Links of the Week: May 21, 2012

Not a lot of time to read blogs this week, I’ve been doing a fair bit of writing, and got in some good game play Saturday night.

I do have some additions to the Hall of Fame and a Kickstarter project that excites me no end.

Hall of Fame

Cartographer’s Guild

Moved from directly under Graphics Resources to the new Cartography and Maps section.

Djekspek (deviantART)

Djekspek’s deviantART page has some gorgeous maps and one-page tutorials for specific map features.

I see tutorials for

• City Icon
• Castle Symbol
• Trees on Maps Reference
• Compass Rose
• Small Island
• Canyon

The maps cover a range of topics and styles.  I see dungeon maps, city maps, island maps, several different projects and views (I have never mastered isometric, even when it was simple drafting in school).  I wish I could find time to learn to do this so well.

Oh, hey, it appears that Fantasy Maps is the same artist, Herwin Wielink (I’m working off links I’d collected through the week but didn’t have time to review; I thought this was for a different site).  There is a fair bit more material at this site than the deviantART page.

Added to the Hall of Fame under Cartography and Maps.

Heroes Against Darkness

Justin Halliday has got the latest version (v1.0, revision 282) of Heroes Against Darkness available for download at Heroes Against Darkness – Downloads.

I’ve downloaded a copy, obviously, and it’s in my queue to be printed and read.  When I’ve done that I expect I’ll be able to comment further.

Added to the Hall of Fame under Product Releases.

Over the Edge OGL (Wanton Role-Playing System — WaRP)

As part of the twentieth anniversary of Over the Edge, Atlas Games has released the rules for Over the Edge, the Wanton Role-Playing (WaRP) System, under the OGL.

I’ve got a copy of the first edition on my shelf.  It was frankly ‘too weird’ for most of the players I had available at the time, but I liked how it worked and the setting was… unique (definitely part of the weird that kept the Ftr/Wiz and Ftr/Wiz/Thf tree-humpe… elves away… which perhaps may have been part of its attraction to me).

Published in the Hall of Fame under Product Releases.

Save Vs. Dragon

Richard LeBlanc has the d30 DM Companion print edition available at Lulu.

I understand the interactive PDF version is coming soon, I’ll likely be picking that one up.  I find for products like this the PDF works better for me.

Added to the Hall of Fame under Product Releases.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter, you get me in so much trouble.  I’m thinking about putting up a page of just how much trouble you’ve gotten me into (list the projects I’ve backed and the backing levels).  You’re probably into me for a couple hundred bucks a month right now….

Deadlands Noir

From the project page:

Deadlands Noiris a pen-and-paper roleplaying game set in the world of Pinnacle Entertainment’s award-winning Deadlands universe. It includes new Edges, Hindrances, and powers, as well as new rules for handling detective work, the state of the Union and the CSA in the Depression-era, a complete Plot Point campaign, and of course, more monsters and ghouls than you can shake a smoking .45 automatic at.

Deadlands Noir uses the best-selling Savage Worlds rules. Check out the Test Drive version of the rules for free at www.peginc.com!

Deadlands has always been of interest to me, Noir-style settings are of interest to me, and Savage Worlds is of interest to me.  I’m teetering on the edge of backing this one (just backed The Doom That Came To Atlantic City! below, and while I lack willpower sometimes, I should show some restraint, and Doom has priority… maybe next week).

Project closes June 14 and is fully funded (33,785/8,000).

The Doom That Came To Atlantic City!

Dear gods (elder and old ones) this game tickles me something fierce.

From the project page:

You’re one of the Great Old Ones – beings of ancient and eldritch power. Cosmic forces have held you at bay for untold aeons, but at last the stars are right and your maniacal cult has called you to this benighted place. Once you regain your full powers, you will unleash your Doom upon the world!

There’s only one problem: you’re not alone. The other Great Old Ones are here as well, and your rivals are determined to steal your cultists and snatch victory from your flabby claws! It’s a race to the ultimate finish as you crush houses, smash holes in reality, and fight to call down The Doom That Came To Atlantic City!

Do read the FAQ at the bottom, they ended up adjusting the rewards a little.  $50 reward has plastic pieces (not the cardboard they describe), $75 has pewter pieces, and $100 has pewter pieces and the t-shirt.

The shipping costs to Canada are a little fierce ($25) but those look like some big figures and pewter is heavy.  Am I prepared to pay $100 for this?

Yeah, I think I might be.  Backing tentatively for now (need to see when my tax refund finally gets here…), but subverting the unnamed boardgame like this makes me happy… no, it makes me gleeful.

Project closes June 6 and is fully-funded (46,469/35,000) when I looked.

Videos

The Duel at Blood Creek

So, what happens when everybody wants to duel at the same time and place?

I saw some of the twists coming, but the ending surprised me.