Knights of the Dinner Table Live Action Series Episode 1

Little Fears - Hand me downs

This is a collection of hand me downs I made for Little Fears some years ago.  This is before Nightmare Edition.... long before actually.  So the writing may be a bit rough around the edges as I'm just copy pasting from an old file.  Hope somebody gets a bit of use out of these.

The Old Remote

This is an old remote for a no longer used television or other electrical appliance. With the power of a child’s belief behind it this old button box becomes a very useful tool. When used it can operate nearly any electrical device that is within site. Garage doors, televisions, alarms, cars, etc. So when you absolutely need to wake up everyone in the neighborhood you simply aim it out the window at the nearest car and set off the alarm. Maybe open the garage door a bit so you can slide under it in order to get away from a nasty beastie that is right on your tail. Even set off the television to act as a distraction or to hide the noise of your own movement. The possibilities are endless.

Toy Phones

Nice plastic phones with a bit of rope that connects to the base. Four little wheels on the bottom so it can be drug around and a rotary dial that doesn’t do a return spin. These things can be a godsend when it comes to calling in some help or warning others.

First you need to identify you phone by giving it a number. This is done by taking a crayon of your favorite color and writing it on the bottom. Now when anybody else with a Toy Phone that also has a number dials up yours they connect to each other. It’s time to give Jerry across the street a ring and let him know that there is something on his roof looking in his window.

Grandpa’s Coffee Cup

Grandpa was the greatest person you have ever known. He was always there for you when you needed him. He always had a few quarters in his pocket ‘tucked away for a special day’ when the ice cream truck came along. Every morning he would get up and drink a few cups of coffee and then you and he would be off. That morning cup would always get him going. Now that he’s gone that cup is still setting there on the shelf waiting to be used.

If it got grandpa going then it should get you going also, or at least reinvigorate you when things have gotten a little rough. Drinking out of the cup restores a level of health and can be used once in the morning, afternoon and evening. Also if drank from when you are first waking up it clears your head and gives you a boost of energy (+1 to all your die rolls).

Dad’s Pocket Knife

You remember back before your Dad went away. He used to spend every moment he could with you. He always carried one thing with him everywhere he went. His pocketknife. It always seemed to come in handy every time you turned around. Cutting fishing line, carving your name in a tree and other such things. When he was no longer there you found his knife tucked in a drawer in your Mom’s room, it never leaves you wherever you go anymore.

This allows you to cut through anything you need to. It’ll slice a door open, tear the skin of that thing that sticks it’s arms out from under your bed and even cut that metal barb wire that raises up out of the backyard from time to time.

Witch's Mirror

An old metal handled mirror. The handle and back is of ornate design containing all sorts of symbols such as pentagrams, stars, moons and such. Well over a foot long and never seems to get dirty. The mirror surface is circle shaped.

Anything a child sees in the mirror is shown in its true form. Thus illusions and other deceptions are useless. Any human possessed by a King shows up with that Kings features mixed with their own.

Rumors abound among those who have seen this item, or ones similar, that it is also linked to the mirrors possessed by the King of Pride but the truth is unknown.

Tabletop RPG Kickstarters - Things to do part three.

Okay todays bit of Kickstarter advice may seem like a bit of common sense to most.  But for some reason there are several cases of people running projects who cannot seem to fathom this simple idea.  It doesn't require a lot of effort even.

Give updates about your project ON KICKSTARTER! 

I don't know why some people think we want to keep track of what they are doing on the project by going to their Facebook page.  Or having to subscribe to a Twitter feed.  Or join a community.  Or whatever social network/forum/outdated social network they want to suddenly use.  Kickstarter has a place for you to give all your backers updates BUILT INTO THE DAMN PAGE. Every one of your backers have a login for Kickstarter or otherwise they couldn't have backed you in the first place.  Not everyone has an account at whatever social network you seem to think is so important.

Give us the updates where you pitched your product, right there on the project page. 

Now of course this is all based on the idea that you give us updates in the first place.  We all know there are some project managers who can't even grasp that.  So, I guess, first you should give us updates and then second put those updates on the 'updates' section of the project page.  That is why it's there you know.

Okay this one was a bit more of a rant than I'm used to.  Must have had a flashback to giving bad gamers advice on how to play in a group properly or something.

The passing of a gamer.

A local gamer has passed away.  From diagnosis of throat cancer to the time of his passing was three weeks. While I only met him a few times he always seemed like a nice guy.  Quiet and reserved most of the time he was brilliant at the gaming table according to those who played with him on a regular basis.  He will be missed greatly by those who knew him and those who didn't will have missed out.

This has also sent his family into some financial distress as one can imagine.  They have set up a fund to help pay for funeral costs if anyone would like to help. 

Chris Jennings may you rest in peace and may your family and friends find the strength to carry on.

The Go Fund Me page to help pay for funeral costs.

The Empty Chair - Eulogy for a gamer.

Liber Elixirium now available via POD

Liber Elixirium: The Essential Guide to Potions and Oils is not available for POD over at Drivethru and RPGNow.  So if the leather, gold gilded version with the silk bookmark isn't in your budget you have an alternative for a cheaper one. 

Find it at RPGNow here.
Find it at Drivethrurpg here.

Below are some shots of the POD version of the book that Vince uploaded in an update on the Kickstarter page earlier  Looks pretty good, not as good as the leather version I'm holding, but still pretty nice.

 

Also don't forget they are running a Kickstarter right now for the City of the Lich module. 

You can find that Kickstarter here.

That's all the blogging for this week.  See you next Monday.

Kult Retroclone

Retrocloning when the setting nor the system are open for use.  I've seen several fans of Kult ask about somebody writing up a retroclone of the game over the years.  Well ever since people started the DnD clones oh so many years ago.  My answer as to why not is because with most of those are based of a system that can be pulled from the OGL for D20.  Nearly the entire 'guts' of the old system are there you just have to strip away everything added and work your way around what is missing.  Then most of them are just variations of that system and NOT of the old settings that DnD was known for.  It's all generic fantasy settings for the most part.

The system in Kult isn't under the OGL in any way shape or form.  Besides the system is not what made the game popular and loved among its fans.  It was always the setting, that particular bend of dark horror, with a twisted take on cosmology and how it alters the very reality around us.  That is what people were after, the rules were just a means to an ends.

Now Kult, lock stock and barrel, is owned by a company called Paradox.  This company produces nothing, it exists and earns income by licensing out intellectual properties that it owns.  Maybe you've heard of a few things that belong to them like: Mutant Chronicles, Mutant Year Zero, Chronopia and oh yes lets not forget they own a good chunk of Conan (enough to lawyer up against anybody who uses the name without permission).  They are dedicated to keeping these properties their own and don't like it when people infringe upon them.  Short story, they will take you to court over it really quick.  So a 'fan edition' of the game would probably end up with somebody getting sued.

The only way around this would be coming up with a new setting from the ground up.  One that has a same cosmological control over the world and the same end result on the reality around those hapless characters who live in it.  That would be the key challenge, capturing that same lightening in a bottle from a different storm.  After this is done a system could be bolted into it, preferably one with a decent way of handling sanity/mental balance as that was the only memorable part of the original.  Arguments could be made all day long for systems but that's neither here nor there.  That setting would have to be the core nugget of interest.

So this is why there is no Kult retroclone.  So please stop asking.

Six Pack - More modern magic items.

Time for another six pack.  Here are six modern day magic items, stats are given for use with the WaRP system.  Enjoy.

'Free Money' Card

What appears to be a blank credit card made of a gray plastic with just the magnetic strip showing on its surface. Most wouldn't think anything of it this but a curious one will try it out. When put into an ATM and any four numbers entered as PIN code it will cause two hundred dollars to be dispersed. Now this only works once per day, any extra attempts come up with an error reading the card. Another benefit the user is usually unaware of is all surveillance of the transaction is blurred out. Rendering any attempt to ID them from security camera footage an impossibility.

The Stop Watch

What appears to be a simple non-digital wrist watch with a leather strap. There is an extra button on each side that are unusual and seem to serve no purpose. However when one presses both in at the same time while staring at the watch it will cause time to freeze in the area around them. This will last as long as the wearer is looking at the watch face, one look away and it breaks. So they have to use peripheral vision to move around. The more complicated the movement the harder it is to not break eye contact. Only works once per month. Trying to use this at any other time simply cause no effect what so ever.

Reading Lamp

A rather old and decorative table lamp. Made of a dark heavy wood with inlaid carvings of what appear to be educated wise men reading books. Even the cord is decades old and most would think it unsafe. When somebody turns on the lamp and lays a book in the light it visually translates the text into the primary language of the reader. There seems to be no limit on how long you can keep it on nor how many time it can be used.

See Through Mirror

A small hand held mirror, about the size of those that come in compact make up kits. Kept in a felt lined leather pouch and the back of the mirror seems to be covered in the same felt material. If placed against a wall and the person holding it concentrates it allows them to see through the wall as if they were looking through a hole. There seems to be no limit on how long you can look through the mirror and can even slide it about on the wall moving the 'hole'.

These two pistols are known for being the reason why some people have survived incredible odds. Hurt, bleeding and facing the end they are suddenly able to wield these firearms better than ever before. They've been in the hands of everybody from staunch lawmen to criminals on the edge of society believing it's kill or be killed.

'Last Man Standing' pistol – Walther P .38

For every ten points of HP that are lost while the user had this pistol on them they gain a bonus die whenever firing.

'Bloody Defender' pistol – Colt M1911 .45

Activated when the users own blood is smeared onto the gun. After that they gain a bonus die on all actions for as long as the blood is wet and the gun is in their possession.