Now, here is an interesting one. Savalon Blade was a "failed" Riddlemaster. That is, he did not meet the base requirements (Psionics) to join. He would have been a Shadowmaster, but it didn't work out. If I remember right, he initially started out as a hunter of Riddlemasters, but when I used him in my games, he was something different. He hunted Mind Flayers. I based him loosely on Abslom Daak the Dalek Hunter from Doctor Who Weekly.

Neither are "good" characters and they are not around to be liked. I think "Asshole" was used more than once to describe Savalon. But he was good at doing what he wanted to do, and that was to kill Illithids/Mind Flayers.

Savalon Blade in the Wasted Lands

There are no Illithids in the Wasted Lands. There are, however, the Cthulim and other servants of the Deeper Dark. In this world, he would hunt them down for similar reasons. Also his AD&D stats were designed to help him stand up to a similar level of Riddlemaster; so a multiclass of fighter/mage/thief.  That is fine for Wasted Lands, but I think we can do better. 

I was discussing the Shadowmaster yesterday with Jason Vey. He reminded me there was a class perfect for it concept-wise. It is the web-freebie, The Shade. I think this will do rather nicely.

Savalon Blade

Class: Shade
Level: 13
Species: Half-elf
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Background: Hunter/Gatherer

Abilities
Strength: 17 (+2) N
Agility: 18 (+3) A
Toughness: 17 (+2) 
Intelligence: 19 (+3) N
Wits: 19 (+3)
Persona: 16 (+2)

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 2
Vitality: 89
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +2 (base), +2 (STR)
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base)
Saves: +3 to all Agility Saves

Shade Abilities

Assassination, Improved Defense, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Tactical Awareness (1d10), Natural Alchemy, Perception, Skilled (4 skills), Subterfuge, Vital Strike x4 (supernatural)

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: +1 to melee attacks 
3rd Level: +1 to Wits saves
5th Level: Unique Defence Mode: Psychic Attacks
7th Level: Boost to Defence Mode
9th Level: Luck benefit
11th Level: Reroll
13th Level: Aspect of Sphere: Skilled hunter

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Hunter

Gear
Longsword, dagger, short bow

Not at all bad. He's not too crazy overpowered compared to his AD&D counterpart. I'll have to play around with this on a bit more.

I can also see this guy moving through time (maybe a subtle nod to his origins) and have him show up in NIGHT SHIFT and Thirteen Parsecs as well.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Let's continue with the evil characters today with another of the Riddlemasters, this time a neutral evil "Shadowmaster." 

I don't know much about Ander. He was one of the Post "Dragon War" characters Grenda created. I don't think I ever saw this one in play, and I am sure I never DMed him. Shadowmasters, though, I do know. This class took features from other classes to make them the ultimate thief-assassin type. Thief skills, assassination abilities, magic to aid them, and, of course, a lot of psionics/psychic powers. Grossly overpowered to the point of silliness. 

Still. They were fun to play.

In a Wasted Lands game, they would be some sort of adept or mystic. A character dedicated to ascetic pursuits of mind and body. Again, with the various Riddlemasters I could rebuild them using the point buy system found in NIGHT SHIFT's Night Companion, or via multiclassing, I do have two other options.

The Mystic Martial Artist from the Night Companion is a good fit here, especially for Shadowmasters. The Mystic Warrior from Thirteen Parsecs is also a great fit, but maybe better for Riddlemasters proper. Mind you, this is the great strength of all the O.G.R.E.S. games; their inter-compatibility.  

After going over both classes I am convinced that Mystical Martial Artists are a perfect, and far more reasonable substitute for Shadowmasters. Sorry Grenda.

You will have to excuse the all "18s" in his abilities. I wasn't there when he rolled this guy up, but I am sure those numbers are legit.

Ander the Shadowmaster

Class: Mystic Martial Artist
Level: 3
Species: Human
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Background: Warrior 

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 18 (+3) A
Toughness: 18 (+3) 
Intelligence: 18 (+3) N
Wits: 18 (+3)
Persona: 18 (+3)

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 2
Vitality: 24
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +3/+1/+0
Melee Bonus: +2 (base), +3 (STR)
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base)
Saves: +1 to all Agility and Toughness Saves, +2 to Toughness (Warrior background)

Mystic Martial Artist Abilities
Impossibly Agil, Martial Arts, Martial Arts Mysticism, Lightning Fast, Survivor Skills, 

Mysticism
Enhanced Senses, Innate Magic (Invisibility), Supernatural Attacks (melee)

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: Psychic Ability: Bio-feedback
3rd Level: +1 to melee attacks 

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Shadow

Gear
Longsword, dagger, short bow

Damn. I like this. I want to go back and redo ALL my Riddlemasters and Shadowmasters now. I should poke around and see if there are some more Riddlemasters in this stack and stat them as Mystic Warriors.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Evil ruler? Sure why not. I have to admit this sheet jumped out at me for a number of reasons. First, it is a rare evil woman in Grenda's collection. Secondly, she is a Queen, and finally, this sheet looks OLD. I don't know anything about Queen Talason here. She is a fighter, but she also can turn undead and has some spells. She has psionics, like a lot of Grenda's characters. 

Also, I love her character sketch. Grenda was always a good artist, and this one is just fun.

I am not 100% sure what is going on with her. She looks like an anti-paladin but has no thief or assassin abilities. Plus, anti-paladins were all chaotic evil, and she is lawful evil. Her spells are from the Magic-user list and not the Cleric one. I checked the old "Plethora of Paladins" article from Dragon #106. The Lawful Evil "Illrigger" and they do use Magic-user spells, but her spell progression and XP progression do not match our Queen here. 

This sheet is also much older than Dragon #106's Feb 1986 date. This one looks a lot closer to his sheets from the early 1980s; as in 1981-82.

I think re-crafting her as an Anti-Paladin, or at least an evil Divine Warrior, is a fun idea.

Queen Talason

Class: Divine Warrior
Level: 8
Species: Human
Alignment: Dark Evil*
Background: Warrior 

Abilities
Strength: 17 (+2) N
Agility: 18 (+3) 
Toughness: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 16 (0) 
Wits: 17 (+2) N
Persona: 17 (+2) P

Fate Points: 1d8
Defense Value: -2
Vitality: 53 
Degeneracy: 5
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +4/+3/+1
Melee Bonus: +3 (base), +2 (STR)
Ranged Bonus: +3 (base)
Saves: +3 to all Wits and Persona Saves, +2 to Toughness (Warrior background)

Divine Warrior Abilities
Sixth Sense, Heal Injury and Illness (8d6), Supernatural Attacks, Protection from Evil, Spot Hidden (1-3 on d6).

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: Psychic Ability: Telekinesis
3rd Level: +1 to melee attacks 
5th Level: Favored Weapon, Sword
7th Level: 1 level of Sorcerer

Spells
First Level: Arcane Dart

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Death

Gear
Longsword, Mace, Battle Axe, Spear, Crossbow, Full plate armor, Holy symbol

I imagine that Queen Talason here was a warrior princess, cleaving a bloody path between herself and her goal, the throne. As a Queen, she was no less bloody. In Grenda's games, she worshipped Hades, the god of the Dead. In my revised Wasted Lands games, Hüter is not really the same deadly god. No, in my new campaign, she would worship Helga, the Ghost goddess in her aspect as the Battle Crone. This would also explain her level of Sorcerer as a Heroic/Divine Touchstone. 

I think as a nod to her history and her near miss as an Illrigger, I'll make her birthday February 14th. 

Again, I am loving the Divine Warrior class.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Back in 1991, Grenda and I ran a weekend-long game of Ravenloft. We ran it as the "Dreams of Barovia" variant that combined adventure modules I6 and I10. He was the DM for I6 Ravenloft and I was the DM for I11 Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon Hill. It was a lot of fun to be honest, the problem was I forgot to tell my roommates and girlfriend where I was! When I crawled back to my apartment at 2D Lewis Park, I got an earful. The game was fun, but kind of a hazy memory to be honest. We played from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening straight. I remember sleeping in my chair and eating a lot of Quatros pizza. 

I am presenting all the characters now to cover my next few days (1/17 to 1/21). But more importantly to me, can I use Wasted Lands with NIGHT SHIFT to play a Ravenloft-style game? 

The answer is, absolutely.

Ravenloft is quasi-Gothic horror. As I have mentioned in the past, it is not true Gothic Horror because the characters are still hero types. They have power, they have agency. The heroes of Gothic Horror typically do not have the same level of power D&D characters do. Out Hunters in Dracula only succeed because they have each other and make use of the "technology" of the time. The PCs can go toe to toe with most Gothic literature monsters.

Wasted Lands is Post-Apocalyptic Cosmic Horror. NIGHT SHIFT is Urban survival Horror. BUT that is just what they are on the surface. They are both toolkit games to add or subtract what you want or need from them. 

I would still give the characters some power, but make the setting "Gritty."

That means no Heroic Touchstones. 

Heroic Touchstones are a key feature of the Wasted Lands and will be part of Night Shift 2nd Edition. But for a game like Ravenloft? I would take them out. Well...maybe one at first level. I'll work on the characters to see. Thankfully, none of these characters have psionics or other "kewl powerz," and all the classes are normal ones. 

I would use all the fear and terror effects from NIGHT SHIFT. I'd use Degeneracy and Corruption rules from Wasted Lands. That might feel like I am stacking things against the characters. I am.

Unlike D&D (esp. post 2000+ D&D) Gothic Horror is not about balance, it is exactly the opposite of that. The Big Bad Guy has all the power. 

The Characters

I only have vague recollections of these characters. I was spending a lot of time trying to get into grad school, and my focus then was largely on that. Plus, these are really just one-shot characters. So while they do have some good background attached, they were only used (to my knowledge) for this adventure.

Sir Beyrn Silverhelm

Class: Divine Warrior (from Night Companion)
Level: 13
Species: Human
Alignment: Light Good
Background: Warrior

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 12 (0) 
Toughness: 18 (+3) 
Intelligence: 12 (0) 
Wits: 15 (+1) N
Persona: 17 (+2) A

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 0
Vitality: 98 
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +5 (base), +3 (STR)
Ranged Bonus: +5 (base)
Saves: +5 to all Wits and Persona Saves, +2 to Toughness (Warrior background)

Divine Warrior Abilities
Sixth Sense, Heal Injury and Illness (13d6), Supernatural Attacks, Protection from Evil

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Protection

Gear
Longsword, Field plate armor, Holy symbol

Sir Beyrn is a quintessential Diving Warrior. His stats on his AD&D sheet look like they might have been cribbed from Johan II to be honest! Which makes sense. Looks like Grenda created all these characters in a couple of weeks while working and going to school.

Hile Augarin

Class: Archer (from Wasted Lands)
Level: 12
Species: Half-elf
Alignment: Twilight Good
Background: Elf (Wasted Lands) 

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 16 (+2) A
Toughness: 16 (+2) N
Intelligence: 11 (0) 
Wits: 15 (+1) 
Persona: 12 (0) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 2
Vitality: 92 
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +5 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +5 (base)
Saves: +6 to agility-based saves

Elf Abilities
Night Shifted

Archer Abilities
Improved Defense, Master Archer, Ranged Combat, Supernatural Attack, Improved Range Damage, Eagle Eye, Incapacitating Shot, Multi Attack x4, Careful Aim, Trick Shot

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: hunter

Gear
Longsword, Longbow, elven chain

I have used Renegades and Warriors in the past for Rangers, in this case Archer is the better choice.

Finneous Sevinhand

Class: Renegade (from Wasted Lands)
Level: 12
Species: Half-elf
Alignment: Twilight Good
Background: Elf (Wasted Lands) 

Abilities
Strength: 15 (+1) N
Agility: 17 (+2) A
Toughness: 16 (+2) N
Intelligence: 13 (+1) 
Wits: 11 (0) 
Persona: 10 (0) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 3
Vitality: 87 
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Saves: +4 vs Death effects

Elf Abilities
Night Shifted

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-4 d6), Perception, Vital Strike x4, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Thief

Gear
Shortsword, dagger, throwing knife, crossbow

Renegades have a different feel to me than survivors, though both can be used as thieves. 

Meroc Trothgard

Class: Survivor (from NIGHT SHIFT)
Level: 12
Species: Human
Alignment: Night Good
Background: Hunter/Gatherer

Abilities
Strength: 15 (+1) N
Agility: 17 (+2) A
Toughness: 17 (+2) N
Intelligence: 12 (0) 
Wits: 14 (+1) 
Persona: 13 (+1) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 2
Vitality: 90
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Saves: +4 vs Death effects

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-4 d6), Perception, Vital Strike x4, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Hunter

Gear
Longsword ("Trollslayer"), dagger, longbow

Mechanically, the Renegade and the Survivor are the same. But in this case, I add in the backgrounds to give them a different feel. With Meroc here, I also decided not to go with their multi-class Ranger/Thief and stuck with the Survivor.

Aristobulous Declan

Class: Sorcerer (from Wasted Lands)
Level: 13
Species: Half-elf
Alignment: Night Good
Background: Scholar

Abilities
Strength: 11 (0) 
Agility: 16 (+2) N
Toughness: 15 (+1) 
Intelligence: 17 (+2) A
Wits: 10 (0) 
Persona: 13 (+1) N

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 3
Vitality: 72
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Saves: +4 vs Magic

Elf Abilities
Night Shifted

Sorcerer Abilities
Beguile, Enhanced Senses, Exorcist, Subtle Influence, Telekinesis

Spells
First Level (5): Arcane Darts, Chill Ray, Gout of Flame, Mystical Senses, Sleep, 
Second Level (4): Conjure Flame, Invisibility, Lesser Renewal, See Invisible
Third Level (4): Concussive Blast, Dark Lightning, Dispel Magic, Remove Curse 
Fourth  Level (4): Conjure Fire, Improved Invisibility, Paralyze Undead, Renewal
Fifth Level (3): Banishment, Shadow Armor, Teleport
Sixth Level (2): Destroy Undead, Dispel Evil
Seventh Level (1): Ball of Sunshine

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Magic

Gear
Quarterstaff, Dagger, dart

Mages are Sorcerers. This one has a lot spells to help survive Castle Ravenloft.

Father Ercon Valeran

Class: Theosophist (from NIGHT SHIFT)
Level: 12
Species: Human
Alignment: Light Good
Background: Warrior

Abilities
Strength: 15 (+1) N
Agility: 18 (+3) 
Toughness: 16 (+1) N
Intelligence: 16 (+2) 
Wits: 20 (+4) A 
Persona: 19 (+3) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 3
Vitality: 87
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +2 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base)
Saves: +5 vs Wits 

Theosophist Abilities
See Dead people, Turn Undead x2, Summon Dead, Channel Dead, Death Knell, Suggestion, Command the Dead

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Hunter of the Dead

Gear
Mace ("Skullcrusher"), Quarterstaff, shortbow, holy symbol.

I can't help but notice that Father Ercon's Patron Deity is St. Werper. Nice touch Grenda!

I should stat up Strahd sometime as well. But I think he deserves his own post really. 

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Oh, have I got a fun one today! First off, this is not one of Grenda's characters, it actually belongs to my old Jr. High DM Jon Cook. Jon played with us for a while, but he was the first of our group to get a job (he made enough to buy a new car in high school) and the first of us to get a steady girlfriend. Secondly, this isn't the original version of Molley. It is a version I found with versions of a few of my own characters (Phygora, Nigel, Rogue, and Retsam). I seem to recall a "Greatest Hits" game we played in a few years into High School where we played different versions of our favorite characters. This one is special as well because this one of the very few women characters I can remember Jon playing. 

Molley Hachit (and yes that is the proper spelling!) is obviously based on the band Molly Hatchet. In particular their first album. Jon's older sister Mary (who sadly we also lost last year) had EXCELLENT taste in music. She was also a "Killer DM" so I would not be surprised if one version of Molley had not died at her hands. 

Molley is a fighter, and a pretty buff one at that. Of course, she wields a big axe. Hmm, I bet she would have gotten along with Karlach or Hervor. I can't help but think that the song "Bounty Hunter" was the inspiration for her. I can see her jumping into battle screaming "Hell Yeah!"

BUT. I am going to stat her up in Wasted Lands as a Renegade. This fits better with Jon's playstyle, really, and a nod to Mary, who was the biggest Styx fan in the world. 

Molley Hachit

Class: Renegade
Level: 3
Species: Neutral
Alignment: Twilight
Background: Barbarian

Abilities
Strength: 16 (+2) N
Agility: 11 (0) A
Toughness: 15 (+1) N
Intelligence: 12 (0) 
Wits: 13 (+1) 
Persona: 7 (-7)

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 3
Vitality: 15
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +3/+1/+0
Melee Bonus: +2 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +2 (base) 
Saves: +3 vs Death effects (Renegade)

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-3), Perception, Vital Strike x3, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

Stealth Skills
Open Locks: 25%
Bypass Traps: 20%
Sleight of Hand: 30%
Sneak: 25%

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: +1 to Melee attacks
3rd Level: Luck Benefit 1d6

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Warrior

Gear
Big Axe, Dagger, Chain Armor, thieves tools

Ok, so she is not an optimized Renegade, and this character might be better served as a barbarian-like Warrior. But that is not how Jon used to play characters. The concept was key. And the sacrifice of some combat ability for some "thief skills" was always something he liked to do.

In any case. Damn. It sure was fun to see Molley again.  I should make her a member of the Fearless Five, who would then number seven. The Stalwart Seven, perhaps?

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

After discovering yesterday's healer, I have to admit I went searching through this large stack of characters looking for a witch. I found one and she was not who I suspected she was going to be. So for this special Witchcraft Wednesday of the Character Creation Challenge, I give you Briana Highstar.

Now that name sticks out. Grenda was very, very careful with his family names. He had (and you have seen here) dynasties of characters. The Addingdales are the prime example. So when he names someone "Highstar" especially at the time when Morgan Highstar was such a prominent character of his, it means something. 

Sadly, there is not much here on Briana Highstar. She is listed as an NPC. She does not show up in our shared timeline, and I have not been able to dig up anything else about her. So, a witch (a class I made) related to his major Riddlemaster (a class he made). There is a story here!

I know she is one of my witches, largely due to the spells. I mean, yeah, he could have been using another witch class and my spells. 1993 is about the time I finished my first big "publication" draft that combined all my notes and handwritten playtest documents. I still have it here, I just printed it out on a "new" type of printer, an inkjet. 

So what can I speculate about Briana Highstar?

Her sheet says that she is a diabolic witch and her patron devil is Mephistopheles. She is Lawful Evil. That's about it.

Given Grenda's frame of mind at the time (2/11/1993) I'll make the following assumptions.

She is the younger half-sister of Morgan Highstar; they share the same father but different mothers.  I'll tear a page from Arthurian legends and have their relationship (at least the antagonism) be the same as Arthur and Morgan le Fey's. The attitude would likely be Briana feels wronged by Morgan and Morgan doesn't even know who she is.

To amp up this antagonism, I'd have Briana look a lot like Morgan; black hair, gray eyes. Hell, she might look a bit like Katie McGrath's Morgana from Merlin. I'll admit it, I am a fan of her's. 

Maybe her motivation is to destroy his School of Riddlemasters. Or maybe she just wants to avenge herself on him. I don't know yet. She is Lawful Evil to his True Neutral, so maybe her plans are more complicated. Maybe "her" plans are not her's but Mephistopheles' instead. Who knows, I would have to put her into play and see what she does.

Briana Highstar

Class: Witch
Level: 8
Species: Human
Alignment: Evil Dark
Background: Cultist

Abilities
Strength: 12 (+0) 
Agility: 16 (+2) 
Toughness: 13 (+1) 
Intelligence: 17 (+2) N
Wits: 17 (+2) A
Persona: 15 (+1) N

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 26
Degeneracy: 32
Corruption: 1 (eyes glow an unnatural way, like a cats)

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +4/+3/+1
Melee Bonus: +1 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +1 (base)
Saves: +4 vs spells and magical effects

Arcane Abilities
Beguile, Precognition, Shadow Walking

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: Additional 1st level Spell
3rd Level: Favored Weapon, Whip
5th Level: Spirit Guide: Cat Familiar 
7th Level: Magical Recovery

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Domination

Spells
First Level (4+1): Armor of Earth, Black Flames, Chill Ray, Phantom Lights, Read Languages
Second Level (3): Eternal Flame, Invisibility, See Invisible
Third Level (3): Animal Summoning 2, Dark Lightning, Globe of Darkness
Fourth Level (2): Black Tentacles, Kiss of the Succubus

Gear
Whip

Briana has a vendetta against all Riddlemasters. She wants to kill them all, but that is an impossible task, so she will settle on doing as much damage to them as she can. Her Patron, Mephistopheles, is using her to strike a blow to Balance, the force that Riddlemasters represent. 

I will certainly be using Briana more in adventures. Don't worry Grenda, I'll take care of her.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

 One of the things I have been looking forward to seeing in this group of characters are the various classes Grenda and I created. You have already seen the various Riddlemasters, but we have not seen a witch at all or one of my classes. Well, today, I change that. Not a witch, but almost as good. Meet Aura, the Elf Healer.

Aura is interesting for a few reasons. First off, her class is "Healer," not a cleric. More on that in a bit. She has no creation date on her sheet, something we always did and I still often do. There is, in fact, very little writing on her sheet at all. This leads me to the conclusion that she was an NPC. 

She is also an elf. Not a half-elf, but a full elf, something Grenda rarely played. He was all about playing humans and maybe the occasional half-elf.  No shock, really, all his characters were part of a large extended family. He later added Cheysuli and Deryni. 

So Aura here is a healer. 

There is not enough detail on this sheet to determine which healer she was. I had made a couple of different attempts at this class. The big clue here is Undead Turning. I went back and forth a lot on whether or not healers could turn undead like a cleric. While I argued that healers could see undead as something like a disease, it is also a key feature of the cleric class. This one is from the time when they could still turn undead. 

OR

Grenda didn't have all my healer class notes (which is possible) and he rolled her up as a cleric and played her like a healer. In any case she also has some of the early weapons choices. I was inspired by the early Dragon magazine article about healers and had healers use only non-damage causing weapons. It made for a difficult class to play in combat.

In any case, it is nice to see one of "my" character classes here. I am still holding out for a proper witch, though.  

How do I know she is one of my healers and not another one? Well, she is from "Glantri," that is the biggest clue. And she is a Lawful Good character who worships Apollo. Most of my healers from this era were followers of Apollo.

Aura

Class: Necromancer (Light)
Level: 15
Species: Elf
Alignment: Light Good
Background: Elf

Abilities
Strength: 13 (0)
Agility: 16 (+2) N
Toughness: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 18 (+3) N
Wits: 19 (+3) A
Persona: 15 (+1) 

Fate Points: 1d12
Defense Value: 6
Vitality: 110
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +7/+4/+3
Melee Bonus: +3 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +3 (base)
Saves: +5 to Persona

Necromancer Abilities
Channel the Dead, See Dead people, Turn Undead, Protection from Dead x4, Summon the Dead, Vampiric Augmentation*, Suggestion x4, Command, Vampiric Touch*, Beguile Spirit x2, Call the Reaper.

Heroic Touchstones

1st Level: Psychic Power: Bio-feedback
3rd Level: Light
5th Level: Cure Light Wounds
7th Level:  Psychic Power: Domination
9th Level: Psychic Power: Supernatural Senses
11th Level: Conjure Flame
13th Level: Immunity to disease
15th Level: Cure Disease

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Healer

Gear
Holy symbol, healer's kit

There is not much to Aura's character on her sheets, but this version of her for the Wasted Lands has a lot of potential. What would an elf, with psychic powers, be doing as a healer trained in the temple of Apollo? In my combined mythos she would likely be a follower of Jäger and most likely a wood elf of some type.

OH. And many people have mentioned I should preserve these sheets, I zoomed out when taking a picture of Aura's sheet here so you all can see that she is in a protective sheet for a three-ring binder. All the characters are going into sheets like this.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Ah. Now, here was a character. Mogan Highstar was more than Grenda's favorite character, he was in a sense his self-insert. His way of experiencing the world of Dungeons & Dragons as himself. He was more than his version of my Johan. He was Johan, Larina, and "Retsam" all rolled into one for him. 

Finn Danis may have been the first "Starmaster" and eventual head of the school of Riddle Masters, but everything Finn learned, he learned first from Morgan.

Morgan Highstar was born CY 637. He was the first Riddlemaster. His first student, Finn, did not join his school until 659 when finn was only 8. 

Morgan was an accomplished card player and a firm supporter of the Cosmic Balance (in the Michael Moorcock sense). Going over the sheets I have here, he had been a worshiper of  Uller (more examples of our blending of Greek and Norse myths), but when he began his Riddlemaster training, he converted to the worship Xan Yae. 

Riddlemasters, as I have mentioned off and on, were psychic characters who masked their psychic powers by disguising them as magic. They were influenced by "The Chronicles of the Deryni" by Katherine Kurtz and a lot of B-Grade movies about psychic phenomena. They were a cloistered sect that (retconned) had existed for centuries. Morgan was the first Riddlemaster.

Like Finn, I am happy to make Morgan a Psychic, though I will eventually need to post more about Riddlemasters. 

Morgan Highstar 

Class: Psychic
Level: 14
Species: Human
Alignment: Neutral
Background: Scholar

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 17 (+2) 
Toughness: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 18 (+3) N
Wits: 16 (+2) 
Persona: 18 (+3) A

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 95
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +4 (base) 
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Saves: +5 vs Persona (Psychic)

Background
Additional languages.

Psychic Abilities
Psychic powers: 5, Supernatural attacks, Supernatural power: Astral Projection

Psychic Powers
Bio-feedback
Body Control
Empathy
Telepathy
Temporal Sense

Heroic/Divine Touchstones 
1st Level: +1 to melee attacks
3rd Level: Psychic power: Pyrokinesis
5th Level: Level 1 of Renegade (use of stealth skills)
7th Level: Level 2 of Renegade (increased stealth skills)
9th Level: +1/+5% to all attacks, saves, checks and skills
11th Level: Spell resistance 20%
13th Level: Character ceases to age

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Balance

Gear
Sword ("Balancer")

Again, while I am very happy replicating any D&D class in Wasted Lands, Riddlemasters, by their very nature, are a little more difficult. Should I do a "Riddlemaster" class for Wasted Lands/NIGHT SHIFT/13 Parsecs? Well...there is a desire, but I am not sure how practical it would be.  The classes were not very practical for D&D to be honest! I would need to distill them to their essence and build them up from that.

Something other than "how crazy can we get with this?"

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

 Here is another character I do not know. He looks like he was part of a campaign of all evil characters called The Black Sun, but that is all I know. This is from his time period of 1988 to 1990 when he made a lot of characters. 

Vale Warmark is a Cheysuli, like Finn Danis. In *D&D a different species is harder to detail since bonuses and penalties need to be considered. Wasted Lands, NIGHT SHIFT, and Thirteen Parsecs new species are all baked into the rules and covered by our "Supernatural" type (from NIGHT SHIFT). Also, like many of Grenda's characters, he has psionics.

His class is listed as "Fighter (Special)." I wonder if this was some sort of play-test character. He has fighter abilities as well as cleric spells and undead turning, but he is not a Paladin.

When I originally pulled this sheet I was going to make him a point-buy character using the Night Companion rules for NIGHT SHIFT. But the results were not satisfactory. Especially since the Divine Warrior seems to do the trick very well. But, given his Lawful bent and the fact that he worships Xan Yae from the World of Greyhawk, he has led me down a different path. I think he works best as a Mystic Martial Artist.

While the Mystic Martial Artist is great for monks (AD&D) or say ninjas, or wuxia like warriors, it is also great for any sort of character that makes combat a way of life. 

Vale Warmark

Class: Mystic Martial Artist
Level: 1
Species: Cheysuli (using the Supernatural type from NIGHT SHIFT and other species rules from Wasted Lands)
Alignment: Dark Evil
Background: Warrior

Abilities
Strength: 17 (+2) N
Agility: 18 (+) A 
Toughness: 17 (+2) N
Intelligence: 16 (+2)  
Wits: 17 (+2) 
Persona: 15 (+1) 

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 0
Vitality: 5 (d6)
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 3

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +2/+1/+0
Melee Bonus: +1 (base) +3 (MMA)
Ranged Bonus: +1 (base) +3 (MMA)
Saves: +1 vs AGL and TOU saves.

Mystic Martial Arts Abilities
+3 to Agility, Add AGL bonus to attacks, Martial Arts: Sword (like Kendo)

Heroic Touchstones
Level 1: Psychic Ability: Bio-feedback

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Order

Gear
Sword (Mailbite), Dagger, Mace, splint mail armor

Ok. He is only first level here, but looking over his AD&D sheet and the abilities that Mystic Martial Artists get as they level up, I see that this is a great fit.  I am not sure how important the cleric abilities were to this character, so I may add them later on as a Heroic Touchstone or not. 

I do wonder what class Vale was supposed to have been.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG, the NIGHT SHIFT RPG, and Thirteen Parsecs RPG at Elf Lair Games.

Achtung! Cthulhu is the roleplaying game of fast-paced pulp action and Mythos magic published by Modiphius Entertainment. It is pitches the Allied Agents of the Britain’s Section M, the United States’ Majestic, and the brave Resistance into a Secret War against those Nazi Agents and organisations which would command and entreat with the occult and forces beyond the understanding of mankind. They are willing to risk their lives and their sanity against malicious Nazi villains and the unfathomable gods and monsters of the Mythos themselves, each striving for supremacy in mankind’s darkest yet finest hour! Yet even the darkest of drives to take advantage of the Mythos is riven by differing ideologies and approaches pandering to Hitler’s whims. The Black Sun consists of Nazi warrior-sorcerers supreme who use foul magic and summoned creatures from nameless dimensions to dominate the battlefields of men, whilst Nachtwölfe, the Night Wolves, utilise technology, biological enhancements, and wunderwaffen (wonder weapons) to win the war for Germany. Ultimately, both utilise and fall under the malign influence of the Mythos, the forces of which have their own unknowable designs…

Achtung! Cthulhu Mission Dossier Volume One: Behind Enemy Lines brings together the first five scenarios published for Achtung! Cthulhu. They will take the Agents from the White Cliffs of Dover and the coast of east Scotland to the coast of the Netherlands and into the mountains of Romania, as well as to a baseball game in the USA. In addition, there is an extra mission, new to Achtung! Cthulhu, that will involve the Agents conducting a mission that parallels Operation Chariot, the raid on St. Nazaire. All six missions can be run as one-shots, but most of them can be run in chronological order and woven into a Game Master’s ongoing campaign that will take the Agents from the Phony War of 1939 through to the height of Nazi and Axis power occupation around the world. With care, this includes being worked into and around a campaign such as Achtung! Cthulhu: Shadows of Atlantis. Two of the scenarios are not designed for this, the one set on the home front in the USA and the new addition, both being set after the events of the campaign and one of them being designed as a one-shot, suitable for convention use. Both though, offer changes of pace and tone, enabling players to experience the Secret War in other places and with other types of character.
The six missions follow the same format. Each begins with a Synopsis for the Game Master, a Mission Briefing & Goals for the Agents, and some Historical Background to provide context. This is followed by the actual scenario itself, divided into its various acts, and ending for the Agents with a Debriefing. For the Game Master there the stats for the NPCs—both enemies and allies—and monsters that the Agents will encounter over the course of the mission.

The anthology opens with the short, sharp Under the Gun. This is set both atop and in the White Cliffs of Dover, where the army, preparing fortifications against a much-feared German invasion, discover strange stone pillar which seems to make everyone feel at least queasy, if not leave them suffering nightmares… Of course, the pillar is not just of interest to Black Sun, but also the local villagers, who possess a certain goggle-eyed appearance. Effectively, this is a mini-encounter with parallels with The Shadow Over Innsmouth—or at least the 1928 raid on the town—and it is combat focused, more so than other scenarios for Achtung! Cthulhu. Its short length also makes it easy to add to a campaign or to serve as a combat-focused interlude.
The second scenario is Operation Vanguard, which could thematically carry on from ‘Under the Gun’ as the links to Deep Ones are more obvious. The action, more detailed and involving stealth and investigation, as well as combat, switches to the Dutch coast and the Dutch fishing town of Nermegen. Section M has learned of a strange installation being constructed at both St. Olaf’s lighthouse and on the nearby Skellen Island and of the presence in the town of Nachtwölfe. This is a commando-style mission, right down to having to paddle ashore in folboats—or folding canoes, as used in Operation Frankton and made famous by the film, The Cockleshell Heroes. Whether making contact with the local Resistance or investigating Nachtwölfe activities, the emphasis is on stealth and that also goes for getting into both the lighthouse and the Nazi installation on the island. In the latter, the Agents will discover what Nachtwölfe has been up to, which has been experimenting on captured Deep Ones! The scenario will end in a big, bruising battle as the escaped Deep Ones take their revenge on their Nachtwölfe scientist and soldier captors. Throughout, the Deep Ones are kept implacable and mysterious, so although the players will know what they are facing, their Agents will not. One option here is have the players handle the Deep Ones as well as their Agents in combat so that the Game Master is not rolling too many dice, especially when it comes to the monsters of the Mythos versus the Nazis.
Operation Falling Crystal takes place on the east coast of Scotland where an archaeological dig discovered a strange blue crystal in nearby caverns. The archaeologists have no idea what it is, but Section M does! It is Blauer Kristall—or Blue Crystal—much coveted by Nachtwölfe, which uses it to fuel its increasingly weird weapons of war. Section M would very much like to get its hands on some of the strange mineral so that it can study it and perhaps develop a means to counter the strange technology being fielded by Nachtwölfe. With its set-up of something strange being discovered under the ground and it attracting the attention of the Nazis and as well as Section M, this scenario is very similar to the earlier ‘Under the Gun’. However, it does go beyond this, if only a little. There is both scope for investigation beyond the archaeological dig itself and for interaction with the Mythos beyond running away or blasting it to bits. This lifts what is otherwise adequate scenario that the Game Master would not want to run too soon after ‘Under the Gun’.

The Romanian Imperative leans into the Pulp sensibilities of Achtung! Cthulhu by sending the Agents into the unstable situation of the Balkans chasing after a Zeppelin! Jokingly referred to as a “wee holiday” by Section M, the Agents are to reconnoitre the area to determine why Nachtwölfe has sent a Zeppelin to a mining village in the Mures Mountains in Romania, discover what it is doing there, and take action. This entails a flight to Belgrade, in Yugoslavia, via Athens in Greece and from there a lengthy drive across the border into Romania and to the mountains, guided by a friendly smuggler. Dealing with checkpoints—Romanian and German—will be the least of the Agents’ problems, but once they reach the village, they will be able to learn a little about what has happened recently and also in the past. This, when combined with the opportunity to observe the work camp below the nearby castle over in the next valley, gives the players and their Agents all the information they need to make their next move. Ideally, this should start with contacting the locals who have been hired to rework the mine, but can also involve investigating the ruins of the castle, the work camp, and ultimately, getting aboard the Zeppelin itself, stationed, unmoored, and unnaturally immobile above the camp. The Zeppelin, enhanced by Nachtwölfe technology, is fully detailed and comes with a set of deck plans. The scenario should end with a fight aboard the Zeppelin—although a very careful one since nobody wants to set it alight—and with the chance that the Agents capture it and fly it back to Britain. They will be handsomely rewarded for their efforts if they do. This is a fun and exciting adventure that fully plays into the Pulp action of Achtung! Cthulhu.

‘Operation Eastbourne’ is the first of the two scenarios in the anthology intended as a change of pace and the only new scenario. Thematically, it can be run as a sequel to both ‘Under the Gun’ and ‘Operation Vanguard’, but need not be. It is effectively two missions in one. The Agents make up ‘Team Beta’ accompanying ‘Team Alpha’, a unit of commandos who will assault a gun battery as part of Operation Chariot, the raid on the French port of St. Nazaire intended to put its dry dock out of action and so prevent German navy ships like the Bismarck or Tirpitz being repaired there. This means that it is set later than the other missions in the book, so the Game Moderator may want to save it for later in her campaign. However, assaulting the gun battery is not the Agents’ objective. Instead, they will investigate a Black Sun archaeological dig and determine what the Nazis are up to. The players will play through both missions as part of the scenarios, the idea being that not only do they roleplay their Agents, but also the commandos (stats for the latter are provided to enable them to do so). The Agents can stick together or they can mix and match, so the players will be roleplaying mixed group of Agents and commandos for each mission. What this means is that either team could come to the help of the other if it gets into difficulty and since, unnaturally, both missions will involve encounters with the Mythos, roleplaying the commandos will remind the players that not everyone has encountered the Mythos before and will not necessarily be quite so blasé about it.

Although divided into the three traditional acts of an Achtung! Cthulhu scenario, ‘Operation Eastbourne’ need not necessarily be run in linear fashion, but could instead be run with the action in parallel, switching back and forth between the different missions at dramatically appropriate moments. In whatever way it is run, ‘Team Beta’ should meet up with ‘Team Alpha’—or even come to the rescue of—in the third and final act when the Black Sun operatives bring their plans to fruition on the rocky beaches of the Atlantic coast. This sets the stage for a big fight as the Nazis attempt a summoning, the Allies attempt to stop them, and all hell breaks loose! It is another grand finale which plays out more like a miniatures game and which calls for big heroic action. A very classic Achtung! Cthulhu scenario.
The last scenario in Achtung! Cthulhu Mission Dossier Volume One: Behind Enemy Lines is Seventh-Inning Slaughter! This switches the action to the USA and a game in the All-American Girls Baseball League which is being attended by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Unfortunately, so is Jörg Becker, a Nazi sorcerer, determined to prove both himself a capable agent to his Black Sun masters and thus get promoted, and that no-one is safe from the reach of Nazi Germany, not even thousands of miles away on American home soil. This is the second of the two scenarios in the anthology intended to as a change of pace and is probably the best one suited as a one-shot. To that end, it comes with four pre-generated Player Characters, divided between two baseball players, a war correspondent, and a would-be technical genius, and a plot that is played out innings by innings, with weirder and weirder things happening from one innings to the next. Food spoils and writhes with worms, a foul ball hits a member of the crowd, a lightning storm gathers, a dog goes crazy, there is spontaneous vomiting, the same man keep disappearing and reappearing, and so on. Although there is not much that the Player Characters can do to thwart Becker’s efforts until it is almost too late, they will be kept busy dealing with all of the other weird issues as they pop up until then. Effectively, this is a firefighting mission against the Mythos until the Player Characters can root out, and are prepared, to face the cause. This is a different style of scenario to the others in the anthology, offering a change of pace and location that works as a one-shot, a convention scenario, or respite from the main campaign.

Physically, Achtung! Cthulhu Mission Dossier Volume One: Behind Enemy Lines is cleanly and tidily laid out. The illustrations and the maps are excellent, although it does need an edit in places.

Initially, the title of Achtung! Cthulhu Mission Dossier Volume One: Behind Enemy Lines reads like a misnomer. After all, not all of the scenarios take place behind enemy lines—at least not as far as the Allies and Section M are concerned. Once you get Black Sun and Nachtwölfe involved, then three of the scenario do take place behind enemy lines on British and American soil! If there is anything missing from the anthology it is advice on when to run the scenarios in relation with Achtung! Cthulhu: Shadows of Atlantis, as most of its scenarios would work well with the campaign. Otherwise, Achtung! Cthulhu Mission Dossier Volume One: Behind Enemy Lines is a solid collection of scenarios that offers plenty of punching, bullet flying, Pulp-action against the Nazis.

 Rogar is not the first character Grenda ever created. The earliest one I can find is still Torvak, but he was a very important one. Rogar is the progenitor and patriarch of the Addingdale line.

According to my notes Rogar was born in CY 613. He is Chaotic Neutral (as a lot of Grenda's characters were), he worships Loki (makes sense), he is the son of Zeus...come again??

Ok. I have no issues at all with the "son of Zeus" bit. Zeus notoriously could not keep it in his pants. The Son of Zeus worshipping Loki though? Well...it was the 1980s, and I remember Gods, Demi-gods & Heroes making the rounds at my school back then, and yes, everyone was doing exactly what Gary and Tim Kask had explicitly told us not to do; fight gods as monsters. So, really...my groups were doing something else with gods, and it also started with an F. Mixing the Greek and Norse myths was not uncommon. I did it with my own Black Forest Mythos not that long ago. So, sure, I'll let this one slide.

Now depending on which sheet I look at Rogar is either a Cleric or a Fighter/Magic-user. Unlke others of the Addingdale line he has no psionics. I think I am going to stick with the cleric. Mostly because I want to give him a better tie-in with his offspring and try to work out his whole Zeus and Loki thing. BUT since this is for the Wasted Lands, I'll do him as a Necromancer instead. It's not a perfect fit, but I think it will be a fun one.

Rogar Addingdale

Class: Necromancer
Level: 1
Species: Human
Alignment: Twilight Neutral
Background: Warrior

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) N
Agility: 16 (+2) 
Toughness: 17 (0) 
Intelligence: 18 (+) 
Wits: 17 (+2) A
Persona: 18 (+2) N

Fate Points: 1d6
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 5 
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +2/+1/+0
Melee Bonus: +0 (base), +3 (STR)
Ranged Bonus: +0 (base)
Saves: +3 to all Persona Saves, +2 to Toughness (Warrior background)

Necromancer Abilities
Channel the Dead, See Dead People, Summon the Dead, Command Spirits, Protection from Undead, Turn Undead

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: Cure Light Wounds Spell

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Vengence

Gear
War hammer, Scale armor, Holy symbol

Not bad at all. In this case, he is a necromancer due to his hatred of the undead. So, he uses those powers to fight them.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

How do you like your GM Screen?

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

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

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

So how do I like my GM Screen?

I like my Screen to come with something. Not a poster or poster map, but a scenario, which is one reason why I like ‘Descent into Darkness’ from the Game Master’s Screen and Adventure for Legends of the Five Rings Fourth Edition and ‘A Bann Too Many’, the scenario that comes in the Dragon Age Game Master's Kit for Green Ronin Publishing’s Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Set 1: For Characters Level 1 to 5. I also like my screen to come with some reference material, something that adds to the game. Which is why I am fond of both the Sholari Reference Pack for SkyRealms of Jorune as well as the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack. Which is why the Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen is perhaps the most disappointing screen in some years.

The Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen is the Game Master’s Screen for Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying. Published by Free League Publishing, best known for Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying, The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings, and Alien: The Roleplaying Game, this is a reimagining of Sweden’s first fantasy roleplaying game, Drakar och Demoner, originally published in 1982. It promises to be a ‘deluxe’ Game Master Screen and it fulfils that description and it certainly showcases Johan Egerkran’s fantastic artwork for the roleplaying game on the front, facing the players where they can see it. Published in sturdy, thick card, it consists of three panels. On the left-hand panel, there is the ‘Typical NPCs’ table accompanied by spot rules for NPCs and skills, initiative, attributes, and being at zero Hit Points. The middle panel is all about combat. So, there is an ‘Actions’ table, listening possible actions as well as free actions and the effects of rolling a Demon in both melee and ranged combat. There are no tables for weapon damages, armour rating, or the like. On the right-hand panel is the ‘Fear Table’ and the tables for ‘Leaving the Adventure Site’ and ‘Pathfinder Mishaps’. This is it, so what is missing? There is no listing for ‘Special Attacks’ or ‘Conditions’ that the Player Characters are likely to suffer, or no ‘Magical Mishaps’ table. These are important omissions and so the Game Master and her players are going to need to refer to the ‘Dragonbane Rules’ book on a regular basis during play as a consequence.

The Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen is undeniably, a sturdy, attractive looking Game Master’s screen. However, its usefulness is questionable since it omits a number of tables that are commonly referred to in play, and perhaps a fourth panel with those omissions on it might have negated this issue. Then there is the matter of what accompanies the Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen. In the case of so many other Game Master screens, there have scenarios, forms, and books for the Game Master, but for the Game Master who has the Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen, there is nothing. Which only exacerbates its lack of utility.

Most Game Master’s screens are useful and do help the Game Master run the game that she wants and anything beyond that is a bonus. The Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen is of limited use and there is no bonus, so where a good Game Master’s screen is always worth purchasing, the Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen simply is not.

Which begs the question, what should, or rather, could have been included along with the Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen? One option might have the Dragonbane Monsters Standee Set. One of the great extras in the Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying core box is a set of standees, which depict in full colour, the pre-generated Player Characters and the monsters they will face over the course of the campaign, and are, of course, designed to be used with the maps in the box. Each is done on thick cardboard and is illustrated front and back so that they are easily identifiable from any angle. The Dragonbane Monsters Standee Set adds another sixty-four monster standees done in the same style and to the same standard as those that come in the Dragonbane: Mirth & Mayhem Roleplaying core box. They include cat people, ghouls, a hippogriff, a Pegasus, a giant octopus, and a whole lot more. In addition, there is also a battlemat, double-sided, on stiff, glossy paper, that they all designed to be used with. Further, they are designed to be used with the Dragonbane Bestiary as well. The artwork on the standees is excellent, the standees are all done on sturdy card, and lastly, they standees that can be used as Player Characters, which may be useful if the Game Master is allowing some of the entries from the Dragonbane Bestiary that can be used as Kin. In whatever way the Game Master decides to use the Dragonbane Monsters Standee Set, it will enhance the play and look of her game and is very nice addition to the Dragonbane roleplaying game. (And yes, it would have made an excellent accompaniment to the Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen, but is actually sold separately.)

Ultimately, an accessory like a Game Master’s Screen is not needed to play, but in a great many cases , they can be useful and they can help the Game Master run a game. The Dragonbane Gamemaster Screen is not one of them, not being as helpful it should have been. Whereas, if the Game master is using the roleplaying game’s standees in her game and has the Dragonbane Bestiary, the Dragonbane Monsters Standee Set is definitely a useful accessory, greatly expanding her threats to throw into the path of the Player Characters.

An insect-infested thieves guild operating below a cliffside lighthouse whose lamp has gone out. An invisible, flying wizard’s workshop that casts a shadow on the ground and which is in danger of malfunctioning and crashing to the ground to unleash a deadly threat. A valley where the rock hoodoos and stone spires hum and sing, the last location of a missing prince lost on a secret quest. A song of Chaos radiates up and out of a dormant volcano, stealing the ability to dream wherever it is heard. These are the hooks for the four scenarios in Wyvern Songs: A Fantasy RPG Adventure Anthology. Published by Swordlords Publishing, the four are written for use with Old School Essentials, Necrotic Gnome’s interpretation and redesign of the 1981 revision of Basic Dungeons & Dragons by Tom Moldvay and its accompanying Expert Set by Dave Cook and Steven M. Marsh. The anthology includes an introductory dungeon, a puzzle dungeon, a pointcrawl adventure, and a deadly dungeon, as well as extra content, all of which is presented in a charming digest-sized book. All four scenarios open with an introduction and a summary of their varying situations and all four include a quartet of adventures hooks that the Game Master can mix and match to get her players and their characters involved. In most cases, more than one of these could be used, so that there can be multiple motivations in play. In addition, each adventure closes with a list of suggestions as to what might happen next depending upon the actions and decisions of the Player Characters which the Game Master can develop herself.

Wyvern Songs: A Fantasy RPG Adventure Anthology opens with ‘The Sinister Secret Of Peacock Point’. This is for First Level Player Characters and is designed as an introductory adventure for both new players and Old-School veterans alike. They explore the guildhall belonging to the Apple Bottom Gang, a band of thieves operating out of a repurposed dungeon below a lighthouse. Whether the local mayor is concerned that the lighthouse lamp has gone out or the Player Characters are hired by a wizard to recover a music box—which he specifically warns them not to open— stolen by the Apple Bottom Gang, they discover the complex in darkness, seemly abandoned and suffering from an insect infestation. This mystery turns darker when the Player Characters discover the first bodies, stripped off their flesh… There is an element of nicely judged lurking horror to this scenario, enough to ratchet up the tension, but not overwhelm Player Characters, as they move from room to room, revealing more of what is obviously a home and a working environment that has suffered a disaster of some kind. This is reinforced by some of the encounters, such as with a teenage guild initiate, returned from his first assignment and traumatised that all of his erstwhile colleagues have disappeared.
There is also a whimsey and weirdness to the adventure, obviously in the random encounters, such as finding a peacock has got into the complex somehow from atop the cliffs or ‘Fish Guts’, the mascot for the Apple Bottom Gang, an undead, but toothless skeleton that shambles about wearing a horned helmet with his name on it in large letters. In addition, there is a link to the wider underworld—in both senses—with complex’s access to the Night Road, a subterranean highway controlled by Skunk Goblins! If the Player Characters are successful, they walk away with a lot of treasure as well, though they will need a way to transport some of it and find buyers. Overall, ‘The Sinister Secret Of Peacock Point’ is a cracking good start to the anthology.
If ‘The Sinister Secret Of Peacock Point’ had a drop of the weird and the whimsey to it, ‘Fabien’s Atelier’ has a whole vial’s worth. Designed for Player Characters of Second to Fourth Level, this is a puzzle dungeon set on a puck-shaped floating disc that is invisible to the naked eye, but which still casts a shadow on the ground. It can be run on its own, but it is actually a sequel to the author’s Hideous Daylight where it is the home to a wizard that has prevented the Sun from setting over a duke’s favourite garden—though for a good reason. In Hideous Daylight, the Player Characters were able to get up onto the disc, but not explore it. With ‘Fabien’s Atelier’ they can. As a puzzle dungeon, the puzzles themselves are more odd than overly challenging. Upfront, there is good advice on how to run a puzzle dungeon and the adventure itself has its clues repeated over and over, and ultimately, does state that the Game Master should allow for there being no right answers and that violence is always the answer! Again, there is a ticking clock at the heart of the heart of the adventure, but slightly more obvious as the floating disc rocks and rumbles. The adventure is not very big, but it is nicely detailed and there is lovely sense of otherworldliness to the whole of the wizard’s complex.
The third adventure, ‘The Singing Stones’ is even stranger than the previous two in the anthology. Designed for Player Characters of Third to Fifth Level, it is a pointcrawl set in a weird valley whose towering hoodoos and stone pillars have had their wisdom freed so that they constantly sing and drone, the sound reverberating up and down the valley. The setting also recalls both the frontier of the Old West and Death Valley of the USA, so the adventure could actually be run in a roleplaying game like Weird Frontiers. What drives the adventure is the search for a missing prince who is actually suffering from a poisoned wound that would kill him were it not for the fact that he has been turned to stone. This though, is only the start of the Player Characters’ problems as they search for a solution to both problems. Thankfully, the adventure does not give only the one solution, so there are multiple ways in which to solve both problems. In the process of looking for answers, the Player Characters will encounter various NPCs and get involved in their stories and plots and make further discoveries about the strangeness of the valley. Again, there are great random encounters, like the bottom half of a shattered stone golem futilely stomping about in search of its upper body, a rock formation being chomped on by creature that is slowly eating its way through the valley with the surrounding rocks all suddenly going silent as if in mourning or hiding, and a hungry stone giant hunting for food whose stone body has been affected by the area’s magic that it broadcasts his thoughts! ‘The Singing Stones’ really takes its central concept and develops into some wondrous ideas and encounters, combining them in a very well designed pointcrawl for the best adventure in the anthology.
The last adventure in the anthology is ‘The Dreaming Caldera’, a tough dungeon designed for Player Characters of Fifth and Sixth Levels. It is set atop and inside the dormant volcano Mount Embersnake below which a Chaos godling sings and it tries to give birth to itself. Its singing has been heard all across the region, summoning many to climb the steep sides of the volcano and descend inside to assist. During the adventure, this will include the Player Characters if their Alignment is Chaos, so they had better make their Saving Throws! What they find is a compact dungeon that is actually a cross between a factory and birthing pool with the godling’s worshippers working to put together a body suitable for young Chaos god. So, there is a chicken farm where the chickens are being slaughtered for their body parts—though nobody knows what to do with the feathers, so there is a room full of mounds of feathers—and some of the chickens have been evolved by their conditions into unsurprisingly angry Dire Chickens, whilst Ogres working as incompetent stone masons attempting carve bones for the godling, but blaming their incompetence on the neanderthals they force to mine the stone. Meanwhile, the previous god to whom the shrine atop the volcano was dedicated wants it back and will reward those who stop the godling from being born. The rewards would be great, except that this god is an evil deity of gluttony! ‘The Dreaming Caldera’ is the most grim and perilous adventure in the anthology, and the most challenging. It is a solidly designed dungeon, but in terms of tone, it feels different to the previous three adventure, darker, with less whimsy, and so a bit out of place.
Wyvern Songs: A Fantasy RPG Adventure Anthology also includes four appendices of bonus content. The first presents a new Class, the Mektaur. This is effectively, a one-off, an option for a recently deceased Player Character to live on in a new form, that of a rare magical relic and warrior. It is a centaur-shaped magical automaton into which the blood of the recently deceased is poured. Whatever the Class of the Player Character now dead, he now becomes a warrior proficient in the use of polearms, good at charging, and if that Class involved spellcasting, the Player Character is longer able to cast spells. He can though, speak with the undead, but requires weekly winding like a clockwork device and cannot climb ropes or vertical surfaces.
The second appendix, ‘Adventurer’s Guilds’ suggests the benefits of joining an Adventurer’s Guild. This includes information about adventuring sites, getting properly outfitted (enabling a player to declare that his character has an item even if it is not on his character sheet), and free lodging. It is accompanied by sample guilds, one whose membership is primarily mercenaries and landsknechts and one that specialises in mushroom hunting. Both have their extra benefits, but the latter is more interesting, suggesting that its members team up with wizards and thieves for the more dangerous dungeon expeditions. Mushroom identification training is mandatory, though.
‘The village of NANLET’ is described in the third appendix. It is a frontier settlement with its own oddities, like the fact that the local witches protect the inhabitants in return for their keeping a sealed coffin in their homes and never, ever opening it. What is in the coffins? That is for the Game Master to decide. Both of the Adventurer’s Guilds mentioned in the previous appendix have chapter houses in the village and the village centre is dominated by the head of a cyclops and an adjacent cathedral where the chanting continues unabated for twenty-four hours a day. There is also a table of town gossip, which the Referee can use to create adventure hooks, including one to Hideous Daylight.
Lastly, the fourth appendix, ‘The Grand Duchy of Bhosel’ is a setting where the author has not only placed the four scenarios in Wyvern Songs, but also recommends where other scenarios for Old School Essentials might be placed, including those from its publisher, Necrotic Gnome. However, as a setting it is not developed much beyond this, so that the Game Master will need to do a lot of work to tie these individual adventures and locations into a coherent whole, rather than the scrappy patchwork which is presented here. There are some connections between the four scenarios in Wyvern Songs, but they are very light and so not strong enough to reinforce what the ‘The Grand Duchy of Bhosel’ is trying to do. In a very good anthology, this is the least interesting and least useful entry.
Physically, Wyvern Songs is very well presented. The adventures are concisely written and easy to grasp and accompanied by decent artwork and excellent cartography. The adventures are also colour-coded for easy identification. However, the book is not perfect. The secret doors on the maps could have been more easily identifiable and sometimes the text is accompanied by maps of their individual rooms or locations taken from the main maps for the adventures, sometimes not. So, the scenarios are inconsistent in how easy they are to run.
Wyvern Songs: A Fantasy RPG Adventure Anthology is a superb collection of adventures. Each entry in the anthology gets to the point, and consequently, is easy to prepare and run, yet packed with lots of intriguing little details alongside their engaging plots that really make you want to run them. No matter which retroclone a Game Master uses, Wyvern Songs: A Fantasy RPG Adventure Anthology will have something that she will want to adapt and run—more likely, all four of them.

 Every so often, there is a character who jumps off of the pages of their character sheet, and they take on a life of their own. They go beyond mere numbers, and listings and references to page numbers. They become a real character. Yoln Serpeus was one such character.

He began life as one of the main antagonists in our Great War/War of the Dragons. He was the head of Hell's Armies and a vassal to Mephistopheles. This was the campaign we were running then ended our worlds and a new combined world (which I would later equate with Mystoerth) was formed in the ashes. 

Honestly, I can still see it now. Yoln, clad in all jet back plate, riding his giant ware chariot being drawn by three dragons.  He had already killed many characters, including Morgan "Raven" Ebonflame and Johan Werper III. Though one of the survivors was Larina. (CY 813-818).

Yoln was defeated and he was pulled into the Hells, with Raven in tow it was believed. My other character, Nigel Blade, seeing his daughter pulled into Hell, vowed to follow him and kill him himself. 

I would not resolve that arc until 2001-2003 when Yoln became the primary big bad for my Buffy campaign, The Dragon and the Phoenix, as the "Hand of Leviathan." Nigel did not kill him, but Buffy did in "No Other Troy." Though I will admit, I forgot his last name and misremembered it as "Shadowreaper." But Yoln would use Worluk's nom de guerre.

Back in 1988, Grenda and I revisited Yoln in his earliest days as a human Paladin just prior to his fall in an adventure, "Where Evil Seeks," we were writing to submit to Dungeon Magazine. I have three different versions of that adventure here now. I might dust it off some day.  Anyway, in that "human" Yoln is only 13th level. That seems more reasonable.

It is not an exaggeration that Yoln and the hunt for Yoln from 1987 to 2003 had a HUGE impact on what would become NIGHT SHIFT. So it only makes sense that I should do his stats for Wasted Lands, the "D&D of NIGHT SHIFT."

I am going to cheat here and give Yoln a heroic touchstone at every level instead of every other level. It's a bit much (every other level is a bit much), but he has earned them.

This Yoln is only slight human now. He is becoming an infernal creature and will soon lead Hell's armies. 

Yes. That is Yoln in 'City of Heroes.'Yoln Serpeus

Class: Divine Infernal Warrior (from NIGHT SHIFT)
Level: 13
Species: Human (Infernal)
Alignment: Dark Evil
Background: Cult

Abilities
Strength: 18 (+3) A
Agility: 18 (+3) 
Toughness: 17 (0) N
Intelligence: 19 (+3)  
Wits: 17 (+2) N
Persona: 17 (+2) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: -1
Vitality: 64
Degeneracy: 33
Corruption: 7

Corruption Effects: His eyes glow, his body is decayed, and he must live inside his armor. Can't enter holy lands or buildings. 

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +6/+4/+2
Melee Bonus: +5 (base), +3 (STR)
Ranged Bonus: +5 (base)
Saves: +5 to all Wits and Persona Saves

Infernal Warrior Abilities
Sixth Sense, Cause Injury and Illness, Supernatural Attacks, Protection from Good, Command Undead (level 8), Spot Hidden (1-3 on d4).

Infernal Abilities
Takes x2 damage from Chosen Ones and Celestials. 
Arcane Powers: Beguile, Domination, Enhanced Senses, Incubus, Shadow Walking, 

Heroic/Divine Touchstones
1st Level: Psychic Ability: ESP
2nd Level:+1 to melee attacks
3rd Level: Psychic Ability: Bio-feedback
4th Level: Unique Mode of Attack: Soul Sever (Persona)
5th Level: Favored Weapon, Sword
4th Level: +1 to hit with Soul Sever attack
7th Level: Extra Attack
8th Level: Favored Enemy: Chosen Ones
9th Level: Special Attack
10th Level: Smite
11th Level: Great Attack (Toughness added to Soul Sever)
12th Level: Great Smite
13th Level: Spell Resistance 20%

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Death

Gear
Longsword ("Pillager"), Full plate armor.

He is a monster. I mean, yeah, all these characters are charmingly Munchkin, but Yoln here is just plain scary. 

Yoln in the Wasted Lands

This is the starting point for Yoln, my D&D stand-in. This is the Yoln I stated above and one that Grenda and I created. Yoln belongs in the Wasted Lands, but he won't stay there for long.

Yoln in NIGHT SHIFT

In truth, Yoln is my first-ever NIGHT SHIFT Big Bad. Yeah, I ran him under the Buffy/Unisystem rules, but that game informed and shaped me to a point where NIGHT SHIFT became an inevitability.  Maybe one day I'll rerun "The Dragon and the Phoenix" as a NIGHT SHIFT adventure, but it has been 20+ years now.

Yoln in Thirteen Parsecs

Yoln was killed once by Morgan. He was killed again by Buffy. Could he still be around somewhere out near the Solar Frontier? Never say never I guess! Could his lifeless appearing armor be out there, floating in space, waiting on some happless ship passing by to bring it into their cargo hold? What happens when an ancient hell knight awakens and attack a crew armed with plasma rifles? I don't know.

Interestingly enough. While digging through my archives on this guy I found his Buffy/The Dragon and the Phoenix stats!

Yoln, The Pillager, The Pit Fiend, The Hand of Leviathan, The Shadowreaper

Yoln: So Slayer. You brought an army to defeat me? (another swing)
Buffy: No. (a parry. Then, wielding the spear with both hands, she swings and knocks Yoln back.) I brought two.
The army of demons continues running while a legion of angels flies up and over them to join in the attack.

Character Type: Human/Demon Big Bad

Attributes
Strength 9
Dexterity 8
Constitution 10
Intelligence 4
Perception 4
Willpower 12 

Ability Scores: Muscle 14, Combat 17, Brains 13
Life Points: 64
Drama Points: 10

Qualities: Fast Reaction Time, Hard to Kill 6, Honorable (Rigid), Nerves of Steel
Drawbacks: Adversary (just about everyone) 6, 

Combat Maneuvers

Name Score    Damage   Notes Dodge 17 - Defense action Grapple 19 - Resisted by Dodge Kick 16 14 Bash Punch 17 13 Bash Big Ass Sword   19 31 Stab/slash; two-handed

Damn. He was even a beast here.

Thank you, Grenda, for developing such a memorable character with me. Gods, this was a lot of fun to do this one. I'm listening to RUSH, Krokus, BÖC, and Ronnie James Dio in your memory tonight.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

All you know is Here. There is no need to know of anywhere that is not Here. Where is Here? You know nobody who knows. It is your Home. It is your community. It gives you a function. It gives you opportunities for recreation. It gives you the chance to contribute to the Community. Everything you need and everything anyone needs, flows through The Chain. You know it works. Its pipes run everywhere and wheeze and pop and whistle and clang, but always deliver what you need when you need it. When the Community needs it. Starting every day with a morning clothing bullet to make sure everyone is dressed in fresh apparel. All of which is overseen by The Authority, the municipal administration which ensures that The Chain continues to operate, to ensure everyone is assigned to the right sleeping quarters, given the correct amount of recreation time, they contribute to the Community, and they keep a record that they do. Yet… There is the Threshold. It might be the edge or the end of Here, but nobody knows. Or at least nobody is saying. And definitely, nobody who has gone beyond the Threshold, whether deliberately or be accident, has returned to tell anyone what the Threshold is or what lies on the other side.

This is what anyone knows—including the Player Characters—of the Here, a habitat occupied by humanity, surviving on limited resources, and living on borrowed and definitely bureaucratic time. What the habitat of the Here is, is unknown. It could be a bunker, buried underground after a nuclear apocalypse, a space station orbiting Jupiter, a long-term social experiment, or at the end of the universe. Wherever and whatever it is, the scarcity of resources means that if anything went wrong, the Here would no longer be viable. It could collapse. It could be shut down. Either way, it would be ‘Lost in the Fold’, in a bureaucratic reshuffle as its last resources are reassigned.

This is the set-up for the Lost in the Fold. Published by Just Crunch Games, this is a ‘Genre Set-Up’ for Sanction: A Tabletop Roleplaying Game of Challenges & Hacks, which describes itself as a set of “Universal Rules for Challenge-driven Games”. It is a separate ‘Genre Set-Up’ to the two given in the core rulebook—as expanded in .GIF and For A Rainy Day—one inspired by the Post Apocalyptic dystopian Science Fiction of The Silo and Brazil, Yokohama Station and The Trial. It is a roleplaying setting of Science Fiction horror, for there is constant threat of the Habitat in which the Player Characters make their Home or themselves being ‘Lost in the Fold’ or the Player Characters being exposed to the Threshold or perhaps what might be lurking within the Threshold. Lost in the Fold includes some discussion as to that the Habitat might be, but does not decide on any one. What it does do though, is provide the means for the Player Characters to explore the Here and undertake assignments for The Authority as there are issues with The Chain and the Threshold.

A Player Character in Lost in the Fold has three Resources, here called Grit, Rote, and Wile, the equivalent of Physical, Mental, and Willpower, but here also representing the ability of a Player Character to persuade others that he is capable or knowledgeable, rather than necessarily actually being so. He also has a past, represented by a Lifepath. In Sanction, this is a Past, a Diversion, and an Influence. In Lost in the Fold, it is Communal Purpose, representing a Player Character’s place and responsibilities, a Troubling Keepsake which is his unhealthy interest secreted away instead of being returned to The Chain for recycling, and a Downtime Distraction, which is what the Player Character does to reduce stress and contribute towards the sense of community. He also has two items of gear, some base Hits, and a Pressure Track.

Renton
Physical D4 Mental D8 Willpower D6
Communal Purpose: Civil Assistant
Troubling Keepsake: Fencing
Downtime Distraction: Mediating
Abilities: Accounting, Commence, Negotiation
Pressure Track: 0
Equipment: Glow Tube, Stanly Knife
Hits: 3

One key aspect of a Player Character is the degree which he is under Pressure. It is not danger as such, but how a Player Character feels when under the scrutiny of the company he keeps and the situation that he finds himself in. It begins at zero, but when first affected, is set to a twelve-sided die. It increases whenever a non-Pressure check results in Falter or directly due to the nature of a situation, and each time it does, the die size decreases, from a twelve-sided die to a ten-sided, from a ten-sided to an eight-sided, and so on. This step down in pressure die size occurs automatically in these situations rather than a player rolling for it as if Pressure were being treated as a Resource. When something occurs that is so traumatic, such as seeing an unnatural death or an inexplicable situation, a Player Character’s Pressure is Triggered. This requires a Pressure check and when a Player Character rolls a one or two on this roll, a Falter, he will Fold. This does not mean that he disappears, but rather that he shifts in terms of his personality. For example, he may suddenly gain a sense of being Persecuted, be Belligerent, or Rash. These are only temporary, but the lower the Pressure Die, the more often he is affected. Through rest and recreation, a Player Character can improve or increase his Pressure Die.

In terms of running Lost in the Fold, the Game Moderator can use the Mission Triggers table to create assignments, such as ‘Understand/Collect’, ‘Restricted/Uncontrolled’, and ‘Damage/Safety’. In leaving the Habitat she is advised to listen to her players and take cues from their conjecture as to its nature. She is also given advice, including safety advice, on how to create Nightmares, the things that might in the Threshold or even invade the pipes of The Chain. Four sample Nightmares are included for play beyond the scenario given in the book. This is ‘Chain Reaction’. It opens with a problem. The expected and usual Chain Drop and daily arrival of the Clothing Bullet did not take place today or the day before. Dressed in what they can scavenge or have previously hidden away despite it not being socially acceptable, the Player Characters are assigned to investigate. This sends the Player Characters into an industrial space, a space in between, which could be the Threshold, the space between the walls, or even another Habitat, another Here. The scenario does not make this clear, and intentionally so. It is an exploration scenario, with the Player Characters interacting with each other and with the space they discover rather anyone else.

‘Chain Reaction’ is also self-contained in that it only shows the Player Characters on an assignment which takes them out of the Habitat, or at least, their Here. Consequently, there is insufficient contrast between this and what their life is like in the Here. So no interaction with The Authority or with the Community. The scenario is unbalanced and the Game Moderator might want to address this before she runs it.

Physically, Lost in the Fold is short and simple. The layout is clean and tidy, everything is easy to grasp, and it is very lightly illustrated.

Lost in the Fold has the feeling of Paranoia, but without its budget or all of its satire, and with the sensibility of sixties and seventies Science Fiction shot on a budget in industrial zones. It also has the feeling of promise and of having interesting ideas, but which it also does not have the budget to realise. Although a short book, there are some interesting ideas in Lost in the Fold, but the low page count and a scenario that emphasises what lies beyond the experience of the Player Characters, means that those ideas remain unexplored. Lost in the Fold is an interesting ‘Genre Set-Up’ with some intriguing ideas, but no more than that, leaving the Game Moderator wishing that it had gone further in exploring its set-up.

 Two more characters from the same campaign as Pathon and Torr Addingdale III, I am doing two again because I want to show off the flexibility of the classes in Wasted Lands / NIGHT SHIFT. How can I use the same class to achieve different results. 

I don't know much about Tyl III, but I know Tali. Tali was a Ranger in my games back in the late 1980s, she was Grenda's character when I ran him through the Ravenloft elements of our Great War / The Dragon War. She became trapped in Ravenloft with a bunch of other characters and had to find a way out. Tali, like her daughter Tali II, was a ranger, but more than that she was a Swanmay; a Swan Maiden. Kind of nice to see her again. A bit like running into an old friend from College and discovering she is happy and has a grown daughter now going to the same school you both went too. Swan Maidens have been a lot on my mind recently too, having just reread "Three Hearts and Three Lions" for the first time in decades.

Tyl II died as a child, so this Tyl III is not his son. I'll have to dig up a family tree somewhere to figure out where he fits. 

Tali is a Ranger with some magic. Tyl is a Theif-Acrobat/Illusionist. Both are going to be Renegades. Also, we are dealing with another New Human in Tyl, but I am going to ignore that for now.

Tali Earlingstar II

Class: Renegade/Warrior
Level: 8/8
Species: Human
Alignment: Light
Background: Cult

Abilities
Strength: 17 (+2) N
Agility: 16 (+2) A
Toughness: 15 (+1) 
Intelligence: 14 (+1) 
Wits: 17 (+2) N 
Persona: 17 (+2) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: 1
Vitality: 80 (d4/d8)
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +4/+3/+1
Melee Bonus: +3 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +3 (base)
Saves: +3 vs Death effects (Renegade)

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-3 d6), Perception, Vital Strike x3, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

Warrior Abilities
Combat Expertise, Improved Defence, Melee Combat, Master of Battle, Supernatural Attacks, Spell Resistance, Tracking, Masters of Weapons, Extra Attacks (x2), Extra Damage

Heroic Touchstones
Level 1: Favored Weapon: Sword (+1 to hit, +2 Damage)
Level 3: Luck Benefit
Level 5: Level 1 of Sorcerer
Level 7: Favored Enemy: Undead
Level 9: Level 2 of Sorcerer
Level 11: +1 to all checks, attacks, and saves
Level 13: Level 3 of Sorcerer
Level 15: Bestow Blessing

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Protection

Gear
Sword ("Shadowbane"), leather armor

Tyl Addingdale III

Class: Renegade/Sorcerer
Level: 10/10
Species: New Human
Alignment: Twilight (Evil)
Background: Sorcerous

Abilities
Strength: 17 (+2) 
Agility: 18 (+3) A
Toughness: 16 (+2) 
Intelligence: 18 (+1) N
Wits: 16 (+2) 
Persona: 17 (+2) N

Fate Points: 1d12
Defense Value: 2
Vitality: 60 (d4/d4)
Degeneracy: 4
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +5/+3/+2
Melee Bonus: +3 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +3 (base)
Saves: +3 vs Death effects (Renegade)

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-3 d6), Perception, Vital Strike x3, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

Arcane Powers
Detect Thoughts, Enhanced Senses, Psychic Power Suggestion, Subtle Influence

Sorcerer Spells
First Level: Chill Ray, Night Vision, Command, Extinguish Light, Summon Familiar
Second Level: Invoke Fear, Invisibility, See Invisible, ESP, Beguile Person
Third Level: Blinding Speed, Clairvoyance, Dispel Magic, Oily Cloud of the Deeper Dark
Fourth Level: Black Tentacles, Improved Invisibility, Protection Against Death, Serpent Arrow
Fifth Level: Shadow Armor, Injure, Commune with Deeper Dark

Familiar: Bald Parrot "Jubilex"

Heroic Touchstones
Level 1: Psychic Ability: Psychokinesis
Level 3: Luck Benefit
Level 5: Favored Weapon: Short sword (+1 to hit, +2 Damage)
Level 7: Psychic Ability: Bio-feedback
Level 9: +1 to all checks, attacks, and saves
Level 11: Additional 1st level spell
Level 13: Additional 2nd level spell
Level 15: Additional 3rd level spell
Level 17: Additional 4th level spell
Level 19: Additional 5th level spell

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Trickster

Gear
Short sword ("Shadewalk"), leather armor

All the characters from this campaign appear to be cousins, some twice or more removed, and all descended from the Addingdale lines.

It appears, reading over the notes with the characters that Tali and Tyl were once close but are growing apart as Tali becaomes more good and following in her mother's footsteps to become a Swanmay (maybe she has been gifted her mother's cloak?) and Tyl went from trickster rogue to more evil in his intent. 

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

 Two for one today, mostly because I know so little about these two. Their creation dates are 2/18/1988 and 10/16/1988, respectively. This was a time when Grenda had left the Air Force and before he came down to Carbondale. We were not gaming together at this point; I was in the back half of my Freshman year and moving into my Sophomore year. But looking over the characters he has here, it was a prolific time of gaming for him. 

He had also settled on a format for his character sheets: a standard "golden rod" AD&D first edition sheet with notebook paper for proficiencies, spells, and then named magic items. He was mass-producing characters at this point. 

Here is what I do know about these two characters. They were cousins, descended from the original Pathon Addingdale and Torrin "Worluk" Addingdale, respectively. The original Torr Addingdale (who I have not found yet) was the father of the first Pathon and Worluk. Given what I know about Grenda, these two likely emulated their namesakes to a degree and allowed him to play out their adventures again. 

From what I can find out in my own campaign notes (sparse for this time) is that Pathon II was born in CY 744. For those of you at home, the current CY for the World of Greyhawk is 591. So, a little over 150 years into the future, as it were, and a little over 100 years from Pathon and Worluk's birth.

Again, we see these characters are part of his "Rivendell" era, and Torr is a "New Human." Honestly, I had no idea he was still using our "New Humans" this late in his gaming. They are also repeating a common trope he liked to use, two characters related by blood on opposite ends of the alignment chart. Pathon was Lawful Neutral and Torr Chaotic Neutral. I do admit I am a little surprised Torr is not a Shadowmaster.

The only other bit I remember about Pathon III is that he married a girl named "Brandy." Maybe an ode to the Looking Glass song "Brandy" but more likely a nod to Brandi Brandt, Playboy's Miss October 1987.

Pathon Addingdale III

Class: Theosophist
Level: 19
Species: Human
Alignment: Light
Background: Warrior

Abilities
Strength: 22 (+5) N
Agility: 18 (+3) 
Toughness: 16 (+1) 
Intelligence: 16 (+2) 
Wits: 20 (+4) A 
Persona: 19 (+3) N

Fate Points: 1d12
Defense Value: -1
Vitality: 110 (d6)
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +8/+5/+3
Melee Bonus: +3 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +3 (base)
Saves: +6 vs Wits 

Theosophist Abilities
See Dead people, Turn Undead x2, Summon Dead, Channel Dead, Death Knell, Suggestion, Command the Dead, Life Drain, Slay the Unliving, Call the Reaper

Heroic Touchstones
Level 1: Psychic Ability: ESP
Level 3: Psychic Ability: Bio-feedback 
Level 5: Level 1 of Witch/Sorcerer
Level 7: Speak with Animals
Level 9: Level 2 of Witch/Sorcerer
Level 11: Smite
Level 13: Level 3 of Witch/Sorcerer
Level 15: Great Smite
Level 17: Immunity to Poison
Level 19: Aura of Power

Spells
1st Level: 

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Divine Warrior

Gear
Mace (Stormshadow), Plate Armor, Holy symbol (crossed lightning bolts)

Torr Addingdale III

Class: Renegade
Level: 19
Species: New Human
Alignment: Twilight
Background: Warrior

Abilities
Strength: 21 (+4) N
Agility: 23 (+5) A
Toughness: 20 (+4) 
Intelligence: 16 (+2) 
Wits: 19 (+3) 
Persona: 20 (+4) N

Fate Points: 1d12
Defense Value: -1
Vitality: 120 (d6)
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 0

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +8/+5/+3
Melee Bonus: +5 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +5 (base)
Saves: +7 vs Death effects (Renegade)

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-7 d8), Perception, Vital Strike x7, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

Warrior Abilities
Combat Expertise, Improved Defence, Melee Combat, Master of Battle, Supernatural Attacks, Spell Resistance, Tracking, Masters of Weapons, Extra Attacks (x2), Extra Damage

Stealth Skills
Open Locks: 95%
Bypass Traps: 95%
Sleight of Hand: 95%
Sneak: 95%
Climbing: 95%
Perception: 95%

Heroic Touchstones
Level 1: Bonus Melee Attack +1
Level 3:  Favored Weapon: Sword (+1 to hit, +2 Damage)
Level 5: Level 1 of Warrior
Level 7: +1 to all checks, attacks, and saves
Level 9: Level 2 of Warrior
Level 11: evel 3 of Warrior
Level 13: Down but not Out
Level 15: Level 4 of Warrior
Level 17: Level 5 of Warrior
Level 19: Aura of Power

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: War

Gear
Sword ("Soulshadow"), leather armor

Again not bad.

I am not sure how these compare to the characters in play, but comparing them to the AD&D sheets they are pretty good. Obviously not as "muchnkiny" but still good.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG and the NIGHT SHIFT RPG at Elf Lair Games.

 Today's character is another Starmaster, with emphasis on his Shadowmaster upbringing, and the chip off of Warluk's old block, his son Deathstroke Shadowreaper.

Now, you might first ask, "Was Grenda a fan of the Teen Titans?" I think the answer is obvious. 

While Deathstroke here is stated as a Starmaster, in play he was pretty much a thief/fighter with some magical abilities. 

While I saw more of Deathstroke than Warluk, I liked Warluk better. Deathstroke had all of Warluk's bad qualities and almost none of his good ones. And like Warluk, he was estranged from his family. Warluks was by accident, and Deathstroke's was by choice.

So, in short. He was an asshole.

I know he was a fun character to play because of how often he showed up, but as a DM he got on my nerves a little. BUT Grenda loved playing him, and I wanted to see how the Starmaster and Shadowmaster classes worked so it was fine. Maybe because the classes were so overpowered, that led to his "assholishness." 

About "New Humans"

New Human, or Homo Sapiens Nova, was from a Star Frontiers game we played that blended some Gamma World elements. During what was our Great Wars (the campaign we played before I went to University and resulted in our worlds getting merged) a few characters got sent forward in time, where they got genetic treatments. These characters had longer life spans (double) and could exceed human norms. A few characters returned to "AD&D" to fight in the Great Wars. Deathstroke here was one of them. I forget what the side effects he had since the treatment always had side effects. Typically it was things like loss of psionic ability or inability to shapeshift or turn invisible. I can see on his sheet that he had his base on Mars for a while. 

Largely, it was an excuse to play some sci-fi and explain why some characters had ability scores above 18. 

The HUGE side effect for me? It was here that I wanted a system to allow me to move between Fantasy, Horror, and SciFi. You can see the result of that in the O.G.R.E.S. system in Wasted Lands, NIGHT SHIFT, and Thirteen Parsecs.

Deathstroke Shadowreaper

Class: Renegade/Warrior
Level: 9/9
Species: Human (using the Supernatural type from NIGHT SHIFT and other species rules from Wasted Lands)
Alignment: Twilight Evil
Background: Warrior

Abilities
Strength: 22 (+4) A
Agility: 19 (+3) N 
Toughness: 18 (+3) N
Intelligence: 18 (+3)  
Wits: 15 (+1) 
Persona: 18 (+3) 

Fate Points: 1d10
Defense Value: -1
Vitality: 120 (d4/d10)
Degeneracy: 0
Corruption: 3

Check Bonus (A/N/D): +5/+3/+1
Melee Bonus: +4 (base)
Ranged Bonus: +4 (base)
Saves: +3 vs Death attacks and area effects

Renegade Abilities
Improved Defence, Ranged Combat, Stealth Skills, Climbing, Danger Sense (1-3), Perception, Vital Strike x3, Read Languages, Stealth Skills

Heroic Touchstones
Level 1: Psychic Ability: Psychokinesis
Level 3: +1 to melee attacks
Level 5: "Luck" befit
Level 7: Psychic Ability: Body Control
Level 9: Reroll
Level 11: Powerful Defense vs. melee
Level 13: +1 to attacks, checks, and saves
Level 15: Psychic Ability: Bio-Feedback
Level 17: Psychic Ability: Temporal Sense

Heroic (Divine) Archetype: Death

Gear
Sword (Darksheath), Dagger (Silver Thorn), leather armor +4, cloak of night (protection)

Ok. Not bad really. To get past the Starmaster silliness I used the Heroic Touchstones to give him psychic abilities and completely ignored his magic use. NOW I could have taken a younger version of him and stated him up as a Slicer for Thirteen Parsecs. Maybe I still will. 

A lot of those games in the early part of 1987 became the source of my desire to work on Thirteen Parsecs.

You can get the Wasted Lands RPG, the NIGHT SHIFT RPG, and Thirteen Parsecs RPG at Elf Lair Games.

 Well. More like, "New Year, time to get rid of games I have not played in forever."

Expect some odd ball reviews coming up.

Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition and the Jonstown Compendium for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, The Companions of Arthur is a curated platform for user-made content, but for material set in Greg Stafford’s masterpiece of Arthurian legend and romance, Pendragon. It enables creators to sell their own original content for Pendragon, Sixth Edition. This can original scenarios, background material, alternate Arthurian settings, and more, but none of this content should be considered to be ‘canon’, but rather fall under ‘Your Pendragon Will Vary’. This means that there is still scope for the authors to create interesting and useful content that others can bring to their Pendragon campaigns.

—oOo—
What is the Nature of the Quest?The Barnyard Tournament: A Three Damosels of the Fountain Adventure is a scenario for use with Pendragon, Sixth Edition.

It is a full colour, eight-one page, 11.63 MB PDF.

The layout is tidy and it is nicely illustrated, often to amusing effect.

Besides six pre-generated Player-knights, The Barnyard Tournament includes thirty-three handouts, a game board and thirteen tokens, one map, and a Game Master reference card.
Where is the Quest Set?The Barnyard Tournament is set in Huntland County and quite literally, beyond, on the border between Logres and the Saxon kingdom of Anglia.
It takes place in the Boy King period directly before a battle, either against the Rebel Kings during the Civil War or against the Saxons in the Saxon War.
Who should go on this Quest?
The Barnyard Tournament is suitable for knights of all types. The Passion of Hate (Saxons) is likely to be advantageous, but not necessary to complete the scenario.
What does the Quest require?
The Barnyard Tournament requires the Pendragon, Sixth Edition rules or the Pendragon Starter Set.
Where will the Quest take the Knights?The Barnyard Tournament is a grand adventure which begins with the Player-knights as exploratores on the road, conducting a scouting mission for King Arthur on the eve of battle. An encounter with three ‘Weird Sisters’ will divert them onto three different paths that together allegorise the need to grow up and assume the responsibilities of adulthood, in the scenario on a small scale, but in the kingdom at large, on a much bigger scale. The diversion is actually a dishonourable act for the Player-knights, as it will take them away from their assigned mission, but there is much to be learned and much to be gained by taking the path rather than ignoring it. (Plus, there is a chance to redeem themselves at the end of the adventure.) The paths in turn lead the Player-knights to a prosperous manor, almost an idyll in the face of the oncoming war. None are prepared for the conflict to come, including the young man due to inherit the manor. On the first path, the Player-knights are directed to inspire the young man to follow in the footsteps of his father, a famous knight, and prepare both him and the manor in case of an attack by Saxon raiders, looking for easy pickings. On the second path, the Player-knights find themselves in a very strange situation where they must attempt to bring together squabbling, but potential allies in the face of greater aggression and so protect the king—much like the situation with the young King Arthur. On the third path, the Player-knights must put into practice what they have preached and defend the manor from the marauding Saxons.
The first path introduces the location and the cast, presenting a community and pastoral respite that the Player-knights can indulge in, just a little, as they begin to teach the folk of the manor more of the wider world. There is a playfulness to this first chapter, one that the Player-knights tumble out of and into the second chapter and into the magical realism of tooth and claw in the nearby forest. Here on second path, the scenario is at its strangest, not just in terms of what both their players and their knights are now playing, but also in terms of how it is played out, more like a board game than a roleplaying game. If the first path teaches the lesson, the second cements it, and the third enforces the need for it. On the third path, the Player-characters become the generals as a wild assault is made on the manor by marauding Saxons. The likelihood is that the second path will be remembered for its oddness, whilst the first and third paths stand out for their roleplaying and storytelling opportunities, the third path offering opportunities for heroism.
The Barnyard Tournament is designed to showcase the various aspects of Pendragon Sixth Edition and its rules. Thus, there is a mock tournament, a battle to engage in, and opportunity aplenty for the Player-knights to show off their knightly virtues. All of which veiled in the mystical strangeness of Arthur’s realm and a little beyond. The scenario is written for use by Game Masters new to Pendragon—though this does not mean that old hands will not either appreciate or enjoy it—and to that end there is advice throughout its pages on how to stage and run The Barnyard Tournament with numerous possibilities and outcomes suggested and discussed.
Should the Knights ride out on this Quest?If as the Game Master, you do not yet have The Barnyard Tournament: A Three Damosels of the Fountain Adventure, then you should, and if as a player your knight has not yet participated in The Barnyard Tournament: A Three Damosels of the Fountain Adventure, then ask your Game Master why not? This is an excellent adventure, one that showcases the richness of King Arthur’s realm—if only in miniature—and have the Player-knights become part of it and defend it. All of the scenarios to date on The Companions of Arthur have been good, so it no slight against any of them to say that The Barnyard Tournament: A Three Damosels of the Fountain Adventure is the best community content adventure published for Pendragon Sixth Edition to date.