Classic Version:

Nashk the Half-Orc has had a rotten day. Even though he is the strongest fighter in town, the pale, bearded merchants take one look at his jowls and refuse to give him work. Nashk decides that he might as well spend his last coin on some beer. The tip of his bardiche raps against the door frame as he strides into the Six Swords Tavern. One stool is unoccupied at the bar, and he moves toward it while gazing around. Suddenly, a tiny Gnome materializes on the seat, after pulling off a hood. Nashk calls to the bartender, but the squeaky-voiced runt interrupts. "How about a glass of wine and some rolls, before the toothy oaf arrives and I have to smell his armpits instead, " says the Gnome. Nashk growls, "BEER!", closing within arms reach of the runt. "I have to get his bottle from the cellar first," replies the languid purveyor. Nashk feels his fingers start to itch. "GNOME SHIT ISN'T THIRSTY," Nashk bellows, and kicks the stool out from underneath the talkative pygmy. Zsigmond the Illusionist tumbles to the timber floor, a distance greater than his height. He rolls away from the smelly giant, and watches it take his place at the bar. Fortunately, he has just the thing for a counter-attack. Holding in a laugh, Nashk hears something tapping the axe haft slung across his back. "Smile for the pretty lights, half-monster!" says the Gnome, as he blasts a Color Spray from his wand into Nashk's curious face.

Thus ends the structural integrity of the Six Swords Tavern, and begins the tale of Nashk and Zsigmond!

4E PHB2 Version:

After another evening of Thursday gaming, I returned the SW-Solomon Kane book I borrowed from our "group librarian" and requested a tome from his shelf of WARHAMMER Fantasy RolePlay books. Although I've known the name for a long time, the game itself never appeared as a merchandise option to compete with my purchases of TSR games. This particular collection is the 2005 revision by Green Ronin of the Games Workshop material, hardbound and (as usual) printed on yellow toned pages.

Fortunately, the rulebook doesn't try to cram the entire history of the Warhammer World into your orifices, right after the table of contents. Instead, the reader is introduced to character building, and how the d10 is going to be the foundation of action mechanics. Both of these aspects reminded me of Star Frontiers, which is another percentile-based RPG with some simple career advancement. Personally, I've wondered how a fantasy realm would function with such rules; I even began thinking of a conversion. Gladly, I can now adopt the completed WFRP system, and experience rolling "100" instead of "20".

Joining in on a subject started at Zachary's "Blog for RPGs in General"...favorite classes! Sadly, I DM most of the time, so I haven't played every one that interests me.

1) The Druid - I hate to say it, but my time as the "nature mage" was from playing Neverwinter Nights. There is simply something satisfying about going into battle with a strange scimitar, Barkskin, and a man-eating Dire Wolverine. Oh, and the older idea that there are only 10 Druids of 12th level or higher, riding around in Chariots of Sustarre like a neutral biker gang, how is that not awesome?

The Savage World RPG has a couple settings, and the dangerous world of Solomon Kane is one of them. You can pay fifty dollars to own what Studio 2 printed on 344 yellow-tinged pages, or, opt to tell your buddies you did and just check out a bunch of REH pulps from the library instead. Fortunately, I borrowed this tome and cannot be snorted at for not having purchased beer instead.

First, a little math - one third of the book is the generic set of rules. However, this crunchy information currently retails for ten bucks and not 16. If you buy the paperback, you can still enjoy a LARGE print size and similarly mediocre artwork. You do lose the ability to brain a robber with the heavier book for 3 points of damage. The last 50 or so pages of TSWoSK is a superficial bestiary with about five creatures that a veteran gamer might consider having difficult names to pronounce. At least the very last thing squeezed in before the back cover are stats for our hero, Solomon Kane!

Once again, enough players were absent on Thursday night to put the brakes on my DELTA GREEN adventure. Still, we were able to bite another chunk out of the increasingly difficult DESCENT board game campaign. Hosting these game nights is the responsibility of all the guys but me, since I live the furthest away. I'm always excited to visit a friend's house we refer to as the "Dojo", due to its architectural influences from Japan. Hoarded at this residence is a vast collection of RPG books and artifacts (like artwork by famous fantasy artists). Today I'd like to show off one of these volumes, not a game supplement by design, but more useful than any record of weapons and armor I've ever seen. This Glossary of Arms & Armour contains details on nearly every piece of damaging or protective gear from the days before modern firearms. Many entries include reference photos from museum collections all over the world. I can't say it is 100% complete, as there are likely some odd martial arts weapons missing (and stupid things like Orcish Dire Flails), but you couldn't ask for anything better for a Byzantine/Medieval/Early Renaissance game setting.