oz gagnon

“Magnitude” is a mini bust of Star Wars’ Admiral Ackbar from Gentle Giant Ltd., LucasFilm and artist Steven Daily, which is based on an original painting by Steven. The mini bust is currently available to pre-order online from Gentle Giant Ltd. It is expected to ship after July 21, 2013.

This mini bust stands at 8” tall and comes in a screen printed wooden box with a 4 x 6 limited edition lithograph print by Acme Archives. Limited edition of 500 pieces. Each comes with a hand-numbered certificate of authenticity and bottom stamp.

Here is the original “Magnitude” painting by Steven Daily:

images via Gentle Giant Ltd., Ltd. Art Gallery

via Figures.com, Topless Robot, Technabob, Neatorama

“The Coffinmaker” by Dan McComb is a thought-provoking short film about Marcus Daly, a Vashon Island, Washington-based carpenter who handcrafts environmentally friendly wooden caskets. According to the Green Burial Council nearly 1 million tons of steel in the form of caskets are buried each year in America—that’s enough steel to build the Golden Gate Bridge.

via Vimeo Staff Picks

Shockingly, that's not an old picture of William Hartnell as the first Doctor. That's actor David Bradley as Hartnell, in the first promo picture for Mark Gatiss' An Adventure in Time and Space, the docudrama retelling the creation of Doctor Who.

Read more...

"Banned Satanic D&D Commercial" by Megasteakman, an excellent parody of the Satanic Panic view of gaming, found via The Escapist blog.

 

Planes are cool and I enjoy putting extra-dimensional encounters/travel into my games.  I wanted to create a quick die generator for Dungeon Crawl Classics that will be used in my Hubris game.

 

This gives me a few interesting tidbits that I can flush out myself, rather than having to read a bunch of stuff that my players may or may not interact with/give a shit about.

 

All you do is drop the following dice: d3, d4, d5, d6, d7, d8, d10, d12, d14, d16, d20, d24, d30.

Then consult the table below.  Once you’ve generated a plane scratch them off and write new stuff in its stead.

 

d3- You Emerge From the Portal

1. Sopping wet, covered in ectoplasm
2. Completely normal, but all your clothes and possessions are at your feet.
3. Dry, sunburned, dehydrated, and exhausted.

 

d4- Seasons (or equivalent)

1. Summer
2. Winter
3. Fall
4. Spring

 

d5- The Local Denizens are… 

1. Giant humanoids
2. Sentient oozes
3. Reptilian in nature
4. Have demonic heritage
5. Creepy living dolls

 

d6- Time Functions

1. Slower- one minute there is an hour on home plane
2. Faster- one hour there is one minute on home plane
3. Normal as on home plane
4. Does not function in a perceivable manner to outsiders
5. Slower- one hour there is one year on the home plane
6. Faster- one year there is one hour on the home plane

 

d7- Interesting Thing

1. People use conch shells filled with blood to talk across great distances
2. Sentient airships are used for travel
3. Anthropomorphic cat-people are used as slaves
4. Food never rots
5. Certain people are able to utilize strange powers with their mind
6. Creatures tan in the moon, not the sun
7. The younger are revered and the elders become servants and slaves

 

d8- Problems…

1. A cylindrical planetoid is being drawn nearer and nearer
2. The sun and moon collide.  The entire plane is now in a permanent solar eclipse like state
3. Insects have become infused with magic and have become super intelligent and are ravenously hungry
4. Sky pirates have begun laying siege to important ports of the realm
5. Extreme cold is causing whole areas/villages to freeze
6. Vengeful spirits of a long forgotten battle have risen and believe that the war still continues
7. Enraged living spell stalks easy targets
8. Two opposing factions are on the brink of full war

 

d10- Religion is…

1. A thing of the past…
2. Rigidly controlled and monitored
3. Free thinking, openly discussed and welcomed
4. Does not exist (clerics cannot cast spells while here)
5. Not tolerated.  Those that practice are jailed or executed
6. The cause of current open civil war between three prominent religions
7. Practiced privately in own home, not something to share
8. The theocratic god-king allows worship in himself only
9. A twisted mirrored image of the home plane
10. What saved the plane from the last cataclysm

 

d12- More Problems…

1. Violent storms rage across the landscape
2. The memories of the people are being consumed by a dark phantasm.
3. The enemy of the current leader of the Plane (roll d14 again) is declaring war
4. Magic is not function as should, causing chaos
5. Strange cult is vying for power against established religion(s)
6. All the elementals of the plane have turned to stone
7. A giant vortex is gobbling up everything in its path and slowly expanding
8. All humanoid children in the world suddenly grow old and die
9. Ancient evil awakens
10. Two planes collide and merge
11. Strange and horrible creatures invade from another plane
12. Drought, famine, plague, chaos, death, riots, you name it…

 

d14- Leader of the Plane (or just local area)

1. An old war hero
2. A prophet that heralds a grim future
3. A boy-king attempting to live up to parents legacy
4. An outsider to the realm that conquered
5. The ghost of a murdered demi-god
6. An extremely intelligent talking idol
7. Religious leader of prominent religion
8. The Council of Six Nightmares
9. Conglomerate of prominent/powerful citizens
10. Reanimated corpse of a hardened criminal
11. A sorcerer claiming to be from another world
12. A gigantic dragon
13. A glowing 20ft orb
14. An old man with too many stories

 

d16- You Appear in the Plane Here…

1. Cramped in a broom closet
2. In a placid lake full of carnivorous fish
3. Burst up from a grave
4. Crawl out under the bed of a child
5. In the cage of a hungry humanoid
6. In the hut of a witch
7. Explode out of the back of a giant
8. In the depths of an outhouse
9. In a locked room in a dungeon
10. In a violent whirlwind
11. Spit out of a whirlpool spinning counterclockwise
12. Dribble out the nose of a creature with a cold, then reform as solid
13. As a faded memory of someone then made real
14. On the back of a giant flying bird
15. On the edge of a volcano
16. An electrical storm that ravages a small town

 

d20- How to Travel to Plane

1. Through the mouth of a gigantic fish
2. On the breath of a dying man
3. Drinking the tears of a weeping heartbroken princess
4. Through the closet in a child’s bedroom
5. Walking backwards through a maze
6. Having sex in a cemetery
7. Dancing too fast to a slow song
8. Climbing to the peak of a frost-capped mountain
9. Singing a song long forgotten to man
10. In a locked room in a dungeon
11. By seeking forgiveness from someone you’ve wronged
12. By breathing in the first laugh of a newborn baby
13. By potting a plant in the desert
14. Sailing on a still sea with no wind
15. Swimming in a pool filled with alchemical substances
16. Staring into the sun for 1d3 days straight
17. Taking a door of hinges and rotating it to open the other way
18. Being shrunk and going into a teapot
19. By striking a deal with an extra-dimensional being
20. By breaking a promise to a king

 

d24- Random Strange Effect on You When Entering the Plane

1. All copper is turned to gold
2. All glassware and vials are turned to sand
3. Sex is changed (will return to normal upon leaving realm)
4. Become spirit (will return to normal upon leaving realm)
5. Gravity lighter (jump higher)
6. Gravity heavier (no jumping, move slower)
7. Magic is amplified (+5 to rolls for 2d4 days)
8. Magic is muted (-5 to rolls for 2d4 days)
9. Magic ceases to work (for 2d4 days)
10. Make Fort save (DC 12) or gain 1 minor corruption or mutation
11. Your foreign body collides with an object of realm that causes explosion (2d6 damage 15ft radius)
12. All liquids are turned to ice (potions receive a save)
13. Any animal companion transforms into anthropomorphic version
14. Age 2d6 years
15. Reverse age 2d6 years
16. All wounds are healed.
17. All corruptions, mutations, injuries, diseases, curses gained AFTER character creation are healed and removed (whether beneficial or detrimental)
18. Gain ability to speak random language
19. Gain glimpse into future (allowed to reroll one failed check while in the plane)
20. Become ravenously hungry as though haven’t eaten in 2d10 days
21. Body becomes luminescent
22. Skin changes color (choose one from rainbow)
23. All hair falls out for 1d3 years
24. Roll twice

 

d30- Type of Plane

1. Chaos
2. Law
3. Light
4. Darkness
5. Lies
6. Fire
7. Water
8. Life
9. Death
10. Alternate reality
11. Pleasure
12. Torture
13. Water
14. Dreams and Nightmares
15. Earth
16. Nature spirits
17. Astral
18. Ethereal
19. Sorrow
20. Outer Realm
21. Prismatic Saturation
22. Insanity and Madness
23. Temptation
24. Knowledge
25. Realm of the Gods
26. Time
27. The Imprisoned
28. Beastmen
29. Failure
30. The Dragons

 

Check out the blog 2 Warps to Neptune for some classic pics of young folks in the 70-80's playing D&D. Its great stuff, and there's some good info on the infamous Summer Adventure Camp from days of yore.

These pics are fun to blow up and look at closely for all the little details - snacks, books, clothes, etc, you probably haven't seen much of since the early 80's.






See lots more at the blog here!

The whole blog in general is pretty cool, actually.

Things hatching from the earth

1. A new sun. It will attempt to consume the old sun. If it succeeds everything will be different now.
2. The inverse of your form in discarded skin. It has been lonely for a very long time time
3.Luminous bug eating children
4. Bottled men
5. Shadows from the previous sun
6.Drill bombs from the other side of the world
7.Fruiting bodies of the vast mycelium web that is the actual form and purpose of every tunnel and every burrow
8. Everything that flies
9.Soldiers of Glass
10.Breath stealing cats
11. Nightgaunt Whispersmiths
12.Wise Vermin
13. Spider Keys
14. Traitors tongues
15.Crawling Spears
16. Everyone buried under the wrong name
17.Whistling
18.Vast Plumes of Mold
19.Air Drinking Roots
20.Very Stubborn Fish

Things Sewn Into the Air

1. Old Spider Troubling Hobbits
2.Virulent Misinformation
3.Door/Sinkhole
4. Mirror/Window.
5.Hungry mouths
6.Scabrous citadels
7.Cages/refugees
8.Words/parasites
9.Snakes/organs
10.Bard Flesh
11.Wicked/unlucky Children
12 Cloaker Priests

Subtle or Unlikely Weapons

1.Mistrust
2. Caged song birds
3. Human Hair
4.Tattoos
5.Feathers
6.Leaves
7.Mutes
8.Avalanches
9.Sweat
10.Drumming

Things Buried Long Ago in Snow

1.Things somewhat like pets and somewhat like weapons
2.Things somewhat like armour and somewhat like furniture
3.Castles of Hair
4.Flea Kings
5.Shoutings
6.Tarry Brides
7. Contracts with the tides
8. Thief Eggs


Things falling slowly from the sky

1. dead ghosts
2.Invisible jellyfish
3.one winged angels
4.Obsidian knives
5.Mummy infested islands
6.Giants Hearts

Rogue Elements

1.Spite
2.Absence
3.Fat
4.Noise

?
1.Faster
2.Further

Where do we put all the ruins?
1.Duh everything is ruins

[tweetmeme]For this week’s “120 Minutes” Rewind, we present a series of clips of what host Dave Kendall announces as “the first-ever international edition of ’120 Minutes,’” broadcast in August 1991 from England’s Reading Festival. As you can see from the footage below, Kendall chats up The Sisters of Mercy’s Andrew Eldritch and members of Sonic Youth, Nitzer Ebb and James.

Check it out (via dpallen):

 

120 Minutes: The Sisters of Mercy

 

120 Minutes: Sonic Youth

 

120 Minutes: Nitzer Ebb

 

120 Minutes: James

 

PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS

• ‘120 Minutes’ Rewind: Guest host Bob Mould performs with Lou Barlow — 1994
• ‘120 Minutes’ Rewind: Kevin Seal hangs with Joe Strummer, Zodiac Mindwarp — 1988
• ‘120 Minutes’ Rewind: Alan Hunter puts New Order under the ‘120 X-Ray’ — 1986
• ‘120 Minutes’ Rewind: Soft Cell’s Marc Almond goes under the ’120 X-Ray’ — 1988
• ‘120 Minutes’ Rewind: Trent Reznor spends Christmas Eve with Dave Kendall — 1989

 

 

Want to find a way to psychologically crush your enemies? There's an easy way to do it. All it takes is a quick question to make them think of the worst aspect of their life, and then asking them, directly, what they think of their life.

Read more...

Robbo sez, "Charles Dellschau, a retired butcher in Texas in the late 1800's created a series of scrapbooks: '2,500 intricate drawings of flying machines alongside cryptic newspaper clippings filled the pages, crudely sewn together with shoelaces and thread' - it's an astonishing collection of mystery and whimsey with loads of drawings and plans for arcane flying machines, a secret society and coded messages strewn throughout. The books were found by a junk dealer in the 1960's and are now valued at $15,000 - per page."

These are astounding illustrations and amazing fantasies; they've been collected in a book called THE SECRETS OF DELLSCHAU: The Sonora Aero Club and the Airships of the 1800s, A True Story, which includes a lot of commentary on Dellschau's work and context.

He began with three books entitled Recollections which purported to describe a secret organization called the Sonora Aero Club. Dellschau described his duties in the club as that of the draftsman. Within his collaged watercolors were newspaper clippings (he called them “press blooms”) of early attempts at flight overlapped with his own fantastic drawings of airships of all kind. Powered by a secret formula he cryptically referred to as “NB Gas” or “Suppa” — the “aeros” (as Dellscahu called them) were steampunk like contraptions with multiple propellers, wheels, viewing decks and secret compartments. Though highly personal, autobiographical (perhaps!), and idiosyncratic, these artworks could cross-pollinate with the fiction of Jules Verne, Willy Wonka and the Wizard of Oz. The works were completed in a furiously creative period from 1899 to 1923, when air travel was still looked at by most people as almost magical. Newspapers of that period were full of stories about air travel feats and the acrobatic aerial dogfights of WWI were legend.

Dreams of the Sonora Aero Club [John Foster/Design Observer]

(Thanks, Robbo!)

A Show of Evil
by Tobie Abad

So you have players who insist they want to be evil characters.   Maybe they're the minority in the group.  Or maybe they outnumber the ones who want to be heroes.  And after considering things, and talking to all your players, in the end you have all decided to still go for it because yes, it can be fun.

Here are some things to consider adding or bringing up with the group to make the game more interesting:

1) The No Kill Rule
A mixed group of good and evil can sometimes spell very rapid character deaths.  The Paladin might decide he HAS to hunt and kill the evil Assassin.  Or the Fallen Angel might make it a point to destroy the Saint.

Tell them: Don't.
Instead, remind them that the game can remain more fun if a no-kill rule applies.    And once they feel its a stupid rule because there's no fun if the good/bad guy doesn't terminally deal with the other, quickly shoot off the following examples:  Batman and the Joker, The Devil and God, and practically any other franchise that features a hero and his rival villain.

For the Hero, the concept of redemption will always be there.  There may be a time the villain can be rehabilitated. Or can be made to understand the evil he does.  And if not, there's the idea that the hero MUST not become the villain.  He must never cross that line.  And at its most basic, maybe the hero does want to cross the line, and can, but if he does so, the villain has the last laugh.  In the end, the hero's pride keeps him from letting the villain win.    (And if the player does kill the villain, tell the player of the villain to feel free to HAUNT the hero for the rest of the game.  Or be sure to throw the full weight of his actions upon him in later narrative arcs.)

For the Villain, the hero must be broken down.  The hero must be made to give up.  Killing him is easy, but removes all the fun and fulfillment of being evil.  Killing him removes the point of being his dark reflection.  And in the end, if he does kill him, the Hero player can always create someone who wants to avenge the old character.  The game can continue, but now the stakes definitely may change.

Remind both players a "killing" moment makes for a great climactic moment in a story.  So to time it well, rather than just make it something that happens by accident.  Or by opportunity.  And remind them this no killing rule applies only to each other.  All other non-player characters are free game.

2) RewardsWhether or not the game itself has an existing system, be sure to create a reward system for whenever either player acts in full accordance to his preferred role.  The Hero must gain something for doing good things, such as saving total strangers, or doing "the right thing" even if it may be to his own detriment.  While the Villain gets something for showing cruelty, or for having moments of megalomania and the like.    This way, the two feel the distinct difference in their roles.  The Hero who opts to resort to violence does NOT get the extra fruits of his decision.  The Villain who shows compassion does not get the bonus for being nice.

This ties in to the fact that if you want to encourage an approach, you show a benefit for doing it.

Maybe the reward can be a bonus they can apply to their roles.  Or maybe, plan and simple (which can work for almost all games out there), each time they receive the "bonus" they get a token which they can cash in to reroll any roll whose result they did not like.

3)  TemptationsOn the flip side, you might want to throw temptations in.  Sort of, throw small systems to see how hard and determined the player is in embracing their chosen role.  The Hero might get the bonus whenever he resorts to violence, cruelty, and breaking his word.  The Villain might be thrown allies, friends, and other bonuses for free whenever he decides to sincerely try kindness.  Or care for someone.  Or even just doing it in reverse, by making such allies and advantages cost time and effort to have as a villain, but come easily when he does good.

Tempt them to stray from their roles.
This should give birth to pretty cool role-playing opportunities.

4) Show me you mean it
My last suggestion was one I've embraced for any game where a player might opt to kill/sacrifice or otherwise eliminate another player character from the story.  Firstly, this applies only to games where I've made it clear to all players that character death will be something that happens in the game. While in some games the players enjoy a "no kill unless you really act stupid or is dramatically appropriate" rule, I've run other games where I've made it clear, "There is no fate or destiny in this game.  If you die, then you die."

So in such a game, if a player, for example, opts to literally sacrifice the others to save himself/others... have them walk up to the player whose characters were killed, face them as they pick up the character sheet (and yes, the other player is free to plead, beg, and do everything save for touching the other player to convince them to reconsider), and tear it up in front of the other without breaking eye contact.

This was my version of "Show me you mean it" and nicely, it has worked wonderfully in practice.


Hope you find these ideas fun!
Do let me know if you tried them out.

gothicpunk:

Lovely.

John Blanche, from The Prince and the Woodcutter, 1979.

I am currently running a playtest for this game system I’m making. This post is meant to tell my players, who are all sitting around with laptops, what the attribute and skill list is.

Attributes:

Body (BOD): How healthy and strong the character is.

Finesse (FIN): How agile and coordinated the character is.

Intuition (INT): How quick-thinking and aware of the world the character is.

Knowledge (KNO): How much the character knows and how quickly they learn.

Charisma (CHA): How commanding the character’s presence is.

Magic (MAG): How mystically inclined the character is.

Skills (with associated attribute in () next to it)

COMBAT SKILLS

Weapons: (FIN)

Weapon Categories: Swords, Knives, Clubs, Axes, Bows, Firearms.

Brawling (BOD)

Improvising (Special)

Dodge (FIN)

PHYSICAL SKILLS

Athletics (BOD)

Slight of Hand (FIN)

Stealth (FIN)

SOCIAL SKILLS

Bluff (CHA)

Negotiation (CHA)

Intimidate (BOD)

Empathy (INT)

Charm (CHA)

WILDERNESS SKILLS

Ride (INT)

Track (INT)

Navigation (KNO)

Handle Animal (INT)

CUNNING SKILLS

Translate (KNO)

Lockpicking (FIN)

Perception (INT)

Alchemy (KNO)

Healing (KNO)

Devices (KNO)

Lore (KNO)

Investigate (INT)

MAGIC SKILLS

Sorcery (KNO)

Elementalism (INT)

Ego (CHA)

Enchantment (KNO)

Kinetics (INT)

Will (CHA)

(The following is unfinished and cannot be picked yet)

Necromancy

Demonology

Traits (UNFINISHED)

All traits are listed as follows: Name (point cost): Description

POSITIVE TRAITS

Chink in the Armor (5): You have a working knowledge of armors, to the extent that you know where to put the knife in order to slip between the metal plates. All piercing weapons have -1 AP in your hands.

Horseman (3): Whether it’s from work on a farm, training as a knight or service as a dragoon, you know your way around horses and other riding animals. You get a +2 competence bonus to all Ride checks, as well as all Handle Animal checks that have to do with horses.

Rage (4): When the battle fury is upon you, no foe can stand in your way. A character with this trait can enter a berserker rage at any point for 1d6 rounds. During the rage state they get +2 to Finesse and Body, but cannot dodge or parry. After the rage ends, the character immediately takes 5 unresisted Stun damage.

Unflappable (2): You are not easily shaken by sudden frights or unfathomable horrors. You get +2 against any fear-based mental attack, including Intimidation attempts.

Rich Upbringing (3): You have mad cash.

Well Equipped (3): You may choose two more pieces of your own gear, or roll on the gear chart four more times.

 

NEGATIVE TRAITS

Red Right Hand (-4): Something about you immediately identifies you as a villain to the common and superstitious man. Whether it’s a scarred face, thief-marks burned into your skin by a magistrate or some sort of demonic curse, you are pretty much immediately assumed to be the bad guy. All Charisma-based skills are at -2, and NPCs will generally assume you to be evil unless proven otherwise. The local police force, if any, will be twice as likely to single you out of a crowd. On the other hand side, your strange appearance gives you +2 to Intimidate.

Large Ego (-2): You have an inflated ego.

 

GEAR

 

Fantasy Grit: Gear

 

Damage:

Speed:

Reach:

Traits:

 

 

Weapons:

 

BLADES SKILL

 

Dagger

Damage: 1 + STR/2 Piercing, STR/2 Slashing

Speed: 4

Reach: 0

Traits: Daggers lunge at range 1 instead of 2, and can be thrown range 2 using the throwing weapons skill.

 

Stiletto

Damage: 1 + STR/2 Piercing

Speed: 3

Reach: 0

Traits: Stilettos lunge at range 1 instead of 2. AP -2

 

Shortsword

Damage: 2 + STR/2 Piercing, 1 + STR/2 Slashing

Speed: 2

Reach: 0-1

Traits: At range 0, Speed changes to -1.

 

Longsword

Damage: 3 + STR/2 Piercing, 3 + STR/2 Slashing

Speed: 1

Reach: 1

Traits: None. Standard sword.

 

Rapier

Damage: 3 + STR/2 Piercing

Speed: 2

Reach: 1

Traits: AP -1

 

Saber

Damage: 2 + STR/2 Piercing, 4 + STR/2 Slashing

Speed: 1

Reach: 1

Traits: None.

 

Cutlass

Damage: 1 + STR/2 Piercing, 5 + STR/2 Slashing

Speed: -1

Reach: 1

Traits: None.

 

Greatsword

Damage: 6 + STR/2 Slashing, Piercing, 2 + STR/2 Impact

Speed: -4

Reach: 1

Traits: Can only be used if your Strength is 4 or higher. If the target attempts to parry an attack by this weapon, add the Speed penalty to the dice pool instead of subtracting it unless they are parrying with another weapon that has this trait.

 

 

POLEARMS SKILL

 

Any polearm may also deal Impact if the butt end is used as a bludgeon.

 

Shortspear

Damage: 4 + STR/2 Piercing, 1 + STR/2 Slashing

Speed: 0

Reach: 1-2

Traits: Polearm bludgeon 1 + STR/2

 

Pike

Damage: 4 + STR/2 Piercing

Speed: -3

Reach: 2-3

Traits: Polearm bludgeon STR/4

 

Halberd

Damage: 3 + STR/2 Piercing, 2 + STR/2 Slashing

Speed: -2

Reach: 1-2

Traits: Polearm Bludgeon 1 + STR/2

 

Glaive

Damage: 2 + STR/2 Piercing, 3 + STR/2 Slashing

Speed: -1

Reach: 1-2

Traits: Polearm Bludgeon 1+ STR/2

 

 

 

CLUBS SKILL

 

Mace

Damage: 1 + STR Impact

Speed: -1

Reach: 1

Traits: If the target attempts to parry an attack by this weapon, add the Speed penalty to the dice pool instead of subtracting it unless they are parrying with another weapon that has this trait.

 

Morningstar

Damage: 1 + STR Impact and 2 Piercing (this damage is dealt together)

Speed: -2

Reach: 1

Traits: If the target attempts to parry an attack by this weapon, add the Speed penalty to the dice pool instead of subtracting it unless they are parrying with another weapon that has this trait.

 

Warhammer

Damage: 3 + STR Impact

Speed: -4

Reach: 1

Traits: If the target attempts to parry an attack by this weapon, add the Speed penalty to the dice pool instead of subtracting it unless they are parrying with another weapon that has this trait.

 

Quarterstaff

Damage: 2 + STR/2 Impact

Speed: -1

Reach: 1-2

Traits:

 

 

OTHER MELEE

 

Battleaxe

Damage: 6 + STR/2 Slashing

Speed: -3

Reach: 1

Traits: If the target attempts to parry an attack by this weapon, add the Speed penalty to the dice pool instead of subtracting it unless they are parrying with another weapon that has this trait.

 

Hand Ax

Damage: 3 + STR/2 Slashing

Speed: -2

Reach: 1

Traits: Can be thrown at range 2 for 3 + STR/4 Slashing.

 

 

RANGED WEAPONS

 

Damage:

Accuracy:

Range:

Traits:

 

BOWS

 

Longbow

Damage: 4 + STR/2 Piercing

Accuracy: 0

Range: 180 ft

Traits: AP -1. Cannot be used on a horse, while prone, or in cluttered environments. Gets a -2 Accuracy penalty instead of a bonus at range 2, and cannot be used at range 1 under any circumstances.

 

Shortbow

Damage: 3 + STR/3 Piercing

Accuracy: 0

Range: 60 ft

Traits: Cannot be used while prone. No penalty for being used while on horseback.

 

Crossbow

Damage: 4 Piercing

Accuracy: 0

Range: 50ft

Traits: AP -2. At point-blank range (range 2), this increases to -5.

 

Hand Crossbow

Damage: 2 Piercing

Accuracy: 0

Range: 5 ft

Traits: Can be used at range 1 with no penalty.

 

 

 

FIREARMS

 

Misfire and Accuracy Modifier by Mechanism

Matchlock: 6, -4

Wheellock: 5, -3

Snaplock: 4, -2

Flintlock: 3, -1

Emberlock: 2, 0

 

Derringer

Damage: 2 Piercing

Accuracy: By mechanism

Range: 5 ft

Traits: +4 to conceal this weapon. Can be used at range 1 without penalty.

 

Pistol

Damage: 5 Piercing

Accuracy: By mechanism

Range: 10 ft

Traits: AP -1. Can be used at range 1 without penalty.

 

Musket

Damage: 7 Piercing

Accuracy:

Range: 30 ft

Traits: AP -2. Gets a -2 Accuracy penalty at range 2 instead of the point-blank bonus.

 

Rifle

Damage: 7 Piercing

Accuracy:

Range: 50 ft

Traits: AP -2. Gets a -3 Accuracy penalty at range 2 instead of the point-blank bonus. Takes longer to reload than a standard firearm.

 

Carbine Musket

Damage: 6 Piercing

Accuracy:

Range: 20 ft

Traits: AP -2. No penalty for being used on horseback.

 

Blunderbuss

Damage: 7 Piercing

Accuracy:

Range: 10 ft

Traits: Can hit everyone in a cone in front of the shooter. Range penalties are -6 instead of -2. AP +2

 

Dragon Gun

Damage: 8 Impact

Accuracy:

Range:

Traits: AP -3

 

 

 

 

WEAPON MODIFICATIONS

 

Melee Weapons

 

Custom Grip: The hilt or handle of this weapon is shaped specially to fit your hand, giving you +1 die to all actions performed with the weapon.

 

Break Down: The weapon can be broken down into component parts, which can then be hidden and carried separately. The weapon takes 3 turns to put back together.

 

Brace Bar: (Spears only) A metal bar is added at the base of the blade, interfering with people trying to reach your precious body. -1 Speed, +2 dice to intercept charge attacks or lunges.

 

Hand Guard: (Blades only) Metal curves over your hand, protecting your fingers from impacts and sharp things. -2 Speed, +2 against disarm attempts. Also, you may now punch people with the guard for STR/2 Impact damage.

 

Barbed: (Bladed only) The blade of this weapon has barbs that tear through flesh. +1 Slashing damage, +2 Piercing, but parry attempts gain +2 dice.

 

 

Ranged Weapons

 

High Tension: (Crossbows Only) The string of the weapon is replaced by one made of corded steel wire, and the arms reinforced. +2 damage, but the weapon takes a full extra turn to reload.

 

 

 

ARMOR

 

P/S/I:

Mobility:

Traits:

 

Ordinary Clothing

P/S/I: 0/1/0

Mobility:

Traits:

 

Leather Armor

P/S/I: 2/3/2

Mobility: 0

Traits:

 

Chainmail Shirt

P/S/I: 3/5/3

Mobility: -1

Traits:

 

Padded Armor

P/S/I: 2/3/3

Mobility: 0

Traits:

 

Plate Mail

P/S/I: 7/9/5

Mobility: -4

Traits:

 

Scale Mail

P/S/I: 6/7/4

Mobility: -3

Traits:

 

Full Plate

P/S/I: 12/12/9

Mobility: -6

Traits:

 

Breastplate

P/S/I: 5/5/3

Mobility: -2

Traits:

 

 

SHIELDS

 

P/S/I:

Mobility:

Traits:

 

Buckler

P/S/I: +2/+2/+1

Mobility: 0

Traits: Can be used to parry

 

Wooden Round

P/S/I: +3/+3/+2

Mobility: -2

Traits:

 

Kite Shield

P/S/I: +3/+4/+3

Mobility: -4

Traits:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARMOR MODIFICATIONS

 

Lance Cup: (Round and Kite Shields only) Gives the shield a notch to balance a lance on in order to stabilize it. +2 to charge attacks on horseback with a lance.

 

 

Drop two different colored d4 on it.  Choose one color to correspond to the figures and one to the triangle shaped categories.  Where the figure die lands on the silhouette indicates what it is related to.  So, a die on the hand has something to do with hands or fingers.  The other die will tell you what type of item it is.  If it is aesthetic, the item might be a ring.  If it is warfare, it might be a gauntlet.

A die that doesn't land on either figure can be read as items that aren't directly related to the bodies: furnishings, wall-coverings, urns, coffers, statues, etc.  A category die that falls off the page will still be in one of the category triangles, which stretch to the horizon.

Most of the categories are pretty self-explanatory.  I see "Learning" as information storage and retrieval: calendars, zodiac charts, royal successions that are incorporated into an item (like this), or scientific tools-- astrolabes, magnifying glasses.  It could also be a book about what the other die is pointing to.  "Daily Life" is meant to be tools, toys, musical instruments, etc.

You can read the number on the figure d4 if you want to.  So, a Daily Life item for a child on the hand might be a top, or a small spoon, or doll, for example.  An aesthetic result on the horse head could be a fancy falcon hood, a dog collar, a wreath for sacrificial oxen, or a bridle of some sort.

You don't have to use d4.  They are pointy and flat, though, which makes for a good choice here.  And the small number of results should be memorizable with use.  But you could potentially drop d10s or d12s or something and have whole subcharts of specifiers.

I playtested this a bit with my buddy and using it in conjunction with the object qualities chart really helped.  Mostly knowing what it was made of helped you figure out what kind of thing it might be too.  (I plan to revise the object quality chart soon).

This landscape strikes me as very Appendix N.

The post Wicked-Awesome Art Wednesday: Into the Castle appeared first on Age of Ruins.

“I don’t say homosexuality is an abomination, Sir, the bible does.”

Petsami has uploaded a cute video of a young fox stealing and playing with a man’s golf ball.

via Tastefully Offensive

On Friday I got to run a game for some folks I've only played with a couple of times.  It was a pretty fun game, I reckon, but to be honest I didn't spend a lot of time writing/prepping a scenario.  In fact, I rarely do. My experience is that the more you attempt to nail down what's going to happen the more you're actually straight-jacketing the possibilities for things to go in unexpected and fun ways.  Here's how I prep:

I usually start by picking something that already exists to riff off of.  In this case I decided to "remix" a movie I had just watched earlier in the week: The Vampire Lovers.  Basically, The Vampire Lovers is already a filmic remix of J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla, a tale of a young girl being preyed upon by a mysterious visitor.  (Now that I think about it, Carmilla is already a novelistic remix of Colerdige's poem Christabel.)  Halfway through the process I added elements drawn from the movie Black Sunday just to freshen in up.



Putting pen to paper, the first thing I do is sketch out the main NPCs.  Since the player characters will be investigating the strange goings-on in an ancestral manor house, I made notes on the residents:

Elena Karmore - 16, red-haired, beautiful & innocent, has fallen ill (lamprey like wound on throat, blood on sheets, weak and comatose)
Morgan Karmore - father of Elena, veteran of the Martyrlands, stern but caring, will do anything to save his daughter
Dr. William Hull - acts like he has something to hide, powerless to improve Elena's health
Carmen Delinda - governess, 30s, dark-haired
Boris Norling - hulking & strong, loyal servant of the Karmore family, superstitious, believes the illness to be witchcraft
Lizbeth McDonnel - 16, blonde, visiting the Karmore family, ethereal and stares into space

In Carmilla, it is the young woman visiting the afflicted family who is the predator--she's a vampire.  I decided I didn't want to go with another undead villain since I tend to overuse those, so I decided that witch was siphoning off Elena's blood with a strange external organ.  But I also wanted to switch it up a bit, so I decided at this point that the governess, Carmen Delinda, was the culprit.



I also decided to plant red herrings that could implicate any of the above as the cause of Elena's illness.  A search of the NPCs' rooms would reveal that Morgan had brought back books of black magic from his time in the Martyrlands, the doctor had a number of mutant organ specimens in jars of spirit, Carmen's room was conspicuously bare, and Boris's room had pagan idols mixed in with icons of the orthodox faith.  I also had a list of ways the NPCs would cast suspicion on each other, but these barely came up.

Now that I have Carmen established as the villain, I wanted to figure out who her minions are.  I decided on redcaps because redcaps are creepy as fuck and it makes sense that evil fey would align themselves with a pagan witch.  



I then decided that Carmen needed a second in command, so I made up an undead woman whose face is obscured by a black lace veil who drives a spectral coach.  Now that I've added an undead creature to the mix, I retroactively made Carmen a witch who has returned from the grave to seek revenge (shades of Black Sunday here.)



I had also decided that I wasn't going to make new stats for any of these.  Carmen is basically an evil cleric, the redcaps are goblins, the woman in black is a ghoul who uses a whip instead of claw/claw/bite.

At this point, the back-story has emerged in my head: a century ago the missionaries who brought the Church to this area waged a holy war against the indigenous pagans who refused to  convert.  The ringleader of the pagan resistance was a witch named Lady Nemarc (yeah, I did the anagram thing, sue me) who was eventually hung by Church inquisitors.  However, at the moment of her execution she cursed the town, saying "We will drink your children's blood!  Our vengeance will wait!"  Which means that Carmen has come back to fulfill the terms of her own curse; Elena is to be the first of her ex-sanguinated victims. 

I then sketch out some NPCs in the town who can reveals bits of the back-story as the investigation proceeds: local priestess, librarian, storyteller at the tavern, etc.

Now I need a hook, but this is easy when the players will go in the direction of adventure: they find an overturned carriage on their way to the village; the coachman bears a letter from Morgan Karmore to the cathedral to the south begging for them to send an exorcist to help his daughter.  Then, at the inn, Boris bursts in to recruit anyone he can to help protect Elena at the Karmore house.  Once there, the characters can investigate, ask questions, etc.  And then I make a list of things that might happen each day and night; characters being pulled aside by NPCs dropping hints and red herrings, attacks by the redcaps at night who want to remove Elena from her bedroom (which has been blessed by the local priestess, unwittingly preventing Carmen from feeding in that chamber), etc.



Then I sketch Carmen's lair, a simple faerie mound in which she was buried by the inquisitors who killed her. Add treasure, tidy up, and that's the framework.  Now, there is no telling what the players will do within that framework.  In fact, there were some really awesome things that emerged that I hadn't counted on: the party's assassin using her disguise ability and a ventriloquism spell to impersonate Carmen to send the redcaps away, a high-speed chase on horseback as several characters attempted to leap onto Carmen's spectral carriage, etc.  But those unexpected bits are the best part.  You can't plan on them, you just need to give them the space to come up naturally.

Tips On Co-Gming a Game 
by Tobie Abad

Not that many groups have ever tried having more than one game master in their games.  There are many possible Perhaps the gm is new to the hobby, and wants to run a game but isn't that confident yet with handling system-related decisions?  Or perhaps the group is a large one, and the gm doesn't want others to be bored while individual scenes are run?  Ultimately, the co-gm role is an interesting one because a second person is there to engage the others players even while the first gm is still handling a different scene with another.

Here are some tips on how to approach co-gming a game:
1) Know the "need to know" stuff
To run a game with a co-gm means being willing to trust a second person to help you in the game's narrative flow.  While this might sound unthinkable to some more old school groups, for those who have explored narrative-control friendly games, this is a very acceptable and fun thing to do.

But since the co-GM usually wants to help usher the first GM's plot forward, there might be a list of "need to know" stuff you should be aware of, whether they be the outline of the session, the key scenes to hit in the game, or even just the motivations of key NPCs which you may end up portraying.  That way, things don't go completely contrary to any pre-established scenes or narratives that included the said characters.

This also means checking with the GM if there are any things that are meant "not to be clarified/wrapped up" as far as the players may be concerned.  For example, the GM might have an ongoing plot being built up, and a recurring clue is a tattoo in the shape of an octopus.  You might want to ask the GM beforehand if that plot thread is off limits, or if you're free to make up details or maybe even the truth behind it.

2) Volume Modulation
When scenes run concurrently beside one another, the tendency is to get more and more vocal to try and maintain the focus of attention.  It might be better to keep any scenes running at the same time to a minimum, just to avoid this very problem.  But when the need to run scenes at the same time does arise, considering finding a comfortable volume level that works without intruding on the other scene.

Smart co-GMs can use the second scene to give the player an introspective moment, perhaps throwing him questions to ponder in his head, or playing the scene out like an assisted internal monologue while the other scene unfolds.  Key lines can include, "You start to think about.." or "That moment, your mind remembers this time..." as jumping points for such scenes.

3) Have a Blue Book/Laptop Communication Option with the GM
Given the need sometimes to keep things "behind a GM screen", consider having a notebook or program like Notepad or Word open to quickly type in anything that you might need to discuss withe the GM quickly, without breaking stride from running the game.  The messages should be kept short and concise of course, as to not disrupt the fun of the game.  But the gaming gods know how many times I've been happy to be able to quickly type, "Is it alright to have this NPC die?" to bring a scene to a dramatic conclusion.

4) Don't Get Lost Playing With Each Other
When a GM plays an NPC and a co-GM plays the second NPC, it can be fun to have them banter at each other or interesting to use that as a mechanism to reveal more of the story.  The scene where the leader of the Cult discusses with his lieutenant while the players spy on them can be cooler to watch when two people portray the scene.  But if the two start portraying it a bit too long, the players might wonder why there's in the scene at all.  So don't get too caught up enjoying each other's role-playing.  Keep in mind the group is still there!  I know it sounds like a stupid reminder, but I have had games where a SINGLE GM portrays two NPCs and the narrative goes on and on and on to the point I end up telling the GM, "I step out into the open and say, 'Really?'"

5) Use Some Unique Psychological Opportunities
Say you want the players to feel uncertain.  Or paranoid.  Because you want them to feel immersed the way the characters are.   Then here's a few quick ideas:

by Jon Gosier

a) The head shake.
While one gm runs the scenes and is very supportive of the player's plans and declarations, have the other one focus on the laptop/notes and slowly, quietly shake his head as if to say no.    For that added push, have him glance up at the player at a key declaration. Then slowly roll his eyes back to the notes and again, almost imperceptibly this time, shake another no.

b) The Dice Roll
The characters are escaping from the prison.  They are now quietly moving in the shadows, hoping to reach the sewer line before the others spot them.  As the gm runs the scene with all the drama and tension needed, the second GM can amp up the tension by rolling dice, then consulting the notes, and occasionally pointing at something for the first GM to either nod yes or shake no to.   Trust me, they will definitely feel the tension grow because they know, "SOMETHING IS HAPPENING THAT WE CANNOT SEE!"

If you want to really push their buttons, do all dice rolling in plain sight.  Let them SEE the results.  So each time the dice show a success, or worse, a failure, they will be dying in worry over what it is about.

c) The Twin/Double/Doppleganger Scene
The players are forced to two groups, and group A finds the contact they need to talk to.  As the GM runs that scene and has the contact warn them of the big bad guy's major plans, have the co-GM start the scene with group B.  Only in the second scene, they meet the SAME contact.    This contact, on the other hand, tells them the exact OPPOSITE of what the first GM stated.

Who is telling the truth?  Who is lying?  And why are there two of them?
That should make for a cool game story there.


So there you have it.  Some ideas and tips on how to share the GM reins with a friend.
Have fun.  Together.

It would be really nice to have a big get-together and raise a few pints and talk about adventure design.  This post came about as a result of some conversations I have had on that topic recently.

I've cut the specifics out, but otherwise it is as I said it the first time.

I caution you against thinking about adventures in terms of story.  There is a story....what happened before the PCs became involved....and there will be a story after PC involvement is done and the players are reliving the events, but I do not believe that the GM can or should know what is going to happen at each point along the way.

I would like to talk a little bit about layers and trigger events.  Also about overt and covert threads.

What most people do when they start working on an adventure is the covert thread...what is really happening that the PCs must uncover in order to bring events to a satisfying conclusion.  Most adventures need a layer of overt threads...things that happen out in the open, the ways that the players (and locals) first view the events and places in the adventure.  If you think about an adventure as a mystery, the covert thread is what really happened.  The overt threads are all of the other side issues, the alibis, the red herrings, and the daily life that conceals the covert thread from the detective until the mystery's climax.

Some rules of thumb:

• For every part of the covert thread that the characters must uncover, there should be at least six clues.  
• For any part of the covert thread that it would be cool if the characters uncovered it, there should be at least three clues.
• For every location you want the PCs to go to in order to discover these clues, there should be overt reasons for them to go there.  Note that NPCs saying not to go there, even if there is a hoard of gold lost on those old burial grounds, is almost certain to make any PC walk into a death trap, let alone a creepy swamp.

As an example of what I mean here, consider ADVENTURE  The characters are going in to GOAL.  That's an overt reason for action.  They need GIZMO to get in the LOCATION.  That's another overt reason for action.  Along the way, they are given many clues about the covert thread (the nature of the CREATURES in this area) which should lead them to a second covert thread (maybe we shouldn't DO SOMETHING THEY WERE PROBABLY PLANNING ON DOING).  The presence of various treasures and things to manipulate give the players more overt reasons to explore beyond a strict linear progression to the pool.

As the PCs examine the various clues, their understanding of the adventure changes.  Some of what was covert becomes overt.  This continues throughout the adventure.  As a result, the players' understanding of the adventure (and adventure location) develops a layered depth created through interpreting and re-interpreting what they encounter and whatever events occur.  We all experience this in film or fiction, and we all know how shallow a movie or novel is that fails to cause us to reinterpret what has gone before.  It is the difference between Dark Knight and Batman Forever.

There is nothing like peeling back those layers, as a player, and suddenly seeing the whole thing clearly.  It is a great feeling, a moment of sheer exhilaration.  Of course, it has to be the players actually doing the work, or it is meaningless.  The GM telling you Bert is Evil is nothing like putting the clues together and realizing that, very much in contrast to what you've been thinking all this time, Bert is actually the evil mastermind who is controlling the entire street.

A note on clues:  Different people can be pressured to play the villain's game in different ways.  One might be promised gold, and his greed makes him do vile things.  Another might have a shameful secret he is afraid will be exposed.  Yet another might simply be trying to prevent the villain from targeting his baby sister.  Various NPCs, being made to do the villain's bidding through various means, offer more clues than do the same NPCs if they are all doing it for gold.  Different motives give rise to different behaviours, which in turn give rise to different chinks in the armour of the mystery, and more ways for the players to crack the shell open.  You want to provide as much context as you can, without overtly spilling the beans, because you want the beans to be spilled.  And it should not matter if they are spilled early or late.

That these different motives also raise the spectre of not all the "bad guys" being bad; that "fighting them" in some cases means (or can mean) "rescuing them" is all the better....because, if nothing else, it allows the players to have moments where they must make ethical decisions.  It also means that a rescued "enemy" can become an ally, and can impart information (context) to the players.

Instead of imagining a climax where the PCs figure out what is going on, try to imagine the climax where the players learn the covert thread earlier, at the time, or never, and it still works.  It is better to offer clues at the end, and give the players the opportunity to either figure it out or not, than it is to spill the beans.

Never knowing is better than knowing because the GM told you.

Knowing because you figured it out yourself is best of all.

Trigger events are things that happen after a particular condition is met.  I.e., after the players ask at the Rusty Fox about the creepy old lighthouse keeper, they are attacked by thugs dressed like ghouls.  Trigger events, when at all possible, should follow as a direct consequence of whatever triggered them, so that the timing is a clue to the covert thread.  Even the dimmest of players will eventually realize that the priest is a spy if, after every time they go to him for help, the Temple of Chaos seems to know what their plans are.

Layering requires paths to explore that are not the main thread.  Each of these paths, in some way, points back toward the major issues and what is moving below the surface.  Both layers and trigger events are used to create the impression of things moving below the surface, and to give the players clues to finally peer below the surface and discover just what is going on.

This relates rather directly to a recent blog post.

Anyway, I am beginning to blather here.

Best of luck with your designs.

Turn grape juice into bubbly homemade grape soda using champagne yeast!!

Whether you do drip, French press, AeroPress, pour-over, percolator, or use a pod brewer, there are seriously more ways to make a good cup of coffee than we could ever highlight. Still, some methods are better than others, and you didn't hesitate to let us know. Here are the top five coffee makers, based on your nominations.

Earlier in the week, we asked you which coffee makers you thought were the best. We didn't expect the tidal wave of nominations you gave us, but we were happy to see them. Our only regret is that we can only feature the top five, and we don't have room for a lot of the very specific models and other less well-known products you shared with us. Even so, we know you'll sound off again in the discussions. In the meantime, here are your five favorites:

French Press (Bodum/Grosche/Espro/IKEA Upphetta/etc)

Ah, the venerable French press. Also known as a coffee plunger or a cafetière, the French press is a tried and true method of making a delicious cup of coffee that extracts an exceptional amount of flavor from coffee beans in a short brewing time. It's not the fastest or the slowest method in the roundup, and it's not the most hands-off, but it's hardly difficult, and for most people who want a pot of coffee big enough for a few cups (but who are also ready to upgrade from drip), it's a great option.

A relatively fresh coarse grind, good, cold water, and the time to both heat and brew, and that's all you need for a great cup. The french press method eschews disposable filters and gives the drinker complete control over the brew time and the end-strength of their coffee. Various models and types exist, from the ever-popular Bodum models to the affordable IKEA Upphetta and the dual-filtered Espro, so prices vary depending on the size and brand you go in for. Even so, those of you who nominated your French presses spoke highly of the control it gave you and the delicious coffee as a result.

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Aerobie AeroPress

The history of the AeroPress is almost as fun to read as the AeroPress itself is to use, especially considering the AeroPress is the only non-sport/toy product Aerobe makes. We love the portable, single-cup maker, and even walked you through getting the best cup with one, and many of you nominated the Aeropress because it's fast, cleanup is a snap, and you get a quick, well-extracted, delicious cup in a matter of minutes (seen in the video above, although clearly it's a bit of an exaggeration).

The shorter brewing time and disposable paper filters may be a cause for concern to some, but filters are widely available in several-hundred packs, and the fact that the AeroPress uses air pressure to extract more flavor from the (relatively) finely ground coffee in the chamber makes for a more well-bodied cup. Best of all, the AeroPress will only set you back about $25 regardless of where you buy one. The AeroPress' shape and size make it absolutely ideal for taking a great cup of coffee with you anywhere you go, which is essential if you don't want to give up a good cup just because you're visiting friends or traveling for work.

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Pour-Over Brewing (Chemex/Hario V60/Melitta/Clever Coffee Dripper)

Pour-Over filtration brewing isn't exactly new, but it has surged in popularity recently, partially due to a whole new group of people discovering the method who had previously known nothing more than push-pot office brew and Mr. Coffee drip pots. Pour-over brewing is fairly simple: a glass or plastic cone is mounted on top of a carafe, and a paper or cloth filter is used to store the coffee in the filter. You then boil good, cold water to the proper temperature, and slowly pour the water over the freshly ground coffee you put in the filter. You have control over the amount of coffee that goes into the filter, and the temperature of the water, but not so much the level of extraction (beyond through the amount of coffee used, of course).

The end result is a stronger extraction than you might expect because of how long the water stays in contact with the coffee as it passes down through the grinds and through the filter into the carafe below. You also get a more well-balanced cup but one that's still smooth, blending the characteristics of drip and pressed coffee. Depending on the model you purchase, you can spend as little as $25 (for the Clever Coffee Dripper, for example) or as much as $40 for a Chemex, not including filters and accessories. Detachable filter models are surprisingly portable, too, and can be used with thermoses, any available carafe, or even right into your coffee cup.

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Technivorm Moccamaster

The Technivorm Moccamaster thermal drip coffee maker picked up enough nominations of any individual brewing method that we had to feature it (that, and its competitor and natural alternative, the Bonavita BV1800). The Moccamaster is a handmade thermal pot that represents a significant upgrade to traditional drip models. The Moccamaster (and the Bonavita) both strive to bring the temperature of the water up to the proper level in an independent heating area, away from the coffee and the carafe, and only then introduce the water to the coffee stored in the filter bed above the carafe. The Moccamaster and the Bonavita both have models with thermal carafes on top of their heating elements (if you don't like the idea of a glass carafe on top of the element), and they're built to only allow the water to extract for the proper length of time before exiting the filter bed—all design elements that many more affordable drip makers completely neglect, in favor of features like timers and attached grinders.

The Moccamaster even earned a nod from Cooks Illustrated Magazine, a significant feat for a drip maker. When people talk about dropping the drip, they usually haven't tried one of these models. Cost of entry can be significant though, the Moccamaster starts around $300 (and the Bonavita, by contrast, is $130 for the glass carafe and closer to $150 for the thermal model). If you do enjoy a Moccamaster or a Bonavita, don't forget our tips to getting the best coffee from a drip maker. They'll help you make the most of it.

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Bialetti Moka Pot

The Moka Pot, also known as the Moka Espresso or the Moka Elite, were invented in the early 1930s and have been making killer coffee ever since. It's incredibly popular in Europe and Central and South America, and while it's not as popular in the United States, a few of us here at Lifehacker love them, even if they're not the easiest coffee makers to find in your local department store (although they are $25 at Amazon, so there's that). I've seen them in thrift stores, old and well-loved models available for a few bucks, with people passing by not knowing what they're seeing.

When brewing with the Moka pot, water in the bottom chamber of the pot is heated and steam pressure pushes it up through a central basket that contains the ground coffee, and then finally into the top chamber where the coffee eventually rests, ready to pour. Since steam pressure is important and the water is in the bottom chamber, the pots are usually made of aluminum or stainless steel, and go right on top of the heating element when brewing. Just open the top, clean it out, pour water into the bottom, add coffee to the center basket, and pop it on the stove. The Moka pot's classic gurgle signals that the pot is finished brewing and ready to serve. They're super-easy to use (although they get seriously hot), and while you don't get much control over the nuances of the brew, the final product has an extraction ratio more like espresso than drip, and has a flavor and balance to match.

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There you have it, the top five, based on your nominations earlier in the week. Now it's time to vote for the winner:

Honorable mentions this week go out to Keurig Single-Cup Brewers, which came surprisingly close to making the top five (They only missed by one or two nominations). Regardless of your opinion of pod-coffee makers, many of you appreciate the convenience and ease-of-use that Keurig's brewers bring to the mix. Similarly, Nespresso's pod-based brewers came pretty close to the top as well.

Another honorable mention goes out to vacuum pot coffee makers, like the Yama and the Cona, which use a tiny amount of ground coffee to yield a delicious, strong cup of coffee. We also want to highlight the only cold brew method that made the upper echelons of the nominees, the Toddy Cold Brew System, which makes a flavorful, strong cup for hot or iced coffee in no time.

Of course, we would be remiss if we didn't point out that regardless of the coffee maker you use, if you put terrible coffee into it, you're going to get an awful brew out of it. Many of you pointed out starting with quality beans and a good even grinder shouldn't be overlooked in the rush to find a great gadget to make your morning cup. In short, even the best brewing techniques can't turn lead into gold.

Have something to say about one of the contenders? Want to make the case for your personal favorite, even if it wasn't included in the list? Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Don't just complain about the top five, let us know what your preferred alternative is—and make your case for it—in the discussions below.

The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it's not because we hate it—it's because it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com!

Photos by Mat Honan, Don LaVange, Ty Nigh, Lauri Rantala, and Bill Rice.

1. SEDITION IS LUST | Snog with Pankow | 4:16
2. SHOWERED IN GLASS | Shinjuku Filth | 3:53
3. SLOWLY MUTATING | Implant | 4:53
4. ICEOLATE | Front Line Assembly | 5:16
5. MONSTER RADIO MAN | Skinny Puppy | 2:23
6. ATOM SMASHER | Mentallo & The Fixer | 6:20
7. THE FOG | Klinik | 7:22
8. EVIL EYES | Vomito Negro | 5:13
9. SHITHAMMER (LIVE) | Numb | 7:15
10. CONFUSION | Robotiko Rejekto | 3:02
11. FLESH | A Split Second | 3:53
12. MOTIVATION | Museum of Devotion | 4: 58
13. PEOPLE LIKE GODS | NTRSN | 2:40
14. WIRETRIPPED | Binary Park | 6:10

So I finally bought and read the Monolith from beyond space and time, and it really is a magnificently epic mind fuck – just reading the booklet was as a psychedelic experience! In his foreword James Raggi says that the module is a homage to HP Lovecraft, and it really is a Lovecraftian adventure, even though there are no references to Cthulhu, the Necronomicon, Yog-Sothoth or any tentacled monsters or Great Old Ones at all. This is an adventure module that captures some of the basic themes of HPL’s cosmic horror without regurgitating the specific details of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Well, many others have made fine reviews of the module so I’ll just pitch in this little idea. The following spell can be introduced in a dream of a Magic-User PC, written on a scroll as part of a treasure hoard or it can be the goal for an epic quest or the focus for a mysterious conspiracy.

New spell: Call of the Doom from Beyond Time and Space
Magic-User Level 1
Duration: Instantaneous
Range: Touch (see below)

This spell causes the Monolith from Beyond Space and Time to manifest in the campaign setting. It will then expand its influence until it encompasses the entire world.

How will the monolith enter the local reality?
1. A new star is born, during 3d4 nights it grows visibly larger becoming a comet blazing across the sky with a flaming tail visible night and day. Finally, as it shines brighter than the sun, it hits the ground on the very spot where the spell was cast, annihilating everything within a radius of 1d1000 miles and covering the sky in a blanket of dust.
2. The monolith bursts out of the ground beneath the spot where the spell was cast. The surrounding 1d100 miles are shaken by an earthquake.
3. The spellcaster’s body is turned into the monolith, his or her mind is now an inhabitant of the world within the monolith.
4. The valley of the monolith has always been there, adjust history to accommodate this fact.
5. The valley of the monolith replaces a randomly determined hex on the campaign map.
6. The monolith arrives anywhere on the campaign map where the spellcaster wants if to manifest.

The valley of the monolith will retain the same internal dimensions as described in the module, but will gradually expand its outer perimeter by absorbing every directly adjacent hex on the campaign map each day until the entire world is under its influence.