Status Update

It has been a rough few months here at QDG, but things are finally back to normal (I hope.). The fifth QDG product, PO-2, is about halfway finished and allowing for play-testing, should be available sometime in February.  The module that was to be FM-3 was a seasonal adventure and has been delayed indefinitely. However, there will be more FM series adventures before then. As for the blog here, posts are resuming, but it has a been a bit too long of a delay to continue the section by section review of 5E D&D.

As of now, there are four QD products available, three of which are pay what you want. Two these have been reviewed elsewhere and links are provided to the full reviews.   

Treatise of Twisted Terrors
The first QuasarDragon Games product is collection of 70 new and re-imagined monsters for your OSR games. Currently only $2.

"At $2, this is really a steal. A" - OSR News and Reviews.

PO-1 The Stolen Child

The pleasant town of Sligo has its tranquility shattered when a young boy vanishes in the middle of the night. Investigating the disappearance, the characters discover lost ruins and an ancient plot for revenge and a long forgotten enemy of humanity. Will the characters be able to rescue the stolen child or will a cruel, wronged race be able to wreak vengeance on all humanity? An OSR compatible module for any old school RPG or modern clone, designed for character levels 7-9. Pay what you want (suggested price $2)

FM-1 Baba Smerta
As night falls on the marsh and the fog blankets the land, the people of the surrounding villages lock their doors and pray that they will be overlooked by the minions of Baba Smerta. For nearly three generations they have suffered her tortures and humiliations. When one of her raiding parties takes on the PCs, though, have they bitten off more than they can chew? Will this long reign of terror finally come to an end? Suggested for levels 5-6. Pay what you want (suggested price $0.50)

"like something the should have appeared in an early issue of Dragon magazine, a ten page concise adventure module that centers itself on the challenges that surround and center on Baba Smerta & her domains [...]  makes excellent uses of its elements, themes, and more to really give a unique and some what unsettling old school adventure" - Swords & Stitchery.

FM-2 The Tomb (or Temple) of Asibare.
Lying undisturbed for ages, this accursed tomb is discovered by the characters and a great evil is encountered. Will they survive this brush with darkness or will they become its latest victims. An OSR compatible module for any old school RPG or modern clone, The Temple/Tomb of Asibare is designed for character levels 2-4 or an especially harrowing first level. Pay what you want (suggested price $1.95)

And finally, there is some very minor errata.
Errata:  Treatise of Twisted Terrors, The Stolen Child, and Baba Smerta all should read "advanced version of the game" instead of "classic version of the game" in the boxed text of their title pages.

Looking at the 5E Player's Handbook - part 1

There's finally been enough time to get started reading the new edition.

Cover - I'm still undecided about the cover. It is quiet good fantasy art, but is it D&D? The fire giant on the cover is far too large unless they are going to radically increase the the size of giants in the new monstr manual. Fire giants have always been about 12' tall and this one is at least 30' tall. I know I'm nitpicking, but having seen far too many manga-esque drawings in which ordinary humans are shown using giant swords that would weigh more than they do, any exaggeration of size seems silly.

The text on the back cover is simple and enticing - no problems there. And the odd smooth to rough transition on the back cover is noticeable, but really unimportant.

Cost - $49.95 for 328 pages (counting covers and blank pages). Ouch! If anyone wonders why it's so difficult to recruit new players, the rather steep entry fee might be a factor.  

Binding - Having had more than one game book fall apart after heavy reading, I've started to appreciate quality binding. Although only time will determine how well it lasts, this seems to be exceptionally well bound and unlikely to fall apart.

Preface - There's not too much to say about a preface, but with quotes like "collaborative creation," "create epic stories," and "strengthen friendships" in the text, it's clear the game is again on the right track. D&D isn't a video game; it's better than that, and should emphasize it.

Introduction -  It's difficult to remember not knowing what a role-playing game is, so it's really impossible for me to judge how effective the introduction is at explaining this. It seems to good with one exception. The overused, and frankly insulting, comparison to "childhood games of make-believe" serves no positive purpose and gives outsiders a completely wrong idea of what gaming is. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson weren't outside playing a fantasy equivalent to "Cowboys and Indians" and decided to make some rules to see who fireballed who first. absurd. It is wargaming with elements of theatrical method acting and collaborative storytelling mixed in, the proportion of each of these varying from group to group. Still, despite that pet-peeve, the introduction seems pretty good overall.

Step-by-step characters - As the title notes, this small section gives an overview of the steps in creating a character. There's nothing unusual here and each step is covered in more detail later in the book.

Races - Here we start getting to the meat of the book. All the old races from 1e are here, although gnomes half-elves, and half-orcs are considered "uncommon." There are only two "new" races, and both have appeared before. Tieflings have been around so long that they are almost "old school." I don't really care much one way or another about them, though it is interesting that they made it into the core and aasimar didn't. And unfortunately, dragonborn did make it  into the latest edition. This race has always seemed to be little more than munchkin bait for those who want a character who has a breath weapon. Although an exceptional role-player could turn one into an interesting character, far more if these will be played walking flame (or acid, lightning, ect.) throwers.

One thing I really like about the races is that there was clearly an effort made to make each race feel different through descriptions and rules. With different traits, as well as stat bonuses, each race is subtly different and has its own flavor.

While I do gave a few curmudgeonly complaints, so far this new edition is quite impressive and a vast improvement over the fourth edition.

Next time - Classes,

Baba Smerta

Now available at DriveThruRPG, "FM-1: Baba Smerta" This mini-adventure is a "pay what you want" product with a suggested price of only 50¢ but 0¢ is fine. It is also available at RPGNow.

"As night falls on the marsh and the fog blankets the land, the people of the surrounding villages lock their doors and pray that they will be overlooked by the minions of Baba Smerta. For nearly three generations they have suffered her tortures and humiliations. When one of her raiding parties takes on the PCs, though, have they bitten off more than they can chew? Will this long reign of terror finally come to an end? 

An OSR-compatible mini-module for any old school RPG or modern clone, designed for character levels 5-6, "Baba Smerta" is easily adaptable to other levels"

The informal review of the 5e Player's Handbook has been delayed slightly, but will start soon - I hope.

Misc

With all that's been going on, I've neglected to mention QuasarDragon Games' sister site QuasarDragon.  QD is an on-again, off-again website that has been linking to free, legal fantasy, science fiction, and horror since 2007. It's from there that QuasarDragon Games gets its name, not the "Shooting Quasar Dragon" card from Yu-Gi-Oh!, which came later. If you like those genres (are there any gamers who don't like at least one of them?) feel free to check it out.

QuasarDragon Games third product should be out in the next week or so. This, as of yet unnamed OSR mini-module will be very inexpensive. And starting this weekend, I'll be posting an informal multi-part look at the Fifth Edition D&D Player's Handbook.

And QuasarDragon Games' first product, The Treatise of Twisted Terrors, has just been reviewed at OSR News and Reviews and I'm dancing such a happy jig that you'd have to save vs insanity if you could see me.

The Stolen Child

Technical difficulties and personal loss have slowed posts, but PO-1: The Stolen Child is now available as a Pay What You Want download at DriveThruRPG

The pleasant town of Sligo has its tranquility shattered when a young boy vanishes in the middle of the night. Investigating the disappearance, the characters discover lost ruins and an ancient plot for revenge and a long forgotten enemy of humanity. Will the characters be able to rescue the stolen child or will a cruel, wronged race be able to wreak vengeance on all humanity? An OSR compatible module for any old school RPG or modern clone, designed for character levels 7-9, The Stolen Child is easily adaptable to other levels.

Sorry, no posts for a few days due to a death in the family.

"The roads I travel I must leave,
For I've turned the final bend.
Weep not empty tears, but grieve
As the road comes to an end."

Gumberoo

 QuasarDragon Games first OSR adventure, PO-1: The Stolen Child, should be available within a couple of weeks or so, barring unforeseen disaster. It will be available at DriveThruRPG and RPGNow, most likely as a pay what you want item.  In the meantime, here's a rather silly monster for any OSR game systems.

Bear, Gumberoo

Frequency:                Very rare

No. Encountered:      1

Size:                            Medium

Move:                          120 ft

Armor Class:            7

Hit Dice:                     3+3

Attacks:                     3

Damage:                     1d3/1d3/1d6

Special Attacks:        Hugs: 2d3

Special Defenses:     See below

Magic Resistance:    Standard

Lair Probability:        80%

Treasure:                    None

Intelligence:              Animal

Alignment:                 Neutral

Level/XP:                    4/215+3/hp.

Source:                        North American Folklore.

"What a strange creature it was. When I first saw it, I thought it my be a deformed bear, or one that was horribly scarred. That was soon disproved when poor Arteoss decided to chase it off with his slingshot; it seems unlikely that he'll ever regain use of that eye. Who'd have believed that the stone would bounce of the damned beast and rebound straight back at Arteoss." - from The Journals of Eurylochos the Traveler.

Gumberoos are a strange species of bear that inhabits coastal forests. They look much like an obese, mostly hairless black bear, with bushy eyebrows and scraggly chin hairs. Aggressive beasts, gumberoos will attack almost anything when it is away from its lair, not from maliciousness but because it has an exceptional appetite.

Gumberoos are immune to all non-magical weapons which bounce off its hide and invariably rebound toward the attacker. This innate magical ability causes the attacker, such as a player character, to effectively attack themselves. (Whatever number the player rolled to attack the gumberoo is used on the attack against themselves.  Strength and other bonuses do apply.)  For each attack, magical weapons have a 25% chance of rebounding, as do magic missiles (roll for each missile). Because of this ability, gumberoos have no fear and will charge anything that looks edible. 

This creature has one fatal weakness, though it is often dangerous to exploit. If a gumberoo is damaged by fire for more than one point, it explodes in a flaming inferno, exactly as if a fireball cast at eighth level had detonated where it was standing. 

Gumberoos spend most of their time sleeping at the base of burned out trees, typically cedar trees.  The rest of the time they are out hunting or following other biological urges. They are voracious eaters and can eat prey larger than themselves, sometimes stretching to to ridiculous proportions to consume it all.

Original art by Coert DuBois

 

All monster statistics are Open Game Content, including, but not limited to, the stat block from “frequency” through “source.” All references to spells, and other preexisting open game content referred to in the text is Open Game Content.