No gallery activities this weekend due to necessary errand-running in anticipation of March renovations, but the Triffid Ranch’s fifth anniversary (at its current location) open house starts at noon on February 26, and most of March will be packed with … Continue reading →

ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo is the meeting of two trends. One is the development of games based on the Alien Universe, best typified by the Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps and Alien: The Roleplaying Game. The other is the revisitation of older intellectual properties using modern game design and in the process create a playing experience that is true to the source material and far superior to anything which could have been done when those intellectual properties first appeared. Further, in the case of ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo has been designed to be played by both a general board gaming audience and a fan audience. This is also the same with board games such as Jaws: A Boardgame of Strategy and Suspense and Horrified, and together the three also share a publisher, Ravensburger, and a play style in that they are co-operative board games.

Another interesting aspect of ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo is that it is based upon Alien, the first film in the franchise, rather than on Aliens, which is the second. Aliens has been the property of choice to base a game, whether roleplaying game or board game or computer game. This is because Aliens combines action and horror, so that whilst the Xenomorphs are bent either grabbing their victims ready for implantation of eggs by the Facehuggers or simply ripping them apart, the protagonists and thus the players are armed and can fight back. As scary as Aliens is, it is not a subtle film in comparison to Alien where the atmosphere is one of isolation and of being hunted by something unknown, something alien, and something unstoppable. This is what ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo has to capture in its play style.

ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo is a co-operative game designed for one to five players, aged fourteen and up. They take the role of the crew of the USCSS Nostromo—Captain Dallas, Warrant Officer Ripley, Chief Engineer Parker, Engineering Technician Brett, and Navigation Officer Lambert—who must survive the invasion of their ship by a hostile alien long enough to perform a number of Objectives before performing one final Objective and successfully abandoning her. At all times, as they move around the Nostromo, they are stalked down its corridors and through its various areas by the creature, constantly thwarting the crewmembers’ efforts and effectively demoralising them. If the crew can complete both its assigned Objectives and the final Objective, the players will win the game, but if the morale of the crew is reduced to zero, the Alien wins and the players lose…

Open up the box for ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo and the very first thing you see is a painting of Jones the Cat, frightened and hissing at something behind you. This is on the back of the board and so adds nothing to game play, but it is a great touch and adds to the atmosphere of the game if not its game play. Open up the board itself and it depicts the decks and rooms of the Nostromo connected by corridors and ladders. One of these, at the bottom of the spaceship, is the Nest where the Alien begins play, but look closely and there are some nice touches, such as the streaks of blood leading away from the table where the Chestburster burst out of Kane in the Galley and the holes in the floor burned by the Facehugger’s blood in both the Med Bay and the Lower Deck. The playing pieces of the crew—Dallas, Ripley, Brett, Parker, and Lambert, as well as the Alien—are decent depictions of the characters, such that Brett is actually smoking and you can imagine him saying, “Right, right…” and agreeing with Parker.

The other components consist of the eight-page rule book, five Crew Boards—one for each of the crew, five Player Reference Cards, a Morale Marker, thirty-six cards (twenty-one Encounter Cards, ten Objective Cards, and five Final Mission Cards), a Self-Destruct Track, fifty-five tokens (twenty Scrap Tokens, twelve Item Tokens, six Coolant Canister Tokens, six Concealed Tokens, a Self-Destruct Token, and four Countdown Tokens), and markers for both Morale and Ash, the Nostromo’s android Science Officer. All of these are of a good quality with fully painted artwork which really captures the feel of the film, the Nostromo, the Crew, and the Alien. Those of the crew on their Crew Boards are particularly good.

ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo is quick and easy to set-up—and the rulebook takes the player through this step by step. The Alien begins in the Nest, the Crew in the Galley, Scrap, Coolant Canister, and Concealed Tokens are distributed throughout the ship, several random Objective Cards are revealed—equal to the number of players plus one, and a Final Mission Card is drawn and placed face down. It is only revealed when all of the Objectives have been completed. To complete an Objective, the Crew must bring particular Items to locations around the Nostromo. For example, ‘Where is it?’ directs the Crew to bring a Flashlight to the Med Bay and ‘Crew Meeting’ directs all of the Crew to assemble in the Galley with at least one piece of Scrap each. Scrap is a vital resource throughout the game because it is used to Craft Items such as a Motion Detector, Flashlight, Grapple Gun, the Cat Carrier, and so on. Many of the items have limited use and so may need to be manufactured more than once! The Final Mission Cards typically have several objectives, for example, ‘Escape on the Narcissus’ requires the Crew to take Coolant Canisters to the Docking Bay, have the Cat Carrier and Incinerator in their inventories, and then all assemble in the Docking Bay.

Each player’s turn consists of a Crew Action Phase and an Encounter Phase. In the Crew Action Phase, the Crewmember expends Action Points to move, pick up or drop Items or Scrap, Craft or Use Items, and Trade Items and Scrap with fellow Crewmembers. The Crew possess between three and five Action Points as well as a Special Ability. Ripley has four Action Points and can spend one to move another Crewmember one space; Dallas simply has five Action Points; Brett has three and reduces the Scrap coast when crafting Items; Parker has four and can spend one to add one Scrap to his Inventory from the pile beside the board rather than from the board; and Lambert has four and can spend one to examine the top card of the Encounter Deck and place it at the bottom of the deck.

The danger of movement is that the Crewmember will come across a Concealed Token. When revealed, this might be nothing and the Crewmember will be safe, it might be Jones the Cat who hisses at them and decreases Morale, or it might be the Alien in a Surprise Attack, who immediately moves to that location. The Crewmember then flees from that location and the player’s turn ends and there is no Encounter Phase.

If a Crewmember survives long enough to end the Crew Action Phase, the Encounter Phase takes place. An Encounter Card is drawn. Each indicates how many spaces the Alien must move towards the nearest Crewmember, how much Morale damage is inflicted if it encounters a Crewmember, and where new Scrap and Concealed Tokens should be placed, if any. As with a Surprise Attack Concealed Token, when the Alien encounters the Crewmember must flee three spaces, and whether fleeing from the Alien as the result of an encounter in the Encounter Phase or a Surprise attack, if the Crewmember runs across another Concealed Token, that too must be revealed. If that is another Surprise Attack, the Alien catches up with the Crewmember, who is forced to flee again, and so on and so on as the Alien stalks them through the bowels of the ship!

Throughout the game, the Items become really important as they provide the Crewmembers with an advantage, if only temporarily. The Motion Detector is used to reveal nearby Concealed Tokens, the Incinerator to drive the Alien back to its Nest, the Flashlight to reduce Morale loss, the Grapple Gun to drive off the Alien, and the Cat Carrier to contain Jones the Cat and stop him jumping out and scaring the Crewmembers when Concealed Tokens are revealed.

In addition to the standard game ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo can be played solo and the challenge that the Crewmembers and their players face be made more difficult. Solo play is little different to the standard game except that some of the Final Missions are excluded, whilst the game is made more difficult with the ‘I can’t lie about your chances’ option, which adds the Science Officer and android Ash to the game. Ideally, solo play should be done with more than one Crewmember as this gives the player more options in terms of their Special Abilities, whilst when Ash is in play, he constantly confronts the Crewmembers, forcing them to drop Scrap or reduce Morale. He also picks up Scrap as he moves around the Nostromo. The lack of Scrap will make Crafting Items all the more difficult and thus Objectives harder to fulfil.

There is no denying the strength of the theme in ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo and how it affects play. The tension never lets up, there is the constant chance of the Alien turning up, or Jones the Cat leaping out and frightening the Crewmembers, and yet… ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo is perfectly playable and an enjoyable game to play, but it has a couple of issues. One is that it never fully follows through on its theme, which is that of something stalking the Crew Members throughout the Nostromo and killing them off a la Ten Little Indians. Nobody though, in ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo the Alien does not kill anyone, instead its victims just flee and become further demoralised. Thus the ardent fan could complain that ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo is not a true reflection of Alien at all, but would a true reflection actually be fun to play? Probably not, because Crewmember elimination would mean player elimination and not only make the game’s winning conditions harder to achieve, but also not fun for the players whose Crew Members have been eliminated. Then there is the audience to take into account because ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo is designed for a family audience and a teenage audience, and a bloody horror game is not necessarily suitable for either.
This does not mean that the game ignores fans of the film. What it does mean is that the family can play this game without getting too horrified by the absentee blood or the missing gore, whilst the fans of the film can enjoy the still strong theme of game—especially in its look—as well as have chance to roleplay and table talk their Crew Members as much as they want and throw in as many of the quotes from Alien that fit.

As much fun as encountering and fleeing from the Alien is in ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo, the actual Objectives, all ‘pick-up and deliver’ tasks are underwhelming and feel more like the means to hold off the actions of the Crewmembers until such times as they can tackle the Final Mission. And whilst each of the Final Missions does actually feel thematic, their phrasing is not always clear in meaning. What this means is that the players do need to make more of an effort to buy into the game—not much extra effort, but some…

ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo is a solid, decently thematic lighter co-operative game. It takes a heavy horror theme and tone and builds as much of that as it can into a game that is suitable for the family. That is quite an achievement.

This week Other Side Favorite Green Ronin is up with a new AGE game and a new Mythos game.  Lucky for me they are one and the same!

Cthulhu Awakens Roleplaying Game

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/greenroninpub/cthulhu-awakens-roleplaying-game?ref=theotherside

Funded in 40 minutes it is currently sitting at about 6x its funding goal. 

This game, powered by their A.G.E. system (ModernAGE, The Expanse, Blue Rose) covers "The Weird Century" from the 1920s til today.  And the mythos talked about in stories and tales are only a part of the picture.

Do we need another Cthulhu/Mythos game?  Maybe, maybe not, but I do like what I see here and I find this more exciting than some of the Mythos-related RPGs that have come out in the past. 

For my home games I can see us using this a lot. For starters there is all the new background details and I like having new life breathed into my Mythos every so often.  Sure I do my own stuff, but it is nice to get a fresh perspective.

My son plays FantasyAGE so I am sure I'll do something with that.

I have been trying out The Expanse (spoiler I love it) and I love mixing space travel with the Mythos (see BlackStar) so what if the protomolecule is related to the Old Ones?  It could be the start of my BlackStar game! Or at least give me some fun ideas. 

The design team for this looks great and I am looking forward to seeing what they can come up with.

The Scourge of Olfindour is an adventure for Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Published by Critical Kit, it is designed for a party of four to five Player Characters of Fifth Level and is intended to be played in a single session, either as a one-shot or as part of an ongoing campaign. Like the earlier Lock-in at the Blind Raven it involves a strange night of gothic horror and mystery in a tavern on one dark night. The emphasis in the scenario is on interaction, roleplaying, and combat—primarily the latter. As with other titles in series from Critical Kit, this is easy to drop into an ongoing campaign.

The Scourge of Olfindour begins with the Player Characters on the road to Olfindour, a recently established hamlet on the border of the vast expanse of frozen land to the north known as Whiteweather. Deciding to stop for the night, they find the hamlet strangely deserted, a barricade roughly built across its single street, its houses boarded up, and the only signs of life to be found at its tavern, the Oakenhurst. They are quickly ushered inside and the door barred. With a beer in hand, the Player Characters are told that the hamlet has recently been subject to number of strange attacks and abductions, and that the fifty or so wary survivors have taken to holing up in the tavern for protection each night. Unfortunately, it proves not to be the refuge that the inhabitants of Olfindour had hoped it would be.

When Anders, one of the missing inhabitants comes knocking at the door of the tavern, plaintively begging to be let in, his father, Wulf, joyfully does—only for his joy to be undone as Anders transforms into a werewolf and bites his father! Amidst screams of terror and shouts of horror, the inhabitants of Olfindour panic and the whole of the tavern erupts into chaos. When the fight is over, the werewolf Anders is likely to be dead, but Wulf is gone, nowhere to be seen, although there is a trail of blood which can be easily followed. In fact, there is a trail of blood which can be easily followed whichever route the Player Characters decide to take, and the trail leads underground to a confrontation with the leader of the pack of werewolves and perhaps a solution to the threat facing Olfindour...

The Scourge of Olfindour has two potential problems. One is the letting of Wulf go to the door to let his son, Anders, into the Oakenhurst. The players may complain of a lack of agency, that their characters were unable to prevent this. Against this is the fact that without it happening, the plot to the scenario cannot progress. The other is that the finale to the scenario is underwritten and exactly what happens when the villain defeated is not presented. Ideally, the Dungeon Master should give some thought as to what happens when the villain is defeated what this looks like.

The werewolves in The Scourge of Olfindour differ from the standard take upon this type of Lyncanthrope. Primarily, they are not bound by the waxing and the waning of the Moon, but are driven by more primal urges. Otherwise, they are only affected by magical or silvered weapons, their bite transmits the curse, and so on. Full stats for these werewolves, their pack leader and their winter wolf allies are provided in the scenario. The Scourge of Olfindour is a horror scenario, but not as mild as that of Lock-in at the Blind Raven. Its horror is much more physical, much more bloody, which is reflected in the combative nature of the scenario and the threat the Player Characters will face.

Physically, The Scourge of Olfindour is decently presented, everything is easy to grasp, and the single map in the scenario is easy to use. The Scourge of Olfindour is an easy scenario to use and an easy scenario to use in any number of settings, for example Ravenloft also for Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. It could be adapted to other settings or roleplaying games with elements of horror, for example, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and Symbaroum would work for either.

The Scourge of Olfindour is designed to be played in a single session and would make for a decent interlude of combat and horror and mystery between longer adventures. The Dungeon Master will find it easy to adjust the nature of the horror up or down, depending upon the maturity of the Player Characters, making the encounters with the werewolves less or more bloody. If the Dungeon Master wants something brutal and bloody to run in between longer scenarios as the Player Characters make their way to colder climes, then The Scourge of Olfindour fits the bill.

And it’s done. The move from the ex’s house is now complete, and with it the move of all of the plants, containers, and accoutrements. Leiber’s ashes now sit on the mantelpiece of my new house, the reference bookshelves were … Continue reading →

I was cleaning up my office on Wednesday, waiting for a meeting to start when I started going through a bunch of binders I have.  In particular a few for notes on my witch and necromancer classes (maybe I'll do a necromancer one day).  Anyway, I sorted through all my notes and I found many treasures.

The fruits of that labor are:

• Updated Witch Queens page
• Updated With Links page
• Updated Appendix O page
• and Several AD&D 2nd versions of some of my monsters that I added to my MC Binders

And...I dug up enough information for not just two new witch books, but three.

For the last year or more, I have been talking about "My Last Witch Book" the High Witchcraft Tradition.  The High Witchcraft book is very much tied up in organizing all my notes and sources project, so I knew I was going to find new material for it today.

I knew I had a lot for it, it was just all over the place on whatever I decided to take notes on.  I thought I had maybe enough for it and another, smaller, book.  Nope. I have enough for three different books now.

I am not really ready to reveal what these other books are/will be.  I reserve the right not to do them if push comes to it.  

So. Yeah.  I guess I do have more books in me.  Though I think I am going to keep the High Witchcraft book as the Last book.

Now I just need to dig up a 3.5" floppy drive.

It’s exciting to be reading this. Growing up, I definitely read large sections of it and used it as a reference but I’ve never read it cover to cover.

Note that most of my comments will be about things I personally find interesting, not an extensive discussion of everything in the book. (That goes for all my reviews I guess.)

Introduction

Instantly the Introduction is of interest because, having read everything up to this point, it specifically describes some of the changes in AD&D compared to Original D&D – eg stronger Fighters and Clerics.

The overview of the Game is a great bit of visualisation. It’s not about the mechanics – it’s about the flavour, the feats, the adventure. Even after all these years of playing these games, I find this an exciting read – it makes my imagination soar.

Character Creation

So, character creation, and the obvious first odd thing is how to generate your ability scores – use a method given to you by the DM from the DM’s Guide – which at this point wasn’t published yet! Further to that – no combat tables either!

Huh, I remember there being class/race limitations but not to this extent. No Dwarven clerics or magic-users, no Elven rangers etc. And so many other limitations on min/max ability scores and max character levels attainable depending on race/class.

Another rule I’d forgotten about – the fighter and fighter sub-classes can attack once per level of their experience per round if fighting monsters of less than one hit die.

There are all sorts of small details for each class that we never made use of when we played as kids. The monk takes the cake for all its specific rules.

Hit Points, Weapons and Armour

Now here’s an interesting rule – the DM can choose to keep the hit points of the characters a complete secret and only describe roughly how they feel – eg very weak.

It’s nice how Gygax describes the rationale for the hit point system – that basically the increasing hit points gained per level reflect increasing skill at dealing with attacks and damage – eg while 8 hit points of damage may kill a 1st level character, a 10th level character with 50 hit points will have managed to use their skill to mean proportionally they’re not in such a bad way from those same 8 hit points of damage.

Another rule we overlooked – shields can only be counted against a certain number of attacks per round.

The weapon type armour class adjustment tables make sense but are a bit of a nightmare. I remember a friend of mine having the combat computer to do all the calculations.

Spells

Spells, so many spells…

You know, when you really study some of the spells, you find some that can be incredibly useful. For example, lots of people complain about how hard Tomb of Horrors is, especially things like the spoilers! … thing that completely annihilates you. And yet, there’s a simple second level cleric spell called Augury which will pretty much tell you it’s a bad idea to put anything in it.

Gygax obviously has a sense of humour – some of the material components for spells are quite funny – eg for Wall of Fog, you need some split dried peas (ie pea soup fog) and there’s even a fart joke – for Gust of Wind you need a legume seed.

Without knowing it, Gygax has also described a dance rave spell, the Hypnotic Pattern – where the illusionist uses a crystal rod fill with phosphorescent material to mesmerise creatures into dumbstruck awe by waving it around in fancy patterns.

Adventuring

Now we move on to a smattering of sections about Adventuring – time, movement, light, etc. It’s a long time since I’ve read this and even then, I’m not sure I ever read a lot of these sections – there are quite a few tips that Gygax gives for how to deal with things like traps and tricks.

Combat

And then we come to Combat. I’d forgotten that you’re supposed to roll for initiative each round. Seems a bit tedious besides being a bit odd. To tell you the truth, I am rather confused by the example combat given. Eg how surprise doesn’t give a full round of actions, just some extra segments to the surprisers. And how the illusionist at one point has initiative and goes to cast a spell but is then interrupted by the thief attacking. There’s definitely not enough information given to explain how all this works. It must have been a very frustrating wait for the DM’s Guide to clarify all this. This is a recurring pattern. Eg for saving throws – “Your Dungeon Master has tables which show the saving throw scores…”

Although come to think of it, with regards to combat, I don’t think we ever played strictly by the rules. We probably played more of a bastardised AD&D/Basic combination of rules.

I like how Gygax at numerous times points out that this is a game. When it comes to modelling hit points, how combat rounds work, how experience points are gained, he very clearly states that of course it’s not very realistic in some respects but then neither are 12 foot tall giants. To model those things in detail does not make for a fun swashbuckling adventure!

Appendices

Appendix I – Psionics

Huh, reading Appendix I, I think I’ve finally got a grasp on how psionics works. I was totally confused by the explanations in the OD&D Greyhawk supplement. This explains it much better. I still think it’s a totally unnecessary part of the game when there’s already a magic system.

Uhhhh, no. Wait. I still don’t get it. I understand the numbers and the Disciplines, but there are still things that are unclear. A Psionic Blast is the only thing that works against non-psionics, but it doesn’t actually tell you what it really does – like, are the recipients incapacitated for a round or something? I guess there’s more on this in the DMs Guide.

Appendix II – The Bard

The Bard is pretty much exactly the same as described in Strategic Review 2.1 with the exception that they now get Druid spells instead of Magic User spells.

Appendix IV

The known planes of existence finally get a very clear overview.

Overall

Commenting on the book as a whole, like the Monster Manual, the step up in quality is pronounced – the design, layout and organisation is fantastic.

In terms of what’s new, in some ways it doesn’t feel that there’s actually much that’s new conceptually. Rather, it’s a consolidation, distilling, refinement and extension of all the combined OD&D plus supplements plus extra bits from Strategic Reviews and Dragon mag. There’s also a notable culling of over-powered spells along with some other things that weren’t deemed good ideas like hit location.

Oh, and we get the new Wizard logo instead of the Lizard logo.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the art by DCS and Tramp – it’s all fantastic! (Except the picture of the races – that’s a bit how-ya-going.)

Date Information – June 1978

Acaeum says June, Of Dice and Men says it was available just in time for Gen Con in August.

The copyright says June, but to tell you the truth, I’m not so sure that it was actually available in June. Oddly, Dragon mag doesn’t mention the Players Handbook in its editorials or even Gygax’s Sorcerers Scroll column. The only place it gets a mention is in some ads saying it will be available at Gencon in August. And in the August issue, it says it’s available now. Oh well, I guess it was just widely available for most people at Gencon and available in small quantities in June. Also, as far as I can tell, the first printings have the G and D series modules in the catalog in the back. Which weren’t really available till July at Origins. I guess that was just forward planning. Also of note, the official copyright registered is August 15th (but it wasn’t registered until 1980). Oh and one other thing, they were already into a second printing in September! So all in all, it’s a bit tricky – it’s probably really July or August but I’m going with June anyway.

Quick one today.  Yesterday's mail brought me some wonderful gifts.

Up first are the new books for the NIGHT SHIFT RPG.  The Night Companion and a new "Night Trip" A Faustian Dilemma.   These are both the babies of my co-author Jason Vey.  You can now get both at the Elf Lair Games store.

I do have a new "Nigth World" in Night Companion.  My "Weirdly World News" where you get to play tabloid reporters try to get that ever-elusive story that proves the supernatural is real, and hope there is a good paycheck in it. 

This book also introduces the world the everyone's favorite cryptid, Rat Baby.

 Kickstarter backers will be getting their books now. I knew I was on the end of the list for my copies.

I also got a new Witch Queen adventure in the mail again from Carlos A.S. Lising and casl Entertainment.

As you can see, this one also features Iggwilv as the titular Witch.

I am going to give this one a review and hope it is as fun as The Witch-Queen's Lament was.  I think I am going to restructure my War of the Witch Queens adventures just a bit. 

For those keeping score at home, you’re not imagining things: the gallery is hosting a lot more open houses than usual. That’s for a lot of reasons. Firstly, because we’re still in the dead of winter and we still have … Continue reading →

I was cleaning up some links on my Witch Links page and I noticed a few I had from the Halls of the Mountian King, the blog of the recently passed Jason Zavoda. He posted a bit about Hyperborea, nee AS&SH, including the Witch Queen of Yithorium.  I also found a lot of material for his own Blackmoor Land of a Thousand Witches.

Jason was very well respected in the Greyhawk community and I thought it might be a nice tribute to expand on his ideas some, but more importantly, share his ideas all with you.  Up first, the Witch-Queen of Yithorium.

The Witch-Queen of Yithorium

There is not a lot of text on who the Witch-Queen of Yithorium is except for what she wants now.

The official Hyperborea forum has a little on her background.  She is a nod/homage to Howard's witch Salome in "A Witch Shall Be Born." She rules from a 100’ tower of alien origin that immediately reminded me of Clark Ashton Smith. She is immortal, ever young, and has ruled Yithorium for nearly 700 years.  She obviously knows what to do.  

Jason provides the most information about the Queen herself in his post.  He uses a picture of Judith from the Bible as his inspiration.  Much like Salome (the namesake of Howard's witch) Judith is known for her association with a decapitated man. John the Baptist for Salome, Holophernes for Judith.   We gather from his post (and others) she was a beautiful woman, small but voluptuous, with long raven tresses.  Naturally, I think of Sarah Douglas.  

We know she is a witch and uses a type of magic unknown to her lands. We learn it is blood magic and that no one in the City-State of Yithorium knows where she learned it.  I am going to say, given the work that Jason has done, that she learned it all in Blackmoor. 

There are no official stats for the Witch Queen of Yithorium in the Hyperborea books.  She doesn't even have a proper name really. 

The Witch Queen of Yithorium
Female Witch 12th level
Chaotic Evil

Race: Human
Secondary Skill: Torturer

Abilities
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 18

Casting Ability: 12
Fighting Ability: 5Saving Throw: 11

Hit Points: 36
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
AC: 9

Powers
Brew Decoction (x5), Familiar, Read Magic, Scroll Use, Scroll Writing, Sorcery, New weapons skills (3), Dance of Beguilement (5th level), Effigy (5th level), Enlist Henchment (6th level), Animate Broom (7th level), Lordship (9th level).   
Spells 
First: Alter Self, Charm Person, Detect Magic,  Shocking Grasp, Unseen Servant
Second: Darkness, Ghoul Touch, Infernal Tounges, Ray of Enfeeblement, Witch Fire
Third: Dispel Magic, Exploding Skull, Phantasm, Summon Dæmon I
Fourth: Black Tentacles, Mirror Mirror, Sorcerer Eye, Summon Dæmon II
Fifth: Anti-Magic Field, Summon Dæmon III, Summon Elemental
Sixth: Gelatinize Bones, Transfer Youthfulness





The Witch Queen of Yithorium
Female Witch, Blood Tradition 13th level
Chaotic

Abilities
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 18

Hit Points: 36
AC: 9

Occult Powers
Familiar: Raven
7th level: Evil’s Touch 
13th level: Detect Bloodline

Spells 
Cantrips: Black Flame, Chill, Daze, Ghost Sound, Inflict Minor Wounds, Object Reading
First: Bewitch I, Darkness, Feel my Pain, Ghostly Slashing, Glamour, Silver Tongue
Second: Alter Self, Disfiguring Touch, Ghoulish Hands, Scare, Share My Pain, Suggestion
Third: Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Dispel Magic, Lifeblood, Summon Spirit, Witch Wail
Fourth: Divination, Phantom Lacerations, Polymorph, Spiritual Dagger
Fifth: Bewitch V, Dreadful Bloodletting
Sixth: Spiritual Dagger, Summon Nightmare SteedSeventh: Wave of Mutilation 

For this witch, I am using a combination of the Family, Maelific, and Mara Traditions. 

While I am perfectly happy to keep her nameless, or only as "The Witch Queen," I am thinking of giving her the proper name of Miriam, to keep with the Biblical theme I have established here. Of course, no one besides her would know that. 
 

Hyperborea has always been a large part of my plan for the War of Witch Queens, at least in terms of how witches are presented.  At one point it was going to be my system of choice for the campaign, but I have since settled on OSE.  Still, Hyperborea has a lot to offer me. 

I typically mix in a fair amount of Barbarians of Lemuria into my Hyperborea games. So it might be fun to have Miriam, the Witch Queen of Yithorium be the rival of Methyn Sarr, the Witch Queen of the Fire Coast.  Each thinking the other is the lesser witch while worried that the other might have access to some magic they do not.  They seem to be cast from the same mould, that of Salome of "A With Shall Be Born," but one taking to fire magic and the other blood magic.  I don't think they were/are sisters in the biological sense but maybe they are former coven sisters. Once allies or even friends and now bitter, hated rivals.  If Sarah Douglas is my model for the Witch Queen of Yithorium, then my choice for Methyn Sarr would have to be Emma Samms. Not too far of a stretch since she was the uncredited performance/body model for Princess Teegra in Ralph Bakshi's "Fire and Ice." 

Links

• Hyperborea 3rd Edition Referee's Manual
• Inspiring Illustrations - The Witch-Queen of Yithorium
• Hyperborea Forum
• OD&D Forum
• Sword & Sorcery & Cinema: Sarah Douglas Film Fest
• Methyn Sarr, Witch Queen of the Fire Coast

I have been wanting to spend some time with the AD&D 2nd Edition Monstrous Compendiums.  I suppose now is as good of a time as any.

In the waning years of the 80s, AD&D took a new turn. Much of the original guard was gone from TSR and a new edition of its flagship game was on the way.  I was at University at the time, so for me, it was easy enough to move over to AD&D 2nd Ed.  I was not playing with my normal group anymore (they were 200+ miles away) and it seemed like a good place to move on.  

It was June 1989 and I was on what was to be my last family vacation to Harrisburg, PA.  We were doing a big Civil War tour and my dad was meeting up with a bunch of guys he served with during the Korean War.  I remember being on my own for a bit and I found a game and comic store not far from Gettysburg. I went in looking for anything new and anything to entertain myself.  Much to my shock they had copies, released that week, of the new AD&D 2nd Monstrous Manual.  I remember talking to them asking how business was for AD&D 2nd ed and they had said terrible that no one was buying yet.  I am quite certain that changed later on.  But that was also my first hint at anything like an "Edition War."

I got it back to my hotel room and I read that book cover to cover.  I loved the idea of the 3-Ring binder and I loved how the monsters were all expanded to include the Habitats and Ecology.  My first RPG love was the AD&D Monster Manual.  This did not fill me with as much excitement (you never forget your first time) but it was close. 

As time went on and I bought more of the Monstrous Compendiums the weakness of the format began to show itself.  For starters you could never properly alphabetize the pages.  One monster per page is great, unless the monster on the back of the page is more letters down the line.  Also in normal use, the pages became tattered and torn; and that is if you removed the perforations right the first time. 

Still, I loved the idea and still do it today. 

Sadly, I sold my original MCs in a game auction about 25 years ago.  I needed room and I had the Monstrous Manual, the proper hardcover that came out later and I was in the process of moving on to other games. So I figured I didn't need these anymore.  Big Mistake...or was it?

I have since bought back a number of the Monstrous Compendiums. I have found them at garage sales, auctions, Half-Price books, and the PDFs on DriveThruRPG.  In fact for less than I sold my originals I have rebuilt my collection and then some.  And I have been expanding.

I have added DriveThruRPG pdfs I have printed.  Dragon Magzine Monsters I have also printed from my CD-ROM.

And since I have been doing my This Old Dragon feature I have had many Dragons that are falling apart.  So I have been adding material when and where I can.  Namely the wonderful Ecology Of... articles. 

I even find material online that others have done.

But many of the old issues remain.

But now I have access to all the Monstrous Compendium PDFs.  So I can buy what I need and print them out as I need.

The extra data is still good and I am amazed about how much of it still works for me today.  I might not play 2nd Ed ever again, instead opting for 1st Ed, but I am likely to use the Monstrous Compendiums in place of the Monster or Monstrous Manuals.

If you wanted to rebuy your collection of AD&D Monstrous Compendiums there are 22 books for a total of 2,350+ pages (figure over 2,200 monsters) at a price of $141.66. (note I might not have all of them)  Then you could print out what you want, how you want and organize them as you like.  I have already done this with Demons and Devils.

I am going to spend time with these over the next few weeks.  

MC1 Monstrous Compendium Volume One

This was the first Monstrous Compendium to hit the market but not the first time seeing the new monster format.  That was published in the (then) new Greyhawk Adventures hardcover.  Originally this came with the monsters on printed, perforated sheets, cardstock color dividers, and the three-ring binder to put them all in.

This product covered some 130 monsters from Aerial Servant to Zombie. It had most of the "usual suspects" including orcs, all the PC races, goblins, and the greatly expanded dragons. The Dragons were the big star of this particular package. They were bigger, meaner, and a whole lot scarier.

The PDF from DriveThru helps this book live up to its promised potential. You can print the entries you want and organize them how you want.  The scans are of the original books/pages so you don't have to worry about a lot of color (you will burn through the cyan/blue though).

A note, like the original Monstrous Compendium this one still has the error on the Vampire page, with side 1 printed on both sides. The correction can be found in the October 1989 issue of Dragon magazine or the full Monstrous Manual.

MC2 Monstrous Compendium Volume Two

The second Monstrous Compendium package was released that to the horror of OCD Dungeon Master's everywhere, you could not properly alphabetize all the entries.  This one covers more monsters, the second tier ones, Aarakocra to Yellow Musk Creeper and Zombie.  It had a solid Fiend Folio vibe to it. 

Any hopes the rumors were false were soon dashed as this set also did not include the Demons and Devils of old.  We would get them, eventually, but not for a bit.

The weakness of the printed copy of 1989 is no longer an issue with the PDF of today.  Now you can reprint the monsters you want AND keep them to one page for fully proper alphabetizing.  You just a need a new binder that will hold 500 some odd pages.

Like the MC1 this PDF includes the dividers you can print.  For my use? I print them out, put them in a page protector and then put some card stock in with them.

MC3 Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix

For me, and many others I feel, AD&D 2nd Ed was synonymous with the Forgotten Realms. It was Ed Greenwood's "Ecology of..." articles in Dragon that gave us these expanded monster listings so the Realms and 2nd Ed are a perfect fit in my mind.  Even if 90% of my own 2nd ed gaming was in Ravenloft.

This gives us monsters from Ascallion to Wemic.  Some old favorites like the Eastern Dragons are here and lots of monsters appeared in the pages of Dragon and Forgotten Realms books, many as 1st Edition versions first.

The PDF makes good on the promises to allow you to organize things as your wish.  This is particularly nice for me since I took some of these monsters and placed them in with the ones above in one binder as all the "common" monsters and then mixed the remaining with the other Forgotten Realms MC (MC 11) for "Realms unique" monsters. 

The scan on this one is a little light, so printing might make some of the pages look washed out. BUT you can turn up your printer's settings a notch to make it darker. Not too much or the scanned paper will also show up as "background noise."  But you can also print them out and touch up what you like with a pencil and not worry about marking up a 30-year-old book from your collection. 

The PDFs from DriveThru are a fraction of the cost of the original and I can also buy a very sturdy binder to put them all in.  The big issue is of course my own printer ink.  But if I ever plan on running an AD&D game again I'll be using these and finally have them live up to the full potential that was promised to me back in Gettysburg, PA in 1989.

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 a 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: The Yellow DeathPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Batu Bozoglu

Setting: Waverly Hills Sanatorium, Kentucky
Product: Scenario
What You Get: Fifty-two page, 30.37 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: What if the terror of tuberculosis could be infected by something more terrible? Plot Hook: A brother dies too early and too crazy. The Investigators will have to follow in his footsteps to find out what happened.Plot Support: Detailed plot, staging advice for the Keeper, twelve handouts, one map, fifteen NPCs, and four pre-generated Investigators.Production Values: Decent.
Pros# Interesting historical setting# Self-contained hospital hell# Detailed plot# An expectorantly vile one-shot# Could be adapted to Cthulhu by Gaslight or any time up to the 1950s# Getting in is easy, getting out (and in what condition) is another matter
Cons# Needs a good edit# Illustrations do not always match the period# Potentially overly plotted?# No Sanity rewards?
Conclusion
# Interesting historical setting# Detailed period one-shot# Presents a vile vehicle for the King in Yellow in an expectorantly horrible hospital horror

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 a 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: Field of ScreamsPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Al Smith

Setting: Jazz Age Iowa for Pulp Cthulhu: Two-fisted Action and Adventure Against the Mythos
Product: Scenario
What You Get: Thirty-one page, 9.76 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Sometimes the field of dreams is the end of them. Plot Hook: Ghosts on the field of play means the Investigators are going to dig deep.Plot Support: Detailed plot, staging advice for the Keeper, three chase worksheets for the Keeper, two NPCs, one Mythos Entity/Mob, one Mythos device, and six pre-generated Investigators.Production Values: Reasonable.
Pros# Interesting historical set-up# Engaging baseball-themed scenario# Uses the chase mechanics for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition# Low investigation scenario# Nicely designed Investigators# Potential campaign set-up# Underground city cruelly described
Cons# Uses the chase mechanics for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition# Underwritten NPCs (especially for campaign play)# Underwritten penultimate rescue scene# Focuses too much on the chase over the penultimate rescue scene# What if the Investigators fail?# No Sanity rewards
Conclusion
# Interesting historical set-up# Uses the chase mechanics for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition# Physical, low-investigation one-shot into the cruel Earth

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?
Black Spear: A Hero Wars Saga for RuneQuest is a campaign for use with RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha.

It is a one-hundred-and-seventy-two page, full colour hardback.

It needs a slight edit in places.

Maps and illustrations are done in full, glorious technicolour.

Where is it set?
Black Spear: A Hero Wars Saga for RuneQuest begins in Apple Lane (as written), but is primarily set along the length of the Zola Fel River in the Valley of Cradles, as well as beyond.

Who do you play?Player Characters of all types could play this scenario as it involves a mix of social interaction, investigation, and action. Ideally (as written), they should have played through the scenarios in the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack and thus hold a position of power and trust. Player Characters who worship Orlanth or Yelm will find parts of the campaign entertaining, whilst Helerings will have a high old time of it.
Black Spear: A Hero Wars Saga for RuneQuest is set in 1627 ST after the death of Kallyr Starbrow.
What do you need?
Black Spear: A Hero Wars Saga for RuneQuest requires RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, the RuneQuest: Glorantha Bestiary, and the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack.
Access to the campaigns and supplements, Borderlands, Pavis, Sun County, River of Cradles, and/or Pavis: Gateway to Adventure may also be useful, but are not necessary to run Black Spear: A Hero Wars Saga for RuneQuest.

What do you get?Imagine if you will that upon his retirement, Professor JRR Tolkien was chosen to adapt and direct Heart of Darkness rather than Francis Ford Coppola, but do so as a Bronze Age myth and do it for the small screen as a Saturday morning cartoon—a Saturday morning cartoon with all of the mythology and the naughty bits left in. If you can imagine that, then you have a pretty good idea quite what Black Spear: A Hero Wars Saga for RuneQuest is like. Black Spear is a truly epic campaign which connects the Dragonrise and the Hero Wars, and does so in two ways. Materially, it will see the Player Characters sent to Pavis to inform Argrath White Bull that now is the right time to return to Sartar. Mystically, it will see the Player Characters involved in the reverberating consequences of the Dragonrise, the ongoing confrontation between Orlanth and Yelm, chart Argrath’s ascent to power and prominence, and rescue him from Darkness—and more. Along the way, the Player Characters will have the wildest ride of their lives, get insulted by Baboons, go to the weirdest and wettest disco they could ever imagine, get involved in Sun Dome politics and heresies, confront themselves, attack and protect a dragon… and much, much more.

Which is not to say that the author of Black Spear: A Hero Wars Saga for RuneQuest is Tolkien in this analogy. Definitely not. Most obviously because in no way is his ego in need of such polishing, but also if we have to have a Tolkien figure, it would be Greg Stafford. Which would probably make the author of Black Spear: A Hero Wars Saga for RuneQuest here Christopher Tolkien. Which is enough of an ego buff. Anyway, let us put an end to this Tolkien talk.
As written, Black Spear: A Hero Wars Saga for RuneQuest is initially tied into the storyline established in the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack, in which the Player Characters defend Apple Lane and one of their number becomes its Thane. As trusted subjects with a reputation for being able to get things done, Queen Leika, leader of the Colymar Tribe, requests that they travel as quickly as they can to the far city of Pavis, and there call its King, Argrath White Bull, back to Sartar. So begins a rip-roaring ride that will take them by air, by river, and ultimately, by means mystical upon their very own journey into Darkness, as well as that of Argrath White Bull himself. In the process, the Player Characters—the majority of them likely to be loyal Sartarites—will be pulled far out of their comfort zone and up the Zola Fel river, as well as deep into the myths of Glorantha. Make no mistake, this is a deep dive into the mysticism of Glorantha.
Throughout, Black Spear is heavily annotated by the author. Here he adds both side notes and asides, references much of his personal library devoted to Glorantha (thankfully the Game Master does not need access to this to run the campaign), gives staging advice for particular scenes, tells you how his players tackled this situation and that, provides references to appropriate illustrations, and occasionally admonishes bad and/or reluctant players. The latter can come across as patronising, but this is a campaign which needs fully embracing by both Game Master and players if they are going to get the most of it and its weirdness. Accompanying this are pieces of poetry, sermons, music suggestions to be played at the appropriate time—everything from O Fortuna! from Carmin Burana and Sunrise from Also Sprach Zarathustra to Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood to Football Fight by Queen from the film, Flash Gordon, and more. There is even alternative staging advice for each of the campaign’s seven acts if the Game Master prefers not to use some or all of the author’s version of its events.
For the most part, Black Spear is relatively light in terms of stat blocks. They are there as is necessary, but in the main, the mechanics emphasise the Player Characters’ Runes and Passions and how they influence and interact with the story told through the campaign. In fact, Black Spear is fairly light in terms of combat too, mainly keeping it for the big set scenes. (If the players relish their combat, a corollary comes with the PDF version of the campaign, ‘Violence is Always an Option!’, which suggests possible combat encounters in each of its seven acts.)
After all that, if Black Spear is lacking anything, it is advice as to what to reward the Player Characters with. They have just gone on an epic journey, if only inadvertently, and if Queen Leika has no reason to reward them for actually completing a simple task that went awry, arguably, Argrath White Bull does because the Player Characters do much more than simply deliver a message. Another issue with Black Spear is the sheer amount of information and myth which the author splurges on the Game Master. In the author’s defence, he does his very best to make it accessible and entertaining. So whilst there are innumerable references to out-of-print books, these are asides and he always sticks to core sources that are in print or readily available. Further, when the inevitable wodges of exposition need to be delivered in order to impart the degree of detail and depth behind the events in Black Spear from the Game Master to her players, the author provides both staging advice and the means to break it up and make the delivery that much more palatable. 
Mention should also be made of the fantastic artwork in Black Spear. It matches and enhances the cartoonishly epic nature of the campaign, giving it much of its character.
Is it worth your time?Yes—Black Spear: A Hero Wars Saga for RuneQuest is an unforgettably epic fabulation of  Gloranthan myth which takes a RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha campaign into the Heart of Darkness prior to the Hero Wars. No—Black Spear: A Hero Wars Saga for RuneQuest is too fantastic a campaign, too much a case of ‘Your Glorantha May Vary’, and perhaps too much information for some, and not every campaign will be running a campaign which runs up to the Hero Wars.Maybe—Black Spear: A Hero Wars Saga for RuneQuest contains much that is ‘Your Glorantha May Vary’ and whilst the Game Master may not want to run it as a whole or a campaign set in Sartar, there are scenes and ideas here which can be explored or adapted as is her wont.

For every Ptolus: City by the Spire or Zweihander: Grim & Perilous Roleplaying or World’s Largest Dungeon or Invisible Sun—the desire to make the biggest or most compressive roleplaying game, campaign, or adventure, there is the opposite desire—to make the smallest roleplaying game or adventure. Reindeer Games’ TWERPS (The World's Easiest Role-Playing System) is perhaps one of the earliest examples of this, but more recent examples might include the Micro Chapbook series or the Tiny D6 series. Yet even these are not small enough and there is the drive to make roleplaying games smaller, often in order to answer the question, “Can I fit a roleplaying game on a postcard?” or “Can I fit a roleplaying game on a business card?” And just as with roleplaying games, this ever-shrinking format has been used for scenarios as well, to see just how much adventure can be packed into as little space as possible. Recent examples of these include The Isle of Glaslyn, The God With No Name, and Bastard King of Thraxford Castle, all published by Leyline Press.

The Pocket Sized Perils series uses the same A4 sheet folded down to A6 as the titles from Leyline Press, or rather the titles from Leyline Press use the same A4 sheet folded down to A6 sheet as Pocket Sized Perils series. Funded via a Kickstarter campaign as part of the inaugural ZineQuest—although it debatable whether the one sheet of paper folded down counts as an actual fanzine—this is a series of six mini-scenarios designed for use with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, but actually rules light enough to be used with any retroclone, whether that is the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game or Old School Essentials. Just because it says ‘5e’ on the cover, do not let that dissuade you from taking a look at this series and see whether individual entries can be added to your game. The mechanics are kept to a minimum, the emphasis is on the Player Characters and their decisions, and the actual adventures are fully drawn and sketched out rather than being all text and maps.

An Ambush in Avenwood is the inaugural entry in the Pocket Sized Perils series. Designed for First Level Player Characters, the scenario has a simple set-up, plot progression, and denouement. It can be played through in a single session and will present the Player Characters with plenty of challenge for that session—perhaps too much challenge in the final scene?—whilst also allowing sufficient scope for the Dungeon Master to work the scenario into her campaign or just flesh out a few details as necessary if run as a one-shot. The set-up begins with the Player Characters about to ambush a prison cart. Inside the prison cart will be Lady Briarthorn, the leader of the resistance who has been captured by the Baron’s soldiers and is being transported to a secret location. As fellow members of the resistance, the Player Characters have this one last chance to rescue her! However, all is not what it seems.

The ambush itself is detailed on the first few pages of the fanzine, including a map and stats for the guards. Once the Player Characters defeat the guards they discover that Lady Briarthorn is not being transported in the prison cart, but rather a local healer, Bernard. Fortunately, he has overheard that Lady Briarthorn is being held in a nearby ruined tower which stands atop a flat-topped rocky outcropping. The tower itself is detailed—or rather drawn in full cross section—on the reverse of the first six pages of An Ambush in Avenwood, so essentially, the second part of the scenario needs to be unfolded and the sheet itself turned over. Here the designer has outdone himself with an entertaining illustration of the tower, its four storeys, and the camp outside, as well as in the rocky outcropping itself. The Dungeon Master can easily run the encounters in these few locations off the one page and barring the need to flip over for the stats for the guards, is given everything she needs to run the second part of An Ambush in Avenwood all the way up to the scenario’s climax.

The final scene for the adventure is quite tough. The Player Characters will need to contend with another, much more dangerous surprise—and no, it is not that Lady Briarthorn is the villain, though she does become a problem for the Player Characters—and perhaps the Dungeon Master might want to reduce or change the number of offensive spells wielded by the true villain of the piece, as a he is a tough customer. The scenario also takes a weird turn here as well, so the Dungeon Master may want to decide whether or not to include those elements if planning to use An Ambush in Avenwood as the basis of a campaign. If she does, then the Dungeon Master will also need to decide on the identity of the villain as this is left intentionally open.

Physically, An Ambush in Avenwood is very nicely presented, being more drawn than actually written. It has a cartoonish sensibility to it which partially obscures the degree of peril to be found within the walls of the tower. There is a sense of humour too in the details of the drawings, obviously more for the benefit of the Dungeon Master than her players. The combination of having been drawn and the cartoonish artwork with the high quality of the paper stock also gives An Ambush in Avenwood a physical feel which feels genuinely good in the hand. Its small size means that it is very easy to transport.

An Ambush in Avenwood is by no means a sophisticated scenario. It is simple, it is straightforward, and that means it is easy to run with very little preparation time. As the first entry in the Pocket Sized Perils series, An Ambush in Avenwood is an easy to prepare and run one-shot or campaign addition which has a charming physicality.

Bad weather is coming through the Dallas area, but it’s coming through after the weekend. In the meantime, the Texas Triffid Ranch Valentine’s Day Massacree and Carnivorous Plant Open House is still set for February 12 from noon until 5:00 … Continue reading →

A missing U-boat! A lost painting! A kidnapped journalist! Ex-Nazi villains! All classic ingredients for a mystery and an adventure set during the nineteen sixties, perhaps done as a film or an episode of an action television series made by ITC Entertainment. Or written and drawn as the plot of a French or Belgian comic, one of those bande dessinée or bédé titles starring Tintin, Spirou et Fantasio, Blake & Mortimer, or Yoko Tsuno. Or they could be the ingredients of a scenario for a roleplaying game inspired by those very same bande dessinée titles. The scenario is The U-Boat Mystery and the roleplaying game is The Troubleshooters. Published by Helmgast and Modiphius Entertainment, The Troubleshooters is the roleplaying game of action, adventure, and mystery set in an alternate nineteen sixties. This is an age of international travel, optimism, and co-operation, in which the Player Characters will solve mysteries, investigate crime, and thwart the evil plans for world domination by the secret organisation known as The Octopus. The U-Boat Mystery is the first scenario to be released for The Troubleshooters.

The U-Boat Mystery is designed to be played by between three and five Troubleshooters. Between them, they should have some decent combat skills and one of them at least, should have the Diver ability, if not the Divemaster ability, as the scenario does end in a dive on a submarine. One option might be to let the Troubleshooters have the opportunity to train before the dive itself and spend any Experience Points at that stage of the adventure rather than afterwards.

The U-Boat Mystery opens with a discussion of the Plot Hooks which will get the Troubleshooters involved in the scenario’s mystery. The four are Arch-Enemy: The Octopus, Do-Gooder, Looking for a Case, and Media Darling, and one or more of the Troubleshooters have these as one of their two Plot Hooks, enabling them to get pulled in from the start. This is a feature of The Troubleshooters and each of the Plot Hooks can be used in two ways. Either as a handout which relates the events of the Plot Hook and can be easily shared with the other Troubleshooters, or as a scene in their own right which can be played out as a prequel for each of these Player Characters, ideally before the opening credits roll… For the Troubleshooter with Arch-Enemy: The Octopus, a widow, Mrs Wallhaus gives him a map of the Sitomeyang archipelago in Southeast Asia, before she is suddenly shot and injured; for the Do-Gooder, he helps evacuate the tenants of a burning apartment block and learns that someone heard shots before the fire and that the only person missing is a widow; the Troubleshooter Looking for a Case receives an anonymous bundle of clues, all seemingly unconnected; for the Media Darling, the journalist—Pierre Martin—mentions that he is off to New York and then the Far East to cover a German marine expedition, but is then kidnapped. The Game Master does not use all four, but picks two to tie in two of the Troubleshooters cast and then their players should do their best to pull in the others into the mystery. Of the four Plot Hooks for The U-Boat Mystery, all of which are set in Paris, one of them should definitely involve Pierre Martin.
Once the Troubleshooters are on the trail of Pierre Martin, a journalist for La République, they will find further clues. These include a u-boat lost at the end of World War 2 on a long journey from Germany to Japan, a painting influenced by Wagner and said to be liked by Hitler on display as part of an exhibition in New York, a marine biology expedition being mounted by the University of Hamburg to South East Asia, and more… It should be relatively easy for the Troubleshooters to put these clues together and follow them to the island kingdom of Sitomeyang. There are side clues which though not key to solving the mystery, will help the Troubleshooters and better prepare them for events later on. These will take the Troubleshooters to Hamburg and possibly Berlin, but whether they travel to either city, or indeed to New York, their ultimate destination is Sitomeyang.

In Sitomeyang the Troubleshooters will need to track down the final resting place of the missing u-boat and then make the dive. The final scenes of The U-Boat Mystery involve them diving down to, gaining access to the submarine, and exploring it, perhaps after having sneaked aboard the marine biology (or not) vessel for further clues and probably during a confrontation with the rival dive crew. The dive and the exploration of the submarine is described in some detail and will require some careful planning upon the part of the Troubleshooters as it is technically challenging and could get them into serious trouble if it went wrong. The confrontation is excitingly staged and makes for a great climax in the mode of the underwater scenes from the James Bond film, Thunderball. Throughout the whole of the adventure, the Troubleshooters will find themselves watched, harried, and even attacked, only adding to the tension and excitement of the adventure.

In terms of support for the Game Master, The U-Boat Mystery comes with eleven NPCs and sixteen enemies—one of whom is weird indeed! Besides the four start-up handouts, The U-Boat Mystery includes seven clues and handouts, as well as deck plans for both the enemy ship and the submarine. Details of the city of New York—including such information as Fiddler on the Roof having just opened, and the fictional kingdom of Sitomeyang are provided in the same format as the city descriptions in the core rulebook, meaning that they can be revisited again and again. Similarly, the new gear kits can also be used elsewhere.

Physically, The U-Boat Mystery comes as a handsome hardback, presented in full colour, with some fantastic artwork done in the bande dessinée style. The handouts are very nicely done—the book actually comes with a handful of tourist visas for Sitomeyang!—though the deck plans of the submarine and the boat belonging to the rival marine biology could have been clearer. However, the scenario does feel as it could have been better organised to be a clearer read for the Game Master, certainly in the opening stages when explaining the various clues. One aspect of The U-Boat Mystery which is optional is its Science Fiction elements. The mystery does involve Nazi fringe science and its side effects as written, although neither is crucial to the plot, and they do send the scenario off in a slightly wacky direction.
The U-Boat Mystery is overall, a very nicely done scenario. Neither its mystery nor its clues are particularly complex, meaning that the players and their Troubleshooters can concentrate on the action and the roleplaying as they round them up and put them together. Every Game Master of The Troubleshooters will want to grab The U-Boat Mystery for her campaign because the scenario is exciting and fun, and the players and their Troubleshooters will thoroughly enjoy themselves.

I love my old school games. No shock, spend any time here at all and you can see that.  I enjoy a good retro-clone. Especially if someone puts a little spin on it as well.  Well, that feeling extends to my computer gaming as well.

Brief history and many of you have read this before. I bought my first computer, with my own saved up money, back in 1985.  It was a TRS-80 Color Computer 2 and I plugged it into a TV.  It had 16k of RAM, and ran at about 900 Kilohertz.  No disk drive. I had to save everything to cassette tapes.  It did have color though and that to me made it better than the TRS-80 Model IIIs we had at school.  In fact it was very much like this computer.

This particular computer was given to me by my brother.  He got it from my old High School DM.  We had the same computer, only his was 64k and had a floppy disk drive.  I would upgrade to the Tandy Color Computer 3 with 128k of memory, running at a whopping 2 Megahertz and a floppy drive.

The computer above though was in sad, sad shape.  In addition to a lot of yellowing it had, according to my brother who is an engineer, a broken pin on one of the epromms.  He tried fixing it, but it was DOA.

So I decided to build my own Tandy Color Computer Retro-clone!  But first I needed some supplies and that case needed work.  A lot of work.

Step 1.  Cleaning and Bleaching

The case was a mess and the insides were not much better.

With some of the grime gone I got out some plastic restore bleach and set it all up under some UV light.

Honestly, I kept it under the light for about a week.  But I can't argue with the results.

Part 2. Proof of Concept 

While that was taking a bath in bleach and getting some fake sunlight I worked on my proof of concept.  I had my youngest print out a mini Color Computer case for a Raspberry Pi B.  I also began ordering everything I would need.  Keyboard, USB cables, new case badges, HDMI cables, a USB 3 port, and of course a new Raspberry Pi 4.  

While waiting on everything to come in I played around with my proof of concept computer.

The CoCoPi emulator even allows me to switch out which classic CoCo processor I can use the MC 6309E or the MC 6809S (my preferred choice).

Got the keyboard and the USB 3 port so those also got tested with the Pi B.  I was able to get the USB 3 port fitted into the old CoCo cartridge slot.  So that was one thing out of the way.

I felt that bit came together rather well.  The next part was a little more involved.

Part 3. The Miracles of 3D Printing

I needed to replace all the joystick, cassette, and serial ports with the 21st-century equivalent, USB. My plan was to route high power draw USB 3 to the side port and keep the back for USB 2.  I also needed to replace the TV Out with HDMI.  Unlike the Pi B, the Pi 4 has two HDMI ports, so I needed to work that out.

The keyboard is a great size, just a touch too small, and no way to get it into the case and have it stay in place.  Plus I am hard on keyboards, so I needed to make sure it was sturdy.  So the first task, 3D print a keyboard tray.  This is FDM print. Our resin printer is acting up and the bed for it is way too small for this size print.

Not bad.  Now to print the ports.

In addition to printing the ports that go in the back of the computer I got some new male-to-female cables for USB (with splitters), and micro HDMI.  Since they were going to plugged in and out a lot I needed to be sure they were secure.  So I also broke out the resin.  Before fitting the new ports to the computer, I fit the new cables to the ports.

USB went in like a charm.  Next the HDMI ports and power cable.  Sadly though, I had to cut the case of the full-sized HDMI.

Though all took a bit to dry and cure.  I was getting close now!

Part 4. Putting it all Together

I knew the hardest part was going to be getting all the cables in.  It was easier than expected except the HDMI kept coming undone.  Still not 100% happy with it.  I had to abandon my plan to also have an ethernet port. It doesn't need it since it has built-in WiFi, but it would have been nice.

Cables stuffed into the case, case screwed back up, time to boot up!

The keyboard lights up (it is a Color Computer after all!) and the DOS box and CoCo emulators work! With that time to put on the new case badge.

Grab some more emulators from my Pi B and fire up my new retro gaming machine!

The computer is running Raspbian which is a stripped-down version of Linux Debian for the Raspberry Pi.  I prefer Ubuntu for my Linux, but this is working out fine. 

To match the spirit of the CoCo my side USB 3 port also has an SD Card reader.  So I rummaged through the house to collect all the old SD cards we have laying around.

I'll load some programs on these and I'll be able to load software on the side of my CoCo just like the old days!

I spent a long time on this, and maybe way too much money. BUT now I want to do another one! I mean, I already have two, the proof of concept model with the Pi B and the full case with the Pi 4.  There is a micro Windows computer out there that would fit into this case and there is another keyboard that also glows red, green, and blue (proper CoCo Colors) but it is white instead.  Maybe I should wait though.   I have always wanted to gut out a TRS-80 Model 4 and make that into my own version of the proposed, but never produced, Color Computer 4.

In the language of the OSR movement, this is retro-clone.  It uses new mechanics/hardware to simulate/emulate an older experience.  I am not running OS-9 (the OS for the Color Computer) and I am not sure I want to at this point.  While the CoCo is my love, I also enjoy the ability to run an Atari 2600 emulator on it and DOS Box.  So I guess my next step is to grab the Gold Box AD&D PC games and play them on this.

One last look at the before and after.

And After

I am very, very pleased with how it turned out.

Now to start trolling some auction sites for a TRS-80 Model 4 and figuring out what keyboard and monitor I can fit into that case.  I already have some old external drives I could fit into it.

Party Beach Creature Feature! A Jumpstart for They Came From Beneath the Sea! is a quick-start for They Came From Beneath the Sea!, the roleplaying game by the B-movies of the fifties and sixties in which the small-town beaches of America are imperiled by Communist crustaceans, aquatic agitators, and tentacular terrors. This is a roleplaying game of bad acting, no-budget budget breaking special effects, inspired by The Creature from the Black Lagoon, It Came From Outer Space, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, Them!, Monster From the Ocean Floor, and many, many others! Published by Onyx Path Publishing, Party Beach Creature Feature! A Jumpstart for They Came From Beneath the Sea! provides everything necessary for a gaming group to give the roleplaying game a try and perhaps even use it as the starter scenario to a campaign set on the cheapest, schlockiest film sets of the nineteen fifties. This includes a basic explanation of the rules, a nine-scene scenario—the ‘Party Beach Creature Feature!’ of the title, and six pre-generated Player Characters or Survivors, plus Trademarks for all of the Player Characters, Quip Cards, and Cinematic Cards.

Party Beach Creature Feature! A Jumpstart for They Came From Beneath the Sea! employs the Storypath system. A distillation of the earlier Storyteller system, it is simpler and streamlined, designed for slightly cinematic, effect driven play. The core mechanic uses dice pools of ten-sided dice, typically formed from the combination of a skill and an attribute, for example Pilot and Dexterity to sail a boat, Survival and Stamina to cross a wilderness, and Persuasion and Manipulation to unobtrusively get someone to do what a character wants. These skill and attribute combinations are designed to be flexible, with a character’s preferred method being described as a character’s Favoured Approach. So a character whose Favoured Approach is Force, would use Close Combat and Might in a melee fight; if Finesse, Close Combat and Dexterity; and if Resilience, then Close Combat and Stamina.

The aim when rolling, is to score Successes, a Success being a result of eight or more. Rolls of ten count as two in They Came From Beneath the Sea!, rather than the capacity for the player to roll again for further Successes. Typically, a player only needs to roll one Success for a character to succeed at a task, though it can be as many as three, and ideally, he will want to roll more. Not only because Successes can be used to buy off Complications—ranging between one and five—but also because they can be used to buy Stunts which will impose Complications for others, create an Enhancement for another action, or one that makes it difficult to act against a character. Stunts cost at least one Success and a range of stunts is given in the pages of Party Beach Creature Feature! A Jumpstart for They Came From Beneath the Sea! These include ‘Government Trained Sharpshooters’, which for one Success lowers the Degree of Difficulty when attacking a specific target; ‘Always Another Way’, which enables a Survivor to get out of a tight spot or around difficult situation for two Successes; and ‘Forensic Eye’, which grants clues about the aliens involved in the mystery for two Successes. Instead of adding to the number of dice rolled, equipment used adds Enhancements or further Successes for a player to expend, but the player needs to roll at least one Success for equipment and thus the Enhancement to be effective.

Under the Storypath system, and thus in They Came From Beneath the Sea!, failure is never complete. Either a player can spend a Rewrite to reroll; accept the failure, accept its consequences and a Consolation; or if the roll was a failure and a one was rolled on the die, suffer the consequences of a Botch and earn two Rewrites for the Writer’s Pool.

Party Beach Creature Feature! and They Came From Beneath the Sea! uses a number of mechanics which help enforce the genre. Every Survivor has access to a number of Trademarks, each tied to a particular skill, for example, ‘Big Stick’ for the Persuasion skill or ‘Subaquatica’ for Athletics, which can be used once per story. These typically grant the player two extra dice on a related roll per Trademark, but when activated and there are some Successes left over from the completed task, a player can actually gain Directorial Control of the film. In this case, the player can add or remove one detail from a scene for each Success spent in this fashion. A Survivor also has Quips, like ‘I’ve seen some aquatic nightmares before, but this takes the caviar…’ or ‘Not to be nosy, but… do those eyes belong to you?’ When used, they require everyone around the table to vote whether or not their use is appropriate, but if a Quip is successful, it earns a player another die to roll. Further uses of it can gain a player more dice. If the roll resulting from a Quip consists of three or more Successes, that Quip is considered Award-Winning and gains the player an additional Quip and the immediate use of a Cinematic without using Rewrites.

Rewrites are another genre-enforcing mechanic and are drawn from the Writers’ Pool, which is a group resource. They require all players to agree to their use, but with that agreement, a Rewrite can be used to make rerolls or add dice to a roll, as well as to active Cinematics. Five such Cinematics are included in Party Beach Creature Feature!—there are more in They Came From Beneath the Sea!—and these are ‘Call the Understudy’, ‘Cheap Set’, ‘Deleted Scene’, ‘Scene Missing’, and ‘Summon the Stuntman’. One last genre-enforcing mechanic is the Death Scene in which a Survivor gets to make one last chance to impart wisdom, make a request, give a soliloquy, and so on…

The rules in Party Beach Creature Feature! A Jumpstart for They Came From Beneath the Sea! are in general clearly explained and all easy to use in play. They are specifically designed to encourage and support cinematic play, even badly cinematic play, and whilst they are genre-enforcing, there are quite a few of them. So as much as the players need to lean into the genre and their Survivors, they also need to lean into the genre-enforcing mechanics—the Rewrites, the Cinematics, the Trademarks, and more—to get their full effect. This is not an impediment to play as such, but more of a requirement than players might expect of the roleplaying game.

A Survivor in Party Beach Creature Feature! and They Came From Beneath the Sea! has nine Attributes—Intellect, Cunning, Resolving, Might, Dexterity, Stamina, Presence, Manipulation, and Composure; a range a skills, some with associated Trademarks; and Connections, Quips, Tropes, and Favoured Stunts. Attributes and skills range in value between one and five dots, each dot adding a die to a dice pool. Trademarks are equivalent of advantages and Quips wisecracks, both of which grant a player extra dice, whilst Tropes are more personal advantages, such as ‘Hand-to-Hand Fighting’, which grants an extra die when in melee combat or ‘Eureka!’, which means the Survivor is good at putting clues together and can gain an in-depth understanding of a clue once per session. A Survivor also has a Path each for his Archetype, Origin, and Ambition, but these do not play a role in the jump-start, whilst of his three Aspirations, or goals, only the two short term Aspirations really count in Party Beach Creature Feature! A Jumpstart for They Came From Beneath the Sea!

The five characters included in Party Beach Creature Feature! A Jumpstart for They Came From Beneath the Sea! consist of an Everyman Department Store Clerk, an Adventuring Psychologist, a Disgraced Cop from the local police force, an Everyman Beach Bunny, an Investigative Girl Next Door Journalist, and a Preparation Enthusiast. Each is presented in full colour over two pages with the character sheet on one and an illustration and background on the other. The character sheets are easy to read and the background easy to pick up.

The scenario, ‘Party Beach Creature Feature!’, is set on a hot summer’s night in Darien, Connecticut. The Director will need to decide if the budget of the movie is low, big, or art, and to what degree Exploitation plays a role in its filming. Involving nine scenes over three acts, the scenario begins with everyone on Weed Beach before several fearsome fishmen rise from the waves and attack! The Survivors must not only hold off the attack but discover why the fishmen are so interested in the ‘jazz cigarettes’ which local small-time dealer, Sonny McGee, has been selling. This will lead the Survivors in a most unexpected direction. ‘Party Beach Creature Feature!’ is a short mystery, though with decent opportunities for inaction and investigation, combat and stealth, and it is supported with staging advice for the Director throughout. Each of the nine scenes is very clearly organised with explanations of how the Survivors got there, what they need to accomplish, the opposition they face, and the goal of the scene all laid out for the Director, making them easy to run. The plot is linear, but that is not really an issue in a Jump-start which is intended to introduce both setting and mechanics of They Came From Beneath the Sea! It should take a session or so to play through, which will mean that each player is only likely to get to use one or two Quips or Trademarks at the most. The short length means that, barring the adult element of ‘jazz cigarettes’, ‘Party Beach Creature Feature!’ could also be run as a convention scenario.

Physically, Party Beach Creature Feature! A Jumpstart for They Came From Beneath the Sea! is a slim softback, done in black and white bar the Survivor backgrounds and illustrations. The artwork is decent and captures a little of that beach party giddiness before something walks from the waves and wreaks havoc! It could have benefited from a little better organisation so that all of the content for the players and their Survivors could have been placed together, but if there is a real issue with Party Beach Creature Feature! A Jumpstart for They Came From Beneath the Sea!, it is that above and beyond the Storypath system, the rules in the Jump-start do add a handful of new moving parts. As good as those new rules are, and as much as they help enforce the genre, what the Jump-start could have done with is a cheat sheet explaining all of them for the benefit of the players, rather than having to explain them more than is necessary.

Although it needs a little more preparation than perhaps is necessary to ready the players for the rules, Party Beach Creature Feature! A Jumpstart for They Came From Beneath the Sea! has everything the Director and her players need for one night’s session of seaside scares, aquatic agitation, and B-movie budget beastliness. Anyone looking for chills on the cheap and scenery scrunching stagecraft should get ready to ham it up to the horror that comes ashore in Party Beach Creature Feature! A Jumpstart for They Came From Beneath the Sea!

A preamble on the enclosure backstories: Do you ever really think about where your garbage goes? Of course you don’t: you went to college because your parents were on your case about “go to school so you can get a … Continue reading →