Bundle of Holding Thread

[bleys21]

"Underwhelming"? Everybody in that thread loves 13th Age!

Sorry, I meant their explanations of the system and why I might want/need/desire it were pretty lacking. That's why I'm here, dammit! I need factual information provided by the glib scholars of The Pub!

 

[Raleel]

Ok, so anyone want to take a gander (goose joke) at selling or unselling me on this 13th Age bundle. The sheer amount of stuff you get for about $40 is tempting, but I really need to stop buying stuff I won't use. The thread about it on the purple site was, uh, underwhelming...

13th age, IMO, is the best “modern” D&D. It’s smooth, the math is tight, the commentary in the book is useful, funny, and definitely targeted at GMs who have been here a while. It’s lighter than 3 or 4e, and I would argue lighter in many ways than 5e. It does high fantasy like gangbusters - I ran a Vikings literally destroy the world with a flood game with it featuring Norse gods and giants and a pile of corpses big enough to block a mythical river and a dead ship. For the players each class is well contained, and there is advice on what kind of player is going to like which class, including complexity.

the new version should be coming out soon, and this will be 100% compatible.

edit: let me put in a little more since i have read the TBP thread a bit.

• it has some interesting classes, like the occultist, which does most of it's actions as reactions. It has a 4e bard-alike in the Commander. The wizard has a class feature called Vance's Polysyllabic Verbalizations which lets you rename your spells in some very Vancian way and get a little boost. The necromancer has a class feature called Cackling Soliloquist which... well, lets just read that

If you spend your move action, your quick action, and your standard action casting a daily spell that ordinarily only requires a standard action—while screaming grandiloquently, cackling maniacally, or megalomaniacally describing the grandeur of your plans and the futility of your enemies’ resistance—the daily spell is recharge 18+ after battle instead of daily, and you can invent a slight improvement to the spell, especially if it’s partly story oriented, that provides an extra benefit determined by the GM or by you (with GM approval). (For example, if you cast ray of enfeeblement and wax eloquent on how the recurring villain you target will bow before you, you could suggest that your target also loses its next move action as the ray forces it to its knees.)
Note, it seems fine to us to let you use this feature with any daily spell you pick up thanks to one of the necromancer talents, but the no power crossover rule for a spellcasting multiclass (see page 104) still applies.

• everyone waxes on about Icons. People like them, though i didn't find them particularly amazing. Basically Big Players in the story who might have some agent give influence. Like The Archmage, the Priestess, the Orc Lord, or the Diabolist. Some of them are complex, like the Prince of Shadows. You can have a relationship with them, good, bad, or mixed, and things happen based on that. It's sort of neat, but i hear 2e is going to improve it a lot.
• Combat is TotM, and has range bands. You roll big piles of dice, or take averages. They talk about how it is fun to roll big piles of dice.
• the monsters are some of the easiest to homebrew I've ever seen. They are mathematically very tight, and they have lots of advice on making new ones. I often took ones from the book, tweaked it, and it worked great.
• it has 3 levels of power - normal, champion and epic. 10 levels in the game. They talk about why these things are this way in detail.
• It has Mooks and they are fun. groups of 5 that have an hp pool. you are encouraged to invent ways to have the damage spill over to the next one. There were may mooks killed by other mook's heads being lopped off to become deadly projectiles.

It's sort of beer and pretzels, and it's lots of fun.

 

[MoonHunter]

Bundle of Holding - Trip finished

bundleofholding.com

I have everything except the companion and unlife. Is that worth it (even for a good cause)?

 

[AsenRG]

Bundle of Holding - Trip finished

bundleofholding.com

Interesting.

OTOH, you guys are making me feel better about my 30-something Bundles.

 

[bleys21]

13th age, IMO, is the best “modern” D&D. It’s smooth, the math is tight, the commentary in the book is useful, funny, and definitely targeted at GMs who have been here a while. It’s lighter than 3 or 4e, and I would argue lighter in many ways than 5e. It does high fantasy like gangbusters - I ran a Vikings literally destroy the world with a flood game with it featuring Norse gods and giants and a pile of corpses big enough to block a mythical river and a dead ship. For the players each class is well contained, and there is advice on what kind of player is going to like which class, including complexity.

the new version should be coming out soon, and this will be 100% compatible.

edit: let me put in a little more since i have read the TBP thread a bit.

• it has some interesting classes, like the occultist, which does most of it's actions as reactions. It has a 4e bard-alike in the Commander. The wizard has a class feature called Vance's Polysyllabic Verbalizations which lets you rename your spells in some very Vancian way and get a little boost. The necromancer has a class feature called Cackling Soliloquist which... well, lets just read that

• everyone waxes on about Icons. People like them, though i didn't find them particularly amazing. Basically Big Players in the story who might have some agent give influence. Like The Archmage, the Priestess, the Orc Lord, or the Diabolist. Some of them are complex, like the Prince of Shadows. You can have a relationship with them, good, bad, or mixed, and things happen based on that. It's sort of neat, but i hear 2e is going to improve it a lot.
• Combat is TotM, and has range bands. You roll big piles of dice, or take averages. They talk about how it is fun to roll big piles of dice.
• the monsters are some of the easiest to homebrew I've ever seen. They are mathematically very tight, and they have lots of advice on making new ones. I often took ones from the book, tweaked it, and it worked great.
• it has 3 levels of power - normal, champion and epic. 10 levels in the game. They talk about why these things are this way in detail.
• It has Mooks and they are fun. groups of 5 that have an hp pool. you are encouraged to invent ways to have the damage spill over to the next one. There were may mooks killed by other mook's heads being lopped off to become deadly projectiles.

It's sort of beer and pretzels, and it's lots of fun.

Thanks! This was what I was looking for! I'm still on the fence, as I have that feeling like I need another RPG like an additional hole in the head, but its a seriously good deal... hmmm....

 

[Voros]

Thanks! This was what I was looking for! I'm still on the fence, as I have that feeling like I need another RPG like an additional hole in the head, but its a seriously good deal... hmmm....

The Eyes of the Stone Thief is an excellent dungeon and this includes the 5e version.

 

[AsenRG]

Thanks! This was what I was looking for! I'm still on the fence, as I have that feeling like I need another RPG like an additional hole in the head, but its a seriously good deal... hmmm....

We'll persuade you to pull the trigger!

The Eyes of the Stone Thief is an excellent dungeon and this includes the 5e version.

...like this!

 

[Raleel]

Thanks! This was what I was looking for! I'm still on the fence, as I have that feeling like I need another RPG like an additional hole in the head, but its a seriously good deal... hmmm....

It is a seriously good deal, and for a good cause. If it’ll make you feel better, two of my best campaigns were in this system. It’s a lot of fun and I think just an incredibly well designed d&d.

 

[chuckdee]

2022: The Bundle year in review – Beyond the Bundle

beyondthebundle.com

Included the reddit one because it unfurls to have all the text.

 

[Allen Varney]

This unformatted wall of text comes from the Reddit r/bundleofholding subreddit. It's cross-posted from the official Bundle of Holding blog, Beyond the Bundle, where the post is nicely formatted and linked. Reddit kept rejecting the formatted post. No idea why.

 

[AsenRG]

2022: The Bundle year in review – Beyond the Bundle

beyondthebundle.com

Included the reddit one because it unfurls to have all the text.

The Dead Internet Theory is amusing, even if probably untrue.

This unformatted wall of text comes from the Reddit r/bundleofholding subreddit. It's cross-posted from the official Bundle of Holding blog, Beyond the Bundle, where the post is nicely formatted and linked. Reddit kept rejecting the formatted post. No idea why.

Probably because the site's AI hated the Dead Internet Theory, and unformatting it made it so it didn't spot it...oh, no, wait, wrong decade to post that! Sorry!
*Jumps in time machine to post on a thread that's yet to be*

 

[chuckdee]

This unformatted wall of text comes from the Reddit r/bundleofholding subreddit. It's cross-posted from the official Bundle of Holding blog, Beyond the Bundle, where the post is nicely formatted and linked. Reddit kept rejecting the formatted post. No idea why.

I just figured I'd post the unformatted version since it unfurls the text- I also posted the link to the blog above that.

 

[chuckdee]

Great price for a great game!

Bundle of Holding - An end to wickedness

bundleofholding.com

 

[Endless Flight]

As long as Allen runs the Bundle of Holding, it will always have a stickied thread here. It’s the least we can do for someone who gave DC Heroes a good review thirty years ago.

 

[A Fiery Flying Roll]

Great price for a great game!

Bundle of Holding - An end to wickedness

bundleofholding.com

Definitely. Wicked Ones is one of my favourite BitD games.

 

[Caesar Slaad]

Topical! Non-OGL Fantasy bundle, including many pub darlings.

Non-OGL Fantasy Bundle

Adventurer! The tabletop fantasy roleplaying hobby is bigger than one game or one license, as shown by this new Non-OGL Fantasy Bundle. None of the excellent fantasy RPGs in this offer are based on the Open Game License (OGL), but they all empower your own adventures of heroes and quests...

bundleofholding.com

 

[chuckdee]

The marketing for this bundle is built in!

 

[Raleel]

Pretty damn good bundle.

 

[Arminius]

Not even sure which of those I don’t already have but…done!

 

[Blammo]

I have all but one of those but I bought it anyway.

 

[Raleel]

And purchased.

 

[Arminius]

Some interesting notes re: BoH in light of the current OGL craziness. First, in the emailed update yesterday, it was affirmed that anything you have in your Wizard's Cabinet is safe regardless of what happens. Second, I'll note that the 13th Age Bundle mentioned earlier runs through 1/25, while a new bundle for Dungeons on Demand--an explicitly 5e collection--also runs through 1/25.

Dungeons on Demand Bundle

Adventurer! We've resurrected our March 2020 Dungeons on Demand Bundle featuring instant dungeon adventures from Dungeons on Demand, Dan Coleman's instant ready-to-play adventures you can drop into any tabletop fantasy roleplaying campaign using the Fifth Edition of the world's most popular...

bundleofholding.com

 

[Brock Savage]

Great price for a great game!

Bundle of Holding - An end to wickedness

bundleofholding.com

Seconded, I picked this up and can't wait to play this.

 

[Jon Hodgson]

Hwaet Pubbers!

Beowulf 5E Bundle

Hero! This all-new Beowulf 5E Bundle presents Beowulf: Age of Heroes, the mythic lone-hero tabletop roleplaying campaign setting from third-party publisher Handiwork Games. One of the oldest recorded stories in Western Europe, the epic poem Beowulf is a tale of a hero against a monster – and the...

bundleofholding.com

We're hoping to fund the evolution of BEOWULF Age of Heroes with some Bundle of Holding deal goodness!

 

[sharps54]

Hwaet Pubbers!

Beowulf 5E Bundle

Hero! This all-new Beowulf 5E Bundle presents Beowulf: Age of Heroes, the mythic lone-hero tabletop roleplaying campaign setting from third-party publisher Handiwork Games. One of the oldest recorded stories in Western Europe, the epic poem Beowulf is a tale of a hero against a monster – and the...

bundleofholding.com

We're hoping to fund the evolution of BEOWULF Age of Heroes with some Bundle of Holding deal goodness!

If you missed the Kickstarter grab this! It is a great one on one system that does a great job of emulating the source material. Lots of love went into this product.

 

[Arminius]

How useful is this if I don’t have 5e-branded rule books apart from the free Basic and Adventures in Middle Earth?

Alternatively what’s the minimum I’d need? 5e PHB? DMG? Not really feeling like buying anything WotC at the moment but dipping into the secondary market is possible.

 

[Allen Varney]

How useful is this if I don’t have 5e-branded rule books apart from the free Basic and Adventures in Middle Earth?

Alternatively what’s the minimum I’d need? 5e PHB? DMG? Not really feeling like buying anything WotC at the moment but dipping into the secondary market is possible.

You definitely would need the Player's Handbook but could probably skip the DMG.

 

[Imaginos]

Allen Varney any chance of seeing Hero System bundles resurrected?

 

[Allen Varney]

Allen Varney any chance of seeing Hero System bundles resurrected?

Stay tuned!

 

[Toadmaster]

If you missed the Kickstarter grab this! It is a great one on one system that does a great job of emulating the source material. Lots of love went into this product.

My second bundle this week. That may be a record for me except for the occasional related bundles that are offered.

Stay tuned!

A repeat of the everything HERO 4E bundle would be appreciated if you are taking requests.

Somehow I missed that one, or perhaps it hasn't been offered.

 

[Allen Varney]

A repeat of the everything HERO 4E bundle would be appreciated if you are taking requests. Somehow I missed that one, or perhaps it hasn't been offered.

There are two Champions 4E Bundles: 4E Essentials and 4E Universe. They debuted in April 2017 and were revived in June 2020. You can still get the Champions 4E Starter Pack ($49.95) from the Bundle Store. It's based on the Core Collection of the 4E Essentials offer. With those books you can run a four-color superhero campaign for a decade.

 

[Toadmaster]

There are two Champions 4E Bundles: 4E Essentials and 4E Universe. They debuted in April 2017 and were revived in June 2020. You can still get the Champions 4E Starter Pack ($49.95) from the Bundle Store. It's based on the Core Collection of the 4E Essentials offer. With those books you can run a four-color superhero campaign for a decade.

Thanks for the heads up on the starter pack. I got the early bundles in 2018 and 5E bundles in 2021, I must have just missed the 4E bundles. It isn't a huge deal, I've already got everything I want in paper, but it would be nice to have the pdfs, I can be patient.

 

[Jon Hodgson]

How useful is this if I don’t have 5e-branded rule books apart from the free Basic and Adventures in Middle Earth?

Alternatively what’s the minimum I’d need? 5e PHB? DMG? Not really feeling like buying anything WotC at the moment but dipping into the secondary market is possible.

You can totally run BEOWULF from the free basic version. I must check if that’s still there. Who knows anything just now?

 

[Stan]

If you missed the Kickstarter grab this! It is a great one on one system that does a great job of emulating the source material. Lots of love went into this product.

This is a great deal! Beowulf does lots of interesting things mechanically and does very well presenting its setting.

 

[Caesar Slaad]

And more topical stuff: alternatives to D&D bundle:

D&D Alternatives Bundle

Adventurer! If you've been playing Hasbro's Dungeons & Dragons and are looking for something different, this D&D Alternatives Bundle gathers nine top-quality tabletop fantasy roleplaying games for an unbeatable bargain price. Whether full-featured rules tomes like Dungeon Crawl Classics...

bundleofholding.com

 

[Arminius]

I was on the bubble for the alternatives bundle, but Tiny Dungeon sounds interesting, and based on a look at the quick start on DTRPG, the Fragged system reminds me a bit of TFT in a good way.

 

[chuckdee]

More material for Alternatives up on BoH

Advanced Adventures Megabundle

Adventurer! This new Advanced Adventures Megabundle presents .PDF ebooks of nearly four dozen short, ready-to-play tabletop roleplaying adventure modules in the long-running Advanced Adventures line from Expeditious Retreat Press. These 43 short scenarios – dungeon crawls inspired by the...

bundleofholding.com

OSR debacle is good for something!

 

[CRKrueger]

More material for Alternatives up on BoH

Advanced Adventures Megabundle

Adventurer! This new Advanced Adventures Megabundle presents .PDF ebooks of nearly four dozen short, ready-to-play tabletop roleplaying adventure modules in the long-running Advanced Adventures line from Expeditious Retreat Press. These 43 short scenarios – dungeon crawls inspired by the...

bundleofholding.com

OSR debacle is good for something!

Wow. The original AA bundle was my second BoH. 1-43. Definitely going to get this.

 

[Allen Varney]

The gigantic new 13th Age Megabundle ends tonight (Wednesday)!

 

[Raleel]

And Allan shows once again how much he hates me with this Advanced Adventures mega bundle. and here I am looking at this weekend introducing the friend group kids to D&D. We were thinking DCC because the chaos of the funnel is hilarious, but this is in that space too, and I bet largely compatible