Stab!

Well, Japanese stab binding at least, which is a binding style that threads around the spine of the book, making it perfect for single sheets.

Never one to pass up an opportunity to pick up a new hobby, especially if it involves some aspect of creativity, I've been doing a bit of basic bookbinding. Aside from notebooks I've made a couple of sketchbooks, one of which is a thing of beauty if I say so myself and will be a Christmas gift to an artist friend. I also thought that the various pdf modules I've downloaded from RPGDriveThru would be easier and nicer to use if I printed them and bound them.

In order for my printer not to die, I put together my own black and white covers, reusing some of the lovely oldschool artwork from within the modules themselves.

So here we go:

Half a character sheet

Inspired as so often by Dyson Logos, and the fabulously illustrated sheets from the Doomslakers pages, and trying to get a handle on my encumbrance issues that I discussed recently, I've come up with the front of a planned two-sided character sheet for humans, elves and dwarves in BFRPG. I might redraw the backpack with one row fewer boxes for halflings.

Still to come is the reverse side with spell-book, thief skills and space for notes.

Feedback and suggestions welcome.
Rab

Averaigne campaign - session 25

[The story so far]

Session 25 - The tomb of the iron god (v)

NB - this uses Matt Finch's excellent Tomb of the Iron God module and may contain spoilers

Ghouls defeated (slain or driven off), the party decided they'd head North, away from the direction the surviving corpse-eater had fled in. Several of them are in a bit of a bad way; Nausicaa the elf was partcularly keen to get some rest and the clerics and magician neede time to read or meditate before they'd be able to draw on the powers at their command.

Averaigne campaign - session 24

[The story so far]

Session 24 - The tomb of the iron god (iv)

NB - this uses Matt Finch's excellent Tomb of the Iron God module and may contain spoilers

Roundly cursing the impetuous advice of the ex-guardsman Jean that had nearly got them blown up in a fiery maelstrom of acidic goo, and brought them all through the archway with its warning despite a lack of sufficient robes to cover their heads (and was that the right covering anyway?), the party decided they might as well carry on down into the catacombs.

Averaigne campaign - session 23

[The story so far]

Session 23 - The tomb of the iron god (iii)

NB - this uses Matt Finch's excellent Tomb of the Iron God module and may contain spoilers

Worried that the echoing metallic banging caused by the animated statue now confined in the pit trap could attract unwelcome attention, the party decided to quickly search his now vacated room and then put some distance between them and the noise.

Averaigne campaign - Session 22

[The story so far]

Session 22 - The tomb of the iron god (ii)

NB - this uses Matt Finch's excellent Tomb of the Iron God module and may contain spoilers

Taking stock of their surroundings in the underground complex beneath the temple of Ferus, the party pondered their next move. Aurelius and Tybalt had wounded ankles so their pace would be lower, and now the dwarf's stomach was rumbling. Time for lunch!

Averaigne campaign - Session 21

[The story so far]

Session 21 - The tomb of the iron god (i)

NB - this uses Matt Finch's excellent Tomb of the Iron God module and may contain spoilers

It had been an uneventful sail upriver from Corcelle through the fertile farming lands and hunting estates to the North of the city. Despite the strong current, a friendly wind and the skill of the captain saw them make swift progress and, in a mere three days travel, they found themselves unloading their kit at an unexpectedly empty jetty. "They're a superstitious bunch up here," the captain had reassured them, "probably keeping their heads down if their precious temple really has been destroyed. Well, Alathea go with you; that's the direction you want." And he pointed to a waymarker with an ornate letter F above the an arrow pointing Eastwards, away from the river, and the words One Mile. They went!

Averaigne campaign - Year 2: Prologue

[The story so far]

Gaming Year 2: Prologue

It was three days after the Spring Festival in Corcelle. The festival itself had been a triumph, starting with a solemn ceremony for the dawn to praise Alathea that swiftly segued into a joyous, almost riotous, carnival of music and dancing and feasting and drinking. Revellers thronged the streets, spring flower petals were thrown in great bucketloads from upper windows to cascade down upon the crowds below. Everywhere there was joy. Now the headaches had faded, the pilgrims were packing up to return to their homes, and the city was returning to normal.

Averaigne campaign - Year 1: Epilogue (a)

[The story so far]

Gaming Year 1: Epilogue
What to say about those days after the defeat of the Vespertines and the flight of their masters? Strangely little happened, strangely little was said, strangely little was remembered, and even less was ever told outside Corcelle. Listen carefully and you will understand as far as I do, you may even remember some of it yourself. Then again, you might not...

Averaigne campaign - session 20

[The story so far]

Session 20 - Is it the end of the world, or just the end of the adventure?
Those still fit to fight (Dumnorix, Aurelius, Oiseau, Montagne, Tybalt, Jean, and about a dozen watchmen) checked their weapons and armour, shared out the remaining handful of Black Jacques Specials [in effect, Molotovs] and headed for the great Temple of Alathea that formed the heart of the great and ancient city of Corcelle. The remaining Vespertine Guards had fled into the dark but it seemed likely some would be heading in that direction. The streets were dark and quiet. Any citizens who heard the disturbance had bolted their doors and shutters, all the panic of the Temple's desecration flooding back. The party and the dwindling watch were on their own.

Averaigne campaign - session 19

[The story so far]

Session 19 - On the barricades
Abandoning his crossbow for the time being, Tybalt the halfling snatched up an axe and raised it high to swing ineffectually at the Vespertine scrambling up the barricade towards him. All along the ridge of their barrier his new friends, newer comrades, and local watchmen were doing the same to repel the sudden attack. To his left, Jean was struggling to land a blow on his man, while to the right Montagne was a veritable one-man army! Humming tunelessly to himself, the huge fellow broke limbs, stove in ribcages and pulped the heads of any foolish enough to step within range of the heavy and cruelly pointed morningstar that he swung so casually.

Distracted momentarily by the carnage alongside him, Tybalt hadn't noticed the Vespertine swap his sword for a spear. At least not until that spear was thrust deep into his inner thigh. Haemorrhaging violently, the halfling fell back senseless from his vantage point into a rapidly spreading pool of his own blood...

Averaigne campaign - session 18

[The story so far]

Session 18 - Tortuous times
"Yes, but what if they don't talk?" persisted Jean, to nods from Aurelius. "I'm sure they will, if we ask them clearly and explain that they're working against Alathea, and that I'm a cleric of hers. They're bound to!" replied Dumnorix serenely. He paused. Frowned. Then went on quietly and casually, with a slight shrug, "And if not. Well. We'll just have to torture them a bit until they do."

Out in the vastness beyond this mortal plane, Alathea shifted uneasily and malignant beings laughed...

Averaigne campaign - session 17

[The story so far]

Session 17 - Children of the revolution
Bursting out of an alley at full sprint, brandishing bloodied weapons, closely followed by yells of "Stop them!" isn't a good way to be inconspicuous. This became immediately clear to Dumnorix and Oiseau as they tried and failed to blend in. Tybalt the haffling, however, was able to quickly duck into a sidestreet and make his way back towards the Gryphon. The clerics pushed through the crowd, running along a narrow lane and then out onto the main shopping street of Corcelle, stashing their weapons in a narrow wynde between houses and ducking into the nearest safe place Dumnorix could think of - Nagif's jewellery shop. They slammed the door shut behind them and turned to find the jeweller pointing a heavy crossbow right at Dumnorix's face! "Wha'd'you want?"

Averaigne campaign - session 16

[The story so far]

Session 16 - Back in Corcelle
Shaken and mildly paranoid, as well as still grieving for their comrades, Aurelius, Dumnorix, Hubert and Henri made a good start on the beer as if they intended to drink the Gryphon dry. Jacques leaned across, engaged them in traditional bartender banter and then introduced them to two large men at the other end of the bar. One of them was even more well-built than Dumnorix, and the other had a flaming sword tattooed on the inside of each forearm; a prize-fighter (Montagne) and a cleric of Nikitas (Oiseau Nourriture). "You could do with some more muscle, I reckon, 'cos you seem to have a knack for getting into trouble..."

Pre-game prepping

As well as needing to get set for Friday's game session, a poll and subsequent discussion on the Swords and Wizardry G+ community about how DMs treat time (specifically combat rounds vs. ordinary turns) got me thinking and sent me scurrying to my books. Turns out I've acquired quite a few, mostly in charity shops, but my trusty old Mentzer "Red Box" is there, along with dice and character sheets from over twenty-five years ago. Between then and last Autumn I hadn't roleplayed at all, but I'm making up for it now. "Participating" in medium-low medieval fantasy is great and my current novel (Robin Hobb's "Royal Assassin" from her Farseer trilogy) is also tickling that spot nicely.

What do you turn to for inspiration when preparing your games, whether they are miniatures-based scenarios or rpg sessions?

Now where did I put my copy of Pendragon....?
Rab

Averaigne campaign - session 15

[The story so far]

Session 15 - Tragedy and treachery
After a sorrowful hour or so burying their dead comrades, Dumnorix, Jean, and Aurelius saw no option other than to hitch their packs onto their backs and continue to Corcelle - the mission had not changed.

It was early afternoon by the time they drew close to the small forest they had seen, tantalisingly out of reach during the roc's attack, but it gave them no peace...

Averaigne campaign - The fallen

In times of great conflict, heroes will rise, and heroes will fall.

I have started keeping a roll of the characters whose dice-rolling days have been cut short by overwhelming odds, traps, random encounters, or their own foolishness or ineptitude.

Feel free to visit their monuments in the fledgling cemetary whose inscriptions are liable to grow longer if their players have anything to do with it!

Averaigne campaign - session 14

[The story so far]

[I know, I've left out two session reports which have some really important plot and some cool gaming, but I had to write this session while it was fresh in my head from earlier this evening and couldn't wait to share!]

Session 14 - Something beginning with "r"
Waking with the castle, our heroes find that a determined mood has overtaken the place since their return and the burial of their two fallen comrades, Rubeus and Henri. Men are armed, messengers on swift horses clatter in and out of the courtyard, and baskets of rubble are being filled along the battlements. Over a score of horses are being readied (it seems like all the horses in the small castle) alongside the stable block. Granted a short audience with Guisarme FitzHeron, they discover that he has been summoned to Corcelle with sufficient men for his rank to protect it - Alaric the high priest was calling in the oathsworn presence of all the local nobles. Was it an uprising? War? Either way, he had to go, but he agreed to take letters from them to Alaric and also their banker, Bertolac.

This left no horses for the adventurers, but they waited until he'd gone and then bribed the stablemaster to loan them a two-horse cart. They had to be in Corcelle in time before the eight days until the Spring festival arrived and whatever the cultists in the barrows had planned...

Averaigne campaign - session 13

[The story so far]

Session 13 - Back to the barrow (pt.2)
Robed (or pretending to be captives), the adventurers headed on deeper into the winding tunnels under the barrow...

Averaigne campaign - session 12

[The story so far]

Session 12 - Back to the barrow
Dumnorix the cleric strode ahead into the darkness of the tomb entrance, his mind still swimming with the visions he had been vouchsafed in a dream he was sure came straight from Alathea - the barrow must be purged of its unholy taint.

Symbol of Alathea

The others followed after, their horses and donkeys safely tethered outside the barrow; Grat the elven summoner, Aurelius the human mage, Nomos the human ex-soldier, Gowmac the halfling thief (reformed), and Rubeus the elven warrior-mage. Two retainers of Guisarme Fitzheron accompanied them as they had last time - Jean and Henri.