Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Tommy's Take on Axes, Horrific Books and Halloween Horrors


5 MAGIC ITEMS: AXES

This is a set-up identical to the Blades PDF, with five axes, their values, abilities and the Knowledge charts that can give the PCs information on the items...with the possibility of completely misleading information.

Additionally, a rule for using bennies is supplied, in the event that the GM makes the Knowledge rolls. Essentially, PCs can make the roll blind and, even if they fail again, can get a hint that they are remembering SOMETHING wrong.

It's not the most elegant solution, but with the GM making rolls for the PCs in that case, there's not much you CAN do.

First up is the Falcon Axe, which is a nice name for an old classic, an axe that returns to your hand.

The Headhunter Cleaver is an Orcish axe that will seek the heads whenever possible. It's an ugly, violent weapon, with a REALLY nice plot hook that would be GREAT to surprise an unsuspecting user with.

The Magicbreaker Axe is not a wizard's best friend, and is valuable for a warrior battling spellcasting types.

Stonehewer axes can inflict massive damage on stone and anything made of stone, while Treecleaver axes are their plant-fighting equivalents.

This is a really good addition of some solid weapons to the Magic Items list, with the most inspiring item being the Headhunter Cleaver and its awesome plot hook (that requires two raises on a Knowledge roll for the wielder to be aware of).

5 MAGIC ITEMS: HORRIFIC BOOKS

I don't expect this to end well, with a name like "Horrific Books". Betting everything here has, at least, a double edged sword.

Misfit Studios has announced that they are preparing for Halloween. and this seems to be the first step in that.

The first book is the Arcane Catalog of Dej, which is as it sounds - a helpful catalog of arcane items. Even if you don't otherwise know jack about magic items, this is useful...it, uh, can just get in your head a bit.

The Folio of Fiends is similar to the Arcane Catalog, except it imparts all kinds of useful knowledge on various types of beasties.

Purgatorum can inform a user about demons, including offering resistance against demonic powers...however, it is FULL of side effects, with one of the NICER side effects sucking a user into Hell.

The Tome of the Underworld can be used to enhance the powers of anyone with access to Miracles, infusing them with the essence of the dead. Best check with your deity, though, 'cause they may have a problem with it.

The Necronomicon...you might have heard of it. The Necronomicon makes its appearance, and it can be powerful, if you can understand it. However, it can wreak even more havoc if you don't.

Nice step away from weapons for the new release, with a couple of truly horric items, including the old classic the Necronomicon. A good selection that lives up to the "horrific" descriptor.

MONSTER BRIEF: HALLOWEEN HORRORS

This is Part 2 of Misfit Studios' Halloween PDFs, a collection of Halloweenish monsters for your Savage Worlds game. Though they are intended for a fantasy game, with a bit of work most of them could probably work in most settings.

Up first is the Death Dragon, which is actually a template and not a true monster in and of itself. Just take any Dragon and apply the template. It retains its intellect as well, so it definitely just makes the dragon more dangerous.

The effigas are spirits that like to possess objects, and we get two in this supplement: Doll effigas and Scarecrow effigas. The scarecrow, especially, has the very real possibility of being scary if the players aren't thinking.

Plague wraiths are tragic and dangerous, but not really evil. They are victims of disease who cannot rest in peace...and inadvertantly spread it.

Reapers are what you think, and about as scary. They share many of the traits of the Undead, though they do not serve evil...just death...and if they are locked in on a target, there's not much shaking them.

Though a definite horror theme is prevalent here, the effigas are the only things that really SCREAM "Halloween". I do always like it when Death is portrayed as neutral and not evil, and the Reapers uphold that: Everyone dies...they just make sure of it. Halloween Horrors is a good product that is really only held back by how great several of the other releases are.

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