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: Mad Sci – How to Train your ShoggothPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Kurt Havelock

Setting: Miskatonic UniversityProduct: One-shot
What You Get: Thirty-eight page, 142.16 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Miskatonic Mad Science
Plot Hook: Cartoonish capers with chemistry and whatnot causes chaosPlot Support: Eighteen NPCs, one map, and sixteen Mythos monsters, plus one robot.Production Values: Plain
Pros# Entertainingly cartoonish art# Interesting set of NPCs/Mythos Monsters# Variant Great Race of Yith# Myxophobia# Teraphobia# Science Anxiety
Cons# EDU as a stat is NOT stupid# Variant Great Race of Yith# All set-up, no plot# No staging advice# No investigation# Unusable as written without a lot of effort

Conclusion# All set-up, but no plot, investigation, adventure, or advice on how to use it# Actually more the bible for an anime-style Saturday morning Miskatonic University mad science cartoon

The two great features of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set were twofold. First, in ‘A Guide to Ubersreik’, it introduced Ubersreik, the fortress-town in the south of the Reikland, and its surrounding duchy that are in turmoil after an announcement from the emperor that unseated the ruling House Jungfreud. It left the town’s burghers and minor members of the nobility spotting an opportunity to take control themselves and much of this was explored in ‘The Adventure Book’, which provided a five-part mini-campaign and more story hooks. This was the second great thing about the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set—lots to roleplay. Although Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set was in part designed to set the Game Master and her players up reader for the majestic The Enemy Within campaign—after all, almost everything is in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Fourth Edition is—what if instead of leaping into that campaign, the Player Characters wanted to stay in and around Ubersreik? Fortunately, and almost immediately, publisher Cubicle Seven Entertainment began publishing scenarios set in and around the Duchy of Ubersreik, so the Player Characters could not only continue their involvement in the political upheaval in the town, but also explore its surroundings.

Ubersreik Adventures: More Grim and Perilous Scenarios in the Duchy of Ubersreik continues the series begun with Ubersreik Adventures: Six Grim and Perilous Scenarios in the Duchy of Ubersreik, by collecting the next five scenarios in the series—and more, in another handsome, if slim, hardback. The five take the Player Characters in and around the Duchy of Ubersreik, but do not stray very far from the river port at its heart. In the process, they will face an uprising by the recently dead, investigate a local legend, get caught up in a whodunnit, search for a serial killer, and find themselves wrapped in a con job. The scenarios are also flexible. All can be taken and dropped into the Game Master’s campaign, used in conjunction with the Rough Nights & Hard Days campaign anthology, or used as part of The Enemy Within. However, where Ubersreik Adventures: Six Grim and Perilous Scenarios in the Duchy of Ubersreik felt like it constantly wanted to push the Game Master, her players, and their characters onto the path that would lead into the events of The Enemy Within, none of the scenarios in this anthology do. Instead, they are standalone affairs that can be run in episodic fashion in and around the duchy, all the better to be free of any connection to The Enemy Within. One thing missing from all five is the ‘Shaking Things Up’ appendix with advice for the Game Master on running the scenario, alternative hooks to get the Player Characters involved, and a list of possible connects to not only the other five scenarios in the volume, but also other parts of the Empire. Although the lack of suggested connections means that the five scenarios in the anthology are less obviously flexible, at the same it enforces their independence away from The Enemy Within, though of course, they do work better in conjunction with the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set.

The anthology opens with ‘Deadly Dispatch’ which opens with one of the Player Characters receiving a mysterious package. Opening the package reveals that it contains a puzzle box and opening the puzzle box—the scenario suggesting either Intelligence checks modified by appropriate skills and talents or brute force as possible methods—reveals its contents to be quite probably blasphemous. Of course, brute force also destroys some of the evidence, but not all of it. Investigating the address label reveals that it has been given to the Player Character in a case of mistaken identity and investigating the addressee reveals that it should have been sent to a local river woman. She turns out to be easy to find and nervous when she is found. This is because unfortunately, she has become the front woman for a necromancer who has designs on Ubersreik. This is all a good set-up, supported by two well written NPCs in the form of the river woman and the similarly reluctant, but undead Estalian duellist who is the necromancer’s bodyguard and servant. In comparison, the necromancer himself feels underwritten as does the fact that the plot ends with a zombie uprising. Nevertheless, zombie uprisings are invariably fun and ‘Deadly Dispatch’ is a serviceable scenario that can be played through in a single session.
If ‘Deadly Dispatch’ is straightforward, then ‘Fishrook Returns’ is just a bit obvious in its plotting. The whole of Ubersreik is talking about the return of Fishrook, a notorious highwayman who has been holding up and robbing coaches and wagons on the roads around the city. What is significant about the highwayman’s return is that he is dead, having been hanged for his crimes a century ago. But this Fishrook wears the same bird-like mask and dresses just as flamboyantly, so is this the real Fishrook returned, his ghost, or someone impersonating his legend. A local noblewoman, Gutele von Bruner, bored and enamoured by the legend is determined to find out and hires the Player Characters to find out. Unfortunately, there is not really much of a mystery as to the identity of who the new Fishrook is and it is likely that the Player Characters will very quickly put two and two together and realise that it is actually Gutele von Bruner. There is a bit of a run around to capture her, but where the scenario gets interesting is deciding what to do with her, because after all, she has committed several crimes. This is particularly tricky if the Player Characters are still part of the city watch as they are in the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set. Do they upset the nobility by pushing for a trial and causing a bigger scandal, get a very reluctant town council involved, or upset almost everyone else by brushing it under the carpet and letting Gutele von Bruner get away with it? At this point, the scenario opens up and becomes much more Player Character driven as they try to negotiate the way out of the legal and social mess that Gutele von Bruner has landed them in and the Game Master will need to respond as necessary. Although there is advice for the Game Master, this second half of the scenario is much more difficult to run and so needs much more preparation time to understand the various possible outcomes.
The third scenario, ‘Double Trouble’, is a classic country house murder mystery. It begins with the Player Characters being invited to visit the home of a young poet because he wants to hear of their adventures and adapt them into verse. The atmosphere in the poet’s home is tense and nervous, and not because he has invited what his mother considers to be riffraff onto the family estate, but because of the other reason that he wants the Player Characters there. The poet is also worried about the rash of recent and sudden disappearances from amongst the staff on his family’s estate and the odd behaviour of his mother, and he wants the Player Characters to investigate. When they do, the Player Characters discover similarly worried and nervous staff, hear odd movements in the night, and so on, their efforts hampered by the attitudes of the staff who do not trust them and the efforts of the murderer. With a scenario being a murder mystery in a country house and having a title like ‘Double Trouble’, it would suggest that a twin is involved—and it is. Sort of. The scenario includes a good floor plan of the family estate and some well NPCs, though again, as in ‘Deadly Dispatch’, not the true villain of the piece. There is also good advice on what to do if the Player Characters accuse the villain too early on and pleasingly, it culminates in a scene in the drawing room in which the Player Characters will have to identify the murderer, explain his actions and motives, and convince everyone of their solution to the case. In other words, a classic ‘I suppose you’re wondering why I gathered you here today…’ scene and the scenario even uses that phrase for the title of the actual scene! ‘Double Trouble’ is a cracking little scenario that puts a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay spin on a classic genre to very entertaining effect.
The fourth scenario, ‘The Blessing That Drew Blood’, is another murder mystery, but this time more procedural in nature and set on the streets of Ubersreik, with the Player Characters undertaking a lot of detective footwork as they slog from one murder site to the next and from one witness interview to the next. In fact, there are a lot of witnesses to interview and a party of Player Characters without a decent Charm between them is going to be at a disadvantage from start to finish. This is something the scenario acknowledges, noting its heavy reliance upon the Charm skill and suggesting alternative interpersonal skills to use such as Gossip and Intimidate. Throughout the investigation, the Player Characters will be watched with keen interest by a strange trio that include a cat and a dog, and beset by incidences of explosive bodily expression or sleepiness at just the wrong moment… Are they connected and if so, what is their interest in the Player Characters and their investigation? It turns out that they are working to ensure that the culprit responsible, a musician famous across the empire, succeeds, because they are all in the service of Slaanesh. The strange trio willingly because they are former daemons attempting to get back into Slaanesh’s good books and the musician half-heartedly because if she fails to kill the required number of victims, she loses the musical ability that has made her rich and famous.
‘The Blessing That Drew Blood’ is another scenario with a good set-up and a great cast of well-drawn and colourful NPCs, including a veteran agitator and muckraker, a scared initiate of Morr—who may also serve as the Player Characters’ patron for the adventure if needed, a hail and brimstone Sigmarite Warrior Priest with shameful secrets, and a bartender who attempts to avoid answering every question lest he gains a reputation as an informer! And then there is the trio of ex-daemons whom the Game Master can have some fun with inflicting horrid, if temporary, afflictions upon her Player Characters. Unfortunately, the scenario is not as clearly laid out as it should have been and some of the information does not always match in the text. Nevertheless, this is a good adventure that fans of police procedurals will enjoy a great deal.

The fifth and final adventure in the anthology is ‘The Grey Mountain Gold’. The Player Characters are hired by an ambitious young man who believes that he has got hold of a map which shows the locations of the treasures rumoured to have been left behind when the Dwarven Clan Harataki had to flee the Karak of House Harataken from constant Greenskin assaults and wants their help to mount an expedition. Only it turns out that not only is he gullible, but he has been targeted by a gang of charlatans, because of course, the map is fake. How far the Player Characters are taken in by the conmen is another matter, but complicating the problem is that the remnants of Clan Harataki are based in Ubersreik and when Queen Vilda of Karak Branar gets to hear about it, she is less than pleased to learn that someone is going after treasures that rightfully belong to her and her clan. The other dwarves of Clan Harataki, in comparison, are incensed and with their ire up, are quite happy to give the culprits a good thumping, all of which sets up a scene where the Player Characters are chased through the alleys of Ubersreik by mob of disconsolate dwarves! This is an entertaining set piece, though one not helped by the lack of a map. One of the pleasures of this scenario is seeing a con in action with the Player Characters being caught up in it rather than being the target per se, whilst another is seeing a signature Career from Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, that of the Charlatan, in action. Of course, if the players and their characters are unhappy at the end of the scenario because they did not actually have a chance to mount an expedition to Karak of House Harataken, then this scenario does actually show them why it might be a bad idea.
One of the aspects of Ubersreik which is not explored in full in the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set or Ubersreik Adventures: Six Grim and Perilous Scenarios in the Duchy of Ubersreik, is what happened to the ruling House Jungfreud after it was unseated by the Emperor. This, though, is explored in Ubersreik Adventures: More Grim and Perilous Scenarios in the Duchy of Ubersreik. House Jungfreud has fled back to its ancestral seat of the neighbouring Duchy of Black Rock, a grim and gloomy place best known for its coal or ore mines, where Graf Sigismund von Jungfreud alternates between glowering and preparing for war, wary of the Emperor’s next steps. All of this is detailed in the penultimate section of the book, ‘A Guide to Black Rock’. This details the craggy, rock-strewn moorlands, it various town and settlements, mines along with a list if miner’s slang, the site of a ruined abbey which along with its monks and nuns was put to the torch for heresy and is still haunted by a tomb banshee who was the former abbess, the source of Neufaljung ink typically used to sign death warrants, Castle Neufaljung—seat of House Jungfreud—and its inhabitants, and the various plots whirling around the castle and the duchy. Alongside this are numerous hooks and sidebars that the Game Master can develop into scenarios and plotlines, and overall, this a good introduction to the duchy with plenty of information for the Game Master to work with.

Lastly, Ubersreik Adventures: More Grim and Perilous Scenarios in the Duchy of Ubersreik does actually return to the subject of The Enemy Within, but in an unexpected fashion. This is as consequences of the campaign, as if there is another group of Player Characters involved in it rather than those in Ubersreik. This further divorces Ubersreik Adventures: More Grim and Perilous Scenarios in the Duchy of Ubersreik and its events away from those of The Enemy Within beyond those consequences, whilst allowing the Game Master to take them into account even if she has no intent of running the campaign herself. Alternatively, a group of players could actually play both, but with different characters, so that the one set of characters experience the events of The Enemy Within and the other characters’ activities if only vicariously. It is a nice addition and interesting to the campaign from a different angle even if it does give away a lot of detail about The Enemy Within.

Physically, Ubersreik Adventures: More Grim and Perilous Scenarios in the Duchy of Ubersreik is very well presented. The book itself is a handsome hardback and the book’s artwork—especially in its depiction of the NPCs—and cartography are both well done. However, the anthology needs an edit to fix final errors and to make sure that some of the plots and their information is clearer.
Ubersreik Adventures: More Grim and Perilous Scenarios in the Duchy of Ubersreik is another solidly impressive set of scenarios that enables a group to continue playing the campaign begun in the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set, whilst also being flexible enough to be set elsewhere in the Empire and the Game Master’s campaign. ‘A Guide to Black Rock’ very nicely expands upon the source material in the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Starter Set, but really the two standout scenarios in the anthology both involve murder—‘Double Trouble’ and ‘The Blessing That Drew Blood’. Although it is a good anthology of scenarios in general, the Game Master who has set her campaign in Ubersreik is definitely going to want to run the scenarios in Ubersreik Adventures: More Grim and Perilous Scenarios in the Duchy of Ubersreik.

One of the great things about The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings, the second edition of the acclaimed The One Ring: Adventures Over the Edge of the Wild published by Free League Publishing is The One Ring Starter Set. Why do you ask? Well, because it lets us roleplay members of the Hobbit community whom we not normally encounter. Drogo Baggins, Esmeralda Took, Lobelia Bracegirdle, Paladin Took II, Primula Brandybuck, and Rorimac Brandybuck, in many cases the parents or relations of three of the Hobbits who would form part of the Fellowship of the Ring decades later. Under the direction of the scandalous Bilbo Baggins, the quintet went off and had adventures of their own in the Shire, whilst at the same time The One Ring Starter Set presented the Shire for the roleplaying game itself. Sadly, the five adventures had to come to close and with it the chance to play those characters again. Fortunately, s available a number of sequel adventures, including Landmark Adventures, that can be run as part of, or after, the events of The One Ring Starter Set, or simply added to an ongoing campaign for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings if it is being run in or around The Shire. The Ghost of Needlehole proved to be a sharp little ghost story, whilst the Mines of Brockenbores took the Player-heroes to the far north of the Shire to inspect a mine! Sackville-Baggins Estates takes the Player-heroes to the far south to explore a growing threat that comes to a fruition at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Sackville-Baggins Estates describes the farmstead to the southeast of Longbottom, which lies on the very edge of the Shire. This is the estate of Otho and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, the latter the infamous cousin of Bilbo Baggins, known for her covetous and grasping nature and her desire to own Bag End. Despite the poor quality nature of the farm’s ground, Otho and Lobelia have enriched themselves growing Southern Star pipe weed, which although of too poor a quality to sell to other Hobbits, is sold to Men and merchants in Bree and beyond. Where Lobelia is sour-natured and inquisitive, her husband is dour and ill-mannered, and their son, Lotho, is ill-tempered and lazy with a perpetual scowl on his face. Otho is also secretive and rarely welcomes visitors—and with good reason.

In his desire to become the ‘wealthiest Hobbit in the Shire’ and appease his wife, Otho has entered into a secret pact with a man from the south. This is to provide information about the doings of the Shire, and in particular, the comings and goings of Gandalf the Grey. The money he is paid comes from the purse of Saruman the White... Over the years, Otho’s farm has doubled in size and seen an increasing number of visitors, working the fields and transporting the harvest away. These are a mix of ne’er do wells from across the Shire and men brought in, many of whom work the spy network that Otho has established on behalf of Saruman. Ultimately, the investment that Saruman has made in the Shire will pay off with the Scouring of the Shire.

Sackville-Baggins Estates includes a rumour and old lore about Otho’s farm and both he and Lobelia, a random event that brings the Player-heroes into contact with one of Otho’s agents, descriptions of all three NPCs—Otho, Lobelia, and Lotho, and a description of their farm. There is a lot of information given here and as a Landmark Adventure, what it does is develop the back story to the events at the end of The Lord of the Rings. However, this is not an easy Landmark Adventure to use. To begin with, there is relatively little to explore and not much more to discover. Then, when Otho’s perfidy is revealed, how does this play out? What are the consequences? How does it affect future events in the Shire given that they are written in stone? Then there is an even darker plan upon the part of Otho, which the adventure suggests, but again, the consequences are not explored in any depth.
Sackville-Baggins Estates is neatly presented and is well written. The map is rough, but workable.
Unfortunately, as welcome as Sackville-Baggins Estates is, it is simply not as good as the previous The Ghost of Needlehole. It does a very nice job of filling in the back story to the events that lead into the later events of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and the Scouring of the Shire. In terms of gameable content, Sackville-Baggins Estates will need development upon the part of the Loremaster to be effectively useful in her campaign.

How do you like your GM Screen?

The GM Screen is a essentially a reference sheet, comprised of several card sheets that fold out and can be stood up to serve another purpose, that is, to hide the GM's notes and dice rolls. On the inside, the side facing the GM are listed all of the tables that the GM might want or need at a glance without the need to have to leaf quickly through the core rulebook. On the outside, facing the players, can be found either more tables for their benefit or representative artwork for the game itself. This is both the basic function and the basic format of the screen, neither of which has changed all that much over the years. Beyond the basic format, much has changed though.

To begin with the general format has split, between portrait and landscape formats. The result of the landscape format is a lower screen, and if not a sturdier screen, than at least one that is less prone to being knocked over. Another change has been in the weight of card used to construct the screen. Exile Studios pioneered a new sturdier and durable screen when its printers took two covers from the Hollow Earth Expedition core rule book and literally turned them into the game’s screen. This marked a change from the earlier and flimsier screens that had been done in too light a cardstock, and several publishers have followed suit.

Once you have decided upon your screen format, the next question is what you have put with it. Do you include a poster or poster map, such as Chaosium, Inc.’s last screen for Call of Cthulhu, Sixth Edition or Margaret Weis Productions’ Serenity and BattleStar Galactica Roleplaying Games? Or a reference work like that included with Chessex Games’ Sholari Reference Pack for SkyRealms of Jorune or the GM Resource Book for Pelgrane Press’ Trail of Cthulhu? Perhaps Or scenarios such as ‘Blackwater Creek’ and ‘Missed Dues’ from the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Screen for use with Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition? Or even better, a book of background and scenarios as well as the screen, maps, and forms, like that of the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack also published by Chaosium, Inc. In the past, the heavier and sturdier the screen, the more likely it is that the screen will be sold unaccompanied, such as those published by Cubicle Seven Entertainment for the Starblazer Adventures: The Rock & Roll Space Opera Adventure Game and Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space RPG. That though is no longer the case and stronger and sturdier GM Screens are the norm today.

So how do I like my GM Screen?

I like my Screen to come with something. Not a poster or poster map, but a scenario, which is one reason why I like ‘Descent into Darkness’ from the Game Master’s Screen and Adventure for Legends of the Five Rings Fourth Edition and ‘A Bann Too Many’, the scenario that comes in the Dragon Age Game Master's Kit for Green Ronin Publishing’s Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Set 1: For Characters Level 1 to 5. I also like my screen to come with some reference material, something that adds to the game. Which is why I am fond of both the Sholari Reference Pack for SkyRealms of Jorune as well as the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack. It is also why I like the Gamemaster’s Toolkit published by by Modiphius Entertainment for use with Dune – Adventures in the Imperium, the roleplaying game based on the novels by Frank Herbert.
Dune – Adventures in the Imperium: Gamemaster’s Toolkit comes with a four-panel screen and a Game Master booklet that contains tools and advice on running a campaign for Dune – Adventures in the Imperium as well as adventure hooks, intrigues, and more. The screen itself is a sturdy affair, as is standard for the hobby today, but in portrait format rather than landscape. This is not as easy a format to use, plus it does have a much imposing presence at the table. The front of it depicts a map of Arrakis, or rather the known map of Arrakis at the time of the events of the novels. So, the northern polar region around Arrakeen and Catharg with the surrounding shield wall and The Great Flat, Funeral Plain, and Habbanya Erg to the west and the Deep Desert to the east. Done in sandy shades of yellow and brown with the startling blue of the polar ice cap at the centre, it is an imposing presence at the table. On the inside, the outer left panel list Skills, Drives, Traits, difficulty levels, and the skill test procedure, whilst on the inner left panel summarises the use of Determination, challenging Drives, how to add to the Game Master’s Threat pool, and the uses of Momentum. The inner righthand panel covers the rules for conflict and the attack sequence, plus the costs for spending Advancement Points, whilst the outer right panel has sections for creating NPCs on the go and generating story hooks. Throughout, every section has a page reference number so that the Game Master can check for further details or an explanation in the Dune – Adventures in the Imperium core book. Overall, there is a clear and pleasing simplicity to the Game Master’s Screen, and it is easy to read and use.
Dune – Adventures in the Imperium: Gamemaster’s Toolkit comes with a four-panel screen and a Game Master booklet that contains tools and advice on running a campaign for Dune – Adventures in the Imperium as well as adventure hooks, intrigues, and more. The screen itself is a sturdy affair, as is standard for the hobby today, but in portrait format rather than landscape. This is not as easy a format to use, plus it does have a much imposing presence at the table. The front of it depicts a map of Arrakis, or rather the known map of Arrakis at the time of the events of the novels. So, the northern polar region around Arrakeen and Catharg with the surrounding shield wall and The Great Flat, Funeral Plain, and Habbanya Erg to the west and the Deep Desert to the east. Done in sandy shades of yellow and brown with the startling blue of the polar ice cap at the centre, it is an imposing presence at the table. On the inside, the outer left panel list Skills, Drives, Traits, difficulty levels, and the skill test procedure, whilst on the inner left panel summarises the use of Determination, challenging Drives, how to add to the Game Master’s Threat pool, and the uses of Momentum. The inner righthand panel covers the rules for conflict and the attack sequence, plus the costs for spending Advancement Points, whilst the outer right panel has sections for creating NPCs on the go and generating story hooks. Throughout, every section has a page reference number so that the Game Master can check for further details or an explanation in the Dune – Adventures in the Imperium core book. Overall, there is a clear and pleasing simplicity to the Game Master’s Screen, and it is easy to read and use.
The Game Master booklet expands upon the chapter on being a Game Master in the core rulebook, first suggesting the types of conflict that the Player Characters might be involved in a scenario for Dune – Adventures in the Imperium. These include humanity versus nature, humanity versus civilisation, humanity versus tradition, humanity versus other humans, and so on. It supports these with eighteen different story seeds each of which includes a dramatic hook, an immediate call to action, locales, what is at stake, and the nature of the opposition. For example, in ‘Forgotten Vendetta’ under Kanly or humanity versus other humans, the Player Characters’ House may find itself the target of Kanly from a Minor House over an ancient and otherwise forgotten slight and a War of Assassins has already begun or in ‘The Star Pilgrims’ under Wilderness Survival for humanity versus nature, there is a race on to locate and investigate a crashed starship recently uncovered from the sands—just how old is it? No stats are provided and the Game Master will have to develop them into something playable, but they are good starting points.
To help the Game Master, the ‘Adventure Generators’ is a set of tables to create all of the elements of a scenario. This starts with title structure, key character type involved, location, object or animal, concept such as revenge or calamity, and institution or group. Following this are tables for a starting point for the adventure, involving the Player Characters and an enemy, before revealing the plot and identifying the antagonists and their aim. Further tables throw in problems and obstacles, a hidden hand behind the plot, and the supporting cast and NPCs. It is suggested that this is then mapped onto an intrigue map, with tables further tables given to detail the NPCs. All of this is supported by a really good example of how an adventure generation works which can easily be adapted to the Game Master’s campaign. All the Game Master has to do is supply names and stats and the plot is ready to play.
In addition, Game Master booklet includes four Intrigues as both inspiration and ready-to-develop examples. These dive into the conspiratorial aspect of the Known Universe, including the Bene Gesserit’s Missionaria Protectiva attempting to craft a new superstition with which to manipulate the Fremen, the Bene Tleilax scheming to obtain the secrets of the Bene Gesserit breeding programme, investigating the low yields of spice recovery from the harvester cleaning crews, and the Ixians attempting to scavenge the remains of an ancient spaceship. The latter could be tied back into the earlier ‘The Star Pilgrims’. The Locations add three example places that the Game Master can add to her campaign. They include a smuggler base, a sample House which serves as an information broker on Arrakis, and a House-run passenger spaceship. These nicely detailed, complete with full NPC stats, and again fairly easy to insert into a campaign.
Physically, the Dune – Adventures in the Imperium: Gamemaster’s Toolkit is well presented. The screen itself is sturdy and easy to use, whilst the Game Master Booklet is clean and tidy and easy to read. If there is an issue, it is that the Game Master will need a bag in which to store its various parts and not lose them!
The Dune – Adventures in the Imperium: Gamemaster’s Toolkit is a solid resource for the Game Master. The screen will always find a use, whilst the contents of the Game Master booklet is really something that the Game Master will dip into as necessary and as an addendum to the Game Master advice in Dune – Adventures in the Imperium. This can be as direct inspiration using its almost ready-to-play content or as a series of prompts for the Game Master’s imagination.

Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #8: The Land of the Eight Cities is a bit different, just like the previous entry in the line, Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #7: A Dozen Lankhmar Locations. Unlike the majority of the releases for Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game and the releases for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar Boxed Set, both of these are supplements rather than scenarios, although Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #8: The Land of the Eight Cities does actually include a scenario. Where Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #7: A Dozen Lankhmar Locations provided the Judge with a wide range of locations and businesses and NPCs that she can use to bring the city of Lankhmar to life, what Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #8: The Land of the Eight Cities does is open up the wider world of Nehwon to what is at heart a city campaign. It follows in the footsteps of the heroes of author Fritz Leiber’s tales of the adventures, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, as they struck north across the Inner Sea and into The Land of the Eight Cities. Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #8: The Land of the Eight Cities is both a guide to the country and to playing in that country, as well as a guide to how it was developed from original source material. Plus of course, it comes with its own scenario to get the Player Characters there.
Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #8: The Land of the Eight Cities introduces The Land of the Eight Cities, located in and on the edges of the Forest Land, across the Inner Sea from the city of Lankhmar. Six centuries ago, it was settled by Lankhmarts who came searching for resources including lumber, ores, and gems, who established its first cities and effectively turned the region into a colony of the city. That changed three centuries ago, when eastern nomads filtered through the gap between the Barrier Mountains and the Inner Cities and assaulted city after city, eventually capturing all of them. Yet they did not sack the cities, but instead occupied them and adopted their ways! In the centuries since, The Land of the Eight Cities and the city of Lankhmar have become uneasy trading partners, The Land of the Eight Cities trading its ready supply of lumber, ores, and gems in return for the grain and meat farmed around Lankhmar. Despite this strong relationship, the lords of the Eight Cities still fear invasion by the Overlords of Lankhmar. It has also a similar relationship with the barbarian tribes of the Cold Wastes, trading for their furs, amber, and ivory via the cold city of No-Ombrulsk, but constantly needing to patrol against the pirate ships from the north. The supplement also presents details of the peoples of The Land of the Eight Cities, its government, and its gods. The latter consist of the Gods of the Forest and the Red God. The Gods of the Forest are worshipped by the majority of inhabitants of the region and personify their belief in the inherent spiritualism of the ancient trees and verdant wildlife. The Red God is a deity of blood and slaughter, and is worshipped by soldiers across the region and in particular, by the gladiators who fight in the arena in the palace-house of Lithquil, the Mad Duke and ruler of the city of Ool Hrusp.
All eight cities of The Land of the Eight Cities are detailed, most of which are cramped settlements of close-set, steep-roofed wooden buildings threaded through by narrow alleys which are set in forest clearings where the forests literally come right up to the edge of the settlement. Few have walls or the fortifications found in the south, the surrounding areas being laced with traps and treetop watch posts with troops also keeping a hardy eye on the narrow roads to and from the cities.

The secrets of forest around the cities include stats for a typical gladiator of the Mad Duke, a Kilyolsho tribesman, a member of the desert tribe to be found on the other side of the Barrier Mountains, Ool Hruspian Marine who serves aboard the Ool Hruspian ships assigned protect the city’s merchant fleet from pirates and Sea Mingols. Two new creatures are given, the bear-like Luhr-beast and Pack Bear, the latter of which can be trained to carry items for a master, as well as fight for him. There are new Bensions and Dooms too. ‘Bear-blooded’ is a Benison which gives a Player Character bear blood, not only enabling him to roar like a bear and scare off animals in the forest, but also allowing him to have a trained pack bear that can understand commands and fight for the Player Character. The other Benison is ‘Mining Claim’, whilst the Dooms are ‘Blasphemer’, which makes the Player Character an apostate in the eyes of the priests of the Gods of the Forests, and ‘Treader in Ancient’ which curses the Player Character to followed by something discovered in the ancient black ruins deep in the forest, though he cannot recall the exact events of his first encounter with it or what it is. Both of these Bensions and Dooms are designed initially for natives to The Land of the Eight Cities, but outsiders who live there for some time may also gain them. Both the Gods of the Forest and the Red God are described in terms of being patrons, and there is a table for carousing in The Land of the Eight Cities instead of using the one given in the Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar Boxed Set.
The included adventure in Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #8: The Land of the Eight Cities is ‘Introductory Adventure The Tooth of No-Ombrulsk’. Designed for Player Characters of Second Level and Third Level, it begins with them coming into possession of a treasure map, pointing to the location of a stolen artefact. This is The Tooth of No-Ombrulsk, sacred to a whale-god worshipped in the northern city of No-Ombrulsk. The adventure is more of a mini-adventure, consisting of just eleven locations and describing a long-abandoned and ruined watchtower where the artefact has been hidden. It has a tomb-like quality, being laced with a number of traps, those these are not the only threats that the Player Characters will face. There are some sea-themed monsters as well as another pair of factions also after the artefact, including a very nicely done, desperate and vengeful priest of No-Ombrulsk. ‘Introductory Adventure The Tooth of No-Ombrulsk’ is nicely detailed as you would expect for Dungeon Crawl Classics, and the consequences of the Player Characters successfully gaining possession of the artefact are well thought out, but it only gets the Player Characters to the very tip of The Land of the Eight Cities and does not actually engage with the content presented elsewhere in the book. Thus, the Judge and her players will have to wait for something more definitive that will take their characters into The Land of the Eight Cities.

Rounding out Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #8: The Land of the Eight Cities is ‘Appendix A: The Fritz Leiber Papers Collection’. This details Michael Curtis’ trip to the University of Houston and its Special Collection department to examine the Fritz Leiber Papers it holds as part of the research to create the Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar Boxed Set. In particular, it looks at the draft version of ‘The Tale of the Grain Ships’ which would ultimately become The Swords of Lankhmar. It is this draft which Curtis draws on heavily for Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #8: The Land of the Eight Cities and he discusses this before delving deeper into the many items in the collection. This includes swords, early maps, screenplays, and even correspondence with E. Gary Gygax. For fans of Fritz Leiber and Lankhmar, and both Gygax and the Appendix N, this is a fascinating read and a great addendum to both the scenario and the box set.
One of the issues with Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #8: The Land of the Eight Cities is that it has relatively little source material upon which to draw from. Consequently there is a brevity to the content of the supplement, though some Judges will see this as a boon as it gives them room aplenty to develop their own content. However, the supplement is missing content which would have been useful. This includes maps, both of The Land of the Eight Cities and the Eight Cities themselves, and whilst the inclusion of the two Patrons, the Gods of the Forest and the Red, is more than useful, the lack of spells particular to them is not. Similarly, the supplement mentions several times that strange, ageless structures are to be found in the forests of The Land of the Eight Cities, but these are not detailed beyond suggesting that they might have been built by the same people who built the black temples upon which Lankhmar is built. Of course, this leaves plenty of room for the Judge to develop her own, but something beyond mere hints would have been useful.
Ultimately, the problem with Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #8: The Land of the Eight Cities is the paucity of information. There is always the feeling that there should be more information, but this is not the author’s fault, as there is relatively little information about The Land of the Eight Cities for him to draw on. Nevertheless, he has been able to develop a fair amount of detail and add to it, from what was available. The rest is up to the Judge to develop herself.

Physically, Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #8: The Land of the Eight Cities is well presented. The artwork is good and the one included map for the scenario is likewise good. One oddity to note is that the illustration of the Pack Bear is included on the previous page below the description of the Luhr-beast, a bear-like creature. Which suggests the possibility of there being a non-human anthropomorphic bear-like species in The Land of the Eight Cities. Which is not the case, and will only become clear when the reader flips over the page and continues reading.

Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #8: The Land of the Eight Cities opens up the possibility of the Player Characters—thieves, pickpockets, burglars, cutpurses, muggers, and anyone else who would skulk in the night—escaping the City of the Black Toga and going on wilderness adventures and visiting other cities. It is unfortunate that the included adventure, as decent as it is, does neither. Similarly, whilst the rest of the information in the supplement is also decent, especially given the constraints faced by the author in terms of source material, it is only a starting point. This limits its usefulness for the Judge, whilst also leaving the setting open for her to develop as part of her own campaign. Thus, whilst there is a lot of interesting information in Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #8: The Land of the Eight Cities, none more so than in the appendix, this is not a supplement that the Judge needs to have as part of her campaign. Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #8: The Land of the Eight Cities is very much an option, if then, an interesting option.

In my efforts to expand my knowledge of the Forgotten Realms, I am going to Master Sage himself, Ed Greenwood.

Official YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@edgreenwoodofficial

Patreon Page
https://www.patreon.com/EdGreenwood

X/Twitter
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ed.greenwood.142

I am not a subscriber to his Patreon page, but I hear wonderful things about it. It sounds like a great forum for his ideas and of course exclusives.  I'm a fan, but not at the level I need exclusives before everyone else.

The real treasure trove for me in my explorations of the Realms has been his YouTube page.

Now, typically, I really hate videos. I don't have the time to listen or watch, and frankly, most of the people doing video neither have the voice nor the presence to do them. This is not so for Ed. Ed, among everything else, is a natural storyteller. The Realms are his canvas.

He has had a few I have found really interesting too. 

This one because I a. remembered the picture, and b. loved the idea that Ed could use this channel to talk about things he could not before.  Plus he says "Drau" like Cow. Actually one of the best things about his videos is knowing how he pronounces some of the names he comes up with!

This one because I loved the background on this character and was a fan of Symgharyl Maruel, aka The Shadowsil.  But this one is also fun because Ed has such a love for all these characters.  

That was always obvious to me reading his books and Dragon articles. And he extended that love to characters he was borrowing.

Gary loved my portrayal of Mordenkainen, which was a great relief to me at the time. Dalamar vanished because of publishing timing: we didn't know his fate in Margaret and Tracy's DL novels at the time, so had to sidestep. (And the series was an editorial assignment.)#Realmslore

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 10, 2020

And extends to others who treat his characters with the same love.

I LOVE these portraits!!!!! Spot on!!!!

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) October 28, 2022

So give the Father of the Realms a follow. I hope you find him as entertaining and as educational as I find him.

We are lucky. We live in a time when the hobbies we pursue and the things that we like are the norm. Not just the norm, but accepted. Science Fiction, fantasy, superheroes, playing games, all the sorts of stuff that would have been derided in our childhoods and got us labelled as nerds. Board games are part of that trend, a trend which has seen them grow from being seen as childish pursuits to being just a hobby, but is that all they are? Just one more nerdy hobby amongst many others? This is something that What Board Games Mean to Me: Tales from the Tabletop sets out to explore in a series of essays from designers and publishers, players and scholars, journalists and librarians. Published by Aconyte Books, it is part of the publisher’s ‘Play to Win’ line, which includes James Wallis’ examination of the Spiel des Jahres winners, Everybody Wins: Four Decades of Greatest Board Games Ever Made, this is a collection of reminiscences and thoughts about board games—occasionally collectible card games and roleplaying games—but mostly board games, that will take the reader around the world and to some interesting places and ideas and to experiences familiar and unfamiliar, before coming back again, to his own collection of board games on the shelf and to the table where he plays them with friends and family.
The familiar follows two strands. The first being of playing with family—siblings, parents, and grandparents—of family classics such as Monopoly, Scrabble, Whist, Draughts, and how that got the essayist into playing games and understanding not just the mechanics of play, but the social dynamics of play. Games thus became a way to facilitate interaction with the rules of the game and the rules of game play. This is followed by the second, the discovery of a wider variety of board games, opening the essayist up to different themes and styles of play, co-operative games being a notable common discovery. For gamers of a certain age, such as John Kovalic, Gav Thorpe, Jervis Johnson, and Sir Ian Livingstone. This would have been with titles such as Escape from Colditz, Diplomacy, and The Warlord, an experience which British gaming hobbyists would recognise and which such figures would use as springboard into careers in the gaming industry. Others would discover a similar path through modern classics such as Carcassonne and CATAN or collectible card games such as Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh!.

The unfamiliar at first takes the reader to Nigeria with ‘Picture a Scene’. This charts KC Obbuagu’s first encounter with board games with an African classic, Mancala, and then following a revelatory moment in which he saw his board game design played, his steps into the board game industry where there was none. This was in Nigeria, and creating his first games led to the setting up of the games company, NIBCARD Games, the first tabletop café in Nigeria, and AB Con, the first board games convention in sub-Saharan Africa. All of which would result in NIBCARD Games being awarded the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming in 2021. This is a fascinating story, shining a light on the spread of the hobby in unexpected directions far beyond its origins in the English-speaking world. Also, an unfamiliar area—at least for board games—is that of the library. Jenn Bartlett describes in ‘Ticket to Read’, how she, as a librarian, created a board game programme at her library, working with publishers and local games shops, to support local business and develop a library-using habit in the attendees of the games events that she ran. There is an uncomfortable moment when she encounters misogyny as a player, but she draws parallels between what the hobby does at its best and what a library does, which is to welcome people in and letting them explore what each of them offers without judgement.

Both Lynn Potyen and Edoardo Albert bring a personal touch when they explore a fascinating effect of playing board games. In ‘Brain Games’, Lynn Potyen reveals how playing board games can help with learning disabilities and dementia, whilst Edoardo Alberto shows us in ‘Learning the Rules’ how the rules and etiquette learned in playing games can be applied to ordinary life, not in neurotypical learners, but in himself as well. What is interesting to note here is that when board games are used as tools in this fashion, they achieve something that the eighteenth and nineteenth century designers of board games failed to do, and that is to create a board game that works as an effective educational tool. That though was to teach the young players to be good Christians and the values of the British Empire, but even the board games of today designed to help players learn are not necessarily good teaching devices. Both Lynn Potyen and Edoardo Albert suggest that modern boardgames work better because they are designed for play rather than learning first, rather than the other way around. All of the entries in What Board Games Mean to Me are very personal, but none more so than ‘Brain Games’ and ‘Learning the Rules’.

Other entries in What Board Games Mean to Me include ‘Playing by Design’ an interview with the prolific board games designer, Reiner Knizia, the only entry to differ from personal essays that make up the rest of the book, and two scholarly explorations of board games and play. In the first of these, ‘The Magic Circle’, Matt Coward-Gibbs explores the phenomenon of the space which we all enter when we play from a theoretical standpoint, whilst in the second, ‘Connections’, Holly Nielsen looks at the connections made in that space when playing. One of the points she makes is that after discovering games designed to highlight the causes of women against unequal treatment and misogyny, the examples given pointing the feminism movement of the sixties and seventies and the Suffragette movement of the early twentieth century, she came to realise that despite the rallying cry of “Keep politics out of games!”, there had always been politics in games. There is scope here for an essay of all its own, but Nielson is also interested in the other aspect of games that the contributors to What Board Games Mean to Me return to again and again, and that is making connections via game play. Both entries talk about board games in a way that the casual player might necessarily consider, but do so in an engaging fashion.

What Board Games Mean to Me is similar to a pair of books published by Green Ronin Publishing, Hobby Games: The 100 Best and Family Games: The 100 Best, which together presented a series of essays on what the authors thought were the best and most enjoyable games of previous one hundred years. A handful of the contributors to What Board Games Mean to Mee also wrote entries in those earlier books, but where Hobby Games: The 100 Best and Family Games: The 100 Best looked back, What Board Games Mean to Me looks forward as well as back. This can be seen in KC Obbuagu’s essay highlighting the spread of board games as a hobby into unexpected markets and in the essays by Lynn Potyen and Edoardo Albert that point to board games as means of therapy and socialisation. In this way, it enhances the respectability that playing board games as a hobby has achieved in the past few decades.

Physically, What Board Games Mean to Me is a very lightly illustrated, but very readable paperback. None of the essays are longer than a few pages long and each is accompanied by a biography of its author.

What Board Games Mean to Me explores a variety of experiences in how the contributors came to play board games and how they came to discover and explore the wider hobby, and in doing so, tell stories that, for the most part, we can relate to because we had similar experiences. Yet wherever these stories take us, they always come back to the fact that playing board games is a social activity, a space where when we play, we do so using a set of rules that enable safe interaction and socialisation, even as we compete and battle against each other. Overall, What Board Games Mean to Me: Tales from the Tabletop is an enjoyable essay collection whose entries are in turn not only highly personal and immensely interesting, but will also will make the reader consider their own experiences with board games, whether they are new to the hobby or have been playing for decades.

 I have asked this before, but it bears repeating here and now. How does one review a classic? Better question. How does one review a genre-defining classic?  Because that is what I have sitting in front of me now. A genre-defining classic. Eighteen-year-old me back in 1987, ready for his first year at university, would not have thought so at the time, but that is what much older me thinks now. 

The Forgotten Realms was the foundation of the "new" TSR, the one without Gary Gygax and many of the other founders on which they would build their new home. We can debate the merits of this and financials ad nauseam, but by any stretch of the imagination, the Forgotten Realms were very successful. So successful that the biggest video game of 2023 is set there.

This review will cover the Forgotten Realms Campaign Set, the Boxed set from 1987. Written by Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb and edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. But any insight to this product knows that the genesis was with Ed, and he first brought it all to life in the pages of Dragon magazine. At least that is alive to us. Many other authors have contributed to Realms over the decades, but here is where it begins.  

How do we begin? Let's take Ed's own words, which he scribbled into my Cyclopedia of the Realms as our opening.

"Welcome to the Forgotten Realms!" - Ed Greenwood

Forgotten Realms Campaign Set

by Ed Greenwood, Jeff Grubb and edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. 1987. Boxed set. Full-color covers and maps. Cyclopedia of the Realms 96 pages. DMs Sourcebook of the Realms 96 pages. Maps and clear hex overlays.

For this review, I am considering the physical boxed set from 1987 and the PDFs from DriveThruRPG. There has yet to be a Print on Demand version.
The DriveThruRPG PDF combines all this information into a 230-page book. Maps are broken up and scanned in at letter size.

Cyclopedia of the Realms

96 pages. Color covers. Sepia-tone pages and art.

"Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start." - Maria von Trapp nee Kuczera, Bard/Cleric

This book is an introduction to the Forgotten Realms, and maybe the most important bit here is the introduction by Ed Greenwood/Elminster and the About this Product.  We start immediately with the "voice" of the Realms, Elminster. He is no ersatz Gandalf, nor is he a more approachable Mordenkainen, and certainly, he is more interesting than Ringlerun. He is our guide, but sometimes I still like to think of him as an unreliable narrator. These are the Realms in his eyes. More (if the not the most) knowledgable, but there are still "small stories" to tell that are beneath his notice. Those are the stories (aka games) I want to know about.

This book covers the timeline (I do love timelines!) and ways of keeping time in the Realms. The date for this set is the end of 1357 DR (that's Dale Reckoning or Dalereckoning). For full context, the Baldur's Gate III video game takes place in 1494 DR, with the current year of the D&D 5e titles at 1496 DR. There is a bit of discussion about holidays and how the "weeks" are grouped as Tendays (3 a month). It feels different and I like it.  The money system is rather AD&D standard, with some proper names to the coins. This is fine because this IS supposed to be an AD&D world, and the authors want people to feel familiar with it all, if not right at home.

Languages and scripts are up. Some of these are still being used in current versions of D&D. 

The Gods are next. These were already familiar to me, not just because this is an old product, but because Ed talked about them in Dragon magazine back in 1985.  See "The Dragon Connection" below. While these gods have "Earthly" sources, it actually works out great and ties into the mythology of the Realms as one being connected to Earth. Something it shares with Greyhawk's Oerth. The connection between Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms is strong. They share almost all the same demi-human gods. By extension of the rule-set they also share all the same demons and devils. This makes moving between worlds a little smoother. The gods and their relationships are detailed well here and there is just enough unknow to keep them interesting.

Next section is about Adventuring Companies. So here is one thing that the Realms does better than Greyhawk (well there are more, but the first thing in this book). Adventurers are baked into the system. The world doesn't just need adventuring parties, it demands them. These parties can be used as models for your own adventuring parties. All these parties have names as well. I'll have to think about how Sinéad and Co would fit this format. Plus, the back cover of this book has a grid for the adventuring party! Room for 10 characters even.

We get into the "Cyclopedia" part of the book now. This is an alphabetical listing of major topics within the Realms. These include things like the various character classes, races, countries, towns, areas of interest and other topics. There is a narrative piece describing it, Elminster's Notes for the point of view of the most knowledgeable native (even when he admits to not knowing much), and Game Information.

I rather like it, to be honest. Hit me with facts, and let me build some adventures around it!

DMs Sourcebook of the Realms

96 pages. Color covers. Sepia-tone pages and art.

One of the best things in this book is the Introduction. We get words from Ed (as Ed) talking about the World of the Forgotten Realms and how it is now our world too. Yeah it is trademarked by TSR and now WotC/Hasbro, but this is an open invitation to do what you want with this world now. This is a foreshadowing to all the great Ed Greenwood content we would get over the next almost 4 decades. Honestly reading Ed's own words make me excited for all the exploration ahead of me. This is followed by words from Jeff Grubb, who also had a hand in shaping the AD&D version of the Realms. And more by editor Karen S. Martin who adds her experience and excitement to this world.

So much better than any puff-piece bit of gamer fiction!

We get right into it. Information on how to use this as an AD&D campaign world is started from the word go. Overview again of the boxed set. How to set up campaigns for new players, new campaigns for experienced players, and bringing in characters from other campaigns. Hmm...I should try all of these to be honest. Maybe a character from one of my Greyhawk or Mystara campaigns could come on over. I DO like the idea that Elvish and Dwarvish and some others are mostly the same languages. Would really help bring the worlds closer together. 

A bit of coverage on the maps and how to use them. Nice comparison of the map of Faerûn compared to the continental United States. And a section of various wandering monsters. The Forgotten Realms may be Forgotten, but they are very much alive!

The next 20 pages detail NPCs of note. Any to drop in as background, enemy, or ally. 

Speaking of living. A really nice section on recent news and various rumors starting in DR 1356 to 1357 are presented. With or without your characters, the Relams live on. 

Another plus for this boxed set is the ready-run adventures for low-level characters. The first, The Halls of the Beast Tamers, is a nice dungeon crawl. Next is Lashan's Fall, which appeared in Dragon #95 as "Into the Forgotten Realms," and even the maps are the same! Mind you I think this is a bonus since that is the adventure I always wanted to use as an intro to the Realms. I still can come to think of it. 

The next section is a "Pages from the Mages" style entry.  Lots of spells books to be found with plenty of new spells. I think some of these were in "Pages form the Mages" to be honest. That's fine, they work well here.

Honestly, the ONLY thing missing here are some new monsters, and this would be complete.

Maps & Plastic Hex Overlays

There are four gorgeous maps of the content of Faerûn. While it doesn't quite live up to the artistry of the Darlene World of Greyhawk maps, they are more practical. The plastic hex overlays also make it easier to read the maps and then do your hex crawls in whatever area you like.

The Dragon Connection

One of the great things about doing my This Old Dragon feature and concentrating on the period between 1980 and 1987 is watching the Forgotten Realms develop and grow as an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons world. From Ed's musings on gods in Down to Earth Divinity to magical tomes and spells of the Pages from the Mages and The Wizards Three features to adventure Into the Forgotten Realms, all of which would find homes in an official Forgotten Realms product in some shape or form.

I mentioned already that Dragon #95's Into the Forgotten Realms makes an appearance here as an introductory adventure.

As I mentioned, all we were missing were monsters. Well, Ed penned enough monsters in the pages of Dragon Magazine that were explicitly for the Realms, so collecting them all is worthwhile. In addition to monsters, there are magic items, more spells, blades, shields, and even musical instruments, and I know I am nowhere near collecting it all. I do know I will run out of room in my box for them all.

My Thoughts

There is a lot packed in this box. It's like a TARDIS really; bigger on the inside. In truth, nothing of what I thought was going to be here was here. Yes, there are NPCs, but they are background, and your characters may never ever run into them. They are the background noise of the Realms until the characters are the big noise. I certainly unfairly judged the Forgotten Realms. 

A lot of this stemmed from me thinking that Gygax had been done wrong. Yes, that was true, but the Realms really had nothing to do with that. The New TSR was working to relgate Gygx to the past and Ed was just the guy in the right place in the right time with the right idea. I was also unfair of me to judge the Realms on that.  If reading Ed's "The Wizard's Three" has taught me anything that Abier-Toril and Oerth have more in common than not.

This is, of course, just the start. A big start, to be sure, but a start all the same. This is a canvas to paint on. This is a great set, not just for its time but also for now. Minus some of the stat blocks and spells, everything here can be used with any version of D&D or similar game with little or no effort. 

While I am somewhat overwhelmed by the task before me, I am also excited about it.

Honestly, I am going to pull out some dice and roll up some characters now.

 I am not exactly sure why I didn't do this one already.

I was working on something else and needed an AD&D (Dragon #114) witch for it.  It then dawned on me that I didn't have a proper AD&D character sheet for a witch.  Well. I fixed that today.

I edited an existing PDF and ran some off on my printer. Proper Goldenrod, of course, but also salmon and blue since they came in those colors as well (NPC and permanent character records, respectively) and because I can come in purple. All my important witches have sheets in purple!

They are not perfect by any means. Just a quick edit job in Affinity Publisher, but I really like them. 

Michael Grasso / February 21, 2024

Near the end of Richard Nixon’s first term, the forces of conservatism and reaction were in the ascendancy in America. This public resurgence of “traditional values” was itself a counter-revolution against the turmoil unleashed by the young in their opposition to the Vietnam War and their support for the civil rights struggle, which had swept through America’s streets over the previous decade. America’s traditional power structures did not ignore this radical wave of change; under both Lyndon Johnson and Nixon, the government unleashed all the instruments of the state to try to quash these movements. And many parties on the side of the Establishment within this new generational “culture war” found themselves looking for ways to co-opt and capitalize upon the more superficial aspects of the youth revolution.

Nowhere was this more evident than in mainstream American Christianity. Upon seeing the counterculture’s exploration of new spiritual and numinous experience in defiance of their technocratic Cold War suburban childhoods, Evangelical Christian sects saw that in order to compete in America’s vaunted “marketplace of ideas,” they would need to divert idealistic youth, many of them exploring psychedelics and Eastern religions in search of deeper meaning, back to the bosom of church and pastor. A fusion of hip, Aquarian awareness with the radical promise of early Christianity had already begun to take root within pop culture on stage and screen, as well as within the various churches, communes, and outreach programs that comprised the nascent Jesus Movement. But the big Evangelical preachers and churches who had spent the years since World War II expanding their enterprises by way of mass media were largely outsiders to the Jesus Movement, which had grown from within the nominal grassroots of Evangelical thought, especially on the West Coast. Apocalyptic preachers were reaching out to the young by meeting them where they were: using music, comic books, and other elements of popular culture.

The Campus Crusade for Christ, which was founded by Evangelical candy magnate Bill Bright and his wife Vonette in 1951 at UCLA, had allied with postwar megapastor and confidante of presidents and celebrities Billy Graham (after the Brights’ falling out with ultraconservative Evangelical preacher Bob Jones Sr.). In the first two decades of its existence, the CCC had performed “conversion events” at campuses such as Berkeley that had long been hotbeds of left-wing activism. But by the late 1960s and early ’70s, the Campus Crusade for Christ was toiling in the same vineyards as the Jesus Movement—and reaping many fewer conversions. The old-school Evangelical power brokers were never going to have the broader, hipper, more ecumenical appeal that the Jesus Movement inherently possessed. What the more traditional Evangelicals did have going for them was their access to the traditional levers of media and to temporal and monetary power.

From Bright and his allies came the idea for Explo ’72, a mass meeting meant to bridge the gap between the new Jesus People and their older Evangelical forebears. Explo’s name was “meant to suggest a spiritual explosion,” but also evoked the recent worldwide success of Expo ’67 in Montreal and Expo ’70 in Osaka. Explo ’72 organizer Paul Eshleman, 30 years old at the time of the event, had been a crucial part of CCC’s activities during the late ’60s at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, a campus that was one of the most fervent homes of protest against the military-industrial complex (in the person of Dow Chemical‘s recruiting of students). Eshleman was given the monumental task of organizing a week-long event that Bright envisioned would encompass tens of thousands of college-age evangelists, musical acts, pastoral instruction and networking, and a public relations program that would entice young people across America not only to come to Christ but “To evangelize the world in our generation.”

In The Explo Story: A Plan to Change the World, published soon after the June 1972 event held in the Dallas, Texas metroplex, Eshleman and co-author Norman Rohrer present highlights from the many activities and events at Explo. Bill Bright’s bombastic foreword dispenses with the occasional light-hearted humility of Eshleman and Rohrer’s text, celebrating the worldwide impact of the event. Bright eerily predicts that “Explo ’72 was part of a plan, part of a world-wide strategy dedicated to the fulfillment of the Great Commission by the target date of 1980.” While the entire world did not come to Christ in the next eight years, Evangelicals would elect a President in 1980 who would bring their millenarian dreams of Christian conversion and conquest to the fore of American society. 

To be fair to both Bright and Eshleman, the organizers of Explo ’72 did have a lot to celebrate; the event was a truly massive effort. (The final chapter, wittily titled “How God Did It,” is actually about how many individual members of CCC contributed to the event’s success.) While the text does kick off its first chapter by having a good-natured laugh at all of the logistical difficulties that the young participants experienced in accommodations and transportation, the remainder of the book takes up the mantle of Bright’s braggadocious joy. The photos included in the book run the gamut: crowd shots at the nightly revival meetings held at the Cotton Bowl, views of the Explo “campsite” set up for overflow after Dallas-area hotels had been filled (the chapter titled “Mud, Mosquitoes and Miracles” offers clear parallels to the much larger crowd at Woodstock three years previous), and intimate shots of young people singing and shouting praise together.

This foregrounding of the younger generation in the book is a constant. The Reverend Graham, in a press conference with Bright, makes the ironic statement that “Many of the great movements of world history have begun with students.” (Considering the youth revolts in the streets of the West and the Cultural Revolution sputtering to a close in the People’s Republic of China, one wonders if Graham’s evocation of left-wing youth insurgency on campus was wholly intentional.) Explo did succeed in co-opting one aspect of the Jesus Movement—its forays into Christian music. Giants of the Jesus Movement (and what would one day become known as Christian Contemporary music) such as Larry Norman shared the stage with giants of the mainstream: Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, and June Carter. All of them literally went on the record in support of Explo with the 1972 LP Jesus Sound Explosion. The threads of country, gospel, contemporary Christian rock, and old-time religion mingled freely on stages that evoked the new ’70s trend towards massive arena rock tours. Additionally, professional athletes and coaches made appearances to spread “the Message in Muscle.” Dozens of NFL players, current and retired, showed up, including Paul Eshleman’s father “Doc” Eshleman, then-chaplain of the NFL.

But whatever moments of joy and cultural relevance emanated from the Explo gathering, deep down the organizers knew what the event was all about: bringing the “lost sheep” of the Baby Boom back into the fold of conservative Christianity. All throughout The Explo Story, the anxieties of a world that had changed in the blink of an eye over the previous five years are laid bare. Eshleman and Rohrer are assiduous in making sure that the reader knows this gathering was designed to be multiracial and multicultural: “Explo drew the largest number of blacks and other minority groups of any Christian gathering of its kind in history.” Later in the text it is discovered that this “largest” percentage of Black Christians was “[a]pproximately three per cent—about 3,000 delegates—of the Explo crowd.” A frankly patronizing conversion story appears in chapter 4, “A City of ‘One Way!’ Streets,” where a young white woman overflowing with the “spiritual rekindling of Explo” met a Black man on the street who “held up both hands. ‘These are the hands of a criminal,’ he hissed. ‘Can your whitey God forgive me?'” Of course, the young woman evangelist prays with the Black man for twenty minutes, inducing him to release his worries of “selling out my people to believe in a white God,” and another soul is won for Christ.

Even more stark is the anxiety around the Vietnam War. The first half of 1972 saw the North Vietnamese Eastern offensive in response to the ongoing attempt of the Nixon administration to cut a retreat from Southeast Asia while declaring “peace with honor,” all while killing tens of thousands of civilians in the bombing of neighboring Cambodia and Laos. Around the edges of Explo, a real, if minority, Christian peace movement was present: placards reading “300 Gls killed this week in Vietnam won’t be reached in this generation” are mentioned by Eshleman and Rohrer dismissively. Routinely, Eshleman and Rohrer dismiss the “dissenters” at Explo, who “backed off when confronted with love and reason by our staff.” Throughout Explo ’72, rah-rah patriotism edges into Christian nationalism. The book cheerfully states, “Men soon to face enemy fire deserve priority in hearing the gospel and in receiving training to lead buddies to Christ.” During Explo’s “Military Seminar” and Flag Day celebrations, Pentagon higher-ups such as Army Chief of Chaplains Major General Gerhart Hyatt and Navy Chief of Chaplains Francis Garrett were featured speakers. Even the tiny minority of young people who sought recognition for their anti-war stance against the “shushing” of the crowd were performatively brought back into the Explo fold: “Chaplain Garrett was greeted by the protesters who asked, ‘Admiral, can you say you love us now?” Throwing his arms around several of them he replied, ‘Yes, I love you.’ This reply brought tears to many of the demonstrators’ eyes.” The Evangelical reliance on public profession and witnessing to bring new souls to Christ is a common thread in these anecdotal tales.

Ultimately, the real world of the 1970s couldn’t be kept from the cultural cloister of Explo’s star-studded seminar rooms, stages, and stadiums. The sinister Children of God cult was lurking at the conference (they were deemed “extremist” by the authors in the same breath as the anti-war protesters). In a startling piece of historical irony, the final night of Explo ’72 happened to coincide with the Watergate break-in. Billy Graham had been a Nixon confidante, his first-term Inaugural pastor, and his co-conspirator in professing virulent anti-Semitism. And on the final night of Explo ’72, he made the compact mentioned at the beginning of the book into a holy covenant with his young Evangelicals to remake America: “I am asking you to light a candle… and we will start a spiritual fire here tonight that could sweep the world… It could help evangelize the world before 1980. Let’s leave here tonight dedicated, committed and determined to change the world in the next eight years.” A lot can be said about the ridiculous, garish, and pandering elements of the vibe around Explo ’72, but no one can deny that, by 1980, America would end up changed by this movement and this generation of young Christian activists, and changed for good, well into the next century.

Michael Grasso is a Senior Editor at We Are the Mutants. He is a writer, museum professional, and a lifelong Bostonian. You can follow him on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/mutantsmichael.bsky.social.

 

 Normally, Tuesday is a great time to talk about the sort of RPG goodies I got in the mail. But nothing new this week (or last), and I am waiting for the local Games Plus RPG auction before buying anything else.  So, imagine my delight when one of my recent adventures got published over the weekend.  Then, my delight doubled when another adventure I wrote got its own stand-alone treatment!

Frightshow Classics: Golem is published by Yeti Spaghetti & Friends and is for the Chill 1st Edition RPG. It also works with Chill 2nd Edition, Chill 3rd Edition (with some mods), and Cryptworld and can even be used as a rules lite adventure. 

A rabbi and a neo-nazi have been found murdered in Queens, NY. Is there a connection? People have spotted a large figure near the synagogue and a former professional wrestler is being held for questioning. But is something stranger going on?

I really loved writing this one and it made really appreciate all the great things about New York. As a Chicagoan, I don't give New York enough credit. But I approached this with the frame of mind of "write this with the same love as I would if this were Chicago." Cause one thing I know for sure. New Yorkers LOVE their city, and I wanted that to show.

Adventures in Aldea: Witching Weather from Green Ronin is older, but I discovered it while working on my Blue Rose characters last week. This adventure appears in the collection Six of Cups. But here, you can buy it as a stand-alone adventure for Blue Rose AGE 2nd Edition. 

A group of orphans have turned up in Garnet, and now the weather is out of control, and the forces of darkness want them. One believes they are his children, and another wants to eat them to gain even more power. You have to stop them both. 

This one was so much fun to work on. Blue Rose is sometimes described (somewhat unfairly) as a "Fantasy Seattle," but my Garnet here is "Fantasy Alton, IL," a blue-collar river town (now sea town) with a deep history and pride. And maybe a monster or two hiding in the bluffs. In addition to the adventure, there is a gazetteer for the City of Garnet with some history and background on some major NPCs.

Grab both if you can! I already got paid, so I don't get anything more from the publishers, but if the sales are good, they can hire me back! 

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: Re-Animator 2508Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Quico Vicens-Picatto

Setting: Deep space in the 26th CenturyProduct: One-shot
What You Get: Nineteen page, 8.27 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Herbert West–Reanimator in spaaaace...!
Plot Hook: “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” – The AnimalsPlot Support: Six pre-generated Investigators, thirteen NPCs, one map, and one Mythos monster.Production Values: Colourful
Pros# Fantastic cover# Detailed NPCs# Highly detailed Investigators# Highly detailed background
# Highly detailed timeline# All female cast# Interesting new Occupations# Kinemortophobia# Teraphobia# Cultphobia
Cons# Needs a good edit# Highly detailed background# Highly detailed and tight timeline# Investigators need to work hard to uncover the plot
Conclusion# Unclear plot with no obvious solution# Ultimately, a countdown-driven survivor versus zombies scenario in space, but the set-up is interesting

Work on Basic Bestiary has picked back up. I have 360 completed monsters for it now. I still have my next pass at editing and mechanics tweaking to complete.  What I really need is art. I don't have any, and while I am happy to use some PD art for it (and it fits the look I want), I will need more. A lot more. While I don't mind AI art (and appreciate the computer science that went into it), I can't in good conscience use any in this. 

Still playing around with stat block ideas. Since this is a "Basic" Bestiary, I figure I should get closer to the Basic-era stat block details as I can. I am adding some "modern" ideas like creature size and type (something we see in BECMI and RC, but not BX), and Ascending AC (Basic Fantasy, OSE and LL).  I need to decide if I want to include other details like Advanced era alignments (I am leaning towards yes), Languages (also yes), and Frequency. I am also still considering hp adjustment due to size. I like it a lot, and it makes creatures a lot tougher.

I believe I have settled on using BX/OSE style XP awards and having a table in the back for all the other games I think people might want to use this for, as long as they are OGC.  Edited: I noticed my math might be off on some higher HD monsters. 

The stat block below is what I am thinking so far. Love to hear some feedback on it.

Yes. I am still going to use the OGL for this one. I have gone too far down that road to go back.

Here is one of the last monsters I worked on for the book. As always, the final version might be different.

Thunder Bird
Gargantuan Beast (Magical)

Armor Class: -5 [24]
Hit Dice: 17d8+68 (145 hp)
   Gargantuan: 17d20+68 (264 hp)
Move: 90' (30')
   Flying: 360' (120')
Attacks: 2 claws, 1 bite, special
Damage: 1d12+5 x2, 2d8+5, special
Special: Lighting bolt, thunder, wing buffet
No. Appearing: 1 (1, or 1d4+1, mated pair with chicks)
Save As: Monster 17
Morale: 10 (12)
Treasure Type: None, See below
Alignment: Neutral (True Neutral)
XP: 6,600

Languages: Avian

Thunderbirds are gargantuan birds that appear as storm gray-colored eagles. They have a 70' wing span that can blot out the sun and talons that can carry off livestock, usually one or two cattle each. Their eyes flash with electrical light and can shoot lightning bolts. When their wings flap, they can cause storms and thunder. Natives of the lands the thunderbird calls home to revere the bird as a messenger of the forces of good and liken it to a spirit. It is a mortal animal, albeit a very powerful one. 

The thunderbird can attack with its massive beak and talons.  It swoops down from their mountain homes, which can be hundreds of miles away, to attack its prey. It prefers large cattle, like horses, cows, and bison, and can carry off up to 2,000 pounds worth at a time. Thunderbirds that live near oceans will even make a dinner out of whales when they can catch them. They do not attack humans if they can avoid it. They do not like the taste and attack humans since humans often return in greater numbers and with weapons. If attacked by humans on the ground, the thunderbird will often just opt to fly away. Thunderbirds and Rocs do not get along as they tend to go after the same prey. Their relationship is similar to that of eagles and hawks.  

The thunderbird gets its name from the magical storm-creation powers it has. By flapping its wings and remaining stationary, it can create a thunderclap that does 10d6 hp of damage; Breath Weapon saves for half the damage. Which will also define anyone within a 120' long cone, 60' at its widest.  Targets outside of the 120' are unaffected by either the damage or the deafness. It can also 3 times per day cast a 10d6 lighting bolt from its eyes. The range on this is 100', save vs. Breath Weapon for half damage. Ranges outside of 100' to 300' are at half-damage or save for no damage.  The thunderbird will not use this attack against food prey but rather to defend itself from humanoids or other large creatures it finds itself engaging with.  A thunderbird can also summon storms as per the Summon Weather spell. 

Thunderbirds have no need nor interest in treasure. The feathers of the thunderbird are highly prized as a main ingredient for a staff of lightning bolts and other magical staffs. Their feathers are also used in other magic item creations, typically Wings of Flying. Any item that requires a roc feather can use a thunderbird feather instead for a 50% increase in either speed or duration. The feathers of a thunderbird usually can bring in 1,000 gp on the right markets (usually only 2d6 are viable for arcane use). The eggs of thunderbirds are so rare to discover that bounties of 12,000 gp and more are sometimes offered. The lairs of the thunderbird are usually at the tops of mountains so high they are very nearly impossible to reach. 

Tales tell of a great thunderbird so large that when it flies, the land below is thrust into night. This could be a single unique specimen or an undiscovered variety.  

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: Operation Midnight SunPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Chicho OCARIZ ‘Arkashka’

Setting: World War II IcelandProduct: Scenario
What You Get: Twenty-seven page, 13.25 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Nazis versus dinosaurs versus ‘hoard of the Nibelungs’ meets Journey to the Centre of the Earth under Iceland… in World War IIPlot Hook: Iceland is neutral right now, but will it be after Operation Weserübung?Plot Support: Staging advice, four pre-generated Investigators, eight NPCs, three maps, and one dinosaur type.Production Values: Decent
Pros# Can be run using Pulp Cthulhu: Two-fisted Action and Adventure Against the Mythos# Straightforward scenario# Easy to run one-shot or convention scenario# Nyctophobia# Speluncaphobia# Ornithoscelidaphobia
Cons# Needs a good edit# No location map# More military operation than Mythos investigation# No Mythos content
Conclusion# Short, action and stealth-focused World War II scenario# Ultimately more military operation than Mythos investigation

Equipment books in roleplaying serve numerous functions. At their most basic, they are a book of goods and gear that a player can have his character purchase to help that character survive the next scenario, whether it is a sword, shield, and some armour that the character will wear from one adventure to the next, or thick furs or padded clothing that will help him weather the freezing temperatures over the high mountains and into the snow and ice beyond. Then they are the virtual equivalent of a Sears & Roebuck catalogue at the table, that the players can pick and choose from as their characters go shopping within the game and there is even semi-tradition of the Player Characters actually going shopping within the game and buying all of the things—whether the genre is fantasy Wild West, Science Fiction, or Cyberpunk—that their players never could. Literally roleplaying a fantasy of going shopping for fantasy things! Of course, just as the items within an equipment guide can be used to equip a Player Character, they can also be used to equip an NPC. If such an equipment guide includes a good mix of arms and armour, then all the Game Master has to do is pick out some different weapons and some different armour, and she has the beginnings of an interesting NPC, at least in terms of what wields and what he looks like. In addition, if the Player Characters have amassed some loot—jewels, gems, object d’art, and that sort of thing—then they will want to sell it and an equipment guide will often discuss the means to do so. In addition to arms and armour, an equipment guide will often detail a range of services and experts that the Player Characters can purchase or hire, as well as bigger things that they might want to invest in, such as land and buildings. This though, is not all that an equipment guide can be used for. A good equipment guide can do all that and more. A really good equipment guide can do all this and be used to help bring a world to life and it can be used as a spur for stories.
RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment is a supplement for Chaosium, Inc.’s RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. As an expansion for the core rules, RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment does everything that a good equipment guide does. It details and describes a wide range of items, goods, services, training, magical items, and beasts, plus new arms and armour, new rules for land ownership and use, and much more. And it is fair to say that the least interesting aspect of the supplement is actually the arms and armour. This is not to say that the included weapons and armour, which together draw from a range of cultures and races from across Glorantha, are not useful, because they very much are, but they are not actually interesting in comparison with the rest of the book.

RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment begins in broad detail with the market and what goods might be available depending upon the size and location of the market, explains Gloranthan currency, and looks at the economy, prices, handling and creating masterwork items, and more. The interesting aspect here is the effect that the size of the local economy can have on what a Player Character can buy and sell and what effect selling loot can have on the local economy. In smaller, more local economies, favours and bartering are more likely as means of exchange—even when it comes to settling debts—rather than money, and if the Player Characters sell too much loot, it can not only depress the economy, it can also attract the attention of the local authorities and temples, who will want them to contribute to the community!

One of aspects of Glorantha is the prominence and importance of different metals and their use. Most obviously bronze, since Glorantha is most often described as a bronze-age world, but other metals, ranging from aluminium and copper to silver and tin are also examined. This includes its properties when enchanted, such as weapons and armour made from enchanted copper being particularly hardy and enchanted quicksilver having the property of not being able to sink in water, Gloranthan cults and the enchanted metal spells they grant, and how enchanted metal is crafted. Here is where RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment begins rise above being just a simple shopping catalogue, because this is a useful section for metal workers—redsmiths for bronze, goldsmiths for gold, and so on. This is because it is possible to play such craftsmen in RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment and this directly supports them, as does the rules for creating masterwork items, which might be to increase an item’s Hit Points, armour points, or increase the amount of damage it can do. These are not fully detailed rules for creating masterwork or enchanted items, but they are more than sufficient. Plus, they enable a master craftsman Player Character, who needs a skill of at least 90%, to use his skill to greater effect, whilst at the same time working towards creating objects with enchanted metal. They are also accompanied by ‘The Metals of Acos’, a First Age document which provides some engaging in-game thoughts upon the various metals. Similar sections cover pottery and weaving, though not in as much depth, and there is an accompanying list of prices of crockery for the former and a list of clothing types and their prices under the common goods section.

‘Common Goods’ lists thumbnail descriptions and prices of a wide variety of everyday items. Clothing, jewellery, cosmetics, tools, musical instruments, toys and games, food and drink (including honey, wax, and royal jelly from bees), herbs and plants, exotic materials, and trinkets. There is some pleasing little details here, such as slimming girdles, made from either zebra or whale bones, being worn by Lunar nobility as means to appear thinner, but usually causing the wearer to pass out due to their tightness, or that popular board games are God’s Eyes and Fingers, Ouranekki, and Swords and Shields. Sadly, there are no rules any of the board games only relatively sparse descriptions, but whilst the mundane nature of many of these items and certainly their prices may not mean much to the average adventurer, they might to an NPC. Also, these items can be used to add verisimilitude to huts and houses and other dwellings as they are the everyday items which might be found at home. And just like the ingots of metals used by the various smiths, they will be found for sale at markets, in shops, and from the backs of the pack animals of travelling Issaries merchants. Further details, such as the fact that the popularity of rubies in the Lunar Empire means that Etyries merchants are willing to pay more for them and that reed baskets and bags, inexpensive when bought in Prax or New Pavis, are seen as foreign and fashionable items elsewhere, are more interesting than how much they cost. By comparison, though necessary, the section on adventuring gear feels almost mundane!

The chapter on beasts covers meat beasts, pack animals, riding beasts, and war beasts. Exotic beasts are listed for the different Elder Races, and stats for two new riding bests are given, expanding upon those in the RuneQuest: Glorantha Bestiary. These are the Moose and the Reindeer. Alongside the list of riding gear, including various saddles, harnesses, saddlebags, and stirrups, there are details of various mobile dwellings and a table of mount speeds. Also given here are details of awakened animals. The most obvious of which is the alynx or shadowcat, and in roleplaying terms, thus associated with the worshippers of Odayla and Yinkin. However, any Player Character can have an awakened animal, not just a worshipper of Odayla or Yinkin, but a shadowcat is not always the most appropriate. RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment looks at several options, including birds, lizards, and snakes as well as other mammals. It notes that parrots are popular in Nochet and Glamour, crows and ravens with worshippers of Ty Kora Tek, Durulz children have frogs and toads, and geckos are commonly found in both Lunar and Sartarite Tarsh. Possession of an awakened creature at least adds colour to a character, but the roleplaying possibilities it opens up are endless.

Some skills and knowledges lie outside that of the Player Characters and this is where hirelings and services are useful. There are rules here for the availability of either, the expected skill ratings and rates pay, plus specific sections on mercenaries, personal services, heralds and poets, sages and scribes, and magic services. Notable here are terms of employment and contracts for mercenaries, plus a typical oath sworn by mercenaries and a guide to how loot is divided among them, including the Orlanthi and Yelm methods, plus an adventurer’s pact. These work for both NPCs and Player Characters, whether they are entering employment or hiring. There are details too of how slavery works in Glorantha, primarily as punishment for crimes and debts, or being captured as prisoners of war, and which species do own slaves. This does not include the Orlanthi who abhor the practice. That said, the authors do address the subject of slavery from a modern point of view and how it relates to the game, ultimately advising that the Game Master discuss the issue with her players beforehand. Besides this, there is a list of magical services, including the decidedly ungodly practice of sorcerous divination and casting magic for enchanted items—the latter to accompany the earlier rules on enchanted items, and also prices for renting rooms in the short term at inns and residences in the long term. The section on funerary rites covers various practices and their prices, including ceremonies and funeral pyres humble and grand, but again adding depth and detail to the world, though greater specifics will lie with the various cults.

The chapters on arms and armour expands upon those listed in RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, adding a variety of new weapons like the Orlanthi Broad-axe, Moon Blade polearm, trident, war boomerangs, chakrams, and more. All are described and listed in the expanded weapons tables, as is the rhino hide armour in the armour tables and the armours for beasts and non-humans including Elves, Ducks, Trolls, and Trollkin. All of the arms and armour are illustrated, the armour in full colour, with some nicely depictions of various types of helms to differentiate between the types. One surprising omission is that of Dragonewt weapons, especially since the weapons of other species are included. (They can though, be found in the RuneQuest: Glorantha Bestiary.) The major addition are the rules for entangling and net weapons, which bring throwing hooks, lassos, nets, and whips into play.

The rules for travel focus on group travel, including caravan, river, and ocean travel. Typical travel times are listed, and there are even rules for length of journey depending on circumstances and skill, as well as details of vehicles and vessels, such as chariots and reed boats. It would have been handy here for them to be illustrated and even be given deck plans where necessary, but there are none. As a campaign progresses, there is scope for the Player Characters to own their own dwellings and land, possession of which can lead to further adventures. The example here being is land grants being handed out by Prince Argrath in the Big Rubble, enforcing that being a big challenge. Land is treated as a potential reward and then responsibility, something that the Player Characters might earn and then have to protect and nurture. There is list of improvements which can be made, profits or losses to be made during sacred time, and possible random land-related events. The aim is not to provide a detailed set of rules for resource management, but more as a means to support the narrative and roleplaying. There is scope though, for a supplement, whether in whole or part, dedicated to this subject.

The penultimate chapter in RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment revisits training from RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, adding rules for learning new Runes, which typically has to be done via a cult associated with the cult a Player Character is an initiate of. However, since a maximum of only 5% can be gained at the end of training, it takes at least two seasons to increase a Rune to the minimum of 10% necessary for it to be used in play. Lastly, the section on exotic items expands on the rules for magic crystals given in the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack with a list of strange enchanted items and extraordinary gems. The former include an Empty Purse, which transfers only local currency to a nearby strong box and Walktapus Gloves, made from the skin of the feared Chaos creature, but valued by redsmiths for their ability to withstand extreme heat, whilst the later includes a Lhankor Mhy’s Mark, used to copy and transfer text via rubbings and a Vengeance Black, which if an oath is sworn it, provides a temporary bonus to skills dedicated to fulfilling the oath.

Physically, RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment is very well presented. It is clean, tidy, and easy to read. The cover is excellent, depicting the pre-generated signature characters from the pages of RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha – Quickstart and Adventure at rest, camping between adventures.

There is a degree of repetition in the pages of RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment and other books for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, but in most cases, the repetition means that the new information is brought together with the old so that it is all together. Then there is the fact that a quarter of book, that devoted to arms and armour, is actually utilitarian rather than interesting. The majority of the book, fortunately, is both interesting and useful, presenting content that will be of great use to Issaries merchants with the market and price guides; Chalana Arroy initiates for the herbs and plants details; and craftsmen of all types for details particular to their crafts. Player Character of all types will find the supplement of use, whether they want to make a purchase or sell some loot, or undertake some training or hire some experts. However, RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipmentcomes into its own for the Game Master, because of the richness of the tiny details that even the most mundane of items brings to Glorantha and the verisimilitude that creates, helping to bring the world to life for her players. In this way, RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment does exactly what a good equipment guide should.

1974 is an important year for the gaming hobby. It is the year that Dungeons & Dragons was introduced, the original RPG from which all other RPGs would ultimately be derived and the original RPG from which so many computer games would draw for their inspiration. It is fitting that the current owner of the game, Wizards of the Coast, released the new version, Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, in the year of the game’s fortieth anniversary. To celebrate this, Reviews from R’lyeh will be running a series of reviews from the hobby’s anniversary years, thus there will be reviews from 1974, from 1984, from 1994, and from 2004—the thirtieth, twentieth, and tenth anniversaries of the titles. These will be retrospectives, in each case an opportunity to re-appraise interesting titles and true classics decades on from the year of their original release.

—oOo—

Five hundred years ago, Rhand was a rich, verdant colony with vast forests that supported agriculture and attracted tourism. Technologically advanced, easy travel was facilitated by four satellites which operated a world-spanning teleport network. Then the Spectrals came. The faceless, jet black invaders from deep space launched attacks that shattered the climate, smashed the teleport network, and unleashed bioagents which drove many of humanity on the planet into barbarism. Five centuries later, Rhand’s climate is dominated by advancing ice and devastating storms and tornadoes. The only habitable part of the planet is the equator, populated by a thousand kingdoms and city states, competing for resources as the war against the Spectrals and other monsters continues as their societies face further collapse. The only hope lies in Orca, the last remnant of the government from before the Spectral attack, dedicated to recovering and protecting what knowledge it can, conducting operations against the Spectrals, and preventing the total collapse of society into barbarism and anarchy. Orca fields a range of military and auxiliary units, the elite of which are named after mythical beasts like the Dragons and the Targa. Where Targa units specialise in hand-to-hand combat and heavy assault missions, Dragon units specialise in commando missions and strategic planning. In addition to its dedicated forces, Orca has one other advantage—it can anyone anywhere on Rhand. It has access to Morningstar, the surviving satellite that had been part of the teleportation network. The magic of the Morningstar is accessed via an Encoder. Activate this and anyone also wearing a Thrall, a chain worn on the wrist, will be teleported to the desired destination. However, being the only surviving satellite remaining in the network means that Morningstar does not cover all of the planet all of the time. Depending upon Morningstar’s orbital position and the intended destination, an Orca team can be out of contact with the Morningstar network for as short as a few hours and as long as two weeks!

This is the set-up for Rhand: Morningstar Missions. Published in 1984, it was the first roleplaying game to be designed and released by Leading Edge Games, which would later be known for the Phoenix Command combat system and the Aliens Adventure Game as well as a number of other licensed roleplaying games. Indeed, the mechanics for Rhand: Morningstar Missions were a precursor for Phoenix Command, just as its setting would be revisited in Living Steel. Set not long after the attack by the Spectrals, this was a prequel to Rhand: Morningstar Missions, and it would not be until the release of Rhand 2349, a supplement for Living Steel, that the world itself would get more detailed attention. At its heart, Rhand: Morningstar Missions is a post-apocalyptic setting with magic and medieval-style combat on a post-technological world. It is a roleplaying game of special forces-style military missions in which the Player Characters—as members of Orca—have access to a device which can get them anywhere, a la Fringeworthy from Tri Tac Games, Wraith Recon from Mongoose Publishing, and of course, Star Gate: SG1.

A Player Character in Rhand: Morningstar Missions is defined by his characteristics, skills, equipment, and various derived factors. The primary characteristics are Strength, Intelligence, Will, Health, and Agility, typically ranging in value between three and eighteen, although they can go higher. The secondary characteristics are Charisma, Motivation, Size, and Telepathic Sensitivity. The primary characteristics are purchased from a randomly determined pool of points and the secondary characteristics are all rolled randomly individually. This requires referencing a number of tables at the back of the book. Base skill levels are determined randomly. Skills are rated between one and twenty, with eight being a Professional level and fifteen World Class. They are categorised into Class 1 General Skills that all characters possess, and then Class 2 General Skills and Class 3 General Skills, plus Specialist Skills. The Magic, Medicine, and Science skills fall into the latter category, as does Special Fighting Forms, themed around the four elements, which greatly enhance a Player Character’s Combat and Martial Arts skills. A Player Character only begins play with levels in Class 1 General Skills, but can dedicate training time between missions to improve already known skills and learn new ones. This is limited by his rank in the Orca organisation and only by increasing his rank can he gain the opportunity to learn or improve Specialist Skills. This also takes him out of play as it requires dedicated learning time. Training grants a player Training Rolls. Each one is made against his character’s Learning Roll and if successful, grants him a Learning Point which can be assigned to a specific skill. When the number of Learning Points in a skill exceeds the threshold, its Skill Level increases. So, to become a Professional in a skill, Skill Level 7, a Player Character needs to accumulate eighty-eight Learning Points, and to be considered World Class or Skill Level 15, he needs six-hundred-and-seventy-four-Learning-Points!

A beginning Player Character only has the Skill Levels in the Class 1 General Skills at start of play. Effectively, he is a recruit, waiting to go on his first mission.

Name: Robert

CHARACTERISTICS
Strength 13
Intelligence 13
Will 10
Health 12
Agility 13

Charisma 15
Motivation 17
Size 11
Telepathic Sensitivity 14

Combat Value: 15
Combat Speed: 1+
Knockout Value: 15
Learning Roll: 84
Magic Learning Roll: 14

Skill Factor: 16
Base Action Time: .8
Damage Bonus: 1.0

SKILLS
Balance and Footwork – LP 0 Level 3
Bard – LP 0 Level 4
Combat – LP 0 Level 3
Diplomacy – LP 0 Level 2
Fall Recovery – LP 0 Level 3
First Aid – LP 0 Level 2
Horsemanship – LP 0 Level 2
Martial Arts – LP 0 Level 2

EQUIPMENT (Encumbrance: 37.7):
Studded leather, round shield, light spear, dagger, broadsword, mess kit, personal hygiene kit

WEAPONS
Dagger – Weapon Speed: 2.8 Weapon Class: +2 Impact: (3) +2 (Slashing), (3) (Stabbing); Attack Level: 5 (Slashing/Stabbing) Weapon Actions: 2.24
Spear – Weapon Speed: 2.1 Weapon Class: -2 (Stabbing) Impact: (5) (Stabbing); Attack Level: 1 (Stabbing) Weapon Actions: 1.68
Broadsword – Weapon Speed: 2.2 Weapon Class: 0 (Slashing), -1 (Stabbing) Impact: (6) +2 (Slashing), (3) (Stabbing); Attack Level: 3 (Slashing), 2 (Stabbing) Weapon Actions: 1.76
Round Shield – Shield Speed: 1.1; Shield Actions: 0.88

Mechanically, Rhand: Morningstar Missions is intended to be played out on a two-foot wide hex grid and uses a percentile resolution mechanic and what it calls the ‘Action/Reaction Table’. To undertake an action, the Game Master refers to the skill being used and determines the Base Odds for the skill being used. This is multiplied by the Player Character’s Skill Level to get the percentage chance of success. It is that simple, but as written it does not look that simple and from the exceedingly concise options listed under each skill it does not look that simple. So, it takes a lengthy example of play for the Game Master to even understand the basics, and even after that, she may be floundering.
For example, Robert wants to perform a song to bolster the mood of his fellow Men-at arms in his unit. The Base Odds are determined as follows: 5 for composition of average melodies and written material and ability as a scribe and 10 for the ability to evoke emotion in the audience. This gives a total of 15, which is multiplied by Robert’s Skill Level of 4 in Bard to give a total chance of 60%. If the ‘Action/Reaction Table’ of Rhand: Morningstar Missions attempts to be simple, its combat rules attempt to be complex. It details some thirty weapons from a range of cultures, divided into four damage types—Cutting, Stabbing, Flange, and Blunt—and further categorised as either One Handed, Two Handed, or Blunt Impact. Combat is intended to be played out on a grid of two-foot-wide hexes with Combat Speed indicating the number of hexes or changes of direction a combatant can move in a single phase. The number of Weapon Actions spent on an attack can alter the amount of damage inflicted, so that a Short Stroke inflicts half damage, but only takes a single Weapon Action, whereas two Weapon Action s are a Normal Stroke for normal damage, and three Weapon Actions a Long Stroke for double damage. A single Weapon Action is enough to parry and the use of shields have their own number of Actions. The issue with this is if a Player Character has a number of Weapon Actions less than two, he cannot do more than the one Action per combat round and he cannot do more than a Short Stroke. However, a single Weapon Action can be carried over from one round to the next, giving a Player Character more options in the next round rather than the current one.

The Odds of Hitting, of successfully attacking an opponent are based on the defender’s Parry Type and Combat Skill, and the attacker’s Attack Level. The Parry Type is either Partial Parry, meaning that the defender makes fewer parries than the number of attacks by the attacker, or Total Parry, meaning that the defender makes a number of parries equal to, or greater than the number of attacks by the attacker. The Game Master then refers to the appropriate ‘Odds of Hitting’ table for the Parry Type and the number of parries versus attacks to determine the chance of a successful attack by cross-referencing the attacker’s Attack Level versus the defender’s Combat Skill. If the attack is successful, the table for the damage type of the weapon and the blow, either Cutting, Stabbing, Flange, or Blunt, to determine hit Location and Physical Damage inflicted. This generates the Impact Damage of the attack, which is cross-referenced with the Armour Class value of any armour worn to find the actual Physical Damage suffered. Inflict enough damage and blows can disable a limb or knock out an opponent.
For example, Robert, our sample Player Character, is facing a brigand, who is armed with a spear and a shield versus Robert’s broadsword and shield. Robert has charged the brigand and saved a Weapon Action so that he has two Weapon Actions to use on a Normal Stroke. The brigand has done the same, but will use both to parry Robert’s slashing attack. This is a Full Parry, equal to one attack versus two parries. Comparing Robert’s Attack Level for his broadsword of 3 versus the brigand’s Combat Skill of 2 gives Robert’s player a 33% chance of successfully hitting. Fortunately for Robert, his player rolls 18 and Robert’s slashing blow gets past the brigand’s parry attempts. Robert rolls 8 for the Impact Damage—the maximum damage possible and this is cross-referenced with the Armour Class value for the brigand’s leather armour on the Cutting Damage table. It is a blow to the brigand’s abdomen and since the brigand’s leather armour is classed as light, he suffers 5 points of Physical Damage. There is a chance that the blow will know the brigand out, but since it is less than the brigand’s Knockout Value, it is only 10%. The Game Master rolls 03% and Robert is lucky! The brigand collapses with a grunt. The fight continues, but Robert probably has the group’s first prisoner. The combat rules also cover dodging, archery, mounted combat, and the special fighting forms available as Specialist Skills. Including the healing rules, the rules for combat run to some twenty or so pages versus the three dedicated to explaining the ‘Action/Reaction Table’—and the latter includes all of the Base Odds factors per skill. The upshot is that the combat mechanics for Rhand: Morningstar Missions are far better explained with a ready clarity that the skill resolution mechanic is not afforded.

Magic in Rhand: Morningstar Missions has seven Subjects—Earth, Fire, Air, and Water, as well as Mental Magic, Body Magic, and Astral Projection. Earth, Fire, Air, and Water are Elemental magics, but are not as specialised as Mental Magic, Body Magic, and Astral Projection and have a greater number of spells each. Each Subject is a Specialist Skill in its own right. The total number of Learning Points a Player Characters has in seven Subjects determines his Magical Skill Level, which determines range for a spell. The target of a spell receives the Resist Roll to withstand the magical effects of a spell. This is determined by comparing the Magical Skill Level of the target with the Magical Skill Level of the caster. Should a target have no Magical Skill Level, then he has a much lower chance of resisting a spell. The amount of points a Player Character has to spend on spells within a Subject is equal to the number of Leaning Points he has in the associated skill, but expressed as Magical Force. Each spell has a cost in Magic Force to cast. Casting magic takes concentration and should a mage be distracted, there is a chance of his failing to cast the spell and suffer Psychic Damage. Rhand: Morningstar Missions includes a wide range of spells, but there are some oddities, such as Create Fire and Thicken Water being under the Earth spells, Raging Waters under the Fire spells, and so on.

At a Skill Level of 6 and beyond a Mage can gain attributes such as Magic Sense and Weatherwise, mainly protective, but permanent abilities. Mage can also make enchanted items, and there are also optional rules for resisted spells bouncing back, joining specialised magical groups, and spells being enacted in ascending order of Magical Force invested in them. Overall, the magic rules are decent enough and there are plenty of spells to choose from. Their use is not quite as well explained as combat is, but still better than that given for the ‘Action/Reaction Table’. The main issue with magic in Rhand: Morningstar Missions is its inaccessibility at the start of play, along with the Class 2 General Skills and the Class 3 General Skills, meaning that beginning Player Characters are mechanically very similar.

Rhand: Morningstar Missions also includes rules for physical phenomena such as terrain and travel, complete with generation tables, sight and sound detection, spreading and flowing fluids, fires, explosions, breaking down doors and walls, explosions, earthquakes, and mob actions and riots. Optional rules allow for glancing blows, aiming blows, cutting through shields and parries, collisions and tackles, and more. Much of these serve to make combat in Rhand: Morningstar Missions more dynamic, but it comes at the cost of further complexity.

Mission types in Rhand: Morningstar Missions include Guard, Escort, Assault, Rescue, Holding Action, Defence, and Special Action Squads. The latter are actually held within the magic of Morningstar, ready to be teleported to a location at a moment’s notice. In general, the type of mission will be determined by the Risk Level that the players and their characters want to face. The Risk Level will determine the random encounter odds and the combined value of the Player Characters Combat Values the level of any potential opposition. Three sample missions are provided, ranging from Risk Level 1 to Risk Level 10. These are decent outlines for what are straightforward military missions—actually too straightforward military missions since there is no real plot to any one of the three—and require development upon the part of the Game Master. Descriptions of various creatures are given, including several types of Spectral, as well as their subject races that they brought with them when they attacked. The book comes to a close with a topographical map of the planet Rhand, which actually is not that detailed or useful, followed by the roleplaying game’s various tables.

Physically, Rhand: Morningstar Missions is a surprisingly short book—barely a hundred pages long. But being printed on sturdy thick paper with heavy card inserts combined with being spiral bound gives it a surprising heft. Bar the map, the book is completely devoid of illustrations, which gives it a bland look. This is actually offset by the large margins, typically used—as was the case with future titles from Leading Edge Games—for in-game quotes, some of them quite humorous. The writing is not too bad, mainly suffering from a lack of clearer explanation when it counts, but there are plenty of explanations that do go some way to offset this. As well as being able to lie flat on the table and fold over, what the format of Rhand: Morningstar Missions does remind you of, though, is a technical manual for a computer or a major piece of machinery? Could it be that designer Barry Nakazono, an actual rocket scientist, decided upon the format he knew best for the books that Leading Edge Games published?
In many ways, Rhand: Morningstar Missions is a complex roleplaying game, but not as complex as the roleplaying games that Leading Edge Games would later publish, most notably Phoenix Command, Living Steel, and the Aliens Adventure Game. Combat is complex, but at least it benefits from a clearer explanation than that given the ‘Action/Reaction Table’ and its associated resolution mechanic. The real problems with Rhand: Morningstar Missions start with the uninteresting and similar starting Player Characters which are given no capacity for differentiation until a long way into the play of the game and they have progressed up a Rank or two within Orca. Then there is the setting. Rhand and Orca are severely underdeveloped such that neither is given enough description for them to come alive and for a group to want to play within the setting. The set-up to Rhand: Morningstar Missions is a fun concept, of being able to hop back and forth across the planet because of the ‘magic’ of the past, performing missions to hold back alien invaders and recover or prevent knowledge from being lost. Yet there is not enough of the past in the setting to know what it is that the Orca is attempting to save or protect and knowing that would have given the Game Master hooks and motives to pull the players and their characters into the setting. So, if the Game Master and her players can get past the complexity, what they will find Rhand: Morningstar Missions offers in terms of what they play and what they roleplay to be underwhelming, if not outright disappointing. Rhand: Morningstar Missions presents a potentially interesting setting and campaign set-up, but ultimately undoes itself by failing to develop either beyond their core concepts.

Quick-starts are means of trying out a roleplaying game before you buy. Each should provide a Game Master with sufficient background to introduce and explain the setting to her players, the rules to run the scenario included, and a set of ready-to-play, pre-generated characters that the players can pick up and understand almost as soon as they have sat down to play. The scenario itself should provide an introduction to the setting for the players as well as to the type of adventures that their characters will have and just an idea of some of the things their characters will be doing on said adventures. All of which should be packaged up in an easy-to-understand booklet whose contents, with a minimum of preparation upon the part of the Game Master, can be brought to the table and run for her gaming group in a single evening’s session—or perhaps too. And at the end of it, Game Master and players alike should ideally know whether they want to play the game again, perhaps purchasing another adventure or even the full rules for the roleplaying game.

Alternatively, if the Game Master already has the full rules for the roleplaying game for the quick-start is for, then what it provides is a sample scenario that she still run as an introduction or even as part of her campaign for the roleplaying game. The ideal quick-start should entice and intrigue a playing group, but above all effectively introduce and teach the roleplaying game, as well as showcase both rules and setting.

—oOo—

What is it?The Swyvers Quickstart is introduces the rules light roleplaying of guttersnipes, rogues, grifters, charlatans, shysters, and chisellers on the make in filth and detritus of The Smoke, where it is always wet, foggy, smoky, and dirty, whether that is above ground or in the extensive Midden that runs deep under the sprawling metropolis. The Player Characters—or Swyvers—are desperate and dirty, but have to deal with corrupt officials, looming war, rogue sorcerers, monsters below and nobs above.

It is an Old School Renaissance-style roleplaying game.

It is an eighty-seven page, black and white book.

The quick-start is lightly illustrated, but the artwork is superb, capturing the grubbiness of the setting.

The Swyvers Quickstart requires an edit.

Technically, the Swyvers Quickstart is not a quick-start. It is an extensive exert from the core rulebook for Swyvers and there are missing an important number of elements usually found in quick-starts.

How long will it take to play?
The Swyvers Quickstart can provide multiple sessions of play, although it does not include an actual adventure.

What else do you need to play?
The Swyvers Quickstart requires five six-sided dice and a standard set of polyhedral dice.

A standard deck of playing cards is also necessary.

Who do you play?
There are no ready-to-play Swyvers given in the Swyvers Quickstart.

How is a Player Character defined?
A Swyver has three stats—Constitution, Dexterity, and Strength—and a chance of being literate (though the player needs to explain why in under five seconds!) and starts with a few coins, a trinket, and a personality trait.

How do the mechanics work?
Mechanically, the Swyvers Quickstart and thus Swyvers, uses two types of rolls—Competing Rolls and Saves. The rolls are made on pools of six-sided dice which can be adjusted in size to reflect the difficulty of the task. The aim is roll a total equal to, or less than, the appropriate attribute or a target number set by the Game Master.

In addition, a Swyver can have skills, for example, lockpicking, drinking contests, clipping and counterfeiting coins, or evaluating goods—stolen or otherwise, but mostly stolen. Each level adds increases the value of the attribute when using that skill.

There are also rules for chases, the random consequences of carousing, researching marks for cons, creating stooges and putterers (putterers are apprentices that a Swyver can train) and the possible revenge if they are abandoned, and fences and offloading stolen goods.

The rules for advancement highlight how Experience Points are gained from the sale of loot ‘conveniently’ found and for expenditure on carousing, research, and training a putterer. Of course, like other activities, these have associated damagers of their own.

How does combat work?
Combat in the Swyvers Quickstart involves a roll of two ten-sided dice to beat the Defence Value of the target. A roll of two tens by a player means that his Swyver has automatically killed the defendant, but is a standard attack by an NPC. A roll of two ones is a fumble and requires a roll on the ‘Critical Miss’ table.

Defence Value is determined by the weapon a combatant is wielding. So the Defence Value if a combatant is ‘Shooting’ or ‘Unarmed’ is six, but twelve if wielding a ‘Medium Weapon + Shield’. Armour soaks damage, the amount determined randomly, whilst weapon damage is dependent upon quality. Ropey weapons roll damage twice and take the lowest value; decent weapons roll once; and mint weapons roll damage twice and take the higher result.

There are notes on how to ‘Fyte Lyke a Swyver’. Essentially, a quick and dirty guide to fighting and not getting killed. Fighting fair will get a Swyver killed.

In other words, combat in Swyvers is brutal and meant to be that way.

How does Magic work?
Magic in Swyvers is uncommon, though rumours of witchcraft are not. Casting magic involves playing Blackjack to obtain a score of between seventeen and twenty-one. Results of sixteen and below indicate a failure, whilst results of twenty-two and above are critical failures—and there is a nasty table for that. With more understanding of magic, a caster can match the right card suit with the right Hippocratic Humour to gain extra spell effects if the spell is successfully cast, enhance it with spell components, and even gain an inkling of demonic forces behind what magic can be cast in The Smoke. The included grimoire is full of grim and ghastly spells.

What do you play?
There is no adventure in the Swyvers Quickstart. As an excerpt from the Swyvers rulebook, what it includes instead is a combined guide to The Smoke and set of procedural tables to enable the Game Master and her players procedurally generate the city. This starts with the city in broad details before focusing upon a district. The tables enable to the Game Master to determine the power and nature of the ruler of The Smoke, power and nature of the church, commonly supposed facts about the war going on, and districts and their features and qualities, including rumours and opportunities—the latter for every ‘good’ Swyver to take advantage of, random encounters, and some absolutely great street names!

Since Swyvers are anything but honest, so there is a list of crimes and their punishments. Plus a guide to making bribes and dealing with the watch and detectives. A watchman may make a Swyver’s lfe a misery, but a determined detective can be positively bothersome! Tables are provided to enable the Game Master create both and add quirks to bring them to life.

Below The Smoke is The Midden. First, the Shallow Midden and then the Deep Midden. Entrances to the former can be found all over The Smoke, the latter can only be accessed via the Shallow Midden. The dead are are entombed in the Shallow Midden, whilst the Deep Midden is where secrets are hidden and the call of the sea can be heard...

Although the Swyvers Quickstart does not include an adventure, there is nothing to stop a Game Master from using the content of the tables in the excerpt to create adventures.

Is there anything missing?
The Swyvers Quickstart is not complete, since it is truly not a quick-start, but a rulebook excerpt designed to give a taster of the full book. Aside from the lack of an adventure, the excerpt is missing a list of ready to use names and unlike other Old School Renaissance-style roleplaying games, there

Is it easy to prepare?
The core rules presented in the Swyvers Quickstart are far from difficult to prepare. The Game Master will need to create content herself, but this process is supported by the festering feast of details and descriptions included in the book. Thus the Game Master will need to come up with a plot, some NPCs, and more, which will take longer than preparing a typical quick-start.
Is it worth it?
Yes. The Swyvers Quickstart is a scrumptious feast of vile vagabounds, dastardly deceivers, and pernicious pilferers whose grotty shabiness and unscrupulous shadiness as told in a series of Dickensian penny dreadfuls. And as appalling and as awful as those penny dreadfuls are, there is a fascination with this wicked world that means that the Swyvers Quickstart is begging to be played and demanding that you roleplay the snot out of these tricksy little bastards.
Where can you get it?
The Swyvers Quickstart is available to purchase and download here.

The Toxic Wood is a descent into a poisoned world, a forest whose verdancy has been darkened by a noxious, even baleful, baneful influence has twisted and transformed a whole landscape. At its heart lies the village of Mugwort, trapped, but protected from the noxiousness surrounding them, and desperate for rescue. Fortunately, a secretive council of wizards has heard the arcane distress call sent out by the wizard residing in the village and hires a group of adventurers to mount a rescue mission. The poisonous nature of the wood includes the air and so the employing wizards have fashioned a magical orb which ensure that there is a bubble of safe for them as they journey to Mugwort. It will require power, whether of lifeforce or magic, but it will keep the adventurers safe. Exposure to the toxic air will corrode metal and mutate those who breathe it in, but it is not the only danger that the adventurers will face. There are plants so twisted that they curse magical items or cause them to explode, that spy on the adventurers are they proceed through the forest, shoot parasitical needles that want feeding more than the victim, and worse… Druids corrupted into accepting the toxic nature of the wood as the new norm, half-ghosts lost between this world and the next, trapped by the mutating growths which keep their bodies from decomposing, corrupted fairies that swarm in search of flesh, and other terrible things. There are terrible things that want spread the toxicity, terrible things that take advantage of it, and terrible things that want to rid it from the wood—and not all of them are telling the truth…

The Toxic Wood: A Corrosive Hexcrawl Adventure written by the Lazy Litch and was published following a successful Kickstarter campaign as part of Zine Month 2022. As with the publisher’s other titles—The Haunted Hamlet & other hexes, Woodfall, and Willow—The Toxic Wood is written or use with Old School Essentials, Necrotic Gnome’s very accessible update of the Moldvey/Cook and Marsh version of Basic Dungeons & Dragons, which means that not only is it mechanically accessible, it is also easily adapted to the retroclone of the Game Master’s choice. However, it is not clearly stated what Level the adventure is designed for, but from the relative Hit Dice of the various monsters The Toxic Wood, it feels roughly suitable for Player Characters of Third, Fourth, and Fifth Level. Beyond the introduction, there is a some advice as to the adventure's play style, which is standard to all of the scenarios published by the Lazy Litch. This limits Experience Point gain to finding treasure, making discoveries, and achieving objectives rather than kill monsters; monsters are intentionally unbalanced; game is deadly and Player Character death a possibility; and an emphasis is placed upon resource management. In addition, The Toxic Wood includes a number of optional backgrounds and objectives that be assigned to the Player Characters or rolled for, which set up conflicting agendas between them. The conflict between them exacerbated by the fact that the Player Characters are forced to travel together within the safety of the magical orb and the clean air it generates, forcing them more obviously to both work together and negotiate where they will go and what they will do. As well as the information provided by their background, each Player Character will also begin the scenario with a rumour about the area detailed in The Toxic Wood.

The toxicity of the scenario’s title is infused into every aspect of it, from the strange nature of the plants and inhabitants of the woods and the mutations that the Player Characters can suffer if exposed to it for too long to the vileness of the various factions to be found in the woods and the weirdness of their various aims. Although there are several monsters given, it is these plants which play a major role in the scenario and are the most obvious evidence of the transformation that the wood has undergone. There are Energy Consuming Flowers that absorb spells, which can be carried as a form of protection, but which ill implode if too many are absorbed; Fungi Outposts that act as the ears and eyes of one for the factions in the wood; and Rune Fruit, marked with dark arcane runes, which can be eaten, but have side effects that are deleterious upon the consumer’s mental health.

Although there are hints as to the true nature of the plots swirling and around the Toxic Wood in the various backgrounds and rumours, the Player Characters will only discover more details by visiting the various locations dotted throughout the woods. This starts with Mugwort, a village trapped in its own bubble, its inhabitants desperate and divided, on the edge of the collapse if the Player Characters do not intervene. The others include a dragon atop a plateau building his own cult as a defence against ongoing events in the wood; rival twin sisters, long since transformed into insectoid creatures spinning and feuding for control of a mycelial network that runs throughout the wood; and an abandoned tower from whose roof grows a pair of trees and whose lowest level is filled with a green gelatinous thing filled with eyeballs that refuse to look at anyone who enters the tower—though the orb supplying the Player Characters their life-preserving air will actually speak before they do and warn them not to enter! The Toxic Wood is full of little details and fantastic writing like this which brings its combination of weirdness and dark whimsy to life.
The lack of indication as to what Level it is designed for, is not the only issue with The Toxic Wood. The other is the hexcrawl map used in the scenario. It is an attractive piece that uses a lot of icon-like pieces of art to fill its hexes, The majority of the symbols or icons used are all very similar, which has two important consequences. The first is that the icons used for specific locations do not stand out, and the second is that it is difficult to track the progress of the Player Characters across the map.

Then there is the fact that hexcrawl are of The Toxic Wood is too large for ease of play. It has an area of fifteen by twenty hexes, but there is no scale to the map. The only hint the Game Master is given is that in a single day, the Player Characters can either explore a single hex or they can travel across a total of three. (That said, there are a lot of hexes where nothing much will happen except the occasional random encounter.) It will take a minimum of three days’ travel to get to Mugwort from the edge of the map and then the other locations on the map are a similar distance away from the village. So play is going consist of a lot of dice rolls for encounters in the poisoned forest and the Player Characters scavenging for fuel to power the air-generating orb they need to maintain in order to survive. This is only going to worse if the Player Characters get lost. Resource management is a part of the play of The Toxic Wood, but the size of its play area means that the scenario over emphasises it. Ultimately, The Toxic Wood could have been smaller without any loss of play and a smaller size would have made it easier to slot into a Game Master’s own campaign.
Physically, The Toxic Wood is a fairly busy book, but everything is neatly organised and for the most part, easy to use when the Game Master needs it. The artwork is excellent and so is the writing. Although it does have an introduction, it does not explain what is fully going on until a fair way into the scenario.

The Toxic Wood is a fantastically noxious and nasty scenario, a combination of Stephen King’s Under the Dome meets Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation crossed with The Fantasic Voyage and Tron. Which reads like a thoroughly odd mixture, but there is a strand of Science Fiction which underpins the scenario, with the orb that the Player Characters must take with them to breathe being almost like a submersible and the Emergency Bubbles they are given which enable them to operate away from the orb, being like aqualungs, and the twin sisters’ mycelial network a cross between an information network and a surveillance network.

Ultimately, The Toxic Wood may be slightly too odd and slightly too large for some campaigns, with the Game Master needing to work a lot of its details into her own setting to effectively work. If the Game Master can do that, then The Toxic Wood is a poisonously fantastic scenario.

 A side-step today. I have been working on my reviews of the Forgotten Realms products, but my next one is not yet ready. I was reading over my material for this week, and I thought maybe I should put my money where my mouth is and explore some more relationships within my own games.  

I don't have that ready yet, either! But I did go through my goto game for all things romance, Blue Rose. Since I have a few characters I currently use for various explorations, I thought I would try starting them up in Blue Rose AGE 2nd Edition.  This is also good since last year I was doing some D&D 5e conversions to other systems as D&D replacements.  Blue Rose 2nd Edition is a wonderful replacement for D&D.  

Duchess and Candella for Blue Rose

My two current fun characters are Duchess and Candella. I wanted to explore some more about their characters, especially since I already had plans to run module B3 Palace of the Silver Princess as a Blue Rose game. Back then I mentioned that they were caria daunen, or lovers, but I am not getting that vibe from them now. I mean, yeah, they could be certainly, but I think for these builds, they are not. Or at least not yet. Let's see where they end up.

Blue Rose only has three classes. Adept, Expert, and Warrior. Fantasy Age 2nd Edition adds a new one, the Envoy, but I am sticking with these three. The great thing, though, is even with only three classes, there are lots of ways to customize characters. In D&D Basic (which only had four human classes) they are thieves and their stats are fairly interchangeable. Here I can start them both out as Experts and then through Backgrounds, Powers, Talents, and Focuses (Foci?) they can become very different. I abuse that in my second batch of characters later on.

Concept-wise, some things came up while doing my research the other day.

Candella is:

• The older one
• The smarter one (but plays dumb)
• More acrobatic / higher dexterity

Duchess is:

• The younger one
• Has a better constitution
• Higher wisdom (so acts older)

Their weapons are more or less the same. They are not averse to using poison. Also an interesting note. While done to save space, they have the exact same treasure, save for a pearl necklace Candella has. What is the implications of this for the game? They steal things, but with each other, they are fair; the treasure is split 50/50. The pearl necklace can be explained by having it be something Candella had before they teamed up.

Blue Rose, in addition to what I consider "class" customization, there is a lot of interpersonal customization as well. This is in the form of Blue Rose's Callings, Destiny, and Fate. The relationship mechanics are also great to use. All of these can be ported over to another game. For the example of D&D 5, anything you do to gain Conviction in Blue Rose can be used to grant Inspiration in D&D.

Duchess
Female Human Expert, Level 3 (Age 19)

Accuracy: 2 (Primary)  Focus: Light Blades
Communication: 3 (Primary) Focus: Deception, Gambling
Constitution: 4 Focus: Drinking
Dexterity: 3 (Primary) Focus: Stealth
Fighting: 2 
Intelligence: 2
Perception: 3 (Primary) Focus: Searching
Strength: 1
Willpower: 3 

Speed: 13
Defense: 13
Armor: 3
Penalty: 0

Health: 42
Conviction: 4

Powers, Talents, and Specializations

- Pinpoint Attack (+1d6 damage)
- Light Armor training
- Starting Talents: Thievery (Novice), Carousing (Novice)

Arms and Armor

Sword (Fighting) 2d6
Dagger, Melee (Accuracy) 1d6+1

Crossbow (Accuracy) 2d6 30/60 Major
Dagger, Ranged (Accuracy) 1d6 6/12 Minor

Leather (Light Armor)

Persona

Calling: The Wheel, Wealth
Destiny: Knight of Chalices, Charismatic
Fate: Manipulative
Corruption: 0 (but likely to be 1 soon enough)

Relationships

Candella (3), "We are sisters in crime. I am closer to her than my own kin."

Candella
Female Human Expert, Level 3 (Age 21)

Accuracy: 3 (Primary)  Focus: Brawling, Light Blades
Communication: 2 (Primary) Focus: Persuasion
Constitution: 3
Dexterity: 3 (Primary) Focus: Acrobatics, Stealth
Fighting: 2 
Intelligence: 3 Focus: Evaluation
Perception: 2 (Primary) 
Strength: 2
Willpower: 2

Speed: 13
Defense: 13
Armor: 3
Penalty: 0

Health: 40
Conviction: 4

Powers, Talents, and Specializations

- Pinpoint Attack (+1d6 damage)
- Light Armor training
- Starting Talents: Thievery (Journeyman)

Arms and Armor

Sword (Fighting) 2d6
Dagger, Melee (Accuracy) 1d6+1

Crossbow (Accuracy) 2d6 30/60 Major
Dagger, Ranged (Accuracy) 1d6 6/12 Minor

Leather (Light Armor)

Persona

Calling: The Fool, Adventure and Excitement
Destiny: Eight of Swords, Free Spirit
Fate: Stagnant
Corruption: 0 (but likely to be 1 soon enough)

Relationships

Duchess (3), "We are sisters in crime. I am closer to her than my own kin."

--

Ok, this is fun. It also helps me think about who these characters are a little better. I have always gotten a Harley and Ivy vibe from these two, with Candella being Harly Quinn and Duchess as Poison Ivy. Or maybe even a Fire and Ice (from DC) vibe. Duchess certainly looks more like Fire, but Candella has her personality.  I can see a common tactic where Duchess gets a bunch of adventurers drunk, Candella distracts them with a strip tease, and then Duchess robs them all blind. The two run off laughing with all their ill-gotten gains. 

I made them a year older and a level higher. While they are both 3rd level Experts with a Talent for thievery, they have enough differences to set them apart.

At 4th level, they both will take a Specialization. There are many great ones in the Blue Rose book and more in the new Second Editon Fantasy AGE book. But none feel quite right to me.

I think, and I am not 100% sold on this idea yet, but I might go with Assassin for Duchess, though Hunter might be a better choice. Candella could take the Razor from FAGE2, but in reality, I want something more akin to an Acrobat. 

Still. A lot of things I can still do with these two.

 I saw an online conversation in an old-school RPG group a bit ago. This guy was boasting that his games never had romance, sexuality, or anything at all like that. My first thought was, "How sad," and my next immediate thought was, "How boring his games must be!"

Without the stories and contributions of love and romance or just plain good old-fashioned sex, we would loose most of the works of Shakespeare, many of the Greek myths, and practically all of modern music. Ancient Greeks to Motzart's Le nozze di Figaro and Così fan tutte, to "Silly love songs" by Paul McCartney to most of Taylor Swift's catalog. Love just might make the world go 'round.

That is the topic of today's The Enchanted World. I mentioned before that I am not going in publication order, save for the first, and instead going to post the titles that have some connection with when I post them. Today is February 14th, Valentine's Day, so let's look at Love...Enchanted World style. 

Lore of Love 

by Editors of Time-LIFE Books, 1987 (144 pages)
ISBN 0809452812, 0809452820 (US Editions)

This is a later one and does not have a single author. Tony Allen is listed as "text editor" and Ellen Dupont is listed as "staff writer." Of note, in the US, the cover is purple. In the UK, this book had a green cloth cover. 

Like the others in this series the art is a mix of newer pieces with a lot of classical ones. There are for example a lot of John William Waterhouse. The bibliography for this one is also rather impressive. I imagine that as they went on there were a lot more texts collected that they could reference.

Like Wizards and Witches, this one is divided into three larger sections. These can be roughly described as "Finding Love," "Love Gone Wrong" and "Keeping Love."   That's not a perfect match, but it will do.

Chapter One: Destiny's Playthings

This covers love as a shaper of destiny. The six stories here involve the gods getting involved with the love lives of mortals to some degree.  "A Groom for the Sea-Lord's Daughter," for example, tells about the fairest sea nymph of all, Thetis, and how she spurred the lust of both Poseidon and then Zeus, only to be given to a mortal Peleus because it was prophesized that her son would defeat his father. As an aside I noticed that Thetis' requests of Peleus are very much the same as we see in later mermaid and selkie tales of Northern Europe. 

Tales of the problems when mortals try to avoid their fate abound as in "The God of Marriages" a Chinese tale of a man who sees his bride to be as a toddler and tries everything to avoid his fate, and just playing into it. Or the Indian tale of "A Love Forgotten" of two lovers reunited at last. 

Sometimes, love, though meant to be, is also tragic. Such is the tale of a German knight in "The Cursed Embrace" whose betrothed is already dead.

Chapter Two: Blighted Passions

The story of love is not always about happy endings. Romeo and Juliet aside, there was Popocatepetl and his love Princess Iztaccíhuatl. When an army could not stop Popocatepetl the Jaguar Knight, his own spread lies about his death so they could possibly claim his bride. When she heard her love had died she died herself. When the Jaguar Knight returned and learned of her death and why, he killed all his men.

Across the ocean in Spain we are treated to the story of Don Juan and his ill-fated affairs. Of the tragedies of Narcissus, Daphne, and Thisbe of Ancient Greece. 

Though not was all tragedy. There were times when love went wrong and it was comical. Such is the tale of the Warlock's Comeuppance. A warlock found a young women he wished to put a spell on, so he convinced his young Latin pupil to get three hairs from her head. The girl caught her brother trying to steal the hairs and instead gave him three hairs from their young heffer. The warlock performed his dark arts spell and soon had a lovesick cow following all over the town!

Chapter Three: True Love Triumphant

Of course the best tales are the ones where true love wins out over all odds. Tales like Aucassin and Nicolette the Saracen Maid. They were separated by wars, pirates, and separation of years. Or of Hiku, the Polynesian hero who was so brave he went to the underworld itself to find his lost love Kawelu.  Can your characters claim that? (Yeah. Mine can.)

I am a little surprised that the tale of Cupid and Psyche is not here, but maybe that one is so well known they dropped it in favor of these other stories.

Like all the ones I have read through so far, this one is wonderfully illustrated and amazingly researched. Combining the bibliography for all of these would provide a lifetime's worth of reading.  

This one might have fewer "game-related" details than others, but there is undoubtedly a treasure trove of ideas here. 

Next time: Here there be Dragons!