Archive Page 2
November 6th, 2021 by Jim Davenport
Well, folks, we’ve pulled off the hat trick! Three publications this year:
Colonel Bull’s Body is our third release and first Savage Worlds Adventure. I’ve written SW Adventures for other companies (The Curious Dr. Campbell and the Collector of Automatons for Steam Sun Games, a rewrite of Echoes of the Past for Star Anvil Games, Two Archetype adventures for Guild of Shadows by SPQR, Into the Black for Serenity by MWP, etc.) but its about time I did one for myself.
Colonel Bull’s Body started as an adventure that I ran for people at the Origins convention here in Columbus, Ohio, as well as my home table. When it got great feedback, I decided to give it some spit and polish, beef it up, and make it available for the rest of the Savage Worlds community.
The adventure is set in my Six Guns and Ghost Lands setting though it can be easily used with any other supernatural wild west setting. Strangers are brought together by the prospect of an inheritance from a famous man. There is, of course, a catch. Only those who venture into the dangerous lands west of the Mississippi and bring the dead man’s body back to his ‘friends’ can claim a share of the prize. There are dangers along the journey to the boom town of Blackwater and even more once they get there. Finding the body and bringing it back will be challenging enough on their own.
I had a lot of fun running the adventure and writing it up so I hope you give it a try.
Jim
October 24th, 2021 by Jim Davenport
Announcing a new publication from Dragonlaird Gaming Studios! Jobs and Adventure Hooks for Space Freighter Campaigns! Generate Cargo jobs, Passenger jobs, and Charter jobs. Get all the details from how payment is offered, what kind of places does the job start and end, what special terms are involved, and all sorts of complications. Detailed examples show you how to convert random table results into interesting and meaningful jobs and adventure hooks. 60 pages of goodness safe for use with your favorite far future game. While the concept was born during a time I was doing a lot of work on Serenity RPG and Serenity campaigns, this book is genre and RPG system agnostic so it can be used anywhere. If you think it sounds interesting, I hope you support it by picking up a copy. (Print on Demand versions coming soon)
July 26th, 2021 by Jim Davenport
Well, it took just a little bit longer than expected but Savage Characters Volume 1 now comes with a conversion of all 20 characters (and the setting rules) to SWADE-compliancy. All previous buyers get a copy of the conversion document for free.
And it is a great time to pick up a copy until the end of July during DriveThruRPG’s Christmas in July sale!
Savage Characters Volume 1 at DriveThruRPG
July 10th, 2021 by Jim Davenport
To celebrate the 100th copy of Art of Negotiation sold, we have awarded that lucky buyer a free digital copy of Savage Characters Volume 1!
Soon, I’ll be releasing the SWADE conversion of all 20 characters stats to all owners of Savage Characters Volume 1 so look for that notification in your inbox.
Work continues on the first Savage Adventure from Dragonlaird Gaming: Colonel Bull’s Body. Set in the haunted west setting of Sixguns and Ghost Lands, our player characters are sent to bring a body back in order to gain an inheritance but naturally, there are weird and dangerous trials before they can feel the money in their hands…
May 9th, 2021 by Jim Davenport
We’re very pleased with the response to our Art of Negotiation publication on DriveThruRPG. We’re rapidly nearing a sales milestone.
Thank you for your support!
March 25th, 2021 by Jim Davenport
While watching “News of the World” starring Tom Hanks (fine film, recommended, spoilers ahead), I was struck by the relationship between the older man and a girl who had been stolen from her German immigrant family when very young and raised by Kiowa Native Americans. For the start of the film, they have no way of speaking to each other while he has to try to protect her in several situations. He has to prove herself to her by his deeds. How does he protect her, provide for her? How does he treat other people? Does he have friends or only enemies in the harsh world of 1870 western United States?
Consider introducing this situation into your campaign. Introduce an NPC who needs to be helped, protected but with whom the players can’t communicate verbally. Children trigger others to protect them and look out for them. A lack of common language or perhaps a deaf child would create the barrier for game play. Then you need to create situations or interpret planned situations to see how the PCs navigate it with the child. What accommodations do they make to keep her safe? Do they give her freedom or lock her up (for her own safety)? Do they change their course to get her to a safer situation? Do they try to learn her language or build communications? Do they realize that she can help them once she judges them to be honorable, not a threat to her?
In the film, Hanks determines that there is no place for the girl safer than with him so they end up together. That would be an interesting outcome for an adventuring party, to gain a ward of sorts.
Give it a try and let me know how it works out.
March 23rd, 2021 by Jim Davenport
When the future of your character is on the line, do you want to leave it down to just one roll?
There are all kinds of negotiation in life… haggling the price for corporate secrets, pleading your case to the King’s court, brokering a peace treaty in time of war, or even bargaining for your soul with the Devil himself. These situations deserve as much spotlight and fun as combat does.
Negotiation is a part of gaming that I’ve always felt was tough to do well. There could always be a conflict between what the rules said and what you wanted to decide for your character. Or the resolution was too brief. Or it was just down to a good or bad roll.
The Art of Negotiation is an optional rule subsystem for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition to make these situations fast, furious, and fun! It includes rules for performing negotiations, two new hindrances, two new edges and plenty of examples of ways you can use these negotiation rules. It replaces the Social Conflict rules in SWADE for those situations where more drama, stakes, and attention is warranted.
The Art of Negotiation on DriveThruRPG
March 23, 2021 Update: Showcased by Pinnacle! Pinnacle’s Licensor Spotlight
March 11th, 2021 by Jim Davenport
Greetings Friends and Fans!
Things are in motion here at Dragonlaird Gaming. We’re coming up on our 130th publication including columns and articles for Knights of the Dinner Table magazine, work for other products, and my own publications.
Art of Negotiation
This has finished layout and will soon be posted on DriveThruRPG.
Savage Characters Volume 1 goes SWADE!
We’re completing our conversion of the setting rules and 20 characters to be SWADE-compliant and take advantage of changes in the rules. These will go to a simple round of layout and be made available for free to everyone who has purchased a copy of Savage Characters Volume 1 at DriveThruRPG.
Adventures in the four Savage Characters settings
Once Art of Negotiation and the SWADE conversion are both finished and released, we’ll dive into the Adventures we aim to publish this year with one per setting. As a sneak preview…
Dark Ages and Dragon Gods – “Ashes to Ashes” – Our adventurers are drawn to the Greek peninsula, laid waste by the Dragon God fifty years ago…
Theta Ships and Iron Men – “Last Flight Out” – Stranded on a colony world that is about to be abandoned, can our heroes find a way off planet before its too late?
Sixguns and Ghost Lands – “Colonel Bull’s Body” – Our heroes are sent into the Weird West to recover the body of an important man with a disturbing past.
Demon Streets and Made Men – “Come and Hear the Music” – A period adventure set in 1969, our crew is sent to some hippie festival to bring back the daughter of the Don.
More to come soon!
Jim
August 10th, 2020 by Jim Davenport
Dragonlaird Gaming has been busy since the last posting though as with everyone the pandemic has disrupted time and attention. We’ve continued our partnership with KenzerCo and Knights of the Dinner Table with more Gaming the Movies articles: The Boys, The Way, Short Cuts, and Locke & Key. We’ve also produced articles for them: 100 Questions to Add Depth to your Character, Apocalypse How, and Deep Dark Secrets.
We’re back to working on material for Savage Worlds, now for the current Adventure Edition. We have an alternative rules sub-system for negotiations that is being prepared for sale as part of the Savage Worlds Adventurer’s Guild on DriveThruRPG.com. We hope to have that available in the next couple months as we’re ordering art and going through some playtesting.
In parallel, our home group has been playing Blades in the Dark using Roll20 which is an interesting change of pace. Definitely different sorts of “game economies” to manage while creating the narrative story. There might be an opportunity to develop some material for that system or a reskinned version of it. Thoughts are being thought in that direction.
We hope everyone is staying safe, following the recommendations of the medical professionals, and hope we all get to slinging dice together soon… 2021?
August 6th, 2019 by Jim Davenport
You can use your trappings with your powers, but what about your skills? Your edges? Your attributes? Really make your spell-caster distinctive with these easy tips.
Trappings! Article