One thing I liked was the character sheet format I came up with for the pregenerated characters. I wanted to cut GURPS down to the bare essentials, so even though I built the characters using the full rules set, anything that didn't inform how to roleplay the character or present additional options was left off the sheet.

You can see the three sample characters I worked up here.

Many assume the felgorn is some sort of undead, but in fact it is a horror created by tiny parasitic worms that infest its body. When a felgorn slashes with its bone talons, some of these parasites infest the wound, digesting and filtering the victim's blood, weakening him. When a creature dies with felgorn parasites in its system, the foul things immediately set to work building a new felgorn from the victim's tissue. Such a creature messily pulls free from the corpse in 1d6 rounds.

Felgorn (Small Horror Flyer/Walker -- 60 XP): Str 8, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 6, Wis 14, Cha 8; SZ S (1×1, Reach 1); Spd 40 ft. flight, 10 ft. ground; Init III; Atk IV; Def IV; Res V; Health IV; Comp II; Qualities: achilles heel (divine), class ability (bloody mess), conversion (killing).
Attacks/Weapons: Talon II (dmg 1d4-1 lethal; threat 19-20; bleed; keen 4), Parasites (attribute draining II; linked to Talon; DC 15 Fort or suffer 1 Con impairment)

To get started, here is a creature I just worked up, a simple fiendish rodent meant to serve as a minor obstacle in small numbers.

Demon Rat (Tiny Outsider Animal Walker - 40 XP): Str 6, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 10; SZ T (1x1, Reach 1); Spd 30 ft. ground; Init IV; Atk III; Def III; Res IV; Comp I; Health V; Skills: Sneak IV; Qualities: Darkvision II, improved sense (scent), light-sensitive, swarm
Attacks/Weapons: bite II (dmg 1d4-2 lethal, threat 17-20; bleed)
Treasure: 1T

This little skulker is pretty good at hiding in tight, dark places, waiting for some hapless do-gooders to wander by. Individually, a demon rat isn't much of a worry; its bite attack does a tiny amount of damage. With the swarm quality, however, demon rats can gang up on a single target and potentially dish out quite a bit. This quality lets multiple creatures perform a single combined attack with a total bonus to hit equal to the number of creatures in the swarm. On a hit, the attack's damage is multiplied by half the number of creatures.

Demon Rat (Tiny Outsider Animal Walker - 40 XP, TL 1): Str 6, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 10; SZ T (1x1, Reach 1); Spd 30 ft. ground; Init +2; Atk -2 melee or +1 ranged; Def 14; Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +1; Damage +4 if standard or 25 vitality if special; Comp +0; Skills: Sneak +6; Qualities: Darkvision II, improved sense (scent), light-sensitive, swarm
Attacks/Weapons: bite II (dmg 1d4-2 lethal, threat 17-20; bleed)
Treasure: 1T

At Threat Level 1, demon rats rely almost entirely on their swarm quality. An individual rat has a -2 to hit with its bite, but a swarm of 5 rats has a +5, and the damage is doubled. With a decent damage save bonus, each rat should be able to take two or three hits before being knocked out of the fight.

Demon Rat (Tiny Outsider Animal Walker - 40 XP, TL 5): Str 6, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 10; SZ T (1x1, Reach 1); Spd 30 ft. ground; Init +5; Atk +1 melee or +4 ranged; Def 16; Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +3; Damage +6 if standard or 125 vitality if special; Comp +1; Skills: Sneak +10; Qualities: Darkvision II, improved sense (scent), light-sensitive, swarm
Attacks/Weapons: bite II (dmg 1d4-2 lethal, threat 17-20; bleed)
Treasure: 1T

At Level 5, the rats are still relying on swarm tactics. They are a little harder to hit and still darn hard to take down when you do hit. A dedicated combatant or skilled spellcaster focused on damage spells shouldn't have much trouble with these guys, though.

Demon Rat (Tiny Outsider Animal Walker - 40 XP, TL 10): Str 6, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 10; SZ T (1x1, Reach 1); Spd 30 ft. ground; Init +9; Atk +5 melee or +8 ranged; Def 19; Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +6; Damage +9 if standard or 250 vitality if special; Comp +3; Skills: Sneak +14; Qualities: Darkvision II, improved sense (scent), light-sensitive, swarm
Attacks/Weapons: bite II (dmg 1d4-2 lethal, threat 17-20; bleed)
Treasure: 1T

At Threat Level 10, the rats really start to become interesting. Individual attacks become conceivable, especially against non-combat characters like Courtiers and Sages. At this level, it might be fun to throw in a special demon rat with a mob of standard ones. This "king rat" can take advantage of the bite attack's threat range to score a few criticals, and with 250 vitality, he can take a lot of punishment.

Demon Rat (Tiny Outsider Animal Walker - 40 XP, TL 15): Str 6, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 10; SZ T (1x1, Reach 1); Spd 30 ft. ground; Init +13; Atk +9 melee or +12 ranged; Def 22; Fort +10, Ref +9, Will +8; Damage +11 if standard or 375 vitality if special; Comp +5; Skills: Sneak +18; Qualities: Darkvision II, improved sense (scent), light-sensitive, swarm
Attacks/Weapons: bite II (dmg 1d4-2 lethal, threat 17-20; bleed)
Treasure: 1T

Demon Rat (Tiny Outsider Animal Walker - 40 XP, TL 20): Str 6, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 10; SZ T (1x1, Reach 1); Spd 30 ft. ground; Init +16; Atk +13 melee or +16 ranged; Def 25; Fort +13, Ref +12, Will +11; Damage +14 if standard or 500 vitality if special; Comp +6; Skills: Sneak +22; Qualities: Darkvision II, improved sense (scent), light-sensitive, swarm
Attacks/Weapons: bite II (dmg 1d4-2 lethal, threat 17-20; bleed)
Treasure: 1T

At the highest levels, it might seem silly to pit a party of heroes against a mob of demon rats, but thanks to the scaling system, the rats are just as (relatively) dangerous as they were at level 1. Their greatest potential danger is the bleed quality on their bite attack. A bleeding character takes 1 point of subdual damage on their turn if they do nothing; if they take even a half action, the damage becomes 1d4 lethal. Over the course of a combat, the blood loss can really add up. And one or two special demon rats scoring threats 20% of the time might put a scare in your party.

Fantasy Craft builds on Crafty Games' more venerable property, Spycraft 2.0, using a streamlined set of rules called the Master Craft system. (Crafty intends to use this system for later releases as well, including the modern crime game Ten Thousand Bullets.)

Fantasy Craft is built on the core of the d20 system, and it stays truer to its roots than other d20 variants like Mutants & Masterminds. It's still class/level-based, you still gain feats and skills in much the same way. But Crafty Games presents everything in a strongly modular, toolbox style, offering options that all seem to fit together seamlessly.

Unlike its fantasy-d20 forebears, Fantasy Craft doesn't just focus on combat and physical conflict. There are strong gamist systems for tracking stress, dispositions, social contacts, renown and reputation, dramatic pacing, personalized subplots, and countless other narrativist activities.

Note about art: Crafty went with a black-and-white ink art style that I have missed tremendously in the last 5 years (or so) of gaming products. The illustrations in this book really take me back to my earliest gaming products.

As I read this book, I'm leaning very strongly toward making my next fantasy campaign a Fantasy Craft campaign.

400 pages; color cover, B&W interior. $49.95 (Print); $29.95 (PDF)

Jamie and I hitched a ride with our friend Mike, and we met our friend Ben in Indy, who we hadn't seen since our wedding. All four of us shared the hotel room and basically hung out when we had spare time.

We got in on Wednesday afternoon, checked into the University Place hotel, then walked to the convention center to pick up our badges and tickets. The walk wasn't too bad (about a mile) but it would get old soon enough. One disappointing sign of the economy was the pathetic showing in the attendee swag bags, which basically amounted to a booster pack of Magic, the requisite Gen Con d6 from Crystal Caster, and a handful of coupons. We ended the night with dinner at PF Chang's.

Thursday opened with an initial pass through the dealer's hall. You can see what I got in The Haul below. Jamie and I ran our first games at 1:00. I ran an awful fun Iron Age Mutants & Masterminds game that Ben sat in on. Full table, and it went very well. Thursday night, the three of us played in a pretty gonzo demo adventure for White Wolf's new Geist game, which we'll probably be picking up later via Amazon.

Friday was a double running day. I ran a Star Wars Saga Edition game in the morning for four guys, and good times were had by all. In the afternoon, I ran Wild Talents for a table of One-Roll newbies, and they all seemed to enjoy it.

Saturday began with a second run of my Saga Edition module. This was slightly less enjoyable than the first run, partly because I ran for 8, and partly because two of those players were under 13. Still, pretty fun, with a lot of storm troopers dying and lots of Force action, blasters, and such.

Ben, Jamie, and I were scheduled to play in a Mutants & Masterminds game immediately after my Star Wars session, but the GM never arrived, so we left and got our tickets refunded. Then we ate lunch at Steak & Shake and looked through the event guide. I saw that Allan Goodall was running Wild Talents in the setting he wrote, This Favored Land, so we headed to Union Station to see if we could get in on that or a Dreadful Secrets of Candlewick Manor game that was running in the same room. We ended up playing This Favored Land, and it was a blast. Lots of American Civil War superhero action. Then we met Mike and got dinner at the RAM. Yum.

Sunday was devoted to touring the dealer's hall one last time looking for con-end deals. I didn't pick up much additional, just a pair of Eberron books and some minis. Then the ride home (including pancakes at Denny's).

Even running four slots, this was still a great con. I'm already looking forward to next year. I won't run if I can help it (at least not as many games). It's pretty tiring work. Still, much fun.

The Haul
First and foremost, Fantasy Craft. I'm so glad I picked this book up. Crafty Games have put together an awesome product here.

I picked up my pre-order copy of Kerberos Club for Wild Talents, with a second copy of the Wild Talents Essential Edition to make up for my shipping cost.

After receiving a $5 coupon for playing in Allan Goodall's This Favored Land game, I picked up Dreadful Secrets of Candlewick Manor for Monsters and Other Childish Things.

I grabbed a copy of A Dirty World from the IPR booth and then got Greg Stolze to sign it.

Jamie had squirreled away the money for me to pick up the convention GM's special from Dark Platypus Studios, which contains two more sets of Bendy Dungeon Walls, the magnetic feet adapters for the walls, and the Magna Mat magnetic-receptive battle mat. Added a set of feet adapters for the bendy walls I already have, as well.

Found the last two books I needed to complete my 3.5 Eberron collection (Faiths of Eberron and Secrets of Xen'Drik) and picked up some heavily discounted Rackham minis.

I feel like I'm forgetting something. I'll update if I remember what.

It took about an hour and a half to make characters. Joey wanted to play a ninja (of course, there's always one, especially at their age).He ended up playing a CN pickpocket (what else is a Rogue when you're 14?). Cole played a Ranger, Elizabeth a Druid with a wolf companion, and Jamie a Sorceress.

I actually hadn't planned anything, since I didn't know they were coming until about 8:00 a.m. yesterday morning. Thank goodness for Monte Cook! They managed to get through two rooms of the Dragon's Delve, fight a ghast and a ghoul, and become obsessed with the first bluesteel door they came across.

It was pretty fun. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves, and they said they want to come back and play again some time. Jamie said she had a good time, too.

It's weird running for absolutely new players. They don't know what's "wrong", so they're willing to try things that experienced players never think about. Of course, they don't know what's "right" either, so they spend a lot of time on things that veterans would just brush past. I had fun, even though running for three 14-year-olds is like herding cats at times.

Definite Purchases (unless I get them before the con)

• The Dreadful Secrets of Candlewick Manor (for Monsters and Other Childish Things)
• A Dirty World (by Greg Stolze) (if I can find it)
• Bendy Dungeon Walls, and other products (from Dark Platypus Studios)
• Pocket Ultimate Power (for Mutants & Masterminds) (I know that a friend has pre-ordered this through Amazon as a belated birthday present.)

• Geist (new World of Darkness game from White Wolf) (The quick start book available at Free RPG Day essentially sold me on this.)
• Flip Mats (from Paizo)
• Monsters and Other Childish Things core rulebook (from Arc Dream)
• Necessary Evil Explorer's Edition (for Savage Worlds) (Purchased this at Origins.)

• Rogue Trader (Warhammer 40K-based RPG from Fantasy Flight) (Enjoyed the Free RPG Day quick start, but money is limited. Would like to see how it plays. I'm signed up for a Dark Heresy session at the con, which uses the same rules.)

Gambling? I'm In, pre-release edition, from Slug Fest Games (a preview of an upcoming traditional card game set that can be played in conjunction with Red Dragon Inn)
Bendy Dungeon Walls, from Dark Platypus Studio (really awesome hinged plastic dungeon terrain)
Hearts Swords Flowers, a shoujo supplement for Big Eyes Small Mouth
Necessary Evil Explorer's Edition, for Savage Worlds, signed by designer Clint Black
Fantasy Companion Explorer's Edition, for Savage Worlds, also signed by Clint Black
Angel Director's Screen
Buffy Director's Screen
GURPS Greece
GURPS Swat
GURPS Cops
GURPS Spirits
GURPS WWI: All the King's Men
GURPS Special Ops, Third Edition
Transhuman Space: Deep Beyond

Awesome.

Forsaken Bounty, an Introduction to Rogue Trader (Fantasy Flight)
Pathfinder Bonus Bestiary (Paizo)
Khyber's Harvest, an Adventure for Characters of 2nd Level (Wizards of the Coast)
Geist: The Sin-Eaters Free Quickstart Rules and Adventure
Hollow Earth Expeditions Free RPG Day Adventure 2009
Q Workshop Dice (a d8 and a percentile)

In addition, the shop was doing some good sales. We picked up:

Ascension, the final book for Mage: The Ascension, and Time of Judgment, the final book for the whole original World of Darkness, for $8 each
Three packs of Game Mastery Item Cards for $3 each
On the Run, an introductory adventure for Shadowrun 4th Edition, for $9

All that plus coupons for free drinks at Kiva Han.

Definite Purchases (unless I get them before the con)

• The Dreadful Secrets of Candlewick Manor (for Monsters and Other Childish Things)
• Pocket Ultimate Power (for Mutants & Masterminds)

If I have the spare $$$

• Flip Mats (from Paizo)
• Monsters and Other Childish Things core rulebook (from Arc Dream)
• Necessary Evil Explorer's Edition (for Savage Worlds)

Looking to Demo First

• Geist (new World of Darkness game from White Wolf)
• Rogue Trader (Warhammer 40K-based RPG from Fantasy Flight)

In Monsters and Other Childish Things, you play a pretty normal kid facing the everyday problems of friends, family, and school. The twist is that your best friend in the whole world is a nigh-unstoppable, madness-fueled creature from beyond time and space. Your monster loves you and absolutely no one else. He likes to do things that would cause most people (especially grown-ups) to run screaming in terror. Needless to say, he can get you into trouble sometimes.

Creating your kid is easy, with only five stats and a handful of skills. The interesting part here is defining your relationships, things you care about that serve as little mechanical hooks on which to hang stories. If you can convince the GM that performing your action will benefit from the emotions invested in a relationship, you get to add the relationship's dice to your roll.

The really fun part comes when you cook up your monster buddy. Every monster is unique, built as a series of body parts, important physical bits that let the monster do impossible things. Maybe your monster has multi-facted bug eyes that let him see past, present, and future all at once. Or perhaps his wide, stretchy throat can swallow just about anything, while his hungry, hungry belly can melt it down into an acid soup that he can regurgitate on his enemies. You get the idea.

Monsters boils the normally chunky One Roll Engine down into a tasty slurry that handles both physical and emotional conflict seamlessly. Plus, it includes One Roll generators for conflicts (drawing on characters' relationships) and even monsters. Just check 10 dice, consult the tables, and you have yourself a fully statted monster in just a few minutes.

If you're looking for a fast, fun game that is easy to get into and easy to run, that rewards you mechanically for forming relationships with your characters, and that features reality-warping monsters as prominent NPCs, you can't get any better than Monsters and Other Childish Things.

Arc Dream Publishing. 192 pages. Print+PDF, $29.99.

On October 7, 1849, two events happened. First, Edgar Allan Poe died. Second, certain individuals across North America asleep in their beds shared a singular dream. At the end of this dream, each was shown an image of a supernatural Gift they might receive if their future transpired in just the right way. In the morning, the dreamers awoke and many wrote about the Dream in journals, but none remembered the last part, the part about their Gift.

It is now 1861, and War rages. The Gifted are feared and reviled, so they hide their abilities. Some put on uniforms. Others fight behind the lines in the name of freedom or hatred. And still others just try to keep their heads down.

This Favored Land includes excellent guidelines for keeping powers low-key and for introducing some of the nastier sides of 19th-century warfare, including bleeding and infection and rules for amputation. Author Allan Goodall includes an extensive history of the real Civil War, making this a sourcebook for purely historical gaming as well.

If you're looking for an historical supers setting that focuses on covert powers and a feeling of "secret history" rather than alternate history, I highly recommend This Favored Land.

This Favored Land is available in PDF now; hard copies are available for pre-order. Arc Dream Publishing. 226 pages; $14.99 (B&W PDF); $29.99 (B&W Softcover)