here and there. More often than not, they are so contradictory or ridiculous as to be easily dismissed. However, if you look long enough, you eventually realize that the fey are simply more diverse and complicated than previously imagined.

The fey aren’t like you and me.

In this book, you’ll find...

  • Secrets of the fey laid bare
  • Fey origin myths, philosophies, and social habits
  • Wonders of the Preternatural Planes
  • Glimpses into twisted, fey thought processes
  • New subtypes of fey
  • Evidence of fey lords, their demesnes, and their servitors
  • And more of the craziness that can only come from the fey!

The Faerie Ring brings you the worlds of the fey. From the fey lords to those that serve them. Their lands, their magics, their machinations. Everything a GM needs to bring a fresh dose of fey to a game. And for players, there are playable fey races, feats, incantations, and more. The Faerie Ring: Along the Twisting Way Prelude is merely the beginning of the journey.

Zombie Sky Press

Here Be Monsters: Aching for Blood (Mosquitofolk) starts a 5-part arc of jungle-based monsters.

I wanted to give a more detailed sampling of content, so here's what's in it:

9 Monsters:

  • Giant mosquito
  • Mosquito Swarm
  • Mosquitofolk, Hollow (undead bloodbag)
  • Mosquitofolk, Blood Jumper (fast attacker, hit and run tactics)
  • Mosquitofolk, Secret Sting (sneaky with a nasty poison)
  • Mosquitofolk, Blood Blade (armed killer, see below)
  • Mosquitofolk, Cage Glider (giant, creepy slaver)
  • Mosquitofolk, Swarm Spewer (spits out and controls mosquito swarms)
  • Mosquitofolk, Wound Mage (vile mastermind and blood master)
  • Ecology, encounter groups, lore, and more--complete with the wonderful illustrations of Ashton Sperry

(Monsters span CR 1-10)

5 Alchemical Items:

  • Blood Lure
  • Gag Grass
  • Haze Frond Torch
  • Reek Sap
  • Stonefall Seeds

Blood Meal Mini-Adventure:

  • A cliffside lair, gorgeously mapped by Liz "Lilith" Courts (a keyed version and an unkeyed version) [We've already gotten several compliments on Liz's awesome lair map!]
  • 3 simple scenarios with multiple encounters using the lair, usable as sidetreks to insert into your campaign (for 4th, 8th, and 12 th levels)
  • Hooks to incorporate the mosqitofolk into your campaign, tips on taking PCs as prisoners, and more

And here's a sample mosquitofolk:

Mosquitofolk, Blood Blade CR 7

This sleek mosquitofolk moves with a sinuous grace that makes the slightly curved, doublebladed spear it holds in its hands seem almost a
part of it.

XP 3,200
NE Medium monstrous humanoid
Init +3; Senses blood scent 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +12

DEFENSE
AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +6 natural)
hp 85 (9d10+36)
Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +7
Immune disease, mind-affecting effects

OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (good)
Melee mwk double spear +13/+13/+8/+8 (1d8+5/x3 plus bleed) or bite +14 (1d6+7 plus attach and bleed)
Special Attacks bleed (2d6), blood drain (1d4 Con), diseased

TACTICS
Before Combat Blood blades charge into combat.

During Combat A stalwart combatant, a blood blade relishes facing opponents head on and despises enemies who try to get around it. It prefers to use its spear in melee and only employs its bite attack when hoping to drain blood.

Morale Mosquitofolk fight to the death against living foes possessing blood or in defense of their nest. Otherwise, they attempt to flee immediately.

STATISTICS
Str 20, Dex 17, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 11
Base Atk +9; CMB +14 (+22 grapple when attached); CMD 27 (31 vs. trip)
Feats Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Dodge, Two-Weapon Fighting, Vital Strike
Skills Climb +23, Fly +17, Perception +12, Stealth +13, Survival +11; Racial Modifiers +8 Climb
Languages Buzz Speak
SQ blood scent

Zombie Sky Press

Zombie Sky Press presents...

Here Be Monsters: Aching for Blood (Mosquitofolk) (PFRPG)
There’s no such thing as too many monsters! Here Be Monsters brings new monsters and everything you need in order to use them right now in your campaign.

In this book, you’ll discover…

  • 9 new monsters—different varieties of mosquitofolk and related creatures.
  • The complete ecology of the mosquitofolk.
  • A mosquitofolk lair with detailed color map.
  • 3 different mini-adventures of varying levels.
  • And tons of hooks!

The mosquitofolk want nothing more than your blood—all of it. And they’ll stop at nothing to get it. Some of the creepiest monsters ever imagined, they are fully fleshed out and ready to spring on unsuspecting characters everywhere.

Here Be Monsters: Aching for Blood is a perfect monster resource for game masters wanting new monsters for their world or for players wanting to learn about and prepare for the world of their characters. This high quality, web-optimized pdf is compatible with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and contains everything you need to utilize mosquitofolk in your game right now.

Design by Hal Maclean and Scott Gable; Illustration by Ashton Sperry; Cartography by Ted Reed and Liz Courts; Editing by Troy Taylor and Scott Gable.

To be released October 25th.

Zombie Sky Press

Paizo just announced their coming exploration of voodoo in the latest adventure path!

Zombie Sky Press wants to take this opportunity to remind anyone that may have missed it of our own Pathfinder Roleplaying Game supplement, Incantations from the Other Side: Spirit Magic--a third of which is devoted to voodoo!

Zombie Sky Press

Incantations in Theory and Practice, the latest product from Zombie Sky Press, just became available.

Incantations in Theory and Practice brings incantations—the alternate system of ritual magic from 3.5E—to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. This exciting twist on magic brings great power to the fingertips of any player,even non-spellcasters, but power like this never comes without a price.

In this book, you’ll discover…

  • Everything you need to start using incantations in your game right now.
  • Guidelines to build your own balanced incantations and incorporate them into your game.
  • New ideas on what incantations can be. (Here’s a hint, they’re more than just ritual magic.)
  • New options, including opposed checks and lesser incantations.
  • And 3 new incantations!

Every incantation is a story, complete with built-in hooks for more
adventure. This is an unpredictable, living, breathing magic.

Incantations in Theory and Practice is a perfect resource for players wanting to add a little danger to their characters or for game masters needing that extra something for their game world. This 9-page, high-quality, web-optimized pdf is compatible with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and contains guidelines for building and using incantations and presents 3 new sample incantations.

Written by Scott Gable and Troy Taylor; Illustrated by James Keegan

Visit www.zombiesky.com to discover similar products.

And as a sneak preview, here's one of those new incantations:

Corpse Dancer

You plunge your hands into the open abdomen of the corpse laid out in front of you. You slowly work the medium—the blood and innards—making sickening squelching noises the entire time. It is only as you finish, when the creature opens its eyes and stares up at you, its master, that the full reality of what you’ve done becomes apparent.

School necromancy; Effective Level 3rd
Skill Check Heal DC 20, 2 successes; Spellcraft DC 20, 1 success
Casting Time 30 minutes
Components M, S
Material Components—corpse of sentient creature, recently deceased (within 2 weeks of death); exotic unguents for preparing corpse (worth at least 500 gp)
Range touch
Target dead creature touched
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; SR no

Description
You create a homunculus.With a fresh corpse in hand, you begin the work of molding some of its flesh and organs into your homunculus. Slowly, the tiny form takes shape, and with luck, it begins to take on a life of its own as it pulls away from your sticky hands and corpse incubator.

The creature is a homunculus (see Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary). You supply the creature’s vitality with your own blood (or 1d10 of its total 2d10 hp). You are its creator, possessing the standard bond between homunculus and master.

A secondary Craft (sculpture) skill check is required to determine how well crafted the homunculus is. (This check doesn’t affect the actual success or failure of this lesser incantation.)

Craft (sculpture) (Check Result)
9 or lower (The homunculus is poorly shaped, possessing ugly
deformities and no wings (or useless wings). It cannot fly.)

10-19 (The homunculus is appropriately formed. It can fly.)

20 or higher (The homunculus is expertly crafted. It appears as a tiny replica of whatever or whomever you wish: perhaps of yourself or another individual.)

Backlash
Half of the total hp of the homunculus, or 1d10 hp, are permanently drained from you to fuel the tiny, necrotic construct. You cannot heal this damage unless the homunculus is destroyed.

Failure
If you fail two consecutive skill checks, the homunculus animates as normal, but you are not its master. You still suffer the backlash, fueling the creature, and you still develop a telepathic link with it, but you cannot control it. It makes its own choices. You do not realize the failure until the homunculus says or does something to clue you in: it may threaten you, attack you, run away, or something else as appropriate.

The homunculus resents you for dredging it into existence, and it wants to ruin you for it. It may attempt to do so openly or secretly. It may even play along, feigning that it’s under your control, but you never actually control it.


I wanted to echo the recent blog post and give praise for Andrew Hou's artwork. Aside from Wayne Reynolds (who deserves every bit of it), the artists don't always get the props they deserve. Hou's artwork has consistently stood out for me in the pages of Dragon and Dungeon, and I am thrilled to see his talent continue to grace the products of Paizo.


Cool!

This will be my first Pathfinder character's weapon of choice...

Paizo Blog wrote:


Desna, Song of the Spheres
CG goddess of dreams, stars, travelers, and luck
Domains: Chaos, Good, Luck, Travel
Favored Weapon: starknife

...unless of course the starknife is cooler.

Anyone up for some crazy speculation? What would we like to see for the goddess of dreams and the stars! (I can tell right now that I'm gonna like her.)


I enjoy new, crazy material. That's just the way I am. I love psionics and Eberron and "psionics in Eberron" and the Far Realms and anything that challenges my imagination. Frankly, I would be bored to tears in games that are intended to be historically accurate. Nothing at all against those that enjoy those games or are itching for a trip down memory-lane, I'm simply stating my position and hoping that there are others like me. Not everyone will agree with my views, and that's fine because we can just arm wrestle later to see who's right.

In the meantime, I'm challenging all you writers that want to see new, crazy material to submit it. I know it's tough. Writing for the margins is risky, and only so much risk is acceptable. Though, if there's more of an interest shown, then maybe we'll see some of the material we want. Of course, then it won't be in the margins and we'll have to find something else to champion. ;D

So here's the thread. What crazy stuff do you like in "Your D&D"? I would love to see:


    Psionics -- Of course! New material. Incorporation into non-psionic articles.
    Mythology -- The Demonomicon articles are great most definately, but how about some brand-new ones? Spin some mythologies for new "uniques." Maybe some psionics incorporated in.
    Planar -- New locations. Not tied to pre-existing worlds (not even Eberron).
    Strange -- Just bizarre creatures, locations, hooks, systems, items, whatever.

These are a few things I'd like to see more of (I'm rushed, so I'll add more later). How about you? Come, let's talk of new things, shall we?

When my own proposals -- I'm sorry, *IF* my own proposals get rejected, I will be writing them up anyway and doing something with them. Maybe I'll post some here, so feel free to add to our repertoire of the crazy. Cheers and good luck! ^_^


Ermm? The King in Yellow referenced on the cover of issue #134? For sanity's sake noone read that issue! Don't even open it!!

;)


I have seen other's comments and I have had my own internal debates, and I am still undecided. What do you prefer?

On one hand, we have adventures (or features in Dragon for that matter) that are deeply rooted in a given setting. These can be incredibly rich experiences for those gaming within that setting but sometimes less than useful for those gamers of another setting. [greater use to fewer people]

On the other hand, there is the generic approach. These adventures (or features) are intended to have broader appeal. They may be dressed in a specific setting, but they have little or no setting-specific depth and are easily ported to a different setting. The risk here is a less-interesting environment. [lesser use to more people]

Personally I've gone back and forth on my preferences. I like well-written generic adventures for the exact reason that they are easy to place. However, I also love adventures that delve into a specific setting. Here's where I admit that I have no love for FR and great love for GH and Eberron, and therefore, FR specific adventures are generally less-than-useful for me.

My current preference is for several generic adventures with periodic setting-specific adventures (maybe 2:1 with a rotation on the setting). The important part, though, is that the setting-specific adventures should be immersive with the setting; I just don't see the point of generic adventures pre-set in one of the 3 worlds.

What do you prefer?


I thought I would start a critique thread for the latest issue. The intention is to provide a space to comment objectively on the recent issue’s adventures in a constructive and friendly way. My own contribution to this topic will include an (x/10) rating of each adventure based on how much I enjoyed reading the adventure and how well I envision it in play.

My hopes are that we can use these criticisms – good and bad – to improve our writing and our understanding of that “perfect adventure” we all strive to create. It can also serve as feedback for the editors.

As fair warning, this is coming from someone whom has not yet gotten a proposal accepted.

The Beasts of Aulbesmil (2/10)

It is hard to place the type of this adventure. On the surface, it seems like a murder mystery, but the entire town already “knows” that Cloten has something to do with their problems – mystery solved. It could be an urban adventure but there are precious few NPCs with little to distinguish them apart but for name and few places to visit. That leaves us with a wilderness version of a dungeoncrawl. That is certainly a genre that deserves to be written, but there is nothing in this adventure that makes me want to play it.

Cloten was not given much personality to speak of and is not satisfying as a villain. The part with the orcs feels detached and unnecessary. The climax (fighting Cloten) will have likely already occurred before the PCs see the orcs or the even the owlbear and I doubt that those encounters would prove satisfying for my players. The story is also surprisingly linear barring the red herring of the owlbear. Though it tries to give the PCs the illusion of choice, it is a bit too transparent.

I view this adventure as a gritty murder case in a rural setting. As such, the adventure would have tracked better and maintained its gritty tone by dropping the fantastic and extraneous (i.e. the owlbear and the orcs) and expanding the options in town (i.e. more NPCs with deeper personalities). Cloten could have been better accommodated with more personality and a more drawn-out fight that builds to the revelation of his affliction.

I will say that I appreciate that this adventure is generic and uses only OGL material, as far as I can tell. In the end though, I felt unsatisfied due predominantly to dry writing and a plot that is not compelling. I simply was not ever excited while reading this.

The Hateful Legacy (7/10)

I have to admit that I was *very* excited by seeing the giant scorpion and dinosaur fight on the opening splash. Unfortunately, that led to minor annoyance, as there was no such fight detailed in the adventure. This is a solid, well-written adventure. I have only a handful of minor criticisms and one larger complaint.
To start, this adventure takes place in Greyhawk and gives us a rich but dense background. This will supply a barrier to entry for many, but the adventure is otherwise relatively generic. The bibliographic details of the sourcebook for much of the history is included and is *greatly* appreciated and I hope that this trend continues. More problematic is that the prepackaged adventure hooks seem unnecessarily entangled in the setting. In my mind, the hooks should be the *most* generic part of an adventure: there are more words in the hooks that I do not understand than in the background!

The adventure is in three parts if you consider Zorgus separately. The encounter with Zorgus is quite thrilling and serves as a great first encounter. This leads into the cliff dwellings of the ogres. This is the bulk of the adventure and is solid. The end follows with the Kazgorva confrontation. A criticism arises here with regard to the presence of the ogres. Since Kazgorva took such great pains to erase his once allied giants as is mentioned in the background, why would he, and his servant Zorgus, suffer the presence of the ogres now? I could not find a rationale expressed anywhere, but I may have missd it. The same goes for the harpies toward the end. These relationships seem inconsistent with Kazgorva’s reason for existing.

The final fight with Kazgorva and Urgush is well done; the encounter and antagonists are well developed and interesting. My only minor quibble is that Urgush is the same power level (CR) as Kazgorva where my sensibilities demand that this mere *servant* be less powerful than his master (especially since Urgush is smarter and prettier). Of course, the adventure ends with the looting. A major part of that is a new minor artifact that has little, if any, use to the PCs and no connection with the adventure, so I have to wonder why it was included.

So far, this has been a very solid adventure with only very minor complaints. My *big* criticism of this adventure is a compound one. This is a site-based adventure. There is nothing wrong with that as long as there is a compelling reason to be there. I will admit now that I prefer adventures that are event-based or at least partially so. Unfortunately, the adventure also gives me the feeling that the important stuff has already been done and there is nothing left of import for the PCs to do. The Hateful Wars are over; the armies destroyed; the deadly, hurricane-force gas locked away; and Kazgorva perished only to spend his days in undeath languishing in a mud bath and not bothering the world. There is no history-making here for the PCs, just damage control (if used as written). All of this likely reflects more on my taste in adventures than anything else and simply means that I would have to change a quite bit prior to use.

Overall, this is a very good adventure. In my opinion, it is overly mired in its own details and it lacks a certain empowerment for the PCs. However, it is well written with some well-developed antagonists, a solid flow of action, and a *great* use of environmental hazards (geysers and the deadly gas).

The Prince of Redhand (10/10)

Wow! This is the adventure I have been waiting for. It is of course an installment of the “Age of Worms” adventure path. Though it is difficult to evaluate separate from the overall story, I think that this is a great adventure on its own and owes no greatness to its association with the AP, which I think is an important distinction to make.

The more customary portions of the church, the Well, and Ilthane’s lair all have motivations tied to the previous parts of the AP. That said, they are all short, exciting, and concisely achieve what they are intended to achieve. Well done.

That leaves us with the party. This is where the adventure *really* stands out. This portion is easily tailored to any campaign as the partygoers can talk about whatever you want them to. The real gem here is the mechanic of the party – a series of “party games” – and the concept of the Authority Points. This is a great opportunity for some lengthy roleplaying. I was taken aback at first by the decadence and perversity of some of the party-games until I realized that that was how I was supposed to feel. However, maybe some mention should have been made on PC opposition to games such as the Corollax shoot and the cockatrice fighting. There is a bit on how the prince would react if offended though which is very important.

The NPCs are beautifully developed and unique. The party is splendidly open-ended: the PCs could be poisoned by the prince, they may disrupt the party and be hunted down by the Angels, or they could close the party having a wonderful time. I am curious to put my players through it just to see how the party goes.

I will close by saying that this adventure is *very* well written. The words flow smoothly and on pace. This was a true pleasure to read.

------------------

I encourage you to provide your own review or to simply respond to mine. Please take these comments as they are given – as friendly criticism – and forgive me if I offend. I can only hope that everyone can someday review my own published work. :)

Cheers.


It's recently come to my attention that, in the way-back, Dragon ran the occasional Cthulhu-related articles (I'm guessing when WotC still supported CoC D20). As my collection only goes back to around #275, I was hoping that someone(s) might be able to help me find these articles and which issues they're in.

**Anything even remotely Cthulhu-related will do**

So far from other sources I've found:

#138 ("The Black Book and the Hunters")
#150 (re. skills)
#198 (re. one Josh Wellmeat)

On a related note, is that CD of collected early Dragons commercially available? I've not been able to find it in the Paizo shop.

Thank you.


So I'm back into gaming after a long hiatus. Now in the role of a DM and interested in writing adventures in Greyhawk, I am a bit stuck.

In the "way back," I was merely a player and we focused on homebrews. I never journeyed behind the scenes (as the DM) and then I stopped playing for years and missed a lot (including all of Planescape). I am now DMing and running both homebrew and Eberron bits. While I love what we're playing, I would like to know more about the Greyhawk that I mostly missed and is still getting support at least at Dungeon.

As I've started querying adventures to this mag, I also wanted to be better able to write in Greyhawk and, also, to be better able to use the Greyhawk adventures that are published in Dungeon.

Then along comes Paizo and offers up the PDFs of old material -- great! After all that rambling, what I'm trying to ask is:

...where should I start? What are the most important bits to Greyhawk? There's a lot of material at the store, which do I want? Which sourcebooks are essential to knowing (as much as anyone could know :) ) that which is Greyhawk? I also have an interest in the Planescape material if anyone has opinions on that (and I've been on the boards long enough to know that many of you DO :) ).

Thanks in advance. ;)

1 to 50 of 51 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | next > last >>