 DESCRIPTION Instead of the standard dark fuzz that covers similar species, these huge spiders (about 3-4’ long) possess a rubbery skin colored fiery red and covered in strange, boil-like sores. The venomous bite of a taroltula (save vs. poison) does 1-8 points of damage and produces the effect of an intense burning sensation throughout the body of the bitten creature. Any creature affected suffers a -3 “to hit” penalty for 3-16 turns. On any successful “to hit” against a taroltula using an edged weapon, there is a 10% chance per point of damage that the attack will rupture a sore on the spider, with each ten points automatically rupturing a sore (e.g, 24 points of damage would rupture 2 sores automatically, with a 40% chance of rupturing a third sore.) Each ruptured sore produces a spray of acid that does 1-6 points of damage. All characters standing within 5’ of each rupture must make a successful saving throw (vs. breath weapon) versus that individual sore rupture or suffer damage accordingly. | Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Rare NO. APPEARING: 1-10 ARMOR CLASS: 5 MOVE: 12” HIT DICE: 3 % IN LAIR: 75% TREASURE TYPE: R NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8 SPECIAL ATTACKS: “Burning” venom SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below INTELLIGENCE: Animal ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: M (3-4’ long) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 5 HIT DICE: 3 MOVE: 240’ ATTACKS: 1 bite DAMAGE: 1-8 + special NO. APPEARING: 1 SAVE AS: Fighter: 2 MORALE: 7 TREASURE TYPE: M ALIGNMENT: Neutral |
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
New Oe/BX/1E Monster: Taroltula (Troll Spider)
Taroltula (Troll Spider)
Monday, May 21, 2012
A Few Of My Favorite Dice
If you'd only read this blog for the last week or two, I could see how you might think the only die I own is a d30. And while I am quite proud of my d30 (#1 in the picture above), it is by no means the favorite of my dice, though it is among the echelon. I thought that, in fairness to my other dice and gaming interests, I would feature several dice in my collection, most of which are reaching the age of retirement.
1. This is the 1982 smoky Armory precision d30 that I wrote about in my very first blog post. And while the idea of a d30-based pulp RPG system morphed into a d30-based mutant/barbarian/sorcery RPG system (an idea which I have not abandoned, only sidetracked), it is what launched me into what would become the d30 DM Companion.
2. My co-conspirator Dave Welborn got me these Traveller dice a couple of months ago. I've never really played Traveller (though some of my gaming buddies in high school in the 80s did), but I always dug the dice. I'd see the ads in Dragon, and think... "I gotta get those!" And finally, "I got those." Thanks, Dave.
3. This die, which features a teal dot on two sides, a red dot on two sides, and a yellow dot on the other two sides, came in a pack of mixed dice that I bought sometime in the late 80s. For years, I've been trying to develop a basic resolution mechanic that would use dice like this. And when I discovered the Toss Up dice, I thought I'd figured it out. Honestly, it's the same concept as Fudge's +/- dice, but does not support the simple addition/subtraction. I'm going to figure this out one day!
4. There's nothing special about these d10s from the mid-90s, except the concept of three opposing forces (in this case, physical/mental/spiritual) which spurned something that evolved into The System: Expanded, the foundation system for Starmasters. It's amazing how the simple purchase of dice could spawn an entire game system concept.
5. I love the old orange d6s from the Avalon Hill bookcase games. One of these came from Amoeba Wars which has, in my opinion, one of the most awesome pieces of cover art... ever! Hell, the cover art alone is why I bought the game.
6. I honestly can't remember where these green d6s came from. I'm guessing some other boxed game, either an RPG that uses d6s, or another bookcase game. But unfortunately they're just not as cool as the orange ones.
7. These tiny d6s came from a variety of games, but I didn't use them for those games. Everyone in our Champions group in 1985-6 had their own personal fistfuls of dice (which, if you've never played Champions, is pretty much a requirement for higher-powered characters) and these were mine. There's nothing like rolling a couple of dozen dice, adding up all the stun damage, then picking out the 6s for body damage. That mechanic alone is why we played Champions and never looked back at V&V. But looking back now, I prefer the older-school vibe of V&V and, as I've mentioned before, would love to get a V&V group going.
8. Like the d10s, these dice are newer. But they've become my Starmasters playtest dice. And hopefully one day, they'll become my Starmasters convention demo game dice.
9.Yep. Those of us that have these love them. But here's the odd part... I did not get them in with Holmes Basic. I started with the Moldvay set and own the "mud" dice that came with the red and blue boxed sets at that time. Like Grognardia James, I bought my set of low impact dice from Kay-Bee Toys.
I own a lot of newer dice sets, and plenty of other dice, but keep most of my older dice are housed in this (below), a re-purposed tackle box purchased with S&H Green Stamps. After I lost most of the lures that came in it, I threw the leftover lures in my dad's tackle box and... voila! Dice box!
1. This is the 1982 smoky Armory precision d30 that I wrote about in my very first blog post. And while the idea of a d30-based pulp RPG system morphed into a d30-based mutant/barbarian/sorcery RPG system (an idea which I have not abandoned, only sidetracked), it is what launched me into what would become the d30 DM Companion.
2. My co-conspirator Dave Welborn got me these Traveller dice a couple of months ago. I've never really played Traveller (though some of my gaming buddies in high school in the 80s did), but I always dug the dice. I'd see the ads in Dragon, and think... "I gotta get those!" And finally, "I got those." Thanks, Dave.
3. This die, which features a teal dot on two sides, a red dot on two sides, and a yellow dot on the other two sides, came in a pack of mixed dice that I bought sometime in the late 80s. For years, I've been trying to develop a basic resolution mechanic that would use dice like this. And when I discovered the Toss Up dice, I thought I'd figured it out. Honestly, it's the same concept as Fudge's +/- dice, but does not support the simple addition/subtraction. I'm going to figure this out one day!
4. There's nothing special about these d10s from the mid-90s, except the concept of three opposing forces (in this case, physical/mental/spiritual) which spurned something that evolved into The System: Expanded, the foundation system for Starmasters. It's amazing how the simple purchase of dice could spawn an entire game system concept.
5. I love the old orange d6s from the Avalon Hill bookcase games. One of these came from Amoeba Wars which has, in my opinion, one of the most awesome pieces of cover art... ever! Hell, the cover art alone is why I bought the game.
6. I honestly can't remember where these green d6s came from. I'm guessing some other boxed game, either an RPG that uses d6s, or another bookcase game. But unfortunately they're just not as cool as the orange ones.
7. These tiny d6s came from a variety of games, but I didn't use them for those games. Everyone in our Champions group in 1985-6 had their own personal fistfuls of dice (which, if you've never played Champions, is pretty much a requirement for higher-powered characters) and these were mine. There's nothing like rolling a couple of dozen dice, adding up all the stun damage, then picking out the 6s for body damage. That mechanic alone is why we played Champions and never looked back at V&V. But looking back now, I prefer the older-school vibe of V&V and, as I've mentioned before, would love to get a V&V group going.
8. Like the d10s, these dice are newer. But they've become my Starmasters playtest dice. And hopefully one day, they'll become my Starmasters convention demo game dice.
9.Yep. Those of us that have these love them. But here's the odd part... I did not get them in with Holmes Basic. I started with the Moldvay set and own the "mud" dice that came with the red and blue boxed sets at that time. Like Grognardia James, I bought my set of low impact dice from Kay-Bee Toys.
I own a lot of newer dice sets, and plenty of other dice, but keep most of my older dice are housed in this (below), a re-purposed tackle box purchased with S&H Green Stamps. After I lost most of the lures that came in it, I threw the leftover lures in my dad's tackle box and... voila! Dice box!
Friday, May 18, 2012
Last Day to Get 20% OFF Print Copy of d30 DM Companion
UPDATE ON THE PDF VERSION: We're close, but have some link/zoom issues to resolve. I'll have an update of some sort for you in the next few days.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
A Few Free d30 Buttons Left! + 20% Off + Another Peak Inside the d30 DM Companion (Treasure Generators) + PDF Update
Let's face it, if you follow the normal treasure type indications for the various monsters in your dungeons, that's a lot of damn dice rolling. Let's look at type A as an example (per the 1e MM). To start with, there are 8 categories of treasure (copper, silver, et al) that each require an initial percentile roll to determine whether each type is present. Then, assuming each type is present, there's another 8 rolls (1 for each type) to determine quantity. Then there's more rolling for type of item, etc. In the d30 DM Companion, I've created a treasure type generator that combines each of those "double rolls" (1=yes/no, 2=quantity) into one roll for each category, based on treasure type. And when you combine that with similar gem/jewelry and magic item generators, it really speeds up the process.
There's also a BX to 1e conversion table, so anyone playing BX can use these same charts to create a comparable treasure horde, based on the treasure types listed in the BX rulebooks.
JUST A REMINDER LULU'S 20% SITEWIDE SALE IS STILL ON!
Use the coupon code MAYBOOKS12 and get 20% off! (Don't worry, it doesn't affect us small publishers/sellers. It comes out of Lulu's pocket.)
PDF UPDATE!
My co-conspirator Dave Welborn and I are scheduled to get a working version of the clickable PDF ready by tomorrow. With any luck, we'll get that version done and available through RPGN/DTRPG by this weekend (maybe first part of next week.) Remember, anyone who buys a print copy will receive a FREE copy of the PDF version. Simply email your Lulu print copy order number to d30dm1@newbigdragon.com, and we'll send you the PDF when it's ready.
THERE'S A FEW D30 BUTTONS LEFT!
While supplies last (I'd set 30 aside), buyers of the print copy get this 1" button designed featuring a white illustration of a d30 on a green background color to match this d30 Companion edition. Simply request the button when you send your Lulu order number for the PDF copy, and I'll snail mail you a d30 button (again, at no additional cost to you.) And if you buy multiple copies, I'll send multiple buttons!
There's also a BX to 1e conversion table, so anyone playing BX can use these same charts to create a comparable treasure horde, based on the treasure types listed in the BX rulebooks.
JUST A REMINDER LULU'S 20% SITEWIDE SALE IS STILL ON!
Use the coupon code MAYBOOKS12 and get 20% off! (Don't worry, it doesn't affect us small publishers/sellers. It comes out of Lulu's pocket.)
PDF UPDATE!
My co-conspirator Dave Welborn and I are scheduled to get a working version of the clickable PDF ready by tomorrow. With any luck, we'll get that version done and available through RPGN/DTRPG by this weekend (maybe first part of next week.) Remember, anyone who buys a print copy will receive a FREE copy of the PDF version. Simply email your Lulu print copy order number to d30dm1@newbigdragon.com, and we'll send you the PDF when it's ready.
While supplies last (I'd set 30 aside), buyers of the print copy get this 1" button designed featuring a white illustration of a d30 on a green background color to match this d30 Companion edition. Simply request the button when you send your Lulu order number for the PDF copy, and I'll snail mail you a d30 button (again, at no additional cost to you.) And if you buy multiple copies, I'll send multiple buttons!
Click here to buy a print version of the d30 DM Companion from Lulu.com
And if you've stuck around and read this entire post, this is a sneak preview to let you know that upcoming I'll be hosting a bit of a contest to win a free copy of the print version of the d30 DM Companion. Stay tuned for details!!!
And if you've stuck around and read this entire post, this is a sneak preview to let you know that upcoming I'll be hosting a bit of a contest to win a free copy of the print version of the d30 DM Companion. Stay tuned for details!!!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
A Look Inside the d30 DM Companion (Print Version Now Available!): The OGL and "Protected Intellectual Property"
During the development of the d30 DM Companion (now available in print from Lulu.com), I tried to steer clear of those things that would violate the protected intellectual property of the industry's Big Brother. Among other things, that meant staying away from monster names the you-know-who stakes claim to as being "outside of the OGL." It seemed to be a happy accident that when laying out the monster description pages (above) that support the monster encounter tables, many of my "reverse engineered" names fell at the page breaks (and therefore ended up on the page headers. Note the copper colossus, corroder and hobghoul.)
The monster description pages note above are one of the reasons that the d30 DM Companion and a d30 are pretty much all you need to stock a dungeon. Including generating general dungeon features, traps, and treasure. Think of it as the Monster & Treasure Assortment books on d30 crack!
GET YOUR COPY DURING LULU'S SITEWIDE SALE!
Use the coupon code MAYBOOKS12 and get 20% off! (Don't worry, it doesn't affect us small publishers/sellers. It comes out of Lulu's pocket.)
PDF VERSION COMING SOON!
We're currently trying to finish up the interactive PDF copy, but anyone who buys a print copy will receive a FREE copy of the PDF version. Simply email your Lulu print copy order number to d30dm1@newbigdragon.com, and we'll send you the PDF when it's ready.
FREE D30 BUTTONS!
And for the first 30 purchases of the print edition, I've got more free buttons! These 1" buttons are designed featuring a white illustration of a d30 on a green background color to match this d30 Companion edition. Simply request the button when you send your Lulu order number for the PDF copy, and I'll snail mail you a d30 button (again, at no additional cost to you.) And if you buy multiple copies, I'll send multiple buttons.
The monster description pages note above are one of the reasons that the d30 DM Companion and a d30 are pretty much all you need to stock a dungeon. Including generating general dungeon features, traps, and treasure. Think of it as the Monster & Treasure Assortment books on d30 crack!
GET YOUR COPY DURING LULU'S SITEWIDE SALE!
Use the coupon code MAYBOOKS12 and get 20% off! (Don't worry, it doesn't affect us small publishers/sellers. It comes out of Lulu's pocket.)
PDF VERSION COMING SOON!
We're currently trying to finish up the interactive PDF copy, but anyone who buys a print copy will receive a FREE copy of the PDF version. Simply email your Lulu print copy order number to d30dm1@newbigdragon.com, and we'll send you the PDF when it's ready.
And for the first 30 purchases of the print edition, I've got more free buttons! These 1" buttons are designed featuring a white illustration of a d30 on a green background color to match this d30 Companion edition. Simply request the button when you send your Lulu order number for the PDF copy, and I'll snail mail you a d30 button (again, at no additional cost to you.) And if you buy multiple copies, I'll send multiple buttons.
Monday, May 14, 2012
d30 DM Companion Print Version Now Available
I'm happy to announce that the d30 DM Companion is now available in print from Lulu.com at an introductory price of $7.95. The Lulu page features a full visual preview of the entire book. Unfortunately, the Lulu listing is limited in character count, but yesterday's post features a bulleted list of the contents and if you click the image above, you can get a better look at the Table of Contents.
AND LULU IS HAVING A SITEWIDE SALE!
Use the coupon code MAYBOOKS12 and get 20% off! (Don't worry, it doesn't affect us small publishers/sellers. It comes out of Lulu's pocket. And thanks to Chris at Heroes & Other Worlds for the heads up on that one!)
PDF VERSION COMING SOON!
We're currently trying to finish up the interactive PDF copy, but anyone who buys a print copy will receive a FREE copy of the PDF version. Simply email your Lulu print copy order number to d30dm1@newbigdragon.com, and we'll send you the PDF when it's ready.
FREE D30 BUTTONS!
And for the first 30 purchases of the print edition, I've got more free buttons! These 1" buttons are designed featuring a white illustration of a d30 on a green background color to match this d30 Companion edition. Simply request the button when you send your Lulu order number for the PDF copy, and I'll snail mail you a d30 button (again, at no additional cost to you.) And if you buy multiple copies, I'll send multiple buttons.
AND LULU IS HAVING A SITEWIDE SALE!
Use the coupon code MAYBOOKS12 and get 20% off! (Don't worry, it doesn't affect us small publishers/sellers. It comes out of Lulu's pocket. And thanks to Chris at Heroes & Other Worlds for the heads up on that one!)
PDF VERSION COMING SOON!
We're currently trying to finish up the interactive PDF copy, but anyone who buys a print copy will receive a FREE copy of the PDF version. Simply email your Lulu print copy order number to d30dm1@newbigdragon.com, and we'll send you the PDF when it's ready.
And for the first 30 purchases of the print edition, I've got more free buttons! These 1" buttons are designed featuring a white illustration of a d30 on a green background color to match this d30 Companion edition. Simply request the button when you send your Lulu order number for the PDF copy, and I'll snail mail you a d30 button (again, at no additional cost to you.) And if you buy multiple copies, I'll send multiple buttons.
THE WEEK AHEAD!
As the week goes on, I'll share some background on producing the companion, as well as announce the next New Big Dragon project. (And it's not the Sandbox Companion, or the PDF version of the d30 DM Companion; stay tuned!)
Thanks for your patience, interest and patronage! Happy rolling!
As the week goes on, I'll share some background on producing the companion, as well as announce the next New Big Dragon project. (And it's not the Sandbox Companion, or the PDF version of the d30 DM Companion; stay tuned!)
Thanks for your patience, interest and patronage! Happy rolling!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
PREVIEW: d30 DM Companion On Sale Tomorrow!
IMAGINE BEING ABLE TO STOCK A DUNGEON WITH NOTHING MORE THAN A SINGLE d30!!!
Inside these 30-something pages you’ll find a host of d30-based resources, including:
✓ super-quick character generation for classed characters,
including: attributes, motivations and equipment/inventory
✓ general dungeon features, embellishments, debris, and geological phenomena
✓ 27,000 mold/slime variants and 27,000 mushroom variants
✓ monster encounters for levels 1-9 (270 listings)
✓ single d30 determination for ranges of “no. appearing”
✓ stats for 180 monsters and 14 types/classes of humans/humanoids
✓ 900 trap variants based on 6 trap categories
✓ treasure hordes (by type) in fewer rolls
✓ 27,000 unique gem-based treasure items
✓ 27,000 treasure variants of magical weapons and armor
✓ 27,000 variants of scrolls, potions, wands, staves, and rods
✓ over 1.45 billion potion variants
✓ 60 new miscellaneous magic items
+ a master mapping key and a reproducible Dungeon Crawl Worksheet
to assist DMs in mapping and stocking the rooms of their dungeons!
There'll be an introductory price and some freebies for the first thirty folks who buy it!
Inside these 30-something pages you’ll find a host of d30-based resources, including:
✓ super-quick character generation for classed characters,
including: attributes, motivations and equipment/inventory
✓ general dungeon features, embellishments, debris, and geological phenomena
✓ 27,000 mold/slime variants and 27,000 mushroom variants
✓ monster encounters for levels 1-9 (270 listings)
✓ single d30 determination for ranges of “no. appearing”
✓ stats for 180 monsters and 14 types/classes of humans/humanoids
✓ 900 trap variants based on 6 trap categories
✓ treasure hordes (by type) in fewer rolls
✓ 27,000 unique gem-based treasure items
✓ 27,000 treasure variants of magical weapons and armor
✓ 27,000 variants of scrolls, potions, wands, staves, and rods
✓ over 1.45 billion potion variants
✓ 60 new miscellaneous magic items
+ a master mapping key and a reproducible Dungeon Crawl Worksheet
to assist DMs in mapping and stocking the rooms of their dungeons!
There'll be an introductory price and some freebies for the first thirty folks who buy it!
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