Frog God Games Grab Bag

Ye old Frog God Games, aka Necromancer Games recently sent out a coupon for the Grab Bag. It's $300 retail worth of product for $100. The coupon was $25 off of that.

I put in an order, mentioned a few of the things I already have, as a former backer of some of the Kickstarters and long time purchaser of Necromancer Games and Frog God Games products.

It was VERY quickly delivered. Packaging was top notch. Everything very well protected. Separated into different sleeves for maximum protection. There is a mix of OSR material in the form of Swords & Wizardry, as well as more modern gaming material in the form of Pathfinder support.

And here's what's in there.

PRODUCT	RETAIL
Swords & Wizardry Coloring Album	4.99
Hex Crawl Chronicles: The Golden Meadows	9.99
Hex Crawl Chronicles: The Troll Hills	9.99
Hex Crawl Chronicles: The Pirate Coast	9.99
Hex Crawl Chronicles: The Shattered Empire	9.99
Swords & Wizardry MCMLXXV	9.99
Grimsgate	9.99
Saturn Night Special: Ice Tower of the Salka	9.99
Castle Baldemar's Dungeon	9.99
Razor Coast Map Folio	9.99	4.99
One Night Stands: Curse of Shadowhold	11.99
One Night Stands: The Spire of Iron and Crystal	11.99
Swords & Wizardry GM Screen	11.99
Razor Coast Freebooter's Guide	19.99
The Black Monastery	33.99
Razor Coast Heart of the Razor	39.99	19.99
Tome of Horrors 4	44.95
Rappan Athuk  Level 7B	9.99
Rappan Athuk Bestiary	8.99
Rappan Athuk Player's Guide	9.99
Rappan Athuk Level 7B	9.99
Rappan Athuk Cylopean Deeps Part 2: Cult of the Khyrll	9.99
	318.74	293.76

Note that on the Rappan Athuk material, I'm 'guestimating' 9.99. There are no prices on it. I checked the Frog God Games website and they have a few of these listed, one of them for $8.99 so I adjusted that price, but many not at all. I also received two copies of Rappan Athuk Level 7B for some reason.

Note that where you see a secondary cost, such as with Razor Coast Map Folio and Razor Coast Heart of the Razor, I included that because when you pay full for the listed price on Paizo's web site, you get the PDF as well. If you were looking for a more 'accurate' count, you really should take the cost of the PDF , which gives you $294.76. Still a hell of a bargain. Less still of a bargain if you're a smart shopper and visit places like Noble Knight Games that have quite a few of these on sale for less, sometimes significantly less, than these prices.

Good news? I actually don't have any of it.

Bad news? Not a fan of Swords & Wizardry so the Razor Coast stuff, while useful for background information, will probably wind up going out.

The other stuff looks like it's useful for one shots. The Tome of Horror 4... I've read unflattering reviews of it but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt for now and try to find time to do an actual review later.

For those who've ordered the mystery grab bags from +Frog God Games , what did you get? Any stands outs? Any particular bits that you didn't know that you would love?

For me, I suspect the Black Monastery will be getting a run in the near distant future (meaning I'm in the middle of an Adventure Path now but...).

Kickstarters: Current and Ongoing and Those I've passed

There are so many Kickstarters out there these days, that I'm pretty comfortable missing months at a time and not looking into the various things going on because I figure at any time, there will be more that are ongoing.


Another problem is lateness. The Tome of Horrors miniatures, officially licensed from +Frog God Games , is late and the communication has been bad. Others like Alien Assimilation are late but communication has been good and you get to see the work as it's coming.


Another problem is cash. With a new car, the funds have been tight. Anything that has too high a buy in is pretty much dead in the water to me. For example, Basius 2 looks awesome but man, the shipping and handling, and the fact that it's in British pounds? Nope.


I was fortunate in that a few of the Kickstarters I backed were awesome enough to give me a refund. Needed it too for things like down payment on the new car and various other assorted bills that tend to just pile up.


The last problem I'll mention, is stuff I know is coming. While who knows when Center Stage is going to be done, I'm pretty sure +Reaper Miniatures is going to be delivering Bones II real soon. I'm a backer of that and well, I haven't finished everything in the fist Kickstarter so I imagine I'll be buried in that strange Bones material soon.


On the other hand, I did put in  for a book on miniature painting that comes with a few figures from Figone, the Figopedia.The guy doing it is a fantastic painter and if he can get some of that information into my small brain? That would be awesome. Even if not though, a few miniatures and some awesomely painted miniatures to peruse? Win!


Red Box Games by has done several Kickstarters. I had a bad experience, as everyone did, with the first one, but the second one was great. Picked up a lot of monsters. I skipped the others as they're character driven and his scale is more 'realistic' which means they look fantastic, but generally don't fit even with his other work by Reaper. However, his latest one may get bandits and as I've mentioned before, I'm not impressed with the current crop of bandit miniatures out there.


Dungeonmorph Dice? Awesome. Not too bad price wise either. I've got my eye on it.


Ancient Ruins II is a series of bases but man, between CoolMiniOrNot's recent bases and my old Happy Seppuku bases, I don't know. Prices aren't bad and I do like helping the 'little guy' so I'm going to try to get some money together for him. I've ordered from him in the past so I'm pretty sure it's going to be another quick turn around.




Strangely enough, I haven't backed a lot of role playing products lately. Between Pathfinder and 5th edition, I'm pretty set in terms of campaign setting and adventurers.


Not only that, but for whatever reason, the RPG ones tend to be just as bad if not often worse then the miniature ones in terms of dropping communication or just failing to deliver. Not saying they're all like that but man, when I look over the list of stuff I haven't backed and check on it to see if it's available now because it sounded interesting?


Throne of Night is way behind on some of it's deliveries, but it's had some stuff out?


The Reliquary looked to be a book of magic items. Looked pretty cool. Looked like something I could pick up when it was done. Wow. Still not done. Ugly stuff.


The Grand Temple of Jin: It sounded awesome but I had enough of mega-dungeons at that time. Still ongoing. Argh!


Southlands, now this one I'm 99.9% sure it's going to be out relatively on time. It hit when the funds were at an ultra low point though so as much as I wanted to, it had to go to the wayside. Their only behind one of the stretch goals for the previous KS I backed from them.


Anyone else backing anything awesome that the world needs to know about?

Storage 24

So with the death of the Legends of the Five Rings game, I'm doing some reading on my own. I like Lorefinder for the Pathfinder game engine (essentially 3.5+) but I'm so pressed for time these days, I know that the chances of me actually running something straight out of the mind are slim to none. I need some prewritten adventurers to at least germinate and steal maps and other good stuff from.

Now mind you, I may still never run anything but...

I recalled the Grey Citadel, an old Necromancer Games adventure that had some mystery, some urban exploration, and some dungeon crawling. The author put a lot of stuff in there that I enjoyed, and the old Dark Loch website still has a lot of fun free stuff on it.

While reading through the Grey Citadel and thinking of how I'd 'convert' it or add some of that Lorefinder stuff to it, I decided to flip on Netflix and watch Storage 24, Wikipedia link here. It's essentially one of those alien hunting people through dark and twisted corridor type deals. You know, like Alien, Aliens, Creature, Abyss, Leviathan, and I'm sure a ton of other movies that I'm missing.

I was surprised in that it wasn't terrible. I was expecting something to just listen to in the background while I took some campaign notes but there were a few things that that I noted that are used time and time again in horror films so thought I'd point a few of them out in case you're wanting to run some horror scenarios or at least some 'bug hunt' style games.

1. Visibility is terrible. This can range from visibility being cut off by there being no light, to visibility being blocked because there are obstacles, like say spider webs or other opaque yet light objects in the way.

2. Previous Victims: The party should find previous victims of the creature. The wounds they suffered shouldn't be noticible at first. For example, the party approaches the victim from the side or from behind and when they tap them on the shoulder, the victim falls over dead or the party member pulls a blood soaked hand back. Sometimes these victims are hidden in say, the vents or closets or some feeding area that the party may find later. The victims conditions might provide the party an idea of how large a creature their facing, how it's bite is (mandibles versus fangs for example) as well as if the creature has talons like a bear or claws like a crab.

3. Extra Characters: If it's a bug hunt, be sure to put a few munchable NPCs in the mix. Give them a little personality so that when the beast eats them, the party members are motivated to stop the creature more than they might normally be.

4. Red Herring Characters: When the party first comes across the situation, perhaps they are completely unaware that there are monsters at all and think that the murders are being caused by a madman. This can lead to some interesting scenarios and potentially the party killing an innocent person.

5.Sound Effects: Many monsters, like say Godzilla, have their own unique roar. You know when you hear the enormous roar of Godzillia well before he's seen on the screen that he's around. Have some special sound effect you can use when the players are deciding their next course of action just to let them know that the monster isn't waiting for them.

6.Larger Implications. In the movie Storage 24, even as the characters inside are fighting for their lives, there are hints of something much larger going on in the background. When the plane carrying the alien first fails, there are special agents on the scene. There are a lot of military on the scene. When the characters catch news of the plane crash, they see that the city is filled with military and more is incoming. When the movie finally ends? The city is under attack by aliens in spaceships. Yeah, the movie went there. But in other movies, like Alien or Aliens, there are other things afoot that the characters may not initially realize. After all, Ripley didn't know about the Corporate uses for the alien until later, after the android on the ship almost killed her, and of course in the sequel when she's betrayed again to the corporation's needs.

7. Creature abilities. One of the reasons why you want to throw the lights out on the characters is that often, the creature has much better senses than those it hunts. It may see in the dark, it may not have eyes at all. It may have movement abilities that make it so that it can easily outrun any person or even car.

8. The Roof! In many of these style movies, the first thing that happens is someone is looking down at some blood dripping from... somewhere and then they get it into their heads to look up and wham! That sucker can stick to the walls and move through the vents like they were going out of style.  Giving the creature movement abilities means more than just making it faster than the characters.

9. Limited Room to Maneuver. In some games, characters can become powerful very fast. In some situations though, your ability to navigate is negated by not being able to move. For example, if you have to crawl through sewer pipes or through air ducts or vents or narrow hallways. The standard might be limited the types of weapons the characters can use as well as giving them the same penalty they might suffer as if they were prone.

Storage 24 isn't going to win any movie awards but its not a bad movie and hits all of the 'standard' bug hunt features tackled above as well as some interpersonal drama that if you can't figure out in the first few moments of the movie, aren't really paying attention.

Tome of Horrors: What Monsters Would You Have Picked?

Center Stage Miniatures is closing in on their Tome of Horrors Kickstarter.  They have exceeded their initial funding goals and have unlocked a nice variety of bonus figures and add on figures.

The Tome of Horrors is a classic monster tome as it updated a ton of creatures from previous editions of Dungeons and Dragons to first the 3.0 rules, then 3.5 and eventually Pathfinder. Reaper Miniatures did some figures based off the initial art. Now Center Stage Miniatures is taking their shot at it.

I pulled the last version, the Tome of Horrors Complete, down from the shelf today just to page through it and see what monsters I would have went with for miniature purposes.

Amphisbaena: The old snake with a head at each end is very old school. It's also a relatively simple creature. Maybe too simple?

Cat Lord: This would have to be a two part figure. One in the nature version and one in humanoid version.

Bat, Doombat/Mobat: Maybe a slight twist on the figure since they are both large bats? The good thing about something of this nature, is it could work in many situations requiring a giant bat. Often vampire based games tend to have these types of monsters.

Bonesnapper: In some instances, this could work nicely as a raptor.

Cerberus: Depending on how it was made, especially since he's described as being 'Huge', this one could be an interesting 'bonus' style figure.

Cooshee: Come on man, it's an elf dog! A great companion for rangers and other forest walkers, it could also sub as a cool looking dog. It's been in multiple sources from it's credit section.

Daemons: It's possible that Center Stage will do a Kickstarter just for these bad boys as there are quite a few classic bits there.

Dark Stalker: I was kind of surprised this one didn't show up. They have the Dark Creeper but no Stalker? The Stalker is like the boss man!

Demon Shadow: I admit, this one might be kind of hard to capture in miniature form. At least it would be easy to paint.

Demonic Knight: Okay, not quite the Death Knight, but the illustration in the core book is a nice one with a black plate suited knight with a vicious looking two handed sword.

Dragonnel: It's dragon like, could probably be used as a wvyvern but is a HUGE creature so it's feasibility isn't really there.

Eye of the Deep: Not quite a beholder but...

Four Armed Gargoyle: Depending on the sculpt and the paint job, could probably be used for a few different types of creatures ranging from demons and devils to well, gargoyles.

Half-Ogre: The picture by rjt is a great one and would be fun to see cast up.

Khargra: I don't think this one would be popular at all but I don't recall ever seeing a miniature for it. It's also small sized so there could be a few of them.

Greater Medusa: While the whole medusa becomes half snake thing has been done a few times now, it's still a great concept and could be used for some of the various snake races out there.

Skeleton Warrior: Like the Death Knight, a classic from the old Fiend Follow. The illustration by rjt would look good in lead too.

Troll, Ice: The ice troll, like the two headed troll, is an old classic.

Personal favorites... the ones above are mainly real old school or could sub for other monsters. These are ones I just like the look of.

Brass Man: A large construct with a solid picture? Sold!

Golem, Mummy: A medium sized cloth bound creature that players might mistake for a mummy instead of an undead and waste precious undead killing resources against?

Obsidian Minotaur: I like the way the illustration looks. Might be another one that's boring to paint thought as it has no real areas to 'detail', just a huge minotaur shaped hunk of obsidian.

Reliquary Guardian: While it's large, with the 'weeping angels' being so popular from Doctor Who might make some people happy.

Ronus: A wolf with the head of a falcon? Score! I could use a pack of them.

Soul Reaper: A large undead with a scythe? Could also make a great Dread Wraith sub.

The N'gathau: Hellraiser meets D&D. Mind you, this might be better done as a separate Kickstarter to judge interest but it's something I would hopefully be able to back.

Mind you those aren't ALL the ones I'd like to see done up, just the ones I'd most like to see done up. The book is a huge bastich after all.

Barrowmaze II and Rappan Athuk have arrived

So Barrowmaze II, which I also got Barrowmaze the original, and Rpapan Athuk were both at my door today.

Dudes from Frog God, please see if you can use the guys who did the Barrowmaze dice. They look nice and apparently didn't hold up the project.

Your special die is essentially a d6 with the Necromancer Games logo. Theirs is a little more colorful with a few icons.

The shipping packages were both the same type but apparently someone told the USPS dude to go hog wild on the Rappan Athuk boxed set.

The shinny one under it? Yeah, Barrowmaze. Ugh.

So overall, I would do another Indiegogo for the guy who did Barrowmaze. The material arrived on time. The price was reasonable. The goods were neat. Unless Frog God really kicks up its game with its next Kickstarters, I will only buy their product on the shelf or from Paizo when I want the PDF/Print combo and discount and discounted shipping.

I've gone over the reasons why before but a brief recap.

1. Selling it at Gen Con. Now mind you, selling it at Gen Con in and of itself isn't bad. But when miniature companies like Blackwater Gultch and RPG companies like the guys who did Shadows of Esteren, where you could pick up a book with a customized picture in it...

2. Delayed Shipping.  This isn't too bad to be honest. August to October is only two months. Some people were like, "But you get the PDFs and other freebies!" to which I could point out many people who backed it going, "Like the PDFs but waiting for the hardcopies." Mind you, the real pisser for me, is that as a Paizo subscriber, if I ordered from Paizo, I'd get the PDF. I'd also get a discount. I'd also get a better shipping price. Not some of the freebies like the dice, which caused another delay but I'd get the book and PDFs.

3. Shipping Charges. Many of the projects I've backed had no shipping charges. I fully understand that's not always possible. Charging people for shipping well before you have the product to ship out? Simply put, not cool. Not cool at all. If you don't have the package, you dont' send a shipping invoice. Period. End of story. Mind you, I can see the reason why they did it. How are they going to know that they're going to be boned by the dice people? If it had been me? I'd have made the dice people ship out those dice specifically to the customers but that may not have been possible. If they had held off on the shipping charges, are they going to scramble at the last minute waiting for everyone to pay when even now they're waiting on people to pay?

4. The damn thing was damaged. Not huge damage. Not something I'm going to cry about or ask for a refund, but the front corners were crinkled on the top and bottom. Ugh.

'Outside' observation though is that whenever you bring up some disatisfaction someone else will pipe up that they love the company. I'm not saying burn Frog God Games to the ground or anything like that. It could just be the nature of the Internet that some of these posts sound 'angry' or something. But really, s0ome of the time when you mention dissatisfaction with X, Y, or Z and so many people jump in to 'defend' the company, I have to say, applause to you. Fans like you are a great resource for the company to rely on and its great that such fans enable the companies to keep pumping out material.

Both books will go on the bookshelf. The Frog God one will go next to the other two mammoth tomes I have from them while I may put the Barrowmaze ones by the reprinted 'preimum' copies of the AD&D 1st edition stuff.