The Hole in the Oak is a scenario published by Necrotic Gnome. It is written for use with Old School Essentials, the Old School Renaissance retroclone based on the version of Basic Dungeons & Dragons designed by Tom Moldvay and published in 1980. It is designed to be played by a party of First and Second Level Player Characters and is a standalone affair, but could be connected to another scenario from the publisher, The Incandescent Grottoes. Plus there is scope in the adventure to expand if the Referee so desires. Alternatively, it could simply be run on its own as a self-contained dungeon adventure. The scenario is intended to be set underneath a great mythic wood, so is a perfect addition to the publisher’s own Dolmenwood setting, but would be easy to add to the Game Master’s own campaign setting. Further, like so many other scenarios for the Old School Renaissance, The Hole in the Oak is incredibly easy to adapt to or run using the retroclone of the Referee’s choice. The tone of the dungeon is weird and earthy, part of the ‘Mythic Underworld’ where strangeness and a degree of inexplicability is to be expected.
The first thing that strikes you about The Hole in the Oak is the way in which it is organised. The map of the whole dungeon is inside the front cover, and after the introduction, the adventure overview provides a history of the dungeon, an explanation of its factions and their relationships, and details—but definitely not any explanations—of its unanswered mysteries. The latter can be left as they are, unexplained, or they can be potentially tied into the rumours which will probably push the Player Characters into exploring its depths. Or of course, they can be tied into the Referee’s greater campaign world and lead to other adventures, or even developed from the players’ own explanations and hypothesises should the Referee be listening carefully. Besides the table of rumours, the adventure includes a listing of the treasure to be found in the dungeon and where, and a table of ‘Random Happenings’ (or encounters). The latter is placed inside the back cover where it is very convenient.
In between are the descriptions of the rooms below The Hole in the Oak. All sixty of them. These are arranged in order of course, but each is written in a parred down style, almost bullet point fashion, with key words in bold with details in accompanying parenthesis, followed by extra details and monster stats below. For example, the ‘Nonsense Study’ is described as containing “Cobblestones (round and smooth). Root walls and roof (clean; hand-worn patches). Arched roof (8’ high),” It expands up this with “South: Smell of tea and crumpets. Warm light. Quiet bleating (words?).” It expands upon this with descriptions of the room’s bookshelves, upholstered chairs, and monster stats for the latter. There is a fantastic economy of words employed here to incredible effect. The descriptions are kept to a bare minimum, but their simplicity is evocative, easy to read from the page, and prepare. The Hole in the Oak is genuinely easy to bring to the table and made all the easier to run from the page because the relevant sections from the map are reproduced on the same page. In addition, the map itself is clear and easy to read, with coloured boxes used to mark locked doors and monster locations as well as the usual room numbers.
In places though, the design and layout does not quite work. This is primarily where single rooms require expanded detail beyond the simple thumbnail description. It adds complexity and these locations are not quite as easy to run straight from the page as other locations are in the dungeon.
The dungeon in The Hole in the Oak, has an earthy, musty feel to it. Roots protrude in places from the walls and ceilings, and will sometimes lash out, talk to passers-by, or even hide things they steal. The inhabitants—factions even—have a mouldering feel to them too, many of them secretive and deceitful, and several of them would be more than willing to eat the adventurers if they can. Obviously, the Ghouls will—and will play dead as if drowned by the river—to ambush intruders, whilst the flock of sheep-headed fauns in its spiral-shaped home will invite visitors in for tea before striking. The most dangerous of the dungeon’s inhabitants consists of several giant lizards and a mutagenic Ogre whose breath could warp any adventurer he exhales on. There is plenty of weirdness too, including ghostly battles, black skeletons which seem to do nothing but stand there, and a strange cult of heretical Gnomes dedicated to decidedly odd, if megalomaniacal, object of veneration. Throughout, there are lots of lovely little details and oddities that make The Hole in the Oak much more than a simple series of connected rooms.
However, The Hole in the Oak can be a tough scenario. Not so much the traps, but the denizens. These include the aforementioned Ghouls and giant lizards, as well as the troglodytes. Of course, this encourages careful play, just as any classic Old School Renaissance dungeon or scenario should, and the likelihood is that the Player Characters will be making two or three delves down into it before exploring its fullest reaches.
Physically, The Hole in the Oak is a handsome little affair. The artwork is excellent, the cartography clear, and the writing to the point.
The Hole in the Oak can be used as an introductory dungeon—and it would be perfect for that, but it begs to be worked into a woodland realm of its own, its various details and connected rumours used by the Referee to connect it to the wider world and so develop context. Whichever way it is used, The Hole in the Oak is a superbly designed, low level dungeon, full of musty, fusty flavour and detail, presented in a format that makes it incredibly accessible and easy to run.

We are finally getting some proper cold weather here in Chicago! I am not going to complain about it. It's November, it's Chicago. I know what that means.  

It is also Friday and that means it is time for a Follow Friday. Especially important this week with Twitter in melt-down mode.

So if you follow me there, I am sticking around to the end, but here is where else you can find me. 

Blog (here): https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com

DriveThruRPG: https://drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/8419/The-Other-Side-Publishing?affiliate_id=10748

Facebook: https://facebook.com/OtherSideblog & https://www.facebook.com/timothy.brannan/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/the_other_side_pub/ & https://www.instagram.com/timsbrannan/

MeWe: https://mewe.com/group/5c598927dc9a663c488557e9 & https://mewe.com/i/timothybrannan

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/timsbrannan

Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@timsbrannan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/timsbrannan

I am still figuring out Mastodon, and MeWe is rather dead. But you can always find me here.

I do hope Twitter sticks around though.

The Strange Land is a scenario for Space: 1889. First published by Game Designers’ Workshop in 1989, it was the first Steampunk roleplaying game. Inspired by the works Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Arthur Conan Doyle, it presented an alternate past of Victorian-era space-faring, in which Thomas Edison invented the ‘ether propeller’, a means to propel space vessels through the ‘luminiferous aether’ to first the Moon, then Mars, and later Venus and Mercury. All are proven to be inhabited, Venus by Lizardmen and dinosaurs, but Mars by Canal Martians, Steppe Martians, and High Martians, and the world itself was arid and dry, its cities connected by a network of canals that had been seen from Earth. Mars was also the source of Liftwood, the mysterious tree cultivated for the antigravity properties of its wood, which could be used to keep sky galleons and then when Earthmen arrived, their armoured, steam powered flyers aloft. The great powers rushed in make trade deals and ultimately establish colonies on the Red Planet, just as they would on Venus. In the two decades since Edison landed on the Moon and then on Mars, all of the Imperial tensions of the age have been brought to Mars and exacerbated by the lay of the land of the new world.

Space: 1889 would not remain in print for very long. Game Designers’ Workshop cancelled the line in 1990, but Heliograph, Inc. would reprint many of the titles at the turn of the century. In 2010, the Pinnacle Entertainment Group published a Savage Worlds edition of the game called Space 1889: Red Sands. More recently, in 2015, German publisher Uhrwerk Verlag/Clockwork Publishing published a new edition using the Ubiquity System, originally seen Hollow Earth Expedition from Exile Game Studio. Notably, this edition emphasised the role of the European powers, especially Prussia under Bismarck, in the setting, as opposed to the role of the British Empire in the previous versions. The Strange Land is available for both the Ubiquity System of Space: 1889 and the Savage Worlds rules for Space 1889: Red Sands. It is the latter version of The Strange Land that is being reviewed here.

The Strange Land concerns the fate of the young Canal Martian boy, Kime, and is divided into two parts. The first part is set on Earth and is an investigation into his kidnapping which leads into industrial unrest, whilst the second part takes place on Mars, and more directly involves industrial unrest. The scenario can be played straight through, but ideally, the second part should take place later in the campaign some time after the first. In particular, it is suggested that the Player Characters for the first part be from Novice to Seasoned Rank, and from Season to Veteran in the second part. The scenario also suggests that the Player Characters, or at least a few of them, be British. The scenario has a nice sense of historicity and although the scenario calls for more middle- and upper-class character types initially, any working-class character, or a character with radical leanings will have much to do in the scenario.

The Strange Land opens with the Player Characters invited to stay at the Hampshire estate of Lord John Feltam-Hithe, where at the end of a lengthy dinner, his young ward, an orphaned Canal Martian named Kime, will perform an amazing feat—he will levitate into the air! The Player Characters have the opportunity to interact with the other guests, including an explorer, an industrialist, a businessman, a poetess, and others, but after performing for the night and retiring, Kime has disappeared. Lord Feltam-Hithe presses upon the Player Characters that the boy is in danger and must be found. Their investigations lead first to one of the staff and from their to decidedly rotten circus, which has pitched its tents outside the nearby town. The circus owner is a vile piece of work, poorly treating both staff and exhibits, including, it turns out, one John Merrick! Who proves to be the most noble amongst all of the NPCs that the Player Characters will encounter as they conduct their investigation, which will also reveal more about Lord Feltam-Hithe’s parlous financial situation.

In the third scene of the first part to The Strange Land, the Player Characters literally follows the tracks to London and get involved in the London Dock Strike of 1889. In the setting of Space: 1889, this is exacerbated by taking place on the Southern Aerial Docks, which is currently being occupied the striking dockworkers. Rumour is flying about an ‘Angel of the Docks’, a figure who has become a figurehead to the striking dockworkers. Could this be Kime? If so, the Player Characters need to find a means to ascend to the Southern Aerial Docks. Here the author provides several NPCs which can become potential contacts for the Player Characters, including a historical figure or two, along with several means of accessing the Southern Aerial Docks. These means are inventive and the author is clearly having some fun with them. Ultimately, which should happen is standoff between the striking dockworkers and the strike breakers, with both Kime and the Player Characters sort of in the middle, and the situation getting resolved one way or another.

It is at this point that the scenario could have ended and nobody would have been the wiser. However, The Strange Land has a second, much shorter part, which takes place on Mars, a year or two after the events of the first part. The Player Characters are sent to the aid of a hill station towards the edge of the British sphere of influence on the Red Planet. A local noble, Shune, wants the help of the commander of the hill station in ending a labour strike at the nearby pumping station, Astolor Station—which helps keep the waters flowing through the canals of the dying planet. The commander of the hill station would rather not get involved, and certainly not involve the British residency on Mars, but there are rumours too that a British hostage has been taken as well. So a labour strike, a kidnapping, and an unpleasant, condescending Martian noble, but how are they all connected? This is a simpler situation than in the first half of The Strange Land, but not as linear and more open in how the Player Characters approach the situation. Whether they decide to give help to Shune or negotiate with him, or storm the pumping station or parlay with the strikers, there are consequences to their decisions. The various options are discussed and supported with details of the situation’s major NPCs, so rather than running her Player Characters through the plot as in the first half, the Game Master will primarily reacting to their decisions.

Physically, The Strange Land is a short book. It needs a slight edit in places, but the few pieces of artwork and the single map—that of the Southern Aerial Docks—are all decent. However, it would have benefitted from a few more thumbnail portraits of the NPCs, and definitely more maps. Whether that is of Lord Feltam-Hithe’s estate, the region around Astolor Station, and of Astolor Station itself. If not that, then at least an illustration.

Whether written for use with Space 1889: Red Sands or the original Ubiquity System version of Space: 1889, The Strange Land is a solid little scenario. (With a little effort, it could no doubt be adapted to new version, Space 1889: After, currently being Kickstarted by Strange Owl Games.) It takes the Player Characters to the highs and lows of society on both Earth and Mars, and the first half, set on Earth could easily be run without the need to run the second half. There is an enjoyable sense of working-class radicalism to both halves and together they allow The Strange Land to explore the underside to Victorian life the reform movement in Space: 1889.

—oOo—
The Strange Land was the worst scenario we played at Gen Con 2022. This is not to say that the scenario itself is bad. In fact, given its author, it is no surprise that it is a decent, playable, and enjoyable scenario—as written. Yet, of all the gaming experiences we had at Gen Con 2022, it was the worst. Attending Gen Con as a group, we signed up to play a total of five games and got into four of them. These were, in chronological order, Pirates of the Shattered World, X-Crawl, Delta Green, and Space: 1889. Of these, Delta Green was a blast, Pirates of the Shattered World entertaining if crowded, X-Crawl disappointing, and Space: 1889 utterly dreadful. This is despite the fact that our X-Crawl game, which was due to take place in Goodman Games’ Wizard’s Van, was to be run by the game designer, and was an event that we were really, really looking forward to, was cancelled—with good reason. So yes, a gaming experience which was cancelled and thus involved no gaming whatsoever and meant we did not meet the game designer, was a superior gaming experience than the Space: 1889 game.

So why was it so bad?

It took too long to get started and too long for the Game Master to explain the rules. It took too long to get to the hook for the first half of the scenario—the disappearance of Kime—and thus get us involved. When we wanted to roleplay, the Game Master would attempt to move the plot on and when we attempted to investigate, the Game Master would ignore our efforts. The Game Master added a couple of scenes and details that having read and reviewed the scenario are implied, but not really suitable additions given that the scenario is being run in a convention timeslot. So, we felt unengaged in the scenario and grew increasingly bored over the course of the session. In fact, we were communicating this to each other via our Whatsapp group, to the point where we agreed two things. First, it looked like the session of Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition that the Game Master’s wife was running on an adjacent table, was a whole lot more energetic and fun, and that we wished that were playing that instead. Second, when towards the end of the session when the Game Master announced that the scenario was not yet finished, but could be if we decided to stay after the session was supposed to end if we had no pressing appointments, we all agreed that we really, really needed to be somewhere else.

All of which would be exacerbated by ‘Red Hat Guy’. The gaming group of consisted of myself and four other friends. The sixth player was ‘Red Hat Guy’. So named because he wore a red baseball cap. He sat down, selected a character, did not want to know who we were or who our characters were, and only seemed to come alive when there was combat involved. He made no contribution to the investigation or the roleplaying, what little of it we were allowed to do, and said virtually nothing for the whole of the session. However, he proved to be as bored as we were. Towards the end of the session, the player sat next to him sent the following message on our Whatsapp group: “Red hat is skimming through boob pictures. My game is now complete.”

Now in hindsight we should have done something about this. We should have told Red Hat Guy to stop or gone to the Gen Con organisers. We did not. Why not? We were in shock at the audacity of anyone doing such a thing. Had we done so, it would have upended the game, disrupting it, and somehow that did not feel right. Had the one female player been sat next to Red Hat Guy it might have been a different matter. He might never have begun browsing pornography on his mobile phone and the session would have slouched to its end, with none of us the wiser as to how he was feeling. If he had, then she would have very likely, clearly asked him not to, and that probably would have brought the gaming session to end.

Even to this day, we are still in shock even now at what happened with Red Hat Guy. Thankfully, we did not see him again and if we did, we would not want to game with him again. His actions capped what was already a terrible gaming experience, one that we really wanted to get away from, but are never going to forget.

Sort of an overview, sort of me doing more mental gymnastics. 

Note: This one got away from the original thesis, so I cut chunks out for another post later. 

I have been thinking about a few things this week, namely my 1979 Campaign and my Isles of Avalon one. I flirted briefly with combining them and then realized quickly that by doing so I would lose everything that made the 1979 Campaign special. So I might have ideas that work for that, but I think I need to keep it as it is for now.  One day I'll play it. 

Isles of Avalon is less of a campaign and more of a campaign location. I have a lot of ideas for it. Too many to be honest. But two things in it are prominent. 1.) It has to include an Island nation of Necromancers. 2.) It has* to be run under AD&D 1st Edition.

How are those connected and what does it have to do with today?  Well, I was going over the materials for the IoA idea and began merging the two projects. I quickly realized that I would lose what made the 1979 Campaign idea special to me (moving from a hybrid Holmes Basic/AD&D to pure AD&D) and I also thought maybe I am not wed to the idea of IoA as a pure AD&D 1st edition setting.

I love AD&D 1st Edition. Really I do warts and all. I do want to do a lot more with it in my personal gaming even if it is never seen by you, my reader. After all I never really talked much about the AD&D 2nd Edition games I was playing in here.

But these last two weeks (and most of October) have given me some moments to pause and think. The question remains "What is it I want out of this really?"

The AD&D First Edition Experience

This one is key. I want something like AD&D 1st ed. Which will prompt many to say "then play AD&D 1st Ed, dumbass!" Which is very, very valid. But I also have all these other games that I want to try and I played AD&D 1st ed, for over a decade. I love it, but it sometimes feels like moving back in with your parents or hooking up with your ex-girlfriend.  So. What are my options?

Old-School Essentials: Advanced Fantasy

This one is great, but it isn't really AD&D is it. Plus this is the system I am using for War of the Witch Queens and it is really great for that.

Hyperborea

I have been reminded this week of how much fun Hyperborea is. It is much closer to AD&D. The game is tied very closely to the world and it is a world I enjoy, but some pieces of it don't fit with my idea of what I want to do for my various campaigns. One thing is certain, the ethos of Hyperborea will inform what I do with my Isle of Avalon.

Castles & Crusades

I do love Castles & Crusades and it does provide the AD&D 1st experience I want. Plus I LOVE all the Codex books on world religions and myths. It doesn't quite have the same feeling to it as Hyperborea though.  On the continuum of gritty to light it goes Hyperborea, then OSE-Adv, then C&C. With the endpoints as DCC on the gritty and Hero's Journey First Edition on the light. Still, though I do love this game a lot and I really want to do a lot more with it. 

Special Note: The 1979 Campaign

This one is a special case. The purpose here is to recreate a certain style of play that I would have done in the Fall or early Winter of 1979.  I will only use materials that would have been available then or is closely related.  Rules are a mix of Holmes Basic (not B/X) and AD&D, in particular the AD&D Monster Manual.

--

Why all these mental gymnastics? I am aware that my kids are getting older and moving on. My oldest is a professional pastry chef now. My youngest is in college and spends all their time writing code. They don't have time for dad and his elf-game anymore. Well...they do still play D&D, just with their own groups of friends. My time to get some games on with them is limited and I want to maximize what I can.

So. Let's see what I can cook up here. I know...get to the point already.

Isles of Avalon

While I love this name, people who have seen it online and not bothered to read the posts (if you are reading this then that is obviously not you!) were confused with the Arthurian Isle of Avalon and felt they were informing on something. Thanks, but I wrote tons about that in Ghosts of Albion. Still, though, I might tweak the name to be Isles of Avalon Hill to honor its origins. 

So before I put together a campaign (and this would be a sandbox or hex crawl) and try to figure out what rules to use, I think I need to work out some details.

1. This archipelago of islands is old. Really, really old. An empire rose here, grew to greatness, fell into decadence, finally to infighting and decay, and then to dust and forgotten legends.  

2. There is an island of Necromancer kings. This was one of the key notions. Of all the islands, this one is the one that still yearns for the "old times." I think I am coming around to the idea that there is someone called "The Necromancer." Feels ominous. 

3. There is a small island that is home to the Vampire Queen. The Vampire Queen is a reoccurring character in my games. One of her influences is the classic Palace of the Vampire Queen from Wee Warriors, then Pacesetter, now Precis Intermedia.  Wee Warriors and Precis Intermedia also have the Misty Isles, which is another model for my own Isles.  The Vampire Queen lives on a remote island here. 

4. There is the "Big Island" that still has active wizards. The Empire is gone, but there are still wizards that come here for the same reasons there was an empire here. The connection to magical energies here is the strongest. Whether it is a confluence of ley lines, built on the remains of a long-dead but highly magical creature, a magical meteorite hit here, or some combination of all the above.  The only remaining edifice of those times is a place called the Citadel of Conjurers (or at least my original notions of what that place was when I read it in Dragon #91).

Not looking for grand plots. Not looking for world-changing apocalypses. Just a place to do some hex crawling.

Either Castles & Crusades or Hyperborea would fit this fine.

I am leaning more towards Hyperborea for this, but I really, really want to play some Castles & Crusades.

Anyway, random thoughts on a cold Chicago day.

Another Old-school mail call this week and this one is quite timely. I finally got my Hyperborea leatherette Players and Referee's Guides.

If you have been here for any amount of time you know of my love for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, now just called HYPERBOREA.

This new set, 3rd Edition, does not disappoint.

As you can see it comes with the HYPERBOREA Player's Manual, the Referee's Guide, the Atlas of Hyperborea, dice, and a matching dice bag.

Now I have all three editions of this game. I don't need all three, but I can't find myself parting with any of them.

AS&SH and to a degree HYPERBOREA was where I started my ideas for the War of the Witch Queens, but I have moved it on to Old-School Essentials now. I would still LOVE to do something with HYPERBOREA, something special really. 

HYPERBOREA is firmly in the AD&D rules camp of the OSR clones, though it does only go to level 12. 

Part of me wants to run the Dark Wizard Games modules from Mark Taormino. There is some overlap in themes to be sure. I just wonder if some of the Eldritch Weirdness of HYPERBOREA would be lost in the Gonzo weirdness found in the Dark Wizard adventures.

I have talked before about how great these would be for B/X or OSE, but maybe this is where I need to go. 

Another option is this.

Now, this would work and The Lost City and Castle Amber both have solid Clark Ashton Smith vibes. Into the Borderlands and Expedition to the Barrier Peaks also fit the tone of HYPERBOREA well. Same with Isle of Dread which is very sandboxey.  The Temple of Elemental Evil is the odd one out unless I do a little massaging. 

Level wise I think it all might work.  Into the Borderlands covers levels 1-3. Isle of Dread covers 3-7. Barrier Peaks covers 8-12. The Lost City 1-3 (though I argue more like 2-4), Castle Amber 3-6, and Temple of Elemental Evil 1-8 (or more). I can already see how I could do this, to be honest. The trouble is I have run most of these with my kids already.

Still might be fun as an intellectual experiment. 

Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, the Jonstown Compendium is a curated platform for user-made content, but for material set in Greg Stafford’s mythic universe of Glorantha. It enables creators to sell their own original content for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, 13th Age Glorantha, and HeroQuest Glorantha (Questworlds). This can include original scenarios, background material, cults, mythology, details of NPCs and monsters, and so on, but none of this content should be considered to be ‘canon’, but rather fall under ‘Your Glorantha Will Vary’. This means that there is still scope for the authors to create interesting and useful content that others can bring to their Glorantha-set campaigns.

—oOo—

What is it?
GLORANTHA: A Grim Pilgrimage is a scenario for use with RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha.

It is a five page, full colour, 959.82 MB PDF.

The layout is clean and tidy. It is art free, but the cartography is excellent.

Where is it set?
GLORANTHA: A Grim Pilgrimage is set in Prax in the Eiritha Hills.

Who do you play?Player Characters of all types could play this scenario, but as written are expected to be members of one of the tribes of Prax. A Humakti will be useful, and a worshipper or shaman of Daka Fal would be approriate. magic and enchanted weaponry will be very useful.
What do you need?
GLORANTHA: A Grim Pilgrimage requires RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and the Glorantha Bestiary.
What do you get?GLORANTHA: A Grim Pilgrimage details a Daka Fal shrine in the Eiritha Hills of Prax. It consists of a simple complex of just five rooms, its description in the main, focusing upon the undead threats currently inhabiting its handful of rooms. Three reasons are suggested as to why the Player Characters might be journeying there, the easiest being that a recent party of pilgrims failed to return from its annual visit, and their queen or khan commands them to investigate.

The Game Master has the option to throw in a random encounter or two, but once there, the Player Characters quickly discover it to be infested with the undead. One add fact is that the most recently dead, and the first ones they will encounter, are skeletons rather than zombies. This is an extended combat encounter, with no roleplaying or investigation required. However, there is scope for the Game Master to expand the scenario a little. One way would be to expand on the restoration of the shrine after it has been cleansed of the undead, whilst the Game Master add details about Daka Fal and his worship to the shrine, and possibly add physical details and possessions to the undead, suggesting who they might have been in their former lives and what they were carrying, which could lead to further adventures. The descriptions of both the shrine and its undead are perfunctory at bests, uninspiring at worst.
GLORANTHA: A Grim Pilgrimage is not badly written for what it is, but very much like the earlier GLORANTHA: The search for the Throne of Colymar, GLORANTHA: A Trek in the Marsh, GLORANTHA: The Avengers of Earth Temple, and GLORANTHA: Underwater Quest, it is underwritten and leaves a fair amount of development work for the Game Master to do before she brings GLORANTHA: A Grim Pilgrimage to the gaming table. Probably not as much as the other scenarios from this author, but to really bring it alive, the effort is required. Of course, since if the Game Master is going to have to do that development work, she might as well grab the map and start from scratch.
Is it worth your time?Yes—GLORANTHA: A Grim Pilgrimage is surprisingly not awful. That does not mean that it is actually adequate, but it contains the germ of an interesting encounter if the Game Master is willing to develop the set-up, add the flavour, and the detail, which of course the author failed to do. Then of course, the Game Master can do something about making the dungeon, or rather shrine, interesting.No—GLORANTHA: A Grim Pilgrimage is a self-contained mini-dungeon bash which the author kindly leaves much of the interesting detail, stats, and flavour to be found in the back story—as is his standard practice—for the Game Master to develop herself. Cheap, cheerless, characterless, and charmless. Mostly.Maybe—GLORANTHA: A Grim Pilgrimage is surprisingly not without potential. The location, the backstory, and possible hooks could all be developed into something more interesting and playable than the mini-dungeon it currently is. Of course, the author could have done that for the potential purchaser too, but why break the habit of the rest of his scenarios for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha?

One of my favorite adventures is X2 Castle Amber. It covers so much of what I love in an adventure. Plus it is full of great Clark Ashton Smith homages and nods.

Among these homages is the Neh-thalggu or the Brain Collector.  It is such a creepy ass monster and I really love them. 

If the amount of OGC on them is any indication, then others like them too. You can find them for d20 3.x style, Pathfinder, and 5e.  This is in addition to official D&D stats for Basic and AD&D 2nd Ed.

Neh-thalggu (Brain Collector)

NO. ENCOUNTERED: 1
SIZE: Large
HD: 14 (d10) (77 hp)
MOVE: 60 ft.
AC: 16 (natural armor)
ATTACKS: Bite (1d10) + Poison (Save vs. Con or Paralyze), Claws (1d6) 
SPECIAL: Brain collection, Incorporeal, Spell Casting
SAVES: M
INT: Genius to Supra-genius (20-22)
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral
TYPE: Aberration
TREASURE: 8
XP: 6,000

The neh-thalggu, also known as the Brain Collector, is a creature from the Outer Darkness.

Neh-thalggus hail from distant worlds, traveling the gulfs of space on immense living ships that swiftly decay when they land upon a new world, leaving behind a deadly cargo of hungry monsters. Neh-thalggus are crablike nightmares with lamprey-like mouths, twitching eyes on their legs, and several blisters along their back that hold human brains. Some speculate that neh-thalggus encountered in this reality may merely be juveniles of their kind, perhaps exiled from their home worlds by greater kin until they can prove their worth on other worlds.

Combat: Neh-thalggu attack with their mouths they attempt to latch on with their mouths and claws to extract the brain from their victims.  They attack primarily with their mouths (bite) and then try to latch on with their claws.  On a successful bite and claw attack the victim must make a Constitution save or become paralyzed. Once paralyzed the creature will remove the victim's brain. 

Brain Collectors. Neh-thalggus are carnivores, but they do not digest humanoid brains they eat, rather, these brains lodge in one of several bulbous blisters on the creature's back and help to increase its intellect. Their brain collections may be a morbid form of currency in their home realm, or the thoughts in these brains may merely be fuel for a dark apotheosis into an even more sinister mature form.

Incorporeal: A neh-thalggu is not wholly in our reality but always remains partially extradimensional. Thus it can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, +1 or better weapons, magic, or psionics, with a 50% chance to ignore any damage from a corporeal source. It can pass through solid objects at will, and its own attacks pass through armor (except for its bite attack, which is treated as if a corporeal attack). It always moves silently unless it chooses otherwise.

Mind Masters. Neh-thalggu masters lord it over their lesser kin by applying the drained brainpower of their victims toward mastering psychic magic and mesmerism. They may inhabit elaborate mindscapes as their lairs or may subtly influence the thoughts and senses of creatures they lure into their lair in furtherance of convoluted plots to manipulate the societies around them while they dwell in secret. Some dwell alone or with mind-controlled slaves, while others organize clusters of their own kind to spread their sinister schemes and feed their insatiable alien hunger.

Spell Casting. Neh-thalggu can cast spells as 1st level wizard. For every brain, they collect they add one more level of spell casting for a maximum of 12 brains to 13th level wizard.  For this reason Neh-thalggu will target wizards and other magic-using characters.

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Might need some tweaks, but yeah this is one nasty beastie. 

The plot hook is obvious. A bunch of never before seen monsters are attacking the countryside the day after a shooting star was seen. Worst of all are reports of a "ghost monster" that feeds on brains. 

Don't forget the Indiegogo campaign for Amazing Adventures going on right now!  Grab the books and you can use this guy.

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

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Name: The ChangePublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Bobby Nelson

Setting: Jazz Age Lovecraft country
Product: ScenarioWhat You Get: Fourteen page, 51.06 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: “Nature never knew colors like this.”Plot Hook: ‘The Color Out of Space’ Redux
Plot Support: Four NPCs, one map, two floor plans/handouts, and one Mythos monster.Production Values: Plain.
Pros# Tranquility turns into countdown horror# Eerie environmental horror# Lovecraft Country scenario# Easy to adapt to other periods and places# Chromophobia
Cons# No pre-generated Investigators# Region map would have been useful# Needs an edit# ‘The Color Out of Space’ Redux

Conclusion# The Change has an eerie sense of bucolic horror and environmental decay in what is a reactive, countdown horror. # Ultimately, ‘The Color Out of Space’ redux too far

As a darkness falls over a Europe under the heel of the Nazi jackboot, a secret war has begun against the invader, one which at the direction of Winston Churchill, Prime Minster of Great Britain, would “…[S]et Europe ablaze.” This would be led by the Special Operations Executive or SOE, whose operatives, often working with local resistance forces, would carry out acts of sabotage against the Axis war effort, as well as work to establish secret armies which ultimately act in conjunction with Allied invading forces. However, there is a darker, more secret war, this against those Nazi agents and organisations which would command and entreat with the occult and forces beyond the understanding of mankind. Yet even this dark drive is riven by differing ideologies and approaches pandering to Hitler’s whims. The Black Sun consists of Nazi warrior-sorcerers supreme who use foul magic and summoned creatures from nameless dimensions to dominate the battlefields of men, whilst Nachtwölfe, the Night Wolves utilise technology, biological enhancements, and wunderwaffen (wonder weapons) to win the war for Germany. Ultimately, both utilise and fall under the malign influence of the Mythos, the forces of which have their own unknowable designs… Standing against them, ready to thwart their malign efforts are the audacious Allied agents of Britain’s Section M, the United States’ Majestic, and the brave Resistance, willing to risk their lives and their sanity against malicious Nazi villains and the unfathomable gods and monsters of the Mythos themselves, each striving for supremacy in mankind’s darkest yet finest hour!

This is the set-up for Achtung! Cthulhu, the roleplaying game of fast-paced pulp action and Mythos magic published by Modiphius Entertainment. Originally published using Call of Cthulhu, Sixth Edition and Savage Worlds in 2013, and later FATE Core, almost a decade on, it returns in brand new edition. Not though written for use with Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, but rather for use with the publisher’s 2d20 System house mechanics, first seen in Mutant Chronicles and Robert E. Howard’s Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of. The result is a roleplaying game of Lovecraftian investigative action in which the Player Characters can take the fight to the enemy, punch out the Nazis, and wield powerful sorcery or psychic powers against their agents and their Mythos allies, as well as even weirder weapons against the backdrop of World War II and the Nazi war machine.

The Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Guide—heralded as ‘Issue No. 2’ in a series on the cover—picks up where the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Player’s Guide left off. Written for the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 Game Master’s eyes only, this is the supplement exposes and explores a whole lot more of the setting and its secrets, presents the six major factions involved in the new Secret War, their personnel minor, major, and notable, the equipment they field, and the magics they wield. Alongside this, there is extensive advice and suggestions for the Game Master on how to run Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 and keep it exciting. Fundamentally, the latter is what sets Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 apart from other roleplaying games of Lovecraftian investigative roleplaying. It is meant to be fast and furious, exciting and unnerving, the tone and style hewing heavily into Pulp action. The Player Characters are not so much Investigators—although some investigation is likely to be required in game—but rather Pulp action, anti-Mythos special forces operatives or secret agents. This can be on an ad hoc basis, with the Player Characters coming from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures, which is very likely to be the default set-up in a campaign, but it could also be run a military Pulp action horror game with the Player Characters all being part of the same unit. For example, Section fields The Grey Watch, a band of Scottish warriors specialising in hand-to-hand combat, always accompanied by a piper playing the Pipes of McMurden, the sound of which strikes fear into the forces of the Mythos, whilst Majestic sends out its Flaming Salamanders of the Majestic Corps, consisting of U.S. marines in flame retardant clothing wielding all manner of flame-based weapons to burn out the Mythos. The action-packed cover of the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Guide very much sets the tone for the roleplaying game, as does the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Player’s Guide.

The Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Guide begins by exploring the factions and history of Secret War, and this not merely divided between the Allies and the Nazis. There are instead six factions, and to extent, this does feel like a set of factions for both roleplaying and wargaming, something that the extensive set of stats for allies, enemies, and forces in the later ‘Heroes & Villains of the Secret War’ and ‘Bestiary’ does nothing to persuade otherwise. On the Allied side are the British Section M and the American Majestic. Both capture the flavour and feel of their respective mundane counterparts, playing to some stereotypes too in keeping with the roleplaying game’s Pulp leanings. Thus, Section M is reserved, but combines desperate ingenuity and improvisation with measured study and cups of tea, whilst Majestic is brasher, more muscular, and relies on psychic operations rather than the classical study of magic. On the Nazi side are two factions, The Cult of the Black Sun and Nachtwölfe, which have different approaches to the Mythos and despise each other. Black Sun uses Hyperborean magics and knowledge to work back and forth between the Dreamlands and the waking world in an effort to free Yog-Sothoth. Nachtwölfe employs Atlantean superscience to develop, arm, and field an array of fantastic new weapons, armoured fighting vehicles, and more. In addition, both the Mi-Go and the Deep Ones have been drawn into the war, sometimes allies of the Nazis, sometimes not, as both have their own agendas. The backgrounds, histories, military structures, bases, missions and goals are all given for the six factions in what is an excellent overview of the Secret War. There is a timeline too, running from 1939 to 1945, noting important events throughout the Secret War, and hinting at potential scenarios which the Game Master could purchase and run for her players, but notably still leaving plenty of room into which the Game Master can insert her own adventures.

The Game Master can arm and equip her Player Characters and NPCs with a vast array of strange and wonderful weapons and devices. For example, the elite snipers of the Bronze Berets use the Beowulf Monstr Slayer Kk. 1 Sniper Rifle, a magnetic propulsion weapon sometimes combined with Elder Sign-inscribed rounds, whilst the Blevins Steam-Assisted Enzymatic Weapons which fire gouts of superheated steam and high-temperature active enzymes which dissolve the physical make-up of some trans-dimensional creatures. There are more mundane—in comparison—items too—like the Sword-Cane or the Bolas (until that is, the weights are filled with explosives!), and in general, such devices and weapons are rare and the ammunition, where required, available in limited quantities. In comparison, the Nazis of both Black Sun and Nachtwölfe have much wider range of weapons and equipment, and it is more widely manufactured, especially the technologically-focused Nachtwölfe. For example, Wotan’s Staff-Spear or ‘Grungnir’, are tipped with black steel forged in the Dreamlands and aid in the casting of Mythos magic, whilst the Anddrsserher-Helm worn by some Nachtwölfe soldiers is bulky, but contains a set of lenses—based on the Cornwallis design stolen from New World Incorporated in a nice nod to the classic Call of Cthulhu campaign, The Fungi from Yuggoth or The Day of the beast—that provides magnified vision, infrared vision, and the ability to see creatures and things that the human eye is normally incapable of seeing. Weapons and devices of both the Mi-Go and the Deep Ones are also given. 

Besides technology, all sides field magic during the Secret War, although reluctantly in the case of the Allies. In the main they restrict themselves to studying and using magics, spells, and rituals from the Celtic and Runic or Norse traditions, as well as Psychic powers, rather than the Mythos magic. Psychic powers are themselves treated as a sort of magic, but a very modern one, and all three traditions are more fully detailed in the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Player’s Guide. The Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Guide instead focuses on Mythos magic, including both its battlefield and ritual applications. These are akin to the classic magics of traditional Lovecraftian investigative horror, but classified according to the deity they relate to—Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, and Yog-Sothoth. These are likely to be used by the Deep One and Mi-Go factions and to limited extent, if at all, by the other factions. They are accompanied by numerous rituals, some of which like the Dust of Ibn-Ghazi and the various versions of Evoke/Dismiss Deity will be familiar from other roleplaying games of Lovecraftian investigative horror, whilst the Pulp nature of Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 is highlighted by the inclusion of healing magic—for both the body and the mind. Similarly, the list of Mythos tomes is a mix of the old and the new.

For the Game Master there is an extensive chapter of advice and suggestions as to how to run Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20. It covers her role and responsibilities, letting the players and their characters be awesome, how to handle both Threats and the action, and so on before delving in the mechanics of the 2D20 System explained in the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Player’s Guide, but here from the Game Master’s perspective. It pays particular attention to handling Truths in play and the consequences of failure. The Momentum and Threat economy are also examined again, and there is advice on creating and handling memorable NPCs too.

This last piece of advice leads into the last two chapters of the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Guide, which together take some forty percent of the book. First, ‘Heroes & Villains of the Secret War’ looks first at the British and American forces, and covers both standard troops and special forces, the latter including those involved in the Secret War, like the Scared Blades: Gopal’s Ghurkhas from Nepal and the Pathfinder Demin Hunters from the First Nation Tlingit peoples. It does a similar thing for Black Sun and Nachtwölfe, as well as the Resistance operating in occupied Europe. Included too are all of the major figures in each of the different actions, whether that is Sally Armitage of majestic or Mina Wolff of Nachtwölfe. Each is rated as either Trooper, Lieutenant, or Nemesis level NPC, depending upon their individual degree of threat and involvement in Secret War. Second, the ‘Bestiary’ does a similar thing for the Mythos. It includes ordinary beasts too, plus the creations of abhorrent science, but in the main presents the various creatures, entities, and gods of the Mythos. Ranging from Colours Out of Space and Ghouls all the way up to Azathoth, Hastur, and Shub-Niaggurath, the things of the Mythos are classified along similar lines and detailed under the 2D20 System. There is a handful of the unfamiliar thrown into the mix to add some unfamiliarity too, but whilst a great many of the entries are familiar, at least conceptually, Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 gives them, if not a greater degree of agency, then a greater degree of active and more immediate agency. There is very much a sense in Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 of the Mythos factions not being prepared to play the long game as is traditional both in Mythos fiction and Lovecraftian investigative horror, but preferring to play a more active, if still secret, role in the affairs of men, whether that is as allies or as enemies, and so taking advantage of the chaos and acceleration of change that comes with the war between the Allies and the Nazis.

So the question is, what is missing from the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Gamemaster’s Guide? Really, only the two aspects of the game. Vehicles, both Allied and Nazi, are not included despite all the various troops are, though they are instead given in the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Player’s Guide. What is missing is a feature of almost every roleplaying game of Lovercraftian investigative horror and that is Sanity and insanity. Being a decidedly pulpier, more action-orientated, Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 instead has a Player Character potentially suffer insanity once he has suffered enough mental damage to defeat him, whether from encountering a Mythos monster or reading a Mythos tome. and remove him from the combat and then taken more. This shifts the danger of losing Sanity and suffering from insanity as to more of an afterthought than perhaps a constant worry, but it could have been addressed more clearly. Especially for the Game Master or player adapting from another roleplaying game of Lovercraftian investigative horror.

Physically, the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Game Masters Guide is well presented. It does need an edit in places, but it is well written, and again, the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Player’s Guide before it, the book’s full colour artwork is fantastic. Much of it has been seen in the previous iteration of Achtung! Cthulhu, but the new artwork in the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Game Master’s Guide is really good, capturing the action, excitement, and horror of the war against the darkest forces of the Axis powers.
In its treatment of magic, the monsters of the Mythos, and emphasis upon action, Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 is not a game for the player or Keeper who prefers the classic play style of a roleplaying game of Lovecraftian investigative horror. For the player and the Game Master who want to emphasis a Pulpier, more action-driven, and less horrific approach to Lovecraftian investigative roleplaying, Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 is a great choice, and the Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20: Game Masters Guide ably supports this style and tone with the engaging background of the Secret War, a wide array of foes to challenge the Player Characters, and the means for them to fight back and keep humanity safe.

Since 2018, the Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG, beginning with the Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG – Player’s Survival Guide has proved to be a popular choice when it comes to self-publishing. Numerous authors have written and published scenarios for the roleplaying game, many of them as part of Kickstarter’s ZineQuest, but the publisher of the Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG, Tuesday Knight Games has also supported the roleplaying game with scenarios and support of its own. Dead Planet: A violent incursion into the land of the living for the MOTHERSHIP Sci-Fi Horror Roleplaying Game is one such scenario, but Tuesday Knight Games has also published a series of mini- or Pamphlet Modules. The first of these are The Haunting of Ypsilon 14, Hideo’s World, Terminal Delays at Anarene’s Folly, and Chromatic Transference. The fourth is The Hacker’s Handbook. Wher The Haunting of Ypsilon 14 was a traditional ‘haunted house in space monster hunt’, Hideo’s World presented a horrifyingly odd virtual world, Terminal Delays at Anarene’s Folly a locked room—or locked ship—McGuffin hunt, and Chromatic Transference did cosmic horror, The Hacker’s Handbook is not even a scenario, but a supplement!

The Hacker’s Handbook provides expanded rules for extra detail in for just the one skill in the Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG—‘Hacking’. One of the issues in the Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG – Player’s Survival Guide is that none of the skill are actually defined and so the Warden has to adjudicate exactly how they in the dark future depicted in the roleplaying game. Most of the time this will be enough, and in play, the Warden can have a player simply roll of his character if he wants to unlock a door, take remote control of a gun turret, or extract information from a computer system. However, if the Warden wants to present a more detailed, even extended challenge for the player whose character has the Hacking skill, then the core rules are insufficient. This is where The Hacker’s Handbook is useful. It still suggests using simple rules under most circumstances, but otherwise suggests presenting the hacking Player Character with a ‘Network’. This is constructed of a linked series of nodes and each node can be individualised. Each is defined by its Function, Security, and Response. In other words, what it does, the degree of how difficult it is to gain unauthorised access to, and what happens if the Hacker’s attempt is noticed by a network admin, automated security feature, A.I., and so on.

The Hacker’s Handbook lists several options for each as well as giving a modifier between zero and five for the roll on the Response Table if the hacker’s intrusion is noticed. For example, an automated security turret might be listed as ‘Automated security turret,  Infrastructure/Hardpoint Control, Hardened, +2 Response’, whilst a medical database might be listed as ‘Medical Records Storage, Data Storage, Secured, +1 Response’. In play, each node can be drawn as a box and the boxes connected to form a diagram of linked nodes and thus you have the computer network for the starship or the facility, and so on.

The Hacker’s Handbook does not ignore the social aspect of hacking either. It suggests ways of gaining access via user accounts rather than direct hacking and the various types of user account which a hacker might gain access to. It also suggests that it is one way of getting Player Characters involved in a hacking attempt whether or not they have the actual skill. Whether or not a Player Character has the skill, it also lends itself to more roleplaying opportunities than might be available with a simple roll against the skill.

Lastly, The Hacker’s Handbook lists equipment that a hacker might want to carry as a loadout. This includes decks, wristcoms, and pieces of gear. Decks include gear slots and often have extra abilities, such as treating Hardened Nodes as Secure Nodes. For example, Maze ignores one response from network security whilst CoyBoy reduces the Response value of a node by a random value. Essentially, this provides some technical equipment and details which can flavour a hacker’s activities in game and bring a little more verisimilitude to play.

Physically, The Hacker’s Handbook is all text, barring the network diagram examples. This is not an issue because the supplement has a lot of information to impart, so none of feels wasted.

There is a lot to like about The Hacker’s Handbook. It provides an easy way to handle a particular aspect of the Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG, and supports it with enough details to keep both interesting and challenging.

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An Unboxing in the Nook video of The Hacker’s Handbook can be found here.

Call of Cthulhu is a literary roleplaying game. Its play is predicated on the ability of the Player characters—or rather the Investigators—to be literate and so be able to read the array of clues to be found as part of the enquiries into the unknown. Newspaper reports, diary entries, letters, notes and marginalia, books and scrolls, and of course, the much-feared Mythos tomes such as the dread Necronomicon and Unaussprechlichen Kulten. Just as the Investigators—or at least some of them—are expected to be able to read them, then so are their players. Thus, we have clues and handouts, especially if the roleplaying game of our choice involves a mystery—mundane or Mythos related. There had been clues and handouts before, for example, U1 The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, the 1981 scenario for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, First Edition from TSR (UK), included a clue showing the pattern of signals needed to contact a smuggling ship, but Call of Cthulhu took the role of the clue and the handout to new heights as they became more and more integral to game play. And since newspaper reports, diary entries, letters, notes and marginalia, books and scrolls, and more are all modern, the Keeper can create her own—such as soaking paper in tea and then drying it to age it—and easily copy those provided in particular scenarios or campaigns. Which is what the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society has done, and not just for its own campaigns, but your campaigns.
Of course, what the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society is best know for is the Masks of Nyarlathotep Gamer Prop Set, a big box of handouts and clues designed to be used with Masks of Nyarlathotep, the classic campaign for Call of Cthulhu, often regarded as one of the greatest ever produced by the hobby. This no mere set of tea-soaked, faux-aged handouts and whatnot, for just as Call of Cthulhu took the role of the clue and the handout to new heights, the Masks of Nyarlathotep Gamer Prop Set takes the clues and handouts for Call of Cthulhu to new heights. There are over one hundred props in the box—telegrams, letters, a match box—just like in the original boxed set for Masks of Nyarlathotep, maps, charts, diary and ledger entries, business cards, photographs, memos, and newspaper clippings, oh so many newspaper clippings. However, Masks of Nyarlathotep is not the only campaign to receive the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society treatment.
The Call of Cthulhu Classic Gamer Prop Set though is not a prop set for the one campaign, although it does include a campaign within its pages. Rather, the Call of Cthulhu Classic Gamer Prop Set literally provides physical support for two supplements, two anthologies of scenarios, and a campaign. All published as part of the Call of Cthulhu Classic boxed set, funded via Kickstarter as part of the venerable roleplaying game’s fortieth anniversary, and consisting of not only the Call of Cthulhu, Second Edition rules, but also the Cthulhu Companion, Shadows Of Yog Sothoth, The Asylum & Other Tales, Trail Of The Tsathogghua, and Fragments Of Fear. Thus the two companion supplements, the two anthologies, and the campaign. Open up the Call of Cthulhu Classic Gamer Prop Set and what you find is sixteen-page broadsheet newspaper, large format maps, a nautical chart, sheaves of handwritten letters, diaries, and notes, numerous brochures and photographs, police forms, legal forms, excepts ripped from terrible tomes, and more. These are all neatly organised into five folders. The first contains all of the handouts from the Call of Cthulhu, Second Edition rules—including the infamous ‘The Haunted House’, home of the late Walter Corbitt, the Cthulhu Companion, and Fragments Of Fear. Both Shadows Of Yog Sothoth and The Asylum & Other Tales have their own folder of handouts respectively, and lastly, the two scenarios in Trail Of The Tsathogghua have their own folders given the sheer weight of clues in both.
The Call of Cthulhu Classic Gamer Prop Set starts with the ‘USER GUIDE: Read Me First!’ which explains how the props are organised, notes that there are clues in code and other languages as per the relevant scenarios, and there are English versions of the clues in other languages in the box, but decoded versions of the encoded clues. The biggest bundle of clues in one prop can be found in the sixteen-page Clipmaster broadsheet newspaper and there are instructions on how to use that. Being broadsheet-sized, the Clipmaster broadsheet newspaper is huge and unwieldy, but can be quickly cut apart so the Keeper has the right newspaper articles in the right folder. Plus, there are numerous other articles in its pages, and very much part of the fun of reading is not finding the articles directly relevant to the scenarios or campaign, but reading the other articles surrounding and the other relevant ones. These add flavour and verisimilitude, as do the various advertisements alongside, to what are intended to be period pieces. Further, open up each folder and there is a Clipping Guide for each scenario which shows the Keeper where to find and then cut out the pertinent articles. This is a very handy piece of backwards design.
Folder Two is far more expansive. Dedicated to Shadows of Yog-Sothoth, the first campaign for Call of Cthulhu, here what were the blandest of handouts in the original campaign, have uplifted with detail and substance. Newspaper articles of course, but also letters and diary entries and book excerpts. There are a couple of points where the props suddenly astound you. The first is the ‘Computer Printout’ from ‘Look to the Future’, the second scenario in Shadows of Yog-Sothoth, which is done as a green bar printout on classic computer paper. It stands out from the other handouts because it is incongruously modern, as it should have done in the scenario itself, but here given brilliantly contradictory physicality. The other is from ‘The Worm that Walks’, the fifth chapter in the campaign. It is a simple letter from Christopher Edwin, inviting the Investigators to join him in Maine. Enclosed with the letter is a set of train tickets, and indeed, they are attached to the letter itself. They add nothing to the story or the plot, but they enforce the message of the letter brilliantly—Christopher Edwin is genuine enough to want to help!
Folder Three, dedicated to The Asylum & Other Tales contains some outstanding props, some of them actually better than the scenario they support really deserve. Starting with ‘The Auction’, set in Austria, at an auction for some quite outré items, there are not one, but two auction catalogues and they are honestly great. This scenario perhaps is the only one where the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society could have gone further, but would anyone have actually wanted a Riveted Brass Head? ‘Black Devil Mountain’ is a poorly regarded scenario, but surprisingly, it has a brilliant set of letters, a death certificate, a mortuary bill of holding, legal invoice, and a deed to a property. It could be argued that the scenario would be worth playing simply to get the props in play, but that is definitely not the case. In addition, the foldout ‘Cunard Line Brochure’ is the only prop for ‘The Mauretania’, but to be fair, it is all that it needs and quite perfect!
Folders Four and Five, rounds out with Call of Cthulhu Classic Gamer Prop Set handouts and props from the three scenarios in Trail Of Tsathogghua. Across the three scenarios, there are loads and loads of newspapers, plus handwritten letters and diary entries. Relatively few of the props here have physical impact found elsewhere in the other folders. They include Morris Handelman’s Notebook from ‘The Curse Of Tsathogghua’ and an actual 8-page legal contract and the awful verse from ‘The Poetical Works of Maurice Van Laaden’, both from ‘The Haunted House’, but in general, the props are not quite as interesting.
Physically, Call of Cthulhu Classic Gamer Prop Set is an excellent presentation of the clues and handouts to the many books supporting the Call of Cthulhu Classic boxed set. However, in comparison, the Call of Cthulhu Classic Gamer Prop Set is not as good as the Masks of Nyarlathotep Gamer Prop Set. This is not to say that the prop set is bad, but rather it does not quite have the heft or physical presence. This is primarily due to the nature of the clues in the individual scenarios and the often plain format of the original clues, although in some cases, the props here gild the lily in turning clues and handouts for poor scenarios into some things compelling.
The Call of Cthulhu Classic Gamer Prop Set is definitely not needed to run the many scenarios and campaigns to be found in the Call of Cthulhu Classic boxed set. It will, though, definitely help and add verisimilitude to any one of the scenarios or the campaign, developing a great many clues and handouts into impressive, in-game items, often from very plain origins. Although it lacks the physical impact of its predecessor, the Call of Cthulhu Classic Gamer Prop Set will still help bring the scenarios and campaigns it is based upon to life.

So that title. Is it racist? Is it not racist? In the homophonic sense, because after all, that it is what it sounds like, it is racist. As written and thus spelt, not it is not. That is because it is both an amusing Dungeons & Dragons pun and an amusing geographical pun. Clever puns, even. Puns that play upon Dungeons & Dragons because one of the main monsters in the scenario is a wight and geography because the scenario is set on the Isle of Wight, just off the coast of southern England. However much the scenario is not racist—and it is not, even down to the negative admonishment to adherents of extreme Right Wing politics that ends the book—and however much the title involves a pair of puns, there is no denying the fact that the title is provocative. And intentionally so, given the publisher’s reason for publishing a book with this title, essentially a ‘screw you’ and because he can. So bear that in mind, given the publisher, if that and the title is enough to put you off Wight Power, then this review is not for you—and that is fair enough.

Wight Power is a scenario for use with Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay. Like other scenarios published by Lamentations of the Flame Princess it is set in the game’s default early Modern Period. Specifically, in 1632 England, so it would work well with several of the other publisher’s titles or equally easily adapted to the retroclone of the Game Master’s choice. Even more specifically, it is set on the Isle of Wight in, around, and below a ruined monastery, Quarr Abbey, abandoned following the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII. Here an archaeological dig is being conducted by Priest Joseph Duverney, a Catholic scholar and his order, and guarded by a band of Landsknechts mercenaries led by Alfonso Gutierrez. Tensions are running high between the Catholic scholar and his order and the Landsknechts mercenaries, as one of their number turned up dead and another is missing. The Player Characters might become involved in the location because extra muscle is required and neither faction can trust the other to conduct an investigation into the death; there are several workers from the surrounding area and beyond missing, and they are hired to find them; or because they might be locals who have become aware of strange goings on at the ruin and want to investigate. The scenario itself assumes that the first option is selected, perhaps backed up with a few entries from the rumours table.

So what is going in Wight Power is definitely weird, definitely apocalyptic, and definitely involves the Second Coming. Though not the Second Coming that you might imagine, involving as it does the cloning of the holy prepuce, a decidedly genuine and holy relic. Which of course, is not going to go to plan. So to be fair, if there is anything that is actually offensive in Wight Power, it might be that it is sacrilegious. Besides the Second Coming, the scenario involves the undead, an actual saint of necromancers, St. Cyprian of Antioch, and rising tensions between both groups that constantly threaten break out into actual violence. If the Player Characters are brought into investigate both the disappearance and the death, the scenario initially plays out as a murder mystery. However, it is not that, as there are very few clues to be found, little to be investigated, and there are areas where the Player Characters are forbidden from entering. This is intentional and designed to pique their curiosity. The likelihood is that the scenario will play out in one of two ways. Either the Player Characters will ignore their instructions, enter the areas they are barred from, and discover both what is going on and how weird it is, and probably trigger the Second Coming or get caught up in the tensions between the order and the mercenaries such that the Second Coming occurs anyway. The former is more interesting than the latter. Either way, the Player Characters have a big galumphingly disaster on their hands and unleashed on the Isle of Wight.

In terms of plot, Wight Power is underwritten. In terms of background and detail, the scenario contains an embarrassment of riches. A complete background to the whole affair, a timeline, three detailed NPCs—Priest Joseph Duverney and Alfonso Gutierrez, plus the captain of the Landsknechts, maps of Quarr Abbey, plus the catacombs below, full details of the means and result of the Second Coming, and both St. Cyprian of Antioch and the Clavis Inferni, the book he wrote. There is a lot here and whilst some of it is useful in providing background material, not all of it is necessarily relevant and the Player Characters are not necessarily going to find out what is really going on.

Physically, Wight Power is cleanly and tidily presented in full colour. For the most part, the artwork is presented in bright, colourful silhouettes, which are for the most part, neither interesting nor evocative of anything. The cartography is okay, but in places, the details on the maps could match what is described in the text—especially in the catacombs. It is well written and fairly easy to grasp what is going on despite the wealth of information provided.

Ultimately, despite the provocative nature of its title, Wight Power is another ‘hidden, apocalyptic monster waiting to be unleashed, whilst surrounded by monsters’ scenario. As presented, its background is more interesting than the underwritten plot, the overall impression is underwhelming, and beyond what the NPCs are trying to do in that plot, Wight Power is simply a Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay scenario, but not a standout Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay scenario.

A couple of really fun ones on Indiegogo this week. Both of which you will see more of here.

Amazing Adventures Multi-Genre RPG

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/amazing-adventures-multi-genre-rpg#/

I have talked a lot about Amazing Adventures here and elsewhere. It is the Modern multi-genre RPG that uses the same Siege Engine as Castles & Crusades.  This is a new printing that reorganizes the material and has it cleave a bit closer to the Castles & Crusades printings. 

Pan, His Majesty in Yellow

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pan-his-majesty-in-yellow#/

Fairy Tales + Lovecraftian Horrors? Hell yeah!

I am going to have more to say about this one, but for now check out their fundraiser for the Old-School Essentials version. 

Lâminas & Feitiços or Blades & Spells is a minimalist fantasy roleplaying game from South America. In fact, Blades & Spells is another Bronze Age, Swords & Sorcery minimalist fantasy roleplaying game done in pamphlet form from Brazil. In actuality, Blades & Spells is a series of pamphlets, building from the core rules pamphlet to add optional rules, character archetypes, spells, a setting and its gods, and more, giving it the feel of a ‘plug and play’ toolkit. The Storyteller and her players can play using just the core rules, but beyond that, they are free to choose the pamphlets they want to use and just game with those, ignoring the others. So what is Blades & Spells? It describes itself as “…[A] simple, objective and dynamic minimalist RPG game where the Storyteller challenges the Player and not the character sheet.” It is written to pay homage to the classic Sword & Sorcery literature, uses the Basic Universal System—or ‘B.U.S.’—a simple set of mechanics using two six-sided dice, and in play is intended to challenge the player and his decisions rather than have the player rely upon what is written upon his character sheet. Which, being a minimalist roleplaying game, is not much. So although it eschews what the designer describes as the ‘classic restrictions’ of Class, Race, and Level, and it is very much not a Retroclone, there is no denying that Blades & Spells leans into the Old School Renaissance sensibilities.

Blades & Spells: An agile, objective and dynamic minimalist RPG provides the core rules to the roleplaying game. They are a simple, straightforward set of mechanics, emphasising a deadly world of adventure in which the heroes wield both weapons and magic. Beyond the core rules, Blades & Spells is fully supported with a series of optional pamphlets which expand upon its basics and turn it into a fully rounded roleplaying game. All together these might be seen as  the equivalent of a ‘Blades & Spells Companion’, although they just as easily could be combined into the one publication, including the setting supplements of Blades & Spells: The Land of Aaman and Blades & Spells: The Lands Beyond. To date, Blades & Spells has been mostly focused on the Player Character and the Game Master, but that changes with the Blades & Spells – Dark Pack.
The Blades & Spells – Dark Pack contains not one, but three pamphlets. All three focus on the villains, providing them in turn with archetypes, dark spells, and even grotesque spells. They provide the means for the Game Master to assign basic descriptors and abilities to the villains in her campaign, as well as their henchmen and their mostly loyal lieutenants. Not just that, they offer over fifty new spells, dark and shadowy, bloody and aberrant. Together, these enable the Game Master to quickly create the basics of any vile enemy or other NPC, and if a spellcaster, equip them with a raft of horrid spells that embody their malicious and cruel natures. Alternatively, and for a very alternative campaign, there is nothing to stop a playing group from creating and playing a band of villainous Player Characters with dark designs upon the setting that the Game Master has created.
In the core rules, the Blades & Spells: Characters Archetypes/Compendium of Magic does two things. First, it expands upon each Player Character’s Focus. This is his occupation or something that he is good at, either Fighter, Mystic, Intellectual, Support, or Specialist. The supplement divides some twenty-nine archetypes into these five categories with a simple thumbnail description. The second thing is provide spells for the roleplaying game. Blades & Spells – Dark Pack provides both of these, but more like an evil, villainous twin—or rather its set of evil, villainous triplets that Blades & Spells never knew it had.
Blades & Spells: Dark Archetypes gives twenty-five archetypes, five for each category. Some of these fall within typical roleplaying archetypes, like the Assassin or the Burglar for the Specialist, whilst Support Archetypes such as Armourer, a weapons and equipment engineer, and the Mender, are not necessarily dark in themselves, but rather that their clientele likely consists of characters who make use of the other archetypes in this supplement. Those other archetypes are definitely ‘dark’ though. For example, the Bloody Blade is a loyal servant to the gods, handing out their justice as instructed by the voices of the cursed weapon you wield on their behalf; the Parasite has taken possession of the character and grants extraordinary powers, but takes control of the character’s mind; the Fallen Noble has been reduced to near penury, but will do anything to restore his fortunes; the Thug is a bodyguard or muscle for a gang, ready to solve a problem using physical means; and a Shadow Sorcerer can shape darkness and command the things within it. Like all three supplements in Blades & Spells – Dark Pack, this does carry an advisory warning and archetypes like the Bloody Blade which suggests the player roll on the Insanity Table and the Drug Mage which manufactures and uses potions and drugs and uses the Optional Rules for ‘Poison, Drunkenness, or Insanity’ all support the necessity of those advisory. Tables for both can be found in Blades & Spells: Optional Rules.
Blades & Spells: Dark Spells details over thirty dark and nasty spells, with themes of necromancy, shadow manipulation, and more. In the case of necromancy and shadow manipulation, these neatly tie into the Necromancer and Shadow Sorcerer  Archetypes given in Blades & Spells: Dark Archetypes. For example, Rigor Mortis causes the touched victim to suffer convulsions and their nerves to become painfully paralysed, as well as taking on the appearance and feel of a dead body, whilst Bone Weapon summons a temporary weapon from the ground that inflicts poison damage and can harm both material and immaterial beings. Cloak of Shadows shrouds the caster in living darkness and makes him undetectable in shadow or at night, whilst Umbral Binding sends his shadow stretching unnaturally out to touch the shadows of others and in doing so, temporarily paralyses them. Not every spell follows either them, such as Cauterize, which makes the caster’s hands as hot as red-hot iron, or Parasite Weapon which summons a mutated parasitic worm from the underworld which mutates into a weapon and defends the caster, but demands to eat the flesh of the still living, but defeated opponents. This a great range of spells for darker games or darker characters or villains, including a few more inventive entries. These are nasty spells that the players are likely to hate the villain—if not the Game Master—when he casts them at their characters.
Both Blades & Spells: Dark Archetypes and Blades & Spells: Dark Spells carried content advisory warnings, but of the three pamphlets in Blades & Spells: Dark Pack, it is Blades & Spells: Grotesque Spells that deserves it the most. The thirty or so spells it describes are all vile, unpleasant concepts. So be warned. They involve a great of manipulation of the flesh. For example, Decomposition forces the flesh of the touched victim to rot at a rapid rate through gangrene and then death; Cursed Cure first heals wounds and then turns the flesh cancerous and tumorous; and Flesh Armour forces muscle to strengthen and thicken until it is cable of protecting against injury. One can actually be useful, the unfortunately named Relink Members enables large cuts to heal and lost limbs to be reattached. The rest though are all foul, disgusting affairs, likely to be highly memorable when cast by a villain the Game Master’s campaign.
Physically, the three pamphlets in Blades & Spells: Dark Pack are fine. Their layout is clean and tidy, and all three titles are easy to read, though a slight edit would not have gone amiss. The artwork on the front page of each is good too.

Blades & Spells: Dark Pack is optional. Some of the ideas and things—especially the spells—in its three pamphlets are not going to be suitable for every campaign or even what every player wants to include or encounter.  As a potential source of character ideas and spells—especially the spells—for the villain or henchman in the Game Master’s campaign, Blades & Spells: Dark Pack is good for most Swords & Sorcery settings.

I have some projects going on right now that I am trying to get organized for my big Christmas break this year.  I am planning on burying myself in writing. So I am finding bits of text here, and some ideas there, and I have not even gone through my bookmarks* yet.

(*I scribble ideas on bookmarks while I read. Habit from my undergrad days.)

A couple came to me more or less at the same time.  The first was more details on what I am doing with the various incarnations of my iconic witch Larina. The other was some notes about an Amazing Adventures street-level supers game I keep batting around in my notes.  Since the new printing of Amazing Adventures (well, new printing and reorganized material) is now up on Indiegogo I thought, let's clean up one stack of notes with a post. 

The Game: Amazing Adventures

I have always been rather fond of Amazing Adventures. It is a modern version of Castles & Crusades and with the 2nd printing, the rules cleave much closer to the C&C SIEGE Engine rules. My understanding is that this new printing (a bit like a 2.5) is even closer. So close that the three books of Castles & Crusades are called "The Three Sisters" and the new three books for Amazing Adventures are called "The Three Brothers." Three brothers and three sisters? That sounds like my family. 

If you like modern games then this is a great time to get into Amazing Adventures. Especially if you are a fan of Castles & Crusades.

The Character: Larina Nichols

One thing that I do with my Larina is to have different versions of her in different games. These are truly different versions of the same character in the multiverse but connected a bit like the Eternal Champion.  These are my worlds, I get to do these things. The GREAT thing about Amazing Adventures is that it IS so much like Castles & Crusades I can make moving between a modern world and a fantasy world much easier. If I can do that with her, you can do it with any character.

Also for me, there is this notion of adventures connected by places or people and displaced in time. This would be my trilogy of adventures "All Souls Night," "Blight," and "The Dark Druid" dealing with D&D-like fantasy, Victorian-age Gothic horror, and modern supernatural respectively. Larina, or someone like her, would be there in all three, reincarnated each time to deal with the threat of the Dark Druid.

But before I can do that right, I have to make sure I can move characters, or their other incarnations, to each time.  Here is my Drosophila melanogaster for these experiments.

Larina Nichols

19th Level Witch (Arcanist)
Race: Human

Strength: 10 (0)
Dexterity: 11 (0)
Constitution: 13 (+1) P
Intelligence: 17 (+2) 
Wisdom: 17 (+2) P
Charisma: 18 (+3) P

Hit Points: 79
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
AC: 10 
BtH: +4
MEP: 226Primary Spellcasting Attribute: Charisma
Sanity (SAN): 90 (Max), 75 (Current)
Fate Points: 6Fate Die: 1d12

Languages: English, Latin, Gaelic, Greek, Russian (native language is English)
Background: Scholar (Librarian)
Skills: Mythology (Celtic, Norse)Traits: Spellgifted (Enchantments/Charms)

Powers
Familiar: Cotton Ball
Spellcasting

Spells
Cantrips: (9) Arcane Mark, Dancing Lights, Detect Illusion, Detect Magic, Light, Magical Aura, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Stun
First: (5+1) Color Spray, Command, Darkness, Identity, Shield, Sleep
Second: (5+1) Alter Self, Blur, Burning Hands, Hold Person, Pyrotechnics, Scare
Third: (4+1) Aid, Blink, Nondetection, Remove Curse, Tongues
Fourth: (4) Dispel Magic, Emotion, Phantasmal Killer, Seeming
Fifth: (4) Feeblemind, Mass Suggestion, Projection, True Seeing
Sixth: (3) Mislead, Veil, Wind Walk
Seventh: (3) Prismatic Spray, Teleport without Error, Word of Recall
Eighth: (3)  Antipathy, Prismatic Wall
Ninth: (2) Astral Projection

That went pretty fast really. Like creating an AD&D 1st Character.  In fact, that should really be the main reason to check this game out; how close it is to AD&D. 

In truth, that was a LOT of fun to do. Makes me realize how much I miss playing C&C and AD&D too.

So everyone get in on that Indiegogo campaign so others can see just how much fun this game really is. 

So back at the end of September, I guess we had, and missed, another end of the world. Yup. I was reading that September 25, 2022, was supposed to be the Rapture. There were a bunch of videos on TikTok and YouTube that frankly I can't be bothered to link to it. Suffice it to say nothing happened.

But it does give me the excuse to post this picture from Spire Christian Comics. 

I know. I am a juvenile. 

BUT. In the process of looking for that image, I found this one from the same comic.

Black magic? Witchcraft? Demon contact? Sorcery?

Someone has been reading my letters to Santa again! 

And she is such a groovy cool looking 70s witch too.  I learned that the artist, Al Hartley, had done "Betty and Veronica" comics and some softcore comics prior to being born again. 

This is supposed to be the Whore of Babylon, a character from Revelations. I get that she is supposed to be largely symbolic and not a real person, but sometimes it reads like she is. 

From Revelations Chapter 17.

4. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5. And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

I don't pretend to know what all this is supposed to mean. But the imagery is fascinating like most of what is happening in Revelations. 

Of course, I am going to use her as a witch. Come on? 70s occult propaganda? That's my Appendix N!

Who is Babylon?

That art above is plenty to get me going. Given her role in Revelations, I am going to have to say she is a Witch Queen naturally.  But what kind? In my mind, each Witch Queen is head of a large coven and/or Tradition. She is not a Mara Witch, I have plenty of those. Nor is she a Pagan. And she is most certainly NOT a Pumpkin Spice Witch! No, she has a calling and it is not any of these. It could be close to the Classical Witch, but still not exactly right. No I think she is the Queen of a completely different tradition.

Daughters of Eros

Her tradition is something I have been mulling over for a couple of years now. In my recent reviews of the Love Witch, The Pantheon and Pagan Faiths, Sisters of Rapture, Jeremy Reaban's Beguiler and Enchanter, I have some more ideas of what a new tradition, The Daughters of Eros, could be.

Note I have nothing I am going to publish in a book yet OR even if there is any need/desire/want for such a book. 

Babylon
23rd Level Witch, Daughters of Eros Tradition 

Strength: 11 (0) Saving Throws (base) Dexterity: 16 (+2) Death Ray, Poison 5 Constitution: 13 (+1) Magic Wands 6 Intelligence: 14 (+1) Paralysis, Polymorph or Turn to Stone 5 Wisdom: 17 (+2) Dragon Breath 5 Charisma: 19 (+3) Rods, Staffs, Spells 7

Hit Points: 55 (10d4+13)+10
Alignment: Chaotic (evil)
AC: 1 (Ring of Protection, Garter of Defence)
THAC0: 12

Occult Powers (Daughter of Eros Tradition)
Familiar: Familiar spirit (comes in the shape of a cupid cherub or an incubus)
7th level: 
13th level: Devil's Tongue
19th level: Curse

Spells
Cantrips (6): Analyze Fertility, Clean, Daze, Message, Object Reading, Warm
First (7+3): Bewitch I, Block the Seed, Burning Hands, Charm Person, Command, Drowsy, Increase Sex Appeal, Sleep, Soothe, Twisting the Heartstrings I
Second (6+2): Alter Self,  Bewitch II, Ecstasy, Enthrall, Fever, Hold Person, Rose Garden, Twisting the Heartstrings II
Third (6+2): Astral Sense, Bestow Curse, Betwitch III, Continual Fire, Fly, Mind Rash, Tongues, Witch Wail
Fourth (5+2): Bewitch IV, Elemental Armor, Emotion, Moonlit Way, Neutralize Poison, Spiritual Dagger, Drawing Down the Moon (Ritual)
Fifth (5): Anti-Magic Candle, Bewitch V, Bull of Heaven, Dream, Song of Discord
Sixth (4): Bewitch VI, Heroes' Feast, Mass Suggestion, Wall of Roses
Seventh (4):  Bewitch VII, Breath of the Goddess, Peace Aura, Serpent Garden
Eighth (4): Astral Projection, Bewitch VIII, Greater Mislead, Mind Blank

--

Named for the city she was born in (Βαβυλών), Babylon is a near-immortal witch. Some say she is the daughter of Lilith, some say she is the bastard child conceived when the demon Astaroth forced himself onto his mother Astarte, but the majority claim she is the youngest child of Eros and Psyche.  She is beautiful like her mother, grandmother (Venus), and older sister, Hedone* (also known as Volupta) but was jealous of all three. 

(*Followers of Hedone are known as Hedonists and are also part of the Daughters of Eros Tradition. Though they tend to be more good and neutral in alignment.)

Whatever her origin she is the patroness of whores and debauched witchcraft. She has allied herself with the forces of evil and will stand as their herald of the end times.  She also represents the corrupting nature of civilization.

Babylon is the quintessential "lover, not a fighter" though she also has no problem charming, compelling, or wiping someone's mind to be her lover. She has an entire cadre of former adventurers that had been on a quest to kill her that are now her mindless slaves.

She shares many attributes with Nocticula and the two try to avoid each other when possible. There is an ongoing rivalry between the two. If Babylon hears that Nocticula is having a Midsummer's Eve party with 1,000 guests, then she will try to increase her own party to 1,100 or more.

She will act as a witch priestess, but to what Patron she will not divulge. All witches are welcome in her court.

Babylon in War of the Witch Queens

Babylon is not likely to change what she is doing during the War of the Witch Queens. Indeed she will remark on how neutral she is and will try to avoid the whole thing. In truth, she is trying to figure out who has done the deed and will figure out if she needs to ally with them or betray them. 

The 1979 Campaign

Come on! You know she needs to be in this! She is too groovy not to be.

Babylon in NIGHT SHIFT

As a nearly immortal witch, Babylon will still be active in the worlds of NIGHT SHIFT. Now she would be living in LA, New York, Paris, or some other large metropolitan city.  She will be involved in all sort of illicit dealings but most especially drugs and human trafficking. On the surface, she runs an "Adult Entertainment Empire" called simply enough, Babylon.

RPG Blog Carnival

This is my entry to this month's RPG Blog Carnival hosted by Campaign Mastery.

This month's theme is "Art-spiration." This is my entry for the Al Hartley art of Babylon above.  I am likely to have more since this is such a fun topic.

Been on an Old-School Essentials bender now for a while. It has pretty much taken over as my OSR game of choice. So I was quite pleased when my OSE boxed sets came in the mail this past week.

They are quite great.

Let's take a look at that Old-School Essentials Product Catalogue 2023. Cause I have to admit that hit me right in the nostalgia.

It reminds of the old "Gateway to Adventure" ones we got in the various Basic Sets and it is the size of the old Kenner Star Wars ones.

It is reasonable to ask why did I get this when a.) I have a bunch of OSE material already and b.) It is really the same game I bought 40 years ago?

Well, I am running my War of the Witch Queens game and my oldest is running his own OSE/BX game now in addition to his 5e games.

These will get a lot of use.

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

—oOo—
Name: Back to NaturePublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Bored Stiffs

Setting: 1970s California
Product: Scenario
What You Get: Forty page, 54.34 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Nature’s roar reaches out to those who hear it and make a wholesome offer!Plot Hook: Take a escapade and really get back to nature...
Plot Support: Staging advice, three NPCs, twelve handouts, two maps, one (Mythos) monster, and Pearl the pig.Production Values: Fabulously freaky.
Pros# Back to nature as nature reaches out# Entertainingly gonzo layout and art inspired by Gilbert Shelton# Investigator sheets done as comic book small adds# Period NPC portraits (including Pearl the pig)# Could lead into the Dreamlands# Easily pushed back to the sixties# Notes to run it in the Jazz Age or the Purple Decade# Interesting playnotes# Mycophobia/Mycophilia
# Dendrophobia
Cons# Period piece# May need careful timing to run as a convention one-shot# Bigfoot notes including, but no Bigfoot?
Conclusion# Thematically entertaining twist upon the Green Man# Drop out, get off the grid, in this psychedelic trip to the woods one-shot 

I am at a pivot point with my Monstrous Mondays.

I have a bunch of projects I am desperate to get out because I am tired of them languishing on my hard drives and instead need to be on my, and hopefully your, game shelves.

So much so that I am dubbing 2023 "The Year of the Monster." I just have so much I want to do.  I ma hoping to have the first thing in your hands by December 26, 2022, the last Monday of the year. But I really need to get my butt moving on that.

In other news, I have a new place to scream into the void. I set up an account on Mastodon. I don't have much there right at the moment.  Now I have no intention nor no desire to leave Twitter. So you can still find me there.

Ok, let's bring this all together for a post.

One of the coolest things about living in Illinois is the number of mastodon fossils that can be found here. My uncle dug some giant molars from my maternal grandparent's property 60 years ago and we still have them now. I also used to love going to the Illinois State Museum in Springfield to see the Mastodons and other Ice Age fauna on display.  So why not an ode to my new social media account, one of my oldest favorite ice age creatures, and all for the newest iteration of my oldest favorite game.

Mastodon, Undead

For Old-School Essentials

Undead remains of an ancient elephant species. Prized mounts of winter warlocks and sought-after guard animals of frost giants.

AC: 4 [15], HD 12 (45 hp), Att 2 x tusk (2d6) or 1 x trample (4d8), THAC0 10 [+9], MV 120' (60'), SV D8 S9 P10 B10 S12 (8), ML 10, AL Chaos XP 1,900, NA (0) (1d4), TT Tusks

• Charge: In the first round of combat. Requires a clear run of 60 feet. Tusks inflict double damage.
• Trample: 3-in-4 chance of trampling each round. +3 to hit medium (human-sized) or smaller creatures.
• Ivory: Each tusk is worth 2d6 x 100 gp.
• Undead: Makes no noise until they attack. Immune to effects that affect living creatures (poisons, gases). Immune to mind-affecting magics (charm, hold, sleep).  Turns as a 7-9 HD monster. 

Mastodons are larger than elephants but smaller than Mammoths.

Lisa Fernandes / November 7, 2022

1984’s This Is Spinal Tap is all about the pining—epic pining, as high and fulsome as the band’s hair and the wailing notes they (try to) hit. Every single member of the band and their entourage is longing after something they want, something they need, but the real world thwarts them with a passionate glee. They’re either too recalcitrant to claim what they need, assuming that if they keep plowing on as they have been, glory will return to them; or, when their heart’s desire finally falls into their lap like a willing groupie, they’re completely unprepared for the responsibility of the task at hand.

Nobody in the band is content with how things are going, except for perhaps bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), whose storyline—which originally contained divorce-based angst—was generally abandoned to the cutting room floor, and Viv Savage (David Kaff), who seems to require nothing more than a good time and a keyboard to be happy. Lead singer David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) longs for the respect the band once earned, and if he can’t be seen as a purveyor of popular music, he at least wants to be enrobed in the sort of dignity that most elder statesmen of rock are afforded. His wife on the astral plane, Jeanine Pettibone (June Chadwick), longs to prove that she has the skill and smarts to manage the band and isn’t just an astrologically-obsessed groupie who happened to get lucky with the lead singer. Manager Ian Faith (Tony Hendra) wants someone, anyone, to respect his authority and listen to what he has to say as chaos unspools around him. And newbie drummer Mick Shrimpton (R.J. Parnell), one in a long line of ill-fated skin-pounders who have lived and died by Spinal Tap’s ethos, just wants to make it through the tour without spontaneously combusting.

At the center of the movie—occasionally apoplectic, mostly filled with a cool and detached sense of calm—stands lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest). His longing is the most ardent of them all: he’s nearly visibly boiling beneath his skin with an obvious and ardent desire for the rest of the world to disappear and leave him alone with David. 

This Is Spinal Tap has undergone multiple queer readings over the years, one of the very first suggested by Roger Ebert himself, who, in his Great Movies review of the film, declares that Nigel “longs for St. Hubbins with big wet spaniel eyes.” The movie’s cast is definitely aware of this interpretation of events. During a live-streamed 2020 reunion to benefit Pennsylvania’s Democratic party, McKean declared that someone once told him that This Is Spinal Tap is “the world’s greatest love story,” a statement McKean seemed to agree with and find flattering.

The film is also a story of watchful envy. It’s hard to ignore the look in Nigel’s eyes as he watches David, who is watching Jeanine, who is watching the stars. When Jeanine shows up in the middle of the tour and David races off to hug her, the camera lingers on Nigel’s downtrodden face as they hold each other. Later in the film, when Nigel enters the room with his Japanese tour trump card, the frame takes in Jeanine’s fury and disappointment. The tables turn in Nigel’s favor, firmly and utterly. The triangle cannot remain neatly balanced: Jeanine may have David’s body, but Nigel has captured his heart.

David’s physical affection for Nigel shows up in various moments in the film—most notably in the way he jollies Nigel into the room so he can hear a local radio station playing their early hit “Cups and Cakes.” There’s more proof in the pudding of the deleted scenes. Nigel teases David about “Nino Bidungo,” a sailor David had an affair with when the two shared an apartment; the two of them play “All the Way Home,” a skiffle-esque tune and their first composition, as a way to apologize to each other for the vicious fight they’ve just had. With David’s fingers dancing along the fretboard and Nigel plucking away at the strings, there’s a sense of harmony and affection, and the look on David’s face says it all. 

Jeanine’s story would be a pitiable one were she not her own worst enemy, so hungry for power that she forces Ian out of his managerial role so that she can run things. It’s possible that she’s looking for control here because she never sees David and—in excised scenes from the film—he is not faithful to her while he’s on the road. If she runs his career and holds his purse strings, then he’ll have to respect her and she’ll be able to keep an eye on him. And in the meantime she can get onstage and bang a tambourine for a few minutes—after all, Linda Eastman got started the same way. But in Jeanine’s case the situation is actually sort of tragic, and just as emotionally provoking as David and Nigel’s unspoken love. The trouble with Jeanine’s attempt at climbing the band’s social ladder is, naturally, that she’s even worse than Ian is at booking the band into suitable venues. Working via astrology and David’s star charts, shoving him out front and letting him indulge his worst tendencies, her machinations are ultimately so clumsy that they result in Spinal Tap playing an amusement park where they’re billed second to a puppet show. What Jeanine longs for—David’s respect—she will never get. She’s left on the sidelines with nothing to be proud of, her influence on the band completely wiped away, longing for somebody to give her attention. But David’s attention remains fixed on Nigel’s face—perhaps forever.

In the very center of this push-pull triangle stands Ian, who just wants the band to get through the tour intact without any further disasters blowing the entire enterprise apart. Once upon a time, one assumes, he sat in some towering office complex, managing the careers of hard-rocking bands that were successful if not famous: a B-grade Led Zeppelin, an off-market Journey. Whatever led him to the door of this down-at-heel rock band, Ian is determined to at least gain some respect from these kids. But the band could care less about respecting him, and he takes his frustration out on inanimate objects. It’s not that the members of Spinal Tap set out to embarrass their fearless managerial forces; it’s that inept staff members, out of pocket creative decisions, and poorly operating stage props embarrass him, staining and straining the tour. 

All of this tension is paid off by an orgasmic on-stage reunion and triumphant Japanese tour, which Jeanine can only watch from the sidelines as Ian smugly keeps an eye on her, tapping his cricket bat against his palm. The film chronicles a long, muddy battle for the band’s soul, and Nigel undeniably wins. Yet it’s not a sexist victory; while rock ‘n’ roll and brotherhood win the day, none of this is due to Ian developing a sudden ability to direct the band successfully. While Jeanine might be a bad manager and a worse girlfriend, the film’s other female characters—Bobbi Fleckman (Fran Drescher) and Polly Deutsch (Anjelica Huston)—are shown to be smart about their individual talents and the music business at large: they exist to point up the fact that Ian’s managerial skills are fairly terrible. What they want is for Ian to act like a sensible person. 

Spinal Tap goes through a long conga line of humiliations before receiving its Japanese rebirth. While most of the movie’s characters get exactly what they need out of the long, strange trip they take to overseas stardom, some are left with their noses pressed against the plate glass window. But as the Rolling Stones famously sang: “You can’t always get what you want/But if you try sometime you’ll find/You get what you need.”

Lisa Fernandes has been writing since she could talk. Her bylines include Newsweek; Women Write About Comics; Smart Bitches, Trashy Books; and All About Romance.