Robot Viking

Just a quick update (I know it’s been far too long). I am working on Project: Death Race at this very moment. The alpha rules will be posted next week. I tell you that as an absolute, 100 percent guarantee. Get out those Matchbox cars you collected and modded, because a week from now, you’ll [...]

Being a Jedi Master seems like a pretty thankless job. For one thing, the retirement benefits suck (“So, when I die, I just get to keep doing this same job forever, except Hayden Christensen might randomly show up?”). Plus, it’s basically inevitable that at some point one of your students is going to turn evil [...]

If you look carefully through the comment threads that accompany some of the reviews of White Wolf RPG supplements here at Robot Viking, you might notice that one of the authors frequently stops in to join the discussion. That author is none other than Wood Ingham, freelance game designer, contributor to many White Wolf games, [...]

As I sat back this Memorial Day weekend sipping iced tea and enjoying my favorite sporting event (the Indy 500), I reflected on happy childhoods and the sacrifices made by military veterans that make such things possible. That line of thought (plus watching cars hurtle around Indianapolis Speedway at 220 mph) lead me to recall [...]

Blood Drive is an adventure for Hunter: the Vigil with a killer premise, a host of enemies (and frenemies), one sadistic yet redemption seeking bloodsucker, a freakish pseudovamp and her horde of psycho progeny. And to make it all that much worse, you start out in Philadelphia.

Jedi have control over powerful semi-mystical forces, giving them the ability to perform feats so astounding they seem like magic. Telekinesis, choke-holds, mind-fogging, wamprat targeting – all of these are within a Jedi’s grasp. But what if you don’t have a kindly old hermit/former Jedi Knight around to teach you how to fight with the [...]

Logic puzzles are a fun way to create non-combat encounters for your players to deal with in an RPG. They can be adapted and twisted into various forms perfectly suited for your campaign world and ongoing stories, but there are some practical issues with using them in the context of a gaming session. Luckily, the [...]

Some day, a few thousand years from now, archaeologists from some other (possibly alien) civilization are going to explore the ruins of a surprisingly well-preserved basement and stumble across a copy of Monster Manual 2. And they are going to be so, so confused. Luckily, we know what it’s all about. Monsters!

The original Dungeon Twister is an intriguing board game of dungeon exploration that’s about to get even better with a second edition. Dungeon Twister – Prison will be compatible with the old version, but offer lots of new dungeoneering fun and a constantly shifting dungeon gameboard.

The feature formerly known as “Break This Card” now has a new name: Crash Test Magic (thanks to qhartman for the suggestion that lead to me to the idea). With the new name, we are free to explore beyond card games, and since the number of tabletop games without some kind of magic in them [...]

The results are in. There is sure to be much controversy, some it violent and involving shrapnel.

What happened in the years between the defeat of Smaug and Bilbo Baggins’ eleventy-first birthday party? Tolkien never went into much detail about that period, save that Gandalf was seeking information about the ring and Sauron, and the forces of good somehow drove Sauron out of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood (only to reappear in Mordor). [...]

Wizards of the Coast has announced a new casual play format called Planechasers. If you like multiplayer versions of Magic, unpredictable shifts in mid-game, or just have fond memories of the old Vanguard cards, then this could be just the thing you’ve been waiting for.

Lots of people have asked about this (don’t feel bad, it took me awhile to figure it out too). If you don’t want to be stuck with the generic faceless avatar when you comment at Robot Viking, just head over to Gravatar. You can upload your own custom avatar there – it’s free. Your avatar [...]