Learning New Rules

So what's the easiest way for you to learn a new set of rules? Personally, I've never been one to be able to sit and read a whole set of rules cover to cover. No matter how interested I am I find it hard to focus when just reading. I’ve always been like this, and way back in the mists of time, when I was at University, I instinctively sought out alternative ways to study, rather than just reading textbooks. Friday's episode of The Quarantined Wargamer explores the subject of how we learn new rules and suggests some techniques for getting those pesky facts embedded in our grey matter. 

We all have different ways of absorbing new information, and I certainly don't have all the answers. So what are your tips and tricks for learning new rulesets? I'd love to hear from you, either in the comments below on my YouTube Channel. If you like enjoy the video please hit the Like button and consider subscribing to my channel. 

Next week I'll be talking about why we should Encourage rather than Criticise those starting out in our hobby. 

When the Sky Falls

I recently bought an old (and out of print) game supplement for the 3rd edition D&D game. When the Sky Falls was published by Malhavoc Press in 2003 and has since become available both as a softcover book and as a download. At 64 pages its a slender volume but in its pages contain all you need to know to change your game world forever.

This is described as an event book and was produced under the Sword & Sorcery brand title in the boom following the adoption of Open Source rules for D&D. Here's a description from the Malhavoc site:

"This event book serves as a guide for DMs and players whose world is struck, and struck hard, by a meteor. Following the model of the popular event book Requiem for a God, D&D Epic Level Handbook designer Bruce Cordell brings you When the Sky Falls. This book presents a variety of new prestige classes for characters close to ground zero, a variant magic system powered by residual meteor fragments, and many new feats and spells. When the Sky Falls also describes frightening new monsters -- creatures twisted by their proximity to the Afterfall."

Although the rules were designed for 3rd edition the core of the book could be adapted easily. As a sourcebook for ideas I think it still works. There is a great review on the Geek Native site which is well worth reading.

Oh and the best bit, I picked this book up from a 'sale bin' for one pound. I do love a bargain!

Dungeon Floor Tiles

Dungeon Tiles, Adventure Tiles, Floorplans, E-tiles... call them what you will, I love them. I first used them in the early 80's when Games Workshop collaborated with TSR to produce boxed sets of card Dungeon Floor Plans. Since then I have amassed a huge collection of electronic tile sets that I can print and adapt as needed in my D&D campaigns. Many tiles can be downloaded for free from the Internet, while others are available to purchase as PDF files. Either way they are an easy way to enhance any roleplaying game that uses miniatures.

Here are a few sources on the Internet that I have found useful.

• Skeleton Key Games sell a superb range of e-Adventure Tiles.
• RPG Now sell all the Skeleton Key Games tile sets and sets by other companies as PDF downloads.
• Crooked Staff Productions have a small collection of Dungeon Tiles available on the EN World site. These include basic dungeon sections, sewers and dungeon debris items.
• The Dungeoneering.Net website has a nice selection of tiles for download.
• Greywolfs Warhammer Quest Page also has a small selection of good quality Game Tiles available for download.
• The Ye Olde Inn website has a nice selection of tiles for HeroQuest that can be pressed into service for D&D games.

This is a very small sample of the sites I have found and used to collect Dungeon Floorplans and Adventure Tiles. Now, when I design a campaign encounter, its an easy job to either find or cut-and-paste tiles to fit my needs. I still use the dry-wipe mats on occasion (for random encounters) but where possible I try to use Floor Tiles to enhance the look of preplanned encounters. After all, why bother painting a great model for a particular scene and then not present it in the best setting possible?In addition to published Dungeon Floorplans I have even resorted to blowing up maps from the likes of Dragon or Dungeon magazine. This is the Castle of Overlook which I adaped as a side encounter in my recent campaign. I scanned the map from Dungeon magazine then 'cut' it into sections. I then blew up the sections so each square was 1 inch and then stuck it all together. Hey presto, a castle floorplan.

I usually keep a stock of printed plans ready so whether I need to make a dungeon, a tavern or the deck of a ship, I can do so with the minimum of time and effort. And I think that little extra effort goes a long way to making an exciting encounter a memorable one as well.

Naval Uniform

Just to prove that I have started here’s a quick picture I took this morning. The plan with this model is to give him a dark blue ‘Navy’ style coat with a red waistcoat and white trousers. The button holes will be picked out in gold braid. I may also add more braid to the trim of the coat but I'll make a decision on this later as the model comes together.

One of the things I like to do when painting semi-historical models is look for pictures and descriptions in books and on the Internet to help with colour schemes. Osprey do an excellent series of books (including a new publication specifically about Piracy) but there is also a lot of free source material to be found on the web. The National Maritime Museum currently has an exhibition of early Navy uniforms and I have drawn inspiration from some of the examples on display.

However because this is a buccaneer I wanted a little bit of ‘flashiness’ about the character and this will be exhibited in his red undercoat and even redder sash.