Tron (enough said)

This guy sure loves TRON.

New Dust Tactics Expansions

Tons of new stuff for Dust Tactics coming in March.

Click here for the entire article.

Attention Everyone

I've added our gaming schedule to the right.

How do you like it?

What do You Want for Christmas, Gamer?

It's the holiday season. As a gamer, what do you put on your Christmas list? Answer? Games, geek swag, sci-fi/fan DVDs and comic books.

What's on the Keystone Gaming Society wishlist this Christmas? (Hint for those we love - all of this stuff is available at Comic Store West!)

** Scott **

Gaming Box 4-Way Rubber Bands

Settlers of Catan: Trails to Rails

Carcassonne - Bridges, Castles & Bazaar

Stephen King's Dark Tower and Stand comics

Lone Wolf RPG books AND the reissuing of the first solo adventure book.

** Dave **

Any of the Dungeons and Dragons Tile sets

Dungeonmaster Kit

Talisman

Space 1889

Ablaze

** Sam **

...Is hoping for ANY game because he just wants to know somebody cares about him.

** Old Brian **

Dust Tactics (which it looks like he could not wait for, so he bought it Friday)

Judge Dread RPG

Hollow Earth Source Books

The rest of the Walking Dead trades that I need

** Young Bryan **

...Is just hoping he dad doesn't get him ANOTHER copy of Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders. I mean, Lord of the Rings Candy Land last year was a bit over the top.

The Keystone Gaming Society wishes that your holiday season is a critical hit and that you get a lot of great swag to keep you gaming.

D&D Essentials, Sessions 4 and 5

After the last hard fight, the players decide to retreat out of the dungeon, and camp in the cave outside the doors. On their way out, they notice that the kobolds they killed have been placed ceremoniously in one of the alcoves, and kobold footsteps can be seen leaving the dungeon. The kobolds have had enough, what with both the dragon and their priest dead, and decided this place was no longer sage and hoofed it.

After checking on the horse (safe as houses), they cold camp for the night. Nothing too strange, although Dayereth thinks he sees a shadow figure fly through the cave but decides not to investigate.

The next morning, the adventurers head back in to the complex, checking through a couple rooms once occupied by the kobolds. They hear scratching at a door and open it. A guard drake, left behind, jumps out and attacks. Bang! Pow! One very dispatched guard drake.

Harlok, in a bit of a hurry, runs through the dungeon, and the rest of the party try to keep up. They come to a room set up in a chessboard-like grid, complete with very large chess piece statues of three pawns, a rook, a knight, and a queen. It's wizard's chess, Harry! The players quickly learn that if you don't move like chess piece, you are badly shocked and move back to the square you started. They also learn that NOT moving like a chess piece greatly upsets the very large statues, who come to life and attack our fearless heroes.

The PCs quickly adapt to their odd situation, using the strange magic of the room to their advantage by forcing the chess pieces to magically move in Non-chess style. Ouch! They don't like that! After several intense moments of gritty combat, there's a lot of shattered statuary in the room, and the players move, chess-style, to the door on the opposite wall.

Harlok is about to open the door when a mouth and eyes appear. Malareth's voice is heard.
"Fools! I don't know what you thought to accomplish by killing the dragon and running off my kobolds, but you won't stop me. Not when I'm so close! After months of preparation, the gate to the Shadowfell will open and the world will bow at my feet. The world of the dead and the world of the living will now be one, with me as its ruler! (With a little help from Orcus). Mwahahahaha!"
The PCs attempt, badly, to parlay with Malareth, but finally Harlok breaks in the door. Inside are several zombies, including one that looks like it was once an ogre.
"Zombies, attack! Kill the intruders, then bring the corpses to me, so that I may reanimate them to do my bidding. That calls for a second Mwahahahaha! Now, how do I turn this off? Let's see, press Star, Pound, Enter, Close meeting. Aah, there we are." Click.

Mr Grimes, taking a page from the Harlok fighting handbook, charges in and attacks the hulking zombie, barely scratching it. A ham-fisted smash from the hulk sends Grimes reeling backward. Falin also charges in, and calls forth a magical blast that knocks the zombie into the back wall. He is then quickly surrounded and grabbed by the zombies, who start chewing on him. Dayereth blasts one zombie with magic, and the great axe of Harlok begins its deadly work. Falin escapes the zombie's grasp and, calling on the power of his god, sends one of the dreaded undead back to the Shadowfell. Soon all the zombies are dead (again)!

They now hear strange chanting coming from the next room. A chill wind whips through the room and the adventurers realize that the spell to open a door to the Shadowfell is being cast. They race toward the next room and see Malareth's laboratory, complete with all the accessories a working necromancer needs: chemicals, beakers, bones, rotting flesh, Necronomicon, and a wraith and three skeletons. The necromancer's chanting is working, because a circular void is coalescing, forming a door to the netherworld.

But the PCs are fearless. Grimes launches himself toward Malareth, tumbling acrobat-style and stabbing Malareth in the back. "Aargh, my spell is ruined. Ooh, you're gonna get it, mister!" He shoots a blast of necrotic energy at the PCs, causing much damage. Meanwhile, the wraith has gotten out it's soul-sucking straw and is slowly draining the energy out of Falin. But Dayereth's and Falin's magic and the chopping of Harlok's axe prove too powerful, and the wraith is destroyed, along with the minion skeletons. Grimes shoves his longsword through Malareth.
"NO!" he screams. "Orcus, avenge me!" But Orcus is kinda busy and misses the call.

The players have won again. They immediately decide to loot the bodies, take all the crap out of the abandoned temple that they find, and sell everything they find that ain't worth keeping.
The end, for now.

Dungeons and Dragons Essentials, Session 3

The players meet the Dragon, a white Ozark Frost Dragon named Curly. They try to parley with the dragon, who is convinced they are assassins hired by the necromancer Malareth to kill the young dragon. Curly's kobolds were helping Malareth rob merchants for certain valuable materials, and Curly got the gold and any magic items the merchants may have had. No amount of talking convinces Curly of their innocence, and a fight commences. Curly breathes ice breath twice during the battle, nearly killing Mr Grimes. However, the combined might of the PCs proves too much for the dragon. Dayareth, with some direction from the other players, cuts the heart out of the dragon for his teacher, the Arch mage, who needs it for a very powerful spell. The heart is ice cold and remains so. Much treasure is found, which the players quickly divide amongst themselves, including some minor magic items

After a short rest, the players move down the hallway. "Who goes there?" someone shouts from the end of the hall.
"Umm, a bunch of us kobolds. We're here to relieve you guys over there."
"No, you're not! You're a bunch of thieves who can't make a decent bluff roll. Prepare to die!"

A huge bugbear flanked by two large kobolds charges the PC. Harlok and Falin respond with a counter charge. It's a quick battle, with the end result being dead bugbear and kobolds, and a shiny new magic axe for Harlok.

The next room contains a fancy rug and a distinctly unfancy dire rat wearing a collar (one of the bugbear's pets). Harlok charges, only to run headlong into a pit concealed by the rug. The less impulsive members of the party go around the pit and dispatch the rat, who's a little tougher than the first thought. The rat squeals a warning to his pals in the next room.

Fat lot of good that does. Though the party members are down significantly on healing surges after four big battles, a couple dire rats aren't enough to stop them. In the room is a giant minotaur statue with a strange message in dwarven lettering. The players aren't sure what it means.

But where is Malareth? Where's all the stuff robbed from the merchants? Another door leads further into the complex . . .

So, What Does the Rating System Mean, Anyway?

We at The KGS are serious about games. Seriously. And we've been asked, "KGS, what's all them fancy numbers youz always talkin' 'bout be saying, anyway, KGS?" So, below we've decided to inform our many thousands of fans about our rating system and what the numbers mean.

6 - Outstanding game in nearly every aspect. Any flaws in this game are very, very minor. This game comes with my highest recommendation and everyone should try it. The reviewer would gladly purchase this game.

5 - Very good game with some minor problems. The few flaws this game has may be small and generally do not detract from the overall enjoyment of the game. This game is highly recommended. The reviewer would strongly consider purchasing this game.

4 - Good game with a few flaws that moderately reduce the enjoyment of playing the game. It is recommended that you check out this game. The reviewer may consider purchasing this game.

3 - Okay game with several serious flaws that limit the enjoyment of playing the game. There are more negatives than positives in this game and the reviewer does not recommend this game. The reviewer most likely will not purchase this game.

2 - Bad game with major flaws although there may be a few redeeming characteristics. This game is not enjoyable to play and the reviewer recommends that you avoid playing or purchasing this game.

1 - Horrible game with severe flaws. This game is absolutely no fun at all. Laugh at anyone who actually spends time or money on this game.

D&D Essentials, Session 2

Using a combination of Dayereth's Freezing Blast and Phantom Chasm spells, Falin's Stormhammer assaults, Mr. Grimes' backstabs, and Harlok's whirling axe of extreme vengeance, the bandits come down with a very bad case of death.

A moan from a wounded merchant near one of the carts momentarily halts the adventurers from looting. Falin heals the merchant of his wounds and, grateful for the help, the merchant proves helpful. His says his name is Kavras, and that he is a spice merchant traveling south from Whartston Hall. He and his fellow merchant were attacked by bandits. Kavras was wounded and left for dead. He saw some of the bandits carrying his spice crates through the woods to the east. Then he lost consciousness and woke up to the sounds of fighting. He offers to reward the PCs with 50 gold if they can return his spices to him. He will be staying at the Inn of the Three-Legged Unicorn for the next few days before returning to Threshold. The PCs promise to find the spices for him.

The adventurers track the bandits through the woods, which eventually open up in a clearing with a small stream running through it. On the other side of the stream is a cave entrance guarded by four kobolds.
"Are they wizards?" asks Harlok.
"Yes," says Falin.
"Then they must die!" bellows the dwarf. Hefting his trusty battleaxe, he charges through the stream to attack the kobolds. He is quickly outnumbered, and the feisty lizards dart around him, wounding him.
A Freezing Blast from the eladrin, and a well-placed firepot slung by Mr. Grimes, turn the battle in the adventurers' favor. The last kobold flees but is cut down by the merciless crew.

After looting the bodies, the adventurers explore the cave. They find two heavy doors on opposite sides of the cave. Harlok, "helped" by Falin, block one door so it can't be opened, and enter the dungeon through the other door.

Inside were a number of rooms, partitioned by doors and red velvet curtains. A blast of cold air and some very angry kobolds greet them. A kobold wyrmpriest appears at the end of a long hall, and casts a spell. A ray of sickly green energy shoots out, splattering Dayereth with acid. Mr. Grimes moved quickly down the hall to get behind the wyrmpriest. This he does, though he pays the price with a stabbing wound from the priest's spear. Grimes is then attacked by more kobolds who appear from another entrance.

Falin and Harlok move toward the priest with readied weapons. Suddenly, the priest inhales deeply and breathes a gout of acid at them. Harlok sout of the way but Falin is not so lucky, taking an acid blast to the chest.

Dayereth casts a Fear Cage spell at the priest, wounding him and rooting him to the spot. The frontal attacks by Falin and Harlok, combined with the flanking backstab of Mr. Grimes, is too much for the priest, who slumps over in a pool of his own green blood. The remaining kobolds are quickly crushed.

After this, the adventurers rest (with occasional looting) for several minutes. Mr. Grimes listens at the large door at the end of the corridor. Loud breathing from some kind of large creature can be heard. The eladrin checks his compass. The needle points toward the door and glows bright red.

Will the adventurers open the door? Does sudden, untimely death await our heroes? Will they turn around and head home to live quiet lives of peace and comfort? Find out next week . . .

D&D Essentials, Session 1

Half the session was taken with the players rolling up characters. Bryan is playing an eladrin wizard named Dayereth Dawnfire, Sam a dwarf knight named Harlok Shieldbearer, Brian a dwarf stormpriest named Falin Thrall, and Scott a human rogue named Mr. Grimes.

The story begins as they so often do at the Sturdy Mug Tavern, a famed dwarf ale-house in the town of Threshold, along the Northern border of the Kingdom of Karameikos. Harlok, Thalen, and Mr. Grimes are seated at a table drinking fine brew, eyeing the Dwarf wench Clover Peaches, and ignoring the “Weezer and Ned Experience,” two local watchmen who moonlight as troubadours at the tavern.

While relaxing, they are approached to take on two seemingly separate missions. Thalen Thrall’s immediate superior in the church, the High Priest Throngil Cloudgatherer, asks Thalen and his friends to stop bandit attacks along the King’s Road between Threshold and Whartston Hall, a walled village 25 miles to the north. He also asks Thalen to investigate possible Shadowfell activity in the area. He mentions that the heroes should talk to Baron Padraig in Whartston Hall, who may have more to offer as to information concerning the bandits. The eladrin Dayereth offers to join the party as they are heading north. He states that his teacher, the archmage Andarriel, is working on a spell to close gates to the shadowfell, but he needs certain components to accomplish this. The first component is the heart of a white dragon. He shows the others a magic compass that points to the heart of the nearest white dragon. Substantial rewards are offered and money changes hands. Mr. Grimes purchases a horse at Muleskinner Joe’s Mystical Mules! (and horses), and the heroes leave town.

After an uneventful afternoon and evening on the King’s Road, the heroes stop at the Three-legged Unicorn, a fortified inn, where they hear more stories of attacks on merchants to the north. Especially talkative is a Halfling cloth merchant named Julius Winterbottom, who was not attacked but knew several merchants who were. He and Mr. Grimes spent much of the evening discussing cloth, and Julius sold a bolt of red velvet to Dayereth, who immediately changed it to green velvet.

The next morning, the heroes continue on their way to Whartston Hall. A couple hours into their journey, they hear the sounds of battle on the road ahead. Mr. Grimes spurs his horse to investigate. Reaching the crest of the hill, he sees two carts on the road, with several people laying face down by them. Off to the right he hears several whistles and badly imitated animal noises. Leaving the road, he gets off his horse and sneaks through the woods to discover where the noise is coming from.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group, seeing the scene below, rush down the hill to investigate, weapons drawn. One person by a cart begins to slowly rise. Harlok asks, “What’s going on here?”

The man slowly rises. “Only,” he says, drawing a longsword, “your deaths! Attack!” The man hits Harlok with a savage blow, but Harlok returns the favor and wounds the man with his great axe. The man’s visage changes into a creature none of the characters recognize.

Suddenly, several kobolds rush out behind boulders along the road and attack the heroes. One hits Harlok from behind and another engages Thalen in combat. A kobold slinger hits Dayereth with a bullet. The eladrin retaliates with a freezing blast that obliterates two kobolds.

Meanwhile, a larger kobold emerges from the wood near Mr. Grimes hiding place. He barks an order at the kobolds.

What will happen next? . . .

Living Traveller Campaign

Check this out:

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/living-traveller.php

Basically our characters could be part of 'the world' of traveller, very cool....