SATURDAY WRAP-HAPPY HOLIDAYS-TAKE 2

Ok, so not a REAL Saturday Wrap but for anyone out blog hopping I will be announcing new features for CRoA starting tomorrow.

The original pdf version of CRoA had several different departments covering things that I thought might be of interest to gamers. I have been working through my notes and pulling together a schedule for the blogzine version that more closely follows that original pdf layout.

Having the advantage of being a blogzine I don't just get to tell you about things I get to present things. Maybe there was a reason for the pdf not coming together just yet.

Anyway, look for these new features to be implemented over the weeks to come.

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable Holiday part 2 and for all those working through them here's a big thank you and I hope the material I'm putting together makes it a bit better.

Grab a beverage, sit back and relax...

20's

PLANET ALGOL: 740+ Monster OSR Dungeon Encounter Tables

(from the blog)

Designed for use with the Dungeon Random Monster Level Determination Matrix on page 174 of the 1st edition Dungeon Masters Guise and the Monster Sub-Table Matrix on page 163 of OSRIC.

Find the linkage at:

http://planetalgol.blogspot.com/2011/10/740-monster-osr-dungeon-encounter.html

Armchair Gamer: On the Radar: Hey! It's Buckaroo Banzai!

Thanks to Armchair Gamer for the heads up on this one. I've been a fan of the film since the first viewing and this could be a blast :)

(from the blog)

I was traipsing through the websites of the various companies whose RPGs have caught my eye and saw this: A Buckaroo Banzai RPG on the Adamant Entertainment website!

Get the whole story and linkage here:

http://armchairgamer.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-radar-hey-its-buckaroo-banzai.html

STEP INSIDE THE NIGHTMARISH REALM OF H.P. LOVECRAFT-The Necronomicon and the Necronomicon Redux (HD)

They really have to stop teasing me with this stuff :)

(from the website)

If the thrill of delving into the black abyss to confront unimaginable horrors is to you the keenest form of fascination, then the NECRONOMICON will challenge you like no other horror card game in the App Store. Instead of pitting you against silly little monsters and critters, you'll face hordes of malevolent, dark entities; creatures who stride from world to world to sow death and madness . . .

At last, you can fritter away your time and lose your sanity in a game that takes horror seriously.


The Necronomicon and the Necronomicon Redux (HD) are available on the App Store for Apple's iOS devices. Redux is designed for devices capable of displaying High Definition images and Retina Display, it supports the iPad 1 & 2 and the new line of 4th Generation iPhone and iPod Touch devices.

http://www.rive-fantasy.com/

Diehard GameFAN’s 2011 Tabletop Gaming Awards

I'll just be a second listing the notable notes this year and then on to the whole story.

Personal congrats to:

BEST BOARD GAME-ELDER SIGN

The game that kick started my current obsession with both board gaming and HPL. They truly deserved this one. It has inspired me to add to the plethora of variants for the game with Elder Sign: Apocalypse.

BEST OLD SCHOOL RENAISSANCE TITLE-Lamentations of the Flame Princess

And a round of applause to James and Co. on picking up this one.

BEST CAMPAIGN SETTING-Vornheim: The Complete City Kit

Wow...a good year for the crew :)

Ok, lots more to peruse.

Enjoy!

http://diehardgamefan.com/2011/12/26/diehard-gamefans-2011-tabletop-gaming-awards/

MONDAY MONSOON-AS PROMISED

As promised, and highlighting the twisted and bizarre perhaps a little more than normal.

Let's kick it off with:

THE CTHULHU MYTHOS ON THE INTERNET

Although a bit out of date it would seem this is a hidden treasure I have ran across in my HPL research.

Covering:

Fiction
Pseudofactual Material
Adaptations
Round Robins
Nonfiction
Parodies
Poetry
Artwork
Games
Gaming Nonfiction
Gaming Artwork
Music

This has turned up some interesting items and should be of interest to gamers looking for older game material.

See all the linkage at:

http://www.epberglund.com/RGttCM/cmnet.htm

Held Action-Tabletop Gaming in Vermont and New England

What better location for Arkham material than this. I have specified the Arkham Horror label here but do check out the rest of the blog.

http://heldaction.wordpress.com/tag/arkham-horror/


Hot off the altar ... CoC Wasted Land Jan 30th 2012

The first I read of this:

http://adventuresandshopping.blogspot.com/2011/12/hot-off-altar-coc-wasted-land-jan-30th.html

And another:

Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land Releases January 30th, 2012

From Chaosium. I'm interested in this myself. Damn Lovecraft is going to make me buy a damn tablet if they keep releasing things like this for the platform :) Check out the screen shots at the bottom.

http://www.chaosium.com/article.php?story_id=502

Fantasy Clip Inks Magic Items Set 2 (Outland Arts)

Adventures and Shopping tipped me to these. If you are working on a project this might be a big help on the fresh clips side.

Check out the post:

http://adventuresandshopping.blogspot.com/2011/12/fantasy-clip-inks-magic-items-set-2.html

I'll bump one of my own and have a request.

The Lone RPG Gamer

I started this news site for solo gamers and would like to know what I'm missing. If you run a blog on solo gaming (any style-rpg, wargaming, board game, etc) or know of one I'm missing email me and I will add it.

For the latest check out:

http://lonerpggamer.blogspot.com/

Found this one recently and thought I should add it:

Sloperama Productions

Clicking the Games 101 icon will take you to a series of articles from the past 10 years covering all types of game design that caught my eye.

Check it at:

http://www.sloperama.com/index.html

Fantasy gaming texts

For old 'old school' this page is a treat and buried treasure.

Check it at:

http://www.hoboes.com/pub/Role-Playing/Fantasy/

Rob Barrett's Everweb: The Original Everway Fansite

For fans of the system this is a great resource and for those unfamiliar with WotC's first crack at an RPG is is a history lesson in itself.

(from the site)

The Everweb is the oldest unofficial Web site dedicated to Everway, the epic fantasy roleplaying game written by acclaimed RPG designer Jonathan Tweet (Ars Magica, Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition, and Over the Edge) and currently owned by Gaslight Press.

For a great many reasons, Everway was not a commercial success: its high (for 1995) price of $35, its use as bait for distributors and retailers who wanted to buy the latest Magic: The Gathering expansion from initial publisher Wizards of the Coast, and its premature anticipation of the present-day market for rules-lite gaming all contributed to its failure as a ongoing game line.

Go here for the story:

https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/rwb/www/gaming/everweb/

Ok, the holiday is drawing down and the schedule goes back to madness. Be on the lookout for the WEDNESDAY HUMP and the SATURDAY WRAP and with any luck a little insomniac theater-for those times you just need to get those theta waves firing so you can get to sleep. For those in different time zones just call it Video Breakfast :)

SATURDAY WRAP-HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Yes, it is true...no SATURDAY WRAP today, but I am working on a MONDAY MONSOON :)

Just a simple message of peace and a hope for a world where we could settle all of our differences at the gaming table...with a +5 Sword of Rhetoric Slaying :)

Enjoy your family and friends and remember this is what it is all about...(no, not new dice :).

See ya Monday!

Black Gate » Blog Archive » Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Venus, Part 5: “The Wizard of Venus”

Concluding the series:

Black Gate » Blog Archive » Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Venus, Part 5: “The Wizard of Venus”

http://www.blackgate.com/2011/10/04/edgar-rice-burroughs%E2%80%99s-venus-part-5-%E2%80%9Cthe-wizard-of-venus%E2%80%9D/

Black Gate » Blog Archive » Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Venus, Part 4: Escape on Venus

Continuing the series:

Black Gate » Blog Archive » Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Venus, Part 4: Escape on Venus

http://www.blackgate.com/2011/09/27/edgar-rice-burroughs%E2%80%99s-venus-part-4-escape-on-venus/

Black Gate » Blog Archive » Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Venus, Part 3: Carson of Venus

Continuing the series:

Black Gate » Blog Archive » Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Venus, Part 3: Carson of Venus

http://www.blackgate.com/2011/09/13/edgar-rice-burroughs%E2%80%99s-venus-part-3-carson-of-venus/

WEDNESDAY-THE HUMP DUMP HOLIDAY STYLE

Welcome to the most amount of goodness I can assemble in this week of festivals. To all of those who observe any holiday this week I hope you are having a good one and that I might add a little spice to that favorite beverage you may be enjoying right now :)

First off-wow!

Black Gate - Art of the Genre Review: Jeff Dee’s new Kickstarter Project

Again...wow!

(from the post)

Last month I was intrigued to see that former TSR artist Jeff Dee had started a project on Kickstarter to recreate his classic images from the Egyptian pantheon in Deities & Demigods.

In this fashion Jeff, who hadn’t seen work from TSR in nearly 30 years, got to go back and recapture some of AD&D’s faded glory.

You see, in those early days of TSR things were changing fast, money was coming in like water into a sinking ship, and nobody really had any idea what they had. That being said, all of Jeff’s original works for the company were unceremoniously tossed in a dumpster to make room in the files for newer artwork, so original copies of his stuff no longer exits.

Read the whole revelation:

http://www.blackgate.com/2011/12/17/art-of-the-genre-review-jeff-dees-new-kickstarter/

I SEE LEAD PEOPLE: Survival Horror as a Role-Playing Genre

(from the post)

Over the years I have played just about every genre or at least made a go of it. Some of them, like fantasy adventure or pulp pretty much flow like water with game play coming simply and with little effort from players and GMs alike. Others are a bit tougher to pull off effectively and require a higher level of ability and/or commitment from the players and GM. Games involving deep plot, mystery and horror are definitely among this latter sort. Still, I have managed to play them on both sides of the GM's screen but one sub-genre seems a bit a bit trickier to pull off than the others - survival horror.

From October, but a good read and one I had marked and just got back to myself.

The whole bit resides at:

http://leadpeople.blogspot.com/2011/10/survival-horror-as-role-playing-genre.html

Black Gate » Blog Archive » Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Venus, Part 2: Lost on Venus

Continuing the series:

Black Gate » Blog Archive » Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Venus, Part 2: Lost on Venus

http://www.blackgate.com/2011/08/30/edgar-rice-burroughs%E2%80%99s-venus-part-2-lost-on-venus/

Black Gate » Blog Archive » Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Venus, Part 1: Pirates of Venus

Part 1 in a retrospective of the 'Venus Series' as it was always known around our home. The first novel I read was 'A Princess of Mars' but my first series (given to me as a gift for my birthday and I still own them-poor acid riddled digest sized ACE version) was this and it has always held a special place for me. If not for these early hand me downs from my older brother I might never have explored the past, present and future through the lens of fantastic fiction.

Today-Black Gate » Blog Archive » Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Venus, Part 1: Pirates of Venus

http://www.blackgate.com/2011/08/23/edgar-rice-burroughs%E2%80%99s-venus-part-1-pirates-of-venus/

GAURIC MYTHS – THE MYTH, THE MYSTERY, THAT IS GAURIC MYTHS

Who is Keyser Söze?

Oh wait…wrong…anyway…let me introduce you to the ever elusive C. Apollo Preston, mystery man of game design.

Now someone may call me out on this but my Google-Fu is pretty good and yet I can find out almost nothing about this person and the 3.5 SRD build he has unleashed on the world.

Doing a lot of fiddling with content arrangement and taking advantage of other OGC material, over the course of 8 volumes, has created a very playable system with lots of breathing space and compatibility with almost everything and certainly anything with the core mechanic.

After taking some time to work out a link glitch at Lulu I can now say that for a gamer with a budget, someone wanting to power back up with a 3.5 system or someone looking for something familiar but with some interesting innovation this may be just the thing.

(from Lulu)

In Gauric Champions, the first book in the Gauric Myths series, you will find: • The basic character creation rules for making a fantasy hero. • Rules for 21 fantasy races. • Rules for 19 base classes, 7 NPC classes,and 13 prestige classes. • Information about alignments as well as 16 deities useable in any fantasy setting. • Rules for playing multiclass characters starting as early as 1st level. Before you can be a hero, you must first know who you are.

Priced $5.75 to $7.25 for the print copies (and free pdf versions for an overview of the system) I recommend starting here:

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/gauric-myths-gauric-champions/17512605?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/8

Will the real C. Apollo Preston please stand up.

(Seriously, if you see this, email me. I had found a more extensive entry about your work at Live Journal but it seems to have disappeared).

SUNDAY BRUNCH-JUST A BIT TO GET YOU STARTED

I had planned for a quiet day today, but since I'm working this machine already I thought I would drop a few choice bits out.


Trollish Delver: Wizards given up on Gamma World

(from the post)

It probably seems obvious by now, but the latest iteration of Gamma World emerged with a bang and left with a solemn whisper.

With three product releases: Gamma World, Legion of Gold and Famine in Far-Go as well as the booster packs, the game has seen minimal support from Wizards of the Coast and their future products list is devoid of mutants.

I noticed that this appears to be the fate of Dark Sun as well, since it appears that the Dark Sun Campaign Setting has went out of print. Without the central product to jump start the setting I don't see a lot of new material coming for the only thing they may have got close to being right about, but the early complaints of a rush job and character flood seems to have sunk the setting into the Silt Sea.

Read the rest on OW at:

http://trollishdelver.blogspot.com/2011/12/wizards-given-up-on-gamma-world.html

The City of Iron: Doing without the cleric class: Blessings & pacts

Exploring yet again the theory of removing a core class this seems to be an area wide open for exploration. I personally think that the character class fitting the setting is very important, the above article (mentioning Dark Sun) being a prime example of that, but I tend to think of how the four core classes seem to exist in almost every society. Just my tinkering with magic and religion in my own project has shown how profound the ripples can become when you are dealing with these 4 principles. They are almost like the four elementals of gaming. Think about removing say water, like Dark Sun all but does, and see how it creates an entirely new society and character profiles.

Catch the whole run down at:

http://the-city-of-iron.blogspot.com/2011/12/doing-without-cleric-class-blessings.html

Panopticon « Swords & Dorkery

(from the post)

I like this word. Its Greek root gives it some ancient weight, yet the strangeness of it also sounds very sci-fi to me.

The term “panopticon” comes from the British philosopher Jeremy Bentham (the same guy who had his body partly mummified so he could continue to sit in on meetings at University College, London). The basic idea was to design a building which would allow observation all the occupants, without their knowing if they were actually being watched at the moment but always under the threat of observation. Bentham primarily saw this as a useful design for a prison, but also saw its possibilities for schools, asylums, hospitals, and so on. Foucault would famously adopt this metaphor for society’s other hierarchical structures and control mechanisms (physical and cultural, so one might understand even religious concepts — “God sees all” — as ways of applying panoptic pressure).

An interesting read all around.

Catch the rest at:

https://mikemonaco.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/panopticon/

Ok, time's a wastin'...let's get it started. The Sunday game session makes the Monday work session bearable.

Light the torch-it's time to go.

SATURDAY WRAP-or THE WEEKEND-IT'S FINALLY HERE

Last week or so has been hell with posts making it to the feed, let's hope this goes better.

First a round of M74 game bits:

The Ruins of Empire: A Microlite74 Play-by-Blog

A play-by-comment D&D game using the Microlite74 Extended Edition ruleset.

Just what it says and damned glad people are finally catching on to Randall's work.

Home is here:

http://imperialruin.blogspot.com/

And this is the low down:

http://imperialruin.blogspot.com/p/how-to-play.html?m=1

A Pack of Gnolls: Microlite74

The whole label category for M74. Strange territory it would seem for this but glad again that the word is spreading.

Find all of the goodness here:

http://packofgnolls.blogspot.com/search/label/Microlite74

Lawful Indifferent: Microlite74 via IRC- LOOKING FOR MORE

I think this one qualifies on 2 'Old School' counts :)

(from the post)

Hey everybody.

I'm looking for more people to play Microlite74 over IRC with me and some others. I've already got a couple of people, but, as they say, the more, the merrier. I'm looking to have enough people to have two smaller-sized groups moving simultaneously through the campaign world- wait, what's that? Sounds like the West Marches campaign?

Get all the details here:

http://lawfulindifferent.blogspot.com/2011/12/microlite74-via-irc-looking-for-more.html

Looking at Microlite74 ~ Rule of the Dice

Here's a nice review and actual play discussion.

(from the post)

Microlite20, the ultra slim version of the d20 SRD, has been available for some time now, and it has been modded up and down so many ways that you can find a hundred different games using the same basic ideas, from westerns to space operas. It's nice, I've played it, but it wasn't until I sat down this last weekend and gave a version called Microlite74 a try that I truly appreciated its flexibility.

Designed by Randall Stukey, Microlite74 is a game with the familiar d20 conventions, but with an old-school flavor. Coming in three distinct booklets, each with a small overall page count, you can enjoy Microlite74 Basic, Standard, or Extended, each playing under different assumptions.

Read the complete post here:

http://www.ruleofthedice.com/2011/10/looking-at-microlite74.html

Microlite74 - Tastes Great! Less Filling!

And of course Eric Tenkar's take on the subject:

When it comes to the OSR style games, I think Microlite74 frequently gets overlooked. It isn't a direct port of any of the original D&D rulesets - instead, it's roots are in 3e, condensed down to their most basic rules into the original Microlite rules, then flavored and mixed with some Old School sensibilities. Oh, and you won't be finding it at RPGNow. They are free (donations appreciated).

As usual read the rest at:

http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2011/09/microlite74-tastes-great-less-filling.html

Secret Santicore: Fifty Bizarre or Eclectic Urban Locations

(from the blog)

Dear Secret Santicore…

I would like a table of 50 Bizarre and Eclectic Urban Locations. One sentence for each is enough. Fantasy genre, please. Gonzo is fine, or simulationary or whatever my Santicore wants to do, really. They don’t have to fit together or relate in any way.

Thanks!

Just go do it :)

http://www.rolang.com/archives/324

Those Who Went Remain There Still

A review from Trey of Cherie Priest’s novella Those Who Went Remain There Still. I love this kind of stuff.

Get the whole low down here:

http://sorcerersskull.blogspot.com/2011/12/those-who-went-remain-there-still.html

Ok, the weekend already started without us...time to catch up! :)

And may your table, real or virtual, always be filled with mad gamers. :)

YES, BUT THERE'S MORE

The Troll Dens: This Guy Wins

After looking at this post:

http://trolldens.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-guy-wins.html

and the picture it pointed to I clicked it three times and found this one:



Ummm...I think this one wins. :)

Winner, Best Single Image in a Cultures & Traditions portfolio.
Tribal dancer, Bafut, Cameroon by Philip Lee Harvey, UK.
Picture: Philip Lee Harvey / Courtesy of www.tpoty.com

Found at: http://www.news.com.au/travel/galleries/gallery-e6frflw0-1226221801134?page=9

PALEO BLOGGING - CONTINUING THE THEME - THIS IS MY SWORDS & SORCERY RPG!

This is my Swords & Sorcery RPG! | Sorcerer Under Mountain

From 01-09-2011

I’ve spent alot of time recently reading the old school renaissance blogsphere and seeing the explosion of Sword and Sorcery/Weird stories/Barbarians vs Evil Sorcerers/Lovecraft meets D&D/”What ever the heck you want to call it” that is currently going on. Its all fun stuff, but I still find the Sword & Sorcery genre confusing at times, because when I was a lad it was either Tolkien (and inspired rip offs) or later on Micheal Moorcock and his Eternal Champion books (Elric/Corum/Hawkmoon/Oswald Bastable etc). Like wise our D&D games were more Tolkien inspired with a large dollop of pseudo-medievalism, rather than Conan and company. That was until Games Workshop put out their printing of Chaosium’s Stormbringer RPG.

Read the full post at:

http://sorcererundermountain.d101games.co.uk/2011/01/09/this-is-my-swords-sorcery-rpg/

WEDNESDAY-THE HUMP DUMP

Time flies when you are stuck in R'lyeh...but that's another story.

Let's set it off and keep you distracted till the weekend (or your next scheduled game time) comes round to slap you down and call you a little girl...no wait...that's more R'lyeh...

First up:

Reviews from R'lyeh: Freeport in Peril

Now, do I know a lead in or what? No, this isn't anything to do with the King of Horror but a review of the latest release for Freeport:City of Adventure.

(from the blog)

Of late, the Freeport: City of Adventure setting has received little in the way of support, but since it is a personal favourite, it was pleasing to note that there has been one scenario for it this year, Peril in Freeport.

Published by Adamant Entertainment through Cubicle Seven Entertainment, Peril in Freeport is for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Which basically means it should shoehorn in nicely to just about any system you might be playing.

Get the whole shebang at:

http://rlyehreviews.blogspot.com/2011/12/freeport-in-peril.html

Carcosa and Isle of the Unknown Now on Sale in Print and PDF

It would seem the delivery has finally been made and this beast is unleashed. If you would like a preview grab the pdf preview at the post:

http://lotfp.blogspot.com/2011/12/carcosa-and-isle-of-unknown-now-on-sale.html

ProjectPerko: Designing Fantasy Races

An interesting take on designing your own fantasy races and how they provide a lens to the theme of the setting. Interesting stuff.
(from the blog)

"I don't want my world to be another generic fantasy world with generic D&D races!" you shout.

"Okay!" I shout, "Why are we shouting?"

How can you create fantasy races that are unique? (That includes, of course, fantasies that are modern or science fiction or any other setting - not just medieval fantasies.)

Stuck in a mental trap, you see every race you brainstorm up seems just like some other race somebody already made famous.

Let's go over a good way to create fantasy races.

Steal from Tolkien.

No, no, wait, I'm being serious. Instead of thinking "elves dwarves orcs hobbits", think about what those races mean to the story.

Get the all the words from:

http://projectperko.blogspot.com/2011/12/designing-fantasy-races.html

Fabled Lands: Castle of Lost Souls part three: "The Demon Road"

Here's one I think I missed the first time around so I even get to catch up.

(from the blog)

If you've been waiting since August for the third part of The Castle of Lost Souls then I can only apologize that it's taken so long, and thank you for your patience. As already mentioned, this was my first ever stab at a choose-your-own type scenario, first published in White Dwarf magazine in the summer of 1984. The extremely skimpy prose was necessary because I only had four pages for each monthly installment. Later we were to come full circle, using deliberately pared-down descriptive passages in the Fabled Lands books - though by then Jamie and I had, I believe, learned to write both well and economically.

Find all the pieces at:

http://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2011/12/castle-of-lost-souls-part-three-demon.html

Swords & Stitchery - Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea- Kick Start

(from the blog)

I have seen the future of role playing games & it involves things like KickStart & Indie GoGo which takes the middle man right out of the role playing industry. This game has been kicking around for a bit of time now & I've seen the threads over at Dragon's foot. The game is another in the realm of retro clones. This one is a bit different through. The production looks very nice & its well different!...Why do I keep supporting these Kick Start projects & such? Because their being produced by folks with heart who actually care about the product that's being produced!

For the blog post see:

http://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/2011/12/astonishing-swordsmen-sorcerers-of.html

And for the Kickstarter page:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1806106772/astonishing-swordsmen-and-sorcerers-of-hyperborea

(For some reason I keep getting blocked running the video on the blog page. Have to see what that is about)

And to wrap it up, a video from a guy who I often disagree with but does make interesting observations that spark ideas. Check this one:

RPG Pondering - Emulating Sword & Sorcery style magic

I talk about how you might emulate the softer style of magic found in Sword & Sorcery Pulp fiction.




Ok, that's it, back to the mill...till next time role often roll hard :)

Create Your Own Dungeons And Dragons Convention-Paleo Post

Create Your Own Dungeons And Dragons Convention-(courtesy of RPG Digest)

(from the post)

In 2007, we skipped Gen Con.

You see, my Dungeons and Dragons gaming group is an interesting mix of folks. We’ve got small business owners, health care professionals, a college professor, IT professionals, fast food workers, an electrician, housewives, and even someone in the printing business.

Oh, and then there’s me, but you all know what I do. I’m a writer.
We have single guys, engaged guys, married folks with kids, and married folks without kids.

At any rate, the stars were aligned in 2007 such that most of us either couldn’t afford Gen Con or couldn’t attend because of work or family commitments.

We realized, by July of 2007, that we were really going to miss Gen Con. So, we came up with a stopgap measure: Cabin Con.


(Read the complete post @ http://rpgdigest.com/2008/09/09/create-your-own-dungeons-and-dragons-convention/ )

PALEO-POST-Twilight of a Wizard

Here's another from my own vault (I promise, someone else gets to go next) that struck a particular note with readers:

ADD Grognard: Story Time- Twilight of a Wizard

When I met my first DM he had already been in the game for some time and had played a single character the entire time. The name now escapes me but his 18th level does not.

I had watched as this Mage had created some of the most astounding uses of magic I would ever see in the game.

And one day he dropped by my home and said he had decided it was time to retire the character and he wanted me to run the session. He wanted me to challenge him one last time.

Even though we never could get everybody together to play all the time this time everyone and their family turned out. There were more observers than players and I had never seen that before. To say I was shook is putting it mildly.

So I put together the absolute best thing I could muster. A battle that he might not survive. I told him that much and he said he was fine with that...he was going out on his feet one way or another.

He stopped mid-way and dismissed the party who had accompanied him to the bottom level of a death dealing dungeon, thanking them for their support but not wishing for them to die he told them to turn back and live to fight another day.

Everyone thought it was the end. The tension in that room was incredible.

His suspicions were confirmed when he entered the lair of Tiamat.

The battle raged. He was so close to dying when he finally managed to send her back to her own plane, away from the human settlements that she and her minions had terrorized for far too long, that he was almost to weak to make it back to the surface.

People actually applauded. I had never been in a game session like this and I would never see the likes of it again.

I had not just planned up to the battle, but beyond. His reception into the Emperor's court, the recitation of his deeds before the court, the deeding of castle and land for the services he had performed. The ceremonies lasted as long as the build up. I had written it for success or failure (trust me, the funeral scene would have been something to behold-but I am happy it worked out the way it did).

I have never seen so many people emotionally affected by something as simple as a role playing game. His wife actually cried. I'm not kidding. He had built this character for years. He had survived so much that he had become a fixture, an anchor, that new players looked to as how they wanted to play the game.

There are other stories that I will share, but that one is my favorite.

If you have a story to share please do so. I can't speak for others, but for me it's not about how cool your dice are or how many books you can buy or what system you play. It's about stories. It's our primal instinct finding traction in the modern world where story telling is disappearing.

It's why I will be a gamer until the day I die.

(Originally posted Wednesday, January 19, 2011 @ http://addgrognard.blogspot.com/2011/01/twilight-of-wizard.html )

ZENITH-A New Way To See Movies

This may seem outside the area of this blog but being based on a similar model that many game publishers are using now and the fact that there is some great material out there and we have a chance to not only see it for free but to help the people who made it make even more goodness.

I will be highlighting a few of these projects and I decided to start with:



(from the website)

Zenith-A father and son, separated by decades and a cataclysm that has upturned the world, track a grand and elusive conspiracy in this cyberpunk thriller.

In the hellish future of 2044, human beings have become stupefied by the state of permanent happiness they've been genetically altered to experience. 'Dumb' Jack (Peter Scanavino) offers relief via drugs that bring his customers the welcome phenomenon of pain. But when Jack receives a mysterious videotape of his dead father, he sets out to unmask the dangerous conspiracy that has created this dystopian world.

This has been one of my favorite finds and it is as good as the above text describes it.

This is a feature film that was cut into three distinct episodes. Presented in both DIVX/AVI and MKV formats (if you need a player I have been using the latest KMPlayer that can be found at http://www.kmplayer.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25 ) just save them and watch at your leisure.

The links can be found at:

http://vodo.net/zenith

Vodo is like Kickstarter for films and have set a new standard for presenting a future model for entertainment product of all kinds.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I have.

SATURDAY WRAP-GET THE WEEKEND STARTED RIGHT

Ok, morning to all and it's morning somewhere in the world, time to get your day started with the best around the blogosphere.

First, and thanks to, we have The Realm of Zhu: Female Armour: Grace Duval's Joan of Arc

Wow, this works on so many levels. Check out the full spread on the Tumblr blog.

http://realmofzhu.blogspot.com/2011/12/female-armour-grace-duvals-joan-of-arc.html

And one from yours truly. I am an H.P. Lovecraft fanatic. I have been my whole life. After recently becoming addicted to FFG's ELDER SIGN and going all in on ARKHAM HORROR I decided to convert a blog that had stalled and have been having a blast ever since. I will be adding more HPL influenced material including new (at least they are new to me:) games and custom content during the coming weeks (I was house ruling ELDER SIGN by my third session). I am also building a link list in the right column so if you are a fan drop in and say hey and pay no attention to the tentacles in the hall...remember, it's all in your head.

Darkness over Dunwich

http://darknessoverdunwich.blogspot.com/

Havards Blackmoor Blog: MMRPG Compete Season 1

(from the blog)

All of the episodes of season 1 of the Blackmoor MMRPG have now been uploaded to the Comeback Inn. In addition, you can now also download 5 other MMRPG documents, including the character creation rules and the two first Meta Organizations.

Check out the rest at:

http://blackmoormystara.blogspot.com/2011/12/mmrpg-compete-season-1.html

Thanks to Tenkar for the next one:

Renaissance, a D100 Black Powder RPG

(from Tenkar's post)

Renaissance is a free D100 roleplaying system designed for historical and fantasy gaming in the age of black powder weapons. It features familiar mechanics, grim and gritty combat, extensive period weapons and equipment lists, dozens of professions, and rules for factions and belief systems.

Get all the info at:

http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2011/12/on-14th-day-of-free-holiday-swag-my.html

Akratic Wizardry: Legend (formerly MRQII) News

Thanks to AW for this press release and commentary. It is giving me a new found respect for the company. I just hope this catches on. Read the post and find linkage at:

http://akraticwizardry.blogspot.com/2011/12/legend-formerly-mrqii-news_08.html

The Nine and Thirty Kingdoms: Traps Series

I have been reading this one myself cause one thing I always thought was my weak suit was traps...good ones at least. Here's the link to the index for the series so far:

http://9and30kingdoms.blogspot.com/2011/12/traps-series.html

Another on going series of note is Professor Pope: Mentzer Reflections

(from the prologue)

I grew up with the Mentzer sets, with my mom giving me the red box for Christmas in probably 1986 or 1987. I was in 6th grade and had just discovered Tolkien. The same Christmas break that I unwrapped the Red Box, I was reading The Two Towers, literally begging my mother to buy me Return of the King after the cliffhanger ending of "Frodo was alive, but taken by the enemy." I brought the Red Box back with me after the Christmas break and introduced my friends to the game, beginning with Sean and Michael. The rest is my gaming history.

Read the rest of the series at:

http://professorpope.blogspot.com/search/label/Mentzer

How to Write a Book in Three Days: Lessons from Michael Moorcock

(from the blog)

In the early days of Michael Moorcock's 50-plus-years career, when he was living paycheck-to-paycheck, he wrote a whole slew of action-adventure sword-and-sorcery novels very, very quickly, including his most famous books about the tortured anti-hero Elric. In 1992, he published a collection of interviews conducted by Colin Greenland called Michael Moorcock: Death is No Obstacle, in which he discusses his writing method. In the first chapter, "Six Days to Save the World", he says those early novels were written in about "three to ten days" each, and outlines exactly how one accomplishes such fast writing.

From writing in general to being creator of my favorite anti-hero (Elric) Moorcock shares some methods he uses as a writer. Get the whole story at:

http://www.wetasphalt.com/?q=content/how-write-book-three-days-lessons-michael-moorcock

Ok, get out there and get gaming. Watch for updates and the Wednesday Hump (which for some reason posted on Thursday) and may your day be filled with 20's.

BUZZ AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

2011 may be the rockiest ride that the hobby has been on in quite some time.

The hobby business appears to be back in full swing and growing everyday. New technology is opening up gaming in ways we would have not possible in the OSR.

The following are some (including some my own) of the posts that caught my eye. Often the blogosphere’s actions are thought of as frivolous and without merit. But the secret is this is the meta-game. The game inside the game, if you will.

I love gaming. I have my whole life. I was exposed to meta-gaming at a fairly young age in my adulthood, I watched as it drove some people mad and others learned from this ‘other’ that gaming represents.

So now I’ll quit teasing and get to the meat of the posts that I feel deserve a second (and maybe for some a first) look at the hobby in review.

First off is one of mine:

WHAT IS THE 'DICEMAN'?

The Diceman is a novel written by Luke Rhinehart about a psychiatrist who discovers a new form of therapy, dice therapy, by creating lists of 6 items and then rolling a d6 to see which he would do. The rules were simple:

(1)Never put anything on the list you are not willing to do.

(2)At least one item must involve some personal risk.

(3)Whatever you roll you do. Period.

The book fell into our hands quite by accident and spread like a virus. For a group accustomed to throwing dice several nights a week we found it perfectly normal to take it to the street.

I would recommend the book to anyone but with a warning. It can change your life forever. I never looked at the world quite the same way again and I have read a metric f*** ton of books. It is one of maybe 10 that had that effect.

Many took the concept too far. I found it to be a great way to relieve stress and handle everyday activities with not only ease but a fun and exciting nature as well. Wonder what to wear to work? List 6 and throw. What to do that night? List 6 and roll. I did it for everything. I kept journals of material I generated. What to eat...what album to play next...what book to read next.

And yes, I wrote a few danger lists but found it counter productive to the whole idea of the benefits I listed. Others however, well, let's just say they had other ideas.

(Original posted Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ http://addgrognard.blogspot.com/2010/08/what-is-diceman.html )

WEDNESDAY-OVER THE HUMP DAY

Here's the latest from around the blogosphere:

Thought this was worth a look:

What are the differences between Holmes, Moldvay, and Mentzer D&D? Also, which one came first?

http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/2089/what-are-the-differences-between-holmes-moldvay-and-mentzer-dd

I'd be curious as to how accurate this is. From first glance it seemed pretty dead on.

I like this next one because it doesn't depend on a server side script to run, but runs from the hard drive:

3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons Character Generator 4.7

http://linux.softpedia.com/progDownload/3rd-Edition-Dungeons-and-Dragons-Character-Generator-Download-17538.html

Found the G+ gaming idea is spreading over at Digital Trends:

Will Google+ pass the Dungeons & Dragons test?

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/will-google-pass-the-dungeons-dragons-test/

I guess in this day of G+ night and day gaming that PBEM is kind of the 'old school' of internet gaming. For those inclined here is a page of tools to keep things moving:

PBE Games: Home

What's Here?

Randomizers

The Dice Roller - A full-featured email dice roller for all your play by email, fantasy league, and play by post needs. Includes support for most dice formats and modifiers. All rolls are signed and can be verified on-site.

The FUDGE RPG Dice Roller - An email dice roller specifically designed to support the FUDGE RPG. All rolls are signed and can be verified on-site.

The Fate RPG Dice Roller - An email dice roller specifically designed to support the Fate RPG. All rolls are signed and can be verified on-site.

List Randomizer - Randomize arbitrary lists of entries. Useful for randomizing draft or turn orders.

CardBot - An email-capable dealer supporting a variety of hand-types and multi-deck play. All dealt hands can be verified on-site.
RPG Tools

Character Generator - A character generator compatible with Castles & Crusades, D&D, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, or any other retro-clone game.

NPC Trait Generator - Based on the NPC trait tables in the 1st edition AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide.

NPC Name Generator - Random names using letter frequencies from existing languages.

Gem Generator - Random gemstone generator.

Traveller World Builder - A world creator for use with the Traveller RPG.

Diaspora Cluster Builder - A cluster builder for use with the Diaspora RPG.
Miscellaneous

Verifier - Verify emailed dice rolls or card hands via a simple web interface, insuring the honesty of generated results.

RPG Freebies - Free resources for role-playing games.

Archives - A look back at the past, archival copies of the rules for the play by email games Eldritch, Monsters! and Iron Kings.
The Blog

Random Diversions - Our blog about gaming, with a focus on pen and paper RPGs and PC gaming.

The following is what caught my eye originally:

Character Generator
Instructions

This character generator will generate character rolls for the six traditional attributes used in role-playing games such as Castles & Crusades, D&D, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, and many others. To use the generator, simply fill out the fields below and hit Submit.

This takes you to this generator:

http://www.pbegames.com/chardnd/

And the front page is here:

http://www.pbegames.com/

Thanks to Underworld Kingdom for this one:

Multinauts


http://multinauts.com/theshow.html

If you like your low budget sci-fi chessy with extra cheese you are going to love this :)

Are You Old School? A Peek into the OSR

This piece from earlier in the year shares a perspective from outside the core universe of this community and shows that people are starting to realize that the OSR is a whole lot more than most people thought.

This in particular has been a hard idea to get across to fans of new school gaming:

On average, OSR folks aren’t out there on message boards bashing Dungeons & Dragons 4E. In fact, many are only peripherally aware there is a D&D 4E. They’re more concerned with playing the game they love. They haven’t followed D&D, for the most part, since before 3E.


http://rpgdigest.com/2011/08/25/old-school-renaissance/

Ok, you'll laugh, you'll cry, you may hurl things at the screen (not responsible for any damage do to hurling) but that's the Wednesday wrap. Soon it will be the weekend...just a little longer...

Zothique D20 System Game Guide

(from the website)

This document is for game masters using the D20 System of roleplay gaming. It is intended as an aid to those who wish to create their own game world based on the stories in Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique cycle. This guide is not a stand-alone game, and it is not intended as a license for developing commercial products based on the Zothique cycle.

See the Eldritch Words Discussion Forum for more information

In my opinion one of the most overlooked writers of the strange and weird is Clark Ashton Smith. A man of many talents he would not just write but create in many different fields before his death in 1961.

Here then is a tasty treat for someone working a Sword & Sorcery or Weird campaign to bring something to the table many players won’t be familiar with.

Clocking in at only 16 pages it gives a barebones look at some of this unique world setting perfect for dropping into a campaign when the party goes off into an uncharted part of the map for instance.

http://www.eldritchdark.com/articles/criticism/30/zothique-d20-system-game-guide

What's Inside the Tome Free PDF Now Available From Rended Press

This From Old School Heretic:

Our Inside the Tome Community Table is now available from Rended Press as a free PDF.

You can find it HERE.

Thanks again to Matthew Schmeer for assembling things into a PDF and making it available.

Enjoy!

OLD SCHOOL SURVIVAL GUIDES - DON’T LEAVE THE TAVERN WITHOUT’EM

Although it is hard for me to imagine more people have played something other than Old School style RPGs for years now I am reminded sometimes of what that past was like.

Like this excellent series by Dangerous Brian.

(from the blog)

Old School Survival Guides

The Old School Survival Guides are a popular period of posts posted over the last few months of 2010 and the first six months of 2011. Well received by the blogger community, they should be helpful both for new players and for veterans looking to brush up on rusty skills.

Starting with OLD SCHOOL SURVIVAL TIPS FOR NEW PLAYERS and continuing through one for the 1st level party and then survival guides for Magic Users, Fighters, Thieves and Clerics he reminds us of what Saturday evenings used to be all about.

I spoke with DB via email recently as he put the finishing touches on the Clerics guide and he had this to say about his inspiration:

About a year ago, I began an old school campaign for my wife and a few of my newer gaming buddies. Caroline had been gaming for about four years by then, but she'd only ever played D&D 3.5 and Dragon Age (except for a brief stint with Star Wars saga edition).

The other players had only just been introduced to gaming through the Dragon Age RPG. When Caroline had first asked me to run a a game for her friends, they'd wanted to try D&D but I wasn't too keen on running them through 4th ed. From talking to them about PC games they liked I'd gathered they preferred story and plot over grinding. I thought 4th ed D&D might put them off, but I wasn't sure if they'd enjoy old school. After a few months or running Dragon Age, I burned out and offered to run an old school game instead.

They jumped at the chance.

Bless them, but they were awful.

I'd expected them to encounter problems from the start - they'd grown up playing computer games that allow saves as often as you like with and with characters who just stood up again after the fighting ended. None of them had ever been eaten by a grue. I'd armed then with the excellent Old School Primer (by Matthew Finch) and a short list of Old School Survival Hints, but it wasn't enough. They were loving the game, and embracing the PC's initial role as barely competent wannabees, but I was starting to feel that they were becoming dis-heartened by the poor choices they were making.

After a very near TPK on (all all things) Christmas day I decided that, in the absence of a veteran player to offer guidance and leadership, they needed a little more advice from the DM.

I went back to basics and wrote the first three Old School Survival Guides in January 2011. The thief's guide followed in March and, after some prompting, I finally completed the series with the cleric's guide in mid-November.

For a several months the Survival Guides were the most popular articles on my blog -that's not saying much as my traffic has never been particularly high - but they seemed to be fairly well regarded by hoary old vets and fresh new gamers alike. I hope you find them just as useful and, hopefully, at least a wee bit entertaining as well.

Happy gaming!

(from the post that started it all-OLD SCHOOL SURVIVAL TIPS FOR NEW GAMERS)

Running away is never a bad option.

Listen to rumors, but don't believe everything you hear.

There's no such thing as too much water, too many rations, too much rope or too many spare ten foot poles.

Amen brother.

Find them all gathered here:

http://dangerousbrian.blogspot.com/p/old-school-survival-guides.html

BATTLE FOR MOSCOW - A COMPLETE P&P WARGAME-ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES

And it’s free!

What better way to learn the origin of the species (so to speak) than by playing one of the best freebies on the web.

Simple, uncluttered and very faithful to traditional wargame rules this little package packs a big punch.

(from the website)

Wargames are games dealing with wars or battles. But a wargame is much more than just a reenactment of the event; it is dynamic: it re-creates the situation and underlying conditions of the event, show ing the major factors which influenced the outcome. It is also competitive: two players vie against one another to win the game, creating a drama and intensity in game terms which echoes that of the real battle. The combination of the two--dynamic and competitive--results in a game that is both exciting to play and representative of the event.

So if you have ever wanted to try wargaming and just needed a push then hang on…it’s time to roll the tanks and stop the German advance!

http://grognard.com/bfm/index.html

SUNDAY STARTING GUN-IT BEGINS AGAIN

A late good morning and welcome to your Sunday in the blogosphere.

It would seem that sales are all the rage at the moment (just my luck I blew my entire budget for the rest of the year on a full ARKHAM HORROR set up).

From Armchair Gamer we have word of several including Vornheim for $1.35 at RPGnow.There's a lot more. Check out the linkage below for details.

http://armchairgamer.blogspot.com/2011/12/on-radar-osr-items-at-135-other-sale.html

I guess I can finally change the text on my Lovecraft Bio /Fiction / Gaming blog Darkness over Dunwich to PRE-ORDER NOW!-The Whisperer in Darkness is available for pre-order. Thanks to Mr.Maliszewski for getting this bit of much anticipated news out:

http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/12/whisperer-in-darkness-available-for-pre.html

(And after 2 hours of computer problems looks like I need to cut this one short-it's now afternoon-so have a great evening and I'll be working on the next update soon)

RPTOOLS TOOL - CREATE YOUR OWN PERSONAL TOKEN SET IN MINUTES AND MORE

Home to:
MapTool
TokenTool
InitiativeTool
CharacterTool
DiceTool

What may be the best overall toolset on the web for the modern gamer these guys have narrow-focused on a line of apps that work minor miracles. The TokenTool stands out especially to me for its ease of use and the amount of depth it can bring (not to mention the savings on a battlefield full of minis) to a real or virtual tabletop.

And how the hell do you beat free?
Check’em out today at:

http://www.rptools.net/

SATURDAY WRAP-OR, DAMN IT'S BEEN A BUSY WEEK

So much for a slow Friday...or a slow week for that much. Let's get started.

First I would like to welcome all who have made the jaunt over to see what the fuss was about. I hope you find plenty of gaming goodness here as I try to cover the Super Nova of gaming eras. It seems like everyday I read some doom and gloom story about how all this is a thing of the past.

Well, I have a secret...I'm from the past and it was NOTHING like this-$2.91/hr pay, working triple split shifts (I can explain that if need be) to make $80 a week and then that early Monday trip to the game store 30 miles away to see if what you had left over after bills might score you a Dragon or White Dwarf or maybe that Mayfair or Judges Guild supplement that was shrink wrapped to keep you from stealing ideas for your campaign! (hehehe) (the shop owner swore that was why they shipped them shrink wrapped-keep it outta the sunlight or you just have this misshapen tube with gaudy colors :)

The sky is literally falling-with gaming goodies.

First off:

SWORD & SHIELD: What if: Dungeons & Dragons for sale gets the discussion started. Maybe we should all chip in $5, buy the damn beast and set it free. Sounds good to me after the abuse it has taken over the years.

Joseph Browning has lost his mind-or just knows when it's time for a great sale-Expeditious Retreat Press product for $1. Crazy I tell you, crazy...seriously, fill in any gaps in the collection, this is a great sale. (EDIT: THIS IS A ONE DAY SALE SO DON'T MISS OUT)

Save vs. Dragon creates what may be the most outrageous excuse for owning a d30 that I have ever seen-27,000 Different Magic Items in 3 Die Rolls! -Generate 27,000 different magic items in only 3 die rolls! (The die does, of course, have to be a d30.)

Back To Basics: Campaign Structures from Campaign Mastery continues from last week a series of posts that ends with a great collection of links to help any DM with planning and creating great campaigns.

The egg nog (and I'm not saying what's in it) continues to flow over at Tenkar's Tavern as he does his version of the 12 days of Christmas. Here's just a sample:

On the Eighth Day of Free Gaming Swag, My Bartender Gave To Meeeeeee! Oubliette Issue 7!

On the Ninth Day of free Holiday Swag, My Bartender Gave to Meeeeeee... The Hounds of Adranos for Runequest.

On The 10th Day of Free Holiday Swag, My Bartender Gave to Meeeeeeee! - Gamemastering, The Essential Guide to Gamemastering

And I believe he was first with this as well:

Mongoose Runequest is Dead, Long Live Mongoose Legend

Mongoose's license for the RuneQust trademark expired yesrterday. Legend, Mongoose's new RPG built upon the bones of MRQ2 OGL, has released today.

For a buck.

There are 2 links you just have to visit as they defy description:

Hereticwerks: Table: Damned Things III (D30)

1d100 table of mutations and wait, MASTODON (Thanks, Zak)

For Arkham Horror fans (of which I am now a rabid one) Mythos Phase create custom content and have updated their blog with news of impending doom...no wait...custom Investigators...that's it. Imagine Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter going up against Cthulhu...now we're talking :)

I found this page on the DIPLOMAT to be particularly useful on a project I'm working on. Sometimes, just sometimes, it's not all about swinging the sword.

And check out the latest wiki inspired by the Links of Wisdom-Campaign Wiki Adventures getting started and growing fast.

Ok, that's lunch. And check out the Eternal Keep for anything I might have missed. It seems to be jumping with new posts. Ahhhh...winter has returned :)

DRAGONS AT DAWN - THE ARNESON EXPERIENCE COMPILED

DRAGONS AT DAWN - THE ARNESON EXPERIENCE COMPILED

(from Lulu.com)

Welcome to Dave Arneson’s Basement! It’s 1971 and you’ve been invited to play this cool new game… Experience the thrill of the very first fantasy RPG adventures with Dragons at Dawn, the rule set that harkens back to the early days of adventure gaming when everything was new and the possibilities endless. Dragons at Dawn is a retro tribute to the very first fantasy gaming system pioneered by Dave Arneson, the man who later went on to co-author the worlds most popular roleplaying game. The result of years of careful historical research, Dragons at Dawn is entirely consistent with Arneson’s original, largely forgotten methods of play developed roughly in the period 1970-1973. Dragons at Dawn approaches gaming with none of the assumptions and habits developed from later rules, allowing a return to a kind of free form and open style of interaction between players and referees to develop and play whatever aspects of fantasy adventure gaming the players like best.
I had hoped to have digested this morsel before I ran this issue but time is tight and I don’t want to hold up the piece, being that it might make a perfect gift for a gamer for the holidays. The reviews have been generally favorable with RPGnet stating:

The Final Word: (Note: This is my opinion, not yours. YMMV) I think this is a fantastic rpg, and I would probably play it over D&D if given a choice. A few reasons:
Open-ended skills allow a customization usually unseen in old-school gaming. And the more popular modern games lack this as well (I'm aware that Risus and PDQ have systems entirely based on this).
The Combat Matrix pits combat skill against combat skill, making battles seem more vibrant.
The Magic and spell point system are superior to Vancian systems, and are at least a nice start, and seem compatible with D&D at least on the surface. The flavor seems more true to what I'm familiar with.
The Hit Dice mechanic has a great philosophy behind it -- it's the hero (not his stuff) that makes him great. It helps make a more cinematic game, one that doesn't saddle a character with lousy damage because of weapon choice. Weapons can be selected with aesthetics in mind rather than "because this does more damage."
There is not a rule for everything. This hails back to the days when you had to be clever, not a rules lawyer.

(read entire review at http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14768.phtml )

So if you know someone who is into retro gaming and doesn’t have this on their shelf yet it’s a fairly inexpensive item that might get you a big hug and smile.

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/dragons-at-dawn/16163330

OUBLIETTE Issue 7-Now Available

Description

OUBLIETTE - A magazine for old school fantasy roleplayers.

FREE for a limited time only!

40 jam-packed pages!

Written for Labyrinth Lord, but also ideal for use with any Basic/Expert/Advanced original or clone, with little or no adjustment required.

Full Contents:

• Editorial
• Tales from Hell Cartoon
• Monster Club #11: The Naughty Step
• Miniatures Special: An Interview with Richard Scott of Otherworld Miniatures
• Monster Club #12: Dungeon Random Encounter Tables: Levels 4-6
• Newland Campaign Setting Part II: Raiders
• Monster Club #13: Newland Bestiary Part I
• Tomb of the Snake King: A Labyrinth Lord Adventure for 3rd to 5th Level Characters
• The 10-Foot Pole
• Found Familiar: The Toad
• Goblin Quest Cartoon
• What's in the Oubliette? Reviews
• Mouse Watch Cartoon
• The Song of Sithakk Part 7: A Dream of Blossoms

Warning! Oubliette may contain content that is suitable for adult audiences only. Persons 18+ only.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=97211

FOURTHCORE - WELCOME TO THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE

FOURTHCORE - WELCOME TO THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE

(from the blog)

What is Fourthcore?

Fourthcore is an unusual genre of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS that departs from some aspects of the game’s design philosophy. While Fourthcore doesn’t require different materials or use different rules, it does embrace a set of assumptions that may not be obvious at first glance. It’s important that these assumptions are made clear to everyone playing, as Fourthcore can be very jarring and unpleasant for those who aren’t prepared for or don’t understand it.

And with that opening I welcome you to The Slaughterhouse. Remember that stack of D&D 4e books sitting over in the corner? Well, go dig’em out…cause it’s about to get all medieval up in here!

Now, understand, I’m no fan of 4e but a lot of innocent trees died to produce a massive amount of rule books so why not take advantage of them. Plus the concept itself just sounds damn good. If 4e ever had a destiny and purpose I think they may have found it with Fourthcore.

http://slamdancr.com/wp/2011/01/what-is-fourthcore/

Save Versus Death is a blog that specializes in Fourthcore: exceedingly lethal dungeon challenges for D&D 4th Edition. Like they say, it's no fun 'til you're at 1.

Give no quarter. Accept no imitations.

ELDER SIGN - GET YOUR LOVECRAFT ON WITH THE LATEST FROM FFG

ELDER SIGN - GET YOUR LOVECRAFT ON WITH THE LATEST FROM FFG

(from the website)

Elder Sign

Elder Sign is a fast-paced, cooperative dice game of supernatural intrigue for one to eight players by Richard Launius and Kevin Wilson, the designers of Arkham Horror. Players take the roles of investigators racing against time to stave off the imminent return of the Ancient One. Armed with tools, allies, and occult knowledge, investigators must put their sanity and stamina to the test as they adventure to locate Elder Signs, the eldritch symbols used to seal away the Ancient Ones and win the game.

This was the super wow moment of commercial gaming for me this year. I have read over many fine products this year, but this thing is gaming crack. From the day it arrived until just yesterday there has been an on going Solo game set up at all times.(I only packed it down due to some moving of room elements and I didn’t want anything getting damaged or lost).

Upon first inspection this fairly simple card game, compared to its big brother ARKHAM HORROR, seems almost too limited. But once in play this has turned into a great strategy horror game and I didn’t think that was possible.

It also convinced me to blind buy ARKHAM HORROR and all 8 expansions last week. The product has been scaled down in some cases, in some way helping with the foot print issue of AH and another nice thing for those who already own AH the 16 investigators included are the same as for AH. You can use the full size stand up markers rather than the smaller chits that come with ELDER SIGN (which helped me a lot, but I had already figured out a way to make the small guys more visible when in play).

Already growing with variants and of course people importing elements from AH I would have to say this game is great for AH owners/lovers as well as folks new to the concept. The unique dice add a new twist and the ever changing ‘game board’ comprised of Adventure cards keeps things moving and fresh with each replay. Add the clock mechanic to ratchet up tension and this becomes 10lbs of fun in a 5lb bag.

For AH owners who wonder if this would just be redundant in their collection I would have to say no. For the cost and the ease that new people can be introduced to the world of Lovecraft with this game it is more than worth its salt. With a fast set up time and easier learning curve it also will weed out those who just aren’t up for the challenge of AH.

I can’t say enough good things about this game. I am having a blast playing it solo and can see the possibilities of a multi-player attack upon a Great Old One.

Here at the holidays this makes a great quick game when there isn’t time to set up and play a full AH and it has an eye drawing factor that just may land a new investigator in a seat at your next full scale AH get together.

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=168&esem=2&esum=198

Morning Buzz

So without benefit of a proper nights sleep I will put this one up early.

What's going on:

Digital Orc: A Call to Action!

The OSR/DIY RPG blogosphere is buzzing about self-publication right now, largely because of Zak’s recent post. This growing movement is exciting and could lead to a great increase in the number of good products. Just as important, it could lead to an increase in the interconnectivity of our community as people offer their unique services to others working towards self-publication.

(read the whole story here: http://digitalorc.blogspot.com/2011/11/call-to-action.html )

Question: what do people want? | …and the sky full of dust.

Here is a question for you:

What sort of publications are people largely interested in:

* Adventures;
* Campaign settings;
* New rules.

Just out of curiosity.

(Go here for the complete post and responses: http://www.theskyfullofdust.co.uk/?p=1575 )

Armchair Gamer: No More HERO?

After seeing the shocking post from this blog I went to the HERO Games website.

(read more here: http://armchairgamer.blogspot.com/2011/11/no-more-hero.html

Campaign Wiki Adventures: HomePage

I thought it would be a grand idea to have a Wiki to link to all the wonderful and varied adventures, encounters, locations and even campaign settings that are out there in the OSR community.

(see the list so far at: http://campaignwiki.org/wiki/Adventures/HomePage )

The Humble Introversion Bundle (pay what you want and help charity)

Thanks to The Alexandrian for this one. A little out of the usual but I can't think of a better way to have fun and help out at the same time.

(from the website)
The Humble Introversion Bundle

Epic, award-winning games. Darwinia, Aquaria, and Crayon Physics Deluxe are year-on-year, Seumas McNally Grand Prize winners at the Independent Games Festival, representing the very best in distinctive, engaging gameplay.

Pay what you want. If you bought these games separately it would cost around $100 but we are letting you set the price.

The games work great on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

You can support charity. Choose exactly how your purchase is divided: Between the Introversion developers, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, or the Child's Play Charity. Also, if you like this deal, a tip to Humble Bundle would be much appreciated!



(Original Post)
http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/9523/random/check-this-out-introversions-humble-bundle

UTOPIA ENGINE - UNIQUE IMMERSIVE SOLO GAMING

Ok, what was supposed to be the lead article (but saving folks money right now is almost a holy thing these days) is now here:

UTOPIA ENGINE - UNIQUE IMMERSIVE SOLO GAMING

(From the website)

Utopia Engine

by Nick Hayes

Utopia Engine is a free print-and-play dice game for one player. You play an old artificer named Isodoros who is attempting to reconstruct the Utopia Engine, a fabled device from the distant past and possibly the only hope for averting the fast approaching Doomsday. You must recover the machine's six parts from six dangerous regions and assemble the Utopia Engine before the world ends. The game uses simple dice mechanics to simulate searching the wilderness, activating and assembling powerful artifacts, and combat with artifact weapons. Requires a printed play sheet, two six-sided dice, and a pencil with eraser.

Wow…that is the first reaction I had when I checked this out. I have never quite seen anything like it and for the price it is more than worth checking out for anyone into solo play the video (which can also be found at http://vimeo.com/29448392 ) demonstrates the depth of this simple series of mechanics and provides an experience that other far more expensive games can be envious of. Even the art and layout is unique. Huge props to Nick Hayes for what should be Free Game of the Year. It already is in my book.

Print and play this game today.

http://nevermoregames.com/index.php/games/utopia-engine/

(Decided to include the video here as well)

Utopia Engine Overview from Jason Young on Vimeo.

Let's kick it off with a sale-FFG

I hadn't planned on this being the first post here but it is time sensitive so I thought what the hell.

Fantasy Flight Games is having a site wide sale (wish I had known about the Android sooner).

The big list is here:

http://store.fantasyflightgames.com/client/client_pages/sale2011.cfm?catid=all

My pick hit would be this:

http://store.fantasyflightgames.com/productdetails.cfm?SKU=AD01

Android for $25 dollars and a stop off at BGG to get some rule tweaks and you are 'Blade Running' before you know it :)

Thoughts On The Ezine

So I'm plowing through the premiere issue of CRoA and realizing that until I get some help I can't meet my desired expectation of a min 32 page count. Now since the blog and the zine share the same name I figure since I can only assemble a bare bones version of the zine at best and it looks like a blog post why not just do a blog post for each item and get caught up.

The massive mental block I have right now on FORSAKEN SOULS has got to be broken down with a sledge and between all the irons in the fire and the onset of an early winter (I'm it when it comes to most handy man projects around the house) I have decided to just publish as it comes.

So unlike other blogs I post to look at this one more like a 'breaking news' kinda thing. Not every post will be about something from 15 minutes ago but I hope it will be new to someone else as it often as it is to me (I love to go Paleo-Blogging).

I have increased the front page capacity to 14 posts in hopes of making scrolling through easier without having to click every few posts just to see if there is something that interests you.

Sorry about the zine, but I have to get this juggernaut back on course or I will find myself stranded at sea without an anchor.

Depending on the impending snow we are expecting I will begin posting asap. Hope you like the stuff I run across out here. I have been digging the hell out of some of these finds for weeks now.

It's time to share.

CRoA ZINE-BLOG NEWS-UPCOMING PROJECTS

Just a bit to confirm everything is alive and well here at CRoA.

I have been doing some cleanup on the Eternal Keep and the other news aggregators I run and getting some much needed game time in playing Elder Sign (I'm hooked-ordered the entire Arkham Horror setup - FFG rocks just ever so slightly :)

The CRoA ezine has been changing. James is getting back in the swing of things over at Underdark Gazette so rather than end up with double coverage I'm pushing out a little more to the boundaries and adding some new categories of coverage. I hope everyone finds something they like in every issue. There will be announcements and such but I really want to expose things that have just really impressed me lately.

Forsaken Souls is being re-built to take advantage of new material and a new approach to its debut. More on that soon.

Now that my Arkham Horror collection is complete (a whole other story to that mess-me and Amazon are going to have to have a chat about some things) and I am finally getting over whatever bug I've had things are picking back up.

Ok, back to silicon mines...

God-16 days-Wow

Sorry for the lack of posts guys. I'm running at top speed but with real life dropping it's fall load on me and trying to back up and organize a lot of material in as short a time as possible has really kept me tied up. That and dealing with a B-Day, drooling over card games that I really want, dying to play a game for a change and not design one...you know the deal.

Anyway, I am adapting on the fly as all good mammals should do and have been weighing the checks and balances of a weekly zine vs a 'release as ready' zine. I have so much material to work from it makes it hard to choose what to write about. Plus I'm catching up on reading stuff I had only glanced at when I was working on DEEP DELVE.

Speaking of the double D, with 70+ downloads I would like to take a moment and acknowledge those who have contacted me and ask a favor from everyone. If you downloaded the Alpha and can spare a minute drop a line to the email or post it as a comment and just give it a thumbs up or down. At least tell me it sucks or has some redeeming quality. And I really mean this. Being an Alpha I know what parts are rough and what needs work. I just wanted to get the process going. I appreciate honesty so don't feel bad if you have negative comments to make. Positive is great, but negative is often more helpful.

As for CRoA. James has been slowly getting back to a weekly release schedule again and I feel like moving the zine to a longer gestation period. The material I am finding is excellent and I really want to turn people onto stuff that is truly unique. The zine covers 15 categories (I believe that is right) and I want to give each its due. Designed to provide information on your favorite part or parts of our community it will, I hope, expose people to other great things that are happening in the world of table top gaming along with related areas like console and pc games, movies, series and other hobby related areas.

I'm also looking at taking the time to do a 'from the ground up' re-write on Forsaken Souls. I like parts of what has been completed but I keep hearing the words ringing in my ears from a post I read awhile back about 'do we need another D&D'. And the answer is I don't know. But it seems the more I read the more folks want more support from the systems already out there and less new rule books that tend to fall into the 'fantasy heartbreaker' category.

The principles and foundation that Forsaken Souls is based on has some innovative design but I want to take it past just being another fantasy rpg. I want people to have something playable the minute it is released. Keep the rules clear and concise and offer a play environment that you can start playing in 15-30 minutes. I will be detailing more of this new strategy soon.

For fans of the ADD Grognard blog I will start bringing it back up to date and regular posting. I just need for someone to figure out how to add about another 6 hours to my 26 hour days :)

Stay tuned for more fun and check out the Eternal Keep for new additions.