All posts by Seamus Conneely

An escaped Mad Adventurer on the loose! After playing tabletop RPGs for a decade and a half and GMing for most of that I turned my hand towards writing for/about them! Since then I've added another decade on top of that, oh gods. I got my start with the Gaming Security Agency, and then joined the Mad Adventurers Society for a few years before setting up CHG. I write about games here, have written for games such as Transit: The Spaceship RPG and materials published by Raging Swan Press and Beer Star Games, and have written entire games such as Lost Among The Starlit Wreckage. You can find me personally @RGM79Ace or under cannibalhalflinggaming on the various socials.
Articles, Editorial

Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game 30th Anniversary Edition Review

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A long time ago in a Tabletop RPG company far, far away . . . West End Games released its Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. The game would go on to produce two full editions (plus one revision of 2e) and more than one hundred sourcebooks and adventure supplements, but as with most things time eventually moved on. West End Games closed up shop, the Star Wars RPG license transferred to other companies and other systems, and the fans of the original SWTRPG were left to carry the flame as best they could. Now, however, Fantasy Flight Games has brought it back into the light with Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game 30th Anniversary Edition!

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Articles, Editorial

No Place Like (The Party’s) Home

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When someone says the word ‘adventurer’, the picture of a steady home life is not often one of the images called to mind. The dusty road, the shadows between the megascrapers, the space between the stars, these are most often the places that adventurers spend their time and make their fortune – or lose everything. While being an adventurer, or really any type of player character. almost universally involves going where others won’t either physically or mentally, I think there’s something to be said for breaking the mold and giving them a tavern, a ship, a base, a business, a home. While it might not be the one they were all born to, a party of adventurers with a place of their own can certainly turn it into a place that makes them feel like they belong.

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Articles, Meet the Party

Meet the Party: Star Wars: Dawn of Empire

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A broken Padawan whose only remaining comfort is breaking others in turn. A star of the academy, now an agent of the Imperial Security Bureau tasked with rooting out traitors and subversives. A pirate with a blaster to the back of his head, forced to serve at the Emperor’s pleasure. An old soldier who should’ve been put out to pasture, but has clung to service for a sense of belonging. We may have seen the Dawn of Rebellion, but light still shines on the Galactic Empire. This visit to the galaxy far far away is going to use the first FFG Star Wars Era Sourcebook to take us for a walk on the Dark Side!

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Articles, The Independents

The Independents: Blackwind

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Worlds and plot hooks come together, tension rises, heroes struggle against their foes, and as the dust settles we see the end of the tale. So go movies, books, shows, and no small number of roleplaying games – but there’s a new one coming onto the market that puts that plot progression front and center, and even makes its creation and development the main mechanic of the game. Blackwind by Elisa Mignemi and Allan Kelley is currently running through its Kickstarter project now live on DriveThruRPG, and they were kind enough to give us a look at the finished product and answer some questions about the game!

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Articles, Table Fiction

Table Fiction: Star Wars: Lost and Found Pt. 5

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They may join up in a cantina because they’re desperate. They might not have started off as friends. Some of them fought on different sides of a war. Some might have had to take a (more literal than usual) leap of faith. Adventuring crews often start off as a ragtag bunch of misfits, and in some ways that may never change . . . but over time all the good ones come together to become something more. As our tale of the crew of the Lost and Found comes to a close, the various members notice something going on with their Captain, head to the planet of Centares, and offer some new people a home among the stars. If you haven’t listened to Season 4 of Dice for Brains, now’s the time . . .

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Articles, System Hack

System Hack: Genesys Mecha Critical Hits

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The pilots of Genesys Mecha clash against one another on the battlefield. An Ogo Rifleman sends fire tearing up into the sky as a Capax soars above it, launching missiles that slam into the older machine and topple it the ground. Suddenly more rifle fire catches the Capax in a crossfire as two Dacars move in to avenge their fallen comrade. One shot goes wide, but another slams home . . . and there are 3 Advantage on the dice, enough for a Critical Hit! So, what’s the result going to be? It’s time to grab a d100 and roll on the table, as we add the last basic piece of the combat puzzle and figure out Mecha Critical Hits in Genesys!

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Articles, Table Fiction

Table Fiction: Star Wars: Lost and Found Pt. 4

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Sometimes it’s the last ones to arrive that end up being the secret sauce that make an adventuring party, and even a campaign, fully coalesce into something truly memorable. It was that way with White Coat and High Impact Heroics, it was that way with first Caleb and Patience and then the Alliance troops aboard the Borrowed Time, and so it was with the crew of the Lost and Found. The Dice for Brains Season 4 Pregame crew was coming together pretty solidly as a band of ne’er-do-wells, but even with Zaja they might not have turned out as friendly without the help of their final member, who certainly made an interesting first impression (on the hull) . . .

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Articles, Editorial

Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes Review

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Transcribed by Bigby, stolen by Shemeshka, dictated by Mordenkainen, and drawing from the many worlds of the multiverse, the Tome of Foes has arrived! Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes is, of course, the latest supplement for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, following in the footsteps of Volo’s Guide to Monsters and Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. It has lore, character options, and foes aplenty for us to check out, so let’s get started! I’ll be taking us through chapter by chapter, seeing what Mordenkainen has left for us to read, and comparing the final product to the various bits of Unearthed Arcana that got it started!

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Articles, Table Fiction

Table Fiction: Star Wars: Lost and Found Pt. 3

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Here’s the thing about adventuring parties, ad hoc teams, and ragtag starship crews: they don’t always get along with one another. Whether it’s past associations, disagreements over a course of action, or basic personality conflicts, every group is going to have moments where they’re fighting among themselves (hopefully only verbally). The crew of the Lost and Found is no different. Carga found himself joining up with Zaja’s eccentric crew of data pirates, and has even gotten along with the curmudgeonly technician Thraga, but the fact is that the crew has both an ex-Rebel and an ex-Imperial on the roster, and that was bound to come to a head at some point . . .

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Articles, Editorial

Masks: Secrets of A.E.G.I.S. Review

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Marvel has S.H.I.E.L.D., DC has A.R.G.U.S., and Masks: A New Generation has A.E.G.I.S., the Advanced Expert Group for Intervention and Security. In Halcyon City and beyond, while superheroes are wearing flashy colors and punching their enemies through buildings it’s the agents of A.E.G.I.S. who fill in the gaps, clean up the messes, nip nascent threats in the bud, and keep an eye on everything in the name of protecting everyone. A.E.G.I.S. has always been a factor for the New Generation to consider, but we can now learn the Secrets of A.E.G.I.S. in the second Masks supplement from Magpie Games!

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