Magic Boots

Deadly Banded Greaves of Skill

Let's Create A Magic Item!

I draw up a new tableau of 3 cards.

I draw the 4♦, the 5♠, and the Q♠.

The first thing to do is create the base item by determining on which Branch the Item Equips.

I want to save the Queen for a Royalty Action later. So, I look at the other 2 cards.

The 4♦ will direct us to the [OH] Off Hand Table. This is most likely a shield. Good for Defending.

The 5♠ points to the [FT] Feet Table. That's shoes and boots. Good for Crossing.

I know that my character isn't actually running around barefoot, but I like the idea of footwear.

I play the 5♠ and draw the 6♣.

I now go to reference the [FT] Feet Table.

Any Royalty Action that I perform on this table must include my Royalty Bonus which is currently +3.

The 4 and the 6 will give me a 7 and 9 respectively. On the table, that's "shoes" and a +2 to Crossing.

The Queen is a Royalty card. If I play it, I will get a trump bonus. 

I always think it's better to play trump when you can. 

I play the Q♠ & flip the top card from the deck to add to it.

I get a 9♥. The Queen is worth 5. 

Adding the Queen, the 9, and my Royalty Bonus, I have a total Royalty effort of 17.

On the table a "17" is: 

Banded Greaves [FT] +2♦, +1♣

Guess I'm getting a big boost to Defending after all!

I draw a new card to add into my tableau. It's the 2♣.

Now, The Magic Happens!

Normally, the next step would be to flip a card from the top of the deck to randomly determine if this item is magic, but based on the tutorial text, I already know that this item is magic and I can skip the "Detect Magic" step.

The next step is a random flip to determine if my magic boots have a magical prefix, a magical suffix, or both!

According to the rules for Creating Magic Items, I must flip a card. If the card is a Royalty then the Magic Item has both a magical prefix and a magical suffix. Otherwise, if the card is red it has a magical prefix; if the card is black it has a magical suffix.

I flip a J♣.

It's a Royalty card!! My boots have both a magical prefix and a magical suffix!

Magical Prefix

First, I will determine the Magical Prefix.

I perform an Absolute @ Action on the Magical Prefixes table.

I have a 4♦, a 6♣, and a 2♣ in my tableau. None of these are Royalty, so no trumps.

The 4♦ points to table [PID] Prefix Improves Defending.

The 2♣ and 6♣ both point to table [PBD] Prefix Bonus Damage.

Both options are good. Compounding my Defense early may allow me to avoid most damage from attacks, but I am already gaining a defense boost from the greaves, so bonus damage could be the way to go. 

I decide to go play my lowest card.

I play the 2♣ and draw the 3♦ for my tableau.

Now it's time to turn to the [PBD] Prefix Bonus Damage table.

The highest card in my tableau is a 6. That will give me a 9 total with my +3 Royalty bonus. 

I also have a 3 and 4 of diamonds, which when I return after this to the Magical Suffix table are most likely going to give me an identical result. If I play the 4 now, that would give me a 7 and the same result on the [PBD] table, and hopefully open me up to more choices later.

I play the 4 for a total of 7. I get the prefix: Deadly!

I draw the 10♥ to bring my tableau back up to 3 cards.

Now to find the suffix!

Magical Suffix

Now I have three different choices on the Magical Suffix table:

6♣  [SIS] Suffix Improves Shooting

3♦  [SID] Suffix Improves Defending

10♥  [SIR] Suffix Improves Royalty

I am using a melee weapon right now, but if I did want to pursue becoming an archer later, having boots that improve both shooting and provide bonus damage could be really useful.

Once again, the greaves already provide a boost to Defending. Option 2 would compound that.

Finally, improving Royalty will allow me to find better equipment in the future which is also very tempting, but in this case it means playing my highest card. Besides, each magical property automatically increases an item's Royalty value by +1, so these boots are +3 Royalty already.

I am going with the "Shooting" option. I will benefit from the bonus damage now and can be on the lookout for a ranged weapon in the future. I like this option because it gives me a direction and something to strive toward.

I play the 6♣ and draw a 3♥.

Following the 6♣, I consult the table: [SIS] Suffix Improves Shooting.

I play my highest card the 10♥ getting a 13 for the table.

My suffix is:  ... of Skill.

My magic item is:

Deadly Banded Greaves of Skill [FT] +2♠, +2♦, +1♣, B1D, B$D

These are AWESOME!!

I add these to my character sheet and make notes regarding their Bonus Damage effects.

Becoming Digital

I collected comic books as a kid. I have a soft spot in my heart for pulpy paper comic books that were printed on newsprint in four-colors and sold from the magazine racks of my local grocery store. Those days are long gone.

I was a pretty reckless youth. I tended to travel light and comics or really books of any kind just aren't that. I long ago abandoned the comics that I had as a kid. Much later as a much more "grown-up" person, I was given some comics as a gift, and I began collecting comics again for the first time.  

When Julie and I moved to Michigan, I had been building a physical comic collection for 5 or 6 years. A substantial portion of that collection was "lost" in the move. I haven't bought a comic book for that collection since. The loss was a set back that I just can't recover from. 

Now, Julie and I are buying a little house. It's a really nice little house. We are very excited about it. Rather than move what remains of my comic book collection, I am selling it. Keeping the books just isn't practical, especially if I'm no longer interested in, or able to cultivate the collection as I once did. I don't look at them anymore. 

But, I do still love comics. Contrary to that statement, I hadn't read a "new" comic since ... the 90's? But the other day, I got the strong urge to change that. I signed up for both the Marvel and DC digital comic book services.

I began reading with, "The Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #1"

I chose this issue because it appears to be the latest print run for the Spider-Man that most closely resembles the one that I grew up reading. I say, "appears to be" because honestly, I find all these titles really difficult to navigate. I have gobbled up 27 issues so far and am getting ready to read issue #24. See anything wrong with that math? There were 4 special issues as part of a specific story line that were numbered the same as the previous issue followed by the letter "u". See what I mean about, "difficult to navigate"?

That aside, these comics are amazing!! The author of the entire run so far has been one, Nick Spencer. Not someone I am familiar with. I'm pretty sure that he hadn't been born yet back when I was reading comic books and familiarizing myself with names of writers like, Marv Wolfman, Bill Mantlo, Mike W Barr, and Chris Claremont.

But, wow! These comics have been fun, and I have read them all digitally on my tablet. "Sigh." I guess, "This is the way." While my classic comics have to be bleached and scanned and recolored in a process that essentially leaves their digital versions looking like pale ghostly spirits of their former selves. Here, the modern production process lends itself to the digital format. So, at least these comic "books" (if you can call them that) look great! And that has a huge impact on me. I read comic books rather that book books, because I like the visual storytelling medium. I want to look at the pretty pictures.

And these digital issues are as incredible to look at as the words that the artwork supports have been to read. It's all just really been great. If I had gone to my local comic shop and purchased these comics they would have cost about $4 each. That's over $100 for the 27 issues. The subscription service to Marvel is $10. That's a pretty incredible savings. The monthly subscription to DC is even cheaper. So, I'm saving trees, I'm saving storage space in my new little house, and I'm saving money.

I guess I'm a digital comics guy now. 

Magical Suffixes

[SIS] Suffix Improves Shooting

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$Effort  Magical Suffix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

   2-10  of Dexterity    +1    +0    +0    +0   

  11-19  of Skill        +2    +0    +0    +0   

  20-29  of Accuracy     +3    +0    +0    +0   

  30-39  of Precision    +4    +0    +0    +0   

     40+ of Perfection   +5    +0    +0    +0   

[SIH] Suffix Improves Hitting

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$Effort  Magical Suffix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

   2-10  of Strength     +0    +1    +0    +0   

  11-19  of Might        +0    +2    +0    +0   

  20-29  of Power        +0    +3    +0    +0   

  30-39  of the Giant    +0    +4    +0    +0   

     40+ of the Titan    +0    +5    +0    +0   

[SID] Suffix Improves Defending

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$Effort  Magical Suffix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

   2-10  of Security     +0    +0    +1    +0   

  11-19  of Guarding     +0    +0    +2    +0   

  20-29  of Protection   +0    +0    +3    +0   

  30-39  of Deflection   +0    +0    +4    +0   

     40+ of Safety       +0    +0    +5    +0   

[SIC] Suffix Improves Crossing

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$Effort  Magical Suffix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

   2-10  of Readiness    +0    +0    +0    +1   

  11-19  of Mobility     +0    +0    +0    +2   

  20-29  of Alacrity     +0    +0    +0    +3   

  30-39  of Speed        +0    +0    +0    +4   

     40+ of Haste        +0    +0    +0    +5   

[IAA] Improves All Actions

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$Effort  Magical Suffix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

   2-10  of the Sky      +1    +1    +1    +1   

  11-19  of the Moon     +2    +2    +2    +2   

  20-29  of the Stars    +3    +3    +3    +3   

  30-39  of the Heavens  +4    +4    +4    +4   

     40+ of the Zodiac   +5    +5    +5    +5  

[ISP] Improves Spell Power

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$Effort  Magical Suffix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

   2-10  of Magic        +0    +0    +0    +0   ★+1

  11-19  of the Mind     +0    +0    +0    +0   ★+2

  20-29  of Brilliance   +0    +0    +0    +0   ★+3

  30-39  of Sorcery      +0    +0    +0    +0   ★+4

     40+ of Wizardry     +0    +0    +0    +0   ★+5

[SIR] Suffix Improves Royalty

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$Effort  Magical Suffix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

   2-10  of Worth        +0    +0    +0    +0   $+1

  11-19  of Quality      +0    +0    +0    +0   $+2

  20-29  of Measure      +0    +0    +0    +0   $+3

  30-39  of Distinction  +0    +0    +0    +0   $+4

     40+ of Excellence   +0    +0    +0    +0   $+5

[SRI] Spawns Recovery Items

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$Effort  Magical Suffix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

   2-10  of Heath        +0    +0    +0    +0   RIS

  11-19  of Alchemy      +0    +0    +0    +0   RIS/P

  20-29  of Recovery     +0    +0    +0    +0   RIS, RIP

  30-39  of Radiance     +0    +0    +0    +0   RIE

     40+ of The Sun      +0    +0    +0    +0   RIE, RIE

[SBD] Suffix Bonus Damage

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$Effort  Magical Suffix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

   2-10  of Maiming      +0    +0    +0    +0   B1D

  11-19  of Gore         +0    +0    +0    +0   B2D

  20-29  of Devastation  +0    +0    +0    +0   B3D

  30-39  of Carnage      +0    +0    +0    +0   B4D

     40+ of Slaughter    +0    +0    +0    +0   B5D

[SDT] Special Damage Types

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$Effort  Magical Suffix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

   2-7   of Fire         +0    +0    +0    +0   F, RFT

   8-13  of Ice          +0    +0    +0    +0   I, RIT

  14-19  of Lightning    +0    +0    +0    +0   L, RLT

  20-25  of Thorns       +0    +0    +0    +0   Thorns

  26-32  of The Bear     +0    +0    +0    +0   RKB

  33-39  of The Cobra    +0    +0    +0    +0   P, RPT

     40+ of Spikes       +0    +0    +0    +0   Spikes

Keywords

• Spell Power (★+x) - While this item is equipped gain face down cards in your tableau equal to x. Face down cards are used for casting spells.
• Royalty ($+x) - Royalty increases by an additional amount equal to "x".
• Recovery Item: Salve (RIS) - After killing an enemy, flip a card. If it's a Royalty, gain a Salve.
• Recovery Item: Salve or Potion (RIS/P) - After killing an enemy, flip a card. If it's a Royalty, gain your choice of either one Salve or one Potion.
• Recovery Item: Potion (RIP) - After killing an enemy, flip a card. If it's a Royalty, gain a Potion.
• Recovery Item: Elixir (RIE) - After killing an enemy, flip a card. If it's a Royalty, gain an Elixir.
• Bonus Damage (BxD) - Bonus Damage is only applied if the initial Attacking Action successfully inflicts damage greater than 0. Reduce Might of the target enemy by an additional amount equal to "x".
• Fire Damage (F) - Attacks inflict fire damage for monsters who are vulnerable/resistant to fire.
• Royalty Fire Token (RFT) -  If your attack inflicted damage greater than 0, and the card used in the attack was a Royalty card, place a Fire Token on the damaged monster.
• Ice Damage (I) - Attacks inflict ice damage for monsters who are vulnerable/resistant to ice.
• Royalty Ice Token (RIT) - If your attack inflicted damage greater than 0, and the card used in the attack was a Royalty card, place a Stun Token on the damaged monster.
• Lightning Damage (L) - Attacks inflict lightning damage for monsters who are vulnerable/resistant to lightning.
• Royalty Lightning Token (RLT) - If your attack inflicted damage greater than 0, and the card used in the attack was a Royalty card, place a Lightning Token on the damaged monster.
• Thorns - When flipping a card in your tableau face down as a result of taking damage from an attack, reduce the Might of the attacking enemy by the value of the card flipped.
• Royalty Knock Back (RKB) - If your attack inflicted damage greater than 0, and the card used in the attack was a Royalty card, move the damaged monster to the Shadow Area and place a Knock Back Token on it.
• Poison Damage (P) - Attacks inflict poison damage for monsters who are vulnerable/resistant to poison.
• Royalty Poison Token (RPT) - If your attack inflicted damage greater than 0, and the card used in the attack was a Royalty card, place a Poison Token on the damaged monster.
• Spikes - When flipping a card in your tableau face down as a result of taking damage from an attack, reduce the Might of all enemies by the value of the card flipped.

Token Descriptions

Fire Tokens - During the Monster Movement phase, move the monster normally then reduce the monster's might by the value of the movement card (double this if the monster is vulnerable to fire.) Remove the fire token.

Ice Tokens - During the Monster Movement phase, a monster with an ice token does not move. Instead, remove the ice token. 

Lightning Token - During the Monster Movement phase, do not move the monster. Instead, reduce the monster's might by the value of the movement card (double this if the monster is vulnerable to lightning,) and remove the lightning token.

Knock Back Token - During the Monster Movement phase, a monster with a knock back token does not move. Instead, remove the knock back token.

Poison Token - For each poison token on a monster: when this monster attacks, flip a card, if the card is red, the monster doesn't attack and takes poison damage equal to the value of the card.

Fair Random Ability Scores

I really like the new upcoming English edition of the Swedish RPG: Dragonbane. I love the simplicity of the game's design, but I do notice that many RPGs equate simplicity with "old-school." This doesn't have to be the case, (Check out Quest by Adventure Guild or Land of Eem.) but it's certainly true for Dragonbane. (Given that Dragonbane is an evolution of a game that's been around for 40 years, a certain amount of old-school baggage is understandable and forgivable.)

Most glaring for me among that "baggage" is the six core attributes, and the whole: roll to create your character shtick. My initial reaction to this is just to "steal" D&D 5E's standard array and be done with it. But, then I got to wondering if there was a way to generate the ability scores in a way that gives the fairness of a fixed array while still being random.

I do remember "rolling-up" characters when I first started playing D&D, and the excitement in "discovering" what that new random character would become. I also see value in random generation for new players who don't know what they want and rely on the randomness of the dice to provide some guidance.

I did a search on the interwebs and discovered this creative and simple solution in the 13th Age SRD. (Yet another reason for 13th Age to continue to be my favorite RPG!)

Base 13 Random Stat Generation

Roll six d6, line them up, and assign a letter to each: A, B, C, D, E, F.  Calculate your stats using pairs of adjacent dice as follows:

(13 + A) – B
(13 + B) – C
(13 + C) – D
(13 + D) – E
(13 + E) – F
(13 + F) – A

(This method creates a randomized stat array that always adds up to 78, since each die is both added and subtracted from the total, with a range of 8 to 18 for each stat.)

This looks like it might work pretty well. I had never heard of it before, but I decided to give it a try:

A  =  1    |   (13 + A) – B    |    8 STR
B  =  6    |   (13 + B) – C    |   17 DEX
C  =  2    |   (13 + C) – D    |   10 CON
D  =  5    |   (13 + D) – E    |   12 INT
E  =  6    |   (13 + E) – F    |   18 WIS
F  =  1    |   (13 + F) – A    |   13 CHR

Wow! Looks pretty good! Seems like I have myself a thin but wiry Cleric. I could work with this. I should probably test this several times to see how things fall out, but at first glance, this method of Random Ability Score generation looks just awesome!

What do you think? Do you have a clever random method for generating Ability Scores? I'd love to hear about it. Post a comment here or come join our Facebook Group!

Magical Prefixes

[PBD] Prefix Bonus Damage

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$ Effort Magical Prefix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

  2-6    Menacing        +0    +0    +0    +0   B1D

  7-11   Deadly          +0    +0    +0    +0   B1D, B$D

 12-16   Fierce          +0    +0    +0    +0   B2D

 17-21   Brutal          +0    +0    +0    +0   B2D, B$D

 22-27   Vicious         +0    +0    +0    +0   B3D

 28-33   Savage          +0    +0    +0    +0   B3D, B$D

 34-39   Ruthless        +0    +0    +0    +0   B4D

    40+  Merciless       +0    +0    +0    +0   B5D

[IAA] Improves Attacking Actions

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$ Effort Magical Prefix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

  2-6    Bronze          +1    +1    +0    +0  

  7-11   Iron            +1    +1    +0    +0   A$B

 12-16   Silver          +2    +2    +0    +0

 17-21   Steel           +2    +2    +0    +0   A$B

 22-27   Gold            +3    +3    +0    +0

 28-33   Platinum        +3    +3    +0    +0   A$B

 34-39   Mithril         +4    +4    +0    +0 

    40+  Adamantine      +5    +5    +0    +0  

[PID] Prefix Improves Defending

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$ Effort Magical Prefix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

  2-6    Fine            +0    +0    +1    +0  

  7-11   Grand           +0    +0    +1    +0   ♦$B

 12-16   Glorious        +0    +0    +2    +0

 17-21   Blessed         +0    +0    +2    +0   ♦$B

 22-27   Awesome         +0    +0    +3    +0

 28-33   Saintly         +0    +0    +3    +0   ♦$B

 34-39   Holy            +0    +0    +4    +0 

    40+  Godly           +0    +0    +5    +0  

[PIC] Prefix Improves Crossing

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$ Effort Magical Prefix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

  2-6    Nimble          +0    +0    +0    +1  

  7-11   Brisk           +0    +0    +0    +1   ♣$B

 12-16   Rapid           +0    +0    +0    +2

 17-21   Swift           +0    +0    +0    +2   ♣$B

 22-27   Quick           +0    +0    +0    +3

 28-33   Fleet           +0    +0    +0    +3   ♣$B

 34-39   Expeditious     +0    +0    +0    +4 

    40+  Meteoric        +0    +0    +0    +5  

[PIA] Prefix Improves Actions

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$ Effort Magical Prefix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

  2-6    Fletcher's      +3    +0    +0    +0  

  7-11   Slayer's        +0    +3    +0    +0  

 12-16   Angel's         +0    +0    +3    +0

 17-21   Monk's          +0    +0    +0    +3

 22-27   Archer's        +5    +0    +0    +0

 28-33   Berserker's     +0    +5    +0    +0 

 34-39   Arch-Angel's    +0    +0    +5    +0 

    40+  Eidolon's       +0    +0    +0    +5

[ISR] Increases Spell Power or Repute

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$ Effort Magical Prefix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

  2-6    Wyvern's        +0    +0    +0    +0   ★+1

  7-11   Stately         +0    +0    +0    +0   $+2

 12-16   Drake's         +0    +0    +0    +0   ★+2

 17-21   Illustrious     +0    +0    +0    +0   $+3

 22-27   Hydra's         +0    +0    +0    +0   ★+3

 28-33   Noble's         +0    +0    +0    +0   $+4

 34-39   Dragon's        +0    +0    +0    +0   ★+4

    40+  Sovereign's     +0    +0    +0    +0   $+5

[PRM] Prefix Reduces Menace

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$ Effort Magical Prefix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

  2-6    Subduing        +0    +0    +0    +0   -1 MeTA

  7-11   Wearying        +0    +0    +0    +0   -1 Me

 12-16   Depleting       +0    +0    +0    +0   -2 MeTA

 17-21   Subjugating     +0    +0    +0    +0   -2 Me

 22-27   Fatiguing       +0    +0    +0    +0   -3 MeTA

 28-33   Draining        +0    +0    +0    +0   -3 Me

 34-39   Exhausting      +0    +0    +0    +0   -4 Me

    40+  Overwhelming    +0    +0    +0    +0   -5 Me

[PPA] Prefix Prevents Afflictions

Perform a Royalties $ Action and consult the table below:

$ Effort Magical Prefix  [s]   [h]   [d]   [c] Keywords

  2-6    Quartz          +0    +1    +0    +0   NoEx

  7-11   Garnet          +0    +0    +0    +1   NoPa

 12-16   Amber           +1    +0    +0    +0   NoSh

 17-21   Ruby            +0    +2    +0    +0   NoHe

 22-27   Sapphire        +0    +0    +0    +2   NoCo

 28-33   Diamond         +2    +0    +0    +0   NoBl

 34-39   Emerald         +0    +0    +2    +0   NoDi/Po

    40+  Prismatic       +1    +1    +1    +1   NoAff

Keywords

• Bonus Damage (BxD) - Bonus Damage is only applied if the initial Attacking Action successfully inflicts damage greater than 0. Reduce Might of the target enemy by an additional amount equal to "x".
• Bonus Royalty Damage (B$D) - When inflicting Bonus Damage (see above), if the card played for the Attacking Action was a $ Royalty (A, K, Q or J) increase the Bonus Damage by +2.
• Attacking Royalty Bonus (A$B) - When performing an Attacking Action (Shooting or Hitting), if the card played for the action is a $ Royalty (A, K, Q or J) add an additional +2 to the Effort total.
• Defending Royalty Bonus (♦$B) - When performing a Defending Action, if the card played for the action is a $ Royalty (A, K, Q or J) add an additional +2 to the Effort total.
• Crossing Royalty Bonus (♣$B) - When performing a Crossing Action, if the card played for the action is a $ Royalty (A, K, Q or J) add an additional +2 to the Effort total.
• Spell Power (★+x) - While this item is equipped gain face down cards in your tableau equal to x. Face down cards are used for casting spells.
• Royalty ($+x) - Royalty increases by an additional amount equal to "x".
• Menace (-x Me) - Reduce the Menace of all enemies by "x".
• Menace in Threat Area (-x MeTA) - Reduce the Menace of all enemies in the Threat Area by "x". 
• No Exhaustion (NoEx) - you can no longer become afflicted by Exhaustion.
• No Paralysis (NoPa) - you can no longer become afflicted by Paralysis.
• No Shock (NoSh) - you can no longer become afflicted by Shock.
• No Heat (NoHe) - you can no longer become afflicted by Heat.
• No Cold (NoCo) - you can no longer become afflicted by Cold.
• No Blindness (NoBl) - you can no longer become afflicted by Blindness.
• No Disorientation or Poison (NoDi/Po) - you can no longer become afflicted by Disorientation or Poison.
• No Afflictions (NoAff) - you can no longer become afflicted.

Top 5 Fantasy RPGs That Are Better Than D&D

This is a list of some of my favorite role playing games. I chose to limit this list by games that are available right now, and games with a fantasy theme so that they might appeal to players who are specifically looking for a D&D alternative.

5. Quest by Adventure Guild

This is the lightest game on the list. It's a great introductory game, but it will also work for a group who might be experiencing "game crunch" burn out. It's light and breezy with a simple dice mechanism that doesn't change as you play. Instead characters gain special exceptions to the rules that usually surpass the roll of the dice. These exceptions multiply and combine as your character grows. Terms and tropes will be familiar to D&D players and the light mechanisms should be a welcome change to players looking for a less rules-centric experience. Also, the PDF documents for the game are available for free!

4. Blue Rose - The AGE RPG of Romantic Fantasy

Blue Rose is a game based on Romantic Fantasy. When compared to High Fantasy we are talking about a fairy tale world. One with talking animals and fairy princesses. If you want to recreate the Princess Bride or stories like it, Blue Rose is the perfect place to start. This version uses the AGE system which is a great RPG system that Wil Wheaton featured when he ran his Titansgrave series on YouTube. This one costs money, but you can download a quickstart to sample the game system for free.

3. Warlock!

Warlock! is inspired by old-school British RPGs like Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Unlike WFRP, Warlock! uses a d20 for task resolution and is way more accessible than its predecessor. I wrote a review of Warlock! that you can take a look at HERE. It's a favorite.

2. Talisman Adventures

This is based on a board game, but has a surprising amount of lore and an incredible game system to back it up. Talisman Adventures feels decidedly old-school while being super modern. The dice system uses only d6, and the core rulebook is available for free. So, you could play this one even if you've never set foot inside a hobby gaming store. Did I mention that character race options include Fairies and Trolls? It's cool!

1. 13th Age

This is my favorite alternative to D&D and my favorite role playing game full stop. 13th Age has some D&D DNA and is published under the D20 OGL. It was designed by Rob Heinsoo, lead designer of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition, and Jonathan Tweet, lead designer of Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition. You read that right. The lead designers of D&D's two previous editions teamed up and wrote an RPG, and it's my favorite RPG. While I strongly recommend purchasing a copy of the beautiful hardcover core rules book, much of 13th Age is available freely online in the 13th Age SRD. 

Besides being the best iteration of D&D (Yes, I think that it's better than 5E and Pathfinder.), 13th Age introduces a lot of cool innovations. Players have "icon relationships" that connect them to key figures in the game world. Every player has one unique thing, something that sets them apart from every other person in the world. A special combat bonus called an "escalation die" starts at zero but increases by one after each round of combat. This makes combat more exciting with every round of battle instead of less. Between levels players get an "incremental advance" which is a partial level that makes leveling up your character easier. I also love the 13th Age world. The Dragon Empire is my favorite high fantasy setting. I am also super excited that the second edition of 13th Age is coming to Kickstarter sometime this year!

All This And More ...

I didn't mention Dragonbane because I just did a review for it. (Also, it isn't actually available right now - but hopefully soon!) Aside from Dragonbane, here are some honorable mentions: for players who want an old-school D&D experience, it doesn't get any better than Labyrinth Lord. Or for a similarly old-school experience with more modern mechanics, Dave Zajac's Simplicity is simply excellent. (Both these great RPGs can be downloaded for free!) How about you? What's your favorite fantasy RPG that's not D&D. Leave me a comment or join the discussion on our Facebook Group.

It's Magic!

As you look upon the remains of the fallen spider you notice something cocooned in webbing attached to the beast's abdomen. Through the fabric of the spider silk shines a faint glow. It's magic!

Detect Magic

You know how to create basic Royalties. Now it's time learn about magic Royalties. From now on, every time that you create a basic item, after you create that item, you need to "Detect Magic" on the item. You do this by flipping a card from the deck. If the card a Royalty (A, K, Q, J) then the item is a magic item!

(The spider has something magical webbed to it. Go ahead and create a new basic item, then make it a magic item using the guidelines below. You can skip detecting magic just this once, we know this royalty is magical!)

Creating Magic Items

These types of royalties carry a magical prefix, magical suffix, or both. Flip a card. If the card is a Royalty then the Magic Item has both a magical prefix and a magical suffix. Otherwise, if the card is red it has a magical prefix; if the card is black it has a magical suffix.

Magical Prefixes @

(Perform an Absolute @ Action and consult the table below.)

2♣ [PBD] 2♦ [PID] 2♥ [PIA] 2♠ [PRM]

3♣ [PBD] 3♦ [PID] 3♥ [PIA] 3♠ [PRM]

4♣ [PBD] 4♦ [PID] 4♥ [PIA] 4♠ [PRM]

5♣ [PBD] 5♦ [PID] 5♥ [PIA] 5♠ [PRM]

6♣ [PBD] 6♦ [PID] 6♥ [PIA] 6♠ [PRM]

7♣ [PBD] 7♦ [PID] 7♥ [PIA] 7♠ [PRM]

8♣ [IAA] 8♦ [PIC] 8♥ [ISR] 8♠ [PPA]

9♣ [IAA] 9♦ [PIC] 9♥ [ISR] 9♠ [PPA]

10♣ [IAA] 10♦ [PIC] 10♥ [ISR] 10♠ [PPA]

J♣ [IAA] J♦ [PIC] J♥ [ISR] J♠ [PPA]

Q♣ [IAA] Q♦ [PIC] Q♥ [ISR] Q♠ [PPA]

K♣ [IAA] K♦ [PIC] K♥ [ISR] K♠ [PPA]

A♣ [IAA] A♦ [PIC] A♥ [ISR] A♠ [PPA]

Magical Suffixes @

(Perform an Absolute @ Action and consult the table below.)

2♣ [SIS] 2♦ [SID] 2♥ [IAA] 2♠ [SRI]

3♣ [SIS] 3♦ [SID] 3♥ [ISP] 3♠ [SRI]

4♣ [SIS] 4♦ [SID] 4♥ [ISP] 4♠ [SRI]

5♣ [SIS] 5♦ [SID] 5♥ [ISP] 5♠ [SBD]

6♣ [SIS] 6♦ [SID] 6♥ [ISP] 6♠ [SBD]

7♣ [SIS] 7♦ [SIC] 7♥ [ISP] 7♠ [SBD]

8♣ [SIH] 8♦ [SIC] 8♥ [SIR] 8♠ [SBD]

9♣ [SIH] 9♦ [SIC] 9♥ [SIR] 9♠ [SBD]

10♣ [SIH] 10♦ [SIC] 10♥ [SIR] 10♠ [SDT]

J♣ [SIH] J♦ [SIC] J♥ [SIR] J♠ [SDT]

Q♣ [SIH] Q♦ [SIC] Q♥ [SIR] Q♠ [SDT]

K♣ [SIH] K♦ [IAA] K♥ [SRI] K♠ [SDT]

A♣ [SID] A♦ [IAA] A♥ [SRI] A♠ [SDT]

The three letter abbreviation represents a table where you can generate your magical properties using Royalty Actions. 

Stay tuned!