Pointy Pony Publications

Overdue Update

August 27, 2021August 27, 2021 by Kieran Brannan

This site doesn’t get a lot of traffic, but for those few of you who come here looking for the next release I must apologise for the lack of updates. I won’t give you any of the platitudes which recent events have made abundant. I’ll just say that the changes have impacted on Pointy Pony, … Read moreOverdue Update

TORG vs TORG Eternity, a Comparison

December 9, 2020March 1, 2021 by Kieran Brannan

I was one of the early players of the original TORG when released by West End Games in the early 90s. I was mostly a player then, and didn’t take up GMing until some time later. I really loved the game a lot and it will always be one of my favourite RPGs. I really loved the ways genre was blended fairly seamlessly, and play has this real push towards teamwork over individual effort.

I loved the game that much that I eventually collected one of every book in the entire release, including a proper TORG edition dice and a complete set of Cards (more on this later). Within a month of getting the last three books for my collection, it was announced that Ulisses Spiele had purchased the rights to TORG and will be bringing out a new edition. My first thought of course was ‘Fuck!’, I’d just completed my collection, and now they are re-releasing it! But then again, I already knew that Ulisses Spiele was a pretty damn good company, and it’s not like TORG was without flaws. Maybe, just maybe, Ulisses Spiele might be able to do better. I jumped on the first Kickstarter as soon as I found it.

The 4 Most Powerful Abilities in Roleplay

October 4, 2020February 1, 2021 by Kieran Brannan

There are some things that, regardless of system or genre, are abilities which should always grease the wheels of campaign success. Of course, some campaigns will lack diversity and might be locked in very static play styles, but even in some of the most locked scenarios these key abilities will find a place, unless your Gamemaster has no imagination at all. While there are countless ways to roleplay, I suggest these four special abilities should be available in some way in the party, so much so that I think they are the starting points for creating the characters in the party.

Rise of the Heroes

July 25, 2020January 1, 2021 by Kieran Brannan

I really wasn’t sure I’d bother writing this article, because it’s going to be a little self indulgent. However, after finishing the G reat D&D module play through, the more I thought about it the more I thought that sharing this might help others.

I want to talk about each of the characters developed over time. I cannot go into the full history and background as deeply as I would like because each character would be a novel on it’s own. I just want to summarise how the characters grew in their journey as swiftly as I’m able to. Why? Many reasons, one of which is to pay homage to my awesome players that helped create the heavily appended story you are about to read. More than that though, I want to show how a simple and open rule system like Classic D&D can allow a character to grow, change and become a part of a living world.

Classic D&D Module Reviews – Master Levels

July 24, 2020December 1, 2020 by Kieran Brannan

Thanks to the boost from Sabre River we can continue into the Master level modules. Basic tends to be about doing dungeons, expert takes players into wilderness exploration, while Companion mostly surrounds player kingdoms. Master goes beyond all of that and starts getting serious about going to other planes of existence.