Books, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Review, Uncategorized

“Oracle of Philadelphia” by Elizabeth Corrigan – Novel Review

"Oracle of Philadelphia" is the first book by Elizabeth Corrigan, and starts the "Earthbound Angels" series of – I guess – Urban Fantasy novels. It is a fairly short book which starts indifferently but finds its feet about a third of the way through and shrugs off the early structural difficulties to give an entertaining tale. The book is told in the first person from … Continue reading “Oracle of Philadelphia” by Elizabeth Corrigan – Novel Review

MerricBApril 9, 2013Leave a comment

Books, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Review, Uncategorized

The Mason of New Orleans – Novel Review

I've been reading so much Urban Fantasy of late (about 80 books in the past two months), that Charles Ryan's The Mason of New Orleans was a delightful departure: a fantasy spun around the concept of a modern-day engineer finding himself back in France in the 12th century A.D. Told in the first person, it tells of his adventures as the engineer finds sanctuary with … Continue reading The Mason of New Orleans – Novel Review

MerricBApril 8, 2013Leave a comment

D&D, RPGs, Uncategorized

The Big Bad Evil Guy in RPGs

At the end of our Kingmaker campaign, the 17th level party came up against a foe with an AC of 51. They had attack bonuses of 30 or so, which meant that the Big Bad was unhittable except on natural 20s. The solution? Cast greater dispel magic, which gave the cleric about a 40% chance of dispelling each important spell and reducing the foe’s AC by … Continue reading The Big Bad Evil Guy in RPGs

MerricBFebruary 4, 2013Leave a comment

AD&D, Session Report, Uncategorized

A successful expedition into Rappan Athuk

The members of my AD&D campaign have recently been spending time wandering between Rappan Athuk and their home base in the lands of the Frost Barbarians near the Caverns of the Oracle. That last has turned into something of a megadungeon itself, but Xury, Reece’s halfling, recently murdered the local lord so the group had to flee and thus returned to Rappan Athuk. We had … Continue reading A successful expedition into Rappan Athuk

MerricBJanuary 21, 2013Leave a comment

D&D, RPGs, Uncategorized

Randomness and Action Selection

One of the delightful things about playing lots and lots of boardgames is that I get to see lots and lots of different game mechanics. It’s something I don’t get to see so much with RPGs because RPGs tend to reward longer-term play where you play one RPG a lot and let the others sit idle. I’ve been fascinated by the interplay between player skill … Continue reading Randomness and Action Selection

MerricBJanuary 21, 2013Leave a comment

Books, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Uncategorized

Fragment of Fiction

He was a thin man, who walked along the street as if all others using it were beneath him. He didn’t notice me as I followed him. His arrogance didn’t make him superior, after all. He just believed he was. He wasn’t without his good points, though. He was well-prepared and rich. How rich? Enough to have minions do his dirty work for him. At … Continue reading Fragment of Fiction

MerricBNovember 15, 2012Leave a comment

AD&D, D&D, Session Report, Uncategorized

Into Rappan Athuk!

I wasn’t meant to be running AD&D this week, but a lack of players for Paul’s 4E campaign saw me volunteering my services for some more AD&D play. Unfortunately, it also transpired that although I had the campaign notes, I didn’t have the dungeon maps. As the maps are a fair sight more important than the notes, it looked like the Caverns of the Oracle … Continue reading Into Rappan Athuk!

MerricBNovember 4, 2012Leave a comment

Books, RPGs, Uncategorized

Thoughts on James Bond: Novels, Movies and RPG

I am currently waiting eagerly for the arrival of the latest James Bond film, Skyfall at my local cinema. Unfortunately this is still a month away, thanks to the staggered distribution of these films worldwide. However, it does give me the opportunity to reflect on my history with James Bond. It’s strange, but one of my clearest memories of my childhood is not knowing who … Continue reading Thoughts on James Bond: Novels, Movies and RPG

MerricBOctober 17, 2012Leave a comment

AD&D, D&D, Session Report, Uncategorized

AD&D – Fireballing the Party

My AD&D group, which is currently meeting once every two weeks for sessions of 2-3 hours in length, is finally out of Castle Amber (something that was missed by some of the more stalwart players). We had a new player for this session, which saw them exploring what I’m beginning to refer to as the “Ruins of Loki”. It wasn’t meant to be a megadungeon … Continue reading AD&D – Fireballing the Party

MerricBOctober 16, 2012Leave a comment

D&D, Pathfinder, Session Report, Uncategorized

Kingmaker session 10 (Varnhold Vanishing)

This was the tenth session of our Kingmaker campaign, and we are now half-way through the series. Well, almost: the group need to do a bunch of kingdom-building before they’re ready for the fourth adventure, but they have dealt with the major threat of the Varnhold Vanishing. Most of the session was spent exploring Vordakai’s Tomb, with one month’s worth of kingdom-building activities.The group also … Continue reading Kingmaker session 10 (Varnhold Vanishing)

MerricBOctober 15, 2012Leave a comment