Monsters & Magic RPG is in the Latest Bundle of Holding RPG Pack

If you are True Role-Players I gather you already know about the Bundle of Holding web-site: it is an easy way to acquire a bundle of PDF files of role-playing games and/or supplements at a significantly lower price than the addition of buying each of them separately.

The other cool thing about the "Bundle of Holding" special offers is that ten percent of your payment goes to two charities, viz.
 - Amnesty International
 - Doctors Without Borders

Note that you get to set your payment yourself, but you have to beat a minimum amount to get hold of the "bundle". Also, there are usually two steps, one basic bundle, and one with more nifty stuff in it. However, there is no upper limit. This is a nice way to encourage giving to the charities.

But the bundles are short-lived, and you must act quick to grab 'em!

Well, all this premise to tell you that the current Bundle of Holding is  a treasure trove of seven indie RPGs by women RPG writers. Amongst the games of the second tier, the fantastic Monsters & Magic role-playing game (by Sarah Newton), which is currently my game of choice for high fantasy.

The Blood Countess Died Exactly 400 Years Ago

Erzsébet Báthory, nicknamed the Blood Countess, died 400 years ago, on 21 August 1614.

(I would've posted this on 21 August, but I'll probably be without an internet connection on Thursday!)

She is probably the most (in)famous Hungarian noblewoman in history, as the No.1 female serial killer not only in Europe but in the whole world. She allegedly tortured and killed hundreds of girls between 1585 and 1610. After her trial in 1610, she was imprisoned in a walled area of her castle in December 1610, where she died slightly less than four years later. By the way, the 21st of August is the day she was found dead lying on the floor; she may have died earlier.

The most famous tale about the Blood Countess is that she had the girls bled to death so that she could bathe in their blood and retain her beauty. According to the Wikipedia, this is a later addition to her legend, a detail not mentioned at the time of her trial. Still according to the Wikipedia, György Thurzó noted the presence of horribly mutilated dead, dying, and imprisoned girls at the time of her arrest. György Thurzó was the man whom Emperor Matthias had asked to investigate the horrible rumours about the Blood Countess.

However, Emperor Matthias was heavily indebted to the incredibly rich countess, and, for political and religious reasons, he was also opposed to the Báthorys, who ruled large autonomous or semi-independent estates all over Central Europe. Some scholars argue that the whole rumourmongering and trial were the results of a vast conspiracy against the rich and independent-minded countess.

György Thurzó, the man who conducted the investigations and assembled the evidence was Archduke Matthias' right hand man before the latter became emperor. One of the consequences of the trial was that the Emperor never had to repay his debt to her.

Whatever the historical truth, you may use the Blood Countess in two ways in your campaign: as a horrible villain, or even as a vampire-like 'big boss' figure, or as innocent and fiercely independent woman. In this latter case, she could be the patron of the player characters, whose aim would be to thwart Thurzó's schemes in a politically-oriented campaign.

Aperita Arcana Nearing Completion

Aperita Arcana is a dual-system supplement for both the Monsters & Magic and the Fate game systems (to be honest, I want it because of what it brings to M&M).

It is being brought out by Ebon Gryphon Games, the very same good folk who are behind the fantastically useful Collectanea Creaturae supplement, also both for Monsters & Magic and Fate.

Aperita Arcana adds a lot of character classes to the basic ones in the M&M core book; the current roster is as follows:
 - Alchemist
 - Arbiter
 - Barbarian
 - Beastmaster
 - Blademage
 - Blood Mage
 - Bounty Hunter
 - Chosen
 - Cultist
 - Duelist
 - Elementalist
 - Enchanter
 - Gladiator
 - Inquisitor
 - Knight-errant
 - Martial Practitioner
 - Mercatant
 - Minstrel
 - Religious Scholar
 - Shaman
 - Summoner
 - Treasure Hunter
 - Vanguard
 - Wandering Sage
 - Witch Hunter

Some of these classes, e.g., the Alchemist, have already been posted on the Google+ M&M community. Check them out, they're really fantastic!

I used to hate new classes when I played AD&D, but for Monsters & Magic it is really different: since a class a mostly a collection of traits, they add wonderful role-playing potential in terms of what effect the player may try to attain.

The icing on the cake is that Aperita Arcana is going to be FREE for us backers of the Collectanea Creaturae kickstarter :-)

Collectanea Creaturae In Dead Tree

Collectanea Creaturae, the top-notch "monster manual" supplement for Monsters & Magic is now available in dead tree format from Amazon in the United States.

It should also be available soon from RPGnow and from the European Amazon web-sites.

Collectanea Creaturae Is Out!

I just love it when a Kickstarter project delivers on time. Collectanea Creaturae, the book of creatures (and more!) for the Monsters & Magic role-playing game has been funded in January 2014, and the availability date for my pledge level (PDF only) was shown as "Estimated delivery: May 2014". Well, I have just received from Ebon Gryphon Games the link to download my copy of the PDF, and it's only April :-)

The book is a whopping 170 pages long, with the following sections:

Introduction, 5 pages.
This is actually much more than a mere introduction. The 5 pages are chock full of great ideas about how to GM particular situations in Monsters & Magic. If you've ever tried GM'ing an old school module doing conversions on the fly, like I did, you'll find this part very useful.

A-Z List of Creatures, 130 pages
The creatures here are not mere stat blocks. Each of them is given motivations and effects, which are what makes Monsters & Magic really different from similar games. Some of the entries have so many ideas of cool effects and consequences that they provide all the necessary elements for an afternoon of gaming just by themselves!

Also, some groups of creatures are given their own stats, e.g., Bandit Gang has its own stats independently from Bandit. Wolfpack has its own stats independently from Wolf. Again, this is perfectly in line with M&M's elegant way of handling different "sizes" of encounters.

There are also many boxed texts interspersed through this section providing interesting facts about the various creatures such as etymology of the creature's name, differences with the classic fantasy version (if any, and why), possible variations (incl. powered up versions or "bosses"), constructs made or owned by the creature, suggestions to use some of the creatures as non-human races, etc.

Appendix 1: New PC Races, 7 pages
The races suggested as being available as PC races are: Centaur, Faun, Goblin, Lamia, Nymph, Orc, Tanuki.

Appendix 2: Familiars, Animal Companions, and You, 12 pages
The title says it all. Given the importance of companions, sidekicks, mounts, etc. in Monsters & Magic, this is again a very welcome chapter, chock full of interesting ideas.

I've only skimmed through Collectanea Creaturae, but I already know I won't be able to GM my M&M games without this book close by any longer!

NPC: Faustus Verantius

The following introductory text is mostly from Wikipedia, but adapted to the setting:

Faustus Verantius (born ca 1551) is a polymath and former bishop from the Most Serene Republic of Venedig, but with close ties to the Fair Kingdom.

Faustus Verantius was born in the port city of Sibenning within a mixed Romance-Slavonic noble family. He is the nephew of the archbishop of Gran, and he has widely travelled throughout Europe and the Fair Kingdom. During his youth, he studied physics, engineering and mechanics in various Romance universities. Verantius was chancellor for the Fair Kingdom at the court of the Emperor of the One Faith in Burgstadt. He has been often in contact with Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe.
Following the death of his wife, Verantius took religious vows, and left for the Fair Kingdom. In 1598, he was assigned the titular see of Tschanad (in the part of the Fair Kingdom occupied by the Empire of the Crescent Moon), until 1608.
In 1609, back in Venedig, he joined the Clerics Regular of St Paul and committed himself to the study of science.

Homo Volans

There, he published, at his own expense, his magnum opus: the Machinae Novae, which contains 49 large pictures depicting 56 different machines, devices, and technical concepts: water and solar energy, the universal clock (Plates 6–7), several types of mills, agricultural machinery, various types of bridges in various materials, machinery for clearing the sea, a dual sedan travelling on mule (Plate 47), special coaches, and Homo Volans (Plate 38) a forerunner of the parachute. The latter has even been tested by Verantius by jumping from St Martin's Cathedral in Pressburg.

Verantius can be used as a patron for the PCs, or as a connection providing James Bond-like gadgets, like the rectangular-shaped parachute depicted on the right hand-side.

FAUSTUS VERANTIUS - Monsters & Magic version
Strength 11 (0)
Dexterity 11 (0)
Constitution 15 (+2)
Intelligence 17 (+3)
Wisdom 15* (+4)
Charisma 11 (0)

Class and Level Cleric 6
Age 65
Move 12
Armour Class 17
Physical HP 45
Mental HP 37

Traits:
-Exorcism [Turn Undead]
-Religious Lore (Old Way)
-Clerical Magic
-Former bishop in partibus infidelium
-Cleric Regular of St Paul

Advancements:
-Amass knowledge (temple trait)
-Inventor
-Linguist
-Perform Ceremonies
-Signature Item: Dictionarium, +1 to any language-related check

Weapons: None.
Armour: None.
Languages: Latin, High Language, Romance, Slavonic
Allegiance: Old Way of True Faith

This post has originally been inspired by this blog entry.

Clerici Regulares Sancti Pauli

The Clerics Regular of St Paul (Latin: Clerici Regulares Sancti Pauli) is an Old Way religious order founded in 1530 in Mailand, one of the most prosperous cities of the Empire of the One Faith.
Its members emphasise study and knowledge rather than proselytism or the defence of the faith. They are also more usually found in large, prosperous cities than on the frontier. Despite this scholarly disposition, the Clerics Regular of St Paul do have their lot of strange practices, like over-zealous penance, and the ringing of church bells every Friday at 3pm. The Clerics Regular of St Paul live in community-like monasteries in which everything is shared.


The Clerics Regular of St Paul make, in addition to the three standard religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, a fourth vow never to strive for any office or position of dignity. Their habit is a black cassock.

The order of the Clerics Regular of St Paul as a role-playing clerical cult:
Temple traits: Amass knowledge, Teach the faithful
Worshippers' Alignment: any non-Evil/Worshippers' Allegiance: Old Way of True Faith
Temple Weapon: None.
Spheres of Activity: Knowledge, Learning, Teaching.
Powers: Double trait bonus on any knowledge-related check.
Holy Symbol: Holy Cross and Holy Book.
Spells: The Clerics Regular of St Paul favour knowledge-related spells.