Silent Nightfall

There’s an owl in the well
One-two-three
There’s an owl in the well
One-two-three
Old owl in the well
Won’t catch me!

Silent Nightfall, the most recent of the CE series, is now available at RPG Now.  

This was playtested by a crew starring Jen Brinkman, the First Acolyte and Unofficial High Priestess of the Spellburn podcast.

There is a lot going on in the 21 pages of content (not counting the OGL), and, as is the norm for Purple Duck's DCC materials, all text is OGC.

There are often periods of greater or lesser magical influence in the world. Millennia ago, during a period of reduced magical activity, there was a nuclear power station at this location. When magical influences began to spread once more, the nuclear core became unstable, and began to develop a form of malevolent sentience.  The ancients placed the core in a shaft three miles deep, the last 500 feet of which were filled with heavy water.  This shaft, and its attendant control center, were given the codename “Silent Nightfall”.

In the ages since, much of the complex has collapsed or ceased to function, but the main shaft still remains, going three miles deep into the ground. The rooms that remain have undergone great changes, having been used for many different purposes and by many different creatures over the centuries. As a result, the original purpose of the shaft, rooms, and corridors has become
obscured.

Silent Nightfall is usable with characters from level 2 and up in a campaign setting, but players may find parts of it extremely challenging, so judges - know your players!  

Includes appendixes on Aberrations (including 5 new monsters and a random table!), Demi-patrons, Languages, and the Radiant Brotherhood, I hope you will find this one a great value for your game!

UPDATED: Print on Demand

FT0:  Prince Charming, Reanimator, is now available in Print on Demand format.  That is all.

Well, actually, it turns out to be a little bit more difficult than expected.  Apparently, adding a print-on-demand option to a pay-what-you-want product turns the PWYW off.  So, slogging through the PITA work involved, Mark Gedak has created two listings.

GO HERE if you want a pdf copy of Prince Charming, Reanimator on a PWYW basis.

GO HERE if you want a print copy of Prince Charming, Reanimator.

This is not as elegant as having a single listing, and it might be a bit more confusing than necessary, but until RPGnow finds a way around this issue, that's what we're stuck with.

Meanwhile, I am hard at work on FT1: Creeping Beauties of the Woods.

Now, as luck would have it, I had a chance to run a party through FT0 recently, and I have to admit that, in this case, I was shocked at how well they did against my little death trap....er, character funnel.  I guess that's what happens when you roll high initiatives, multiple 20s, and everyone makes their save against breath weapon.  Oh well, Rosie we hardly knew ye.........

ANOTHER UPDATE:  Mark Gedak just let me know that Purple Duck's DCC and Pathfinder material will be 50% off from NOW until 18 November at RPG Now!

Excellent Post Alert

http://dreamsinthelichhouse.blogspot.ca/2013/11/megadungeon-topology.html

Also, if you are not reading Elfmaids & Octopi, you should be:  http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.ca/

Upcoming From Purple Duck

Silent Nightfall, the latest in the CE Series, has entered its layout, art, and playtest phase.  Please note the request for playtesters two blog posts down....could you be one of the first people to see this material?

Silent nightfall, now to bed

A rushlight to ward your way

Hush now child, cry not child

They listen to find their prey

Through forest they come

Down dark streets they glide

O my children lie silent

We are all safe inside

I am not 100% sure that this is just "placer art", because of the nature of the Campaign Element.  This may be the creepiest, and the most useful, Campaign Element yet, with four appendixes that help you maximize your usage of the material presented!


Purple Duck’s Adventure Locations are perfect for dropping into any ongoing campaign.  With some slight alteration, they can also be used as a story arc, spanning five or six adventures running from 1st to 3rd level.

Here is your chance to pick up Bone Hoard of the Dancing Horror and Sepulcher of the Mountain God (by Paul Wolfe) in print, with a short introductory section that describes how to use AL 1 to 5 as a single campaign arc.

I am also currently working on FT 1: Creeping Beauties of the Wood for Purple Duck Games, and a new Adventure Location.  So keep your eye on the Duck; there's a lot more coming!

FT 0, 1 & 2 at Casa Loma

If you live in the Toronto area, you are probably aware of Casa Loma, "Canada's Majestic Castle" created by Sir Henry Pellatt.  It includes two secret passages and an 800-foot tunnel beneath the street from the castle proper to the coachhouse.

What you may not be aware of is that you can rent rooms in Casa Loma now for various functions.

Take a look at those room rates for a minute.  They're actually pretty reasonable for the chance to run a faery-tale based game of DCC in a freaking castle!

Casa Loma closed at the end of October, and reopens in May.  The prices are reasonable.  By that time, FT 0, FT 1, FT 2....maybe even as far as FT 5 should be out.  

Now, I don't know how fast we could burn through those modules in a single game date, but it would be as cool as hell to try.

The Austin Room is $250 plus taxes, which should mean $285, and seats 8 people.  Just under $36 a head, including the judge.  If there are enough people interested by the spring to do this, I will contact Casa Loma and make the arrangements.

During breaks, or between adventures, folks could wander into the secret passages and down the tunnel, or climb up a tower.

It would be awesome!

Playtesters Wanted!

I have some upcoming materials that I need some help getting playtested.

The first up is CE 5:  Silent Nightfall, appropriate for 2nd level characters (although usable at a much wider range).  I can send you the materials now, if you can get me a list of playtesters and some feedback no later than the 11th of November.  

Next up is a Mystery Project, which I hope to have ready for playtest no later than the 6th, but which I will need feedback on by the 14th.  This is the same project which was mentioned on Spellburn.

After this, I expect FT 1:  Creeping Beauties of the Wood to require playtesting.  

And there is more coming, so if you want some playtest credits, email me at ravencrowking at hotmail dot com.

Thanks!

The Most Wonderful Day of the Year

Posted by "Loozrboy" under Creative Commons 2.0

Halloween is my favourite day of the year.  Better than my birthday (especially as I get older!).  Better than Christmas.  Better than many other days of the year where I actually get the day off.  It is not the costumes (although those are fun).  It is not even the candy.  It is that Halloween is the last holiday we have that actually builds community.

Think about it.

In the old days, every holiday was a reason to greet your neighbours and mingle with those you might not otherwise see.  Carolling and wassailing meant going door-to-door.  You might even exchange gifts.  Easter meant egg hunts in public spaces.  We still have parades, but in most communities parades are more spectator sport than interactive event.

So, feel good about throwing yourself into the holiday.  Dress up when you take your kids trick-or-treating.  Make your house spook central.  And be glad that we still have one day to build community, because most of the social forces in our current culture are more interested in tearing community down.

(Oh, and, November 1st?  Happy Birthday, Mom!)

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

I hadn’t intended to make any profit on Prince Charming, Reanimator, but Mark Gedak at Purple Duck Games has offered a share on the profits (if any) now that it has broken even.  First off, he was willing to put out a product that you can get free to help me, and to do so with a professional finish.  Secondly, he was willing to pay all the costs thereof out of pocket until he hit the break-even point with Pay What You Want (and there was no guarantee that anyone was going to pay anything!).  Third, after hitting that point, he wanted to reimburse me for making a product that I had originally made to help someone else get word about their own project out.

To Mark Gedak, Luigi Catellani, Kristian Richards, Perry Fehr, Jon Marr, and all the playtesters – You Rock Mightily!

Finally, if you are not aware of it yet, Scott Mathis’ Transylvanian Adventureshas hit RPG Now as a pdf.  Well worth checking out, and very seasonally appropriate!

Spellburn Extras

Drop by the Spellburn website to pick up two extra denizens – the Demon of the Sands and the Giant Ambush Bug.  

Jim Wampler did the excellent art on this one.