#040en - november 2024 TTRPG newsletter
The monthly TTRPG newsletter from Xapur
Pathfinder, Phandalin…
What's new at my gaming table?
The month of November was occupied by no less than 5 role-playing sessions! I've led 3 of them, with the end of the adventure presented in the Pathfinder 2E Beginner Box closing with a battle against a small green dragon, quite devastating (but less so than some of the adversaries encountered previously, in the end, perhaps because the group is progressing).
We took our time and learned the rules as we went along (some things differing quite widely from D&D) but I think the adventurers had a good time. I'll say more about it in my dedicated review. Then we played an interlude, the Founder's Festival, adapted from the Pathfinder-Fr site. All this is a prelude to the Abomination Vaults, but it's not certain that we'll be exploring it any time soon, as the group wants to take a roundabout route. What's more, the end of the year is approaching, and a break in the campaign is looming.
One of my players is also a Delta Green GM, uh Handler, and is taking revenge for the misadventures of his fighter, sorry champion, by trying to drive our DG characters mad, who have been investigating a haunted house problem for 2 grueling sessions. Unfortunately, there's no way of burning this one down and continuing to be as gruff as usual, so we're looking for a more subtle solution that's as radical as it is definitive. To be continued...
Latest articles published on the blog
As always, my posts are written in french but your browser may propose to translate them
The twelfth report of my D&D Adventures in Phandaline campaign is also the last. So I've finished summarizing the 67 sessions we played over two and a half years, taking adventurers from levels 1 to 11 - quite a journey! Farewell Phandalin (although I'll be doing a follow-up article with a few ideas for extensions I've been working on) and maybe also farewell to D&D 5E, as I won't be moving on to the 2024 version, since Pathfinder 2E suits me better at the moment. Also, I don't like the direction Wizards of the Coast has been taking for a while now, but that's another subject.
I've also finished the mythical series of G modules for AD&D with G3, Hall of the fire giant king. I'm going to continue with modules D1 to D3 and then Q1. Yum, let's go and explore the Underdark, it'll get me in the mood to prepare the campaign I'm still planning in the dark and obscure underground depths populated by monstrous monsters!
I'm also continuing to leaf through a few magazines on an (almost) random basis, this time it was issue 55 of Dragon Magazine dated November 1981. It's always fun, and there's a welcome touch of nostalgia, as well as ideas to pick from, even if this one wasn't so great.
On the preparation front, I've immersed myself in the Ravenloft universe, and more specifically in Curse of Strahd. I'm thinking of a campaign, but perhaps with Shadowdark rules rather than the more epic D&D (see above) or PF2 rules. I'm also considering an open table kind of game, but that's a project for 2025, which I'll come back to later if it comes to fruition.
Readings and inspirations
Readings: I'm dragging my feet to finish volume 6 of Steven Erikson's Book of the Fallen:The Bonehunters, as I'm having a bit of a reading slump (apart from ttrpg!). I did read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Etymologies, though, with a rather mixed review.
Creations, tips, shop…
Publications of the month
I regularly give my schedule on my Patreon page and this month I've been pretty active, finishing a few projects that have been lying around for a while.
I published The Temple of the Demon Idol, a tribute to the cover of the first AD&D Players Handbook. It was supposed to be a simple map that eventually turned into a twenty-room dungeon (generic for any fantasy role-playing game). It's free so go on and pick it up! Patreon, DriveThruRPG, Ko-fi, the choice is yours.
I also had fun reworking a draft map for Call of Cthulhu and finished it, so here's Victorian Manor, a neat little noble house... but there's also a ruined - even - haunted version for Lovecraftian or Gothic adventures. Link
Current projects
I'm going to finish my “old school” One Page Dungeon
I'm organizing all my creations to make it easier to find what you're looking for among them
then I think I'll devote myself to making progress on the layout of my megadungeon during the end-of-year vacations
Follow me on the web
follow me on TwitterX and/or Mastodon and/or Threads and/or Bluesky
Support me on my Patreon page
Buy me a coffee, or a tea, or a beer!
my TTRPG blog (in french - but your browser may propose to translate it)
That’s it for this issue, see you soon!
And do not hesitate to leave a message or comment below or answer to the email to let me know what you think of this letter.