This is horror material for a game system which was included in a less specialised bundle, Leagues of Adventure:

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/GothicLeagues

"The Leagues of Gothic Horror setting presents occult Victorian and Lovecraftian adventures for the Leagues of Adventure RPG from Triple Ace Games. In occult adventures using the Ubiquity rules system, globetrotting members of the Leagues of Adventure confront restless spirits in haunted houses, shapeshifters in deep forests, and mummies in fog-shrouded streets.

Ubiquity is less freeform than Fate Core, but not as crunchy as Savage Worlds. You can use any dice at all -- d4s, d6s, d20s, whatever. Your attributes and skills determine the size of your dice pool (how many dice to roll), and a success is a 50-50 chance on each die. A success can be an even result, or odd, or 1-3 on a d6, or any other method that provides an even chance. This mix of structure, flexibility, and player control lets you run fast-moving games that focus on cinematic action, ease of play, and roleplaying.

Triple Ace has funded its Gothic Horror line in a sequence of well-received Kickstarters: the original June 2015 Leagues of Gothic Horror campaign, Shapeshifters & Vampires (June 2016), Leagues of Cthulhu (Oct 2016), Ministry and Mordavia (April 2017), and Ghost Writer (Sept 2018). This Leagues of Gothic Horror Bundle presents the complete Leagues of Adventure rulebook and a dozen setting sourcebooks dripping with Hammer-film atmosphere.

We provide each ebook complete in .PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and our customers are entitled to move them freely among all their ereaders.

Ten percent of each purchase (after gateway fees) goes to the charity designated by Triple Ace Games, the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The total retail value of the titles in this offer at launch is US$142. Customers who pay just US$9.95 get all four titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $53) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including Leagues of Adventure (previously in our December 2015 Ubiquity Bundle), the complete Leagues of Gothic Horror setting book (and its Edgar Allan Poe appendix), and Guide to Mordavia: Land of Horror.

Those who pay more than the threshold (average) price, which is set at $19.95 to start, also get our entire Bonus Collection with no less than eight more guides worth an additional $89, including Leagues of Cthulhu, the Leagues of Gothic Horror Expansion, The Ministry of Unusual Affairs, Wicked Science, Black Magic, and three Gothic Horror monster guides: Shapeshifters, Apparitions, and Mummies."

At least one more title will be added later: "When a title is added after launch, ALL customers who previously purchased the bundle automatically receive the newly added title, REGARDLESS of whether or not they paid more than average. This is their reward for buying early."

As I recall it, the previous Leagues of Adventure game took a fairly kitchen-sink approach, throwing in bits from every possible genre. This seems to be a bit more specialised, but it's still a system that's trying to cover a lot of ground. And I have to be honest, when the most notable thing mentioned about a game system is the number and type of dice it uses, as in the second paragraph above, I find myself wondering why I would want to use it rather than any other horror system. Having said that; like all of these bundles there's a lot of stuff for the money, and it may be interesting if you're already using the system for other things.
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I just saw in James Nicoll's blog that Greg Stafford, one of the all-time greats of game design, died on Thursday. He's responsible for Runequest, Call of Cthulhu, and a whole shedload of other games based on the Basic Role Playing system used for Runequest, and of course founder of Chaosium Inc. which published them. I wrote for him a few times and met him at several conventions, and he was always a pleasure to talk to. He'll be greatly missed.

https://www.chaosium.com/blogvale-greg-stafford-1948-2018/

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My bread machine just died on me - I think the gears have stripped or something.

What I may do is buy one from one of my local charity shops, which still sells electrical goods and often seems to have one or two cheap, often unused - I think they are high on the list of duplicate wedding presents. If they don't have any, or have some choices, does anyone have any recommendations for a replacement? I want something that will do a full-sized loaf but nothing too fancy.

Also posted at https://ffutures.dreamwidth.org/2137059.html, where there are comments. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Continuing my Harry Potter / DC crossover, previous parts on any of these archives:

On Fanfiction.net
On Archive of Our Own
On Twisting the Hellmouth

( Carmen Avis!Collapse )

Comments please before I post to archives.

Also posted at https://ffutures.dreamwidth.org/2136766.html, where there are comments. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Another bundle offer, as usual for October this one is horror:

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/PalladiumHorror

This all-new Palladium Horror Bundle, part of our annual "October Horrors" sequence," presents RPGs of contemporary terror from Palladium Books. Whether you play the everyday heroes touched by forces Beyond the Supernatural,™ the superhuman otherdimensional shapeshifters called the Nightbane,® or the hapless survivors of the zombie apocalypse where the Dead Reign,® all the standalone RPGs and their supplements in this bargain-priced collection work well with every game based on Palladium's Megaversal rules system.

Ten percent of each purchase (after gateway fees) goes to this offer's designated charity, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The total retail value of the titles in this offer is US$95.50. Customers who pay just US$9.95 get all four titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $45) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including Beyond the Supernatural™ Second Edition (2005), Nightbane,® Dead Reign,® and the Dead Reign sourcebook Civilization Gone.

Those who pay more than the threshold (average) price, which is set at $18.95 to start, also get our entire Bonus Collection with five more supplements worth an additional $50.50, including four Nightbane World Books (Between the Shadows, Nightlands,™ Through the Glass Darkly, and the Nightbane Survival Guide) as well as another Dead Reign sourcebook, Dark Places.

I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not a big fan of the Palladium system, and this one is no exception. But if you like it, or want as many horror games as possible, this looks like a reasonable deal. As usual your mileage may vary.

Also posted at https://ffutures.dreamwidth.org/2136424.html, where there are comments. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Continuing my Harry Potter / DC crossover, previous parts on any of these archives:

On Fanfiction.net
On Archive of Our Own
On Twisting the Hellmouth

( Muggle-Borns Under The BedCollapse )

Comments please before I post to archives.

Also posted at https://ffutures.dreamwidth.org/2136253.html, where there are comments. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

This is from the Humble Bundle people again, and looks very cheap for what you get. I own all that I want of it in dead tree format, so I won't be taking this one up.

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/vampire-the-masquerade-rpg-books

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Two horror RPG settings deriving their backgrounds from the first and second world wars:

Weird War I

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/WeirdWarOne

"Weird War I is the latest Savage Worlds battleground in Pinnacle Entertainment's Weird Wars series of historical-horror campaign settings. In this Weird War I Bundle -- the first offer in this year's "October Horrors" sequence -- the intrepid soldiers, sailors, airmen, and civilians of 1914-18 must struggle against ancient evils unleashed in the Great War to End All Wars. (By the way, this year is the centennial of the Armistice.) This is one of two new Weird Wars offers now in progress. The companion offer, the Weird War II Bundle, presents the Savage Worlds and d20 System titles in Pinnacle's World War II setting.

We provide each ebook complete in .PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and our customers are entitled to move them freely among all their ereaders.
Ten percent of each purchase for these two Weird Wars offers (after gateway fees) goes to the charity chosen by Pinnacle Entertainment, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

This all-new offer, with a total retail value of US$92, presents almost the entire line of Savage Worlds sourcebooks and supplements funded in Pinnacle's successful February 2016 Weird War I Kickstarter campaign as DRM-free .PDF ebooks. Customers who pay just $9.95 get all eight titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $45), including the Weird War I Player's Guide and War Master's Handbook (plus the free Savage Worlds Test Drive rules), five collections of Weird War I Archetypes (pregenerated characters), and the print-and fold Horrors of Weird War I Figure Flats character standups.

Those who pay more than this offer's threshold (average) price, which is set at $19.95 to start, also get this offer's entire Bonus Collection with ten more titles worth an additional $47, including five Weird War I adventures (Raid on Fort Douaumont, The 13th Warrior, Hellfighters, In Vino Veritas, and No Man's Land), four Combat Maps (Bridge, No Man's Land, Trenches, and Village), and the War Master Screen Inserts of useful reference charts for Pinnacle's Customizable Gamemaster Screen."

At least one more title will be added later. "When a title is added after launch, ALL customers who previously purchased this bundle automatically receive the newly added title, REGARDLESS of whether or not they paid more than average. This is their reward for buying early."

Weird War II

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/WeirdWarTwo

"This all-new Weird War II Bundle presents Pinnacle Entertainment's Weird Wars campaign setting of supernatural horror in World War II. Weird War II debuted in 2000 for the d20 rules system, and in 2009 Pinnacle followed up with a new WWII core setting book and supplements for its fast-furious-fun Savage Worlds RPG. Part of this year's "October Horrors" sequence of horror roleplaying games, this collection presents all the books in both the Savage Worlds and d20 lines for a bargain price.

This is one of two new Weird Wars offers now in progress. The companion offer, the Weird War I Bundle, presents Pinnacle's World War I setting for Savage Worlds.

We provide each ebook complete in .PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and our customers are entitled to move them freely among all their ereaders.

Ten percent of each purchase for these two Weird Wars offers (after gateway fees) goes to the charity chosen by Pinnacle Entertainment, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The total retail value of the titles in this offer is US$78.50. Customers who pay just US$7.95 get all three titles in this offer's Savage Collection (retail value $28.50) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including the Weird War II core setting book, the adventure Island of Dreams, and the three-part miniatures campaign Ardennes of Darkness (and we include the free Savage Showdown miniatures skirmish rules).

Those who pay more than this offer's threshold (average) price, which is set at $17.95 to start, also get this offer's entire d20 Collection with seven more titles worth an additional $50 that cover every theatre of World War II. Try to guess each book's subject from its striking title: Blood on the Rhine, Afrika Korpse, Hell Freezes Over, Land of the Rising Dead, Dead From Above, and Hell in the Hedgerows. (We also include the Horrors of Weird War II bestiary.)"

There don't appear to be any surprise extras for this one.


These are interesting if you like role playing in a wartime setting; the snag is that I tend to regard war as horrible enough that I don't really want to run RPGs with that background. I'm also not happy with the idea that the horrors of war need a supernatural explanation, since it deflects blame from the human monsters who are really responsible. It's also worth mentioning that there are at least two alternatives, GURPS WW2 (mostly concentrating on real history and technology but providing a framework for other types of action) and Achtung! Cthulhu, which is definitely on the horrific end of the scale. If you already use either system you may find it preferable.

Having said that, you are as usual getting a lot for your money. It's not entirely to my taste, but as usual opinions differ.
 

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Continuing my Harry Potter / DC crossover, previous parts on any of these archives:

On Fanfiction.net
On Archive of Our Own
On Twisting the Hellmouth


( No FateCollapse )

Comments please before I post to archives.

Also posted at https://ffutures.dreamwidth.org/2135307.html, where there are comments. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Tunnels and Trolls is the second fantasy RPG system ever published, using streamlined rules that somehow never became as popular as Dungeons and Dragons.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/TunnelsAndTrolls

"This offer presents the vintage Flying Buffalo FRPG Tunnels & Trolls -- the second fantasy RPG ever published -- in its 2015 Deluxe version, plus a slew of solitaire and gamemastered adventures from across all editions. Since its original publication in 1975, Tunnels & Trolls has stayed continuously in print, has never changed publisher or lead designer, and has remained rules-compatible across all editions -- an unequalled longevity record.

T&T emphasizes roleplaying and gamemaster rulings over charts and reference books. In straightforward dungeon crawls, play is quick and exuberant. T&T is known, perhaps notorious, for its bumptious sense of humor, seen most prominently in its naming of spells, such as "Oh Go Away," "Alaka-Scram," "Poor Baby" (a healing spell), "Upsydaisy," and "Take That You Fiend." In a December 2009 Grognardia retrospective, Old School Revival blogger James Maliszewski confessed the spell names, in particular, made him snobbish about T&T in his early years: "Whimsy and humor were antithetical to 'serious roleplaying,' and so games that evinced either were seen as unfit for play by discerning gamers. [...] If I were to pick a single mistake I made in my gaming education to call 'tragic,' it would be my rejection of Tunnels & Trolls back when I had the chance to become better acquainted with it. [...] I've been missing quite a lot. T&T is a very cleverly designed game: complete, simple, and flexible, yet easily expandable. It's not math-heavy and looks to be quite amenable to the kind of off-the-cuff gaming I enjoy these days. It's also unambiguously old-school, as its rules demand both player cleverness and referee adjudication for satisfying use. [...]

"Older and wiser now, I no longer see silliness as necessarily antithetical to seriousness. Indeed, I often think it's an important complement to it. My games nowadays are filled with whimsical asides and comedic moments, in addition to grim and perilous encounters and philosophical musings. This isn't an either/or situation, at least not in the way I used to think it had to be. Gaming is supposed to be, above all else, fun and, reading T&T, you can tell that author Ken St. Andre had a lot of fun with his creation. That's as it should be with any RPG and, while I don't think Tunnels & Trolls should become a model for all other RPGs any more than I think that of OD&D, I do think the hobby might be a more enjoyable place for all if the ethos of T&T were more widely imitated. That, for me, is the greatest lesson I took away from my investigations into this venerable game, whose community, while smaller than that of my own preferred system, is no less enthusiastic, creative, and open to newcomers. [...] I still don't like the spell names, though."

T&T is famous for its solitaire pick-a-path dungeon crawls. Flying Buffalo produced the first solo RPG adventure ever -- Buffalo Castle -- and followed with dozens more. This Tunnels & Trolls Bundle presents Buffalo Castle and no less than ten more solos -- most in their recently upgraded Deluxe editions -- along with several gamemastered modules, the 2015 Deluxe rulebook (funded in a powerhouse January 2013 Kickstarter campaign), and Ken St. Andre's standalone spinoff game Monsters! Monsters!

We provide each ebook complete in .PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and our customers are entitled to move them freely among all their ereaders.

Ten percent of each purchase (after gateway fees) goes to this offer's designated charity, the RPG Creators Relief Fund.

The total retail value of the titles in this offer at launch is US$91. Customers who pay just US$7.95 get all twelve titles in our Solitaire Collection (retail value $47) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks:

• A fun 64-page manga-style set of Tunnels & Trolls quickstart rules, produced by T&T Adventures Japan (where T&T is big) and presented here in English translation. A perfect intro to the game, this booklet gives all the rules you need to play the solos in this collection, plus a solitaire and two gamemastered scenarios.
• Four starting T&T solos: Battle School, Sea of Mystery, Sorcerer Solitaire, and the first solo RPG adventure ever published for any game, Buffalo Castle.
• Three mid-level T&T solos: Agent of Death, Naked Doom, and Sewers of Oblivion.
• Three killer T&T solos: Arena of Khazan, Deathtrap Equalizer Dungeon, and perhaps the most fondly remembered of all the solos, Michael A. Stackpole's City of Terrors.
• Goblin Lake (previously presented in our November 2016 Old School Revival 4).

Those who pay more than the threshold (average) price, which is set at $17.95 to start, also get our entire Gamemaster Collection with eight more titles worth an additional $45:

• The latest and greatest version of the rules, the complete 386-page Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls core rulebook (2015), plus the Deluxe GM Screen (both previously in the OSR 4 offer).
• Monsters! Monsters!: Ken St. Andre's standalone spinoff game, based on T&T, that lets you play the monsters, guarding your dungeon home from so-called heroic intruders.
• Adventurers Compendium: An 88-page collection of nine solo adventures and three gamemastered scenarios unearthed from Sorcerer's Apprentice magazine.
• Four classic T&T gamemastered scenarios: The Complete Dungeon of the Bear, Dwarf World, Seven Challenges of Kartejan, and Uncle Ugly's Underground Doom.

At least one additional title will be added after launch; "When a title is added after launch, ALL customers who previously purchased the bundle automatically receive the newly added title, REGARDLESS of whether or not they paid more than average. This is their reward for buying early."
 

Tunnels & Trolls resources

• The official Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls website
• T&T designer Ken St. Andre's current Tunnels & Trolls blog and his older blog (well, one of them), Atroll's Entertainment
• Liz Danforth's Oakheart website and her Mages and Sages Patreon page
• Gristlegrim's Floating Fortress
• Vin's T&T Trollbridge (fan forum)
• Eposic, the Troll Mystic
• Garen's Tunnels & Trolls
• Darrgh's Den
• The Radio Free Trollworld Yahoo Group has been running since 2000!

I only played T&T a couple of times, since everyone I knew was using D&D, but it does have a lot going for it if you want a fantasy system with an emphasis on dungeon-bashing and don't mind its sense of humour. It works reasonably well, it's a fairly streamlined system that can be picked up fairly easily, and it only uses six-sided dice, always a hit with those who don't like endless confusing polyhedra. It isn't really my preferred style of gaming any more, but for those who do like this sort of thing there's a lot for your money, and some good stuff in the bundle and available on line for the system.
 

Also posted at https://ffutures.dreamwidth.org/2135209.html, where there are comments. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

I'm going to go with this for the cover picture, I think - I've wasted about as much time on it as I can justify, it's good enough. Found a nice font on line (and promptly lost the web site...)
( coverCollapse )
Also posted at https://ffutures.dreamwidth.org/2135033.html, where there are comments. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Behind the cut - again, let me know which you prefer. Used Photoshop this time.

( big picturesCollapse )


Any thoughts?

Also posted at https://ffutures.dreamwidth.org/2134727.html, where there are comments. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Two possible illustrations for Harry Potter and the Half-God Prince - which do people prefer?

( two big picturesCollapse )

Basically, I want to put one of them at the start of the first chapter on archives that allow it.

Filters from Microsoft Picture It! which was still a free download the last time I looked.
Also posted at https://ffutures.dreamwidth.org/2134448.html, where there are comments. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Continuing my Harry Potter / DC crossover, first part at any of these archives:

On Fanfiction.net
On Archive of Our Own
On Twisting the Hellmouth
( II: A Bit ComplicatedCollapse ) Also posted at https://ffutures.dreamwidth.org/2134095.html, where there are comments. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Another RPG bundle, two RPGs - Nobilis, which I've heard about but never played, and a spin-off for games in the style of Japanese animation etc., Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine. To make this clearer, the cheaper offer is Chubbo's..., the more expensive version includes Nobilis.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/NobilisChuubo

"This offer presents .PDF ebooks of two landmark indie RPGs by star designer Jenna Moran (Exalted, Weapons of the Gods). Among 2,600 rules sets in RPG.net's comprehensive Game Index, Jenna's Nobilis, the diceless RPG of demigodlike Powers (think Sandman's The Endless or Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality), ranks #1. And Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine adapts the Nobilis system for a warm-hearted RPG of heroic innocents in the style of Miyazaki films like Spirited Away and shows like Adventure Time. We provide each ebook complete in .PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and our customers are entitled to move them freely among all their ereaders.
Ten percent of each purchase (after gateway fees) goes to the charity designated by Nobilis and Chuubo's designer Jenna Moran, the Trevor Project.

The total retail value of the titles in this offer at launch is US$90. Customers who pay just US$9.95 get all six titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $50) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including the complete 578-page Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine rulebook (previously presented in our November 2014 Indie Cornucopia +2), its supplements Fortitude and the Techno Player's Guide, the Chuubo's Quest and Issue Cards, and the illuminating extended play example Finding Home.
Those who pay more than the threshold (average) price, which is set at $17.95 to start, also get our entire Bonus Collection with four more titles worth an additional $45:

• Nobilis: The Game of Sovereign Powers Second Edition (2002): This .PDF re-presents the gorgeous 304-page "Great White Book" originally by Hogshead Publishing, winner of an Origins Award for Best Graphic Presentation. Includes the free rules expansion Unlikely Flowerings. (We presented the 2011 Third Edition of Nobilis in the Cornucopia +2.)
• Fortitude: The Glass-Maker's Dragon: A massive 562-page Chuubo's campaign, set in the beautiful hometown of Fortitude, that will keep you busy reaching for your dreams for years.
• Fortitude: The Legendary 139: A campaign about the extraordinary passengers who sailed into port on the day the sun died."

At least one more title will be added after launch. "When a title is added after launch, ALL customers who previously purchased the bundle automatically receive the newly added title, REGARDLESS of whether or not they paid more than average. This is their reward for buying early."

Nobilis and Chuubo's resources

• Jenna Moran's author site, The Jewel of All Desiring, and her longtime (recently relocated) blog Hitherby Dragons
• Jenna Moran's Patreon page
• Nobilis on RPGgeek and the RPG.net Game Index
• 'How to explain Nobilis to new players?' (Stack Exchange)
• Editable .PDF character sheets for Nobilis 2E (The Modern Nomad)
• 'Wind in the Flowers': On RPG.net in 2002, Jenna Moran wrote (under the pseudonym R. Sean Borgstrom) a series of columns about the development of Nobilis Second Edition, the 'Great White Book'
• Nobilis Wikia (not much there)
• Across 11 years on the RPG.net forum, Nobilis has spawned (at last count) eleven 'elegant discussion threads' of a thousand posts apiece. Here's the first, the 'Elegant Anticipation Thread' (2007); here's the latest, 'v11.0' (2018); and here are all 15 pages of RPG.net forum threads tagged 'nobilis'
• Jenna Moran's Chuubo's Tumblog, where she answers questions from players
• The Glass-Maker's Archive (Chuubo's fan site on Wikidot)

This sounds interesting; my impression is that they're games aimed at more cerebral players, able to role-play really weird characters and think well outside the box, people whose idea of RPGs is number crunching and kicking open dungeon doors will probably hate them. The price is good, though as usual I have to point out that I don't have to pay it if I want this stuff, so your mileage may vary.
Also posted at https://ffutures.dreamwidth.org/2133887.html, where there are comments. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

No, not a Percy Jackson crossover, it's DC universe so should be fairly obvious, if not you'll know by the end of this first chapter...

I: The Antikythera Mechanism

( I: The Antikythera MechanismCollapse )

Comments please before I post to archives


Also posted at https://ffutures.dreamwidth.org/2133708.html, where there are comments. Please comment here or there using OpenID.

Two bundle offers for Pendragon, possibly the best Arthurian RPG, one a repeat, the other all-new:

King Arthur Pendragon

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/KAP2018

"This is a revival (the third) of our June 2014 offer featuring one of the most honored and respected RPGs ever published, King Arthur Pendragon. This revival runs in parallel with an all-new companion, Estates and Uther, that presents recent KAP supplements.

King Arthur Pendragon is the crowning achievement of legendary designer Greg Stafford (founder of Chaosium and discoverer of Glorantha), Pendragon isn't just a game about Arthurian Britain -- it is a painstakingly researched, amazingly detailed game with mechanics built specifically to support play as one of the noble, passionate, and ultimately tragic Knights of the Round Table. In the comprehensive RPG.net Game Index of over 19,200 tabletop RPGs, King Arthur Pendragon ranks #5. Pendragon is a rarity in the roleplaying world, a work of authentic scholarship.

Chaosium first published Pendragon in 1985. Since then, it has remained continuously in print through several revisions and several publishers, most recently Nocturnal Media, co-founded in 2010 by the late Stewart Wieck. This revival of the original June 2014 offer (the third revival, following those in December 2014 and July 2017) presents Nocturnal's current, comprehensive "Edition 5.2" rulebook (2016).

We provide each ebook complete in .PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and our customers are entitled to move them freely among all their ereaders.

Ten percent of each purchase (after gateway fees) goes to these two Pendragon offers' designated charity, the RPG Creators Relief Fund.

The total retail value of the titles in this offer is US$129. Customers who pay just US$12.95 get all six titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $57) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks:

• King Arthur Pendragon (retail price $20): The most current (Edition 5.2) version of the clasic core rules for playing knights in Britain.
• Book of Knights & Ladies (retail $20): Create characters from 100 different places in Britain or ten foreign lands, and from a dozen religions.
• Tales of Chivalry & Romance (retail $6): Five short adventures about the knightly code of chivalry and the high art of romance.
• Tales of Magic & Miracles (retail $6): Adventures in fantastic and holy realms, including a prelude to the Grail Quest.
• Book of Records Volume 1 - Knights (retail $5): Form-fillable, auto-calculating .PDF character and estate sheets.

Those who pay more than the threshold (average) price, which is set at $22.95 to start, also get our entire Bonus Collection with four more titles worth an additional $72:

• The Great Pendragon Campaign (retail $25): Greg Stafford's multi-generation saga with over 100 adventures across 85 years, stretching from before Arthur is conceived to beyond his death. Of over 7,500 entries in the RPGgeek game index, The Great Pendragon Campaign is rated #1.
• Book of Battle Second Edition (retail $25): These rules for large-scale combat let your knight stride into battle and turn the tide for better -- or worse.
• Book of Armies (retail $20): All the armies in The Great Pendragon Campaign and many more, plus the battles important in the legends, such as Badon and Camlann.
• Pendragon Gamemaster Characters (retail $2): Stats for all the important characters from The Great Pendragon Campaign and more.

Pendragon Arthurian Lands

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/ArthurianLands

"Pendragon Arthurian Lands is a companion (squire?) to our June 2014 King Arthur Pendragon Bundle, resurrected and running in parallel with this new offer. This all-new companion offer includes vintage 1990s location sourcebooks and adventures that range across the British Isles and beyond: Cambria, Cumbria, the Saxon lands, Caledonia, Scandinavia, and Ireland.

We provide each ebook complete in .PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and our customers are entitled to move them freely among all their ereaders. (These .PDFs are image scans of the original 1990s hardcopies with Optical Character Recognition applied. Text is generally clear and copiable; some sidebars are muddy and usually not copiable. The covers were poorly scanned.)

Ten percent of each purchase (after gateway fees) goes to these two Pendragon offers' designated charity, the RPG Creators Relief Fund.

The total retail value of the titles in this offer is US$78. Customers who pay just US$7.95 get all four titles in this offer's Starter Collection (retail value $34) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including Saxons! (about the Germanic invaders in southeast Anglia), Perilous Forest (set in Cumbria), Savage Mountains (Cambria, i.e. Wales), and the adventure collection Blood and Lust (Cambria, Logres, Anglia).

Those who pay more than this offer's threshold (average) price, which is set at $14.95 to start, also get this offer's entire Bonus Collection with five more titles worth an additional $44, including Pagan Shore (Ireland), Beyond the Wall (Caledonia -- Picts!), Land of Giants (Scandinavia -- Beowulf!), and the adventure collections Tales of Mystic Tournaments and Tales of the Spectre Kings.

 

Pendragon resources

• Designer Greg Stafford's Pendragon page -- a necessary early stop
• Nocturnal Media Pendragon forums
• The Esoteric Order of Roleplayers Pendragon page
• RPGgeek Geeklist: "King Arthur Pendragon: A Comprehensive Guide"
• "[King Arthur Pendragon] Help me sort out the supplements" -- August 2016 RPG.net forum thread with house rules and advice from experienced players
• The King Arthur Pendragon RPG Repository (last updated in 2010)

I've taken a look at a couple of the supplements in the second offer and the scanning etc. doesn't seem to be as bad as described - it's all readable, though of course I may have been lucky and missed something horrible in one of the files I haven't examined.

My feeling on this is that this is a fairly important RPG, and one that's well worth looking at if you like the Arthurian mythos and want to play in this setting, or simply want some fairly accurate information on it. The prices for both bundles look good, I'd definitely recommend the first if you don't already have the game, and the second if you have it and want more. As usual your mileage may vary, of course.



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 Everything should now be back to normal - please let me know if there's anything I've missed.
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Just heard that Jacqueline Pearce - Supreme Commander Servalan in Blake's 7 - has died aged 74, apparently of cancer. She'll be missed.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/03/jacqueline-pearce-blakes-7-and-doctor-who-actor-dies-aged-74
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This is the original version of GDW's 2300 AD, briefly sold as Traveller 2300. It's a near-future SFRPG with some interesting mechanics for interstellar travel.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/GDW2300AD

"In 1986 Traveller publisher Game Designers' Workshop debuted a near-future RPG called Traveller: 2300 -- a confusing name, because it had nothing to do with Traveller and, in fact, followed on from GDW's modern-day military RPG Twilight: 2000. The company quickly renamed the line 2300 AD and published a Second Edition two years later under that name.

2300 AD starts from Earth 300 years after the cataclysmic Third World War, the Twilight War depicted in Twilight: 2000. Nations still clash, but civilization has crawled back to its pre-war levels and beyond. The world is dominated by the Third French Empire. A space elevator in Gabon lets passengers ride to geostationary orbit. Long ago humanity made first contact with ten sapient alien species, and commerce with aliens is now common. But exploration still goes on. Having discovered a practical faster-than-light "stutterwarp" drive, Earth's hundred nations are just starting to colonize the stars.

For 2300 AD GDW produced the most accurate star map ever made of the star systems within 50 light years of Earth -- over 700 stars, each listed by location, spectral type, size, and magnitude in a separate Near Star List. The local neighborhood contains white dwarfs, red giants, and warm yellow stars like our own. The map also shows the three principal trade routes of human space: the Chinese Arm (Sol to Tau Ceti), currently beset by mysterious terrorists; the French Arm (Sol to Xi Ursae Majoris), where the alien Kafers are invading human space; and the American Arm (Sol to Ellis -- a dead end for further expansion, because the next stars lie beyond stutterwarp's maximum range of 7.7 light years).

2300 AD uses a task resolution system different from Classic Traveller and from the Twilight: 2000 system GDW eventually adopted for its other RPGs. Players roll 1D10 against a difficulty number set by the GM; failure calls for a separate 2D6 or 3D6 roll to determine consequences: mishaps, damage, or simply a loss of "determination." The rules (which convert easily to the GDW house system) cover all aspects of conflict resolution, from arguments to all-out battles, as well as detailed character generation, starship operations and combat, and economics.

2300 AD has a gritty, grounded feel -- less Space Viking, more Aliens. Aside from its FTL drive, the game has unusually low tech for a setting three centuries in the future. To the 1980s players of First Edition (1986) and Second Edition (1988), everything felt relatively familiar. 2300 AD found new life in 2012 under Mongoose Publishing's licensed Traveller rules (2008). We presented that version in our June 2014 Mongoose 2300 AD Bundle.

For this all-new GDW 2300 AD Bundle, we provide each ebook complete in .PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and our customers are entitled to move them freely among all their ereaders.

Ten percent of each purchase (after gateway fees) goes to the charity designated by Traveller and 2300 AD designer Marc W. Miller, Human Rights Watch.

The total retail value of the titles in this offer at launch is US$180. Customers who pay just US$16.95 get all eight titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $90) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including the Traveller: 2300 1E rules, the Ships of the French Arm guide, the Aurore and Nyotekundu Sourcebooks and four adventures for First Edition: Beanstalk, Energy Curve, Kafer Dawn, and Mission Arcturus.

Those who pay more than the threshold (average) price, which is set at $27.95 to start, also get our entire Bonus Collection with eight more titles worth an additional $90, including the 2300 AD Second Edition core rulebook; the 2300 AD Equipment Guide and Ground Vehicle Guide; the Colonial Atlas of all the planets in human space; the Kafer Sourcebook, one of the best books in the 2300 line; and three Second Edition adventures: Bayern, Invasion, and Ranger."


My feelings on this are mixed; it was an interesting idea that seemed to have some real potential (and I wrote one short scenario for it, The French Lieutenant's Connection, which appeared in GDW's Challenge magazine), the snag was that there ultimately didn't seem to be a huge amount to do with it - a lot of the historical background became obsolete with the collapse of the USSR, scenarios etc. were almost entirely combat-orientated, to the exclusion of other activities, and there was basically only one significant alien race who were (of course) a threat. But the space travel system has some very nice ideas (the Stutterwarp drive especially), and the big map mentioned above really is pretty good - unfortunately it's provided here as several JPG files which must be printed separately and glued together (or assembled as one large image before printing), which probably isn't the most convenient format. I would have preferred a scaleable vector graphics file. I'd probably download the introductory offer if I didn't already own all of it in dead tree format, but leave the rest alone.

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I've uploaded a backup, but at the moment it's only accessible as forgottenfutures.org - files that were accessed as forgottenfutures.com or forgottenfutures.co.uk are giving error messages. I'm still waiting to hear back from technical support about this, hopefully it's fixable.

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There has been a catastrophic server failure affecting the Forgotten Futures web sites - it isn't yet clear if it will be restored from backups or if I'll have to rebuild it, if the latter I'm going to take my time and finish putting the whole Forgotten Futures CD-ROM on line properly as well as rolling out some new stuff. I'll post again when I know what's happening.

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This is another from Humble Bundle, who suddenly seem to be pushing tabletop RPG PDFs. It's for the Pathfinder fantasy system, and that's about all I know:

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/frog-god-games-pathfinder-2018-books

They're still also doing the Lord of the Rings RPG bundle I mentioned a few days ago, ending in six days.

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This one is a fantasy campaign add-on for Savage Worlds:

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/BeastsBarbarians

"Umberto Pignatelli's Beasts & Barbarians is a sword-and-sorcery fantasy campaign setting from the Polish company GRAmel Publishing for Savage Worlds rules from Pinnacle Entertainment. GRAmel is the Polish Savage Worlds licensee, and GRAmel's Piotr Korys has served as Pinnacle's Savage Worlds line editor.

Beasts & Barbarians channels the vintage spirit of Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, and Fritz Leiber for Conanesque adventures of iron-thewed heroism, sanity-twisting sorcery, and base treachery. Cursed by the gods, the Keronian sorcerer-priests lost their empire 2,500 years ago in the cataclysmic fall of the Dread Star. Amid its scattered ruins, power-hungry despots rule the Dread Sea Dominions, a realm of colorful cities, dark mysticism, dramatic turns, and larger-than-life heroism -- of barbarians, Amazons, alchemists, monks, and thieves. Travel the Iron Empire from barbarous Northelm to the theocratic City of Clouds, and meet (and battle) foes from the mercenaries and greedy merchants of Jalizar to the fallen sorcerers and slavers of Tricarnia. Venture into ancient ruins to battle pre-human beastmen -- fight in the sun-scorched arenas of Faberterra to appease the crowds of the decadent Iron Empire -- and stop mad sorcerers from invoking demons in temples older than humankind.

Funded last year in a successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, Beasts & Barbarians Steel Edition (the game's second) adds lots of material, furthers the setting's timeline, and makes useful corrections in tone. B&B's Golden (first) Edition (2011), while faithfully capturing the spirit of Robert E. Howard's pulp fiction, also followed Howard's practice of characterizing some races in stereotyped ways. "We didn't want to offend anybody," Piotr Korys explained on the RPG.net forum. "Cultural differences (I'm from Poland, Umberto is from Italy) could be the reason and explanation, but our game was proofread and edited by US-born English native speakers -- and they left [the characterizations] there. We have changed a lot of things, which were put there not because we are racist (both Umberto and me hate white supremacy -- or every supremacy -- movement), but because they were in pulp games." The Steel Edition (2017) removes the problematic characterizations.

This bargain-priced offer presents the complete Beasts & Barbarians Steel Edition (both Player's Guide and Game Master's Guide) and lots of character supplements, location sourcebooks, adventures, and play aids -- everything you need to tread the jeweled thrones of the Dread Sea Dominions under your sandaled feet.

We provide each ebook complete in .PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and our customers are entitled to move them freely among all their ereaders.

Ten percent of each purchase (after gateway fees) goes to this offer's designated charity, Doctors Without Borders.

The total retail value of the titles in this offer at launch is US$138. Customers who pay just US$12.95 get all seven titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $68) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including the full-color Beasts & Barbarians Steel Edition Player's Guide, Game Master Guide, and the Heroes of the Dominions collection of pregenerated player characters); the bestiary Beasts of the Dominions; the introductory adventure Soul in the Water; the Steel Edition Figure Flats print-and-fold character standups; and the Game Master Screen. (We also include the free Savage Worlds Test Drive introductory rules.)

Those who pay more than the threshold (average) price, which is set at $24.95 to start, also get our entire Bonus Collection with seven more titles worth an additional $70, including three location sourcebooks (Dark Places of the Dominions, Jalizar - City of Thieves, and Tricarnia - Land of Princes and Demons); three character supplements (Gladiators of the Dominions, Pirates of the Dominions, and Tattered Banners - Bandit Lords and Mercenary Captains); and the full-length Steel Edition adventure Enyia's Song."

At least one additional title will be added after launch: "When a title is added after launch, ALL customers who previously purchased the bundle automatically receive the newly added title, REGARDLESS of whether or not they paid more than average. This is their reward for buying early."

My feeling on this one is that it isn't something I personally want; there are already a lot of fantasy campaigns out there and I don't feel any pressing need for another. But if you like Savage Worlds and want something like this it's probably going to be of interest. As usual YMMV.
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From a different source this time, and one that doesn't give me freebies etc - the Humble Bundle people are doing the Lord of the Rings RPG The One Ring from a few pence up to $15 for the complete game and all supplements

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/lord-of-the-rings-rpg-books

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Two RPG bundles derived from Warhammer 40K, Games Workshop's tabletop wargame.

Deathwatch Essentials

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/DWEssentials

This is the first of two all-new offers now in progress featuring Deathwatch, the RPG of elite Space Marines in the Warhammer 40,000 setting. This Essentials offer presents the core rulebook and key supplements; if you're new to the game, start here. The companion offer, Deathwatch Missions, has the rest of the sourcebooks and supplements in the line. (The Deathwatch Missions secret promo page.)

Deathwatch was originally published in 2010 by Fantasy Flight Games. In August 2017 Ulisses Spiele acquired the Warhammer 40K license and, with it, the backlist of WH40K RPGs: Rogue Trader, Dark Heresy, Black Crusade, Only War, and Deathwatch. Now the English-language versions of these games are published by Ulisses North America.

In the 41st Millennium, the Emperor sits immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the master of Mankind by the will of the gods, and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that he may never truly die. Vast armies give battle in his name on uncounted worlds. Greatest of his soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes -- the bio-engineered super-soldiers better known as Space Marines.

You are a Space Marine in the Deathwatch, an elite warrior brotherhood that safeguards humanity against vile xenos (aliens), heretics, mutants, and worse. In loyal service to the Emperor, you undertake special missions against deadly adversaries in the Jericho Reach, a region of the Imperium devastated by war and on the brink of annihilation. You will face challenges from the ravening horror of a Tyranid Hive Tyrant to the excruciating decision whether an Imperial world's population can be saved or must be abandoned to an encroaching alien menace.

Like the knights of Camelot, Deathwatch Space Marines are veteran warriors, each a hero with a story. Great accomplishments and strong personalities distinguish them from the Battle-Brothers of their home Chapters. Relative to the player characters in other WH40K RPGs, Deathwatch PCs top the scale, alongside the Chaos cultists of Black Crusade. (If you saw our two Dark Heresy First Edition offers in December 2017, a starting Deathwatch Marine can match the most powerful Dark Heresy 1E Acolyte.) This presents roleplaying opportunities unique in WH40K. The Space Marines on a Kill-team are strong-willed, successful individuals, but the team must work together or face annihilation. The characters' obligation to subdue their individual natures, to sacrifice their pride and put aside differences, creates drama and excitement.

We provide each ebook complete in .PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and our customers are entitled to move them freely among all their ereaders.

Ten percent of each payment (after gateway fees) is split evenly between the two charities chosen by Deathwatch publisher Ulisses Spiele, Doctors Without Borders and the German children's hospice Bärenherz.

The total retail value of the titles in this Essentials offer is US$145. Customers who pay just $16.95 get all three titles in this offer's Starter Collection (retail value $70) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including the complete full-color 400-page Deathwatch core rulebook (and the free Final Sanction Quickstart rules) plus two supplements that help define your Space Marine character's background: First Founding and Honour the Chapter.

Those who pay more than this offer's threshold (average) price, which is set at $29.95 to start, also get this offer's entire Bonus Collection with four key supplements worth an additional $75, including the indispensable rules expansion Rites of Battle, The Emperor's Chosen (with rules for veteran Space Marines), the Mark of the Xenos bestiary, and the Deathwatch Game Master's Kit with useful reference charts.

Deathwatch Missions

 http://bundleofholding.com/presents/DWMissions

This is the second of two all-new offers running in parallel that present Deathwatch, the Ulisses North America RPG of elite Space Marines in the Warhammer 40,000 setting. The first offer, Deathwatch Essentials, has the core rulebook and key supplements; if you're new to the game, start there first! (The Deathwatch Essentials secret promo page.) This companion Missions offer has the rest of the line, including sourcebooks and lots of scenarios.

We provide each ebook complete in .PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and our customers are entitled to move them freely among all their ereaders.

Ten percent of each payment (after gateway fees) is split evenly between the two charities chosen by Deathwatch publisher Ulisses Spiele, Doctors Without Borders and the German children's hospice Bärenherz.

The total retail value of the titles in this Missions offer is US$130. Customers who pay just $14.95 get all four titles in this offer's Starter Collection (retail value $65) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including Ark of Lost Souls, a full-scale adventure aboard an accursed Space Hulk; The Achilus Assault, with adversaries and perils from across the Jericho Reach; Rising Tempest, an epic three-part campaign across the Canis Salient; and the one-shot convention scenario Falling Star.

Those who pay more than this offer's threshold (average) price, which is set at $27.95 to start, also get this offer's entire Bonus Collection with three more titles worth an additional $65, including The Jericho Reach, with in-depth information for Kill-teams throughout the Reach; The Outer Reach, in which the Dead Cabal uncovers the Necrons of the Suhbekhar Dynasty; and a collection of three adventures, The Emperor Protects.

Deathwatch resources

• Warhammer 40,000 Wikia pages for Space Marines and the Deathwatch [note: looong entries]
• Deathwatch RPGgeek page
• The Deathwatch page on 40K RPG Tools (and also check the site's generic 40K RPG Resources page)
• Reddit's 40KRPG subreddit has an Imperial Armoury page of resources, now somewhat out of date

The problem I have with this stuff is pretty simple - I hate Warhammer 40K. I dislike the game setting, the racist ethos (which I'd summarise as "kill everything that's different to purify the universe"), and the effect that it has had on the gaming hobby as a whole. There may be good points I've missed, but W40K is basically the reason I stopped writing for White Dwarf, and I bear grudges. But as usual you do get a lot for your money, and if you actually like spiky space-marines who can't raise their arms above their shoulders this may be just the system you're looking for.
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This is an interesting system, using only 1D6 rolls for everything. It's also by some fairly good authors including Ken Walton, an active gamer in Britain in the 70s-80s and one of the authors of my all-time favorite story-telling game, Into the Dark Continent:

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/OneDice

"This offer features the quick and flexible OneDice universal RPG system by Cakebread & Walton (Renaissance, Clockwork & Chivalry). With a OneDice rulebook, a solitary six-sided die, and just a few minutes of prep time, you can create characters and start running an adventure in any genre -- fantasy, science fiction, pulp, steampunk, superheroes, you name it.

To create a OneDice character, divide six points among the attributes Strong, Clever, Quick, and possibly a genre-specific ability like Magic or Cyber. These determine your scores for Health, Defense, and Move. Then choose a few skills and abilities, and you're ready to play. To accomplish a task, roll one six-sided die and add your relevant attribute and skill scores to beat a target number set by the Game Keeper. It's simple but never vague. There are rules for everything from piloting aircraft to investigating high-tech devices to negotiating with monsters, plus Stunt Points and a choice of two experience systems -- but the rules never get in the way. It's an ideal pickup system for novices and old hands alike.

Each OneDice title is a standalone rulebook, complete in itself, with the concise OneDice system, campaign settings, and special rules tailored to its genre. This bargain-priced bundle gives you a dozen rulebooks, each a springboard into a new genre -- or mix-and-match the rules for your own setting.

We provide each ebook complete in .PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and our customers are entitled to move them freely among all their ereaders.

Ten percent of each purchase (after gateway fees) goes to this offer's designated charity, Doctors Without Borders.

The total retail value of the titles in this offer is US$102. Customers who pay just US$7.95 get all six titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $47) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including the OneDice rulebooks for Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Cyberpunk, Steampunk, and Pulp, plus the OneDice Universal rules to create your own worlds and backgrounds.

Those who pay more than the threshold (average) price, which is set at $14.95 to start, also get our entire Bonus Collection with six more titles worth an additional $55, including Space, Supers, B Movies, Robin Hood, and OneDice versions of two Cakebread & Walton RPGs we've presented before in their Renaissance D100 System editions: Pirates & Dragons (in our August 2015 Bundle of the Ages +2) and the steampunk fantasy Abney Park's Airship Pirates (in the September 2016 Steam-Powered Bundle)."


This is one I like - I've always been a big fan of simplified game systems, and this is about as simple as they get. The bundle price is also pretty good, and it's supporting Doctors Without Borders, which I've also supported with my Flatland RPG. Recommended, subject to all the usual YMMV things.
 
later - sorry, got the name of the story-telling game wrong, now corrected - not that it appears to be available any more.

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 Running a bit late, but headed for Nine Worlds in a few minutes. See some of you there?

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Something I really should have asked before the Brexit vote - if Europe is so horrible, shouldn't we also be withdrawing from the European Cup, the Eurovision Song Contest, etc. etc.? Come to think of it, will Britain still be part of Eurovision after we leave, and if so what does that do to British TV?

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Another fantasy system I really don't know - Symbaroum, a Swedish fantasy setting with several supplements:

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Symbaroum

"This Symbaroum Bundle presents Symbaroum, the tabletop roleplaying game of dark fantasy from the Swedish game studio Järnringen, copublished in English by Modiphius. Inspired by the films Princess Mononoke and Pan's Labyrinth and the Witcher computer games, Symbaroum conjures the foreboding primeval forest of Davokar, a rich setting of ancient ruins and barbarian clans, Iron Pact elven wardens and Blight Beasts, princes and rogues, treasure and corruption, all beautifully illustrated in full color -- check the spectacular Imgur gallery.

This bargain-priced offer of English-language .PDF ebooks includes the complete rules, supplements, adventures, game aids, and artwork -- everything you need to explore the depths of Davokar.

We provide each ebook complete in .PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and our customers are entitled to move them freely among all their ereaders.

Ten percent of each purchase (after gateway fees) goes to this offer's designated charity, the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The total retail value of the titles in this offer is US$99. Customers who pay just US$14.95 get all five titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $48) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including the full-color 264-page Symbaroum Core Rulebook, the Advanced Player's Guide, the Map Set, the Abilities & Powers reference cards, and Adventure Pack 1 with two introductory scenarios.

Those who pay more than the threshold (average) price, which is set at $23.95 to start, also get our entire Bonus Collection with five more titles worth an additional $51, including The Mark of the Beast and Tomb of Dying Dreams, two "landscapes" (scenarios) that complete the adventure begun in the Core Rulebook; Thistle Hold - Wrath of the Warden, the launch of a new seven-part campaign; the Symbaroum Game Master's Screen; and the glorious art book The Art of Symbaroum.

Symbaroum resources

• The Iron Pact
• Järnringen's Facebook page
• Järnringen Symbaroum page (scroll to the bottom for the English-language section)
• Modiphius publishes the English-language Symbaroum line
• On the Nature of Davokar
• Symbaroum communities on Reddit and Google+

I really don't know what to say about this one - it's not really one I want to play, and I get the impression that it's a fairly old-school system (lots of different dice types, character classes, races etc.) which isn't my preferred way to game. The setting appears to be Nordic gloom with a side helping of darkness, crawling chaos, etc. The map has lots of mountains along one edge and a lot of forest, curiously reminiscent of certain fantasy sources. The art is very pretty, if you like gloom and trees. I think it's OK value if you like that sort of thing, it just isn't even slightly my cup of tea.
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