Wizard's D&D pdfs

This is kind of old news, but also a bit of new news. Wizards of the Coast has been putting more and more stuff on RPGNow: WotC pdf List. Some of this stuff has been made available again over time, after the initial big hullabaloo a few months back. If you haven't been keeping track, I recommend checking the list out. You will find some real gems in there.

D&D back on RPGNow as pdf

This is a bit late, but I thought everyone should be aware that many old Dungeons & Dragons books (and a few newer ones) are available at RPGNow. I recommend checking them out! Some are free. If you have bought older pdf versions from a few years back, you can redownload them. The pdf's have also been cleaned up, so there's no more crappy scans to worry about (which happened to me with a few of the books).

Funny thing is over half of the bestsellers are now D&D stuff, and they've only been available for one day. Moldvay Basic is Number One!

For those worried about it, I've used RPGNow extensively, and I've never had any issues with them (other than when WotC pulled it's pdf's a few years back).

(Rant) Rethinking the games I support

Lately, I've been buying products for games that are published by basically one-man companies. Part of this is that I think some of these games are just plain better than those published by WotC. However, I'm getting frustrated.

It seems many games come out with the base rules. Following this, there's lots of chatter from the writer and his supporters. There will likely be a few pdf's released. Maybe, and I mean maybe, there will be a print supplement.

It is driving me crazy! I like to buy supplements for games I like. Especially a setting book, monster books, and even an adventure or two. And getting other people to play a game can be difficult, as many players see that the game has no supplements, they consider it to be "dead", even if it is still in print.

While I realize many publishers are just guys doing this in their spare time, I also see companies like Hero Games (which is only two or three people) pumping out books every month. And those books are well done and worth having for that system.

While some games have tons of pdf support (BFRPG and BASH! are good examples), there just isn't any print support. It feels like lots of promises are made early, and then everything just becomes vaporware. I really, really hope when D&D 5e is released, that it is a great game. I'd love to have good quality supplements available on a regular basis.

Free RPG Day was a flub

I checked out the comic/game store near me, no free rpg's. They have had them the last few years. Blah.

I did pick up some freebies from Vigilance Press over at RPGNow. If you like Icons, Bash, or Mutants & Masterminds, they have a supplement for you free.

LotFP Sale

James is have a BIG SALE, so I recommend checking it out. I have a number of his products and I like most of them.

BFRPG House Rules revised

I've been working on Basic Fantasy stuff again. I really like these rules, and they are inching their way into my favorites spot. These house rules adjust classes a bit, add in some new armor types, add rules for barding (which are referred to but not included in the ruleset), and rules for Two Weapon Fighting.
A pdf is HERE that is better formatted (posting tables here is very hard to format).

BFRPG HOUSE RULES

CLASSES

Clerics
Clerics do NOT Turn Undead.
Divine Protection: Clerics gain a +1 to all saves vs. effects caused by undead (mummy rot, fear, etc). They also can make a saving throw vs. death ray against level drain attacks that normally do not allow saves (with the +1 bonus).

Fighters
Fighter Professions: Fighters choose one profession during character creation and gain the associated ability. They gain an additional profession at level 10.

Archer: The Archer is a skilled bowman, and gains +1 to hit with ranged weapons.
Duelist: Duelists score a critical hit on a natural roll of 20, unless only a 20 will hit their foe. Critical hits automatically do maximum weapon damage.
Hoplite: Hoplites may attack with their shields. If they hit, they do 1d3 damage and their opponent must save vs. paralysis or fall down. Creatures larger than the hoplite automatically pass their saving throw.
Knife Fighter: Knife Fighters cause 1d6 damage with daggers.
Noble: Nobles gain a +1 bonus to henchmen loyalty and may have 1d3 additional followers.
Pugilist: Pugilists cause 1d6 damage with unarmed strikes. They may attack armored enemies with no penalty if they are wearing some type of hand protection.
Scout: Scouts gain a +1 bonus to avoid surprise.
Soldier: Soldiers gain a +2 AC bonus from shields, instead of the normal +1.
Templar: Templars can Heal a number of hit points equal to 2 times their level once per day.
Warrior: Warriors get one attack per level each turn against foes of one hit dice or less.
Weapon Master: Weapon masters may choose one melee weapon to master. They gain a +1 bonus to hit with this weapon type.

Thieves
Use d6 for HD.
Thieves use the alternate thief skill advancement table.
Thieves specialize in knife fighting and cause 1d6 damage with daggers.

Mages
Minor Magic: Magic-Users can cast minor "everyday/non-combat" magic at will. Attempting something abusive fails automatically. Usable once per round if no other action taken. Abusive uses include pickpocket attempts, combat effects, etc.

Some examples:
• Light a candle or pipe with a flame from the finger tip.
• Dust things – at first level a minor magic spell might be needed for each shelf or piece of furniture, while at third level a single spell might dust a room and at sixth level the magic-user's entire three story tower.
• Tie or untie a knot.

Wizard Blast: A Magic-User can shoot a blast of magic energy once per round. They must roll to hit target normally.
Damage: 1d4 Range: short 60, medium 120, long 180.
Wizard Blast is usable once per round if no other action taken and requires pointing at the target. The visible effects can be fire, ice, or whatever the Magic-User desires (this effect does not affect damage, it only adds color to the ability).

NEW ARMOR TYPES
Armor Type                  Cost                  Weight             AC
Quilted Armor              15 gp                      20                13
Bone Armor                  25 gp                      20                14
Studded Leather           40 gp                      20                14
Banded Armor            200 gp                      35                16

BARDING FOR MOUNTS
Barding: Gives an animal a +2 AC bonus.
Horse barding: 100 gp. Weighs 60 lb.
Dog barding: 20 gp. Weighs 5 lb.

ENERGY DRAIN
Lost levels and ability points are regained at a rate of one level per week following the attack.

ABILITY ROLLS
The optional ability rolls rule from page 141 will be in use.

TWO WEAPON FIGHTING
Characters that fight with two weapons roll 2d6 for damage and keep the higher die roll. If the character is using two daggers or other low damage weapons, they roll 2d4 and keep the highest result. Knife fighters and thieves roll 2d6 and keep the highest result while using two daggers. Pugilists also roll 2d6 for damage and keep the higher die roll, while other unarmed combatants are subject to the standard Brawling rules.

Using pdf's at the game table

Over at RPGNet, I made an off remark that "who would want to run a game from a pdf?". Naturally enough, a fair number of people got offended and said I'm some kind of luddite and that pdf gaming is the future. I understand economically that many game producers have to go pdf-only, or maybe have a print-on-demand option (I have had only good experiences with Lulu).

But I can't imagine bringing a laptop to the table to run a game. Maybe it would be easier for those who have an iPad, but I don't. And I'd be terrified that someone would spill a soda on my machine. Computers aren't cheap. And trying to look up rules on a computer screen, to me, would take too long. And I'd probably end up with a headache after trying to read too much. Maybe bookmarking helps a bit, but for me, pdfs will never replace real books.