Friday RPG Grab-Bag

• There's a Deadlands TV show in the works. There's not a ton of detail out there but here's an interview with Shane Hensley. I am cautiously optimistic about this - there have been a ton of gaming license disappointments and non-events over the years but if this comes together it could be a lot of fun. I'm betting the elevator pitch was something along the lines of "Walking Dead with cowboys" and I'd be fine with that as a starting point.

• Here is a surprisingly detailed article about the mass combat system for D&D Next. Ten points for bringing back the "Battlesystem" name - I go all the way back to the 1985 set with that cover up there that seemed like a big box of awesome at the time. I was getting into Warhammer at the time (Second Edition - Salute!) and being able to do something similar with AD&D was amazingly cool. The timing is weird here too because although my Warhammer fantasy interest has cooled considerably, I've been digging into the Pathfinder mass combat rules from Ultimate Campaign because they play a part in Wrath of the Righteous. If WOTC wants this mass combat thing to actually be used I hope they come up with some kind of campaign that features them. The whole "leading an army" angle is one I don't see addressed a whole lot in RPG adventures and it seems like a natural avenue for high-level D&D characters. Maybe that will change.

• I keep finding myself drawn to this.The Emerald Spire is a 16-level dungeon that came out of the Pathfinder MMO Kickstarter. Now a dungeon that size is cool but by itself not that unusual. The designer list is pretty strong though and there is also this. The flip-mat pack is 8 double-sided flip-mats (like their other mats) so it covers every level of the dungeon. I don't think I've run across this particular combo before: a dungeon that big with pre-printed poster maps ready to go for every level. There may have been one in some other kickstarter but this is the first time I've seen it as a normally available product. It's not inexpensive, but the combined set is about as much as a full Adventure Path if I figure $20 (roughly) each for six adventures. It's very tempting, and even though I don't know how it would fit into our rotation, I am seriously considering it. I need to do some more research and see how far it's supposed to go level-wise and then I'll probably make a decision.