Buon Anno: Looking ahead to 2011

So, it's the very tip of the tail end of 2010 and instead of reflect on 2010 (which was a pretty good year), I want to look ahead to 2011. I've really started to give myself a kick in the ass in regards to my OSR projects. I seem to have many more ideas than time or energy. In 2011, I'm committing myself to focusing and actually working on a project. Afterall, you are only a writer if you write, right? Well, even if I don't come out with a finished project, I really am going to make big inroads on my OSR campaign setting (like perhaps come up with a campaign world name). To that end, I'm going to write a bit about the setting and some of the important places. Here's a brief snippet (not so much a tease as a place holder or reminder string for me to come back to and expound upon. This city is one of the more important areas of the campaign world so you can be sure I'll be going into more detail later:

Dohnstanziea – also known as the Three Queens, the Three Ladies, the Three Whores, the Tripple Bitch amongst other even more unsavory appellations. The city is actually three cities (Dohne, Stanzgraz, and Iea maq Mequod) that meet at the confluence of three continents. It is quite the ordinary to say that a city of any size has everything that one could imagine; in the case of Dohnstanziea that is not entirely far from the truth. Cosmopolitan in the extreme, Dohnstanziea is a great hub city, a center of commerce and trade. Merchants from all over the world come here to sell their wares or procure materials they need. Dohnstanziea is a city of contrasts and extremes: fast paced and full of action yet the citizenry is often considered decadent and lazy; often seen as open minded and liberal, the populace looks down on others not as sophisticated and cultured as them. A city of tastes, sounds, smells as well as sites, Dohnstanziea is a visceral experience beyond compare. Not merely the meeting point between three continents, Dohnstanziea exists beyond the mere material plane. Spirits, demons, fairy, and gods all walk the streets here.

OK, so that is a bit of a glimpse. A bit rough perhaps, but some very broad strokes have been painted. I don't necessarily mean the city to be a planar nexus in the manner of Sigil, but it does have strange, otherworldly connections. Paupers, Petricans, Patriarchs, Potentates, and Petty Gods all can be found here.

Stormbringer and Elric! Question

I've been thinking a lot about Moorcock's worlds lately and am very curious about the early Chaosium versions of the eternal champion game. I don't have much experience and was wondering what the best edition to start with would be. I'm particularly interested in the summoning/sorcery rules as I'm thinking about incorporating a summoning system into my OSR setting.

Thought of the Day Thursday: On Home Brews

Damn, missed my blog post yesterday. But that’s OK, I spent my day in Venice, City of Canals. I never get tired of going there. It’s funny that even though it is only 45 minutes away, we haven’t been there in almost a year. Venice really screams out to have a fantasy setting based there. Rich history, very mysterious (what the heck is down this crazy twisting alley?), kind of reminds me a bit of Sigil in Planescape. It won’t be long before the Venetians are celebrating Carnivale. This year, my wife and I have resolved to go. They have some very incredible costumes that I’m sure will inspire some gaming ideas for me. This time next year I’m hoping to visit Istanbul, Marrakesh, or Tunis (maybe all three). I have a feeling those will inspire some gaming impulses…

I’ve been think a lot about where the OSR is going and all of us hobbyists tinkering away like mad in our basements, garages, or kitchen tables to create our own rule sets, settings, etc. I know there have been some naysayers that think this will invariably bring about a glut of OSR material that will be unsupportable. I’m not quite sure that I concur. While I do think that it may be a bit naïve for anyone to think that they are going to create the next Dungeons and Dragons and storm the industry to bring tabletop gaming back to the heights it enjoyed in the early 1980’s (hey, it could happen – very slight chance, but hey – keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for those stars right?), I think that this really shows the strength of the hobbyist industry and shows that yeah, we’re still out here and it really doesn’t matter what the corporate types think we want for gaming; creative, imaginative types will always be able to forge our own destiny. I really equate the OSR more with home brewing (as in beer) or any other hobbyist endeavor. Sure, someone might come up with a great homebrew that does well for itself and carves out its own little market niche; but for the most part, most folks will be sharing the fruits of their labors with their friends and family. I think that for anyone to say that OSRIC, Swords and Wizardry, and Labyrinth Lord are the end of the story and no new systems need apply is a bit like saying that everyone should only run ready made adventures instead of crafting your own. We all have our takes and our preferences (I love a dark brew like a dunkel doppel bock) but it is nice to partake in something different and it is often quite refreshing (sometimes a pilsner is just the thing, or a Heffeweisen) and even using others ideas to add to our own and come up with something unexpectedly good (Winkler Brau’s Heffepils is quite good!). Occasionally there will be an offering that’s ambition outstrips its execution (way too much yeast), but that’s OK. I’d rather have a ton of hobbyists putting their stuff out there for the rest of us hobbyists to ooooohhhhhh and aaaaahhhhhh over than a couple of professional gamer types handing me an imaginary world. Sure, some of the hobbyists and their offerings will ultimately wither away, but I think the best gauge of hobbyist gaming is not necessarily the number of breakout superstars, but the proliferation dedicated hobbyists making their own brews.

Live! Dungeon! Action!

So we've been having quite a bit of fun with Dungeon! at the Bingham household. I tell you, there is nothing quite like an Old School dungeon crawl to make fun for the whole family and Dungeon is about as basic a dungeon crawl as you can get (and quite a bit of fun to boot!). I took some video from yesterday's session. My three year old daughter really got into the game and as quite entertaining in her own right. My six year old son Bear really is into the game. Looks like I've got a few old school delvers in the making!



Here's Rosa showing off her awesome dice rolling technique:



Rosa loses to a monster:



Rosa beats a werewolf:



Many more adventures to follow I'm sure!

Quick Projects Update

Played a game of Dungeon! with the whole family today. My three and a half year old daughter won the day. Let me tell you, she has got what it takes to be quite the fearless delver. My son was quite a bit more reserved and calculating. My wife even had a lot of fun (she came in second). All in all, much fun was had by all. Eventually, I’d like to see if I can get the gang hooked into a game of Mentzner Basic D&D or Labyrinth Lord. Patience, patience…

I worked on a campaign map today. I’m doing it entirely in Photoshop and learning about stuff alone the way. So it’s slow going but valuable since I’m learning some things along the way. Since I’m taking the week off (and I’m feeling better) I’m hoping to knock out quite a bit of art projects (as well as work on the Delve! Board game and Basalt Keep of Wilven the Yellow Labyrinth Lord Adventure). I’ve got a couple of new art projects that I’m really excited about. I had thought about trying to work up some more Petty Gods submissions for James over at Grognardia. He’s already accepted the three gods I’ve written up as well as the art. I do have some, however, I’m going to be selfish and hold them in reserve for the campaign I’m working up. So eventually they will see the light of day as I fully intend on publishing my setting material at some point.

More musing on Fantasy Tropes: Fantasy Names

I have a tendency to some snarky, silly humor sometimes. Last night after watching Legend of the Seeker (see my last post), I couldn’t help but cringe and even though it was my wife’s choice, I found myself wanting to apologize to her for the hour and a half we spent watching the show. At the end, she asked me what I thought and I told her that I just wish that the people that write these shows would stop being so formulaic. We then proceeded to joke about some of the more clichéd elements. Names were at the top of the list. I can’t even recall the name of the major villain of the series but it started with Dark. Why is it that we (fantasists – the people that create the fantasies) feel that we need to fall back on such tired things? I’m weary of all of the fantasy place names/character names that are essentially some nonsensical mish mash that tries to emulate some imagined European language. Like Rogar, Zoldar, etc. So, as I mentioned, my wife and I joked about the names. I’m still chuckling a bit over some of them. Here’s some of them we came up with:

Zolgar the Comfort Seeker
Zycam the Decongestant
Rogar the Rabbit
Flem the Noisy
Rice the Brown
Bob the Undistinguished

OK, OK, so we both have colds and are probably a bit loopy from that and all of the holiday preparations. What other things annoy/bemuse you about this otherwise wonderful genre/hobby that still captivates us well into adulthood?

Fishing for Fantasy Movie and Television Suggestions

I’m finally starting to feel a bit better after the annual Christmas cold. I hope everyone had a pleasant holiday. Another non-game related post today (and I suppose a bit of a rant). My wife and I settled in last night to watch a few shows on the tube after all of the holiday chaos. As I don’t have cable TV, all our TV watching is via DVD or Internet. We’d just finished watching the Dresden Files last week and wanted to try something new. My wife suggested that we try Legend of the Seeker (which is unlike her as she is usually bemusedly tolerant of my fantasy predilection). So we tried it. I guess it started off decent enough, but soon I found all of the tired fantasy tropes coming back into play. Essentially the first two episodes pretty much encapsulate the Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. I’m not sure why the heck anyone in TV or movie land can not get fantasy right. Superheroes took some doing and are still hit or miss sometimes, but by and large, they seem to get that right more often than not. Si-Fi is pretty much nailed down and a TV and cinema staple. But why, oh why must EVERY fantasy movie involve a farm boy going on a quest to destroy the evil kingdom? I think we’re ready to try other things. I mentioned the Dresden Files and feel that that was a step in the right direction. I LOVE fantasy, but I am tired of the same old things. I actually haven’t been reading much, if any mass market fantasies lately (at least the new stuff). The pathos seems to be too overdone, the clichés too entrenched, the characterization too typecast, the dialogue too stilted… it all just comes across as a bunch of fan fiction. Maybe I’m just getting too old and cranky, I’m not sure. At any rate, I’d be interested in any suggestions on some good fantasy watching. I need to recharge my batteries!

Christmas Cheer

And a good Christmas was had by all in the Bingham household today. I hope everyone else had a great time surrounded by loved ones. My son was so excited about the Dungeon! Board game. It was good o squeeze in a game (we had a lot going on so that is all we could manage). Again, it goes to show that the older games may be older but they are no less entertaining! I don’t really want to run down a list of gifts as I think it is rather crass, but I do want to mention that I received a silk screen printing kit today. I have to say that I’m ridiculously excited about it! I remember reading a while back on one of the message boards (I think it was rpg.net) where someone had posted a topic stating that RPGs are not art. I certainly don’t think that every RPG or RPG product is a work of art, but I certainly think that there are some finely crafted games and support products that I would consider a work of art. I’ve been tinkering away for many years on several RPG projects that have yet to see the light of day, but I do go through much the same creative process as I would on a fine art painting or print. Having said that, I can’t wait to put the screen print kit to use doing some of the art chores for my various RPG projects. Hrm, I wonder if I could silkscreen a map on cloth for my campaign setting? That would be something wouldn’t it? Hopefully 2011 will see the release of some of the projects that I’ve been tinkering away on (my love letter to the RPG hobby if you will). At any rate, enjoy you holiday weekend!

Merry Christmas!

It's midnight here in Italy and Santa has just about finished delivering his toys. The kids are sound asleep. Gotta get ready for an early start in the morning. Can't wait for my sessions of Dungeon with my son! Well, he'll be well and truly distracted though with all of the superhero/Harry Potter stuff he is getting. And of course my daughter is getting tons of princess stuff. Yes, I have a princess and aspiring wizard, what more could a nerd Dad wish for? I hope you all have a joyous day filled with friends and family, love and laughter!

Last Minute Christmas Prep

Almost done with the preparations for the big day tomorrow. I got my son a copy of Dungeon! off eBay and am excited to see what he thinks. We have the 1975 version and I purchased the New Dungeon! version from the 1980's. I think he will be pleased to have his own game. I'll try to post either later today or tomorrow and get back to my various OSR Projects (Basalt Keep needs some love on the maps). I hope everyone out there has a safe and happy holiday season!

Thought of the Day Thursday Redux

Ok, I'm not feeling any better, but I was bouncing around on the Interwebs and looking through the message boards. It seems that there are a few OSR related hot topics (no, I'm not going to include the term OSR as one of the hot topics in this post) going on out there.

The one I want to address tonight is Knockspell abandoning the OGL format and eschewing OD&D material and going more AD&D. As I've said before, I'm a big time AD&D guy. 1e is where I got my start in the hobby and the edition that feels most like home to me. I really didn't get too much into the basic rules (because as kids, it seemed like we'd come across more sophisticated playing the adult "Advanced" version of the game) other than to convert some basic modules to 1e. I DID get the basic sets Moldivay and Metzner) but other than a few brief sessions, we stuck to AD&D. Matt Finch has stated that they'd continue to publish Swords and Wizardry content, but focus more on AD&D (and he did state AD&D, not OSRIC - same thing but actually it becomes important for the OGL aspect). Matt feels that by getting away from the OGL format, they can attract articles on AD&D. Me personally, I agree with Matt. Knockspell and Fight On! seemed to be going head to head since they both were so broadly focused. By narrowing the scope to AD&D, Knockspell has an identity. But wouldn't it have made more sense to publish Swords and Wizardry content only? Matt stated on the Knights and Knaves Alehouse forums that he didn't want Knockspell to become the house organ for S&W because it would ultimately diminish it's quality. While I don't necessarily know about that, I do think that having Knockspell focus on 1e/OSRIC is a good thing. Why? It seems that most of the love is being focused on the basic clones these days (Labyrinth Lord, Swords and Wizardry, B/X Companion, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, and many, many others). While that is not a bad thing it seems that the 1e stuff has kind of languished. In fact, it seems that if not for Expeditious Retreat Press, MOST new OSR offerings would be in the 0e/Basic vein. I'm not totally on the inside (being an artist and not a writer - at least that's not what I am known for - YET) but I do know that several proposed OSRIC (read 1e) offerings and product lines have been killed or abandoned due to the growth of Labyrinth Lord, Swords and Wizardry and the rest. But I think that may be a case of OSRIC not even remotely been pushed towards commercial success like LL and S&W. So, being partial to 1e and a collaborator on OSRIC, I think that this move will benefit the OSR community as a whole (hey, I like them all - it's all rock 'n roll right?).

Ok, so I'm still sick so I appologize for any rambling incoherencies. Hopefully I'm lucid enough to get my point across. Tomorrow I want to talk about free vs. profit projects in the OSR. That seems to be another hot topic that I have a direct stake in (on both sides even!).

Thought of the Day Thursday

Kind of a cop out today since I'm sick with a cold and can't really formulate a coherent thought. So, I'm going to borrow one: What game have you never played but always wanted to?

There are several for me that would fit that bill. However, I think I'd have to say Stormbringer. I really enjoy the works of Michael Moorcock (Elric in particular). At one point, I actually had a copy of the Second edition (I think it is at my parent's house still). When I think about it, I've not played any of the Chaosium games (RuneQuest, Call of Cthulhu, etc) which is strange since I own all of the books and they appeal to me. It makes my gaming experiences seem somehow... deficient I suppose. I'm not much of one for New Year Resolutions, but I definitely would like to get at least one of those games going (and Stormbringer in particular) next year. Anyone else? What games do you really want to try?

Nongaming Review: Hellboy Seed of Destruction

A nongaming post, but one very much related to my creative inspiration for gaming and art. It might not be readily apparent but I like Mike Mignola’s work. A LOT. And then even more on top of that. The man is one of my all time favorites in the comics world. But Mike’s work can be something of an acquired taste for some people. I like comics. I like comics a lot. I like comics about as much as I like Mignola’s work…Now any way. When I was younger, I used to collect Alpha Flight. Mike did some covers (issues 33 and 34).


For whatever reason, they just didn’t sit right with me back then (although looking at the covers now, I wonder what the hell was wrong with me. Especially Wolverine fighting the samurai). I was more of a John Byrne guy back then (which is funny since Mignola and Byrne collaborated on the first Hellboy story, which I’ll get to in a bit). At any rate, I’ve collected comics off and on my whole life. Actually at some points it seems to become a crazy addiction and I just have to stop. But at any rate, a few years back, after not having purchased any comics for a good long stretch (maybe five or six years or so) I saw a Hellboy collected edition in the book section of the PX. I was intrigued. For whatever reason, I picked it up (funny considering I hadn’t really cared much for Mike’s work when I was younger).



Ah, it is funny how tastes change as we age. Reading through Seed of Destruction, the collected edition, I was astounded. No, more than that, I had been rocked to the core of my being. Everything I ever wanted in comics or fantasy was right here. I mean it, EVERYTHING. World War II, the mad monk Grigori Rasputin, Evil Nazis, Lovecraftian monsters, and more. Oh yes, THIS IS THE STUFF. Not to mention that the hero is a demon summoned from hell who by a quirk of fate is delivered into the hands of a respectable doctor who raises him to be… human. Yeah, Hellboy, the big bad, monster and Nazi bashing brute is a very human character. And he’s funny. Alright, back to it. Seed of Destruction is the first Hellboy story arc and delves into Hellboy’s origin and really sets the stage for the entire Mignolaverse. In the first few pages, we get Hellboy’s origin during the last days of WWII, he is summoned by Rasputin as part of an cabal of occultist Nazis who want to use him to help turn the tide. However, as I mentioned, instead of falling into the hands of the Nazis, he falls into the hands of the Americans who the proceed to raise him as normally as a demon on an Army base can be. Hellboy grows up to become part of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D – part of the expanded Mignola universe). As the story progresses, Hellboy’s surrogate father Professor Trevor Bruttenholm is killed by frog monsters. Hellboy is then sent by the B.P.R.D. to Cavendish Hall at the bequest of Emma Cavendish to investigate some strange happenings. Ultimately, this proves to be a trap as it is Rasputin trying to regain access to Hellboy and turn in back into a tool of destruction. And we proceed from here into some very pulpy action and monster bashing set in a Victorian style surrounding and a battle with Rasputin. Very well done. Very, very well done. I found this to be the reading equivalent to eating a rich chocolate fudge cake – layered, rich, decadent, and covered in goodness that just doesn’t stop. I’ve gone back and read this so many times I’ve lost count. And now, I’m going to go back and read it again. And probably one more time for good measure.

So if your only exposure to Hellboy is from the movies (which were good – but allas, like most movies fail to capture the true greatness of their source), go out and pick up a copy of the collected edition of Seed of Destruction. You will not regret it. Or, maybe if you become an addict like me, you will. Either way, fans of dark/weird fantasy, Lovecraft, occult WWII, pulp action, etc will find much to love. I can’t rate this cause the stars aren’t right – five stars is not enough but will have to do.

Weekly Creature Feature: Asaen

Once again, it's time to plunder myth, legend and folklore for interesting beasts for use in Old School style campaigns. Note: My critters are statted out using Labrynith Lord Rules but since they are deemed Open Game Conent, feel free to adapt them to your campaign.

This time the critter is the Asaen, based upon a Native American legend of a cannibal woman/girl called an Asin that would lure people (often children) to their doom. Having dreams of the Asaen bodes ill for those affected.

Name: Asaen
No. Enc: 1
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120’ (40’)
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 2 (claw, bite), special
Damage: 1d4, 1d4, special
Save: M3
Morale: 6
Hoard Class: XX

Description: Asaen are forest dwelling creatures that dwell on the fringes of human habitation where they prey on the weak, foolish, and unwary. From a distance, an Asaen will appear to be a young girl. An Asaen will attempt to trap victims by calling for help and luring the victims deeper into the forest to the Asaen’s lair. An Asaen lair is a deep burrow in the ground where it lies in wait for the intended victim to follow and will continue to plead for aid. Anyone that attempts to reach into the burrow and aid the Asaen will be attacked. On a successful bite attack, the Asaen will uses its suckered mouth filled with sharp teeth to grasp the victim. The Asaen will maintain this grip causing 1d4 points of damage per round until it is sated, the victim dies, the Asaen is driven off by fire, it reaches less than half its current hit point total, or it is killed. Asaen are afraid of fire and take double damage from fire attacks. Asaen can be kept at bay with a camp fire. Asaen have the additional ability to plague the dreams of those that sleep overnight in the Asaen’s woods. All sleeping victims within a 20’ area must make a save versus spell or be tormented by night terrors. Those affected are at a -1 penalty to attack and morale rolls for three hours (turns).

The Classic Fantasy and Hireling Generator Web Site

Thanks to Tim Shorts over at Gothridge Mannor for providing the link to Meatshields! The Classic Fantasy Hireling and Henchment Generator by kiltedyaksman and cr0m. The interface is incredibly simple: specify if you are going to pay the five gold to hire a town crier, specify the town size from a dropdown menu, and just click a button. You get a listing of five potential recruits, recruiting cost, their type (torch bearer, man-at-arms, etc), race, Hit Points, Sex, weapons, armor, alignment, background, possesions and knowledge, and notable features.

Here's an example listing that I got:
Name: Cortik
Type: Torch-Bearer
Race: Human
HP: 2
Sex: M
Weapon: Dagger
Armor: None
Alignment: Chaos
Background: Failed Temple Acolyte
Possesions and Knowledge: Sock full of sling stones
Notable Features: Dark eyes

How awesome is that? It really simplifies the process of coming up with a bunch of unsavory folk that are willing to risk it all for a little gold. Thanks to Tim for the link and thanks to kiltedyaksman and cr0m for making such a great tool!

Old School Gaming Outlook: Bob Seeger or Billy Joel?

I was looking through various message boards and it seems that there is a bit of flareup about the term Old School Renaissance and what that entails. Not that it is unusual for there to be flareups here on the Interwebs about gaming, play styles, editions, play balance, fantasy tropes, etc but it did get me thinking about my own gaming outlook. I've simplified the agrument (very much so - I'm sure I'm not capturing everything, but oh well) of the OSR debate into the Bob Seeger and Billy Joel camps. What I mean by that is, the Bob Seeger types want the Old Time Rock 'n Roll to the exclusion of everything. They don't really care for the retro-clones but tolerate them in as much as they allow new modules to be published. The Billy Joel Types are more accomodating and see the proliferance of new add ons, new takes, different directions as a good thing for the hobby. After all, it's still Rock 'n Roll to them.

I tend to stay out of the edition wars or any of those types of flame fests, however, I'd like to say that it's all Rock 'n Roll to me ;).

Delve Board Game Update

I finally finished stating out the critters for Delve! and am now working on the treasures. Like the monsters, I wanted to add a bit of variety over the treasure in Dungeon! Also unlike Dungeon, instead of each class having different treasure levels they need to attain before they achieve victory, I'm going to set the treasure level for all five of the current classes at the same level (I'm thinking at the 30,000 gold level). The mechanic will be 2d10 instead of 2d6 (or the 1d20 I had originally thought about). The reason for this is I want a 2-20 number spread to allow for more levels and different challenges. Also, 2d10 allows to do percentages easier. Certain creatures will have the capability to be bribed. This is a percentage chance. The player will have to give up a treasure for safe passage. Also, I'm including more magical treasure in the game (for instance, more magic weapons usable by various characters). Each character will have special abilities. The mage casts spells, the cleric turns undead, the knight can charge, the warrior princess can charm, the theif can back stab. I'm still working through all of these but should have a playtest soon (so all of this is subject to tweaking based upon the playtest results). I'd like the game to be able to be played through in about an hour. The intent is to have a fun, dungeon crawl themed game that is quick to set up and play through.

Basalt Keep of Wilven the Yellow/Delve Boardgame Update

I didn't get as far this week as I'd hoped on my mapping for the Basalt Keep. I do think I've got the rough outlines for the above ground levels. There are essentially five levels to the keep and six or so for a tower that sits atop the keep. I'm pretty jazzed about the whole idea and it keeps flowing nicely as far as the mapping goes. Once that is done, I'll go back and flesh out the keyed areas. The intent is to have this place populated with entirely new critters. The Basalt Keep is a temporal/dimensional hopping location, so the whole will be populated not just by strange critters, but by strange and in some cases horrific locations, items, and events. Viscount Wilven D'Ava is essentially a hedonist/libertine with a character in the Alister Crowley/Marquis de Sade vein. Add to that the inhabitants that the keep and the island that it sits upon from the multidimensonal wandering that has gone on and you'll get the idea.

As far as my work on Delve!, I'm doing the art for the monster cards at the moment. Like TSR's Dungeon! board game, the goal of Delve! will be to collect treasure and make it back to the starting location. Nothing like good old dungeon crawling at its most basic. My schedule will be kind of hectic for the next few weeks with Holiday happenings, but I do hope to squeeze some time in on this project. Well, that's my queue, I'm off to work on my projects while there is a bit of quiet time.

Old School Renaissance Art Book

Hey, it's my 100th post!!! Hooray for me! Ahem, alrighty then... in other news, Matthew Finch of Swords and Wizardry fame has made a call for OSR artists to take part in an art book he's putting together. Here's a link to the call on Knights and Knaves Alehouse Forums: link. He's under a time constraint so he needs the submissions quick. I encourage all of you Old School style artists to contribute. I am happy to get my work out there even if it's pro bono. Mostly cause I'm an attention whore like that, but if you don't promote, chances are that unless you hire someone, no one else will. Anyway, I'm looking forward to a good product. As an artist, I don't think that many of the good artists really get the attention they deserve (aside from Pete Mullen, and well, he deserves it). I tell you, art takes time to create, is a challenge to produce, and no matter what, you are never compensated nearly enough for the time and effort put forth. So most of these guys and gals in the OSR are definitely doing it for the love of doing it and not for the cash (except me cause it's good beer money). All cheekiness aside, if you have a favorite artist, I can tell you from experience, it is always good to make some comment about how much you like their work (you rock Stefan Poag!). Hell, even an honest critique is appreciated. Most of us want to hone our skills so telling us what you didn't like (and doing it in a civil, constructive manner) is actually just as helpful as praise (often more so - it helps us get progressively better which gives you higher quality products that are a joy to behold).

At any rate, I hope some of you will pick the book up when it comes out and then drop your favorite artist a line and let them know that you think they have enhanced your enjoyment of the game.

Review Rating Scale

I finally got around to posting my Rating Scale for Reviews for anyone that is curious as to what completly subjective and capricious reason I assign my ratings. Check out the link in my header bar. Don't look for me to go thrashing products as that is not really my style. However, not everything is rainbows and lollipops so if I don't like something, I'll state that as well.

Parallel Lines: My Old School Campaign Project Update

Work continues on the Project that Shall Not Be Named (actually, I can't be bothered to give the campaign world a name yet). I'm still working on the Basalt Keep Maps. I've tweaked them a bit from my last posting. As I've mentioned, mapping really is something that I've struggled with but I think I'm begining to come around. As for the map of the campaign world, I'm still working it but I need to decide on the scope that I wish to encompass. I'll get back to that at some point, I just want to go with the Basalt Keep and flesh that out.

At any rate, I was lurking around the message boards as I am wont to do and was reading up on some projects that are very much of interest to me. Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea (here's a link to the product and one for the thread at Dragonsfoot here) by North Wind Adventures and Swords and Cthulhu: the World of Zultoom (link). These two projects are very similar in flavor to what my campaign will be (gritty swords and sorcery withweird fantasy elements). Mine will differ only slightly in that I really want to add some dark fairy tale/legends/mythological elements (ala Brothers Grimm, Russian folk tales, northern European mythologies, Celtic myths/legend, etc). It's funny how these things evolve in parallel (I don't frequent the message boards often and it has only been very recently that I've started visiting the simulacrum page at Dragonsfoot). This really ties into some thoughts I've been having on the early days of the hobby and my early days in the hobby that I'll get back to in a bit.

Oh yeah, by all means check out the links! I think those two projects are going to be spectacular and I can't wait to get my hands on them.

Thought of the Day Thursday: World Building OCD

So, world building… yeah. Not really a thought of the day but more of an open question today. Yesterday I did a review of Holly Lisle’s Create a Language Clinic. Very good stuff that. Unless you are bipolar in your creative nature like me and then it just adds fuel to the creative nightmare that I habitually impose upon myself. Anyway, one of the biggest problems I have is to recognize when enough is enough and just let things go. On one level, the egoist in me aspires to be the next Tolkien – flesh out a world to the nth degree complete with languages, religions, and culture. On the other hand, my natural laziness overcomes my ambition in most cases and I end up wallowing in a morass of indecisiveness. The OSR has an entrenched mentality of “STFU and game already!” and is eschews lengthy character development, plot development, or any of the other fluff in favor of quick game play. I have no problem with that. In fact, unless there is a good hook, my eyes tend to glaze over if there is a lot of background and fluff to read. I like that stuff but sometimes I just breeze through it cause, I’m just gonna ultimately go the way I want to go. So from a player perspective, I DEFINITELY get the OSR mentality and take the party line. However, when I switch over to my DM/demigod hat, I just cannot seem to let it go. I want to create alphabets. I want to write the major philosophical/religious texts for my creation. I want to write the epics and the eddas that surround the mythology of the world. I want to write histories. I want to change the course of rivers and move mountains… I, well, um, OK. Even if anyone playing in this world never encounters any of this, or just doesn’t care, my OCD flares up when I go into creation mode and I cannot help myself.

So what has this got to do with anything? Weeeeeeeeeeelllllll, when do you say when? I guess it all boils down to your gaming group and their particular predilections. How about if you are releasing this for the greater RPG community’s consumption? Yes these are the kinds of things that keep me up at night ;). And yes, I am looking for others thoughts/feelings/experiences on the matter.

Non Game Review: Holly Lisle's Create a Language Clinic

I suspect that most role players and especially DM’s have a touch of world builder in them. Some are able to just wing it, while there are others that are completely obsessive and must account for every map, tectonic movement, weather pattern, solar cycles, cultural patterns, etc… Me, I’m rather bipolar about my world building. Sometimes I’ll just say screw it and delve in and make stuff up on the fly. Other times, I need to work out the various exchange mediums, the color of the atmosphere (and the reasons why it is that color), the magnetic fields and the effect on weather patterns, right on down to the last finicky detail.

One thing that no matter which pole I happen to be at that remains consistent is language. You see, language is defined by culture and a reflection of culture. It binds cultures together and separates them from every other culture. You can trace the evolution of culture through language. It is pretty fascinating stuff. And the cool thing about it from a hobbyist gamers’ perspective is that it scales well for the hand-waiver as well as the master of minutiae.
The fantasy writer (fantasist?) Holly Lisle has put together MANY books, seminars, newsletters, etc. to help aspiring (fantasy) writers get better at their craft. Many of the references are general in nature such as how to develop plot, character, etc. However, since Ms. Lisle is primarily known for her fantasy writing, there is quite a bit of fantasy world building tools in there. Now I can’t vouch for the quality of Ms. Lisle’s fantasy writing (I tend to read less fantasy and more historical stuff these days-much of the new stuff just makes my brain go down – yeah, hey and STAY OFF MY DAMN LAWN) but I’ve found myself interested in her writing “clinics” and “seminars”.

Holly Lisle’s Create a Language Clinic is 90 pages devoted to the language creation followed by several worksheets for actually creating your own language. Ms. Lisle does approach this from a clinic or classroom approach. Starting off with asking the question of why you would want to create your own language and then follows up in chapter one with a methodical approach which includes creating a folder and tracking your language creation process much like you would in a classroom environment. Chapter two talks about how to approach building the language. She looks at the way English is structured and compares it to how other languages function. This really important as English is kind of a mutt language and most other languages are structured very differently. Chapter three begins a structured approach to the language building process and outlines how long each step will take. Chapter four goes into creating the alphabet for your language. You know not all languages have the same sounds so this is how to get the structured alphabet and phonetic sounds for your language. There is a really nice worksheet devoted to this step (pretty much every step has a worksheet – this explains the need for the notebook). Chapter five is devoted to simple nouns and proper names and how to create them for your language (complete with how to construct genderized nouns). Chapter six is devoted to creating nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. The rest of the chapters are devoted to creating other parts of speech (each with its own structured worksheet) as well as how to go about actually creating a writing system for your language (again with worksheets). All in all, it is a pretty comprehensive approach to building your own language, all packed into 90 pages.

So, why the hell should you care? Well, if you want to create your own language that maintains an internal consistency and you can reuse, then this is the perfect tool for that. For instance, you want to create an ancient scroll written in another language that doesn’t come across as something like “xyxj’mlq doolpij-npin”, this will assist you with that. The nice thing is, you can pretty much have the rudiments of a believable, workable language up in about two hours or so. That means for all you mini-world builders out there, you can breathe some verisimilitude into your world. Ms. Lisle’s approach is simple, direct and scalable, so it works well for all you folks that fit into the same bipolar category that I do. The worksheets are really incredibly handy. The print version is available from Lulu for $19.99 and the pdf is available for $9.99 Ms. Lisle’s web site: http://shop.hollylisle.com/index.php?crn=1&rn=367&action=show_detail. For a non-gaming book, I’ve found this to be an incredible gaming reference. I give this five out of five stars and highly recommend this.

Validation

I got my notice that all three of my Petty Gods submissions will be in James Maliszewski’s Petty Gods project. I love that I get to participate in something like this as I think it exemplifies the hobbyist DIY nature of the hobby. On occasion I read on various message boards that the hobby is dying, that 4e is a flop, or whatever the latest doom and gloom is. While I don’t think the hobby will get back to the glory days of the early/mid 1980’s, I think it has settled in and there are enough of us with kids that are passing the hobby along to the next generation. As long as there are hobbyist willing to continue to play and create new material, quite frankly it doesn't matter if the more commercial companies stop producing RPGs.

But anyway, I digress. I am goofy excited to participate. It’s just a little validating to be able to contribute. Based upon what I’ve seen so far, It’s going to be awesome!

Weekly Creature Feature: Arepyiai

Once again, I'm going back to the well and corrupting myth and legend to make my own monsters for use with Labyrinth Lord or other Old School Retro-clones. Again, feel free to use this creature in your own campaigns or OSR Projects. The Arepyiai is another name for harpy and the name means render or slicer. In Old School fashion, I've corrupted that to make an otherworldly beast.

Name: Arepyiai
No. Enc: 1-4
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 60’ (20')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: 2 (bite, sting)
Damage: 1d6, 1d6, poison
Save: F6
Morale: 11
Hoard Class: XIII

Description: Arepyiai are horrific creatures not of this world. They are of up to 4' in length and combine features of an arachnid and mollusc. Arepyiai are slow moving and rely on unwary prey to come within range of their harpoon-like stings. The Arepyiai produce a pleasant sweet smelling odor that attracts prey. The Arepyiai will lie in wait and launch its harpoon at targets that come within 10'. Those struck take 1d6 points of damage and muct save vs. poison or be paralyzed. The Arepyiai will then proceed to use this horny beak and radula to rend the flesh from its still living victim causing 1d6 points of damage per round.

The Arepyiai utilizes a muscular foot much like a slug or snail as its means of locomotion. They have eight eyes like a spider and can see in mutliple dimensions enabling them to see in the ultraviolet, infrared, and ethereal as well as invisible creatures and are never surprised. The body is rubbery and secretes a pleasantly sweet smelling mucus. The head and part of the back are covered with chitinous plates. The Arepyiai have the capability to camaflauge themselves within limits and can blend in to earth toned environments and will surprise victims on a 1-4 on a d6. Arepyiai are intelligent and communicate with eachother via chemical secretions and low frequency harmonics.

Basalt Keep Update

I finished four map levels and numbered the rooms for the map key today (I changed them a bit from the style below). I stand at three levels for the Basalt Keep with a total of 107 keyed areas and two sublevels with a further of 29 keyed areas. I have at least one more above ground level and at least one more level for the lava caves under the Keep. Then it will be time to write the keys and other stuff. It'll have a weird fantasy/horror feel (at least right now - I am pretty fickle so it's subject to change depending what I come up with when I'm fleshing out the keys).

I'm thinking about sending this to Fight On! or perhaps going through and putting it out on Lulu. since I'm primarily an artist; I want to do quite a bit of art for this. Anyway, I'm tired so it's time to read a bit then off to bed for the evening.

Mapping makes me kinda crazy

OK, so I've been working on my map for The Basalt Keep of Wilven the Yellow. I love maps. I like to look at them and imagine all kinds of kooky things. However, drawing maps, well, like my son says "they make my brain go down". At any rate, here' my first scan of level one of the Basalt Keep.


I also screwed around in Photoshop and here's another take:

I kinda like the second one because, well, it has a feel like th keep is made of basalt. I'm getting pretty psyched about this. But then again, I've got multiple projects going and I'm pretty jazzed about all of them.

Swords and Wizardry Complete availiable from Frog God Games

I got my order for the signed and numbered hard back in a few hours ago. It is a limited run of 100. The first print of the softcover is limited to 200. Go here for more. The hard cover and softcover come with a pdf version so you don't have to wait. I've done an initial skim through and it looks great. The Frog God guys did a bang up job on the production values. In case you are wondering, Frog God Games is the remnants of Necromancer Games (the 3rd edition rules, fist edition feel guys). I'll take a bit of time to digest and then get a review up. I'm also working on a review of Savage Swords of Athanor. All I can really say is the Old School Renaissance just keeps getting better and better...

Delve Board Game Update 12/11/10

Happy 12/11/10! I've been listening to some Minutemen and Richard Hell, drinking a Heineken (Heineken, f*** that s***, PABST BLUE RIBBON!!) - sorry, flashback to a different time - and have been scribbling away at my Delve! rules. I think I've got my initial character set AND monster list for the initial Delve! playtest. For the playtest I'll be using the original Dungeon! board game board and testing the rules out through level six. Once I think it's working, I'll expand to levels seven and eight. Here's the character list so far:

Mage
Knight
Warrior Princess
Thief
Cleric

I'm leaving the Elf and Dwarf out of the initial playtest (mostly because they will combine elements of the listed classes anyway). The monster list is as follows:

Level 1
Beserker
Giant Fire Ant
Giant Rats
Giant Bats
Goblin
Orc
Skeleton
Zombie

Level 2
Beserker
Bugbear
Ghoul
Giant Lizard
Giant Spider
Giant Frog
Pit Trap
Zombie

Level 3
Dire Wolf
Gargoyle
Giant Snake
Giant Scorpion
Harpy
Mummy
Ogre
Salamander
Pit Trap
Teleporter Trap
Werewolf

Level 4
Warlord
Giant
Giant Snake
Giant Beetle
Gorgon
Hell Hound
Manticore
Minotaur
Mummy
Teleporter Trap
Troll
Werewolf

Level 5
Allosaurus
Basilisk
Chimera
Giant
Griffin
Mummy
Stegosaurus
Teleporter Trap
Troll
Triceratops
Vampire

Level 6
Blue Dragon
Ghost
Red Dragon
Skeleton Lord
Titan
Tyranosaurus Rex
Vampire
Wizard

Of course, this is all subject to change in playtest. I've also decided to try to use 2d10 instead of 1d20. Mostly to better make use of subsystems such as a randomizer for a pit trap turn loss duration. I also want to add a bribe/ransom feature that will let characters attempt to get out of a fight with a critter by giving up their treasure. The theme of the game will still be like Dungeon!, a race to get a certain amount of loot so I think the bribe/ransom mechanic will work well. Next, to work on treasures, spells, and finish the statistical parts.

Review: Carcosa Supplement V by Geoffrey McKinney

As with most things, I'm usually a bit late to the party and my perusal of Geffrey McKinney's Carcosa is no exception. In fact, there are many reviews out there already on this one supplement and I was a bit reluctant to do an essentially superfluous review. Mr. McKinney's work has brought about some strong reactions and controvery. In fact, due to the number of reviews, I'm going to take the incredibly lazy and seriously egregious breach of any sort of tact or class route and link back to Korgoth's review on dragonsfoot here so that I can lay the basic ground work and expound upon it because that review pretty sums up most of my thoughts on the matter.

Did you finish reading yet? OK, good, let's continue. Let me go ahead and say that I want to completely avoid any of the morality agrguments surrounding the supplement and investigate its merrits as a gaming supplement. Carcosa really impressed me with some of the things it brings to the table, namely new approaches to some standard gaming assumptions that are at once completely revolutionary and at the same time, stay very much in the vein of old school hobbyist gaming. Carcosa offers the potential for a complete sand box campaign within the strange and horrific world of Carcosa, or it can provide a framework from which to add some very interesting mechanics to any OSR gaming rules set. I think the whole dice convention is very clever and certainly provides a new spin on an old subject. I for one think it is quite in line with the setting that Mr. McKinney has laid out. I never know if my dagger will do 1d4 die of damage or 1d12. This also adds a nice challenge and throws out encounter preconceptions such as the peasant only having 1d4 hp. This system can easily be ported to any other setting. In fact, there really isn't much in Carcosa that can't be ported. From psionics, the ritual magic soncept, the high tech devices of the "space alien culture" (the robot generation tables are just flat out cool),and monsters (from the Cthulhu mythos with some additions). I own the non-expurgated edition (you know, the one with all of the rather horrific rituals) which, I'll admit made me a bit uncomfortable - as I think it was intended too. Sorcery is a nasty bit of business on this world (much as it is in the Cthulhu writings and Swords and Scorcery on which this work is in the mold of). I have not seen the expurgated edition so I can not speak as to its contents(refer to Korgoth's review linked earlier). I think that as of this writing, Carcosa is out of print. However, James Raggi has announced that Carcosa will be re-released by Lamentations of the Flame Princess. I will definitely check that out. One thing that did seem to be missing was insanity rules. The setting does seem to warrant it. However, If you look at it from the standpoint that this horrific setting is the norm, then the inhabitants just look at it as their normal; then I guess that insanity rules are not necessary.

In the final analysis, I find Carcosa a very welcome addition to the OSR. As I said earlier, it brings some new spins on the old school gaming front but still stays close to the spirit. I know the setting content might not be to everyone's tastes, but there are some truly great concepts here. I probably would not have an extended CCarcosa campaign, but I am eager to explore some of the new rules. I give this a four and a half out of five stars.

German Beer, Bacon Pizza and Rules Wrangling

It is Friday and that means pizza night from our favorite local pizzeria (Pronto Pizza in Tori di Arcugnano is some of the best pizza I’ve ever had – a bit different from the American idea of pizza – and I’m going to get Italian bacon, better known as pancetta on mine), a nice real German beer (Winkler Brau Dunkel Doppel Bock or a Heffe Pils – OOOOOOOooooo my lord, the ONLY beer better is the Beglian Trapist stuff), and a rousing game of Rifts (wait what?!?). Not really, but I am going to pull the Palladium Fantasy Game off the shelf tonight and do a little data mining. I don’t participate in the game bashing stuff because, well, it makes about as much sense to me as people fighting over baseball, football, water polo, tennis, bowling, golf, horseshoes, competition pie eating, lacrosse or basket ball being a better sport (and if you like the one I don’t then you must be a mouth breathing, slack jawed, slope browed degenerate). I’m particularly interested in the insanity rules, addiction rules, and some of the magic systems such as the summoning and ritual magic. I don’t want to directly rip off the rules here (Hi Kevin!), but I think that there is room here to give me the inspiration to come up with my own system for my OSR Campaign. I’m also going to go through my Call of Cthulhu stuff, or more than likely just starting pulling one of the 1000+ gaming books that I have on my own private shrine to geekdom (I don’t know what the real number is cause I can’t be bothered to count ‘em). I’d be interested to know what other systems people like to rape and pillage for interesting tidbits to graft onto their own rule system of choice.

Delve Board Game Update

OK, so I'm starting in on trying to figure out the monster list. I've come up with the following for the classes: mage, knight, warrior princess, cleric, dwarf, elf. The spell list is as follows: electric zap, cold blast, flame burst, web, and haste. I'll work out the details at playtest time.

Anyway, back to monsters. I'm trying to decide what would have a good old school feel and give the feel of Dungeon! without being a direct clone. For first level, I want to keep the skeleton and giant rat and goblin. I'll do away with giant lizard at level one and introduce zombie, giant bat, giant ant. The way the cards are laid out, there are fifteen cards to a sheet. I'd like to have thirty monster cards per level to add some variety so I've got quite a bit of room to play around here. I'll go through the monster manual and try and come up with some more old school beasties that scream old school dungeon delve (like giant beetle, carnivorous ape, etc). Well, time to get back at it!

Thought of the Day Thursday: Creature Extinction

In the development of my latest campaign project, I find myself tackling all sorts of theoretical issues. One that came to me the other day was the idea of creatures/monsters/entities as resources in a campaign world and what happens when those resources are depleted? Now I know the idea of monster ecologies is anathema to some in the OSR and that is fine. However, I want this world I’m crafting to have a specific feel and the idea of the creatures within that world being a finite resource and the depletion/extinction of that resource could possibly have a dramatic effect on the game world. For instance, I’ve been posting some monsters here on my blog over the past few weeks. There is a method to this madness, I’m not just creating or stating up random critters. Each of these creatures will be a denizen of the campaign world I’m working on. For instance, the Amarok is limited to a group of nine. These fierce creatures prey on those foolish enough to let themselves be caught out in the northern forests at night. Beyond that, I haven’t developed it much farther yet, but the Amarok will definitely be tied into the cultures of the realm and actually serve a function more than just brutalizing and killing hapless victims. So, if the Amaroks were all hunted and killed so that there are now none left, it probably is going to have a social and cultural impact on the peoples of the region. Further, it could have very real physical consequences that were not foreseen (maybe the Amarok were responsible for keeping certain malevolent spirits at bay and now they are extinct, the spirits are now free to roam the night). So this might mean that killing off one thing might inadvertently cause something far worse to happen. I’d be interested in seeing what others have included in their campaigns and how the extinction of creatures affected the rest of the campaign world.

My discovery of the d100 OSR

Another side of the OSR that I haven’t much experience is with the d100 games based upon the Basic Role Playing engine (I'm probably late to the party on this one - nothing unusual here). In my glory days of role playing, it was pretty difficult for me to come by any gaming material that wasn’t TSR which of course meant that we played a lot of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, FASERIP Marvel Superheroes, Top Secret, Star Frontiers, etc. Occasionally, someone would happen upon something else that we’d incorporate into our RPG cycle (back then we tended to play D&D on Saturdays, Top Secret Fridays, Marvel Superheroes almost any free moment we could squeeze in, and Sundays would be one offs). When I was gaming in earnest back in 1986-88, I was a military brat and lived in West Germany, so my exposure to games was pretty much limited to whatever the PX/BX happened to stock. This was pretty much limited solely TSR products, but on occasion you’d get some FASA Star Trek or Battletech. On occasion, one of the new kids would join the group and would expose us to something like Toon or Villains and Vigilantes (two more favorites of ours). Now, I know 1986 isn’t what most would consider in the Old School Range, but I did play back in the early 80’s but since I was not even a teen yet, my exposure to anything other than Dungeons and Dragons was pretty much nonexistent.
So, what the heck has this got to do with anything? Well, back in the early days, RuneQuest was a pretty popular alternative to D&D. I can’t say I was totally unaware of it because I did read Dragon Magazine and they had adds for all of these wondrous games that 1) were not available for me to purchase (I couldn’t mail order either as my folks would not have gone along with that) 2) and even if the PX/BX did stock them, I probably wouldn’t have had the cash to buy them (Hey, I was 13/14 and the market on lawn mowing and other chores in the military housing area was already taken by the 15/16 year olds). Now apparently there is a parallel OSR movement that is recreating the glories of early RuneQuest and other d100 based games. I must say that I’m intrigued. A company called d101 Games is publishing an OSR equivalent to RuneQuest called OpenQuest (here’s a link: http://d101games.co.uk/books/openquest/). I do have RuneQuest 2nd Edition that I picked up on a whim a well as the Mongoose iteration of the game, but I have not given it any serious investigation. In addition to OpenQuest, it seems that others are putting out d100 compatible material and several items can be found at Lulu. I have yet to delve into any of this other than on the very surface, but it would seem that the OSR is getting broader in scope. I’ll be checking OpenQuest out and if anyone knows of any other interesting OSR spin offs, then let me know.

Pembrooktonshire Gardening Society Member 017 reporting for duty

I’m pretty pleased at the direction and sheer creativeness that the OSR seems to be taking. It would have been a simple matter to just rehash stuff from the old days or doing pastiche work. Indeed, in the early days of the OSR, it seemed that was where things were headed. However, several clever souls have been spending their free time crafting up some pretty inventive stuff. James Raggi of Lamentations of the Flame Princess (LotFP) fame has been one of those who are taking the OSR in wildly divergent directions (I'll do a review as soon as I'm done reading through and reviewing Carcosa by Geoffrey McKinney - that should be up this weekend). Of course this is not without controversy, but hey, most people don’t take change and new ideas without grumbling. At any rate, I just received my official Pembrooktonshire Gardening Society membership kit in the mail (member 017 since October 2010). There is a certificate of achievement; a membership card and a very nice print of the LotFP game cover (the unedited version). I’m pretty happy to support these kinds of creative endeavors. I have pretty much all of Raggi’s offerings so far. I haven’t read through all of them yet (my read pile is getting bigger and bigger) and I don’t know how much of it I’ll actually use when I do get a gaming group together; but I can say that it is inspiring to be able to see how people are utilizing the groundwork laid back in 1974 by Gygax and Arneson and really are taking those rules and the hobbyist style play and adventurous spirit in new directions. It just seems like the OSR is getting better and better every year. I can’t wait to see what the future holds. Oh yeah, it is also nice that I’ll be able to share the fun with my son and know there is an active, thriving creative community behind it.

Weekly Creature Feature: Arassas

Once again gentle reader, it is that time. Yes it is the Weekly Creature Feature. Up this week is a creature from French folklore. Once again, I've adapted it and embelished a bit. As always, the creature nmae, stats and description are hereby designated Open Gaming Conent. The accompanying illustrations of the the creature is not Open Gaming Content and is copyright to Johnathan L Bingham (me) and cannot be used except with my express written permission.

Name: Arassas
No. Enc: 1-4
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120’ (40’), Special
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 3 (claws, bite)
Damage: 1d4, 1d4, 1d6, poison
Save: F3
Morale: 7
Hoard Class: VI

Description: A strange and hideous creature that has the body of a giant lizard and a rather feline head. The Arassas has an overall length of 6’ and is capable of scaling sheer surfaces (even upside down). This ability lets them surprise prey on a 1-4 on a d6. The Arassas has a poisonous bite; a victim must save versus poison or be paralyzed. The Arassas dwells in forested mountain regions where they hunt in small prides of 1-4 creatures.

Review: Exquisite Corpses by Stefan Poag

It’s snowing outside and warm and cozy inside. I’ve got some hot spiced wine brewing on the stovetop. What a perfect time to kick back with an OSR book and do some imaginatin’. I have a rather large read pile that I am slowly picking my way through. However, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I got a few more things to add to the pile. The first thing I grabbed really has grabbed me back. I’m talking about Exquisite Corpses: A New Kind of Monster Manual for Old School Role Playing Games by Stefan Poag. Where to start, where to start… the book itself is digest size 5 ½” x 8 ½” with a spiral binding and a glossy, heavy card stock cover weighing in at 91 pages. Normally I wouldn’t get too much into the physicality of the product, but it is important here. You see, when Mr. Poag says that this is a new type of monster manual, he really means that – at least compared to the other compendiums of monsters out there. The binding actually plays an important role which I’ll get to in just a bit.

Anyway, the cover art (as well as all of the other art) is by Mr. Poag. You probably remember him from such works as Expeditious Retreat Press’ Pod Caverns of the Sinister Shroom and the Red Mausoleum. Mr. Poag has a kind of Robert Crumb/indie commix feel to his work (which I LOVE). I have to say I really am favorably disposed to folks that own the whole project process (writing, art, layout, editing, etc). I think that comes from my punk rock DIY days when we’d do our own zines and comics. But I digress. I should note that there is a disclaimer on the cover that states the contents of this book contains references to nudity, sexuality, deviancy, and general mayhem and is not suitable for all audiences. Now if you are offended by the kinds of things that were in the 1e monster manual (exposed breasts and the like) as well as - well, um ,quite a bit of the fantasy themes from the late ‘70’s and early 80’s, then you are definitely are not the target audience for this book anyway and probably are offended by the thought of them no good kids playing that devil worship game… (OK, channeling my past there, sorry). At any rate, I may be jaded, but there is nothing here to spark any book burning controversies, just good, old school weird fantasy (yes and boobs as well as a couple of penises – sorry forgot that bit).

Now, on to content. Exquisite Corpses definitely presents a new twist on monster manuals. The creatures are presented one to a page with the illustration making up much of the page and dotted lines that divide the page into thirds. This effectively segments each picture into a head section, torso, and lower body. Then you cut along the dotted line. That is where the magic is because when the pages are cut, you are now able to mix and match heads, torsos and lower body parts from several different monsters to create 17,000 (according to Mr. Poag but I’m too lazy to check the math). Not only is the mix and match part pretty different (you could do this with a random table but the presentation is much more fun here) but for each section of the creatures body, Mr. Poag lists the relevant stats (for the head he lists the creature intelligence, ac – for the head, and any relevant attacks such as bite or gaze). This is also laid out for the other two body sections.

So how does all of this work? Well, let’s take a human base (male or female). Let’s say we want a woman’s legs, a torso from a tentacle creature, and the head of a giant centipede. Pretty bizarre stuff, but you’d end up with a base creature with a very low intelligence, a bite that does 2-8 pts of damage as well as poison, can see in total darkness, has a move of 12” per round has 8 hit dice, a 10’ reach, an AC of 6 (for head and body it is 10 for the human legs), has eight tentacle attacks (1-6 damage plus save or be grabbed) and a beak attack that does 3-16 pts of damage. And then there are the random tables in the appendix for generating special abilities as well as immunities/vulnerabilities, and there is an optional psionics rules section. Quite a bit bundled into the little package.

The final analysis is that this is more than worth the $10 price of admission. The creatures can be used to generate all types of random mutations and the like so it works equally well for Mutant Future. Based on the simple but incredibly effective layout, the consistency of vision and presentation, the sheer utility of the product for the price, I’m going to give this a full five out of five stars. What the heck are you still reading this for, go and get a copy now.

Boxes o fun

You know, only a true freak gets excited about getting a box of Bristol paper and 750ml of fluid titanium white acrylic paint in the mail. Yeah, that freak would be me and I got my box o’ paper and paint today. Why am I excited? Because it’s been a long time since I did some good old fashioned acrylic painting and I got lots of ideas for some weird fantasy paintings I want to do. I can’t wait to start slingin’ some paint!

I also received one of my Lulu orders in the mail today and I’m very excited about that as well. In it, I have Fight On! #5 (I’m a bit behind the power curve, but well, what are you gonna do?), Savage Swords of Athanor by Doug Easterly for use with the Swords and Wizardry rules (dinosaurs, planetary romance, laser guns, magic – oh hell yeah, this will be fun), and last but certainly not least is Exquisite Corpses by Stefan Poag (crazy mix and match folded paper manual of monsters in the weird fantasy vein for use with Old School Role Playing games – I’m gonna devour this one; it is fan-freaking-tastic concept). At any rate, I was going to do a review today but I am still in the middle of Death Frost Doom by James Raggi as well as Carcosa by Geoffrey Mc Kinney. I hope to finish those by this weekend and get back to my projects (maps, monsters, and mayhem oh my!), decorate for Christmas, go cut and set up the tree, try and find some good punk rock Christmas albums, go see a live performance of Mary Poppins in Italian with the kids, try to make it out to the winery and stock up on some more cabernet and proseco, go through my stock of German beer and make a list for a beer run to Germany in the near future (hey, that’s important stuff!), and do some painting. Sounds like a good weekend!

Basalt Keep of Wilven the Yellow maps for levels 2 and 3

Ok, here's an unedited peek at levels two and three of the basalt keep. I intend to add one more ascending level and then start on some underground levels. I've been ruminating on an OSR project for almost five years now (ever since my initial involvement with the OSRIC project). I've finally decided upon a hex crawl campaign world. The basalt keep will be one location. It's strange dimensional properties should make it easily incorporated into any campaign. I've also got an idea for another weird fantasy location involving a strange, sorcerous space/time tower that I've tentatively called the Strange Geometries. One project at a time...

Delve card art mockup two

And here's the mock up art for the Delve cards with a different font and border. My wife likes this one better. I'm not quite so sure, but do think I need to get on with it and stop obsessing about things like this ;). Next, on to the monsters and traps!

Thought of the Day Thursday: Demihumans and Humanocentric Gaming

One of the things that really has been bugging me lately about the fantasy games I’ve campaigned in is the proliferation of demihumans. I’ve been just as guilty as anyone of forgoing creating a human character for creating an elf, or dwarf, or some other crazy ass humanoid like a litoran. Why? When I sit back and think about it, the thing that really bugs me is that folks tend to play nonhumans as simply humans in costume with some bonuses and extras. Kinda falling into the whole Star Trek paradigm where all nonhuman species are typically a monolithic culture and highly stereotyped. Now don’t get me wrong, I feel that there is a place for that. However, I also feel like that kinda thing has been done to death (as I’m sure bitching about it has been – but here I go anyway…). At any rate, I’ve just plain had it with demihumans as playable characters in my campaign. They tend to be overdone as a stereotype, or are used as a min/max tool, etc. Now I know this could all just be chalked up to bad roleplaying by folks I’ve gamed with, and to some extent, that’s probably true. But lately I’ve found myself really attracted to the idea of humanocentric gaming. I really relish the idea that humans are the sole playable race in my campaign and that any demihuman/humanoid species are 1) Rare and 2) mysterious and do not readily conform to understood patterns of human behavior. I really wood like to have the elves being a mysterious/magical fey that are almost never encountered, and when they are it is a striking experience. I like the idea of the concepts of good and evil really breaking down between the different species because there are different wants, needs, and value systems that may be completely alien (and get interpreted as being evil by humans). I mean, why the hell would a demihuman that lives many lifetimes longer than a human with completely different societal norms have anything even remotely approaching a set of human values? My guess is they wouldn’t. Hell, we can’t even get along in our own species due to cultural variations and other relatively minor things so I’d assume there would be some contention and more importantly misinterpretation of motives and deep seated suspicions among different intelligent species. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean war but it probably would if there is a competition for the same resources. As humans, we tend to like to classify, categorize and set things aside in little boxes. So it is easy for us to alienate a fellow human (and ultimately dehumanize them) if they don’t fit into one of our acceptable categories. So just imagine how great the gulf would be with someone or something that ISN’T human. So, yeah, pretty much I’m done with the whole demihuman bit. While I’m at it, I’m done with using any intelligent species in my game that I can easily replace with a human culture (i.e. replacing orcs with hostile, brutish humans maybe even with a cannibalistic fetish – that’s even more horrific in my mind!). I’d like to hear other’s takes on the demihuman bit in their games.

Delve monster card concept art

Ok, so here's my first mock up at the Delve! card art. I wanted to very much keep it in the vein of Dungeon! monster cards. They will be the same size 1"x2" so that I can mix them into the deck. As I said earlier today, I intend to borrow from Dungeon and then ultimately replace the underlying mechanic so that while remaining true to the spirit of the original game, it will be a new game in and of itself to include a new board. I'm pretty excited about this project. I haven't attempted a board game for quite some time. Even though it borrows ideas pretty heavy, it is still quite a bit of work!

Delve Board Game Project Progress Update

I’m still working on my reimagining of the Dungeon! Board game. I had a whole slew of classes and other things, but I think ultimately I want to trim it down. Here’s a list of possible classes: Warrior Princess, Dwarf, Elf, Knight, Wizard, Thief, Cleric. I threw the warrior princess class in there for my daughter so it’d be a good hook to interest her at some point (she’s all about the princesses right now). But seeing as she’s only three, it’ll be a couple of years before I get her going.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m going to replace the Dungeon! 2d6 mechanic with a 1d20. That is because I’d like to ultimately have eight levels instead of six with more monster variations and feel the d20 will better enable that. Initially, I’ll be play testing on the actual Dungeon! Board, but I do want to come up with my own board at some point. The plan is to have all of this fleshed out and a complete new game by May in time for my son’s seventh birthday. I’m going through the monster list and adding more undead (for the cleric). I’m also adding things like more varied monsters, more types of traps, etc. Overall, I want there to be a little more variation so that the game stays a bit more exciting for a longer period of time. I’m going to incorporate more magic spells as well as more magic treasure. So far it is slow going as I have about four projects I’m working on so I have to divide my time (as well as maintain a day job and you know, hang out with my family). I have made mockups of the Delve! monster cards and will try printing some out to see how they look. I'm using MS Publisher's business card template set to the 1"x2" size of the original Dungeon! cards. My son is excited and asks me for a progress report a couple times a week. I think I’ll just sort of make incremental changes to the existing Dungeon game for now until I completely replace it. More progress reports to follow!