Shadow & Fae

There's a lot of options when it comes to modeling weapons and combat with dice games. I'm of the bent that combat should be just as interesting as the rest of the game. Some like to bypass it by making it as fast as possible, others basically turn combat into the whole game. When the rubber hits the road, I want to see players make interesting choices each turn, so that when combat occurs, it is just as interesting as exploration and roleplay. The trouble with this in traditional dungeon games is you only get one action each round, and if it's anything other than "attack" the rules sometimes punish you for doing something "sub-optimal". My attempt at a solution to this is to give everyone two actions in combat, one of which can be an attack or spell. Fighters get an extra action which can be an attack at 3rd level, but everyone can try various "maneuvers" if they're in a situation where they might be able to do so. Weapon Types On top of t

  Art from Rune Factory 2 The biological ancestry of a slime is dubious at best. Are they in fact some form of mold given mobility by the evolutionary process? Or are they a magical creation or mishap? Furthermore, some slimes have been noted to carry the bones of a single humanoid within them, forming around them as a replacement for flesh. Is the slime actually the changed body of the old humanoid? Strangest still, and rarest of all, are those few slimes that bear true sentience... Nicholas RookZero Slime: A Simple GLoG Ancestry You may choose "Slime" as your optional race. This comes with the following benefits and drawbacks: Morph : You can squeeze through openings only an inch wide. You can move gear through as well, so long as it would fit. Slimeform : You take 1/2 damage from physical sources, but double from elemental sources. You have about as much mass as an average human, and can shape it as you see fit. Sticky : You can cling to walls and ceilings and move along t

Art by Andy Romanchik Someone on Reddit got me thinking about a loose class system that really lets you go wild with building your character the way you see fit. This is probably wildly broken. Regardless, I love it. And it should "just work" with most GLoG systems. ModuGLOG At level 1 gain a "History". With each level, gain 2 "Feat Points". Spend a Feat Point on any Path to gain a feat of your choice from that path. Histories Each history grants a Skill, Starting Gear, and a Feature. You may choose your history, or roll a d6: 1-3. Human | 4. Dwarf | 5. Changeling | 6. Returned Human Anywhere you can find water, sun, and dirt, you're sure to get humans. Skill (d8): 1. Chef | 2. Sailor | 3. Smith | 4. Doctor | 5. Merchant | 6. Herbalist | 7. Thief | 8. Noble Starting Gear : 1 Weapon, Light Armor or Bow, Tool related to Skill, 2d6 GP. Versatile : Gain +1 Feat Point at level 1. Dwarf Carved from stone and sung to fleshy life, the dwarves don't ty

  "Froken Selmer" from Codex Agea "Skills" are a dirty-word in OSR circles, not for what they represent, but because of how they so-often work in RPGs.  Often, every character has a list of the same 10 or so skills with a particular numerical bonus tied to an Ability Score and how many points of training they put into that skill during character creation. During the game, a challenge is presented and the table goes around asking "Who has the highest skill in this?" And then that person will make a roll. It's fine, I suppose, but a tad boring. Worse yet, if the first character fails, every other character attempts the challenge in descending order, until the untrained individual somehow rolls a Critical, proving that "book-learning isn't everything". The skilled character wonders why they spent so long in university when they could have been boozing and shooting darts. Some of this comes down to GMing methods, but a lot of it is reflective

  What Makes a Setting Good? Adventure games are about adventuring. In so far as a setting empowers that, it is good. If it makes adventuring difficult or confusing, it has taken a misstep. That's the theory, and I'm running with it. Lots of folks like to talk about Elden Ring, which gives a  touch  of lore up front, just enough to make you wonder, and then trusts you to explore and figure out that world on your own. If you want to dive into the lore, you've got to dive into the world and it's dungeons. That is my aim. Inisval Three Centuries Ago The Grey Lady lead the Fairfolk away from their home in Greymirror deep into the underworld at Fairgrave, and they have not been seen since, unless you believe old wives' tales and rumors, that is. The land was entrusted to the King in Casarra, but it was never the same. Three Decades Ago Dwarves, exiles from their home in the east, founded a mountain home at Lastlight. They don't allow visitors, but from time to time t

" From Goblin Market " Arthur Rackham, 1933 Mushroom cap, tail of rat, gall of cat, dripping fat, Boil and boil, never toil, wind is free, n'so is me! -The Goblin Rhyme Etesia When toads yet sang and cats had two tails, Etesia was a peaceful place. The Lofty Lady walked her lands with gentleness and strength, and all her subjects—even the lowly humans—enjoyed an age of quiet labor and joyful rest. But that was long ages ago. Now we struggle on like the rest of the world, prying life out of thorns and the maws of wolves, even from our own kin. In all the bloodshed, and pox, and lack, we die young and leave our young to fend for themselves. So they do. The Soup It is not known when the first Soup was boiled, or who boiled it, or what the intention was, but the soup has been boiling for long ages now, and those who eat it are turned strange. Their bones, their muscles, and their hearts grow hard as stone. Depending on the ingredients present in the soup—which may be anything

I've been working on Shadow and Fae for about three years now, and I think I'm getting to the point of calling it done. But then, why not improve it just a touch more... Why not make it a zine? And if it's a zine, why not make two more zines to go with it? If you want more details on this journey, the three zines I'm working on, or to support me as I go, take a peek here:  https://itch.io/s/120972/shadow-and-fae-2e-3-zine-fundraiser