Yetian Inspiration
September 3, 2008
I’ve always had a certain fondness for the yeti, who along Bigfoot/Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster, rounds out the "Big Three" cryptozoological creatures. Living in the Himalayas, out of reach of modern society, the yeti or "abominable snowman" has a certain mystique and a few grains more plausibility than the other two.
I recently saw the third of the Brendan Fraser mummy movies, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which had a scene involving yetis, and well…at least it got me thinking about yetis…. Read more
RPG Map Tiles
March 8, 2008
Awhile back, I wrote a post about finding maps for your virtual tabletop . This post is more general. I’ll be talking about map tiles–not full maps. I’ll cover tiles for your face-to-face game as well as for your virtual tabletop.
The Dire Tombs cover there on your left wasn’t chosen randomly. This post started out as my just wanting to rave about how much I like Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeon Tiles. I’m still going to do that, but it struck me that there are many, many options when it comes to map tiles. So, I had a look around and thought I’d share some observations. Read more
Monsters for Sale: Buying D&D Mini Singles
February 25, 2008
Continuing on the game prep theme from last time, I thought I’d talk a bit about buying D&D miniatures. Alright, before you skip this post: This isn’t about the D&D Miniatures game, nor is it about D&D. It’s about getting those unpainted metal miniatures, those stray dice, stones and random bits of plastic off your battlemat and replacing them with something more representative. Read more
Sound of a Desert Nightmare
February 17, 2008
Awhile back, I talked about artwork that inspires me as a GM. My game is currently in a three week hiatus while I plot the campaign’s next chapter, which includes a trip to a not-very-nice desert location.
My plotting was thrown into high gear this weekend when I just stumbled upon the album, “Necronomicon”, from a band called Nox Arcana. Read more
Mad Props - Handouts for Your Pulp Horror Game
January 18, 2008
If you play Call of Cthulhu or another game with a pulp horror setting, you’re going to like this….
I’ve recently stumbled upon a site with all sorts of Lovecraftian props, and it’s a good thing I did. Why? To my horror, I discovered that mine was not the first brilliant mind to consider an article about using props in your pen-and-paper roleplaying game.
Inspirational Deviants
January 15, 2008
Awhile back, I was searching for someone to create a mascot for EpicTable. I wanted a mascot–an iconic figure, not just a logo. Some creature that would be to EpicTable what Eddie is to Iron Maiden. My search led me to Adam Vehige and his gallery on deviantART.
Along the way, I spent (way too many) hours paging through some really great artwork. I’ve found myself returning to these sites when I need inspiration for an important villian or location.
Finding Maps: Virtual Tabletop Tips, Part 2
January 8, 2008
If you’re using a virtual tabletop (or “VT”), you have the option of playing on maps that are much nicer-looking than a wet-erase mat. “Yeah, but I’m not an artist…” you say. The good news is, you don’t have to be. There are a lot of resources out there for the VT map-maker. I’ll introduce you to some of them in this post.
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