We have the Hot RPG Sale, with massive deals, coming all July long! , newsletter subscribers get to hear about special offers first. 92v
also to check out the RPG Blog Carnival, Here Be Dragons, which we’re hosting this month. It’s full of great dragon-inspired content and ideas for your next campaign.
30%-Off Coupons 5e6u1b
All of these titles are 30% off, this July only. Click on the title to apply the coupon to your order on Drive-Thru RPG or the DM’s Guild:
At the furthest edge of the map, far from civilization, the words “Here be Dragons” is scribed across the most inhospitable, unexplored lands. Journey with us, as the RPG Blog Carnival ventures into these lands of legend and danger.
Here be Dragons — July RPG Blog Carnival 2m4vp
Every month, the Rising Phoenix Games. If you’re a blogger, you can in by writing an article inspired by the topic and dropping a link to it, in the comments below. I’ll write a wrap-up article at the end of July that covers all of the posts submitted. I hope you’ll us!
Here are a few ideas, but you can interpret the topic as loosely as you like, we’re not the thought police:
Dragonlance is coming for Dungeons & Dragons (here’s the Dragonlance trailer). Take us back to your gaming table, or try and predict what we’ll see from Wizards of the Coast.
Give us a new dragon for Spelljammer, your own setting, or a different game. Science-fantasy dragons, cyberpunk dragons, superhero dragons, steampunk dragons… there are more themes to explore than I could ever hope to mention.
Maps! The history of the phrase “Here be Dragons” is very interesting and would mean nothing if not for map makers and their art. Give us a map, a map maker NPC, or some ideas about how to use the phrase “Here be Dragons” on our own maps.
The symbolism of dragons can bring up some interesting ideas. How can GMs apply the concepts often associated with dragons to their human NPCs?
So them’s the rules. Let’s dive back into the world of Space Punks for another new race, dragonborn descended from void dragons.
With deep black eyes that shimmer with the light of a thousand stars, void dragonborn display their faint bloodline back to void dragons. This rare variant of dragonborn are known for their insatiable wonderlust and weak grip on reality.
Void dragonborn are dragonborn (Player’s Handbook) with the following draconic ancestry:
*You deal 1d6 fire and 1d6 radiant damage from first level. This increases to 2d6 fire and 1d6 radiant damage at 6th level, 2d6 fire and 2d6 radiant damage at 11th level, and 3d6 fire and 2d6 radiant damage at 16th level.
Hot Sales All July Long 1s2t6u
We have massive sales on, all July long. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get the deals first, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get notifications of new offers.
That’s all for now, but be sure to check back at the end of the month for the roundup.
Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), a game we love and where the Duffer brothers got the Mindflayer, Demogorgon, and Vecna from. I’m here to help you get into this amazing hobby and teach you how to play D&D.
the scene? Warning, here be swears.
The first thing you’ll need is a copy of the rules. You can get a free, basic version of the rules on Wizards of the Coast’s website. A better option for new players is the D&D Starter Set, which includes dice. There’s also a Stranger Things-themed D&D starter for die-hard Stranger Things fans. If you’ve played roleplaying games before, or you’re serious about diving in, then get the Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook instead. This is the most important book of the three core books — which include the Dungeon Master’s Guide and the Monster Manual — but you do a lot with just the one.
Next, you’ll need a set of RPG dice. These include all those funny-shaped dice, like a D4 (four-sided die), D6 (the regular six-sided die), D8, D10, D12, and D20. Good sets include a percentile D10, which is marked 00, 10, 20, and so on, up to 90. The twenty-sided D20 is the most important die in Dungeons & Dragons, which is why these types of games are usually referred to as D20 games.
From left to right: Percentile D10 (front left), D8 (at the back), D4, D6, regular D10, D20, and D12.
One set of dice is enough to play, but multiple sets make it easier to keep things going. You can also find free and dice apps online.
Lastly, you’ll need paper and pencils for notes, printed character sheets, and a place to play, like a dining room table.
All the Stuff, Plus the Kitchen Sink 176m66
Like any hobby, there are a lot of bits and pieces, tools, and fancy gear you can drop money on to enhance your D&D experience. Fortunately, none of it is necessary, and often what you find useful will depend on your preferences. I enjoy miniatures, but I use them in different ways in different games, and sometimes I find things more interesting without them.
As you get into the game, you’ll probably start to accumulate more stuff anyway, so keep things simple for now.
Read to Succeed 136531
There’s a lot of reading involved in roleplaying games, but don’t let that intimidate you. Looking at the Player’s Handbook, you only need to read the Introduction, Chapter 7 (Using Ability Scores), Chapter 8 (Adventuring), and Chapter 9 (Combat) to have a good idea of how to play D&D. Building a character will take you through the earlier chapters, and Chapter 10 (Spellcasting) will only apply to some characters.
There are also plenty of videos online that will teach you how to play D&D or any other popular roleplaying games. Another great way to learn is to find other people who are already playing and their games. D&D is very easy to pick up and other players are usually very happy to explain the rules.
Play it Solo d1q5o
If you’ve got the rules down, try playing the game with one or two friends. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get it right the first time (or even the second or third time). D&D is complex enough that it takes time to get the hang of. Just have fun.
If you can’t find anyone to play your first few games with, you can find plenty of adventures for one player alone, where the book takes on the role of the Dungeon Master (DM). We published Companionable Darkness, three adventures that use the D&D system. They’re a great way to try out a character and get dice rolling.
Where to Next? 4f436
D&D is the big dog, but there are a ton of other roleplaying games out there. D&D is sword and sorcery, but there are games based on anime, wild west action, sci-fi, Lovecraftian horror, and even suicidal gnomes; there really is something for everyone. I recommend Pathfinder Second Edition as a strong alternative to D&D, especially if you’re looking for a richer game with more options. The Pathfinder Second Edition Core Rulebook includes far more than the Player’s Handbook does, is full of great art, and the Pathfinder community is great.
Bodycount (1996), by Kevin Eastman and Simon Bisley, is a Ninja Turtles comic book with attitude. In many ways, they were trying hard to take the Turtles back from the hit TV series, back to their indie comic roots, and tap into the market of kids like me who had grown up with Raph, Mikey, Leo, and Donnie. In the end, the 4-part series is a grindhouse spectacle that hardly holds together. But who cares! It had lots of blood and boobs, Casey Jones and Raph being badasses, and a villain straight out of Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
And Julie Strained…
By the time the first comic came out, we — the kids who grew up on the first animated show — were teenagers ourselves, in high school. That’s 1996, around the same time that Penthouse Pet Julie Strain was splashed all over Heavy Metal Magazine. Knowing Kevin Eastman’s fascination with her, and that she modeled for both Kevin and Simon’s drawings, it’s not hard to see why Midnight looks just like her. In fact, Kevin and Strain had married in 1995. Still, you couldn’t get a better mix if you wanted to appeal to Turtles fans who were already fighting to control their hormones. April O’Neil in latex, maybe?
So, taken in the context of the target market, Bodycount hit the mark. But teenagers aren’t stupid, and I think we probably felt the flaws in the comic, even if we couldn’t articulate them then. The writing is difficult to digest, and the images can be hard to decipher. It’s hard for me to take my editor’s cap off, so let’s talk about spelling wuicklu quickly. The comics are full of errors, such as “calvary” instead of “cavalry”, “to” instead of “too”, and “Santuary” instead of “Sanctuary”, which is one of the most important locations in the story. It becomes hard to know if you’re missing a joke or reading too much into the bad copy.
Art-wise, Bisley’s London-punk style is great, but sometimes too simple, like the three-dimensional rectangles that we’re supposed to read as pistols. There are inconsistencies too, much like with the spelling, such as Johnny’s hand looking normal in some s, or Midnight firing her pistol with her left and then her right hand in the next . It gets a bit too looney, too. What’s that weird monkey leprechaun about anyway?
But okay, Bodycount is still fun and entertaining, like a bad accident set to rousing classical music. This is, after all, an indie comic, and that’s why I love it. Don’t expect polish. Don’t expect any real maturity (hey, when have the Turtles ever been mature?), and just enjoy the wild, wild ride.
3 out of 5 Chibi-thulhus.
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Subscribe to our newsletter today and get these e-books, free. We post product news, sales, and blog updates once a month, so it’s a great way to keep informed about what we’re working on and get roleplaying content at a good price.
Oh my! How fast time flies when you’re hurtling through space on a galleon held together by rope, magic, and a wish spell. The end of May means it’s the end of our RPG Blog Carnival for the month, so let’s look back on the wonderful space adventures we’ve had.
Before we dig in, that you can us, every month, for new themes and fantastic articles by many RPG bloggers. It doesn’t matter if you’re just browsing or you want to contribute your own articles, you can find out more about the RPG Blog Carnival at OfDiceAndDragons.com. There’s also a growing archive of past carnivals that’s well worth digging into.
Beyond the Horizon Games x5w5g
Our good friends at Beyond the Horizon Games explored the difference between science fiction and science fantasy in their series of articles:
Fantasy-Fi or Science-Fantasy explores two different takes on fantasy in space, using the examples of Spelljammer and Starfinder. Kim’s insightful look at the two settings also explores the difference between Paizo and WotC’s business models.
What Jammer? That Jammer! takes a fascinating look into a little slice of RPG history, and the bitter-sweet existence of a lesser-known RPG gem that followed in the footsteps of Spelljammer and was a precursor to Starfinder, namely Starjammer. Starjammer is compatible with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game (1st edition), but lets you build space fighters and explore the vast expanse of the Void. The game is a platinum seller on Drive Thru RPG and is published by d20pfsrd.com Publishing. Check this out, especially if you enjoy Starfinder or Spelljammer.
Adventures in Science Fantasy discusses three adventures — one is a remake — that do science fantasy well. Go check out Kim’s suggestions, and maybe drop some suggestions in the comments of that article if you know of other great adventures people should check out.
Codex Anathema 6n573
Gonz of D&D setting of Eberron, through space travel. Although the article is in Spanish, Google Translator (or even better, DeepL Translator) will open up this inspiring article. Gonz has certainly given us a lot of interesting ideas for space adventures here.
Creatures of pure imagination, the skriblin appear as moving illustrations that speak, breathe, and think like normal humanoids. Let’s find out more about this weird D&D Spelljammer race.
Pure Imagination 5v5f44
Skriblin appear magically in densely populated cities. Scholars believe that the skriblin are the incarnation of humanoid creativity; an overflowing of artistic energy made manifest. Although they contain similar levels of arcane and cosmic energy to other humanoids, scholars agree that these energies don’t the skriblin’s existence. Rather, they are elementals of creativity. Although many have tried to harness this creative energy for other purposes, the skriblin and the force that animates them remains as mysterious as ever.
The skriblin themselves have little interest in their source of life, and instead concern themselves with living lives that conform to their core being or essence. Scholars have noted that this odd behavior often correlates to tropes from drama, bardic sagas, and story telling.
Your skriblin is a walking, talking drawing. Although no two skriblin look the same, they share the following common features.
Ability Score Increase. One ability score of your choice increases by 2. Another ability score increases by 1. Ageless. Skriblin enter life fully formed. You do not age, are immune to aging effects, and take no penalty for being old. Alignment. Most skriblin tend to be chaotic, but there is no hard and fast rule for this diverse race. All skriblin follow their alignment without deviation, only ever changing alignment through magical means afflicted on them. Size. Most skriblin are Small, while a few are Medium. Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet if you’re Small, or 30 feet if you’re Medium. Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. Skriblin usually adopt the language of the societies they live within. Animata. You contain creative energy that sustains you. While you have no levels of exhaustion, you have advantage on saving throws you make to avoid gaining a level of exhaustion.
Animated Creator. You know the prestidigitation cantrip. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it. Trope*. Choose a trope that you most closely align with. You have advantage on skill checks and saving throws where your trope is applicable. For example, if you choose to be “the only sane man“, you might have advantage on Wisdom saving throws to avoid being compelled, and on Wisdom (Insight) checks to avoid being fooled. TvTropes.org has a long list of character tropes worth checking out. The Dungeon Master is the final arbiter of how your trope is used in the game.
* Trope might be the weirdest racial trait I have ever written, and the skriblin is certainly the weirdest race. Have fun, and don’t take it too seriously.
RPG Blog Carnival — Adventures in Space 674n37
This month’s first post, and especially the comments, for loads of other articles related to our theme. I’ll also have a roundup article posted, soon, so check back here in a few days.
Want More Weird Races Like the Skriblin? 6z1e5d
The Skriblin and their friends will appear in the forthcoming Space Punks book, published by us here at Rising Phoenix Games. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date about the project.
Beings of energy and light, the Eu’karai are ionate explorers with a love of puzzles. Let’s take a closer look at the eu’karai 5e race and see what makes them buzz.
Birth of Stars 6x1u46
The eu’karai were created at the dawn of time to contemplate the ebb and flow of cosmic energy. Who their creators were is unknown, but the eu’karai have fulfilled their role dutifully, traveling the stars and recording their findings for future eu’karai to study. Although short-lived, the eu’karai discovered ways to hop from star-birth to star-birth, feeding off the same cosmic energy they were tasked to study.
Eu’karai 5e Race Traits r173e
Your eu’karai character is an elemental being of light, with the following abilities common to all Eu’karai.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age. Eu’karai live intense lives that run their course in a mere 30 years. They mature at the age of 10, then burn out over the course of two decades. Those eu’karai that manage to find a powerful source of energy might extend their lifespan by another twenty years, though very few have managed to reach their sixtieth birthday.
Alignment. Eu’karai boil with ion, and few of them can stand the restrictions of lawful society. They are most often chaotic. Eu’karai tend toward neutral, since they struggle to keep to any one moral path for long.
Size. Eu’karai range from under 5 feet to over 6 feet tall and have a wide range of builds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Bend Light.You can make short, teleporting jumps through areas of bright light. When you move, you can teleport from one spot in an area of bright light to another spot that is 10 feet away and within the same area of bright light, as a reaction to your movement. There must be enough space at your destination for you to occupy, or this ability fails.
Consume Light. As an action, you can consume the energy of a light source within 15 feet. A bright light source becomes dim light and a dim light source becomes dark. The light returns to normal after 6 rounds. During that time, you gain 1 Hit Point per turn for a dim light source or 3 Hit Points per turn for a bright light source. You gain darkvision while this effect is active. You can use this ability again after a short or long rest.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Primordial.
Puzzle Student. You have advantage on Intelligence (Investigation) checks made to solve or find clues related to puzzles or riddles.
More Spelljammer Races 3n1n1c
If you enjoyed the eu’karai 5e race, then be sure to check out the Star Foxes. All of these and more will be in Space Punks, our forthcoming 5e race supplement.
Here’s a preview of the Space Punks cover:
Want Even More Space RPG Stuff? 2f174k
We’ve got you! All month long, the Adventures in Space kick-off post, read the comments, and be sure to check back at the end of the month for the roundup.
The Gruune are thickset humanoids that contain the remaining life essence of a decimated plant. Meet them today, as we continue our Spelljammer-inspired magical adventures in space.
Descendants of Shattered Stars 6v1k5k
Aeons ago, a distant planet shattered under the might of a cosmic convergence of magical energy. Although that galactic event decimated millions of species, it birthed a unique race of creatures. The gruune were created from the remaining life essence of the planet by an arcane anomaly that bound the life essence to space-bound matter. Since that event, the gruune have appeared on countless planets far from their original home. Despite the great divide in time and distance, all gruune share a collective memory of their home planet.
Now, the gruune are star farers and stewards of life who work tirelessly to protect life from the ravages of magic.
Gruune Traits 404u3
Your gruune character is robust and strong. It has the following traits. Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1. Age. You reach full maturity at the age of 180 years. Gruune have no known upper age limit. Ageless. You cannot age, even magically, and don’t gain any frailty from old age. Alignment. Gruune are the gardeners of the galaxy, sowing life wherever they go. Most gruune are good or neutral. Evil gruune wither and die within weeks. Most gruune are chaotic. Gender. The gruune are genderless but go through seasons of sprouting flowers that are sexed. There is no apparent pattern to these sproutings, and, since the gruune do not reproduce, their use is unknown. Size. Gruune range from just over 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall, and most are robustly built, with limbs as thick as tree trunks. Your size is Medium. Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Immortality. You are imbued with magical energy that sustains your life force but also alters your susceptibility to restorative magic. After you die, you are resurrected as through a true resurrection spell, for which you do not need to pay the casting cost. Because of this magical immortality, your body cannot be affected by any other type of resurrection effect, including wish. When you die a second time, your body is obliterated and 1 to 3 new gruune are born, somewhere in space. Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Elven. Sprout. You can, as an 8-hour ritual, sprout a 10-foot square area of plants on a surface. These plants are imbued with your residual life essence and can grow without sustenance, including water or air. After a month, the plant patch reaches 20-feet square, is 5-feet high, and can itself. After another month, the plant patch reaches its maximum size of 40-feet-square, the plants within it are 10 feet high, and it can itself and up to six Medium-sized creatures. Spell Damage Resistance. When you gain this trait, choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. You have resistance to damage of this kind from spells. Other sources of this damage affect you normally.
We’re hosting this month’s RPG Blog Carnival, right here, on Rising Phoenix Games. Be sure to check in there and follow the blog for more content on the theme “adventures in space”. Check back at the end of the month too, because I’ll post a roundup of articles from RPG bloggers across the spheres.
Space… the final planar frontier. In space, no one can hear you cast fireball. To boldly go where no gnome has gone before. Yes, Spelljammer: Adventures in Space is coming, and we thought we’d cast off, into the big black, and explore some of the possibilities of adventures in space. Three, two, one… teleport!
What is Spelljammer: Adventures in Space 6m1u6
To answer that question, we have a neat little promo video from Dungeons & Dragons’ own Trystan Falcone and Chris Perkins. But first, here’s the announcement trailer:
Got that? It’s basically Guardians of the Galaxy, with magic and ships instead of lasers and starships. Spelljammer is the name of one such ship, not some kind of arcane hacker (which would be an awesome character class, by the way).
Speaking of ships, Undersea campaign, though I’m not so sure I’d want to get a bunch of asteroid minis. Maybe X-Wing players will love them?
Your Adventures in Space 856
Space is fascinating, and, when you add a touch of magic, anything is possible. Let’s get you ready for your own magical adventures in space — in the world of Spelljammer, Starfinder, or any other system or campaign setting.
All through May we’ll be hosting the RPG Blog Carnival with the theme “Magic Adventures in Space”. RPG bloggers from across the realms will bring ideas, stories, experiences, and mechanics, then post them in the comments below. At the end of the month, I’ll do a roundup of the articles, so you’ll have a meteor storm of ideas for when Spelljammer finally… ahem… launches.
Here are some ideas of things we might see, or you can use them to inspire your own homebrew campaign:
Magic Mechs. The world can never have enough clockwork creatures, especially ridable ones.
Space Pirates. Guardians of the Galaxy but with magic. They’re outlaws who do good, or maybe they’re mercenaries just out to make a few space credits to repair their ship. These NPCs (or pregenerated characters) could be valuable allies or irritating foes.
Space Faring Ships. We’ve already got rules for ship movement and combat, but we could always use more unique vessels. How about The Flying Duchman in space, a space snail with a helm built into its shell, 6-man boarding torpedoes for breaching ships, an ooze space vessel made of more gooey ooze, or a sentient clockwork ship?
Sci-Fantasy Weapons. Stun guns, laser swords, cannons that fire miniature black holes, EMP magic that stuns clockwork creatures… Sci-Fi is full of unique equipment that could get a fresh take if magic replaced science.
New Races and Monsters. I’m hoping we’ll see some unique creations, or some re-imaginings of creatures we know and love from other Sci-Fi properties. A playable Genestealer, anyone?
Be sure to check back here, throughout May, to see what new content has been posted, in the comments.
Star Foxes – New Spelljammer Race jj2m
Star Foxes are lithe creatures with incredible cunning. They are an opportunistic race that has crossed the stars in search of wealth and personal glory. They are expert manipulators and slippery adversaries.
Star Fox Traits 6h4p67
Your star fox character is nimble and cunning, yet frail.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Wisdom and Charisma score increases by 1.
Ability Score Penalty. Your Constitution score decreases by 2.
Age. Star Foxes mature a few years before humans. They live to about 80 years of age.
Alignment. Most star foxes are neutral, though their motivation to survive and thrive at all costs often drives them towards evil and chaos.
Size. Star foxes are smaller than gnomes, seldom topping 4 feet. They average around 40 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. Your race has voyaged across the stars and through the darkness of space, and as such you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Cowering Survivalist. You can take the Dodge action as a reaction to a melee attack from a creature you can see, but you have disadvantage on your own melee attacks until the end of your next turn when you do so.
Deep Cunning. You can add your Wisdom bonus to Charisma checks you make to influence other humanoids. You don’t gain this bonus if the creature is hostile towards you.
Safe in Shadow. You have advantage on Stealth checks. You lose this ability in areas of bright light unless you have advantage from some other trait, feature, or effect.
Quick, roll for initiative!
Here’s what we’ve been up to in the past few months.
Get Dark with The Grimdark Pamphlet 5td4n
The Grimdark Pamphlet is growing bigger every month. Our last updates included the penitent and black rider classes, as well as a primer on the campaign world of Azuria, the Tarnished Jewel. , if you buy the book you’ll get updates whenever we release new grimdark content for D&D.
We’re currently working on the witch class, an alternate class for the warlock. What’s the difference? The warlock relies heavily on their pact with an otherworldly being, but the witch makes no such alliances. Rather, the witch dabbles with occult truths drawn from a wide number of otherworldly patrons and ed on through their coven. The witch will include special rules for magic brooms and cauldrons, which will all be included in The Grimdark Pamphlet when we release the next update.
Painting the Pile! lq5g
Your pile of shame — all those unpainted minis — shouldn’t keep you down. We’ve been working on new paint schemes to help you paint more Space Marines and Genestealers, quickly and with a great end result. These same schemes can be applied to many fantasy figures too, so they’re worth learning, no matter what you paint or play. You can check out previews of what I’ve done on CoolMiniOrNot, and check out all existing Mini Monday posts, on the blog.
Three Stone Stories 5o534m
I know many of you are waiting on news about Three Stone Stories, our unique solo roleplaying system. The game has come out of playtesting and editing finished this week, so next up is layout. There’s a good chance that we’ll take the book to Kickstarter then, because a simple truth about RPG publishing is that you have to have a strong launch. We’ll still send out copies of the game to newsletter subscribers, as promised.
