CMG Extra - "Favorite Magic Item" Day 25 of The D&D Thirty-Day Challenge!

Day 25 - Favorite Magic Item

If I could pick a category, I'd go with Potions.  They seem to be the most useful to all PCs at all levels.  Sure, they have a single use, for the most part, and the effects don't necessarily last all that long in a lot of cases, but many are essential to survival.  Any healing potion in any edition is a staple.  If you asked someone whether they'd want a healing potion or one other item of equal value, I'd bet most would choose the healing potion.  Anything else might or might not come into play but taking damage at some point in almost any game is just about guaranteed.

Artist - Rick Hershey

One of my favorites that was devised for the Potent Portals offering (available here at RPGNow.com) are the Shutters of Gruesome Grappling.  I loved them so much, I put them on the cover!  These nasty window coverings would protect against intruders by having tentacles spring forth, grapple, and constrict anyone trying to gain access without the password.  I've had a lot of fun springing this one on players and employing it as a player when I fortified a small household in a town.

The original D&D 30-Day Challenge meme had a duplication and was a bit more edition-specific than I thought was useful for my purposes, so I made some adjustments and had some folks on the Internet give it the once-over.  Here's the result and what I will be doing through the month of June as "CMG Extras."

Throwback Thursday - Old Patents, AD&D Visor Glasses, & Starfleet Command Gold

Over on The Telegraph, they have a couple dozen old Patents for very odd equipment on display here.

Also, on 2 Warps to Neptune, they features "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Visor Glasses (Larami, 1983)" here.

Finally, on gog.com they have made available Star Trek™: Starfleet Command Gold Edition based on the old tabletop game Starfleet Battles.  See more here.

Throwback Thursday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming

 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.

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CMG Extra - "Favorite Spell" Day 24 of The D&D Thirty-Day Challenge!

Day 24 - Favorite Spell

This is pretty tough because there are so many and unlike the monster questions on this list, I cannot fob off a second place answer to a different question on a different day (except maybe through curses and magic items!).  I am a fan of many of the "fire" spells but the fact that there are so many dilutes my love for any single one of them.  And once we've eliminated those as potential favorites, can I really go with any energy-based spell: cold, electricity, etc.?

Artist - Rackham, Arthur (illus) (1910) The Rhinegold & the Valkyrie

For the Superstitions Sourcebook I produced some years back in Era 3.5E, I included lots of Magic Items but also about two dozen new spells that I really enjoyed writing.  Dolphin Soul, for instance, allowed a caster to inhabit a dolphin for a time, though it left the caster's lifeless corpse behind for the duration at the tender mercies of his adventuring buddies.  Not always a good idea.  Locate Familiar's Owner is self-explanatory but of limited use.  Still, a fun one when it does come into play.  Another fun one was Pig of Himself which can cause someone to gorge themselves until they die.  But my favorite was a simple one that filled a need for Necromancers as follows:

Friend of Vultures
Transmutation [Earth]
Level: Clr 6, Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: See text
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area: Dirt in an area up to 750 ft. square and up to 10 ft. deep (S)
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
     This spell is often used as a preparatory spell before creating undead. Friend of vultures moves dirt (clay, loam, sand), possibly collapsing embankments,moving hillocks, shifting dunes, and so forth to uncover any dead bodies or skeletons in an area suitable for use in a create undead spell.
     However, in no event can rock formations or buildings be collapsed or moved, though tombstones will be displaced and jumbled in the process. The area to be affected determines the casting time. For every 150-foot square (up to 10 feet deep), casting takes 10 minutes. The maximum area, 750 feet by 750 feet, takes 4 hours and 10 minutes to move.
     This spell non-violently breaks the surface of the ground causing any pockets that hold the dead to belch them forth to the surface. Trees, structures, rock formations, and such are mostly unaffected except for changes in elevation and relative topography.  The spell cannot be used for tunneling and is generally too slow to trap or bury creatures. This spell has no effect on earth creatures.
     Material Component: A mixture of soils in a small bag and a spade made of a vulture bone.

The Superstitions Sourcebook @ RPGNow.com

The original D&D 30-Day Challenge meme had a duplication and was a bit more edition-specific than I thought was useful for my purposes, so I made some adjustments and had some folks on the Internet give it the once-over.  Here's the result and what I will be doing through the month of June as "CMG Extras."

Events & Play Wednesday - Cons & Gamedays for July

With the last Wednesday of the month falling six days prior to the actual month-end, it gives me the chance to make mention of a couple of things that take place in late June.  In particular, the big convention locally for those in Southeast Wisconsin and Northern Illinois is the Nexus Game Fair.  It takes place June 25th to 28th at the Crowne Plaza near the Milwaukee Airport.  Event registration is still open and some great games have seats available for those who'd like to be a part of this fun time!  I attended last year and will be there again.  Learn more here.

As always, the third Saturday and Sunday this month feature the Burlington Gameday on Saturday, July 18th, which sets up events through the Burlington UCC Game Day group on Facebook here and A Gathering of Gamers on Sunday, July 19th, set up by the South Lakes Area Gamers here.  The former is in Burlington, WI at the Plymouth UCC space and is free taking place from approximately 11 am to 5 pm.  The latter takes place at the Pizza Ranch in Elkhorn, WI, and requires a $12 fee for the all you can eat pizza and fried chicken buffet (salad bar, soft-serve ice cream machine, etc.) plus unlimited soft drinks and coffee from 11 am to 8 pm.

Also, esteemed gamer and teacher of games, Ken Lewandowski, will be in attendance at an event called "Ken Con" Yuo, that's why!) on Saturday, July 11th, hosted by Nathan Lewandowski.  It takes place beginning at 2 pm at Northminster Presbyterian Church of Evanston 2515 Central Park Ave, Evanston, Illinois 60201.  Check on on the Facebook event page here.

Finally, check out the EN World thread detailing the EN World Chicago Gameday 41 here.  They always have an eclectic lineup of RPGs in the offing and this time is no exception.  It all takes place at Game Plus in Mount Prospect, IL, and some of the games include: Savage Worlds, Translucent University, HiBRiD/Ite' Gamine Engine v2.2, Apocalypse World, Fate, Supernatural, Pentra, I Was A Teenage Creature, Swords Without Master, Feng Shui 2, Monsterhearts, Mice & Mystics, and Earthdawn 4th Edition.  It's almost too good to be true!

Further from my locale . . .

This weekend, in fact beginning today and running through Sunday, if you're in the Orlando, FL, area, you might do worse than popping in to Dice Tower Gaming Con.  They are at the Doubletree SeaWorld Resort 10100 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32821 (entrance on Westwood Blvd).  Tons of games, wonderful guests, fabulous prizes, so go and see for yourself!  Learn more here.

Plus, check out Sooner Con 24 here which takes place this weekend in OK, June 26-28 at the Reed Conference Center in Midwest City.  Quite a bit of gaming on the schedule.

Once we get into July, check out the Milwaukee Summer Revel which takes place from July 10th-12th at Olympia Resort Hotel, Spa, & Conference Center (1350 Royale Mile Rd., Oconomowoc, Wisconsin 53066).  More on that here.  How about "the Mother of all wargaming conventions" known as Historicon?  It runs from July 16-19 at the Fredericksburg Expo & Convention Center, 2371 Carl D. Silver Parkway, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 with more info here.  There's a Facebook page set up for Captaincon here and their home page here which goes from July 17-19 at the Holiday Inn, Taunton in Taunton, MA.  Also, Wargames Foundry says to Bring Out Your Lead for the 31st of July, on through the 2nd of August in the UK with more details here and here.  Since it comes right at the end of July and some folks seem to be going, Gen Con (the Best Four Days in Gaming!) takes place from July 30th to August 2nd in Indianapolis, IN, with lots of information here.

You can also find a whole list of gaming events all around the country and beyond on Warhorn.net here.  Some coming up this weekend as May ends and on through June include:

End of June:

Jun 24-28 Dice Tower IV Orlando, FL
Jun 25-28 FLORIDA SUPERCON (Miami Beach) Miami Beach, FL
Jun 26-28 RAGECON 2015 Reno/Sparks, NV
Jun 26-28 Storm-Con 2015 Charleston, SC
Jun 27 June 27th DDAL Game Day at Giga-Bites Marietta, GA
Jun 27 WombatCon: Mortal Wombat Broomfield, CO

And into July:

Jul 1-5 Dexcon 18 Morristown, NJ
Jul 5 Phoenix Comics & Games Seattle, WA
Jul 8-12 Gam3rcon San Diego, CA
Jul 9-12 Play On Con 8 Birmingham, AL
Jul 9-12 San Diego Comic-Con Intl 15 San Diego, CA
Jul 10-12 Paizocon UK 2015 Birmingham, BIR, GB
Jul 11 DDAL Game Day at Giga-Bites Marietta, GA
Jul 11-12 Magic Origins Pre-release Weekend Carbondale, IL
Jul 17-18 HaitiCon SF San Francisco, CA
Jul 17-19 Ancient City Con 15 Jacksonville, FL
Jul 17-19 AVCon 15 Adelaide, SA, AU
Jul 17-19 Geeks Games and Gadgets 15 Nacogdoches, TX
Jul 17-19 Quincon XXX Quincy, IL
Jul 23-26 MonsterCon 15 Gaffney, SC
Jul 24-26 Con Bravo Hamilton, ON, CA
Jul 24-26 HarnCon 15 Kansas City, KS
Jul 24-26 KantCon 15 Overland Park, KS
Jul 24-26 Magic City Con Birmingham, AL
Jul 24-26 Space City Comic Con Houston, TX
Jul 25 Capcon Springfield, IL
Jul 25 Clearwater Con Eau Claire, WI
Jul 25-26 Fantasy Gamer's Conclave 15 Cary, NC
Jul 26 D&D Expeditions At New Wave Comics Skippack, PA
Jul 29 Pre-Gen Con PF Society Play Indy, IN

Some of this information (and more can be had) is from the excellent lists on upcomingcons.com/gaming-conventions, GameConventionCentral.com, HMGS (the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society), and  as well as many, many gamers on Facebook and Google Plus, to whom I am grateful for the help in this compilation.  Thanks so much and have a great game!

Events & Play Wednesday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News of Conventions and Gamedays as well as pictures

from those I have attended and games I have played.

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CMG Extra - "Least Favorite Monster Overall" Day 23 of The D&D Thirty-Day Challenge!

Day 23 - Least Favorite Monster Overall

I don't like Tieflings.  I don't like their name.  I don't like their concept.  I don't like their very soul.  Okay, that is way over the top.  Truth is, I don't care for them for my own games but don't give a monkey's butt if someone else uses them in their setting.  "Least Favorite Monster" doesn't mean I have to hate my choice.  It merely has to rank lowest if I were to stack up all of the monsters.  If you look at my monster stack, that arm sticking out of the bottom and grasping for a lifeline is a Tiefling.

Artist - Malcolm McClinton

So, why are Tieflings something that ranks low for me?  I don't use them.  I don't generally use planes, except insofar as planes being places where some DM-run creatures reside or have their origins.  But those places are utterly and bizarrely foreign to PCs and civilized NPCs in my setting, those that have even heard of such places.  When I have used planes, it has been more like a twilight zone episode where one or more characters have passed through a portal and did everything they could to simply cross back over for fear of being forever trapped upon the other side, this when they've been lucky enough to wind up on a plane where survival was even possible (air to breathe, temperature not causing someone to burst immediately into flames, etc.).  For my settings, they aren't simply travel destinations or new frontiers for exploration, they are whole other alien worlds of mystery far beyond the understanding of mortal, terrestrial beings.  So, having a PC race with a background as being from another plane makes Tieflings a non-starter for me.  No offence, Wolfie.

Artist - Malcolm McClinton

The original D&D 30-Day Challenge meme had a duplication and was a bit more edition-specific than I thought was useful for my purposes, so I made some adjustments and had some folks on the Internet give it the once-over.  Here's the result and what I will be doing through the month of June as "CMG Extras."

Tech Tuesday - Catan Socks, Graphene Light, & Surprise Chair

Over on catanshop.com, check out the nifty "Socks of Catan" here.

Also, on nationalgeographic.com, they herald the "World’s ‘Thinnest’ Light Bulb, Made From Graphene" here.

Finally, from steampunktendencies.com comes some pictures of "The Gentleman’s Surprise Chair (Circa 1880)" here.  I don't know if this is an authentic antique but it sure is cool.

Tech Tuesday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News focused on Technology
as it might interest gamers.

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CMG Extra - "Favorite Monster Overall" Day 22 of The D&D Thirty-Day Challenge!

Day 22 - Favorite Monster Overall

This one is easy for me because I have a personal stake in this creature, the Griffin.  Although it can be spelled in a number of ways (griffin, griffon, or gryphon), I prefer using two F's and two I's.  They fly, they tear, they rend, they are animalistic and yet noble.  They make for some ferocious mounts as well.  They have been rendered artistically in many ways over the years, and a wiki page on them shows their great lineage.

Artist - Bruno Balixa

For the logo I created for Griffins & Grottos, an RPG system I have been developing for years (and, yes, the name is a homage to the top game in the field and many of it's other homages), I chose a more traditional image.  It's simple and clean and, I think, evokes a classical period of gaming (Old School?) that I like.  What do you think?

The original D&D 30-Day Challenge meme had a duplication and was a bit more edition-specific than I thought was useful for my purposes, so I made some adjustments and had some folks on the Internet give it the once-over.  Here's the result and what I will be doing through the month of June as "CMG Extras."