The Tome of Manly Things

I usually avoid reviewing Pathfinder stuff these days as I am focused more on Old School for my D&D fix.

However being a sucker for free stuff I decided to download Little Red Goblin's Tome of Manly Things

Its a DTRPG freebie (here) that was meant as an April Fools product.

However its quite clever as it uses a variant of the gunslinger Grit mechanic to allow people to play "the Most Interesting Man in the World" or Burt Reynolds or whoever those guys in the Vegas commercial were

Being a joke product there were a few bugs, a small lack of clarity on how many man cards a person gets (how awesome is not a number and as such I recommend 1+ charisma modifier) or any discussion of what the Man Code is. Of course that kind of realistic since no in reality knows what it is either. ;)

However despite the flaws this is actually a cool class and renamed Hero or something is not only playable but fun.

Definitely an interesting and offbeat add to the game I can recommend.

Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque Compendum is Cool

If you like Ravenloft or any kind of Gothic Horror and play and old school game or if just want a grab bag of new free goodies, spells, poisons, a cool system, optional rules, monsters and more (and yes I did say free) Go grab the tales of the grotesque and dungeonesque compendium here

Its very cool.

Between this and the Lands of Ara I mentioned earlier you'll have hundreds of pages of neat stuff to enjoy for free.

So get, go get them. I'll be here when you get back.

Lands of Ara Compendium Free

Lands of Ara is another great blog I probably should have in my blog roll but don't.

They have a collection of their work from about 2009-2011 for free. Its got a lot of cool old school stuff and a gorgeous layout.

You can get it at the site here

Check it out. Its cool and did I mention it was free?

New Pathfinder Archtype, Joad Harrier

Yes despite my complaints about the size of my feats book I still like Pathfinder. This archetype, the Joad Harrier is inspired by these guys in the hypertext SRD and the Executioner class from Iron Heroes.

Text of course is taken from the Pathfinder SRD. Consider everything here open content covered by the OGL except the term Joad harrier which is closed content

The Joad Harrier

The Joad are famed for both their traders and their cruelty and nothing epitomizes that cruelty more than the Harrier. This class specializes in sneak attacks, often delivered by bluff or from behind. Rather than depending on an array of weapons skills, the Joad prefer to leverage a detailed knowledge of anatomy and use lethal directed blows.


The Harrier is treated as a fighter however stealth, bluff and acrobatics are class skills. They do not gain heavy armor or tower shield proficiencies.

At L1 a Harrier gains a +10 bonus to move as a Barbarian.

Replace all bonus feats from L1 to L20 with Sneak Attack as per the rogue class.

L2 The Joad gain a +1 bonus to Feint CBM. This bonus inrease by one every four levels.

At L3 they gain Armor Training as per a Fighter

At 7th level, a Joad Harrier can move through 10 feet of difficult terrain each round as if it were normal terrain. This benefit stacks with the benefits provided by the Acrobatic Steps and Nimble Moves feats.

This ability replaces Armor Training 2.

Rapid Attack (Ex)

At 11th level, a Harrier can combine a full attack with a single move. She must forgo the attack at her highest bonus but may take the remaining attacks at any point during her movement. This movement provokes attacks of opportunity as normal.

This ability replaces Armor Training 3.


Fleet Footed (Ex)

At 15th level, the mobile fighter’s speed increases by an additional 10 feet. He can take 10 on Acrobatics checks even while distracted or threatened, and can take 20 on an Acrobatics check once per day for every five fighter levels he possesses.

This ability replaces Armor Training 4.

One of the best short freebies I've ever seen for Old School D&D

A simple effective system for horse over on The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope,.

Get it here

Now added: GURPS Ballistics Spreadsheet

Thanks to Douglas Cole for allowing me to host his work.

This spreadsheet lets you compute GURPS 4e stats for pretty much any modern firearm. It is as close to official as possible and will give very good results.

Another Zine... Dyson's Dodecahedron

From Dyson Logos at A Character for Every Game.

Its small (12 pages) but might and best of all its free. You can get both issues at the site.

Also his house rules linked at the site are some of my favorites. So go, shoo check them out.. I'll be here when you get back ;)

The Machine Called (Playtest Update)

I updated the playtest files for Loadouts and included a new and improved OGL declaration. Its in a microscopic size 4 font to keep that mess under a page so you'll need to zoom in if you want to read it but its all there now.

Thanks much to Starglim over at the ENWorlds boards for pointing out the errors and for the other suggestions as well.

I owe ya one man....

First Product to the Wild

Grab it at the main page or here

Loadouts is designed for Pathfinder using the Pathfinder SRD and an art budget of zero (literally) and is meant to enable easy outfitting of starting characters.

It provides pretty much everything that a person and a party need for dungeon and wilderness adventures in a a short 4 page PDF, Its art light and generally printer friendly.

I really appreciate any comments you have on its usefulness, layout and ease of reading (and printing if you so desire)

Thanks Much.

Good News

I just tested our first product today. While it looks a bit amateurish do to the very simple layout and my use of public domain art I am pretty happy with it. Everything displays on 2 different OS's (Linux and Windows) and its edited correctly.

Its short enough that I'll be posting it here soon.

So stay tuned ,,,,,

The Old School Class Ideas List

This is my list of class ideas designed with B/X-LL in mind. It does use race as class but each of that races archetypes was to provided as an option.

To note I haven't designed all these classes as of yet and may not ever in fact. TIf I do I will likley put them in my "Old School Companion" with the XP tables built with one the design methods and tweaked to taste.

Fighter
Fighter/Mage
Thief
Ranger
Paladin
Berserker
Magic User
Cleric
Bard
Elementalist
Swashbuckler

Non Human Classes

Notes, all Elf classes are "what they do + elf spell list" to represent the fact that Elves are magical beings

Elf
Elf Archer
Elf Sword Dancer
Elf Trickster
Elf Healer
Elf Forester

A couple may require some explanation. Bounder is a patrol fighter, Thornwalkers patrol the Hedge that keeps foreigners out of the Shires and are analogous to Rangers. Herbalists use herb lore and nature spells. Last Guardians are like Paladin/Undead Hunter types

Halfling
Halfling Bounder
Halfling Thornwalker
Halfling Herbalist
Halfling Guardian
Halfling Burglar
Halfling Sharpshooter

Dwarves have a few less class options in this version (as vs my "Cunning Dwarf" ideas below ) Clan Dwarf is the standard Dwarf with some trade skills, Dwarf Rager is a Berserker, Runecasters do well Rune Magic, Stonespeakers have Earth Magic, Ancestor Speakers are a shaman-cleric. Of course Tunnel Scout subs in for Rogue.

Clan Dwarf
Dwarf Soldier
Dwarf Rager
Dwarf Runecaster
Dwarf Stonespeaker
Dwarf Ancestor Speaker
Dwarf Tunnel Scout

In more "Cunning Dwarf" archetypes Optionally Ancestors Speaker, Rager, Runequest, Soldier, Stone Speaker and Tunnel Scout can be dropped for a very simple pair

Clan Dwarf (Fighter/Rogue/Merchant)
Dwarf Magician (Magic User)
and Clan Dwarf becomes a modified Thief

1d8 Knives and Daggers from my campaign

I also rather like magic knives and daggers as they can be used by many classes, used many ways and are a tiny bit less iconic than swords.

#1 Thunder: One of the twins. This is a +2 dagger that deafens its target for 1d4 rounds on a successful hit (save vs magic to negate) it can also find its twin (as per locate any object spell ) at will.

#2 Lightning: The other twin. It is also a +2 dagger with the same locate ability. It does exra electrical damage as per a shocking grasp. If both dagger are wielded the user may once per round cast a lighting bolt as per his level. This bolt also stuns (1d4 rounds ) deafens (1d4 rounds) and knocks targets down if they fail a second save (first for half damage, second to negate) The user takes 1d4 subdual damage if this ability is used

#3 Shard Dagger: A Shard Weapon that resembles as clear black glass knife

#4 White Knife: A +1 dagger that does subdual damage against Law normal damage against Neutral and double damage against Chaos.

#5 Earring Dagger: This +1 weapon can shrink down at will into an earing or charm, complete with clasp and when shrunk radiates no detectable magic.

#6 Hornet Knife: A +1 Dagger does 2d4 when thrown and returns automatically on a miss. It cannot be thrown stealthily as it makes a loud buzzing sound when thrown or returning.

#7 Black Knife: A +1 dagger that does s double damage against Law and normal damage against everyone else

#8 Dagger of Poison. This +1 dagger has a hollow reservoir that can hold one dose of poison or holy water. On a successful hit the user may apply this venom instantly with perfect safety to him or herself. After that the reserve will need to be reloaded.

And yes #8 is how we do daggers of venom

1d10 magic swords from my campaigns.

I like naming magic weapons and giving them a little background. It makes them a lot more interesting than "sword +1" and I think this makes for a more fun game. So without further adieu, a list of swords with random numbers for your convenience.


#1 Cleave Heart -- Broadsword +3

#2 Heart Harrow -- Cursed Arming Sword, a +3 weapons also but causes suicidal depression and rage in the bearer. It can dropped willingly if the bearer does not have significant personal grief. Otherwise you need a remove curse

#3 Flame Heart -- A great weapon.

#4 Fortunes Friend -- Luck Blade, finds treasure as defined by bearer at will.

#5 Stirge -- Vampiric Rapier +2 drains 2HP granting 1 to user per blow.

#6 Dead Cutter +1 Sword ignores all special defense of undead.

The next 4 are Shone made great weapons

#7 Tal Ayelo -- The Northwind Blade -- A Great Weapon aligned with treachery. Grants +1 per 4 levels to the user that may also be applied to tasks involving treachery. Wounds caused by this weapon and not healed by magic will ache with cold for the rest of the persons life.

#8 Fas Ayelo -- The Southwind Blade -- A Shone Made flame tongue sword aligned with honor. Any task of honor associated with this weapon gets a +1 per bonus per 4 of the users levels.

#9 Vas Ayelo -- The Westwind blade also known as the Death Dealer. This weapon gains +1 per 4 users levels, does double damage to living things. Persons slain by this weapon cannot be raised in the same body . Also the bodies of those slain cannot be animated.

#10 Hahl Ayelo -- The Eastwind blade also known as the the Sunrise Sword. Gives off soft light equal to daylight (including its effects on undead) in a 20' radius. Its grants +1 per 4 levels to any task involving saving lives and this bonus does apply to AC!. Used in combat otherwise its a +1 weapons.

A Silly magic Item "Mercy's Sister"

A Magic Scythe I've never had time to use in game.

Mercy's Sister

This heavy black +1 weapon can be wielded as proficient by any bard . It gives off an invisible aura of mild despair that can be felt by all within 10 feet that has no game effect.
When wielded the user and his allies can also hear faint music. Carved on the side is an inscription "Hey Now, Hey Now Now Now" anyone finishing this phrase in song will active the scythes power and it will become a +3 acid scythe.

Price -- Mild Necromancy, Moderate Evocation CL12 34,500 (including Bardic Wielding)

Extra
For cruel DM fun, make your players actually RP the activation phrase. This will last till the party throws said item down the well or their books at you ;)

Pathfinder Content: Haflings of Midrea

Halflings almost didn't make the cut, no one plays them and they were a poor fit with the worlds original vibe. However I relented and thus were born the Shire Folk

Midrean Halflings are a pastoral people who live along a tributary of the river Arna. Their kingdom, as big as most, is lightly inhabited pastoral hills and valleys bounded by a thick Hedge of magical thorns and the Darkling Wood.

Attempts to enter the Shires en-mass by water seem to be thwarted by the river itself and despite the peaceful nature of the inhabitants, they can put up a nasty fight if attacked.

Typical Halflings are about 4 feet tall, shorter than Dwarves plump (around 95 lbs) and have furry feet. Females are about 2 inches shorter.

As a general rule they prefer good food and the comforts of home to adventure though there are of course exceptions.

They don't appear to have gods or divine casters though some Hedge Wizards and Herbalists with magic (variant druids) are known. They are also often fairly psychic.

Halfling marry for life and are generally honest tending to Lawful and Good Alignments.

Stats are as per Pathfinder.

Artifacts #6 The Three Staves

These artifacts, three staves, one black, one white, one gray ,are each exactly five feet tall. They are made of something like wood and are slightly warm to the touch. Each is carved with a myriad of runes of magic that seem to writhe and move but only to the bearer.

They combine the powers of a staff of the magi and a staff of power. Unlike either staff they do tell the user how many charges are in the staff and will not absorb more magic if the staff is overcharged. The ability can be used to determine the level of an incoming spell.

Also the staff can be used used in a retributive strike. The power functions as normal however it does not harm the staff.

Artifacts #5 Pact Stones

Stones of the Pact

These are fairly minor artifacts created during an alliance between men and elves. Both are polished beryl with a hole drilled through them. Like most artifacts they have some will of their own and will arrange to find a new owner when the time is right. Note though that the changes made to the Stone Bearers are permanent and will last even when the stones change owner

The "Stone of Man" grants the human racial abilities without supplanting native elven abilities to any elf who wears it. This gives the wearer more versatility, mental flexibility, an ability to lie and a measure of mental stability in addition to system appropriate abilities.

The "Stone of Elven" functions the same way but grants elven racial abilities to its chosen human wearer..

Lastly on the very rare occasion that a child is had between two pact stone bearers, the half elven child has all of the abilities of an elf, a half elf and a human and is always potentially a very powerful person.

Artifacts #4 Shard Weapons

These weapons, not all of them blades are minor artifacts that seem to be made from the idea of a weapon given form. Who made these weapons, when, how or why they were made is unknown but there are about fifty to a hundred of them known to exist, with more of them popping up in unusual places from time to time.

The resemble attractive unornamented though very well made weapons. Most are swords or knives although there are a few of them in other forms such as maces, axes or warhammers.

Shard Weapons are essentially unbreakable, cannot be enchanted or effected by any magic and gain +1 to hit and on damage. Most impressively they penetrate all defenses save structural ones (i.e the requirement for a blunt weapon when the weapon is edged) Since these weapons are essentially unbreakable its perfectly possible to find them in some very inaccessible location such as a monsters gullet or a pool of lava. Be warned ...

Artifacts #3 The Ever Ring

The Ever Ring

This distinctive ring is probably the most sought after item on Midrea and as such its ownership carries its own curse. Its a green ring wrapped with twining symbols of life in the shape of ivy chasing its own tail.

When worn the ring grants +5 to AC and saving throws (untyped) halts all aging, renders the wearer immune to disease and poison, regenerates 1HP per round as a ring of regeneration and functions both as a necklace of adaptation and a ring of sustenance.

Artifacts #2 Magisters Ring

Magisters Ring

When worn by a Wizard or other spell preparation based arcane caster, this adamant ring will dramatically increase their power doubling the spells that can be prepared at every spell level. In addition two additional powers are granted, First the wearer no longer needs a spellbook to prepare the spells they know and Second they automatically understand any arcane spell castable by their class they find, no roll required.