A haunted train, the gods’ retirement home, a spirit of vengeance who doesn’t know her purpose, a man guarding secrets he doesn’t remember, an ancient star brings a spaceship to life, and laws of the dead that prove tricky. Fireflies is a collection of short stories by Erica Lindquist and Aron Christensen.
After three years of writing for The RPGuide, we’ve talked a lot about running and playing role-playing games. Thank you for listening for all these years! This is a collection of our best and favorite articles from all three years of RPGuide posts. It includes three volumes of Loaded Dice, each one covering a year of our ramblings. There are sections on Storytelling, plotting and pacing your game, non-player characters (NPCs), game rules and mechanics, and advice for players to create characters and then play them in a team sport like RPGs. Whether you’re new to role-playing games or have been gaming for years, come learn from our mistakes and take advantage of our experience. Most of the posts included in this boxed set build on the ideas that we set out in our first guidebooks: My Guide to RPG Storytelling, My Storytelling Guide Companion, and From Dream to Dice. You don’t need to read them, but it might help.
I’ve been running role-playing games for thirty years, but am relatively new to playing them. Erica’s rolled up dozens of characters, but has only a few Storytelling experiences under her belt. Together, we’ve written a blog about what we learned, the challenges we have to overcome, and all the solutions we’ve come up with to keep an RPG campaign going – The RPGuide. This is a collection of our best and favorite articles from the first year and a half year of RPGuide posts. We’ve got advice for handling players, building NPCs, and we debate rules and play styles. If you’re an old hand at role-playing, maybe you’ll find a new trick to put up your sleeve, or a fresh way of looking at gaming. And if you’re new to RPGs, then you’re welcome to learn from our mistakes and take advantage of our experience. You’ve probably read My Guide to RPG Storytelling, the Companion, or maybe From Dream to Dice, and that’s what brought you around to this little collection. But if this is your first RPGuidebook, welcome! Don’t worry, you don’t need to read any of the others first – Loaded Dice can be used on its own. We’ll even begin with a “What the heck is a table-top role-playing game?” chapter. So let’s play!
After two years of writing for The RPGuide, we’ve talked a lot about running and playing role-playing games. So this is a collection of our best and favorite articles from the second year of RPGuide posts. This volume of Loaded Dice has sections on Storytelling, plotting and pacing your game – including romantic arcs – more about non-player characters (NPCs), juggling game rules and mechanics, and advice for players to create characters and then play them in a team sport like RPGs. Whether you’re new to role-playing games or have been gaming for years, come learn from our mistakes and take advantage of our experience. We recommend reading at least the first Loaded Dice, but also consider My Guide to RPG Storytelling, My Storytelling Guide Companion, or From Dream to Dice.
After three years of writing for The RPGuide, we’ve talked a lot about running and playing role-playing games. Thank you for listening for all these years! This is a collection of our best and favorite articles from the third year of RPGuide posts. It includes sections on Storytelling, plotting and pacing your game, non-player characters (NPCs), game rules and mechanics, and advice for players to create characters and then play them in a team sport like RPGs. Whether you’re new to role-playing games or have been gaming for years, come learn from our mistakes and take advantage of our experience. We recommend reading at least the first Loaded Dice, but also consider My Guide to RPG Storytelling, My Storytelling Guide Companion, or From Dream to Dice. You don’t need to read them, but it might help.
A chance for escape becomes a chance for redemption. Maeve Cavainna is running and her wings won’t save her. The infamous bounty hunter, Logan Coldhand, chases close behind her and intends to drag Maeve back to the planet of Axis to collect the high price on her head. When he finally corners her, the long chase seems to be over… until a frightened alien girl stumbles into their fight and begs for their protection. Maeve and Logan call a reluctant end to their battle and promise to help the girl, but they have agreed to far more than they know. Can the fragile peace between hunter and mark hold long enough to save the lives that depend on them? Crucible of Stars is the first book of the Reforged Trilogy. It was previously published as Anvil of Tears.
Hello and welcome back to our fifth volume of Loaded Dice! How did we get to five of these things? Thank you to everyone who reads our blog and these collections of our favorite articles. By now, you know the deal. Loaded Dice 5 has the all usual sections on Storytelling, plotting and pacing your RPG, non-player characters (NPCs), juggling game rules and mechanics, and advice for players about creating characters and then playing them in a team sport like role-playing games. So let’s play!
After six years of writing for The RPGuide, we’ve talked a lot about running and playing role-playing games. Thank you for reading all this time! This is a collection of our best and favorite articles from years 4 - 6 of RPGuide posts. It includes sections on Storytelling, plotting and pacing your RPG, non-player characters (NPCs), game rules and mechanics, and advice for players to create characters and then play them in a team sport like RPGs. Whether you’re new to role-playing games or have been gaming for years, come learn from our mistakes and take advantage of our experience.
After six years of writing for The RPGuide, we’ve talked a lot about running and playing role-playing games. Thank you for reading all this time! This is a collection of our best and favorite articles from year six of RPGuide posts. It includes sections on Storytelling, plotting and pacing your RPG, non-player characters (NPCs), game rules and mechanics, and advice for players to create characters and then play them in a team sport like RPGs. Whether you’re new to role-playing games or have been gaming for years, come learn from our mistakes and take advantage of our experience.
He is not the hero they remember. This is not the world he knew. Thirty years have passed since the bloody battle of Njorn Pass, since Rikard Mazrem traded his life away to the Alterra to save his dying men. Defeat became victory and an empire was born. For decades, the people of Carce have revered Rikard as a hero. But now Rikard has returned to find the world changed. Or perhaps he is the one who has changed…
This boxed set includes all three books of the Reforged Trilogy, plus four short stories. - Crucible of Stars - A chance for escape becomes a chance for redemption. Maeve Cavainna is running and her wings won’t save her. The infamous bounty hunter, Logan Coldhand, chases close behind her and intends to drag Maeve back to the planet of Axis to collect the high price on her head. When he finally corners her, the long chase seems to be over… until a frightened alien girl stumbles into their fight and begs for their protection. Maeve and Logan call a reluctant end to their battle and promise to help the girl, but they have agreed to far more than they know. Can the fragile peace between hunter and mark hold long enough to save the lives that depend on them? - Sword of Dreams - Death isn’t done with them. For a church dedicated to the worship of death, the Cult of Nihil stubbornly refuses to die. When word reaches the bounty hunter who calls himself Logan Coldhand that the Central World Alliance is willing to pay for members of the congregation, he takes the job. Perhaps chasing death will help him recapture the thrill of the hunt, lost ever since the mark that got away. Halfway across the galaxy, Maeve and the rest of the Blue Phoenix crew are still struggling to rebuild their lives after a devastating encounter with the Nihilists. But when Captain Myles agrees to take on what should be a simple job – flying a team of archaeologists to the remote planet of Prianus – they find themselves pitted against old enemies and ancient terrors. - Forged - Before Maeve and the crew of the Blue Phoenix make their desperate bid to reforge the galaxy, each of them were first forged themselves in the crucible of galactic events. Forged includes four short stories that take place before Crucible of Stars and the rest of the Reforged Trilogy. - Purity: Maeve Cavainna was once a knight of Arcadia. How did she fall so far? - Little Hawk: A story of honor and childhood on Prianus. - Beauty By Night: An art thief seeks to recapture his humanity. - Songs and Sigils in Space: Tiberius hires a destitute fairy and the crew of the Blue Phoenix has a deadly – but profitable – encounter with the Nnyth. - Hammer of Time - Time heals all wounds. Duaal Sinnay may have banished Xartasia and the Devourers from Prianus, but they’re not gone. Maeve has gone to warn the Central World Alliance, but they have no interest in fairy tales and stories of monsters. So when rumors start of a mysterious White Queen promising the return of Arcadia, the Alliance takes no notice. Now it falls to the crew of the Blue Phoenix to discover what is happening. Maeve has little doubt that Xartasia is this White Queen, but if that’s true, then how can Devourers help her to bring back the kingdom that they themselves destroyed a century ago? Whatever the answer, it promises nothing good for the rest of the galaxy…
Death isn’t done with them. For a church dedicated to the worship of death, the Cult of Nihil stubbornly refuses to die. When word reaches the bounty hunter who calls himself Logan Coldhand that the Central World Alliance is willing to pay for members of the congregation, he takes the job. Perhaps chasing death will help him recapture the thrill of the hunt, lost ever since the mark that got away. Halfway across the galaxy, Maeve and the rest of the Blue Phoenix crew are still struggling to rebuild their lives after a devastating encounter with the Nihilists. But when Captain Myles agrees to take on what should be a simple job – flying a team of archaeologists to the remote planet of Prianus – they find themselves pitted against old enemies and ancient terrors. Sword of Dreams is the second book of the Reforged Trilogy.
After four years of writing for The RPGuide, we’ve talked a lot about running and playing role-playing games. Thank you for listening for all these years! This is a collection of our best and favorite articles from the fourth year of RPGuide posts. It includes sections on Storytelling, plotting and pacing your game, non-player characters (NPCs), game rules and mechanics, and advice for players to create characters and then play them in a team sport like RPGs. Whether you’re new to role-playing games or have been gaming for years, come learn from our mistakes and take advantage of our experience. We recommend reading at least the first Loaded Dice, but also consider My Guide to RPG Storytelling, My Storytelling Guide Companion, or From Dream to Dice. You don’t need to read them, but it might help.
A table-top role-playing game (TTRPG) combines improvisation, tactical gaming, and dramatic stories into a unique pastime that is gaining a well-deserved mainstream audience. There's never been a better time to pick up role-playing, but how to choose what game? There are so many game genres waiting for you, from high fantasy to science fiction and urban fantasy to high school romance and cosmic horror – plus everything beyond and in between. Many gaming systems pick one of these genres to help you build and enjoy a campaign, but every different system and every genre has something to offer. But Snake Eyes is a role-playing system designed to be flexible and to engage your creativity in building games and characters for any genre! A versatile magic system allows for epic fantasy, a mecha-construction system lets you create your own giant robots or science fiction starships, and a martial arts system gives you all the tools you need for an anime-style campaign! Snake Eyes supports any genre of game, but also different levels of complexity. For a simple game, use the stats only. Comfortable with that? Then add in skills. You can play with or without maps, or even without round-by-round combat at all with our crisis system. Or jump right into the middle of it all with traits and complications, custom attacks and equipment! The Snake Eyes system gives players and Storytellers alike not just the pieces to create campaigns, but guidelines for creating custom traits, complications and more. After all, no game system should limit your imagination.
A science fiction anthology unlike any other. With 10 stories from 11 Minnesota authors and graphic artists, "Cifiscape Vol. II" provides a vision of what the future of the Twin Cities could look like.
Before Maeve and the crew of the Blue Phoenix make their desperate bid to reforge the galaxy, each of them were first forged themselves in the crucible of galactic events. Forged includes four short stories that take place before Crucible of Stars and the rest of the Reforged Trilogy. Suggested order of reading is after Sword of Dreams in order to be familiar with all of the characters involved. Purity: Maeve Cavainna was once a knight of Arcadia. How did she fall so far? Little Hawk: A story of honor and childhood on Prianus. Originally published in Sword of Dreams. Beauty By Night: An art thief seeks to recapture his humanity. Songs and Sigils in Space: Tiberius hires a destitute fairy and the crew of the Blue Phoenix has a deadly – but profitable – encounter with the Nnyth.
Time heals all wounds. Duaal Sinnay may have banished Xartasia and the Devourers from Prianus, but they’re not gone. Maeve has gone to warn the Central World Alliance, but they have no interest in fairy tales and stories of monsters. So when rumors start of a mysterious White Queen promising the return of Arcadia, the Alliance takes no notice. Now it falls to the crew of the Blue Phoenix to discover what is happening. Maeve has little doubt that Xartasia is this White Queen, but if that’s true, then how can Devourers help her to bring back the kingdom that they themselves destroyed a century ago? Whatever the answer, it promises nothing good for the rest of the galaxy… Hammer of Time is the third book of the Reforged Trilogy.
Death is not an alibi. There are laws that even the dead must obey. No hijacking the bodies of the living. No possessing the dead. And never speak of the Dark. It's the job of Police Exorcist Arphallo Sirus and his murdered partner, Sam Trent, to enforce these laws. Their job on the Dead Beat has always been a tough one, but now it's become nearly impossible as the ghosts and the living alike tear the worlds apart in search of answers to the mysteries of life and death. The Dead Beat is a short story serial.
A collection of articles from the RPGuide. We've got advice for handling players, building NPCs, and we debate rules and play styles. If you're an old hand at role-playing, maybe you'll find a new trick to put up your sleeve, or a fresh look at gaming. If you're new to RPGs, then learn from our mistakes and take advantage of our experience.
Xartasia is still out there somewhere, with the Devourers by her side and some design that Maeve can only guess at. She has pled their case to the CWAAF, but the Alliance isn't listening to rumors and ghost stories of monsters more than a hundred years gone. So it falls to Maeve, Logan and the crew of the Blue Phoenix to stop Xartasia. But how can they stop the unfolding of a plan they know nothing about? Hammer of Time is the final book of the Reforged Trilogy.
A chance for escape becomes a chance for redemption. Maeve Cavainna is running and her wings won’t save her. The infamous bounty hunter, Logan Coldhand, chases close behind her and intends to drag Maeve back to the planet of Axis to collect the high price on her head. When he finally corners her, the long chase seems to be over… until a frightened alien girl stumbles into their fight and begs for their protection. Maeve and Logan call a reluctant end to their battle and promise to help the girl, but they have agreed to far more than they know. Can the fragile peace between hunter and mark hold long enough to save the lives that depend on them? Crucible of Stars is the first book of the Reforged Trilogy. It was previously published as Anvil of Tears.
A table-top role-playing game (TTRPG) combines improvisation, tactical gaming, and dramatic stories into a unique pastime that is gaining a well-deserved mainstream audience. There's never been a better time to pick up role-playing, but how to choose what game? There are so many game genres waiting for you, from high fantasy to science fiction and urban fantasy to high school romance and cosmic horror – plus everything beyond and in between. Many gaming systems pick one of these genres to help you build and enjoy a campaign, but every different system and every genre has something to offer. But Snake Eyes is a role-playing system designed to be flexible and to engage your creativity in building games and characters for any genre! A versatile magic system allows for epic fantasy, a mecha-construction system lets you create your own giant robots or science fiction starships, and a martial arts system gives you all the tools you need for an anime-style campaign! Snake Eyes supports any genre of game, but also different levels of complexity. For a simple game, use the stats only. Comfortable with that? Then add in skills. You can play with or without maps, or even without round-by-round combat at all with our crisis system. Or jump right into the middle of it all with traits and complications, custom attacks and equipment! The Snake Eyes system gives players and Storytellers alike not just the pieces to create campaigns, but guidelines for creating custom traits, complications and more. After all, no game system should limit your imagination.
He is not the hero they remember. This is not the world he knew. Thirty years have passed since the bloody battle of Njorn Pass, since Rikard Mazrem traded his life away to the Alterra to save his dying men. Defeat became victory and an empire was born. For decades, the people of Carce have revered Rikard as a hero. But now Rikard has returned to find the world changed. Or perhaps he is the one who has changed…
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