Outsiders & Others

Review: Gary Gygax's Dangerous Journeys: Mythus Magick (1992)

The Other Side -

 Mythus Magic (1992)I needed a bit of a break before tackling this one.

I covered Gary Gygax's Dangerous Journeys: Mythus on Tuesday. I also wanted to go over the second (or third) volume of his Mythus game, the book of magic called, easily enough, Dangerous Journeys: Mythus Magic (1992).   I will not go into as much detail on this one for the same reasons I actually find this book more interesting, it is largely a collection of spells and rituals.

Gary Gygax's Dangerous Journeys: Mythus Magick (1992)

Gary Gygax with Dave Newton. 384 pages. Color covers. Black-and-white interior art.
Published by Games Designer Workshop.

We open this book and it is described as "the Colossus (or more appropriately, the Merlln) of all magick books!" Well...it is certainly large and very in-depth.

I will start in the middle and mention that a full 270 pages of this book are "Castings," so Spells, Cantrips, Rituals, and the like. They are interesting in a very academic sense. If you are going to play this game (ve con Dios) and play any type of spell caster, then this is a must-have book.  IF you are the type like me and love reading about different sorts of magic and magical systems, then this is a very interesting book with some RPG applications. I am not about to try to convert these to any form of D&D mind you. It just would be easier to convert something like Judika Illes' "The Element Encyclopedia of 1000 Spells." And at least Illes writes in a way that can be plainly understood. 

The spells range from the useful (Heka Bolt, Find Traps) to the oddly named (Acclumséd—make someone clumsy) to the largely unneeded (Candlemake Formula—make 10 beeswax candles. Still need 10 BUCs of supplies; might be cheaper to buy them.) That's fine; it's hard to come up with 1,400 different spells. All of these spells are split up by vocation. So, at least, we have that going for us. 

Returning to the beginning, we get a repeat of the material from the core book on what Heka is. Or rather, I should say the core book summarizes what is here. 

We learn more than we ever wanted about the sources of Heka. To be fair, there is some material that people might find useful in their games. However, I will point out that a lot of this can be found by going to other sources. No, I am not saying that Gary copied anything here! These are some classical ideas (crystals, times of day, times of the year, places) that have more or less magical energy. Gary takes these ideas and codifies them for his game. Again, similar information can be found in other sources that are a bit more approachable. Bard Games' "The Complete Spellcaster" comes to mind. Still, this is much easier to read than, say, Isaac Bonewits' "Authentic Thaumaturgy."

There are chapters on Heka Users, Replenishing Heka, and the Structure of Magick. Look. I like reading this stuff, but there is more here than any RPG needs. 

This covers the first 30 or so pages. We learn that Heka (and it's pronounced "HEE-ka" not "Heck-Ah") is the sum of your Heka-producing K/S STEEPs, and every casting level has a base Heka cost and sometimes extra costs.

Remember all of those Spell Points and Mana systems for AD&D that started appearing on the internet (and before if your town had a good-sized gamer population)? Well, this is that dialed up to 17. If you play a caster, then your books are going to get used—a lot.

After all the spells there are sections on how to create new castings. Useful, for this game, but not others. It would be easier to create your own. There is even a section for on the spot creation. I think someone got a glimpse of Ars Magica or Mage and realized that for 1992 this was already an old and clunky system.

There are chapters on non-human Heka using HPs and Heka-based powers.

The last Chapter covers various magic items, which makes it a good read. 

There is a huge Bibliography that dwarfs Appendix N. What stops it from being truly useful are a complete lack of publication dates and publishers. I mean, yeah I can figure them all out (and have more than a few in my own library) but it seems...well, sloppy.

Bibliography

We also get a tome sheet for all the spells you can cast.

So, maybe even more than the Core Rules, I enjoy reading this book for the content, and I hate it more than the Core Rules in terms of playability.  There is just so much dense text here geared toward such low returns. People point to D&D Basic and Expert (B/X) as a masterpiece of word economy. In just 128 pages total there is everything you need to play to last years. That's not hyperbole, that is a documented fact at this point. Something that Mythus can't do in 800 pages (so far). This is yet another example of how a good editor is worth their weight in gold. 

If we look at this game as a Fantasy Heartbreaker, we can be amused and laugh a little at some of the ridiculousness of it all, and then brush of our heavily marked characters sheets and try to play a session. No one though in 2024 is going suggest playing a regular game of this though. Fun for an experiment while one of the regular players is away and you put the campaign on hold.

If we look at this though as something that was supposed to be the Magnum Opus of the father of RPGs, then we can't help but come away a little confused and maybe even a little sad about it.  What went wrong here? How did this get out of Gary's hands and into mine? Was it hubris? Was it something else? Was there so much desperation here to keep this from looking anything like D&D that good ideas were thrown out in favor of bad ones? I honestly have no idea. But here is the score right now, Gary made two games (or 1½), D&D and AD&D, that are nearly universally loved to this day. Then he made Cyborg Commando and Dangerous Journey, which are nearly equally reviled. 

I was going to spend some time figuring out Larina's spells, but honestly, I really can't anymore.

 Mythus

A Note About Mythus: Epic of Ærth

I had this book once upon a time and I will readily admit I enjoyed it. For fluff it was great stuff and reminded more of the Gygax of old. Yes I also remembered there were some questionable bits in it, but nothing I can recall off the top of my head. It was enough that I unloaded years ago at a game auction.

Ærth in the Mythus books reminded me a lot of the sort of Earth one sees in games like "Man, Myth, & Magic (1982)" or "Lands of Adventure (1983)." A mythical Earth that only exists in some sort of dreamtime.  Mind there is nothing wrong with this as a game world. In fact arguments could be made that these sorts of Earths are great for gaming. Obviously, I am a fan of the idea and would 1000% do a "Crisis on Infinite Ærths" one day.  If trying to get those three to work together didn't drive me insane first.

At the end of this I find this is where I am at. Mythus does not give me anything that Man, Myth, & Magic didn't also do 10 years before. Even as a Fantasy Heartbreaker, it doesn't live up. But I keep coming back to it, hoping to find something here that I missed. 

Sadly, due to the lawsuits that did come from TSR, Game Designers' Workshop was forced to close in 1996, leaving games like Traveller, Twilight2000, and Dark Conspiracy adrift for a number of years.

The Enchanted World: Fairies and Elves

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 Fairies and ElvesToday is the Spring Equinox, an in-between time of light and dark, winter and summer—the perfect time to talk about Fairies and Elves. My reading of this has already been fruitful, with two more monsters added to my Basic Bestiary: the Trollkönig and Rübezahl. I am sure there are more to come. Many of the Faerie Lords you will find in my Basic Bestiary can also be found here, in one form or another. So let's get into it.

Fairies and Elves

by Editors of Time-LIFE Books, 1984 (144 pages) 
ISBN 080945212X, 0809452138 (US Editions)

There is a certain Euro-centrism to this book and that is to be expected, though there are plenty of creatures that are similar to Elves and Fairies around the world. This gets better with other books and we saw this in the Wizards and Witches and the Lore of Love books.

Like all the books, this one is hardcover with canvas-like covering (this time green) illustrated by John Atkinson Grimshaw.  This volume has four chapters. Also like all the books this one is lavishly illustrated with both new and classical pieces. 

Chapter One: Lands Behind Enchantment's Veil

We are introduced to the worlds of the faeries and their myriad of names; the Daoine Side, the Tylwth Teg, and the Tuatha Dé Danann. Sometimes, they are also divided into camps of light and dark, like the Seelie and Unseelie or Liosálfar and Döckálfar. And all have multiple spellings. But all are immortal, or nearly so, and are members of a world long since gone by the time humans, or at least Christian humans, enter their lands.  But for a time, a brief time the Fair Folk and humans could live side by side and these tales would enter into the legends of a later time. 

 Lands Behind Enchantment's Veil

Here, the fairies were more similar to humankind, with an air of regalness and otherworldliness, and of course, there were tales of their magic. One how the mere touch of the Queen of the Seelie court cured a young knight of his curse. Other tales on how trees would spring magical fruit or fountains of ale and wine. 

Some lived on the land, but many lived under it or even under the sea like the chieftan O'Donoghue. These lands, regardless of where they were had the same otherworldliness about them. 

A World in Miniature 

The great peoples of the fairies reduced in nature and size, so when the lands they had lived in were settled, it was believed that they had shrunk and were living, somewhat literally, under our noses. 

Chapter Two: Guardians of Field and Forest 

Here, many different types of fairies are discussed, and we move further afield than just Northern Europe. We meet the changeable Leshy, who could grow from diminutive size to that of a giant. Sylphs, some as small as mice, would flit about in the air. Hobgoblins like Robin Goodfellow, also known as Puck, were tricksters, but others like Churn-milk Peg were malicious. Willow fairies from Czech legends were as common as German wood nymphs and the mountains of Rübezahl.  Nearly every type of natural setting had a multitude of faeries of all shapes, sizes, and dispositions. 

 Guardians of Field and Forest

And that was the problem. Wander too far off into a fairies' home territory and one ran the risk of becoming lost and not finding their way home for years, if ever.

Not all faeries were human in appearance, either. The Kelpie was an underwater horse that drank the blood of swimmers, for example. 

Others fit a theme. Russia's Father Frost was the lord of Winter, except in Denmark where that role was taken by the Snow Queen, and in Scotland it was the dreaded one-eyed hag, the Cailleac Bheur that ruled over winter and the cold. 

All faeires were considered to be part of and guardian of their locales or area. From the dread three Faerie Lords and Ladies of Winter mentioned above to the tine Brown Man, who was content just to protect one small house.

The Myrtle Tree's Sweet Tenant

This is the tale of a dryad of the Myrtle tree and her love of a human prince, and the women who were jealous of her and the extent they would go. To match with the theme the tree from which the dryad came from was in the prince's palace courtyard. She would come to the young prince at night for lovemaking and disappear before sunrise.  This infuriated the women he had been pledged too and must choose among them a wife. They stripped the leaves from her tree and broke of branches.  Out came the dryad and the women turned on her, stabbing her and breaking her bones. The prince distraught, gathered the bark, the leaves, and the bones and tried to fix the myrtle tree, but could not. He stayed in his chambers, distraught. The rains came and new tree grew and when it had bloomed, the dryad stepped out again. The Prince married her and cast his former mistresses into his dungeons.

Chapter Three: Of Fairy Raids and Mortal Missteps

The last chapter had a happy ending, but that was not always the case when it came to fairy and human interaction. Princesses were abducted by fairy kings. Faerie maidens seduced otherwise virtuous knights, and faeries of all sorts made sport with the poor wives and daughters of locals. Sometimes though the mortals were the ones looking for trouble, stepping into faerie rings to become lost or seeking out their feasts, or, as in the case of the infamous Goblin Market, find their wares. 

 Of Fairy Raids and Mortal Missteps

Faeries were notorious for stealing children, leaving ugly, mal-formed changelings in their place. Sometimes the babes could be found and rescued, other times, most times, they could not.  

Tam Lin 

It wasn't always the maidens that had to fear from the intentions of faeries, often mortal men were the target. Such was the case of Tam Lin the son of the Earl of Roxburgh. He had caught the eye of the Fairy Queen. He would have been lost forever had it not been for the courage, strength, and love of a mortal woman named Janet, who was able to turn Tam Lin away from the Fairy Queen. 

Chapter Four: The Heart's Far-Carrying Call 

Love between a mortal and faerie was never an easy path to take. Swan maidens could love a mortal, but only if the mortal hid their feather cloaks from them. Lamias craved the love mortal men, but equal craved the flesh of their children. Tales abound that if a mortal man ever struck his fairy bride she would leave him forever; maybe good advice for mortal brides as well!

 The Heart's Far-Carrying Call

Though not all tales ended bad, but all had a common theme; the road to true love is a hard one. We saw that in Lore of Love as well. Such is the next tale.

Trials of a Charmed Passion 

Sir Launfal was a knight in King Arthur's court. By chance, one night, he spied a fairy lady of such beauty that all thoughts of mortal women left him. She also saw him and would visit him whenever he wished for her by name, Tryamour. The Queen, though, became jealous and asked him who it was that had given him so much happiness. He then insulted his Queen by saying she was not as beautiful as the fairy lady's lowest handmaiden. An insult, of course, and one that nearly got him burnt at the stake. But Tryamour comes to the court, and all agree that there is no way that Sir Launfal is lying or insulting. They ride off together, leaving the mortal world.

Again, like Wizards and Witches, the theme here is that once there was magic in the old world, but now it is gone. Though that theme is less overt here and more of a given. Faeries, creatures of magic, were once part of this world and now they are not.

Again the stories tend to bleed into each other and there is the feeling of half being told a story and half reading a factual account of things that had happened. The effect is an engrossing one. 

It reflects what I have felt games like D&D have been missing. While yes, there is a Feywilde and lands of Faerie in many versions of the game, there is no real magic to them, if you know what I mean. There is nothing about them that brings them to life. There are few, if any, Faerie Lords and Ladies, and no reasons for them to do what they do. This is a book I'll come back to for more ideas and certainly more names and ways to use them.

Next time: Here there be Dragons! (for real this time)

Review: Gary Gygax's Dangerous Journeys: Mythus (1992)

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 Mythus (1992) This week is Gary Con, so I thought while I am celebrating 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons, I would also spend some time with Gary Gygax's other two games he made after leaving TSR, where he created D&D. This week, I am coving Dangerous Journeys: Mythus.

A bit of background for those not 100% up to speed. Back in 1985, D&D brought in a lot of money, but the publisher, TSR, was in debt of $1.5 million. These reasons have been explained better and in more detail elsewhere; suffice to say that by the time the dust settled (almost), Gary Gygax had been kicked out of the company (but not yet the industry) he helped create.  He spent some time doing some novels with his New Infinity Productions where he also published his near-universally reviled Cyborg Commando. No, I am not going to review that one. Plus I don't own it.

After a little time away he returned to RPGs in 1992 with his new game, "Dangerous Dimensions," or DD for short. Well, TSR was not going to have any of that and threatened to sue (in fairness, it is from a playbook that Gary helped write), and his new game became Dangerous Journeys, and Mythus became the fantasy setting. 

Dangerous Journeys would be his new core system with Mythus, the Fantasy RPG. There was a mention of the supernatural horror game Unhallowed, which would have been fun. Plus, I would have loved to have had a fantasy RPG and a supernatural horror RPG that used the same system. 

Eventually, more pressure from TSR would kill Dangerous Journey, leaving only Mythus produced.

But what is Dangerous Journeys, and what is its setting, Mythus?

Gary Gygax's Dangerous Journeys (1992)

Gary Gygax with Dave Newton. 416 pages. Color covers. Black-and-white interior art. Some full-color art plates.
Published by Games Designer Workshop.

First some clarifications.

Dangerous Journeys is the system being used here. Mythus is the Fantasy RPG that uses the Dangerous Journeys system/rules.  Mythus is also divided into Mythus Prime, which is a basic game and Mythus Advanced, which is the advanced or full game. This book covers both the Mythus Prime and Mythus Advanced games.

This game was designed to address some of the perceived shortcomings of AD&D, though Gary could not come right out and say that. He had to be a bit oblique about it.  This book is huge and there is lot going on. 

Welcome to the Mythus Game

This introduction introduces us to the game and some RPG ideas like what an RPG is, what a Gamemaster is, and so on. None of which I think are needed here to be honest, its a bit much. But the meat is the Game Premise and, in some ways, the most interesting to me. Mythus takes place on Ærth, a world like our own but 1000 years in the past, so at the time of publication, 992 CE. Here, the myths of old are real, and we know about them because of Ærth's connection to Earth. So elves, dragons, and vampires are stories here, but there they were/are real. The trouble I am having with Ærth as presented is there is very little to differentiate it from our Earth save for window dressing. This is disappointing really since I feel there is something here if given the chance to grow a little. The maps and hints throughout the book are tantalizing but not enough.

Here we are also introduced to the next two books in the line "The Epic of Ærth" and "Mythus Magic." Of those two, I only have the Mythus Magic book. We are also introduced to the concept of the Basic and Advanced games. 

Your character in the game is a persona, or Heroic Persona, or HP. This game uses regular d6s and d10s for all the rolls. There are also d3 and d5 rolls here, but most will d%.

Dangerous Journey Mythus

Mythus Prime Rules

Note: There is also a "Basic Set" sold separately as "Mythus Prime" that is a 144-page book. It is essentially the same as this section, with some expansions. 

This is the "Basic" game designed to get people started in the Mythus game. It is like the Advanced Mythus game in many ways but obviously simpler. I am not going to delve too deep here. I have read it many times over the years and I like some of the ideas here. But I can talk about them when I cover the Advanced Rules. This does cover the next 45 pages or so. Reading the chapter Creating your Heroic Persona, though, is a good one since the Advanced Mythus points back to it for character creation. There is more in the advanced game.

HPs (remember, Heroic Personas) have three Traits: Mental, Physical, and Spiritual. It is not a bad division, really, Tri-Stat would later do it to much success. In this Basic section all the steps are outlined by an example. So choose SEC (Socio-Economic Class), Traits, Vocation (not a class...), choose K/S (Knowledge/Skills), and STEEP points (Study, Training, Education, Experience, Practice); get your finances and possessions., and round off your character.  Compared to the flipping through pages, one has to do with AD&D 1st ed. This is an improvement, but compared to other games from around 1992, like, say, Vampire the Masquerade, it already felt dated. Still better than World of Synnibar, released the year before.

All characters get three K/S for free, Perception (Mental), Perception (Physical), and Riding/Boating.

There is a chapter on rolling and success. I go into that in detail with the advanced game. The same is true of the chapter after the next on Combat.

The third chapter is on Heka, or the force of Magic in the Mythus world.  Now this was an interesting one to me. In the 90s I was dying for a new magic system. It is interesting but wildly crunchy. Heka is determined by your HP's magical K/S. Again, more on this in a bit. 

Improving Skills & Abilities is after Combat, and the rules here as simple enough. you spend APs (accomplishment points, our XP stand-in) to improve. This one also gets more complicated in the Advanced Game.

A Chapter on Playing your HP, moving to the Advanced Game and some Gamemaster advice.

I like the idea of a simpler game to introduce the more complicated one, but I can't help but feel that the real game, the one that would been more successful, isn't somewhere in between. I mean we all did the same with Basic and Advanced D&D.  Feels like the same mistakes are being made here for completely different reasons.

There is a brief adventure for the Basic game, High Time at the Winged Pig, at the end of this section. To be honest, it's not really all that interesting, especially given that this is the same guy who gave us B2 and the TGD series. I mean the HPs meet in a tavern. Fine for 1974-1977, but 1992? We deserve better than this really.

Advanced Mythus

Now 55 pages later, we are now in the Advanced Mythus game.

We are referred to the Basic Mythus game often, but the steps for character creation are pretty much the same.

1. Determine Socio-Economic Status. It may not be the best way to run a game since no one will go here first anyway. People choose a concept and/or a class first. This, though, does have effects on what your HP can and can't do. A table of the percent of the population of every SEC level is also presented. Not sure if it is here for illustrative purposes or if you are supposed to have your character population conform to it. I should point out though that frequency distribution for "rolled characters" will never match the SEC Populations table, no matter what you do. This is why I wonder why it is here.  A lot depends on your HPs SEC. If the acronyms get to be too much, remember this is a Gygax game, and there will be a lot more. Now personally, I am not a fan of so much to be dependent on my HPs SEC (damnit now I am doing it), I mean I have my Taxes for that. I want to make kick-ass characters. Honestly, I'll just choose my vocation and then find an SEC that fits it.

2. Generate numbers for Traits/Categories/Attributes. We have the same traits as before, Mental, Physical, and Spiritual. These are divided into two categories each. Mnemonic/Reasoning (Mental), Muscular/Neural (Physical), Metaphysical/Psychic (Spiritual).  Each of these six has three Attribute scores: Capacity, Power, and Speed. So a total of 3+6+18=27 numbers to describe your character, I mean HP. That seems a bit excessive. Granted, we only need to roll up 18 of those (OR assign 6 in the point spread) and the others are derived. These scores range from 6 to 20, with 8-11 as the average. The maximum of any human attribute is 30 for physical (cap, pow, or spd) and 40 for mental or spiritual (cap, pow, or spd). There are two ways to get these numbers. The first is a point distribution method. You get a range of numbers to divide among the 6 categories the split them up for the cap, pow and spd scores and then add them up for Mental, Physical and Spiritual. The second is a 2d6+8 rolled for all 18. Again, examples are utilized here which helps. These numbers are used to determine "Critical Levels," "Effect Levels," "Wound Levels," and "Recovery Levels." They will also be used to determine an HP's Heka. 

3. Calculate STEEP for the HPs Knowledge/Skill areas. Players are encouraged to look over the vocations to see what areas they need to increase here. The same basic vocations are here, but a lot more are added. Now, vocations are not classes. Classes are picked in other games and then the skills are given. Here you start with the skills. While there are vocational packages that feel like classes, you could in theory ignore them and build a vocation of your own. There is an Appendix (E) here for that.  STEEP scores are 00 to 91+ with 00 as "no knowledge" and 91+ as Ultra-genius. There is a K/S of "Witchcræft," and it is sadly presented as nothing but pure evil. Even Demonology here is not so vilified.  Yes. I am taking this as a challenge.

Witchcræft

4. Choose the HPs K/S sub-areas. This goes along with the various vocations. In the advanced game, there are three additional automatic skills, Etiquette/Social Graces, Native Tongue, and Trade Phoenician, which is the "Common" of Ærth.

5. Determine Personal information. This can be random or chosen.

6. Calculate the HPs Resources.  This is random based on SEC. The unit of currency is the BUC or...Basic Unit of Currency. So 50' of rope costs 10 BUCs. I am not sure if this is clever or irritating. 

This all covers about 70 pages. I glossed over a lot of it. 

Core Game Systems

These are our core rules. Rolls are made with the K/S areas. The six difficulty levels all have a multiplier to the HPs STEEP. They are Easy (x3), Moderate (the default x2), Hard (x1 [one would think a x1 would be the better default]), Difficult (x0.5), Very Difficult (x0.25), and Extreme (x0.1).  So if I want to read a scroll and my K/S in Dweomercræft is a 20 then if this were an Easy Challenge, then my chance to succeed is 20 x 3 or 60%. Moderate is 40% (20x2); if it is Very Difficult, then 20x0.25 or 5%, and 2% for Extreme. While so, a lot of the math is front-loaded on figuring out those K/S scores. These are roll-under abilities (roll under or equal). So, rolling 96% or above can be considered an automatic or even a special failure. 

We get guidelines for combining efforts, for rolling a K/S vs another K/S and so on.

There is also something called a Joss Factor (JF) which work like luck or hero points. At least...I think they do. There is not much here about it at all. If there are rules about how to regain Joss (and WHY is it called that?? Oh, I found an "in game" reason that explains nothing.) I have not found them. 

Spending APs is also covered for Traits and K/S areas. For this, advanced K/S descriptions are given. 

Combat is largely an application of the appropriate K/S areas. Combat is done in units called Critical Turns (CTs) of about 3 seconds each. The initiative is a d10 roll.  Armor reduces damage so HPs can take a lot of damage.  Combat can target hit locations, given the names with damage multipliers of: Non-Vital (x1), Vital (x2), Super-Vital (x3), and Ultra-Vital (x4). This is to account for creatures that might have different sorts of vital parts. It feels weird, but given what this game was trying to do, I can see the utility here. 

There is an insanity and madness mechanic, but as I have said before, I am never very fond of these. 

Heka & Magic

Heka was the god of and the word for magic in ancient Egypt (or Ægypt in this book). Now I will freely admit, this is also one of my favorite sections. It is a wonderfully complicated system that would have made Isaac Bonewits proud. We get a few spells, but there are more in the Mythus Magic book (Thursday).

More on Personas

This covers anything that can change in an HP, like a change in SEC to becoming a vampire. This also covers some basic monsters.  There are some examples of NPCs, or er...NHP? Oh, actually, they are OPs, or "Other Personas."  The "monsters" are divided into three categories: Evil Personas (EPs), Monstrous Personages (MPGs), and Mundane Personas (MPs).  Other than being descriptive, there is no real difference between these that I can tell, save for name/label. Maybe if they had different point spreads.  There are also Friendly Personas (FP), which are what they sound like. 

Magickal Items

Pretty much what is says on the tin. There isn't a lot of stuff here.

Condemned as Galley Slaves

An adventure for new HPs. 

Appendices follow.

So. This game. 

Let's be honest. It is not good. It's actually kind of embarrassing how bad it is. Not to say there are not good things in it.

There are a lot of things I do like about it, though. I love the idea of Ærth, and Necropolis is still a fun adventure. The Mythus Magic was also a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to going over it again on Thursday. That said, I love some of the fluff here and there are things I could use, but it is a lot od shifting wheat from chaff here. 

Larina ferch SiânLarina ferch Siân of Ærth

The over-heavy-handedness of the "Witchcræft is pure evilTM!" and the inclusion of "wicca" vis-à-vis through the Wisewoman/Wiseman vocation (or Mystic, the book is not very clear on this) is just too tantalizing to pass up, even if character creation in this system has been universally reviled.  I think I will try the character today and some spells on Thursday.

I did find some character sheets online, but I am going with the one in the back of the book.  I considered doing the point spread, but I opted to roll up a new character instead. The numbers I got were a bit higher, but not very different from the point spread or the sample character. It also works out since I wanted a character similar to her AD&D stats.  

I admit that rolling up the characteristics and getting my derived scores was much faster than I expected. But then I got to the K/S area, and things ground to a halt. It is not that it is hard, just tedious.

Note: For all the talk that this is a Class-less system, the Vocations are classes in all but name really. 

So, our basic K/S skills are figured out as follows:

  • Etiquette/Social Graces: SEC Level (6) x 5 = 30
  • Native Tongue (Welsh/Keltic): 30 (above) + MMCap (16) = 46*
  • Perception (Mental): 2d10 + MRCap (15) = 31**
  • Perception (Physical) 2d10 + PNCap (12) = 28
  • Trade Language: SEC (6) x 3 +MMCap (16) = 34
  • Riding: SEC (6) x 5 = 30

* In some places it says SEC x5 for language others SEC x3.
** The formulas are reversed for these in the book. 

Now, I have to pick my Vocational K/Ss. I picked Wisewoman for Larina since that fits well, but be sure I'll be bumping up her Witchcræft. Since this is a spiritual Vocation, I can choose which perception to use, so I chose Perception (Mental). I think I could figure out how to knock together a "White Witch" option per Appendix E, but instead, I am just going to tweak the Wisewoman a bit.

For this, I just shifted the same K/Ss around and kept the same number of STEEP points (248).

Crap. Forgot to adjust for age. Not going to do it. Say I rolled the appropriate number, and those above are the adjusted ones.

Attractiveness: Got a 16. Not bad. Should adjust for age or other factors I am sure, but not going too.

Joss: Rolled a 62, so 10 Joss factors. 

Not rolling for birth rank, despite some fun things for a 7th child of a 7th child. This character is way established in my mind as the 1st born daughter. 

She is from Cymru (Wales), and her birthplace was near Gŵry (Gower).

Quirks: A bit of roleplaying fun here. A lot like Qualities and Drawbacks in point-buy games. I'll choose two as long as they don't change any trait numbers (good or ill). I am not recalculating all of this. I'll take Psychic Awareness and Heka Channeler. For "Conter Quirks" I'll take Obsessive/Compulsive and Low Tolerance to Alcohol. 

Connections: She gets two of these, so I am giving her access to the local Druid Hierarchy and an Apothecary; both of these are due to her parents.  

Results below.

Larina ferch Siân of ÆrthLarina ferch Siân of Ærth

Larina ferch Siân of Ærth

Ok. That was fairly tedious, but in the end, I got a character that I think will be fun to use IF I ever play this game.  I'll figure out her Heka and do spells on Thursday.

I need a mental break now.

Jim Ward (1952-2024)

The Other Side -

 News came out last night that former TSR writer and game designer Jim "Drawmij" Ward had passed.

Jim Ward

Jim was responsible for some of my favorite books—not just the amazing "Metamorphosis Alpha" and later "Gamma World," but also "Gods, Demigods and Heroes" and "Deities & Demigods," to which I owe a lot of virtual ink here at The Other Side.

Jim was always very nice to chat with. I wanted to make sure I included his point of view on the whole Cthulhu Mythos issue in D&DG when it would come up since there was always so much misinformation about it. He had been sick for a bit, so while last night news was not a shock, it is still a loss.

I got the chance to chat with him a couple of times at the Troll Lords Games booths at various cons. He was always nice.  I was disappointed when he began hitching his wagon to Justin LaNasa, but I had assumed he just wanted to make games and saw this as a chance.

Of course, that doesn't matter now. I had been hoping to see him again at Gary Con in a couple of days, even if I knew that chance was very, very slim.

It has been a bad three months for loosing people in this hobby for me. So if there is any advice I can give at this time, if there is someone out there you want to talk with, do it now. Don't wait for "oh we can meet up this summer" or "Oh, I catch them at the next con." No. Do it now.

Monstrous Mondays: Faerie Lord, Rübezahl

The Other Side -

"Rübezahl" by Moritz von Schwind (1859)"Rübezahl" by Moritz von Schwind (1859) I am working on a post for tomorrow, and while doing some reading, this guy came up. Since I am still in the middle of editing the "F's," I figure I might as well add him. 

The concept of having Faerie Lords in my games goes way back—maybe to the first time I read "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The machinations of Oberon and Titania were so much fun that I had hoped the whole play had just been about them. I added them to my games immediately, and I was disappointed that AD&D had nothing of the sort then. Faerie Lords next appear in Ghosts of Albion and many of my WitchCraft games. 

Adding them to my Basic games is a no-brainer, really.

Faerie Lord Rübezahl
Krakonos; Lord of the Mountains
Medium Humanoid (Fey, Faerie Lord)

Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 14d8+42 (105 hp)
Move: 120' (40')
Attacks: 2 fist slams, 1 weapon (staff) 
Damage: 1d6+2 x2, 1d6+2
Special: Magic resistance (25%), immune to poison; can communicate telepathically, Magic +1 weapons to hit, grow to giant size, druid spells, alter appearance
No. Appearing: 1 (unique)
Save As: Monster 14
Morale: 10 (NA)
Treasure Type: C x5
Alignment: Chaotic (Chaotic Neutral)
XP: 6,100

Languages: Elven, Sylvan, Telepathic, Goblin

S: 17 (+2) D: 16 (+2) C: 18 (+3) I: 14 (+1) W: 15 (+1) Ch: 20 (+4) 

Faerie Lord Rübezahl lives in a large mountain range and avoids civilized human contact. He often appears as a tall (6'5") wild man with long gray, unkempt hair and a beard. He wears very tattered clothing and looks like a wild man or a woodwose. He can also appear as a gruff stone giant or a beautiful young maiden. He takes pleasure in transforming between all his forms to confuse and bedevil others who enter his lands. He is the lord of bugbears, ogres, trolls, and other wild fey creatures not given over completely to evil. 

His true form is shrouded in mystery, but his presence is undeniable.  Rüberzahl is a force of nature, as unpredictable as the mountain storms he commands.  While he protects the mountains and those who respect them, he delights in testing mortals by shifting his form and blocking passages with rocks and fallen trees.  He is the guardian of his range of mountains, and he does not tolerate the greedy, arrogant, or environmentally destructive who cross his path, for Rübezahl may lead them astray or unleash the fury of the mountains upon them.

Rüberzahl is a formidable opponent in combat.  He wields his staff with devastating power.  His true strength lies in his magic, however. In addition to being able to change his form to a giant, he also has the abilities and spells of a 14th-level druid. He will use spells to deal with large groups and shift to giant form to attack (use Stone Giant for combat). He is fond of casting barkskin on himself and call lightning on large groups.

Rüberzahl is a solitary creature who does not need companionship. His capricious nature makes it difficult for him to get along. However, he has a grudging respect for other powerful beings who dwell in the world's wild places. He avoids the other faerie lords, and they avoid him. The stone giants give him respect, and he avoids getting into their affairs. He has been known to aid those lost in the mountains in finding their way out. Whether he does this out of benevolence or simply to get people out of his mountains is not entirely clear. 

His home is a large cave near an expansive field of turnips. This has also given him the title of Lord of Turnips. A name he does not much care for. 

--

The editing of Basic Bestiary continues.

Kickstart Your Weekend: Kickstarter Overload!

The Other Side -

 There were so many this week, and so many were good ones. Let's get going.

Tales of Voracious: Ragnarok

 Ragnarok

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bluestocking/tales-of-voracious-ragnarok?ref=theotherside

Kate Bullock is back with a new set of erotic horror monster tales.  This one covers the nine realms fo Norse Myths. If it is anything like her first book in this series then it should be a lot of fun. This one has the added benefit of a connecting theme.  

Kate is a great write and great person to boot, so I'd love to see this one do well.

Fey Earth

Fey Earth

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brambleheartgames/fey-earth-1?ref=theotherside

I have been following this one for a while now, and their Kickstarter is live. It is set in the 19th Century and has Fey races, magic, and more. That sounds exactly like my cup of tea, to be honest.  Add in some witches and that makes it a must buy! 

So yeah, I know next to nothing about the system but the premise sounds good and the art is great. I also want this one to do well.

The tiers are nice and simple. Easy to figure out what I want.

THE EXPANSE Collectible Action Figures

THE EXPANSE Collectible Action Figures

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thenacellecompany/the-expanse-collectable-action-figures?ref=theotherside

Before it was a TV Series, or a Green Ronin RPG, or a Book Series, the Expanse was a d20 Modern game. I just learned that today.  This Kickstarter is for action figure line. Because really, you need Chrisjen Avasarala and Camina Drummer figures!

As of this writing this has not hit it's goals yet, but I am sure it will get there.

Gary Gygax's World Builders Archive

Gary Gygax's World Builders Archive

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ckg/gary-gygaxs-gygaxian-fantasy-worlds?ref=theotherside

Troll Lords continues to add weight to their claim that Castles & Crusades IS the spiritual successor to AD&D. This Kickstarter brings new Gygax material to C&C.

There is so much here that I can't get into it. If the name Gygax means anything to you then click on this and see what they have.

BX Advanced Bestiary, Vol. 2

BX Advanced Bestiary, Vol. 2

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thirdkingdom/bx-advanced-bestiary-vol-2?ref=theotherside

More monsters are always great! The only I like more than making monsters is reading about them so this one is also a must-get for me.

Legend of Seven Golden Demons & Slime Pits of Sewer Witch

Legend of Seven Golden Demons & Slime Pits of Sewer Witch
Legend of Seven Golden Demons & Slime Pits of Sewer Witch

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/marktaormino/legend-of-seven-golden-demons-and-slime-pits-of-sewer-witch?ref=theotherside

Mentioned this one last week, but it is worth repeating!

NOW some upcoming ones.

Djinn Unboxed - NSFW Artbook

Djinn Unboxed - NSFW Artbook
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/djinnintheshade/djinn-unboxed-nsfw-artbook?ref=theotherside

Djinn is a great friend of the Other Side. I feature her art here a lot. She is coming out with her own art book and it should be great.

Not live yet, but please sign up for updates.

Murders at Lorelahc Manor - a mystery campaign for D&D 5e!

Murders at Lorelahc Manor - a mystery campaign for D&D 5e!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/margomods/murders-at-lorelahc-manor-5e?ref=theotherside
This one is also not out yet. But a murder mystery for D&D? Hell yes!
There is also a pre-launch page for it on Backerkit.https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/1a3ccacf-6061-4c0f-a4c0-40a34400abfa/landing

Sign up for more details.

And of course, this one!

Thirteen Parsecs

Thirteen Parsecs

http://tinyurl.com/13psignuptim

Thirteen Parsecs is coming! Please sign up to get notified of our launch of the Backer kit.

We really want this game to be your sci-fi RPG of choice, so help us make that happen.


Daggerheart Open Playtest Beta: Intro and Character Creation

The Other Side -

 The minds behind Critical Role have come up with their new Fantasy RPG and honestly, it has some things going for it.

Daggerheart Fantasy Role-Playing is now in Open Beta Playtesting and you can grab a copy for free from DriveThruRPG or their website

Galapa by Jessica NguyenGalapa, one of the new Ancestries. Art by Jessica Nguyen

I began reviewing it yesterday and quickly decided to take the plunge to print out the entire 375+ page playtest document so my kids and I can try it out.

You can see the DNA of many systems and games here, which they acknowledge.  I have not read a bunch, but there is a very interesting world here and one I think many will like to play in.

I know most of my readers are "old-school D&D" so I'll say this. If there is something about D&D 5 you dislike chances are good it is here and turned up to 11. 

That all being said there is a really interesting game here. 

That's a lot of pages. Daggerheart playtest

Will this game be a "D&D Killer?" too early to say. I mean we didn't see Pathfinder taking D&D's throne when 4e was out, but then it happened. And when was the last time an RPG Playtest made the pages of Business Insider the day of release?  Do not underestimate the fanship of Critical Role, who, in their nine years, has only seen their popularity rise. Sooner or later, Hasbro will do something boneheaded again, like the OGL or maybe even AI art, and people will look for more options. 

One thing is for certain, the crew at Critical Role will make the game look great to play. Cases in point, they have already produced some videos for it. 

I am watching the One Shot now, and the game looks fun. The feel is a solid fantasy RPG. Their enthusiasm is infectious. 

Character Creation

I have gone through character creation. It will be faster once I know the system better, but it is still very fast. There are a lot of options. LOTS. If you are the type that looks at D&D 5's choices of species and shakes your head then this will not be the game for you.

Daggerheart is a Class and Level based system, so that will be familiar to most; especially what I perceive as their main target, D&D 5e players. 

Classes and Heritages

So, there are nine classes, each with two sub-classes (Foundations) and 18 ancestries. Like I said, there are lots of choices. Watching the "How to Make a Character" video is helpful here, but I just dove right in. That's how we did in the 1980s! The video shows Travis Willingham of Critical Role rebuilding one of his Campaign 3 characters, Bertrand Bell, in this game.  I can relate. 

Each class has two "Domains" and these overlap. These help decide what sorts of powers, abilities, and spells they can take. For example "Arcana" is magic and is the Domain of Druids and Sorcerers. But Sorcerers are also "Midnight" which is sneaky, shadowy stuff and also a Domain of Rogues. 

You choose a Class, then a Foundation (which gives you benefits), then your first-level powers/abilities.

Choose your Heritage (Ancestry and Community) which gives you yet more powers/abilities. There are nine Communities. Think of these as being like your background. 

So where are we? We have 9 classes, 2 foundations, 18 ancestries, and 9 communities. So 2,916 combinations at level 1. 

There are Traits, which line up more or less with d20/D&D abilities. 

Damage Thresholds are bit like HP, with a tracker. Damage gets deadly really fast.  Oh and damage to you also damages your armor. 

A note about Death. This game has a great rule that I might steal for my home games. 

Death

I like the whole "Embrace Death and Go Out in a Blaze of Glory." You die and stay dead, but you do it with style. Oh, it also seems that coming back from the dead is rare and not at all easy. When a character does, they permanently lose one point of the Hope resource.  I have not talked about the Hope and Fear resources yet. But they are spent like Drama or Hero points depending on the situations. These use the oft-neglected d12.

You choose your abilities/powers/spells based on your Domains. The feel is similar to some of the choices for characters seen in D&D 4e.

There are Background questions. They are optional, but they are fun.

Experiences are fun. These are bits on your background that you can use a bonus to your Hope roll. These are figured out in Session 0 and work best if they complement (or aggravate!) the other characters.

Connections are similar. This has a solid Blue Rose feel to it. 

Character creation is fun and would work best during Session 0 with your group. 

Larina Nix in Daggerheart

Of course, I am going to try this with my Drosophila melanogaster of character creation experiments. There is no witch class here, so the first thing I need to do is figure out what her class is. 

While the playtest materials give me plenty to create a class (and the videos use them) there are other options. One is the Character builder at the Daggerheart Nexus at Demiplane.app. This is what I did for my witch Larina. 

Looking through my options here and with the playtest I am opting for Sorcerer over Wizard. Larina knows things, but they didn't all come from books (which she loves) plus I like the idea of the Midnight Domain for her, so she is a Sorcerer. For her Foundations (subclasses), I gave her Primal since her magic needs to feel a little old and a little wild. Her ancestry is human, and in this reality, she is Loreborn to tie into her connection to reading and books. 

Background I can skip over since this not with a group yet, but I do want to cover her Experiences here. For her +2 Experience I went with "I understand that! (Magical Scholar)" so she can spend a Hope die anytime something magical needs to be explained or figured out. For her +1 Experience, I went with "Wait, I need to read this (Seeker of Magical Secrets)" to cover that sometimes her curiosity overrules her common sense. So that +1 to her Hope die would be great in situations where she is trying to read a magical inscription on a tomb wall while avoiding getting hit by a mummy. 

For my Domain Cards (yes there are cards, but also slots on my sheet) I took one Arcana and one Midnight out of my choices of three each. I wanted to try a balance of the two. 

The effort was fast, really fast. And I am pleased with the results

Daggerheart Larina 1 of 3Daggerheart Larina 2 of 3Daggerheart Larina 3 of 3
Yeah, I am quite pleased with this character and character creation. But the proof is in the playing.
So now, after reading, making a character, watching some videos, and retweaking the character, I'll try my hand at making a character from the start again to see how long it takes. For this I will do my other active character Sinéad.  She is also a sorcerer, but I want to see how different two characters of the same class can be. Then I'll also try her as a multi-classed Bard.

Sinéad in Daggerheart

In D&D Sinéad is a half-elf Magic-user (Sorcerer)/Bard. Now her history is very, very much tied to the Forgotten Realms. So unlike Larina, her home is a very integral part of her. It will be interesting to see how that works in a game like Daggerheart.

Sinéad in Daggerheart

Ok, that took about 4 minutes. While I can get into the details, suffice it to say that this worked well for me and I was EASILY able to capture the concept here that this is character who can't control her magic and is working on figuring out how.  She isn't a bard yet. But that also fits in well with my starting concept of her.  For her item, Family Heirloom, I have it as her father's lute.

In Daggerheart, you can multi-class starting at the 5th level, so I am going to try that. When Multi-classing, you choose one of the two Domains of the second class. I rather like that. The Bard Domains are Grace and Codex. While Codex would be great for the added magic, concept-wise, Grace is a better fit.  She also chooses one of the Foundations (Subclasses). For Sinéad, I picked Troubador so she can get some game advantage from her lute.

Sinéad in DaggerheartSinéad in DaggerheartSinéad in DaggerheartSinéad in DaggerheartSinéad in Daggerheart

Level 0 to Level 5, plus making screenshots? 25 mins.  A PDF export would be nice here.

So, despite Larina and Sinéad both being Sorcerers in Daggerheart, they do look and feel different.

There is a lot to try out for this game and I am looking forward to seeing where it goes.

Links

Review: Return to the World of Maximum Mayhem

The Other Side -

 I have a slight sidestep today. I have been playing around with something for a bit. You all know I am a fan of Mark Taormino's Maximum Mayhem adventures from Dark Wizard Games. I have been getting his latest in both the 1st Ed and 5th Ed versions, one for me and one for my kids. I have also mentioned that while they are designed overtly for "First Edition Rules" or what I call "The Advanced Era" the adventures top off at the 14th level, making them compatible "in spirit" with my beloved B/X rules.

The obvious solution to this was to run some sort of mutant B/X-Advanced hybrid. The ruleset that won out was Old School Essentials-Advanced Fantasy Edition. While there are some bumps, it is a surprisingly good fit. To be honest, I would love to test out OSE-Advanced vs. 1st Edition vs. OSRIC and see how they all fare with the same sort of character. I have not done this, nor do I think I will. I think that the differences would be so minor as to be unnoticeable in actual play. 

Maximum Mayhem adventures with OSE-AE

But I do have the characters. 

A while back, I introduced a lovely druid couple, Maryah and Asabalom. They were OSE characters from the very start. They have connections to previous characters of mine, but nothing major. I see Asabalom as the grandson (or maybe great-grandson) of my "Beastmaster" character, Absom Sark. Because of this, I am fudging things a little and giving him the ability to wild shape into a wolf at the 4th level. He just doesn't have the control a 7th-level druid does. Right now, he can only shift into a wolf. 

For a variety of reasons that are too minor on their own but added up, these two characters are my natives of Mark's Maximum Mayhem world. One that uses OSE-AE. They are the ones I am taking through these adventures, and their son, Áedán Aamadu, will go through the 5e versions. 

The biggest issue has been finding the time to do these. With his new Kickstarter now live, I figured I needed to get caught up. 

So. I will review these, knowing I really can't go through them anymore. Sorry, Mad Master! I am reviewing these in "campaign order" and not in release order.

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons #0: Village on the Borderlands

by Mark Taormino, 64 pages. For levels 1-3. Art by Justin Davis, Jacob Blackmon, Carlos Castilho, Daniel Commerci, Jeff Dee, Felipe Faria, Mark Lyons, William McAusland, Brian McCranie, Matt Morrow and JE Shields. (How's that for a who's-who among OSR artists?)

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons #0: Village on the Borderlands 1eMaximum Mayhem Dungeons #0: Village on the Borderlands 5e

First Edition PDF (DriveThruRPG). First Edition PDF and Print Dark Wizard Games Store.

Fifth Edition PDF (DriveThruRPG). Fifth Edition PDF and Print Dark Wizard Games Store. 

The first edition has "blue" maps, and the fifth edition has full-color maps.

A lot of us freely mixed Basic D&D and Advanced D&D back in the early 80s. It was not uncommon then to find groups that had gone through B2 Keep on the Borderlands and T1 The Village of Hommlet. Mark knows this, and this adventure is a nod and homage to that experience.  This is also Mark's biggest adventure to date.

While this could have come off as pastiche or, even worse, a bunch of hamfisted clichés, instead it is a nod and even an homage to not just how much fun those old adventures were, but also to the experiences we all had. Don't get me wrong, there is a great a adventure here; but if you were playing the Keep or the Village or Giants series back in the early 1980s then this will hit differently. 

The is best described as "what if the Village of Hommlet was set outside the Cave of Chaos and not the Keep?"  You have a local village in need of help. There are roving bands of ogres and weird fungi and skeletons. Whats a local farmer to do? Easy, call upon some brave, and expendable, adventurers for help. 

There are some hooks for the adventure but for me they are unneeded. THOUGH I will add that the whole Valley of the Moon was a great hook for me. Not just because the name is similar enough to where my characters Maryah and Asabalom were from, but it is nothing if not a nod to one of my earliest crushes, Moon Unit Zappa

We have all sorts of classic monsters, rumor tables, nods to (in)famous NPCs, tarot readings, standing stones, name puns, an inn to meet in, places to buy equipment and weapons. 

The Inn of the Whistling Pig is wonderfully detailed and loaded with all sorts of characters. In fact, while reading, I half expected to see stand-ins for Duchess and Candella

I said, "Caves of Chaos," but there are only a few caves where a lot of the "out of town" action takes place, and that is plenty. The Hill Giant cave is the first. There is also the Forest of Fallen Oaks, the Ruins of Sternholm Keep, and the Caverns of the Wicked Peaks.

A great non-linear adventure where the party can start at the Inn and head out in any direction to find adventure. They can come back, heal up, spend their loot and go back out, OR keep going. That last one is not advisable as everything here has a good reason to see the PCs dead. 

There are hooks here to other Maximum Mayhem adventures, too.

The plot and organization of the first and fifth editions are the same. The Fifth edition version features color maps.  

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons Mini Adventure #1: Shadow of the Necromancer

by Mark Taormino, 16 pages. For levels 1-3. Art by Phred Rawles, Chet Minton, Adam Black, Brian Brinlee, Carlos Castilho, Bradley McDevitt, and Phred Rawles.

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons Mini Adventure #1: Shadow of the Necromancer 1e Maximum Mayhem Dungeons Mini Adventure #1: Shadow of the Necromancer 5e

First Edition PDF (DriveThruRPG). First Edition PDF and Print Dark Wizard Games Store.

Fifth Edition PDF (DriveThruRPG). Fifth Edition PDF and Print Dark Wizard Games Store

The first edition has "blue" maps, and the fifth edition has full-color maps.

This is a mini adventure, and the first one Mark has done. Much like his Vampire Queen adventure I have used a figure called "The Necromancer" in my own games. Get out of my head Mark!!

These are designed to be played in one or two sessions. We managed to get through it in three short sessions. It has a great "Hammer Horror" vibe to it, and honestly, I rather love it.

The adventure comes with a map, in beautiful old-school blue for the 1st ed version and full color for the 5th edition version. The module is 16 pages (one page for title and credits, one page for OGL , and one-page blank).  The adventure is a simple "strange things are going on! The PCs must investigate!" situation. It turns into "stop the minion of the Necromancer from finishing his evil plans." It's tried and true, and it works fine here.  As with many of the Darl Wizard/Maximum Mayhem Dungeons, the adventure is a deadly affair. Not as deadly as the Hanging Coffins of the Vampire Queen, but it is not a walk in the graveyard either. It is a fun romp and really captures the feel of old-school playing. Both versions are great, and I can keep the 1st-ed version for myself and give the 5th-ed version to my kids to run.

Exactly what you want in an adventure. Despite the size and scope Mark gives this one the same love and attention he does to all his larger adventures.

The plot and organization of the first and fifth editions are the same. The Fifth edition version features color maps.  

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons #7: Dread Swamp of the BansheeMaximum Mayhem Dungeons #7: Dread Swamp of the Banshee

by Mark Taormino and Alan Chamberlain, 48 pages. For levels 4-8. Art by Jacob Blackmon, Brian Brinlee, Ed Lacabanne, Mark Lyons, Brian McCranie, Matthew Ray, and Phil Stone.

First Edition PDF (DriveThruRPG). First Edition PDF and Print Dark Wizard Games Store.

A noblewoman has returned to her family estate and finds it has been taken over by a swamp. Worse, there is an evil banshee stalking the lands. But what is the noblewoman hiding?

This adventure is for characters of 4th to 8th level. But I will say this. 4th and 5th level characters are going to die. This is not a meat-grinder like Hanging Coffins, but it is deadly. There is a mystery here too so, so it is not all fireballs and swordplay. But there is a lot of that too.

Like the adventures of old, there are also new monsters here. Mark always adds a little something like that. I also get the vibe that Mark and Alan were reading a lot of B3 Palace of the Silver Princess. Not for the plot but just the feeling. It works here to be honest. 

In the series, I would run this one after Vault of the Dwarven King and have the characters between the 5th and 8th levels. Not that Vault is easier, just not as deadly as this one. 

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons #6: Moving Maze of the Mad MasterMaximum Mayhem Dungeons #6: Moving Maze of the Mad Master

by Alan Chamberlain, 40 pages. For levels 6-10. Art by Jacob Blackmon, Alan Chamberlain, Ed Lacabanne, Mark Lyons, Brian McCranie, and Phil Stone.

First Edition PDF (DriveThruRPG). First Edition PDF and Print Dark Wizard Games Store.

This one is by Alan Chamberlain, who was also on The Dread Swamp of the Banshee and Vault of the Dwarven King. So the feel is right. In fact, until Mark kickstarted his Maximum Mayhem #8: Funhouse Dungeon of the Puppet Jester, THIS was the funhouse dungeon. 

The premise is simple but very effective. A bunch of metal monsters are attacking small towns and villages, and the PCs decide to help. What we get is an honest-to-Gary, Mad Scientist building all sorts of clockwork and autonomous horrors. To get to him, you need to get through his maze of deadly traps and clockwork terrors. 

If the other adventure is a meat grinder, then this one is a food processor. It's brutal, but of course, the fun is just as great.

You could get this one for the circular maze map and all the stats of the clockwork creatures alone (6) for a total of 11 new monsters. 

It's insane, really.

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons
Maximum Mayhem Dungeons - Nearly complete


I am not sure any character can survive this campaign.

Don't forget Mark has two more of these adventures on Kickstarter nowLegend of Seven Golden Demons & Slime Pits of Sewer Witch both for 1st Edition and 5th Edition rules.

New Release: Myths & Monsters Vol. 1 - The Black Forest Mythos

The Other Side -

 I am finally releasing my latest project based on the Roman-Norse Myths I was playing around with last year. 

Myths & Monsters Vol. 1 - The Black Forest Mythos

Myths & Monsters Vol. 1 - Black Forest Mythos

https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/473864/myths-monsters-vol-1-the-black-forest-mythos?affiliate_id=10748

This is the first of a series of myths and legends that began as a thought experiment about gods, monsters, and syncretism of beliefs. These gods did not exist, at least not in the classical sense. They are, however, great for a fantasy adventure game where elves, dragons, and magic are real. They are also based on some of the most well-known myths in the world.

This product is the start of a new series of smaller publications aimed at covering the Gods, Demigods, Heroes, Demons, and Monsters of various mythologies. Some will be thought experiments like this one, a set of syncretized Roman and Norse/Germanic myths. Others will be reconstructions of some ancient and less well-known myths.

These aim to provide your Advanced-era game with new gods and goddesses, as well as new monsters, demons, and other adversaries. 

Myths & Monsters Vol. 1 - Black Forest Mythos covers the myths, gods, and monsters of the people of the Black Forest.  This began as an idea; what if Roman pagans and Norse/Germanic peoples met up somewhere in the Black Forest region of Germany circa 600 CE and combined their gods into one pantheon?  And what if I had created this pantheon based on what I knew of both groups back in 1986?

Roman-Norse (Black Forest) Pantheon 

Imagine, if you will, some Roman Pagans, say circa 300-900 CE. While Christianity is becoming the Empire’s official religion, not everyone is taking up the Christian Gods. There is still a mix of Pagan Roman gods, Greek Gods, local gods and spirits, house gods, and more. The further you are from Rome (and later, Constantinople), the more likely you will still hold on to your local gods.

Now, far to the North, there are the Nordic-Germanic tribes. They are the “barbarians” of Roman lore; they want Rome’s treasures and power. But most of these people just want to find new lands to grow food on. While the Viking raids to England and Ireland are so stamped into our collective subconscious there were other forays into other lands. Some we know went South. But most of these did not happen till the 800s CE when most of Europe was firmly Christianized. We know that the Romans interacted with the Norse and made connections between their respective sets of Gods. Romans were rather practical when it came to religion.   

Imagine a time between 300 CE and 900 CE when not all Northmen were Viking raiders, and not all Romans were Christians. Let’s say that a group of Roman pagans and Northmen headed south and north, respectively, but ended up in the Black Forest region of Southern Germany, moving slightly westward. Instead of going to war, they decided to build a community together by finding common ground in their beliefs. Since both groups were polytheistic, they could accept each other’s gods. As time passed, the gods merged, just like the people. For the purposes of this story, let’s assume it was around 600 CE.

This is that project. Now, it is updated and edited, and the art is all from Larry Elmore (used with permission).  This first volume has 24 Gods and Goddesses and 17 monsters. 

This volume features art from Larry Elmore, but future volumes will feature new art from other artists. I just have to make enough from this one to pay them. 

So get your copy. Any and all feedback is welcome. I want to make this series something people will find helpful. 

Blogging A to Z 2024 Theme Reveal

The Other Side -

 It is that time of year again. Time to reveal my theme for the annual Blogging A to Z challenge.

This is the year I have known what I would do for a long time. Since it is the 50th Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons and I am spending the year celebrating, for April, I am doing the A to Z of Dungeons & Dragons.

 A to Z of D&D

Granted, this might not really be much of a "challenge" for me, but I hope to inform and maybe even get some people into this weird little hobby of ours.

Who knows. Maybe I'll learn something new myself.

Catch all the other A-to-Z-ers doing theme reveals this week here: https://tinyurl.com/mv4nhbmj 

The main Blogging A to Z website is here:  http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ 

AtoZChallenge theme reveal 2024 #atozchallenge

#AtoZChallenge 2024

Stacking the Odds

Reviews from R'lyeh -

The Job: A Game of Glorious Heists & Everything That Can Wrong In Them is a storytelling roleplaying game from an unexpected source—Games Omnivorous. The publisher is better known for its horror scenarios such as Cabin Risotto Fever and Eat the Rich, its systems neutral supplements such as Bottled Sea and its Old School Renaissance-style releases such as the Isle of Ixx and Frontier Scum: A Game About Wanted Outlaws Making Their Mark on a Lost Frontier. It is specifically designed for one-shot sessions in which the players take the role of a gang of expert thieves, who will plan and execute a heist or robbery, and overcome the obstacles that they as players build into the story as part of their characters’ planning for the ‘job’. This is a roleplaying game inspired not just by great films such as Ocean’s Eleven, The Italian Job, Logan Lucky, and Baby Driver, but also roleplaying games such as Leverage, Dread, and Fiasco. Perhaps the only entries missing from this bibliography are Reservoir Dogs and Rififi, but otherwise this is a solid bibliography and nice to see the author acknowledge his inspirations.
The Job: A Game of Glorious Heists & Everything That Can Wrong In Them is about stealing expensive jewels, priceless artworks, and world-famous artefacts and it is played in two parts, the Preparation Phase and the Action Phase, with between three and five players taking the roles of archetypes classic to the genre. To play, The Job requires a handful of six-sided dice and pen and paper. In the Preparation Phase, the players will plan the heist and set up scenes that they want to see played out in the Action Phase, stacking the heist against their characters as they add complications, describe locations, and build the world in which the heist is going to take place. In the Action Phase, the players will resolve the heist attempt, using their characters’ stunts to overcome complications, push the story forward, and to give each character time to shine. The Action Phase is played using a stack of six-sided dice which represents the pressure or tension in the heist attempt, with tension relieved by removing dice and ratcheted up by adding dice. When this stack falls, it is reset and thus the tension in the game begins again at zero, but after the first dice stack has fallen, more dice are added on the second and third rebuilds of the dice stack. If the third dice stack falls or is knocked over, the game ends as the heist fails and the Crewmembers suffer the consequences. If the third dice stack does not fall and the players complete all of the scenes they have created, the game ends with their characters being successful and getting away with the loot.

The start of The Job consists of the players picking an archetype, each one recognisable from the heist genre. These consist of the Animal Handler, Boss, Bruiser, Con Artist, Genius, Greaseman, Pickpocket, and Wheelman. A Crewmember does not have any stats in The Job, but the capacity to hold four items in his Inventory and four Stunts. Items are added to a Crewmember’s Inventory as necessary, but once a Crewmember has four items, he can carry no more and they cannot be changed. Which can mean that find himself in a situation where none of his equipment is going to help him. In general, Stunts give an Advantage for the character as well as special actions. For example, the Pickpocket has the Stunts of ‘Pickpocketing’, ‘Steal the Stack’, ‘Safecracking’, and ‘Magic Tricks’. ‘Pickpocketing’ gives him Advantage when stealing small objects and ‘Safecracking’ Advantage with delicate tasks such as picking locks, setting detonators, and the like. ‘Steal the Stack’ lets him steal a die from the dice Stack once during the Action Phase and ‘Magic Tricks’ actually gives him a magic trick, from close up magic to big stage events, and roll with Advantage. The four Inventory slots remain empty until the player decides he needs an item of equipment.

Once each player has decided upon the archetype he wants to play, the Referee presents them with the Brief. This gives the Crewmembers an object to steal, a budget to spend whilst conducting the heist, and six Complications. The Budget is spent during the Heist to equip a Crewmember with an item which will help him complete the Heist. The six Complications have to be added to the twelve Scenes that the players will create during the Preparation Phase. Depending on the Brief, they can be reinforced doors, laser sensors, guard dogs, and so on. The Complications are essentially the key points upon which the players will build and describe the scenes for their characters’ heists, their purpose being not to impede the heist or make it easier, but provide moments where the Crewmembers can shine as they do cool things to overcome the problem. All together these scenes will number exactly twelve—no more, no less, and consist of Infiltration, Deployment, Execution, and Escape scenes. When played out, they must be played in the order as written, and unlike other heist-themed roleplaying games, there are no flashbacks involved. What this means is that The Job is much more like a film heist rather than like that depicted on Leverage. The whole process for the Preparation Phase is collaborative, both between the players and between the players and the Referee, whose job it is make suggestions and adjudicate the players’ ideas in order to help fit the style of the heist. The Preparation Phase will appeal to players who like to plan.

The Action Phase begins with some set-up scenes. This is a chance for the players to narrate a pre-heist scene that establishes their character and gets them involved in the opening moves of the heist. This can include practicing manoeuvres and dummy runs, making a reconnaissance of the routine at the target of the heist, hacking into the building to make getting in later that much easier, getting hired as staff to get access to the building, and even stealing a particular item of equipment that will make the heist easier. None of this requires dice rolls, but it can generate Heat. For each set-up scene that generates Heat, the Referee adds a single die to the Dice Stack. This is a tower of dice, one on top of each other, which will be added to over the course of the Action Phase as the Crewmembers suffer setbacks, while certain Stunts can actually remove dice. For example, the Bruiser’s ‘Happy Birthday, Punk’ Stunt lets his player blow on the Dice Stack in an attempt to knock dice off.

Then the Action Phase proper begins. The Referee and the Referee work through the scenes one by one, resolving them in order. Whenever a Crewmember does anything risky, the Referee can call for a dice roll. Mechanically, The Job is very much like Powered by the Apocalypse. A player rolls two six-sided dice. If the result is six or less, the action fails, the player has to use an alternative method, and dice are added to the Dice Stack. On a result of seven or eight, the action is successful, but the player must either decide to add more dice to the Dice Stack or accept a Setback. A Setback is a complication which will come back to cause problems in subsequent scenes. If the result is ten or more, the action succeeds and the player gets to remove a die from the Dice Stack. If a Crewmember has an appropriate item of equipment or Stunt, his player can roll with Advantage, that is, roll three six-sided dice and ignore the worst result, but if the situation has adverse conditions or a Setback comes into play, the player rolls at a Disadvantage, that is, roll three six-sided dice and ignore the best result.

Play continues like this until either the third Dice Stack falls or all twelve Scenes are successfully narrated and roleplayed out. In the case of the latter, the Heist is successful and very player gets a final scene in which to narrate what happens to their Crewmember. However, if the third Dice Stack is knocked over, the Heist is unsuccessful, and the character of the player who knocked it over is caught. Everyone else is given one minute to write down what they do in response and which one of the other Crewmembers they involve. The notes are revealed and one player is designated to act as spokesman to narrate what happens based on the notes. If there are inconsistencies in the narration, the Referee can actually send a Crewmember to gaol! This, though, puts a lot of pressure on that one player not to screw the narration up and is at odds with the flow of the rest of the game where the players and their Crewmembers work together throughout both the Preparation Phase and the Action Phase.

To help her run The Job, it comes with an example Brief and its twelve Scenes all written out, an example play, solid advice for the Referee, and five sample Briefs, complete with Objects to steal and a Location to steal them from, as well as a Budget and a set of six complications. They include stealing cash from Madison Square Gardens, the Imperial State Crown from the Tower of London, a triceratops skull from the Natural History museum in London, Michelangelo’s David from a Scottish castle, and a prisoner from an unspecified high security prison. This in addition to the worked examples that the Referee can easily adapt to her own crew of players. Overall, these provide plenty of variety in terms of settings, objectives, and complications. There are notes too, on using The Job with other roleplaying games and even the Old School Renaissance.

Physically, The Job is incredibly eye-catching. The graphical style echoes that of Saul Bass and the film posters of the sixties and seventies, with use of stark blocks of colour and black and white images, giving the book a sense of energy and drama.

The Job: A Game of Glorious Heists & Everything That Can Wrong In Them is a neatly self-contained roleplaying game that is pleasingly portable, easy to learn, and engagingly familiar in its genre. It combines dramatic storytelling possibilities with the tension of a towering Dice Stack, but without going the full Jenga.

A Wingless Butterfly

Reviews from R'lyeh -

The Mariposa Affair is a scenario for Traveller. It takes place on the balkanised world of Ruie in the Aramis Subsector of the Spinward Marches Sector and continues a storyline begun in Manticore and sees the Player Characters hired to investigate a threat the Third Imperium, one that threatens interstellar war. It ideally requires the Player Characters to have basic training in both weapons and various technical skills, and ideally, a starship. The scenario includes a set of eight pre-generated Player Characters, four of which between them have the skills necessary to operate a starship as well as one of them owning an S-Type Scout. However, one of the problems with this is that the Player Characters are expected to to own a merchant ship of some kind and certainly a vessel capable of carrying cargo. Both the mechanics and the plot of The Mariposa Affair are straightforward enough that running it using Traveller, Classic Traveller, or Cepheus Deluxe Enhanced Edition are all easy enough to do.

The Mariposa Affair is written by Carl Terence Vandal and is a sequel of sorts to The Phoenix Initiative, which ended with the Player Characters being recruited as agents in the service of Duke Norris and his family, and a sequel to Manticore. It begins with the Player Characters on Regina in the Regina subsector in the Spinward Marches Sector, with the sudden interdiction of the planet. This is with good reason—Emperor Strephon Aella Alkhalikoi! is paying Regina a state visit. Then, the Player Characters get an invitation to the state banquet by lottery. This automatically throws them into the spotlight and then again, when a disastrous incident occurs. This is the assassination of the Emperor himself—in 1106 rather than a decade later in 1116—an event which propels the Player Characters back into the service of Duke Norris once again. He reveals that it was not the Emperor who killed, but a clone. Not though a sanctioned clone, designed to stand in for the Emperor, as revealed a few years after his ‘assassination’ at the hands of Archduke Dulinor. He wants them to travel to the neighbouring world of Ruie, which lies just on the other side of the Imperial border and there locate the laboratory and outpost where this clone was created.
The scenario proceeds apace in straightforward fashion, but the plotting is distinctly underwhelming. The Player Characters’ contact is also targeted by an assassination attempt, but no matter what the outcome of the assassination attempt, the clues point to a worked out mine on a nearby continent. Once there, they sneak into the mine, break into the secret laboratory, and destroy it. And that really is it... Effectively, The Mariposa Affair is a dungeon crawl, with seemingly innumerable checks for traps in the mine. In fact, the most interesting aspect of the scenario is the Library Data included at the back. Besides the Library Data, the scenario includes details of the world of Ruie and the Regina Subsector.
There has long been a tradition of writing scenarios based around major events in the canon of roleplaying settings. In the case of The Mariposa Affair, it is the causes behind and instigation of, the Fifth Frontier War. Unfortunately, The Mariposa Affair does not let the Player Characters discover those causes or affect their revelation. Instead, all that is handled by Duke Norris and his staff off-screen whilst the Player Characters are simply dealing with the one aspect of it. So it undermines their agency and the storytelling potential of the plot of both The Mariposa Affair and the other parts of its trilogy. Another issue is that the scenario does not really explore the consequences of what it sets up in any depth. That is, the assassination of a clone of the Emperor and a conspiracy to undermine the Third Imperium. It hints at the possibilities, but never really explores them. 
Physically, The Mariposa Affair is cleanly and tidily presented. The maps are decent enough, but layout grates on the eyes where the skills are laid out in bold. These really should have been separated from the paragraphs so that they do not just look like blocks of black text. The illustrations are nicely chosen.

Although it is better organised and written than the previous scenarios in the trilogy, The Mariposa Affair brings the trilogy to a distinctly underwhelming close. It feels as it should have been a bigger affair with more secrets to be revealed and more interesting things for the Player Characters to do, whereas all that it currently does is let them creep round the edges in a ‘dungeoncrawl’ type scenario whilst someone else makes all of the discoveries. Ultimately there are some interesting storytelling and plot possibilities to be found in The Mariposa Affair and the other scenarios in its trilogy—of which Manticore is the best—but they are simply not developed enough to be intersting.

Friday Fantasy: The Lost Universe

Reviews from R'lyeh -

Exlaris was once a peaceful world where Dark Elves, Elves, Orcs, Goblins, Halflings, and Tieflings lived in harmony. Above all, these different peoples valued knowledge and scholars, wizards, and sorcerers were widely revered. They learned to harness the energy of the vacuum surrounding their planet, and they continued to grow and prosper, until The Breaking when Exlaris, along with its moon, was literally broken out of its orbit by too close an encounter with a Black Hole. Chaos erupted across the world as perpetual darkness fell and the heat from Exlaris’ sun was lost. In response, an archmage brought together a team of scholars and wizards who wove magics together that created a shield that surrounded the planet. This had two effects. First, it protected the rogue planet from the dangers of space travel and second, it maintained its atmosphere. This was magic so powerful it was kept secret lest it fall into the wrong hands. The energy drawn from the vacuum was harnessed to power lamps, both to light cities and heat the fields so that the farmers could continue to grow food. In the four centuries since, the peoples of Exlaris elevated the studious to positions of power and followed a tradition of making information freely available. Five major cities, all connected by a teleportation network, have specialised in the study of various sciences, but study of the cosmos is paramount. More recently, this has included making contact with the Earth in secret via the Hubble Space Telescope in order to learn about the world and its knowledge. Yet something has gone wrong in that contact and the Hubble Space Telescope has not only gone missing, it is as it never was… It is going to take a team of dedicated scientists and engineers from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, mysteriously flung from the Earth onto Exlaris, to adventure on what is to them a whole new world in order to discover what has happened to the missing telescope!

This is the set-up for The Lost Universe, a scenario published by the last organisation you would be expecting to write and release a roleplaying scenario—NASA! It is designed to be played by a party of between four and seven Player Characters of between Seventh and Tenth Levels and is easily adaptable to the roleplaying game of the Game Master’s choice, the most obvious being Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. It is intended to be played in a single session and designed around certain scientific principles. These include the ‘Energy of the Vacuum’, ‘Gravitational Lensing’, and ‘Red shifts/blue shifts’. These, as well as details of the Hubble Space Telescope and its Control Centre, are covered in several appendices at the back of the adventure, adding depth and detail to the scientific basis for the scenario.

Although the Player Characters are actually scientists and engineers from the Goddard Space Flight Center, what the players actually roleplay are characters native to Exlaris. These are typical adventurers found in Dungeons & Dragons into whose bodies, the minds of the engineers and scientists are suddenly cast, effectively tripling the strangeness of their situation. Not only do they have to get used to whole new world and a rogue planet cast into darkness at that, but they also have to adjust to new bodies and the sometimes strange and wondrous abilities that these bodies have, whether that is being able to wield a sword effectively or cast spells straight out of fantasy fiction. This aspect is not played up in the scenario, but rather the characters intrinsically know what they and their new host bodies can do, so there is no great sense of discovery there. That said, the Game Master could expand this aspect of the scenario if she wanted to. The Player Characters arrive at a transport hub for the teleportation portals between the planet’s major cities, and will quickly learn that they are in the city of Aldastron and that the city has been beset by a rash of disappearances powerful researchers in the last few weeks, which the city guard thinks were successful kidnap attempts. No one has yet claimed responsibility and tensions in the city are rising as a consequence. The Player Characters have a couple of avenues of investigation here. They can either approach the city guard, get introduced to a fixer in the city’s criminal underworld, or both. Of course, neither the fixer or the city guard have any love for each other and dealing with leads to some tension. Whomever they deal with, it quickly becomes apparent that people of Exlaris are aware of Earth and have a good idea that the Player Characters are from there, before they are directed to visit the city’s observatory.

At the observatory, the Player Characters are able to find out more information, including how they got to Exlaris and the fact that the Hubble Space Telescope is missing. Part of the explanation involves the scientific work that the Hubble Space Telescope was being used for and the Player Characters will learn something about this too. They can even find some notes related to the observatory’s study of the Hubble Space Telescope, its origins, and what it is being used for, these being provided as scientific handouts in the appendices. The clues point to Mokhsana, the former capital city of Exlaris.

If the play of The Lost Universe began with roleplaying in the city and continued with research at the observatory, the third shifts to Mokhsana, a city in the dark, and exploration and puzzles. The latter are tied to the scientific principles underlying the scenario, so there is an element of informing and educating to The Lost Universe. This should be no surprise since that is part of NASA’s remit, but here the players get to use that knowledge in practical, if literally fantastical, fashion as well. The scenario quickly comes to close with a confrontation with the villain responsible for the disappearances and a successful conclusion to the Player Characters’ investigation.

There are however, three things that The Lost Universe either does not include or includes only very lightly. It does not include a set of pre-generated Player Characters or stats for any NPCs or monsters, whilst its inclusion of rules and mechanics is very light, though what mechanical detail that is given definitely indicates a Dungeons & Dragons-style roleplaying game. This is all by design, because it means that the scenario is not tied to a specific rules system and NASA is not seen as favouring one particular Dungeons & Dragons-style roleplaying game over another. So, The Lost Universe can be played using Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, Old School Essentials, or Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay, with the Game Master providing the mechanical details of the rules and the monster stats, as necessary. The absence of pre-generated Player Characters means that the players can create their own characters or the Game Master can create her own. That said, whilst all this does make the scenario easily adaptable to the roleplaying game of the Game Master’s choice, it actually increases the amount of preparation work she has to undertake before running the scenario.

Behind the eye-catching cover, The Lost Universe is cleanly and tidily laid out. It does need a slight edit, and bar photographs and technical drawings taken from NASA’s extensive library of images, it is very lightly illustrated. This has two consequences. First, the majority of the images are at the back of the scenario, and secondly, the scientific and historical details of the science behind The Lost Universe, are far better illustrated than the scenario’s fantasy elements. This is understandable though, given NASA’s prominent role in space sciences and the scientific basis for the scenario, but it does leave the Game Master without anything to take inspiration from visually when describing the world of Exlaris. A map of Aldastron and its surrounds is included, but not of any one particular location. The advice for the Game Master is decent throughout and the roleplaying advice on portraying each of the scenario’s NPCs is very good.

It is an odd day when NASA—yes, NASA!—writes and publishes a roleplaying scenario. Not just a roleplaying scenario, but a fantasy one rather than a Science Fiction one! Of course, that fantasy is used as a vehicle to teach the players about the research being conducted via the Hubble Space Telescope, so in comparison to other fantasy roleplaying scenarios that is likely to feel heavy-handed because it is not something they are designed to do. Nevertheless, The Lost Universe is a solid scenario, good for a one-shot, but with a setting that is intriguing enough for a return visit or a sourcebook of its very own.

#FollowFriday AND Kickstart Your Weekend

The Other Side -

 A special double feature today because I have a bunch I want to share.  Lets get to it.

#FollowFriday Oneiropolis

Oneiropolis

I mentioned this one yesterday, but I wanted to make it special today. Oneiropolis is the new Patreon from game designer Joseph D. Carriker. I worked with Joseph on Six of Cups for Green Ronin Publishing's Blue Rose. He was in charge of a product featuring various cities in Blue Rose's World of Aldea. I got the wonderful chance to put my little mark on Garnet. 

So yeah, Joseph knows his cities. He is now on Patreon and detailing cities in FRPGS. He posts about every two days so far, and he certainly doesn't lack inspirational material. I am coming back to this one for any and all Waterdeep lore.

I have always wanted to do a pure urban campaign. This is giving me more material to work with and use to make that real.

So, absolutely check it out. While you are at it check out his DMsGuild offerings.

Friday is settled, let's talk weekends and Kickstarters. I have one on both ends of their funding calendars.

Metanthropes: Introductory Zine

Metanthropes

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/legitamine/metanthropes-introductory-zine?ref=86o0n7

This is a zine-sized TTRPG where the characters are Metanthropes or "Beyond Human."  The author is building Foundry support and the mock-ups of the books look great. It has a super-hero vibe, but also something more akin to Exalted. The rules are easier though.

The PDF is only 10€ and the physical book is 20€. So, not a bad price, really.

It looks interesting and I think I'll give it a try.

Legend of Seven Golden Demons & Slime Pits of Sewer Witch

Legend of Seven Golden Demons & Slime Pits of Sewer Witch
Legend of Seven Golden Demons & Slime Pits of Sewer Witch

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/marktaormino/legend-of-seven-golden-demons-and-slime-pits-of-sewer-witch?ref=theotherside

Does this guy or his adventures even need an introduction here anymore? Mark is back with FOUR adventures. Ok, two...one and a mini adventure, but both for 1st Edition and 5th Edition. Which is perfect for me. One Kickstarter, an adventure for me (1st Ed) and one for my kids (5e).

Now he FINALLY is giving me a witch adventure AND it takes place in the sewers, so it ties into this week's mini-theme of urban adventures.

Mark's adventures are crazy, fun and rock solid. The only thing that runs better are his Kickstarters for them. He is a model of how to do Kickstarter right.  Grab these.

Friday Filler: Let’s Call the Exorcist

Reviews from R'lyeh -

It is always bad when dad brings his work home with him. It is doubly bad when dad is an archaeologist and brings home a collection of rare artefacts from his latest excavation, some of which happen to be cursed. Not only cursed, but possessed by demons. Now, those demons have taken advantage of their situation to find whole new homes for themselves by possessing some of the children. Fortunately, mum has telephoned her friendly local exorcist and he has come round right away. Unfortunately, demons are clever, so neither mum nor the priest can tell which of the children is possessed and which of the children is not. The priest does know that if he can identify which of the artefacts carried the demons into the house, but they are scattered round the house. So, he has set up a scavenger hunt that all of the children can participate in, the aim being to find the right artefacts and dispel the demons! The downside to this is that the demon-possessed children are going to try and stop the priest and the innocent children. This is the set-up for Let’s Call the Exorcist, a hidden role and social deduction game whose theme and art is based on the work of graphic designer, Steven Rhodes, whose work parodies the children’s books of seventies and pokes a sly snook at the social attitudes of the period.

Let’s Call the Exorcist is published by Cryptozoic Entertainment and is designed to be played by between four and eight players, aged fourteen and up. The game is played over the course of several rounds in which the Innocent players attempt uncover the Holy Artefacts and the Possessed players try to find the Cursed Artefacts. Doing so will score points for the side that does so, whilst Blessings will score points for individual players. Mischiefs will disrupt and change the state of the game, sometimes to a player’s advantage, sometimes not. The first person to score seven points at the end of a round is the winner. A game can be played through in roughly thirty minutes.

Let’s Call the Exorcist consists of eight Role tiles, forty-three cards, and forty-five point tokens, plus a ten-page rule book. The Role tiles are divided between Innocent and Possessed, with there being more Innocent than Possessed. The cards are divided into four types—Holy Artefacts, Cursed Artefacts, Mischiefs, and Blessings. All four card types have instructions on them which come into play when they revealed. For example, the Holy Artifact, ‘The Blessed Prepuce’, lets the Chosen player peek at all of his remaining cards in play if it is the first Holy Artefact to be revealed; the Cursed Artefact, the ‘Disenchanted Mirror’ enables the Chosen and the Seeker at look at each other’s Roles; the ‘Consecration’ Blessing gives a point to both the Seeker and the Chosen; and the Mischief, ‘Is That You, Satan?’, forces the Seeker and the Chosen to shuffle their Roles together and deal back out randomly, but lets the Chosen take a peek at one of the Roles, either his own or the that of the Seeker. In general, Blessings will alter the number of points a player has, whilst Mischiefs allow a player to peek at Roles, change who will be Seeker next, or restrict who will be Seeker next.

Let’s Call the Exorcist is played out over a series of rounds, each of which consists of several deals. Each set up for the game and a deal varies according to the number of players. The more players there are, the more cards of each type in play, but no matter whether there are four players or eight, the number of Innocents always outnumbers the Possessed and the number of Holy Artefacts always outnumbers the Cursed Artefacts. Each player receives a random Role tile which is placed down in front of him. He can look at this Role tile when he is given it, but he cannot do so again unless a Mischief card instructs him to do so. Once the deck has been sorted and shuffled—this is the most complex part of play—it is dealt out to the players. Each player is free to look at his hand of cards and describe what they are as much as he wants, and can tell the truth about his cards or lie, but then shuffles the hand and places its cards face down in front of him. Then play begins. This switches back and forth between two roles, the Seeker and the Chosen. The Seeker selects a player, who becomes the Chosen, and any card in front of the Chosen. This card is turned over, and its instructions followed. Once this has been done, the Chosen becomes the next Seeker and can select another player to become the next Chosen. The resolved card goes into the middle of the table. Blessings and Mischiefs go out of play, whilst the Holy Artifacts and Cursed Artifacts add to a running total. Play continues back and forth until a total number of cards equal to the number of players have been revealed. This ends the deal.

To start a new deal, all of the face down cards are collected, shuffled, and dealt back out to the players as before, but this time with one fewer card each. Play then proceeds back and forth between the Seeker and Chosen roles until a total number of cards equal to the number of players have again been revealed. In this way, a maximum of four deals can be played per round, each deal reducing the number of cards a player has to reveal. The round ends when either the last Holy Artefact or the last Cursed Artefact is revealed. At this point, everyone reveals their Role tiles and the side that managed to reveal all of their Artefacts—Holy Artefacts for the Innocent and Unholy Artifacts for the Possessed—wins the round the points. A new round is begun and play continues until a player has scored seven points by the end of the round and thus won the game.

Let’s Call the Exorcist differs from other social deduction games in a number of ways. The most important being that a player’s Role can change from one round to the next. Consequently, there is no successfully deducing a player’s Role in one round and then excluding them from taking action in subsequent rounds. The point of the game is not to win because of the Role a player throughout the game, but adapt to the Role the player has during a round. However, a Role can also change within a round, so a player who begins a round as an Innocent and wants Holy Artefacts revealed in order to win the round, may end up being a Possessed who should instead be attempting to reveal Cursed Artefacts to win. Unfortunately, although a player will know when his Role tile has been changed, he will not know if it has actually been changed. So, he needs to find a way to peek at his own Role tile to find out which side he is now on. Effectively, not only is a player trying to work out what side his fellow players are on, but also potentially, what side he is on. In addition, a player only knows what cards he has in play at the beginning of a deal and again, that can change during play. Although it is possible to keep an approximate track of Roles and cards to a certain extent, the high possibility of changes in both cards and Roles adds a random factor and limits both a player’s knowledge and reliance on deducing other Roles.

The other factor that changes Let’s Call the Exorcist from other social deduction games are the cards and their cards which constantly change play. These also mean that there is always something happening throughout a deal. In addition, the cards are actually fun and reference a wide number of films. For example, the ‘Book of the Mostly Dead’ rather than the Book of the Dead from Evil Dead; ‘That One Ring’ rather than the One Ring from The Lord of the Rings; ‘The Ark of the Coveted’ rather than ‘The Ark of the Covenant’ from Raiders of the Lost Ark; and let’s not forget ‘The Blessed Prepuce’.

Physically, Let’s Call the Exorcist is decently presented. The rulebook is short and easy to read, and includes an example of play as well as explanations of what the various cards do. The artwork, with its bright, bold colours, is excellent, Steve Rhodes’ illustrations are sly and subversive, throwing the card game’s children into a very jolly version of The Exorcist.

The combination of horror and children in Let’s Call the Exorcist is not going to be to everyone’s taste. Others, though, will find it to be a lot of fun, and Let’s Call the Exorcist is fun. Fun and silly and ever so slightly tongue in cheek, Let’s Call the Exorcist is an antidote to all of those other po-faced social deduction games.

Reviews: Cities of the Forgotten Realms

The Other Side -

 I am going a little out of order today with my Forgotten Realms reviews. I still have one (or two) 1st Edition products to review, but I wanted to cluster these three together—all three, not my originally planned two—since I am opting to add in a PDF when my original plan was only to review items on my shelf. So, I am breaking all my rules in one post. It does tie into the mini-city adventure I did with them this weekend.

Forgotten Realms City books

Given some recent movie announcements, I could not help but popping in my well-worn soundtrack to "The Crow."  Every city in the 90s was dark and rainy. 

I also want to state that NONE of these products were what I once thought they were and I often mixed them up.

FR1 Waterdeep and the NorthFR1 Waterdeep and the North

Design and Development: Ed Greenwood, Product Coordination: Jeff Grubb, Editing: Karen S. Martin, Cover Art: Keith Parkinson, Interior Art: Chris Miller. Maps: Frey Graphics and David Sutherland, Heraldic Escutcheons: David E. Martin, Typography: Kim Janke, Keylining: Stephanie Tabat.

1987. PDF, Full-color covers, and maps. 78 pages.

I am basing this review on the PDF from DriveThruRPG only. If I can find a good copy (game store auction tomorrow night!) then I will grab it. And this is one where the boxed set would be nice to have.

This is the first proper Forgotten Realm reference, with the Moonshaes the second

You might have noticed that I listed everyone involved with this product above. The Realms, in this iteration, has become a joint effort. Yes, Ed Greenwood is the father to this brain child of the Realms. He has suitably impressed me here and in the pages of Dragon Magazine. Ed's position here is solid and secure. But if "it takes a village," it takes much more for a city like Waterdeep.  Even *I* know about Waterdeep, I still call myself a novice here.

This book introduces us to Waterdeep, the "City of Splendors", and the surrounding countryside of "The North."

It is a good introduction really, starting with Chapter 1: An Introduction to the North. The surrounding lands are detailed. While I knew of some of these, this put them into better relationship with each other. For me? I like having a map open to see where I am while reading. There are no maps of this area in this product. Not a huge deal, really, since they are with the Forgotten Realms boxed set. But a small one might have been nice, at least of the area in question. Thankfully there are also plenty of good maps for this area online.

Chapter 2: An Introduction to the City of Waterdeep, takes us to the City of Splendors. We get some history, some names of important people, and (most importantly to me right now) the city's legal code. 

Chapter 3: The City Wards divides the city up into various wards. As a Chicagoan, this makes a lot of sense, and I am sure to anyone that has ever lived in a good-sized city, it will as well. I will point that while this is all about Waterdeep there is an assumption here that you can use this information to also build your own cities. Each ward has a name (Castle Ward, Sea Ward...) and various locales are mentioned. Some are just a name and what they are ("The Blue Jack," Tavern) so it leaves a lot of room to expand on what you can do with own Waterdeep. There are over 280 named locations, not counting the sewers, here.  There is a lot of life here and almost none of it is detailed. YES, I mean this as a GOOD thing. I don't want the names and detailed back stories of every magistrate down to beggar orphan here. I want room to discover and grow. Give me enough and then back off. 

Chapter 4: Life in the City. (Yes...Despite listening to the Crow Soundtrack, this is the song going through my head as I type this. Any resemblance between my Sinéad and Kate St John of Dream Academy is purely coincidental, I am sure.) Everything that makes a city work. Religion, money, goods and services. This is the life blood of any city and Waterdeep is livelier than most. There are notes about spending the winter in Waterdeep as well. The Forgotten Realms always says the quiet part out loud, and this is a world full of adventurers. To paraphrase the old saying, "All roads lead to Waterdeep." And while you are there, behave yourself. There is even a section on the going out at night, manners and dress. Now I want all my characters to go out an buy some nice part clothes for an after-hours party.

Chapter 5: The Guild and Factions of the City covers exactly that. Ever since Fritz Leiber (and of course WAY before) and Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, FRPG Cities have had thousands of thieves' guilds, merchant's guilds, secret guilds, and, in a Forgotten Realms trademark, Adventuring Guilds. The guilds of Waterdeep are listed in three columns and then detailed in the next 7-8 pages. Again, there is the tacit notion here that you can lift these and use them in your own Forgotten Realms city. This becomes more implicit in future products.

Chapter 6: Noble Families of Waterdeep gives us some names and crests, the most "Greyhawk" like chapter so far.  

Chapter 7: Selected Non-Player Characters of Waterdeep covers some notable NPCs in greater detail. It would not be a Forgotten Realms product without some notable NPCs.

Next are adventure hook chapters.

Chapter 8: Beginning a Campaign in Waterdeep covers exactly that. And there are some great ideas here too for such a short chapter. Though to be honest if you get to this chapter and don't already have ideas then this one won't help you.

Chapter 9: Adventures in Waterdeep is the one chapter I wanted to read the most. Chapters 1-7 are great and full of ideas, but I want to discover this city as an adventurer, not as a scholar. Back when I lived in Southern Illinois, right before I moved to Chicago, I had a map of the city on my wall. I would go over that map for hours on end just fascinated by it. When I moved to the near West Side (just a notch north of Little Italy and west of the Loop) I was surprised for how little that prepared me for all of it. The City is a living place. Chicago is. New York is. And so should Waterdeep.

There are seven "mini" adventures here. I ended up using none of them!

After this (what would have been the inside covers), there are maps of the major wards and a large piecemeal map of the city for the next 10 pages. Yes, I could print them out, but I am holding out for now.

This is not the final nor most authoritative word on Waterdeep by any stretch. It is a start though and a good one. 

The next two products should have probably swapped names. 

City System

by Ed Greenwood and Jeff Grubb, Editing: Karen Boomgarden, Typography: Betty Elmore, Cover Art: Larry Elmore, Keylining: Stephanie Tabat, Cartography: Dennis Kauth and Frey Graphics.

1988. PDF and Print on Demand. Full color covers and maps. 

Again this one takes a lot of work from a lot of people. This book follows quickly on the heels of FR1 Waterdeep and the North.  It was a boxed set, but for this review I am considering my PDF and Print on Demand versions from DriveThruRPG.

There is some repeated information in this set from the Waterdeep set. For example the entire legal code on Page 7 of this product is the same to the one in FR1 Waterdeep and the North starting on page 18. I am not 100% sure if I mind this though. I mean in truth back in 1988 this might have bothered me, but now? Well, I have the PDFs I could print them out and put them into a big binder called "Waterdeep" and organize how I see fit. I might do that in fact.

This book is more like a tourist directory to Waterdeep. The laws are discussed, the buildings are numbered and given a name. The BIG attraction to this set are the maps (which are printed here and given as a separate ZIP file.) Well, the Larry Elmore cover is striking as all hell to be honest. 

If you like random tables then this is your book. Lots of tables on encounters, goods, items gained from pick-pocketing, and more. 

Ignoring the use of this as an independent product it makes for a great addition to FR1 Waterdeep and the North. The two together would be a perfect product really.  Looking ahead to my other Forgotten Realms books I see I don't actually have a giant map of Waterdeep. Should I rectify this?  The maps in this product are gorgeous, and it would be worth my time, effort, and money to get them combined and professionally printed. Or burn through my printer ink to do it on my own and mount them to some cardboard with Scotch tape. Depends on how much I end up playing here. If I don't, it certainly will not be for lack of options!

FR8 Cities of Mystery

by Jean Rabe. Art Larry Elmore (cover), Dennis Kauth (buildings), Christopher T. Miller (interior art).  Editing Kim Mohan. Product Manager Bruce Heard. 

1989. Boxed Set and PDF. 64 page book, 2 large 25mm compatible maps, 4 6-page card stock buildings.

This is a fascinating product, and there is a lot going on here. I am reviewing my boxed set for this. There is a PDF and a softcover Print on Demand from DriveThruRPG as well. 

What do I love about it? Well, for starters, that Larry Elmore cover is one of my favorite covers of all time. Really. I love how if looks and while the old adage is true, this cover made want to buy this product. When my old DM and I talked about our "Urban Survival Guide," this was the cover we thought about. 

Also it came out in the liminal time between 1st Ed and 2nd Ed with a note on the cover that is was compatible with both. That is not entirely true. It is broad enough to be compatible with ANY fantasy RPG that has a city. There are almost no game stats here save for the adventures at the end. 

In truth this product should have been called "City System" since that is what it is. This not about Waterdeep except in the most broad of terms. 

The first part is a 64-page book that covers all sorts of details on building your city. This includes details like where it is (and how that changes the city), how big is it, taxes, defences, the government. Everything that was laid out for you in the Waterdeep and the North and City System sets are now up to you to figure out. 

There is also a section how make Characters work in a city based adventure. Honestly that would have been the gold right there. 

The rules are put to use in Sauter, City by the Sea, and there are five mini-adventures to help the DM and Players along. Honestly I want to run the Maltese Roc based on the name alone.

If that were all then yes, this would be a fine product. Not great, but added to the Waterdeep and the North and City System books it would make a great trilogy of playing in the city (sounds like a Stevie Wonder album). But that is not all there is. 

There are two large double-sided maps for 25mm scale minis and four packages of 6-page cardstock building to build.

Cities of Mystery set

Since it is a boxed set, I am also keeping duplicates of old Dragon magazine articles about cities in it. 

This is from 1989. D&D would not get this mini-focused for another 11 years. And it all still works with any edition you care to play with it.  I read that this was going to be the first of some similar products to expand the cities even further. But honestly I am not surprised that there were not more. This looks like an expensive thing to make. 

Sinéad encountering two desperate thievesSinéad encounters two desperate thieves
For the PDFs you would need to print out the maps and buildings to build them. I would glue them to some cardstock or print them on cardstock if your printer can do that. The advantage of the PDF and this system? As long as you can print, you can have as many of these buildings as you need.

Looking at All Three City Sets

FR1 Waterdeep and the North, City System, and FR8 Cities of Mystery are all great for that late 80s feel of the Forgotten Realms AD&D.

While each product is good individually and does what it sets out to do, one of the others points out its minimal shortcomings. Combined, they work fantastically together. So well, it makes me wonder whether I even need to leave the city! 

Regardless of what city in the Realms becomes my home base (I am still partial to Baldur's Gate, but Waterdeep might win me over) I have the tools and the means to expand on it all.

Ill Met in Waterdeep

So, for my first foray into Waterdeep, the characters were all arrested. No "we met in a bar." It is "we met in jail." Sinéad, Arnell, and Rhiannon meet up with Nida (I wanted her introduction to be memorable), Jaromir, and Argyle. Who are these characters? Well, Nida, I have talked about already. Argylle is my experiment on having a character from another world end up in the Forgotten Realms. In this case a Dwarf from Rockhome, aka Mystara and the D&D B/X set. In his world his class and race is Dwarf. Here he is now a Dwarf Fighter, but I started him off as a BX Dwarf. My oldest loved that since he is playing an alternate game with his groups using D&D Basic. 

Ill met in Waterdeep

Jaromir is my first real barbarian character ever. I will full admit I am playing him like I played Minsc in Baldur's Gate 3. In the video game Minsc is a Ranger, but I always gave him levels in Barbarian. Jaromir is my Minsc stand-in. Big, dumb, blonde, but a heart of fucking gold. He is so very different than anything I have ever played before. Well...he is Rashemi (like Minsc) and he is on his Dajemma. But he set out without a witch (I have no idea why yet; I only recently learned about Dajemma), so he has decided that Rhiannon MUST be his witch. Which gets him fighting with Arnell, who turns into a wolf. Nida is there picking pockets in the ensuing chaos (gotta use those tables!) and the lot of them get thrown into jail.

Since I am moving ahead in time with my reviews I also opted to use the revised AD&D 1st Ed sheets here. Except for Argyll's he has a Basic Sheet.

I wanted to get a bit further than that, but this is where I am now. I know that the characters are bailed out by a minor magistrate named Eldrith Dunslaughter, a rather pompous and unpleasant human with designs of his own. I also know the characters need to work together to find a minor stolen item called the "Stargazer's Compass," which he claims was stolen from his own collection. I have my doubts it was his. (note: no idea if this is related to the MTG item of the same name. No one here plays.)

Find the compass, and their debt to society is paid. Fail? Well, there is always community service. 

Hope to learn more soon!

If you like cities and the Waterdeep in particular I highly recommend checking out Oneiropolis, the new Patreon site from game designer Joseph D. Carriker.  He was the one who helped me bring Garnet to life in Blue Rose, and now he is taking his skills to a wider audience. Well worth checking out.

Mail Call Tuesday: Mini Duchess & Candella, Spanish WitchCraft

The Other Side -

 Got some things to support two of my new on-going obsessions.  

Up first, some new HeroForge "standee" minis of Duchess & Candella.

Candella & Duchess Standee minis
Candella & Duchess Standee minis
Candella & Duchess Standee minis

They are flat, made of plastic about 3 mm thick. Their colors and design perfectly match those I used on HeroForge. 

Candella and Duchess

They got here rather quick to be honest. Much faster than the 3D-printed color minis. And cheaper too.

I always wanted to try these, and since I needed these minis in a hurry I opted to go this route for these two. I am happy with them, but I do prefer the 3D color minis. But they do come with nice little bags to store the mini or dice in.

Hero Forge minis and standees

Next up a "new to me" version of one of my all-time favorite games.  The Spanish Language version of CJ Carella's WitchCraft RPG.

WitchCraft RPG

The Spanish Language version from Edge most resembles the Eden Studios 2nd Edition. The text is the same and the art is the same.

Wicce in Spanish

The difference of course is this new Edge version is in Spanish.

I am happy to have this as this was one of the other "Holy Grail" items for my Spanish collection of RPGs. It was also the last CJ Carella WitchCraft book I am likely able to buy. 

CJ Carella's WitchCraft RPG

I am pleased that I was able to read a lot of it. Granted, my Spanish is still very limited, but I know this book very, very well. 

My collection of Spanish Language RPGs is not huge, but it covers my favorite games and about 85-90% of the games I like to play.

Spanish Language RPGs

Not a lot, but enough to keep me busy for a while.

Miskatonic Monday #267: Flash Cthulhu – Fair Porcine Prize

Reviews from R'lyeh -

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: Flash Cthulhu – Fair Porcine PrizePublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Michael Reid

Setting: Dark Ages EnglandProduct: One-Location, One-Hour Scenario for Cthulhu Dark Ages
What You Get: Eight page, 2.02 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Harvest horror as a horrid hog hogs it all.Plot Hook: A missing pig means everyone is slop!Plot Support: Staging advice, four pre-generated Investigators, one Mythos TomeTale, one Mythos spell, and one Mythos pig.Production Values: Plain
Pros# Some pigs are destined for bigger things. Are the Investigators?# Mini-scenario for Cthulhu Dark Ages # Short, sharp, encounter# Easy to slot into a campaign or between scenarios# Easy to adapt to other times and settings# Potential convention mini-scenario# Mysopobia# Phagophobia# Swinophobia
Cons# Needs a slight edit# No village map
Conclusion# “That’ll do, Pig. That’ll do.” NO! It damned well, won’t do!# Short, strange swinishly scarey encounter that is easy to use no matter the time and setting

Monstrous Mondays: Giants Apes and Progress on Basic Bestiary 1

The Other Side -

 Editing continues to Basic Bestiary 1. Right now, I am working under the assumption that is will be one very large book for Vol. 1, currently subtitled: "Monstrous Maleficarum."

How big?

Well. Right now, it is at 340 pages and 138,000 words.  That is not counting art or introductory text.  Or problems like what I have today.

As I am editing and sending stuff out of peer review and editing, I am also seeing more gaps. Not gaps in content per se, but gaps in things I wanted but forgot to add. This next monster is a pretty obvious one to me. 

One of the biggest reasons I wanted to do my own monster book was largely due to a love affair with monsters since I was a child. My mom always had great horror stories to tell us while growing up, and more than a few monsters in BB1 were her ideas. But my dad and I watched all sorts of horror movies together. In particular, we loved what I called "Monster Movies," which featured a monster or creature. Among these were of course a lot of "Dracula movies," Godzilla, and one of the first movies I can ever remember watching with my dad. The 1933 King Kong. I have seen every Kong movie since then and the always remind me of sitting down when I was little and watching them with my dad.

The fact that my first pass of the Basic Bestiary didn't have a Giant Ape in it is criminal. 

Now in my defense I was sure that Giant Ape had already been done in the classic monster books. But it turns out it wasn't. Well, today, I will change that. 

This is also the format I plan to use for the Basic Bestiaries. Some "Advanced" information here is helpful and Descending and Ascending AC. I added a "To Hit AC 0" line and a line for Languages.  Also, each monster will get ability scores. AC, hp, and damage adjustments have all already been added.

ApeApe, Gargantuan
Gargantuan Beast (Primate), Very Rare

Armor Class: 0 [19]
Hit Dice: 14d8+56 (119)
Move:  360' (120')
Attacks: 2 fist (bash), 1 bite
Damage: 3d6+5 x2, 1d10+5
Special: Gargantuan size
To Hit AC 0: 4
No. Appearing: 1 (1)
Save As: Monster 14
Morale: 10 (NA)
Treasure Type: None
Alignment: Neutral (Unaligned)
XP Value: 2,300

Languages: Own

S: 24 I:W: 8 D: 10 C: 20 Ch:

The gargantuan ape is a rare and awe-inspiring creature to behold. It appears as an ordinary ape, though it makes more use of bipedal movement than a typical low-land gorilla, which also uses its forearms. There is also more than just a hint of intelligence in its eyes. The overall effect is one that this could have been, if not for its great size, some lost link between humanity and apes. Its most distinguishing feature, though, completely rules out this possibility. The gargantuan ape towers over ordinary apes and humans at an astonishing 25' tall. Thankfully, such creatures are rare and often only found in remote parts of the world.

The gargantuan ape's behaviors are similar to that of its smaller cousins. It eats prodigious amounts of plant food and lives in isolated plant-rich areas like rainforests and jungles. This creature is also known to add various animal life to its diet, likely resulting in their slimmer frames, like that of a carnivorous ape, and keener intellect. They are not hunters per se; their massive size prevents sneaking or ambush hunting, and they can typically pick up and eat any smaller animal. They are more opportunistic hunters. Culling herds of their weakest members. They typically eat giant-sized insects, large birds, or the occasional large lizard.  

These creatures are often found in "lost world" locations where explorers have also found great lizards of an ancient and bygone age (dinosaurs). Their battles with dinosaurs are awesome and terrifying to behold. Sometimes, they are even worshiped as gods by local primitive human populations.  

Gargantuan apes have no treasure. They have no concept of it and have no use for it. However, the land they live in is often filled with items collectors find valuable. In addition, and perhaps the most troubling, are their graveyards. Not only does this mean these creatures are intelligent enough to have a concept of death and rituals around them, but also what some of these remains imply. There have been skulls located in these burials that suggest that some of these creatures grew to 150' or more in height. Some of the largest skulls have even been decorated to honor the dead. Others still have damage to them, suggesting an even larger predator with large, sharp teeth.

--

Currently, I do not have a solid publication date for Basic Bestiary 1 save for sometime this year.

Miskatonic Monday #266: Monsieur Deloffre Has Gone Quite Mad!

Reviews from R'lyeh -

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: Monsieur Deloffre Has Gone Quite Mad!Publisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Cameron Hays

Setting: Paris, 1830Product: One-shot
What You Get: Twenty-eight page, 24.24 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Les Misérables meets the Mythos (singing optional)Plot Hook: Madness, Monarchy, & the MobPlot Support: Six pre-generated Investigators, six NPCs, two maps, one Mythos spell, and one Mythos monster.Production Values: Excellent
Pros# Intriguing historical background and setting# Potential convention scenario# Nicely done NPCs
# Nicely done pre-generated Investigators# Dementophobia# Submechanophobia# Phasmophobia
Cons# Needs a slight edit# Plot outline could be clearer# What does the invisible body feel like?# No NPC stats# No mob rule
Conclusion# Intriguing background and set-up supports a solid plot # Lack of mechanical development undermines the ease of use

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