Weaving a story out of a legend.

Looks quite homely now but back in November 1974… Let me tell you.

It wasn’t an easy ride working the real world Richard Bingham in to a character for an RPG but given the scope allowed within the GURPS system and the (almost) anything goes vibe of the Hellboy universe, I managed to get him to look and feel how I wanted with a bit of help from Boardie and Agers giant metallic bats. Couldn’t have done it without them.

So first up, how does he look? Well, pretty much like he did when he dissapeared on 7th November 1974, sharp suit, strong moustache game, expensive shoes, you see, in this game Binghams immortal, another throw back to Dexter Ward or even Dorian Grey. So how?

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At The Gates of Madness – Lord Lucan aka Richard Bingham

How does a member of the British aristocracy end up in Buckden Yorkshire chasing giant dogs and gods?

For anyone whose checked out the podcast lately, you’ll no doubt be aware we are running a new campaign based in  the BPRD/Hellboy universe, told by our storyteller Ager.

What you might not be aware of is this will be my first RPG campaign, having only played one RPG before, for 3 hours. That and I’d never read a BPRD/Hellboy comic, you might be asking yourself what I’d get out of this scenario. A fair bit it seems on reflection but that’s not what this is about, this is about character creation. Why did I choose do play as the character I did?

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“Wrote for Luck” Connor on creating Damus Nostre

I had a chat with my lad Connor about his BPRD pointman character “Damus Nostre” and taking him from a loose concept to a fully formed RPG character….

One of the things I enjoy most about roleplaying games is converting my ideas for a character onto my uncontaminated sheet of A4 paper and, with this being a BRPD game, the only limits the player has when creating their character is their imagination….although this is apparently somewhat limited in my case!

In my mind one of the things that makes the Hellboy universe fun is the concoction of the occult and the links to the real world, and I really wanted my character to embody that heady mix of influences. Like The Happy Mondays I wanted to blend lad rock (the investigation aspect of BPRD) with house music (those esoteric tendril MM has running through his world). As the rest of the party had somewhat normal human looking characters I took the opportunity to be the dick head of the group by combining influences from 16th century Europe and modern day doomsday cults and conspiracy theories. Continue reading

“Fist of the North” Dungeonpunx do Hellboy

Creating a basic RPG player character (PC) is something that people find pretty simple…..the problem comes when you try and elevate the PC from a list of stats and skills on a piece of paper into a living breathing actual “character”. In this series we are going to look at the process we went through to get characters for our newest campaign from the stats into real life.

If you have been listening the dungeonpunx podcast over the past few episodes you will be aware of our change from our normal DnD game Nathan was running to a game based in the “Hellboy” universe created by Mike Mignola back in 1993. Ager has been running a campaign using ”Hellboy Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game” a system published by Steve Jackson Games…..(no not that Steve Jackson…..the other Steve Jackson) which is powered by GURPS 3rd edition.

you know you talk so hip man….call the cops!


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The Reluctant DM – 5 miniature companies for D&D

With the current interest in table top RPG’s at a new peak, we thought it high time that we launched our Dungeonunx section of the blog. Regular listeners to our podcast will dubtless be aware that the crew loves to role play. D&D, Pathfinder, Shadowrun, Gurps, Advaonced Fighting Fantasy..we’ll give owt a try. Indeed the DXP crew grows stronger and more productive by the day. Last week Boardy dropped his first Real Play podcast under the DXP banner. He’s GM’ing through a Shadowrun campaign with the Salford chapter. It’s a first effort so it’s a bit rough around the edges and the levels are a touch off but stick with it, the pods a great listen. DXP Real Play is going to be an ongoing thing, consider it a supplement to the regular Dungeonpunx pod if you will. Tune in HERE to get your head around Shadowrun and meet the crew…..

And so to business. We are gonna give you the nuts and bolts required for new players/DM’s to get their teeth into RPG’ing. Depending on how you come to RPG’s you’re gonna want different things. Some people are happy playing in what is called The Theatre Of The Mind, whilst others have a very real need for tangible props and miniatures to help them visualise what’s taking place in the game. It’s important to try and  immerse yourself in the game. With some investment you’ll you’ll find you get way more out of the experience and the whole thing becomes a lot more fun and intense!

If you’re coming to RPG”S from Wargaming like most of the DxP guys were, then one of the easiest ways to transition into a new gaming  “discipline” is by finding familiar things within that game to relate to. In this instance miniatures upon the table provided the necessary sweetener to put my players a bit more at ease.  Now as things progress you may find the need for miniatures becomes less of a requirement. As players get more comfortable with their characters and with the idea of roleplaying, often the miniatures can seem like unnecessary distraction.

But for those amongst us who thrill to the sight of a tabletop full of painted minis but don’t know where to start I’ve provided this quick guide to some of the most immediately accessible and useful manufacturers for your games!

 

Bad Squiddo  _ Annie Norman runs Bad Squiddo games outta South Wales and despite her perpetual cold she gets a lot of props from us here at the ‘hammer. Annie is your go to gal for female miniatures of the sensible/functional variety. No chain mail bikinis or slut drops here, rather a selection of excellent miniatures that will bring character to any RPG session. Not only does she carry stock from all reputable manufacturers but she’s also  dipping into the mini game herself. Have a browse of her Freya’s Wrath Kickstarter right here then check out her store HERE, her mail order quickness is second to none.

 

 

 

 

Oathsworn Minis

Diehard Miniatures

The aesthetic sensibilities of Diehard’s broad range  will strike a chord with anyone lucky enough to have been a kid into gaming in the 80’s.

 

Otherworld

Westfaalia

Northstar

Bardcore – East Lancs Tales

I’ve always had my reserves in regards to pen and paper roleplaying because of something that happened to me in the winter of 2009. I was working in the dismal council tax office of my local government at the time, surrounded by people that spent money voting on Big Brother and counting down the days to an all-inclusive binge in Shagaluf, or so I thought…

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Salvations Malevolence- Dead Of Night

I had wanted to include something Fighting Fantasy related for our Seven Nights Of Samhain series but I simply couldn’t get it finished on time. Those books were so influential to me and frankly now that I’m running the show over here, I wanted to shine a spotlight on them. Admittedly there’s already loads of great blogs and fanzines dedicated to Fighting Fantasy and providing great coverage but I had plenty of questions of my own. I wanted to explore the inspiration behind the settings, the names behind the ideas and art, the spin offs and the future.

So where’s the best place to start? The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is the ground zero but it’s also been covered to death by just about anyone with an interest in the series. Play throughs have been similarly rinsed. So I decided to start where I left off in 1990 and investigate where Fighting Fantasy went after I disappeared into an abyss of teenage angst, alcoholism and punk rock. 

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Corehammer Christmas Mosh & Raffle

Yo, just a quickie. Our annual festive meet up is scheduled for November 18th at Mantic HQ in Nottingham. Games will be played, rips will be executed, snacks will be consumed. Much laughter and jackanapes to be sure. All are welcome. Fiver gets you in and you can get a ticket HERE

Organise some games, play some new ones, make new friends, raise some money, enjoy a little solidarity. No bullshit attitudes or nazi’s cheers. Stay the fuck home.

We are also running a charity raffle at our Christmas do to raise money for St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre. Thanks to some very generous and kind individuals and companies, the prizes for this are absolutely incredible, check out our Facebook and Instagram over the next few weeks for what’s going to be up for grabs.

You need to get a ticket to take the ride though, and while we will obviously be selling some on the day, we’ve got you covered if you can’t make it either. We will be selling them in packs of five (it doesn’t make sense to do less due to the Paypal fees etc, which is what the 40p is for), and will send you a photo of your tickets with your name written on them. They will be added to the draw on the day (which we stream live as it’s 2017), and you will have just as much chance of winning as anyone else. Anything you do win will be posted to you, wherever you live in the world.

People have been generous, you can be too. Link HERE

All money raised from entrance to the day and from the raffle will be donated to assist the good work that the folk over at St Mary’s Sexual Assault resource centre. Go have a read of their website HERE and get your head around exactly what they do.

 

Silent Wolf of Suburbia – Personal reflections on Lone Wolf

Tenacious and gentlemanly, even when brought low by chronic coronary artery disease, my metalworker father was going to die. Or at least that’s what 11-year-old me thought. A number of heart attacks and ongoing angina had rendered dad unfit to continue the life of heat, flames and particulate-heavy fumes, and prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light, that he’d known during the course of his decades as an A-grade welder and boiler maker. Soon enough I was bedside in the intensive care unit of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital, not far from our modest weatherboard home in Salisbury East, listening to talk of coronary artery bypass surgery and praying that, whatever the procedure constituted, it would somehow free dad of his wretched state and restore him to his reassuringly stoic best. Continue reading