Now on Kickstarter! Amazing Adventures 5e!

Hey, all, my newest project is now on Kickstarter: Amazing Adventures 5e! We funded in just two hours, and in 6 days we've smashed through 7 stretch goals, with lots more to come!

So what is Amazing Adventures 5e? 

Amazing Adventures is the modern multi-genre RPG that lets you take your game to any time, any place, and any genre. This new version is completely compatible with the 5th Edition Rules of the World’s Most Famous RPG and brings it firmly into the modern era without a ton of new and altered rules.

Within its pages you’ll find:
• New character classes, and new takes on existing classes
• New Sub-classes, paths, archetypes, etc.
• A new approach to Inspiration which allows you to build points for greater player agency
• Cinematic unarmed combat
• Modern vehicle rules
• Firearms rules
• Psionics rules
• And more!


Grab hold of the wheel and take on the bad guys from the 16th Century to the 51st Century and beyond with Amazing Adventures!


Worlds of Adventure Await! Will you grab hold?

Is this Replacing the SIEGE Engine Version?

NO. We are absolutely NOT ending the line for the SIEGE Engine version of Amazing Adventures. In fact, we will hopefully be gearing up for the third printing of that edition very soon. We will be supporting both the SIEGE and 5e versions of the game side-by-side. They are two separate game lines using two separate game systems, and will co-exist.

On a personal note, as the author, Amazing Adventures is my baby and you'd be hard-pressed to pay me to let that go out of print. So long as I have a say in things, AA will be around a long time and supported in both forms!

Does this Require the 5e Fantasy PHB to Play?

You do NOT need your 5e Fantasy book to play this game. It is completely self-contained and even includes a bestiary and introductory adventure. 

That being said, it is also 100% compatible with the 5e Fantasy rules. Want to run a Wood Elf Gumshoe? No problem! The race drops right in. Looking to play a special forces guy in the modern era and think a Fighter or Paladin works best? Go for it! The standard 5e classes are easy to simply drop right in. Alternately, the Hallowed domains can be used as new Cleric Domains, the Arcanist Traditions as Wizard Traditions, the Hooligan archetypes as rogue, etc. While we didn't import every single character class from 5e, those that most directly fit with a modern multi-genre game were imported, tweaked, and given new class options to suit modern play.

What Do I Get?

At the $99 pledge level, you'll get the following: 

  • The hardcover, full-color core book (expected to weigh in around 288 pages), 
  • TWO super-module adventure mini-campaigns (Rise of the Red God and its sequel, Rings of the Red God) 
  • A third super-module currently about to be unlocked at the time of writing (The Deeper Dark Trilogy, with the first two adventures unlocked in PDF--with the third, we'll print the book), 
  • A 12-page expanded character record booklet, 
  • The Amazing Adventures Field Journal (a semi-hardcover custom notebook with elastic closure, ribbon bookmark (possibly), 
  • The AA Field Journal logo on the front), 
  • Solar Burn (expanded science fiction guidelines and a complete sci-fi sample setting)
  • The Brotherhood of William St. John (a sort of "meta setting" which looks at the world from the Victorian Era through to the Solar Burn setting, hundreds of ears in the future, through the eyes of a character-centric secret adventuring society). 
  • All of the above (exept maybe the field journal, which is just a notebook) in PDF as well as print!
  • That's a laundry list of stuff, and there's more to come as stretch goals continue to be unlocked! 
There's also a $150 pledge level that adds a deluxe leatherette bound collector's edition, and a (limited) $199 pledge level, which gives you all of that and adds a bound, softcover copy of the actual playtest materials used by in-house playtesters. These books are signed by most of the playtesters and may have varying amounts of handwritten notes throughout. Each is unique. There's only 2 of the $99 level left at the time of this writing, though, so grab them fast!

Worlds of Adventure Await! Will you Join?

For more information, you can check out the Kickstarter itself, a Q&A that Steve Chenault and I did with the Elseworlds Chat, or an episode of the Crusader Podcast I did. Links below:




Hope to see some of you on board!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Darkness Spell in 5e is Pointless

Image
 Here's a fun observation. The spell darkness, in 5e, has absolutely zero mechanical effect in 5th edition D&D. Darkness creates a heavily obscured area .  Creatures within that area effectively suffer from the blinded condition. Blinded characters suffer disadvantage on attacks, and creatures attacking them have advantage. The spell negates darkvision . All characters within the sphere of magical darkness have disadvantage to attack, but advantage to attack other creatures in the darkness. This advantage and disadvantage cancel each other out . All creatures within the space of a darkness spell battle as normal. The spell is, from a mechanical sense, pointless and negated. Certainly this discounts a proper GM who looks past it and says, "no, that's stupid," but yeah, strictly BY THE BOOK it's a pretty gross oversight by the designers of the game from a mechanical standpoint. Also, I pointed this out to the Sage Advice people some time ago and they confirmed ...
Read more

Lembas - Elvish Waybread: a real-world recipe

Here's a recipe I put together for Lembas bread. Didn't know I could bake, did you? Well, I can, and I'm pretty durned good at it when I want to be. Note: Okay, this isn't exactly directly related to OD&D, but we all know that there is a relationship between OD&D and Middle Earth, and this makes for a good holiday treat, or a nice, filling and fairly healthy snack at the gaming table. Here's how it came about: we were doing a Lord of the Rings marathon at my buddy Mike's house when the RotK extended edition came out. Mike has a 42" widescreen and a really kick ass surround sound system, so we got together at 9:00 AM on Saturday and watched all twelve-plus hours of the epic trilogy back to back. It was awesome. Anyway, I wanted to contribute something so I started searching for recipes for Lembas bread. My efforts that year were futile, but flash forward to last Christmas. I got the hankering to try again, so I looked up some recipes onli...
Read more

Psionics in Dungeons & Dragons Part I: Original D&D

Image
I'd like to take a couple blog entries to explore the concept of psionics in the early editions of D&D--specifically, original D&D and AD&D first edition. Psionics, traditionally, have been a much-reviled part of the D&D opus, and those who do not include them in their game are certainly far more common than those who do include them. It's no secret that even Gary Gygax lamented and regretted their inclusion, and didn't use them himself. As with any aspect of the game, ask 100 players why they don't like psionics, and you'll get at least 50 different answers (if not more). The vast majority, however, will come down to one of two major points: They are science-fiction feeling and simply don't have a place in a fantasy game They are overcomplicated, confusing, and simply arcane and unworkable.  I can't really address point one. If you simply don't like the idea of psionics, if you feel like they're not fantasy-feeling, and y...
Read more

Psionics in Dungeons & Dragons, Part II: Advanced D&D

Image
Now that we've looked at how Psionics work in original Dungeons & Dragons, let's examine how they work in Advanced D&D. Readers may be shocked to discover that psionics in AD&D are, in many ways, much easier and more straightforward than they are in OD&D. The two systems are very similar, but there are some important and notable differences. The next blog entry in this series will compare and contrast the two systems, but for now I want to focus on how they work to keep a clean exploration and explanation of these two rules sets, both of which offer a lot of fun and something different and mysterious for D&D games that have become a bit rote in their approach. Psionics can present an interesting approach to mysticism in an AD&D game, particularly one that seeks to represent certain styles of 1970s and 80s fantasy, particularly those of writers like Mercedes Lackey, Ursula K. LeGuin, Andre Norton, and Marion Zimmer Bradley, which in modern terms system...
Read more

Tech Blog: Xiaomi Mi Box S vs NVIDIA SHIELD TV Android TV Boxes

Image
Yeah, I know, this is an old-school gaming blog, but I needed somewhere to put this, and it's a bit of a ramble, so bear with me. If anyone is cutting the cord, this may come in handy for you. Juliette and I upgraded our streaming box today to an NVIDIA Shield TV. I had originally purchased a Xiaomi MiBox S as a test case for cutting the cord. I can now compare the two for anyone interested in going for an Android TV box.  Note that I did NOT go with the $190-$200 SHIELD Pro, which is the high end gaming version of the Shield TV, and comes with double the memory and an extra USB port. I went with the NVIDIA SHIELD TV "base" model, which looks like a cylinder. Xiaomi Mi Box S NVIDIA SHIELD TV Price  The MiBox S EASILY wins in this category, going for between $64 and $66 on Amazon. The Shield TV goes for $149 on Amazon and at Best Buy, where we bought ours.  Looks Again, I have to give the edge to the MiBox, here. It's a very unassuming small, black, square box that sit...
Read more

Wasted Lands - a Completely Customizable RPG

Image
Here we go, folks! The final blog before the Wasted Lands Kickstarter launches ! Stay tuned for more behind the curtain looks as the campaign progresses, but this one completes the big lead-up!  Previous blogs in this series: Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age is Imminent! Will Wasted Lands be a Retroclone? What Are Divine Touchstones? Races (Species) and Cultural Backgrounds How Do Tiered Abilities Work?   Class Abilities in Wasted Lands For some time now we've been pushing "Your Game, Your Way" as a slogan for Powered by O.G.R.E.S. games , and many wonder what kind of meaning that carries. After all, everyone claims that their game is the one you've been looking for, and the concept of a universal game system has been around almost as long as RPGs themselves. Even the earliest versions of D&D had sci-fi elements and the first edition DMG discussed melding the system with a range of genres.  So what do we mean exactly when we talk about O.G.R.E.S. as a customizable s...
Read more

Review: Original Dungeons & Dragons Premium Reprint

Image
  (Stock Image) Source: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Product.aspx?x=dnd/products/dndacc/45390000 Introduction To put a crown jewel on their “Premium Reprint,” series, Wizards of the Coast has re-released the original Dungeons & Dragons rules. Specifically, this reprint is of the sixth printing, or “OCE” (Original Collector’s Edition) version of the rules. Like many fans of the old school, I was rather excited and more than a little nervous about this product. For $150, would they screw it up? Would it be handled properly? Would it, unlike the reprints for second and third editions, truly be premium? Yesterday, I headed to my FLGS and picked up my OD&D Premium Reprint. Here are my thoughts. Presentation This set is really nice. It comes in an actual wooden box, a nice nod to the original rules which came in a printed woodgrain box. The box construction is sturdy and just overall excellent. It has a nice velvet pad on the bottom to keep from scratching...
Read more

Gummi Bears - Bouncing Here and There and Everywhere

Image
I don't care what anyone says, Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears was a damn great fantasy cartoon back in the day, and it deserves a D&D treatment. If you've never heard of it, here it is on YouTube for free, or you can watch it in a less clumsy format on Disney+ www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcdHhJ83WveO5S9AeAeDKD-qQrsfB4dpw Also, the theme song is one of the catchiest cartoon themes ever. Okay, so...   Source:  https://www.deviantart.com/tomarmstrong20/art/Adventures-of-the-Gummi-Bears-1985-1991-566374688 GUMMI BEARS (Stats for Original, Basic, Advanced and most OSR games) No. Appearing: 1-8 Hit Dice: 1-5 Armor Class: 7 (2 with gummi berry juice) / 13/18 high AC Attack: By weapon or bounce slam (1d6) Special: Gummi Berry Juice, Stealth Move: 12 (18 with gummi berry juice) / 30ft/45ft Modern games Size: Small % in Lair: 60% Alignment: Lawful Treasure: C XP: Varies by hit dice Primes (for Castles & Crusades): P,M Description...
Read more

The Elegance of Non-Unified Mechanics

Image
Like a great deal of gamers in this day and age, I have long been enamored of the idea of a so-called "unified mechanic," that is, a single die roll approach to resolve most, if not all, issues in a game. Current versions of D&D, for example, use a d20 ability check approach for everything--even combat is a Strength or Dexterity check. The only things that don't use the d20 are random probability rolls (which use straight percentile) and damage. The Unisystem is another universal mechanic system, using d10 + attribute + skill vs. a target number of 9, and the cinematic version uses this for everything; there aren't even damage rolls, as damage is a flat number. Even my own Spellcraft & Swordplay original ORCS system used 2d6 for everything, with damage rolls using xd6. The Elegance of Non-Unified Mechanics There's a certain ease and straightforward-ness to this approach that's easy to appreciate. Recently, however, I've come around to a new...
Read more