Put That In Your Pipe...

Smoking is a popular pastime among hill dwarves (halflings) and quite a few real-world friends both on and offline.  But what goes into their pipes?  Especially in a magical universe where almost anything is possible, and the unexpected is both expected and very, very real.  That's the question we tackle this week, as we offer several gourmet uh, herbs, to put in YOUR pipes!

So, first off, all of this stuff appears like ordinary tobacco, although frequent smokers, and those with a well-developed sense of smell, can often tell the difference.  Furthermore, in order to enjoy their full "benefits", the leaf must be smoked for at least one minute (or round, based on the system being used), although this can be adjusted for realism as necessary:

BLACK LIGHT POSTER: This sticky weed makes the user feel warm all over and generally serene.  Unfortunately, it also makes them highly light sensitive such that any actions attempted in full daylight suffer a penalty of -1, although the inhaler can also see in total darkness and discern invisible targets for 1d6 turns...

Dude, I'm so wasted...

   
Unfortunately, stealth is impossible in this altered state, as the smoker says "far out" and "wow, man" repeatedly!

LAVA LAMP: Popular with magicians and sages, this bright red leaf enhances cognitive functioning such that any magical spells perform at THREE LEVELS higher than the caster's own, and even non-spell casters enjoy a bonus of +3 to feats of alertness or intellect while under its power; typically, 1d6+4 rounds...  

Unfortunately, speed and/or strength suffers proportionally, with combat movement reduced to 10' per round and strength or balance attempted at -3 while the smoker ponders the universe and just wants to chill!  It also makes them a beacon for ethereal creatures, who have a 1 in 1d6 chance of targeting unsuspecting users.

MISTER GREENJEANS: This stuff, popular with certain hungry, laid back hill dwarves (or halflings), is a leafy green tobacco that gets you stoned off your gourd.  Really, that's all it does!  Puffing heartily for at least a round (be sure to inhale) affects the smoker such that all actions are attempted at -3 for a full hour, during which the inhaler consumes double normal rations...

Of course, some are UPSCALE smokers...

Fortunately, the user also enjoys +3 to all saving dice, since the gods, apparently, look after fools and drunks!

WOODSTOCK:  A less common form of Greenjeans, this "tobacco" is virtually indistinguishable except to frequent users.  If smoked in close quarters (no more than 20' x 20'), it has the above-listed effects on EVERYONE through a powerful contact high extending to all within its range, including enemies, who become pacified for the duration.  Optionally, the referee can require saving dice to avoid the room breaking out in anti-establishment protest songs!

Obviously, these are meant to be used on adventures, although with the above side effects.  Smoke at your own risk.

All of the above have been consumed in our P&P campaign and are routinely available from Harry Garcia's (literally head-shaped) shop in Headwater.  Expect to spend 50-75 GP for 1-2 hits and witness some interesting (and influential) clientele waiting in line to buy his all-natural wares!  This is a more whimsical side of our P&P setting, but these can have SERIOUS impacts, so game responsibly...

The Player's Handbook Cover to Cover...

With 40+ years of D&D, we've been through quite a few Player's Handbook covers.  Some good.  Others, not so much.  But my personal favorite will always be the original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons book from 79'.  This is definitely, to my mind, a case of getting it right the first time around!  So let's talk about this...

Right off the bat, we see some awesome Dave Trampier artwork, complete with the old-school flourishes that made Wormy such a great read.  But more importantly, we're treated to a classic party of adventurers, complete with henchmen, not during the battle, but in the AFTERMATH of the fight.  People are disposing of bodies and some are busy prying a massive gem from an idol!

This is important because LOOT is the PRIMARY OCCUPATION of adventurers everywhere, and it's damned hard to imagine anything so quintessential to the player characters than THIS activity...

It's not about the monsters, or even
that awesome altar.  No, it's all about the
party looting the chamber...

I mean, these guys are literally checking their maps, piling up slaughtered corpses, and cleaning weapons.  Sure, victorious enemies probably do all of this.  But no one sees it!

I'd go as far as to say that treasure is virtually an EXCLUSIVE preoccupation for the players and something that couldn't be taken for anything else.  Now we've had many editions since then, all adequate in their own right.  But none of them proclaim "THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT THE PLAYER CHARACTER" like the original!

Take the second edition cover.  Here's a warrior charging into battle on horseback.  It's plenty adventurous, and actually pretty awesome.  But is it a player character or an NPC villain?

Ditto for fifth edition.  Just look at the size of that giant; it's enormous!  Especially next to that TINY character...

Nothing bad here, but either of
these could be the cover of the Dungeon Master's
Guide or even the Monster Manual!

The fact is, these covers could just as easily be the Dungeon Master's Guide or even the Monster Manual (especially in the case of the fifth edition book).  There's nothing here that speaks to the EXCLUSIVE interests of the player character.  And no, not even pictures of pitched battles are EXCLUSIVELY in the player's realm, because monsters are MONSTERS and have their own manual!

And the dungeon master?  Honestly, the DM oversees pretty much EVERYTHING, including combat.  And while the player characters are surely involved in battle, it's hardly exclusive.  But employing henchmen, managing resources, and cataloging treasure falls SQUARELY into the player's domain.  It's TRUTH in advertising. 

Of course, we really shouldn't be judging any book by its cover, especially when there's so much excellent stuff in the pages of just about any edition.  Preferences happen, and as much as we enjoy gaming, we realize that tastes vary.  But the best art is always the stuff that utterly NAILS its subject matter, and Trampier's cover, more than anyone's, offers a snapshot of characters at work...

Into the Mist We Go...

Attention, Blood of Pangea and Pits & Perils fans, there's a new zine in town - and it's good stuff!  Into the Mist (#0) comes to us courtesy of Talon Waite and Tainted Edge Games!  So if you enjoy barbarian battles in the Blood of Pangea vein or aliens and blasters after Retrospace - or even just the traditional old-school whimsy offered by Pits & Perils, this zine has it covered...

So, as a bit of introduction, Talon is an enthusiast of simple, narrative-driven games and has some impeccable credentials in this area with his excellent OneDice Supers game.  So when he said he planned on publishing something under our Open Supplement Licenses, we were understandably thrilled at the prospect!

Big things come in small packages.  For a buck you get 12 pages of new content, all presented in Olde House Rules style, meaning typewritten in someone's basement in 1974!  But there's also some evocative, full-color interior artwork from Guillaume Jentey, lately seen in Macchiato Monsters, that perfectly fits the mood:

But what's IN this mystic tome?  Let's see...

First, we get an overview of Pits & Perils classes provided in coordination with us.  This is important because he goes on to offer two NEW classes: The Half-Demon and Ursine (intelligent bears) to round out your games, and laying it all out helps.  This is material from an ongoing P&P campaign, folks!  But did we say classes?  We meant to say "races", because Talon eliminates the old race-as-class paradigm, and we heartily approve of such house-ruling...

And speaking of classes, you can now be a NECROMANCER.  Fun!

Needless to say, the whole thing reads like the best referee's campaign-specific notebook.  A playable Grave Touched race and the Shadow Guards (an alternate cleric) map a macabre new direction, perfect for Halloween or any other occasion.  You really get a sense of a unique setting implied by these new additions. 

But you also get some new materials for Blood of Pangea and Retrospace under our new OSL.  Among other things, Talon offers an optional critical system for those who fall to zero MIGHT in the heat of battle.  This is simple and easily integrated into whatever your campaign is already doing here.  Oh, and one standout is the Bloodless, an elven race for Blood of Pangea.  

You see, Talon knows that Robyn likes elves and understood her disappointment at their absence in sword and sorcery, offering up something in the best spirit of both.  She says thanks!

Finally, you get some stuff for Retrospace as well.  First, an extremely helpful guide to psionics and his own campaign's approach to the Psion Order.  You get Psion-specific armor and Furians; a duck-like humanoid race that he feels like Howard the Duck perfectly integrated into the Marvel Universe.  All in all, this is a great little campaign expansion ready to be printed out and added to your own Judge's/referee folder.  It's a LOT of world for a buck...

Into the Mist is available as a ready-to-print PDF, so check it out!