The second day of Gen Con brought about a great few pictures. Below are a few of my favorite which include two giant game boards, one which was build to Lego’s and had actual robots! I ended the gallery with Wil Wheaton just because I think he is awesome!
Giant Carcassonne
Robo Rally
Robo Rally – Wall-e
Steve Prescott
Artist Row
Pathfinder Society
Games Workshop
Arcadia Quest
Wil Wheaton
Days three pictures will be up tomorrow! I will be looking through all the post to find the good ones!
One thing you can be certain of is that a lot of companies like to hold off showing the public stuff so they can have a big reveal at Gen Con. So I have seen two so far one is for the Pathfinder and Obsidian pairing that you can see on a previous blog.
And this next one!
DungeonscapeKamus-The-FamousKamus-The-Famous-PT
It is the love child of the Dungeon & Dragons and Trapdoor Technologies pairing called D&D DungeonScape (codename was Morninstar). This is the official character generator for 5th Edition D&D! The beta is being shown off at Gen Con and you can see the pictures of it on Dwarven Foundry’s twitter page!
A lot of awesome pictures were taken at Gen Con 2014 first day! I have compiled a few of what caught my eye!
Wizards of the Coast Castle
Drizzt
Need I even say it?
Cardhalla Charity!
Geek & Sundry
Games oh so many!
Gloom
Privateer Press Line
Salvatore & Greenwood
Monte Cook
Oh and if you forgot head over to www.geeknative.com and learn about Anti Gen Con. It is pretty awesome idea allowing those of us stuck at home to connect to other gamers on Gen Con weekend. You can also win great prizes in the GenCant2014 contest!
Wizards of the Coast will release it second Core Rule book the Monster Manual on September 30th 20014. Which monsters did they decided to give us a peek at… well only one of the most iconic monsters of all time (sorry Flumphs) the Tarrasque and one of the most sacred the Sphinx!
5E: Tarrasque5E: Tarrasque Info
I never met a more formidable and terrifying creature in my role-playing career and from what I can see in the picture and stats this has not changed.
5E: Sphinx Info5E: Sphinx
If this is what they are starting us off with I am way excited to see what they are keeping to themselves.
Below is a quick overview of creating a character in the new Monte Cook Games RPG The Strange.
Each players starts out as a human on Earth and have three stats that represent who you are. These are Might, Speed, and Intellect. Might is your strength and durability, Speed is your endurance and coordination, and you Intellect is how smart and charismatic you are.
Each stat has these three components Pool, Edge, and Effort. Pool is your base measurement of each stat, Edge is used to reduce cost of what you are trying to do, and lastly Effort which is what you spend when you really want to accomplish your task. What Type you choose (see below) dictates the values of your starting stat pools. In addition to the base values you have 6 points to distribute as you see fit.
Now to the coolest part of character creation. Creating a statement that describes yourself “I am a adjectivenoun who verb.” My first character statement was “I am a stealthyspinner who solves mysteries!”.
The adjective is your Descriptor and 13 are included in the base rules. This is what adds flavor and depending on what you choose enhances your character in different ways (Not all are positive).
The noun is your Type (class) of which there are three. The Vectors characters are the soldier hunter types. The Paradox characters are the scientists sorcerer types. The Spinner characters are the entertainer political types. Each of these Types have a different starting pool, Vectors receive more Might, Paradox more Speed, and Spinners more Intellect. As you level (there are 6 tiers) you gain specialized skills and abilities of your chosen Type.
The Strange – Types
The final piece is the verb which is your Focus. When you choose your Focus (each player character must be unique) you receive a special connection to one or more of your fellow player characters. Like the Type choice (see above) when you level you unlock different and improved abilities. One other thing to mention about your Focus is that it may or may not translate when you travel to a Recursion. When it does not you will need to choose a different Focus.
So there you have it a very quick overview of the character creation for The Strange RPG.
The Strange is due to be release this month so make sure you keep checking MCG website if you are interested in learning more!
If you missed my first post about The Strange check it out!
Who is Monte Cook you ask? Really… Well if you do not know who I am speaking about you need to come out of the cave you have been hiding in and look him up. He has worked for several RPG companies the most notables are TSR, Wizards of the Coast, and Paizo.
I had the privilege meeting Mr. Cook and I am sure he remembers me from Gen Con (Right Mr. Cook? ::Chuckles::) I mean you only met thousands of fanbois during that 4 days!
Most will know him for his contributions to 3rd Edition Dungeon & Dragons… well until recently that is. In September 2012 Monte Cook Games turned to Kickstarter to crowd-fund a new RPG that was set a billion years in the future in a science fantasy post-apocalyptic setting called Numenera. The rules (Cypher System) were streamlined to focus on the story and action of the players characters. The Kickstarter raised over $500k which was over 25 times the funding amount needed and with that extra funding was able to add supplemental books and accessory for the setting. The list can be found on the kickstarter page.
Numenera RPG
Bruce Cordell (You know who he is right, please tell me you do!) came up with a concept for another setting that used the base mechanics of Numenera (Cypher System). Just over a year later in October of 2013 MCG launched their 2nd kickstarter called The Stangelooking to raise $60k. In November 2013 they successfully funded The Strange pulling in over $400k which allowed them to add supplemental and accessory for the setting. The list can be found on the kickstarter page.
The Strange RPG
What caught my attention The Strange kickstarter was one paragraph.
“The Strange is a game that crosses multiple worlds, called recursions, which player characters can explore and defend. In The Strange, your characters change with each world they travel to, taking on new aspects suited to help them function in that recursion’s unique laws and structures. But dangers found in these recursions threaten not only characters, but also our very own Earth. If characters persevere, however, they can not only save themselves and Earth, they may even gain the ability to create a recursion of their own!”
I love the idea that characters change depending on the recursion they are in. How can you ever get bored of a character that changes to fit into the world they enter? Two of the recursions that have been revealed are Ardeyn and Ruk and these are just the tip of the iceberg. I was however very intrigued with one recursion that I saw on a map posted by MCG and the name is Oz. Yes that is right recursions can be brought into existence by the fact millions of people are aware of a fictional place and it’s occupants. This is explained in detail in the core book but one line says it all.
“Many recursions were seeded into the network by the creative resonance of pure imagination (so-called “fictional leakage”), and over time these recursions have matured into places that are quite real.”
This opens up so many worlds that you and your friends can explore, the list is practically endless. You can bet I will be creating a recursion of Middle-Earth, the Walking Dead, and who knows I might even create a Harry Potter / Zombie mash-up!
If you think this sounds cool and intresting just head on over to www.montecookgames.com and read more about it on their blog or better yet get the free preview here!
Stay tuned Nerds next up “Creating a Character” in the Strange!
If you have not seen it yet here is a preview of Wild Magic. Oh and on the page what do we see… none other the the Dragon Born! Nice rendition I have to say! OK… sorry back to Wild Magic The 50 different possible effects are diverse. For instance if you roll a 33-44 then your next damaging spell you cast does max damage or if you roll a 91-92 if you die you come back to life immediately and my favorite if you roll a 49-50 you cannot talk and pink bubbles come out of your mouth.
5E: Wild Magic5E: Wild Magic Table
We have also been given a peak a couple more feats. Namely Dungeon Delver, Durable, and Elemental Adept. I have to say all three of these are pretty cool!
Have you ever felt that the alignment mechanics where cumbersome or broken? Well so have Quasar Knight Enterprises and they have created Death to Alignment! for Pathfinder.
