Mystery Woman

What's the deal with this green-skinned elf?

Rules Revamp

A new version of the D&D Basic Rules has been released. Click here to get yourself a free copy!

Friendly Faces

Well, they don't look friendly, but the dragonborn who live on the outskirts of the Gloaming Hills are important allies for the heroes as they mount their second expedition into the jungle.

Here we have Domhnall, chief of the clan, and the proud sorceress Nereida.

One-Shot Man

Never done any of this crazy Thanksgiving/Black Friday shopping before, but here I am standing in line at Kohl's to get a deal on an Xbox for the boys for Christmas. As I'm freezing my ass off, I'm also chuckling about a funny moment from this morning's future Shattered Realm adventure. I'd been building up this as-yet-unseen villain, a mysterious ghostly presence who's been responsible for all sorts of bad stuff in this solar system. Today the heroes encountered him for the first time.

And Matthew one-shot him.

His laser rifle-toting rogue got the drop on this foe, won initiative, rolled a critical, and piled on tons of Sneak Attack damage. Before vanishing, the ghostly villain cried out with a vow to return and destroy Matthew's rogue. I'll bring this villain back, of course, but now he's lost all his mystique!

Blightmare

This adventurer has run afoul of the blights, small but bloodthirsty plant creatures who lurk in the darkest corners of the jungle.

Those well versed in D&D monster lore will notice that I'm using vegepygmy miniatures for the blights, but, well, blight minis are damn expensive on eBay!

Beware

Here we have the skeletal remains of some hapless traveler who didn't believe the stories that the vegetation in the Gloaming Hills is literally trying to kill you.

Spectaculars

I just learned about an interesting Kickstarter game called Spectaculars, created by longtime D&D designer Rodney Thompson -- with assistance from a bunch of other folks who worked on D&D products at one point or another. Spectaculars is a superhero roleplaying game in which the players build the setting as they play. As someone who enjoys the world-building aspects of RPGs, I think it's a cool idea. I'm not sure I'll plunk down the $65 needed to get a copy of the boxed set, but I still have 12 more days to decide. And if I do end up backing, I suspect a reboot of Earth Commanders -- the original Front Porch campaign from 1988 -- would be the next logical step.

The Wyvern

Here's the aforementioned airship that will feature heavily in the upcoming "Return to the Gloaming Hills" storyline.

But who's that brutish, ax-wielding fellow on the deck?

New Website

Strat-O-Matic has a new website. For anyone who loves sports and gaming, these guys are the top of the line!