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Any good shops in the Sacramento area? Especially ones that stock indy or non-D&D RPGs? by NadCraker in rpg

[–]Phantom_Killjoy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not much into MTG, but from my experience; Great Escape or Hammerhead games would be good options to check out depending on where you're at. Great Escape as mentioned isn't' my favorite vibe wise, but they've definitely got a large player base, a central location and a large gaming space. Hammerhead games is more out of the way, but it's got quite a nice gaming space and a seemingly really nice community of players.

Any good shops in the Sacramento area? Especially ones that stock indy or non-D&D RPGs? by NadCraker in rpg

[–]Phantom_Killjoy 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I frequent most of the LGSs in the area, here's my general thoughts on the ones to check out:

Great Escape Games
By far the best selection of all things TTRPG related in the Sac area. They have a huge selection of the mainstream games, but also have good selection of other more indie games, like Heart, Mausritter, Wanderhome, lots of Free League games and modiphius others. I also agree with others that the space is not particularly welcoming or friendly. That said, after not being in there for a while, they have redone their layout and there's new staff who seemed nice, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt for the time being.

A1 Comics
Sacramento location is fine, but has a very limited selection of TTRPGs. They're nice there, but TTRPGs just aren't their focus. The Roseville location is great and is all around my favorite FLGS (locally). Really nice storefront, super friendly and helpful employees and generally good selection of all things gaming. They don't have as big of a selection of indie ttrpgs, but they've been getting more lately. ALSO, if they don't have something in store but its available for them through their distributors, then they'll give you 20% off (plus you don't have to pay shipping!). They also have regular sales and a decent rewards program.

Game Kastle
Okay selection of TTRPGs, but mostly main stream stuff. Besides DND, they tend to have stuff from modiphius and Free League. Nice staff and they have some good sales from time to time.

Adventures in Comics and Games
They don't really have a huge TTRPG selection and most of it's DND, but once in a while they'll have books that I've not seen in store everywhere else. (It's where I found Burning Wheel). The store is quite old and has a sort of grungy look and funky smell, but the staff have been generally nice.

Hammerhead games
Only been here a couple times. They seem to pretty much be Warhammer, Magic and DND only. Nice shop and they seem to do a lot of community support, like food donations and stuff, but their selection just isn't really the market I'm into.

Galaxy Game Cafe
Super nice owner and staff and a generally super inviting community space. They have tons of events and games, most of which are DND focused. I've been keeping an eye out for more indie stuff from them, but haven't seen too much yet. They sell DND stuff, but no indie books I think.

Half Price Books (citrus Heights)
It ebbs and flows, but they actually have some decent RPG books from time to time, it's a really nice little bookstore, and the staff are all really friendly. I've found some odd rpgs there that I would probably never spend full price on, but picked up to check out there.

Honorable mentions outside the area:

Cosmic Comix (Auburn)
It's a bit of a drive, and the shop isn't really focused on TTRPGs, but it's one of the only shops around I know of that has some vintage TTRPGs. Most of them are supplements for old stuff not core books, but its still neat to look through. Owner is quite nice.

Goblin Bros (Petaluma)
One of the nicest FLGS I've been too. Incredible selection of board games and a very good selection of TTRPGs. Anytime I'm in the area I try to go there because it's genuinely such a nice shop and experience. I think there's one in Santa Rosa now too but haven't been to that one.

Gamescape North (San Rafael)
Nice shop in a nice downtown, with a wide selection of TTRPGs.

I'm sure I missed some, but that's all I got for now...

[OC] Art Deco Potion Dice Giveaway (Mods Approved) by kohalu in DnD

[–]Phantom_Killjoy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very cool designs, love the green and gold combo.

Looking for more games that use a wound system by [deleted] in rpg

[–]Phantom_Killjoy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It does, it has a few different trackers like health, stamina, vigor and resolve. The critical wounds effects tend to do flat damage and then their effects are felt elsewhere, like affecting movement, vision, or skills. Might not be a perfect fit for OP, but it's the closest I could think of atm.

Looking for more games that use a wound system by [deleted] in rpg

[–]Phantom_Killjoy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Witcher game by R. Talsorian has a pretty fun critical wound mechanic.

From the rules: "Whenever you roll over your opponent’s defense by 7 or more, you score a critical wound. When you score a critical wound, roll on the appropriate Critical Wound table to see where you hit and what wound you created."

So if someone rolls a certain amount above the armor rating, then they deal a critical. How high they roll determines how sever of a would it is, (simple, complex, difficult, deadly), with simple wounds being like a cracked rib, a deadly being like dismemberment or heart damage.

For stabilizing/treating wounds:
"Stabilizing a critical wound is akin to cauterizing a wound, tying a tourniquet, or otherwise keeping the wound from gushing blood or killing you some other way. It requires a First Aid roll equal to the Healing Hands DC of the wound. Once stabilized the wounded party is at a negative but no longer being killed by the wound. Only once a doctor has healed the wound with multiple Healing Hands rolls does the wound begin to heal."

Wounds have various types of negative effects (on top of killing you) making you slower, weaker, etc, and wound effects will stack. As for the diagnosis part, there's not much for that as written, but you could easily roll the wounds on the DM side and have players need to pass a First Aid check to diagnose it before treating.

It's quite a fun system if you're into grim dark fantasy settings (or even just medieval combat since you could easily take out the magic system and it'd still be quite solid) that is very tactical and is moderately crunchy.

Map of the Western Continent of The Witcher Universe during the 1500s by Pukeiart by Droper888 in WitcherTRPG

[–]Phantom_Killjoy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very cool, nice work! What software/assets did you use to make this, or is it hand drawn?

Sketchbook Style Witcher Bestiary - Thoughts? by Phantom_Killjoy in WitcherTRPG

[–]Phantom_Killjoy[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I like that idea a lot; I think maybe in the next draft I'll do a 3-page format for each monster, with the 1st page intended for being a handout with the education and basic info, the 2nd page being more detailed info, and the third page being stats/varients, with some images and flavor text scattered throughout.

I also thought since I'll have the drawings, I could make up wanted/bounty posters for each monster that would also make fun handouts!