Spes Magna Games

Since the beginning of July, I’ve completed three PDFs and put playtest drafts out there for the public.

Aquatic Depths & Denizens focuses on adventuring underwater for Swords & Wizardry. It includes rules for swimming, drowning, fighting and spellcasting under the waves, five player character aquatic races, an assortment of aquatic spells, and a plethora of marine monsters. Download your copy and playtest today.

Optional Skill Resolution Rules presents a flexible system for resolving skill checks usable with Swords & Wizardry (and likely compatible with other OSR games). With OSR2, the Referee and players define a character’s skills based on race, background, and class. No skill lists restrain those choices. Do you want your Magic-User to be a ladies’ man? There’s a skill for that. Do you want your Paladin to have studied Forbidden Cults? There’s a skill for that. Download the playtest version of these rules today and see if they work for your game.

Here’s the playtest version of Astounding Archetypes: Bloodhand Gang. Presented in this Pathfinder-compatible PDF are five archetypes: dragon warrior, jotunkin, telekinetic monk, warp thief, and yo-yo magus (my personal favorite). I originally featured these archetypes on my website. I’ve tweaked all five a bit here and there, trying to clear up unclear rules, streamline class features, et cetera. I’ve also put together one villain for each archetype.

Of course, helpful folks who playtest the PDF and/or provide feedback receive credit in the final PDF. They also receive a free copy of the final PDF, providing I have an e-mail address. To further sweeten the incentives, playtesters/feedbackers may also select any single PDF from my on-line catalog to receive for free (again providing I have an e-mail address). My email address is mark at spesmagna dot com.

Tags: Pathfinder RPG, Swords & Wizardry

Whew!

I’ve not been this productive with Spes Magna Games in a while, and I’m determined to make more of my week off for Thanksgiving. So far this week, aside from blogposts, I’ve managed to get:

1. Metro Gnomes on-line for sale.
2. The Quid Novi? Collection on-line for sale.
3. Rantz’s Fair Multitude on-line for sale.
4. The Amphitheater of the Continuum on-line for free download.

Next up? Well, I’m going to try and finish Astounding Archetypes: Bloodhand Gang. This PDF will be a return to Pathfinder material for Spes Magna Games. It features five new archetypes, one each for barbarian, fighter, magus, monk, and rogue, plus five villainous NPCs, one for each archetype.

I’d like to have Astounding Archetypes: Bloodhand Gang on-line for sale before Monday, 2 December, but there’re no guarantees. As the number of hours of vacation left to me dwindle, those things I’ve been putting off (such as getting grades into the gradebook and lesson plans) start to become more urgent. Also, I’m running 3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars this coming Friday, and I really should finish up the scenario before people show up expecting to play.

Still, this has been a good week for Spes Magna Games. Huzzah!

Welcome to Rantz’s Fair Multitude! This Old-School game supplement offers 30 pages of ideas to challenge and reward your players. Among the multitude, you’ll find the following:

* Nine new magic items, including Demon Cymbals and Nails of Prynn
* More than 25 new monsters (with plot hooks), including the book golem, hungry ghosts, and the Seekers of the Eternal Flame
* Six special places you can drop into your campaign, including the Bridge of the Damned and Stadgaar Manor
* Eight new spells, including Arcasparv’s Doomful Gullet and Valfoxell’s Adventitious Pretense
* Brief descriptions for a 12 deity pantheon, including Cro, the God of Truth, Chaos, and Opposites

Rantz’s Fair Multitude can be purchased for $1.50 at DriveThruRPG with special discount.

Tags: monsters, place of power, spells, Spes Magna Products, Swords & Wizardry

The holidays are often a time that mess with my gaming schedule, which kind of bugs me. Back when I didn’t have a wife, children, a mortgage, et cetera, the holidays were a time when there was more rather than less gaming. To help remedy this situation, I’m hosting two games in the next couple of weeks, more or less open to whomever RSVPs before I end up with a group larger than will fit in my house.

On November 29, we’re going to play 3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars, which is published by Box Ninja Games. Here’s the exciting hook text for “Stormbringer Coming!”:

“Lissen up, troopers! We’re headin’ from the fryin’ pan into the biggest, hottest [expletive deleted] fire you’ve ever seen. The bugs got us by the [expletive deleted], but, [expletive deleted] it, we’ve got one chance to pull our [expletive deleted] out of the grinder. Squad Alpha, you’re going to steal a shuttle, ride it up to Stormbringer, and then nuke the bugs from orbit. The rest of us are going to run interference. We’re all dead anyways, but we’re sure as [expletive deleted] gonna take these [expletive deleted] down with us! Hoo-ah!”

About a week later, on December 7, we’re going to play Barbarians of Lemuria, which is published by Beyond Belief Games. Here’s the exciting hook text for “Battle Axis”:

You’ve faced the horrific hordes of evil before, but never like this. Thunder sticks? Rolling golems? Metal wagons hauling away women and children? You might not understand much about what’s going on, but it’s time to cleave some skulls and send some of these “Not Zees” screaming into the pits of hell!

So, how does your gaming play out over the holidays?

P.S. Speaking of holidays and gaming, did you know that you can get my A Medieval Holiday for $0.75 with this special discount code (which expires after December 15)?

Tags: 3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars, Barbarians of Lemuria, Holidays

Ever had one those game days where not enough people show up to play? Heck, sometimes even missing one player is missing enough to make continuing your current campaign difficult. Other days, maybe people are just kind of tired of the same game with the same characters, or perhaps you just kept putting off session prep until it’s too late.

Enter Metro Gnomes! It’s different, and it’s great for a one-shot, beer-and-pretzels sort of experience. All you need to play is this adventure, a copy of the free Geodesic Gnomes roleplaying game by Dyson Logos, and an assortment of d8s. Toss in a couple of pencils, some beverages, and some munchies, and you’re good to go for some gaming glory.

But what is Metro Gnomes? Read on:

You are a filthy, disease-ridden gnome trying to eke out the most meager of existences in the polluted crawlspaces of the city. You are all members of the same clan, living off the grid in St. Louis, one of the dome-covered cities that was constructed after the ecological collapse of the biosphere in the 23rd century. This adventure tells one of your family’s stories. Maybe the last of your family’s stories. It all starts after after a pleasant cook-out is interrupted by rude neighbors and a nuclear disaster.

Get your copy today for a mere $0.75 with this special discount code.

Tags: Dyson Logos, Geodesic Gnomes