Adventures and Shopping

Wednesday, 18 July 2012

Ground Set 14 Trenches (Lord Zsezse Works)

Ground Set #14 - Trenches
$5.97USD, 4,88 Euros, £3.81GBP
(25% off July Summer Sale)
on RPGNow / DRTPG / Wargame Vault

(Re-posted from a my thread on Lost and the Damned forum because I'm finding formal reviews way too difficult to write at the moment)

I've been lucky enough have been sent a review copy of Lord Zsezse Works' Ground Set #14 - Trenches for Adventures & Shopping. ( http://bit.ly/LZWtrenches )

Naturally, my own work has made me hyper-aware of the differences between square tiles and modular sections. LZW is pretty much pushing layered PDFs to the limits of what's possible with square floorplan systems.

They're also pretty beautiful to look at. I haven't printed any myself this week, since my cartridges are nearly out and these definitely come needing near-photographic quality printing.

Actually what kills me about LZW is why aren't enough people singing this company's praises?

On their Facebook page ( http://www.facebook.com/lordzsezseworks ) provide some photos of a modular system in action,

LZW Modular WWI trench tiles

-I don't think the set in the picture above is out yet, but I have to say that the square tiles (below) are something special to look at also.

(A thread on Cardboard Warriors presents the difference between irregular modular tiles and square tiles - a subject which burns my grey matter on a daily basis)

It occurs to me this would be a pretty good set for post-apocalyptic setting and maybe even 40K - perhaps an outdoor Space Hulk...
Here's some the blerb from their page RPGNow/DriveThru:

This set includes more than 100 tiles, since each tile can be altered to have different turns and exits.
With those three switchable paths, you can build up more diverse trench systems.

Type of trenches:
- Center Straights
- Lower Straights
- Straights with Firing Steps
- Straight with Bomb Hole
- Straight with Depot
- Depot Areas
- Angled Trenches
- Angled Connectors
- V Trenches
- Right Angle Turns
- Dead Ends
- Landscape Tiles
Image format:
6"x6" tiles
U.S. Letter, 200 dpi, PDF
Our Ground Sets are made for 1 inch based figures, where one inch = 5 feet in the real world.

The switch system seems to really work when selecting the exact angle and point of connection of the trenches depicted on the tile - the only problem being there's almost too much choice! the switches are a pretty sophisticated yet logical use of layers in PDFs.

As I have said I haven't actually printed any as yet, but I'm always totally knocked out by the level of detail and innovation in Lord Z's products. The non-trench ground tiles are also nicely textured with feasable scrub and debris scenery.

I'm guessing that on most tabletop battlefields it's easier to build upwards, but not so easy to dig down - so if you're able to alter line-of-site rules these tiles might be ideal for historical or sci-fantasy games.

Ground Set #14 - Trenches - currently $5.97USD, 4,88 Euros, £3.81GBP (25% off July Summer Sale) on RPGNow / DRTPG / Wargame Vault

Main site:
http://www.lordzsezseworks.com/

Saturday, 14 July 2012

Inked Adventures Square Dungeon Tiles

I'm transmitting this one on all channels, so I must apologise if this is appearing as a multiple posts people's feeds. ;)
PRESENTING...

Inked Adventures Square Dungeon Tiles

http://bit.ly/squaredungeontiles
(Product page on RPGDriveThru)

Reduced Price at $5.50!

I finally gave into market pressures and have decided to supplement the Inked Adventures Modular Sections range with geomorphic style square tiles. ;) Perfect for random play!

Ta for reading. :)

Friday, 6 July 2012

RQ6, Pathfinder Core Rulebook, Tumblr photos

Okay, I'm seriously behind on everything, especially anything which requires more than a status update banality - RITING MAEKS BRANE HERT. The good news is that I'm a bit nearer to finishing a product for Inked Adventures (god, I'm broke, I hope I sell a few...)

PDF Download $25 on DTRPG/RPGNow
http://bit.ly/RQ6ed

Very quickly - a piece of product news and some random photos (Tumblr is rewiring my synapses to the point that I only think in terms of snapshots - apologies for post-repeats)

Behold! The latest official version of RuneQuest! Just been looking at the PDF - very comprehensive and complete. The printed version won’t be out until the end of the month but the PDF is on sale at DTRPG / RPGNow http://bit.ly/RQ6ed - Also it’s worth browsing older $1 products in the Design Mechanism store.

EDIT 7.7.12
My gushing praise on DriveThru for this game:

This review might be a little premature, because I'm still at that excited-post-download phase when I'm feverishly clicking through the 458 pages.

I'll say again ...
Four-hundred-and-fifty-eight pages of RuneQuest goodness.

This definitely has the look and feel of an older RQ or BRP title. The mechanics and the writing style is very accessible, with the occasional black and white ink drawing.

The rules, setting and atmosphere (with a bent towards ancient, mystical, classical) is generic enough to adapt to different campaigns, whilst providing enough detail for interesting springboard points especially regarding character (and monster) backgrounds, magic, skills, "passions" cults -not to mention the gritty effects of chaos. As well as the dice mechanics, there's plenty of tips and guidelines and optional rules.

I'm also happy to say that it appears to be an "everything-you-need-to-play" publication. (I hate buying supposed "core" books only to find that there's no monster list or many references to "essential" accessories.)

As I type it's still $25 which is a good price for a volume of this size. I'm looking forward to seeing a hard copy -surely it will be a thick tome - so the PDF on a tablet will certainly be more portable for fast rule checking at the table.

Nice work, Design Mechanism! This is a respectable descendent of a noble line.

There's a type of mission statement in the introduction...

In designing RuneQuest Sixth edition we had several aims foremost in our minds:

To recapture the spirit and feel of the earlier editions of RuneQuest.

Provide a comprehensive fantasy roleplaying game that capitalises on RuneQuest’s strengths.

Streamline the system, but also introduce new mechanics and systems that reflect what is happening in 21st Century roleplaying games.

Bring RuneQuest to a new audience, and continue to care for its old fans.

Since I'm most familiar with pre-box RQ1 (an "earlier edition"), at first glance I'd say they've pretty much achieved what they've set out to do. I must see if I can find all of these "new mechanics" ...
*suspicious* ;)

(EDIT ends)

Of course if you’re on a budget, Mongoose’s popular open source Legend RPG is going for pennies http://bit.ly/RQLegend

Design Mechanism RuneQuest main page: http://www.thedesignmechanism.com/runequest.php

Random RPG shopping purchase news:

At last, I have my very own Pathfinder rules! (Courtesy of a wise and loving partner. Ace.) Until now I've only had the old Beta rules PDF which was impossible to print economically due to those luscious backgrounds. It's definitely worth owning in book form.

I'm a little concerned about how it bangs on about "all you need to play" (words to that effect) when The Bestiary is still compulsory for a starting DM (unless of course you're happy just using your D&D3.5 Monster Manuals) ...

It is a truly gorgeous tome.

A little word of warning though. We bought through Amazon and it's taken over 4 weeks to deliver to the UK. Is this a conspiracy to make us order directly from Paizo?

Photos of something close to my heart ...