Kalgren Great Axe

Kalgren was born into the Axe clan of Valgard.  The clan eschews the famed Valgardian sword in favor of the single bit great axe.  Kalgren gained fame at the Battle of the Ice Flats where the Axe clan faced the combined warriors of four other clans.  After hours of battle the Axe clan's shield-wall broke.  The clansmen began to fall back in disorder but Kalgren stood.  He let loose with a mighty war cry and fought, weaving a wall of blood-flecked steel with his battle-axe.  He piled the bodies of his enemies around him.  His defense was so fierce that the enemies' advance halted as they pressed around him, striving to strike him down.  This respite allowed the men of the Axe clan to rally and counterattack.  The Axe clan carried the day.  They found 19 slain foe-men around Kalgren as well as the parts of many more.  As a battle prize, he took a gilt helm from the body of a dead chieftain.  Kalgren's name will live forever in sagas of the Valgard.

However bright his renown burned in the North, it was not enough for Kalgren.  He soon contracted a serious case of wanderlust.  The only cure was to set his feet on the paths leading to the southlands.  He went, determined to carve his name in the annals of the Southern kingdoms as he had the North.

Kalgren Greataxe


Attributes:  Strength 2, Agility 1, Mind 0, Appeal 1
Combat Abilities:  Brawl 1, Melee 2, Ranged 0, Defense 1
Careers:  Barbarian 2,  Hunter 0, Warrior 2, Healer 0
Boons: Quick Recovery, Axe Fighter
Flaws: Distrust of Sorcery
Lifeblood 12 Hero Points 5
Languages:  Valgardian
Protection:  Helm (1)
Weapons: Great Axe (d6+4), Dagger (d3+2)

Red Sonja Stats

Tim Brannan, the author of The Other Side blog, wrote a review of Barbarians of Lemuria and created some stats for Red Sonja.  You can find the review and stats here.

Basic is Back!

Just yesterday I commented on a post at Tim Brannon's The Other Side Blog that it would be nice if Wizards of the Coast would come out with a nice boxed reprint of the Moldvay Basic D&D.  Well, WotC hasn't done that yet but they DID re-release the Moldvay Basic and a whole bunch of other stuff in PDF.  It looks like they have stuff through 3.5 and a few 4e items.  How cool is that!?!  I don't see the Expert set yet but what is there is a start.  Oh, they have B1 "In Search of the Unknown" free for awhile.  You can find the stuff over at DTRPG.

I Must Be Doing Something Wrong...

So, two years ago I got my son the D&D Essentials Starter box for Christmas because he asked for it.  For some reason it took him about six months to mess with it at all.  I ran him though the player's pamphlet to create a character and he seemed to enjoy it.  Then nothing.  I heaved a sigh of relief because I didn't (and still don't) have any interest in D&D 4th Edition.  I had looked at the player's handbook for the regular edition several years ago and thought it was too damn complicated.

We went to Half-Price Books about three weeks ago and what does he see?  A copy of Heroes of the Fallen Lands, one of the player's handbooks for the Essentials line.  And he wants it and Mom says "Yes".  He devours the thing and starts creating characters left and right.

"Can we play?" he asks.

"Why don't we have a few practice fights to get a feeling for the combat system," I say.

He agrees and we pick out two characters.  He chooses a rogue and I pick a fighter.  He then proceeds to kick my butt.  Not once but three times!  I must be doing something wrong for a thief to beat a fighter three times in a row.  So I try to learn what the feats, powers and other things do.  Then we play again.

He still beats me but I do better this time.

I take the book one evening after he's gone to bed and try to make a character of my own.  I tried.  I really did.  I couldn't figure it out.  "I must be doing something wrong," I thought.  The next day I have him walk me through the character creation process.  Yes, my 12 year old son is teaching ME how to create a character.  I'm just a touch ashamed.  (And though there's no dice involved in creating the character, I still have an urge to say "roll up a character".)

When did role playing games become so complicated?  I've preferred rules-lite games since I got back into role playing as an adult.  A large portion of that is because I am a parent with a full time job.  I simply don't have the time or energy to delve into the arcane, minutia filled world of the rules-heavy games.  At least that's what I told myself.  Perhaps I've lost the ability to memorize these things the way I did when I was a kid.  The way my son can.  I told him half jokingly that my brain is more filled up than his is and that is why I can't keep the details of Essentials straight the way he can.

Then he asked for the other player's book Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms for Christmas.  And his Mom, being his Mom, has me pick it up.  I snagged the Rules Compendium at half off the cover price because I know he'll need/want that too.  I think D&D essentials is here to stay in my household.  At least for a while.  He mentioned 5th edition the other day and said that he had no interest in it because he's happy the Essentials.

Sigh.

And I didn't get a single role playing item for Christmas.  And I had some on my list.

Sigh....