RPGnews.com http://rpgnews.com ALL THE TABLETOP RPG NEWS. ALL IN ONE PLACE. Fri, 29 Mar 2024 06:21:41 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.4.15 Warhammer 40K: History of the Black Legion – Abaddon’s Own https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/03/40k-lore-history-of-the-black-legion.html Fri, 29 Mar 2024 05:01:54 +0000 http://rpgnews.com/?p=489300 The Black Legion can trace their roots back to The Warmaster Horus, but they do not hold him as dear as other Legions hold their Primarchs. Today we delve into the History of the Black Legion!

The Black Legion, formerly known as the Luna Wolves and the Sons of Horus, were the XVI Legion of the original twenty Space Marine Legions. Their Primarch was Horus, known to them as Horus Lupercal, and to Imperial history as the instigator of the Horus Heresy, the first great Imperial civil war. Some time after their defeat in the Horus Heresy, they were renamed the ‘Black Legion’ by their new commander, Ezekyle Abaddon. Largely since disintegrated as a unified Legion, they can be found operating in countless small warbands across the galaxy, except when they are called together under Abaddon’s banner to spearhead one of his notorious Black Crusades.

Birth of the Luna Wolves

One of their earliest campaigns proved important to the development and formation of the XVIth as a legion: the First Pacification of Luna. Playing the most important role in the action, the XVIth achieved both the critical objective and notoriety during the conflict, gaining the unofficial moniker of the Emperor’s Wolves. As a result, they were tithed the bulk of the output of the captured gene-labs for a time, allowing them to rapidly build their numbers. This, in turn, necessitated more recruiting stock.

Advertisement

Thus, many of the original XVIth are believed to have had a separate, somewhat unusual origin; they were effectively kidnapped from the world of Cthonia by ‘recruitment squads’ sent from Terra charged with the task of rounding up thousands of individuals from the violent gangs that infested the ancient world. These ‘recruits’ were then taken to the geno-laboratories on Luna for the modification and indoctrination required to become Space Marines.

Upon the discovery of Horus, the Emperor officially renamed them the Luna Wolves in honor of their past victories and baptism of fire on Terra’s moon.

Despite this somewhat unusual beginning, the end results were reckoned to be exemplary loyal and ferociously motivated troops. By the time Horus was placed in charge of them, the Luna Wolves were ten thousand strong.

Advertisement

The Ullanor Crusade – Renaming of the Luna Wolves

Perhaps the greatest achievement of the Luna Wolves, the Ullanor Crusade became a feted military campaign of the Imperium and to many is seen as the high watermark of the Great Crusade itself. The Ullanor sector was the domain of the Ork Overlord Urlakk Urg, who ruled over dozens of human-founded worlds. Determined to exterminate the Orks, Horus distracted them by ordering secondary attacks on the outlying worlds by other Space Marine Legions and Imperial Army regiments. With the focus of the Orks on these invasions of their borders, the Luna Wolves dove straight for the throat, initiating a surprise orbital drop directly onto Urlakk Urg’s capital world.

Horus led his 1st Company Terminator elite into a personal teleport attack on Urg’s palace. With the majority of the Terminators dealing with the Ork defenders, Horus led ten of the best into combat with Urg and his own forty-strong retinue. The fight was a hard one, but Horus eventually slew the Ork, casting his broken body out from the battlements of his tower, demoralising his Ork followers. Of the fight between the ten Terminators and the forty Orks, there was only one survivor: First Captain Ezekyle Abaddon.

At the successful conclusion of the Ullanor Crusade a year later, the Emperor declared it the greatest victory yet for his mighty Imperium and was said to bestow much praise upon the Luna Wolves and Horus for their part in the campaign. At the subsequent Triumph of Ullanor, the Emperor himself bestowed upon Horus the title of Warmaster, making him the supreme commander of the Emperor’s forces and effectively giving him complete military control of the Great Crusade.

The Emperor also suggested, before he returned to Terra and left the rest of the Crusade to Horus, that Horus should rename his legion to cement his position as Warmaster. The suggested name was the Sons of Horus. Horus initially declined this honour and his Legion continued as the Luna Wolves.

Advertisement

Increasingly concerned, however, with a belief that some of the other Primarchs and their Legions did not show him and his Wolves enough honour in their roles as the Warmaster and his personal Legion, Horus, at the suggestion of Sanguinius, eventually took up the offer made to him by the Emperor to change the name and iconography of Legion XVI. Shortly after the Interex campaign the Luna Wolves became the Sons of Horus.

Post-Heresy – The Black Legion Begins

After the events of the Battle of Terra and the end of the Horus Heresy, the Traitor Legions, along with the restored but still numerically inferior Sons of Horus, then became embroiled in a series of internecine wars triggered by the Emperor’s Children legion, culminating in the destruction of the Sons of Horus’ fortress on Maleum. To the disgust of the Sons of Horus, the Warmaster’s corpse was taken by the Emperor’s Children and several clones were created by their self-styled ‘Primogenitor’, Fabius Bile.

It was at this point that the old Sons of Horus Justaerin Captain Falkus Kibre was able to track down the Vengeful Spirit and Abaddon deep inside the Eye of Terror. Abaddon revealed his intent to destroy the clone of Horus and reform the Sons of Horus into a Legion to finish the war Horus had begun. After smashing the Emperor’s Children fortress and killing the clone of Horus, Abaddon declared himself the rightful successor of the Warmaster.

Painting their armor black, Abaddon renamed his forces the Black Legion, rejecting Horus’ name and all the failure that went with it. Abaddon managed to reunify the bulk of the old Sons of Horus under his banner, crushing all who resisted. The founders and inner circle of his newly formed Black Legion became known as the Ezekarion. The newly christened Black Legion faced its first serious threat in the form of the Death Guard warlord Thagus Daravek, who was a chief rival to Abaddon in his rise to power and another potential Warmaster of Chaos.

Advertisement

However Daravek was eventually defeated, and Abaddon’s power grew exponentially as he gathered many allies across the Eye of Terror, most of the Daemon Primarchs included. Using Chaos rather than being enslaved by it, Abaddon has waged the Long War on the Imperium ever since, most notably during his thirteen Black Crusades.

Black Legion Gene Seed

The Black Legion consists of a large portion of former Luna Wolves Gene-seed alongside those from absorbed warbands or captured from the Imperium. Though the Luna Wolves Gene-Seed was historically considered reliably pure, the regular practice of seeking Daemonic possession has accelerated its mutation. However, such mutations in the reborn Legion are seen as a mark of favour from the Gods of Chaos and are generally displayed with pride.

Legion Recruitment

Though the Sons of Horus were once considered a large legion, the Black Legion were long considered numerically inferior to other Chaos Space Marine legions since the inter-Legionary wars. While the number of original Legionaries remaining is unknown, and it is unknown how or even if the Black Legion recruit new implantation candidates, it is known that they recruit Marines from other Legions and Renegade Chapters.

In spite of these difficulties, by M41 the Black Legion was the largest of the Traitor Legions, having ten times the numbers of the Word Bearers. This is aided by their policy of absorbing other Chaos Space Marines and their warbands into their own ranks, regardless of which God of Chaos they may follow, if any.

Advertisement

Learn More on the Black Legion

Avatar

Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and Austinite for 15+ years, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.

Advertisement

  • ]]>
    Your Whole Life Can Be a Dark Room in This Lydia Deetz Closet Cosplay https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/03/your-whole-life-can-be-a-dark-room-in-this-lydia-deetz-closet-cosplay.html Thu, 28 Mar 2024 20:00:00 +0000 http://rpgnews.com/?p=489017 It’s showtime once again in Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice! And you yourself can be strange and unusual in this Lydia Deetz closet cosplay.

    I’ll be the first to admit that Beetlejuice was one of the creepy 1980s movies that scared me witless. I’m still mind-boggled by Michael Keaton’s dynamic acting range, who I swear hasn’t aged in a decade. He’s stepping back into the grave (or is it OUT of the grave?) for this week’s Beetlejuice 2 release. I’m never one to turn down a woman in red, so let’s build a closet cosplay to DIE for.


    One of the most iconic scenes of the original Beetlejuice film is the wedding of Lydia and Beetlejuice. Her red wedding dress is indicative of Tim Burton’s vivid, if stark, color palate. It’s a fun world to play in, and it’ll be interesting to see what new horrors reveal themselves in this next installment. With this build, we’ll turn you into the belle of the ghoul’s ball!




    Lydia Deetz Closet Cosplay: The Gown

    OK, hear me out. I know the original gown was meant to be comically awkward on her, but that’s no reason we can’t go glam, right? I love the idea of casually strolling into your local movie theater decked out in a GOWN and some goth makeup. Yes, please, yummy.

    Advertisement

    Whether you go modern or classic 1980s, long-sleeved or short, the devil is in YOUR details. This is a cosplay that will come across as long as you get the gown color/style and hair down. Bring in some extra details to make this yours. Add in some sparkle, or some hidden trinkets, little easter eggs that people will notice up close.


    Lydia Deetz Closet Cosplay: The Wig

    One of the most fun parts of Lydia’s look is her hair. She rocks some VERY distinctive locks in the film. Whether you have the hair to style or want to go with a wig, get that color right and you’ll be good to go.


    Lydia Deetz Closet Cosplay: The Makeup

    Lydia doesn’t wear MUCH makeup in the film, so go for a smudgy goth look or leave the makeup off and try to make yourself look tired and broody, like a moody teenager!


    Lydia Deetz Closet Cosplay: Handbook for the Recently Deceased

    No Beetlejuice cosplay would be complete without your very own Handbook for the Recently Deceased. It has all you need… And more!


    Oh hey! Say our name three times and click the links in this article, and you’ll help keep BoLS alive! We appreciate all donations to the cause, and promise we won’t show up on your doorstep with offers of matrimony.

    Beetlejuice Halloween GIFs - Find & Share on GIPHY

    ~Join us next week for more cosplay coverage~

    Have a Cosplay question you would like Mayhem’s Muse to answer?

    Know a Cosplayer you’d like to see featured? Send an email here!

    Avatar

    Jennifer aka “Mayhem’s Muse” is the Cosplay Editor for BoLS and manages Ad Sales and Communications. Her cosplay awards include the RTX Judge’s Choice Award and Dragon’s Lair Austin’s Cosplay Symposium.
    Jennifer has been a Cosplay Guest Judge at RTX, Tacticon and Genghis Con in Colorado. She regularly attends conventions to cover cosplay for BoLS. Her cosplay work has been featured in publications such as Girls Who Love Monsters, Geek Fuel, and Renaissance Magazine. Jennifer has modeled in the Her Universe Fashion Show, Precision Camera’s yearly Precision Camera University, and has taught several workshops for photographers about partnering with cosplayers and creative muses/models.
    Jennifer is a lifelong enthusiast of retro video games and loves Dungeons & Dragons, urban fantasy, tabletop games, VR technology, and historical archery. She has set National Records through USA Archery’s Traditional Division for Asiatic Bows and earned 4th Place in the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan in 2018 for Women’s Korean Archery. Jennifer is currently studying for her Masters’s Degree in Organizational Leadership.

    Advertisement

  • ]]>
    ‘Fiasco Classic’, The Coen Brothers-esque RPG of Bad Decisions Available In New Bundle Of Holding https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/03/fiasco-classic-the-coen-brothers-esque-rpg-of-bad-decisions-available-in-new-bundle-of-holding.html Thu, 28 Mar 2024 19:30:15 +0000 http://rpgnews.com/?p=489028 The Fiasco Classic Bundle of Holding is absolutely legendary. Get Fiasco, as well as several expansions all for just $10.

    Fiasco is, famously, a roleplaying game for players with poor impulse control. Which is basically just anyone. But these games are all about bad decisions, big consequences, and trying to skate by completely unscathed, if not on top. In short, this is a game for the kinds of people who love the riotous heightening of something like Fargo or Raising Arizona.



    Fiasco Classic is an award-winning RPG by Jason Morningstar that is somewhere between a LARP (live-action RPG for those of you who actually dated in high school) and a tabletop RPG. Because you don’t create a character in the traditional sense of having stats and picking out moves; instead, you form a connection to the people sitting at the table next to you, and you define the world as you play.

    Over the next couple of hours (and sessions are often on the shorter side), you descend into high-octane chaos as bad decisions lead to worse decisions, and the next thing you know, the News Team 6 helicopter is on fire as you try to leave Poughkeepsie.

    And now you can experience it for yourself in an amazing Bundle of Holding that gathers together Fiasco Classic and a number of expansions.

    Advertisement

    Fiasco Classic Bundle of Holding

    Adventurer! Make your own cinematic tales of small-time capers gone wrong – of disastrous situations founded on big dreams and flawed execution, right out of films like Raising Arizona, Fargo, and other Coen brothers movies. This resurrected April 2019 Fiasco Classic Bundle once again brings you the tabletop roleplaying game Fiasco, its Companion, and lots of playsets, plus many live-action freeform games by Fiasco designer Jason Morningstar (Night Witches, Ghost Court) published by Bully Pulpit Games.

    For just $9.95 you get all five complete games in this revived offer’s Starter Collection (retail value $42) as DRM-free ebooks, including the Fiasco Classic rulebook (2009), plus the card-based Civil War RPG Carolina Death Crawl; the live-action game Radioactive Bison; and the freeforms The Climb and Out of Dodge. And as a convenience for this offer’s customers, Fiasco designer Jason Morningstar has curated Jason’s Favorite Fiascos, a collection of seven free playsets.

    But there’s more!

    If you pay more than the threshold price, which is $20.45, you unlock the game’s Bonus Collection, which includes six more games and supplements, including The Fiasco Companion, the Fiasco playset collections Run, Fools, Run and American Disasters, and the freeform games Winterhorn and The Skeletons. For this revival, Bundle of Holding has added Space Post, Jason’s game about delivering the mail across interstellar space.

    And with the Bundle of Holding a portion of the proceeds benefits charity, in this case, the Mines Advisory Group.

    The Fiasco Classic Bundle of Holding runs for the next 19 days!


    Avatar
    Advertisement

  • ]]>
    D&D: Five Spells for Channeling Your Character’s Inner Professor X https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/03/dd-five-spells-for-channeling-your-characters-inner-professor-x.html Thu, 28 Mar 2024 19:00:00 +0000 http://rpgnews.com/?p=488950 Unleash the unlimited power of your mind, or at least the hard-to-resist power of psychic damage with these psychic spells for D&D.

    If you’ve been watching X-Men 97, you know just how amazing a theme song can get. You’ve probably also discovered the sheer number of times Professor X does something bad that fuels the plot of any given episode. And while D&D and X-Men don’t have a ton in common, you can actually do a pretty passable psychic-powered character, with the right spells.

    You’ll have to accidentally imperil your allies on your own. But, if anyone’s going to figure out how to accidentally endanger their whole party by doing something that sounds seemingly good, it’s a D&D player.

    Mind Sliver

    Advertisement

    Mind Sliver is where it all begins. It’s a psychic-powered cantrip, which means it can be used at will. Of course, all it can do is drive a disorienting spike of psychic energy into the mind of one creature within range. But, it does a little more than your average cantrip, because in addition to dealing 1d6 psychic damage on a failed save, it also makes the target subtract 1d4 from the next saving throw it makes before the end of your next turn, meaning you can use this spell to set up a powerful combo.

    Detect Thoughts

    Let’s start with the easy one. Detect Thoughts is baby’s first real psychic spell. You can listen in to someone’s surface thoughts, or probe deeper and more actively, but your target ends up knowing that you’re rooting around in the corridors of their mind palace. It’s probably the most basic psychic spell out there, but it opens the doors (and the mind). Plus, you can use this spell to detect creatures who may be hiding or even invisible, as long as they aren’t behind 2 feet of rock, 2 inches of metal that isn’t lead, or a thin sheet of actual lead, which has its own problems.

    Raulothim’s Psychic Lance

    Here’s a debilitating psychic attack spell that fits in line with the whole “Professor X” thing. Because Professor X often doesn’t need to see the people he’s communicating with. And Raulothim’s Psychic Lance is one of a very few spells in D&D that allows you to cast it without a line of sight to your target.

    All you need is your target’s name (and to be within 120 feet of them). Cast this spell, and your target takes 7d6 damage, which is a bit on the low side for a 4th-level spell, but if they fail they’re Incapacitated until the start of your next turn.

    Dominate Person

    Of course, the real psychic stuff is all about Mind Control. And while Professor X swears up and down he wouldn’t do that, it’s only a matter of time before either aliens possess him or it’s just really inconvenient not to mind control someone.

    You don’t need that excuse. You’re a D&D adventurer, and can freely do whatever you want. And with Dominate Person, you can make anyone freely do whatever you want. As long as they fail their saving throw and you maintain concentration on the spell.

    Telepathic Bond

    Finally, there’s the Telepathic Hub spell, which lets up to eight willing creatures telepathically communicate with each other, as you psychically link them with a magical link. Through this power, you can communicate telepathically at any distance (though not to other planes), meaning you can perfectly coordinate any plan at the speed of thought.

    What are your favorite psychic spells in D&D?

    Avatar
    Advertisement

  • ]]>
    The Bad Batch S3 E9 Breakdown: “The Harbinger” Brings Back a Character We Haven’t Seen n a Bit https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/03/the-bad-batch-s3-e9-breakdown-the-harbinger-brings-back-a-character-we-havent-seen-in-a-bit.html Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:30:20 +0000 http://rpgnews.com/?p=488957 One of our favorite characters made an appearance… to tell us something we already knew this week on The Bad Batch.

    This week’s episode of The Bad Batch was one that had to happen. And now that it’s out of the way the series can start moving towards its end game. But that doesn’t mean it was an unenjoyable episode. The Batch has one of their most pressing mysteries solved, and we get to catch up with one of the fandom’s favorite characters.

    As always, in order to break down this episode we will have to spoil large portions of what happens. If you haven’t watched this episode yet, proceed at your own risk.

    The Harbinger

    Advertisement

    A harbinger is a person or thing that signals the approach of something else. And while it’s a neutral word and there can be positive examples of harbingers, it’s probably one of those words we naturally associate somewhat negatively. ‘Harbinger of death’ is a fairly commonly used phrase. So when Asajj Ventress showed up this episode we quickly knew who Fennec had called and that she probably had some news the Batch didn’t want to hear.

    Personally, I didn’t think Asajj was going to be the mysterious caller. It seemed implied that Fennec’s connection would have worked for the Empire, and why would Asajj when she too has such a high M-Count. But it made more sense when it was revealed that Asajj wasn’t looking for a fight, she legitimately just wanted to chat.

    M-Count

    What she has to reveal is exactly what we all already assumed. A high M-Count indicates somebody with lots of midichlorians and a stronger connection to the force. Omega immediately spills that she has a high M-Count and therefore must be a force user. Asajj offers to give her a test and the Batch is suspicious of her intentions.

    From their perspective, she’s a war criminal and can’t be trusted with a lothcat let alone their smallest big sister. And their fight is an interesting one because Asajj is working twice as hard to not seriously hurt any of them. They’re not enemies. They’re not friends. But both of them have an enemy in the Empire and that makes them decidedly not enemies.

    Force Test

    Asajj runs Omega through a few basic tests to see how strong her connection to the force is… and it seems unimpressive at best. But I’m dubious. One of the tests was a connection to animals, and we know that Omega is almost as good at connecting with animals as Ezra Bridger. We’ve seen her effortlessly befriend beasties over and overtake Batcher, for example. And when she tries in front of Asajj she gives up after about two and a half galactic seconds.

    Whether this was Omega sabotaging herself by trying too hard and not letting the flow of the force come naturally, or Asajj purposefully trying to convince the clones that Omega’s M-Count is low is unknown. But I’m pretty sure what we’ll see by the end of the season is a decisive display of natural force ability. And maybe Omega will find one of those Jedis-in-hiding to teach her the ways of the force. Being deep in hiding for a few years would explain why we haven’t seen her in any Star Wars stories that take place after this point.

    What did you think of this week’s episode of The Bad Batch? What do you think is left in store for the clones as the series comes to an end? Did you know it was going to be Asajj, or did you think somebody else would be making an appearance? Let us know in the comments!

    May the force be with you, Adventurers!

    Avatar
    Advertisement

  • ]]>
    Pathfinder 2E’s ‘Seven Dooms for Sandpoint’ Invites You Back to the Town that Started It All https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/03/pathfinder-2es-seven-dooms-for-sandpoint-invites-you-back-to-the-town-that-started-it-all.html Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:22:25 +0000 http://rpgnews.com/?p=488964 Pathfinder’s most infamous starting town, Sandpoint, has been through a lot over the years. Now it faces Seven Dooms.

    The not-so-little town of Sandpoint has endured a lot over the years. Tucked away in a little corner of the Lost Coast in southwestern Varisia, Sandpoint has seen some of the most monumental events of the last several years. From goblin raids to giant attacks, even the Rise of the legendary Runelords all happened around this one town.

    And that’s not even counting how important Sandpoint has been to the very beginning of Pathfinder. It was so impactful that the town got its own campaign setting book a million years ago in the pre-pandemic era, just at the dawn of Pathfinder 2nd Edition.

    Pathfinder 2E: Seven Dooms for Sandpoint

    Now, the sleepy medium town faces all-new terror as seven different dooms raise their heads in a double-sized, 200-page collection celebrating Pathfinder Adventure Path’s 200th volume. Check it out!

    This special, double sized volume presents a full Adventure Path in a single massive 200 page book to celebrate the 200th volume of the Pathfinder Adventure Path!

    Advertisement

    The town of Sandpoint has seen more than its fair share of danger and trouble over the years, including harrowing fires, prolific serial killers, goblin raids, and attacks by giants and dragons, but what faces the so-called Light of the Lost Coast now is its greatest threat yet! Something sinister has been manipulating events all along, and now a new band of heroes must step in to save this legendary small town from seven deadly dooms!

    Return to the town where it all began with the Seven Dooms for Sandpoint Adventure Path—a full campaign for 4th- to 11th-level characters that is presented in its entirety in this super-sized volume! Seven Dooms for Sandpoint also includes an updated snapshot of Sandpoint as it stands today, complete with ways to interact with and influence the townsfolk. More Thassilonian secrets, exciting new treasures, and a bestiary of dangerous new monsters round out this milestone Adventure Path volume.

    Seven Dooms for Sandpoint is available now in paperback or in a special hardcover edition, pictured above. Either way, you’ll experience seven different dooms across 200 pages of adventure.

    Both editions are available now! Check online or at your friendly local gaming store.


    Avatar
    Advertisement

  • ]]>
    WizKids Will Release New 'Dungeons & Dragons Onslaught' Scenario Kit https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/56595/wizkids-will-release-new-dungeons-dragons-onslaught-scenario-kit Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:06:06 +0000 http://rpgnews.com/?p=488906

    WizKids will release Grasp of the Mind Flayer, a new scenario kit for Dungeons & Dragons Onslaught, which will hit stores in April 2024.

    The upcoming scenario pack features new monster cards that add Mind Flayers and Ropers to the mix. This pack does not contain monster miniatures, but it does have new tokens for players to use to represent the new monsters. Players can also use miniatures from their collection to replace the tokens. The pack contains new legendary items, swamp items, terrain tokens, and a new Terror deck to add onto the base game of Dungeons & Dragons Onslaught.

    It will retail for $24.99.

    Click on Gallery below for full-size images!

    For more from ICv2’s Miniatures Week, click here.

    ]]>
    Explore ‘Fallout RPG’ Wasteland With New Weapons, Monsters, and More RPG Releases https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/03/explore-fallout-rpg-wasteland-with-new-weapons-and-monsters-and-more-rpg-releases.html Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:00:00 +0000 http://rpgnews.com/?p=488971 Arcane Arsenal

    From my homebrew to yours, an illustrated catalog of over 1000 magical items, armors, tools, armaments, and trinkets for fantasy roleplaying games. A culmination of years of blogging, creating magic items, and writing high-fantasy campaigns of my own design. For ease of use, I have included a link in the book to a free digital spreadsheet containing all these items for quick searching and randomization.

    Advertisement

    These magic items are best suited for a high-fantasy table where magic is plentiful, although lower-magic tables will still enjoy many of the items within featuring trade-offs of unique effects.

    ]]>
    Dare the Lair of the Horned Giant, and Enter the First Fantasy AGE Dungeon https://greenronin.com/blog/2024/03/28/lair-of-the-horned-giant/ Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:57:22 +0000 http://rpgnews.com/?p=488946 Lair of the Horned Giant for Fantasy AGE 2nd edition!

    Available Now!

    As the new Fantasy AGE developer, I’m pleased to share something from the roots of the AGE system, updated for the 2nd edition of Fantasy AGE: a new adventure called Lair of the Horned Giant!

    Long ago, a hero confronted a fierce challenge on the sacred fields of Kreyatos, and what transpired became the origin of a thousand legends—of sacred bulls slain, of a curse that fused victims with beasts, and of the Horned Giant and its cult. Now your heroes have come to investigate the legends at the fields themselves, where the cattle of the gods once roamed, and where the servants—or jailers—of a fallen hero, now given horns and an urge for bestial violence, dwell. But is there more to the Horned Giant? Beyond the rumored bull-man, what of the rumors of konotaurs and other beast-people?

    Lair of the Horned Giant is an adventure our friend and very cool game designer Will Hindmarch originally created to support fans of the Dragon AGE roleplaying game who wanted to use it to adventure in other settings, but it was never published. I discovered it in our files, loved it, and updated it for Fantasy AGE’s second edition. It features an open-ended presentation like Fantasy AGE Lairs, a book for First Edition Fantasy AGE I really like, but it has a mythic resonance I think would go especially well with Fantasy AGE Trojan War, though it’s designed to slip into the classic fantasy worlds core Fantasy AGE supports.

    (As I talk editions, remember that Fantasy AGE editions, and AGE games in general, are easy to convert between.)

    This challenging adventure with shades of Greco-Roman and Middle Eastern mythology is best suited to characters of levels 8-10. It includes new creatures and magical treasures for Fantasy AGE suitable for a wide variety of campaigns. The mythology of the Horned Giant is even designed to be easily adapted for your own games, too.

    This also inaugurates our series of new adventures called Fantasy AGE Dungeons, though some of these might not be “dungeons” in the usual sense. We’re currently working on another, Menace of the Grave Warrens, and I can’t wait to announce that too. Use them for one shots, side quests—whatever works for your table. Until then, challenge the cursed cult and dare the Bull of Heaven!

    ]]>
    MTG: Put on your Game Face – Top Five Shapeshifter Commanders https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/03/mtg-put-your-game-face-on-top-five-shapeshifter-commanders.html Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:45:00 +0000 http://rpgnews.com/?p=488880 Normally, saying someone is two-faced is an insult. For these Commanders, they’re insulted you think they only have two faces.

    Welcome Planeswalkers and Praetors to our ongoing series about the best casual experience in Magic: Commander.

    This series has been focused on playing typal decks, so most of the decks have been the same creature type. However, what if you wanted to play everything typal? Well, luckily, you can! Shapeshifters are every creature type all the time, so you can play whatever you want and still get all the fun benefits. You might lose out against more focused Commanders, but you’ll be able to benefit from every trick in the game.

    Voja, Jaws of the Conclave

    Voja sits at the top of the Shapeshifter pool, and it’s really no surprise. He tore up the cEDH scene for a while after his release, and he’s just a massive power piece. Even without his special ability, he’s a 5/5 with vigilance, trample, and ward 3 for five. However, the main draw for this murder wolf is his secondary.

    Whenever Voja attacks, you get +1/+1 counters on all your creatures equal to the number of Elves you control, and you can draw cards equal to the number of Wolves you control. In a standard typal deck, that’s cool enough, but imagine if all your creatures were both types! Once Voja hits the field with an army of Shapeshifters, it’s basically GG.

    Advertisement

    Reaper King

    A good way to lose actual friends at the EDH table, Reaper King is one of the only ways to play “destroy typal”. It’s a 6/6 for anywhere from five to ten mana, depending on how many colors you’re playing. While it’s on the field, it has an anthem effect for all your other Scarecrows, and whenever a Scarecrow hits the field, you get to destroy a permanent. Since every creature in your deck will be a Scarecrow, you can wipe the board one piece at a time. Just be careful; the ability isn’t a may, so if your opponent has nothing, you’ll have to blow up your own stuff.

    The Ur-Dragon

    No surprises here, especially since the Ur-Dragon is still one of the nastiest Commanders. With all your Shapeshifters being Dragons, you get all the benefits of a Dragon typal deck with the benefit of having lower drops. With all the awesome abilities Shapeshifters have combined with the powerhouse Dragon effects that exist out there, you’ll have a war crime in no time.

    Morophon the Boundless

    It wouldn’t be a Shapeshifter list without the OG goop lord, Morophon. Like the other Shapeshifters, he’s every creature type. Since everything in your deck is, too, you’ll get Morophon’s anthem effect AND his cost reduction effect for your entire deck. Just make sure you’re playing enough colored pips to make it worthwhile.

    Moritte of the Frost

    Moritte is an interesting Commander but a fun one. It enters the battlefield as a copy of anything you control, but it gains the snow type and is legendary. That’s helpful if you need snow mana for an ability, but its real power comes from its creature effect. If you copy a creature, it gets two +1/+1 counters, letting you take your best nonlegendary critter and make it even better.

    What do you think of these Commanders?

    What is Magic the Gathering Commander?

    For the uninitiated, Commander is a semi-casual format for Magic: the Gathering. You use a deck of 100 cards led by a legendary creature, aka, your Commander.

    Aside from basic lands, you are only allowed one copy of each card in the deck. Moreover, you can only include cards in your Commander’s “color identity” or artifacts. Each color and color combo has a unique playstyle and a wealth of mighty generals to lead your deck to victory. EDHRec.com is an excellent source for Commander info and can give you ideas on how to build your next Commander deck or tune an existing one.


    Avatar

    From North Carolina to Texas and back to North Carolina again, Clint lives the life of a traveling artist. An avid gamer, writer, actor, pyrotechnician, and general nerd, he has finally turned his love of EDH into a career. When not busy being a clueless cowboy, Winterfell Bannermen, or whatever else acting life throws at him, he enjoys reading folklore from around the world, writing narratives for his Wargaming armies, or running D&D 5e games as a professional DM. Look for his storytelling podcast, By the Dancing Fire, or find him on Twitch at FeybornPhyrexian, where he produces MTG content.

    Advertisement

  • ]]>